“Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows.” (Jeremiah 44:25)
There is a kind of wickedness that is quiet, hidden, and carefully managed. And then there is the kind Jeremiah 44 describes: sin that is blatant, planned, defended, and then carried out with both speech and action. “You and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand.”
The Lord’s words here are terrifying because He answers their “we will” with His own. They are determined to keep their false vows, and God declares that He will be just as resolute toward them as they are toward Him. One of the most sobering patterns in Scripture is when people harden themselves in evil, God may give them over, and then He watches over them “for evil, and not for good.” This means the sinner’s stubbornness does not win the day; God’s will does. In other words, if a person is determined to sin, judgment will soon find him.
But God does not only warn. He pleads. He calls for a better kind of resolve. If there is going to be stubbornness, let it be that of stubborn repentance as Psalm 32:5 demonstrates, “I will confess my transgressions.” We may wrestle for a time with letting go of sin. But with stubborn repentance, the will that ran from God becomes the will that runs toward Him.
This same kind of resolve is held out as something good and necessary: “We will walk in the name of the LORD our God” (Micah 4:5). Joshua stands in front of the congregation and says, in effect, “Do what you will, but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” This kind of “willfulness” is blessed because it submits to God’s truth.
This is also a proper use of profession, a professed subjection to the gospel that glorifies God, when both believing in the heart and confession with the mouth is required: “I am an Hebrew, and I fear the LORD.” Clear, unashamed, and true.[1]
So our warning here is not only to stop sinning, it is to stop using our will against God and start using it for Him. If our heart is stubborn, let it be stubborn in repentance. If our mouth is going to profess something, let it profess what is good. The Lord does not lack power to humble the willful, so the only safe place for a stubborn heart is at the feet of Christ, yielding, confessing, and asking for mercy while there is still time.
Contemplations:
- My stubbornness. I can see myself saying “I will” in regard to sin, comfort, and maintaining control. But this is rebellion and stubbornness. And it frightens me to think that God answers stubborn vows with His own oath. I don’t want my will to become a weapon used against my soul.
- My mouth exposes my heart. I want to believe my words are only words, that I can speak rashly and it doesn’t mean much. But this text won’t allow it. If I speak it, it lives in me. If I vent corruption, I am not emptying it out but allowing it to multiply. I need to fear what I say more than I do, because my speech is a window into what I truly love.
- My shameful boldness in sin. I am sobered by how this passage treats professed sin as aggravated sin. I have times when I don’t just fall, I defend. I don’t just fail, I justify. I don’t just stumble, I plan. And even if I don’t announce my sin to the world, I can announce it through behaviors, tone, and stubborn habits that refuse correction. I need God to break this pride.
- My need for a better resolve. I find hope in the thought of a holy “I will.” “I will confess my transgressions” (Psalm 32:5) sounds like someone finally stopping the games. That is what I need: not better excuses but a better resolve. I want to be resolute in repentance, resolute in obedience, and unashamed to belong to Christ when faithfulness is costly.
Prayer (Supplication)
O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, the living God who sees and judges, I come to You as one who has too often been stubborn in the wrong direction. I have said “I will” about things I should have hated. I have made room for sin, defended it, delayed repentance, and acted as though time and mercy were mine to use at will. I confess that my will has been proud, and my heart has been too ready to dig in when You call me to yield.
Lord, I beg You to deal mercifully with me before my stubbornness hardens into a settled course. Do not give me over to my own ways or allow me to become the kind of person who vows evil and then fulfills it. Break that pattern in me. Put a holy fear in my soul so that I do not treat Your warnings as distant echoes meant for someone else.
Help me set a guard over my mouth. Deliver me from the deceit that says venting corruption diminishes it. Teach me to smother sin, not feed it. Teach me to flee temptation, not negotiate with it. Teach me to be swift to hear Your Word and slow to speak my own excuses.
Turn my resolve toward what is good. Give me that honest strength that says, with David, “I will confess my transgressions” (Psalm 32:5). Make me willing to obey when obedience costs me pride, willing to be corrected, and willing to be seen as Yours.
Lord, I ask for courage to profess what is right and to refuse what is evil, not only in private but in the places where fear of man has ruled me. Give me a steady heart, not a wavering one. Give me a conscience that is tender, not seared. Give me repentance that is real and holiness that is lived.
Have mercy on me through Jesus Christ. Subdue my will to Yours. Make me glad to be governed by Your Word. Let my life be an open testimony of subjection to the gospel. And when I am tempted to say “I will” against You, stop me and change me so that my will turns to obedience, and my mouth speaks truth.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Further Scripture References for Jeremiah 44:25:
Ezek. 20:39; 1 Kings 8:15; Matt. 14:9; Acts 23:12
[1] Jeremiah Burroughs, “An Exposition of the Prophecy of Hosea,” ed. James Sherman (Edinburgh; London: James Nichol; James Nisbet & Co., 1863), 82–83.
