The Weeping Prophet: People Are the Same Today

Devotional

Day 1: Uncircumcised Ears and Unheard Warnings

Jeremiah’s listeners couldn’t hear God’s warnings because their hearts were calloused. Like flesh uncircumcised, their spiritual ears remained closed to truth. This hardness kept them from repentance, even as disaster loomed. God’s word demands more than ritual obedience—it requires hearts softened by His Spirit. Without this transformation, warnings fall on deafness, and judgment follows unheeded. [44:24]

“To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold, the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it.” (Jeremiah 6:10, ESV)

Reflection: What “uncircumcised” areas of your heart might be blocking God’s voice? Where have you grown numb to His warnings?

Day 2: Scorned Words and Unvalued Truth

God’s word became a joke to those who preferred lies. Jeremiah preached truth to people who mocked it, valuing comfort over conviction. Today, Scripture still confronts cultural cravings, exposing sin and demanding surrender. Rejecting its authority leads to hollow religion, where rituals replace relationship and pride silences repentance. [48:57]

“The word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it.” (Jeremiah 6:10, ESV)

Reflection: When has God’s truth felt inconvenient to you? How do you guard against devaluing Scripture when culture dismisses it?

Day 3: Greed’s Hollow Gain and the Soul’s Hunger

From priests to paupers, everyone chased dishonest profit. Their hunger for more corrupted worship, turning faith into a transaction. Greed still hollows out souls, making gods of wealth and status. Contentment dies when gain becomes god, leaving hearts restless and rituals empty. [51:15]

“For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.” (Jeremiah 6:13, ESV)

Reflection: What “unjust gain” tempts you to compromise? Where do you need to exchange greed for gospel-shaped contentment?

Day 4: Shameless Abominations and the Lost Art of Blushing

Sin lost its sting for Jeremiah’s audience. They committed atrocities without flinching, their consciences seared. Blushing fades when rebellion becomes routine. Today’s world同样 celebrates what God condemns, numbing hearts to holiness. A tender conscience is a gift—a compass pointing toward repentance. [54:22]

“Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush.” (Jeremiah 6:15, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you stopped blushing at sin? What practices keep your conscience sensitive to God’s conviction?

Day 5: Ancient Paths Rejected, Rest Forsaken

God offered rest through the “old paths” of obedience, but Israel demanded new roads. Their innovation led to exhaustion, not renewal. True rest comes not from reinventing truth but returning to it—walking the tested ways where faith finds footing. Rejecting God’s ancient wisdom breeds chaos, not progress. [56:28]

“Thus says the Lord: Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.” (Jeremiah 6:16, ESV)

Reflection: Which “ancient paths” of Scripture have you been tempted to abandon? How might embracing God’s timeless truth bring rest to your chaos?

Sermon Summary

Jeremiah stands as the weeping prophet because Judah’s hard heart makes faithful preaching a heartbreak. The text lays out why judgment is just. First, uncircumcised ears cannot listen. Bodies may wear the sign, but hearts stay untouched; without God’s work, ears and hearts stay closed, and the word simply will not land. Second, the word of the Lord becomes an object of scorn. Instead of delight, there is contempt. People then, like people now, stiff-arm Scripture and bristle when God’s commands put claims on their lives.

Third, greed rots the nation from top to bottom. From the least to the greatest, even prophet and priest deal falsely. Contentment is eclipsed by “a little bit more,” and truth gets traded for advantage. Fourth, abomination no longer makes anyone blush. Sin repeated becomes sin normalized, and conscience grows calloused. Fifth, when the Lord points to the ancient paths, the people answer, “We will not walk in it.” The old roads are not dusty customs but the good way that gives rest to the soul. The refusal is proud, and it costs peace.

Sixth, the watchman sounds the trumpet and the people say, “We will not pay attention.” Warnings that would spare their lives get brushed off like background noise. Seventh, the Lord announces disaster because his words are ignored and his law rejected. Sinai’s finger-written commandments tell humanity what God is for and what he is against; spurning them invites ruin in this life and the next. Eighth, empty religion tries to paper it over. Frankincense, sweet cane, burnt offerings keep moving, but God says, in effect, “I am sick of it.” Ritual without repentance offends, it does not appease.

Ninth, the Lord himself lays stumbling blocks. This is the passive wrath of God, handing people over to the path they insist on walking. In Zion, the rock becomes a rock of offense, and those who reject the cornerstone stumble to their own hurt, fathers and sons together. Abraham stands in the background as a foil, a man who “did not stagger at the promise,” whose ear was tuned to God and whose obedience trusted resurrection if need be. People are the same today. The call presses sinners to look to the Lord Jesus and be saved, and summons slack believers back to the old paths, to tenderness of conscience, to contentment, and to real rest for the soul.

Key Takeaways

1. Uncircumcised ears cannot hear God [44:24] God must cut away the old heart for the word to land. Without that inward work, even the clearest truth sounds like noise. The call is to ask God to give a listening heart, not just more information. Where the Spirit circumcises, the soul becomes teachable and quick to obey. [44:24]
2. God’s word becomes an object of scorn [48:40] Contempt for Scripture is not sophistication; it is spiritual sickness. When the Bible is treated like an intrusion, idols have already taken the house. Reverence for the word is not optional piety but the doorway into life and sanity. [48:40]
3. Refusing the ancient paths forfeits rest [56:28] The old roads are not nostalgia, they are the good way. Rest is found where God’s commands set the pace and direction. New paths promise freedom but deliver turmoil, because peace will not grow in soil sown with self-will. [56:28]
4. Hollow religion cannot cover rebellion [01:08:22] Smoke and spice do not sweeten disobedience. Ritual without repentance only multiplies guilt and wears out the patience of God. True worship moves from heart to life, from hearing to walking in the light that has been given. [68:22]
5. God’s passive wrath lays stumbling blocks [01:11:02] Sometimes judgment looks like getting exactly what is wanted. When Christ the cornerstone is refused, he becomes a stone to trip over, and the falls get harder. Mercy is found in yielding before the next stumble becomes a ruin. [71:02]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[19:32] - Opening prayer
[28:18] - Jeremiah the weeping prophet
[32:00] - Reading Jeremiah 6:10-21
[38:08] - Israel’s privileges and Abraham’s obedience
[41:33] - People are the same today
[44:24] - Uncircumcised ears cannot listen
[48:40] - The word becomes an object of scorn
[51:15] - Greedy for unjust gain
[54:22] - No shame and no blush
[56:28] - “Ask for the ancient paths”
[60:13] - Ignoring the watchman’s trumpet
[65:49] - Rejecting God’s law invites disaster
[68:22] - Empty religion God will not accept
[71:02] - Stumbling blocks and passive wrath
[72:33] - Christ the stone of stumbling
[76:06] - Final appeal to sinners and saints

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
- Jeremiah 6:10-21 (ESV): [Full passage quoted in the sermon transcript]
- Romans 4:20 (ESV): “No unbelief made [Abraham] waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.”
- 1 Peter 2:8 (ESV): “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense. They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.”

Observation questions

In Jeremiah 6:10, what does the phrase “uncircumcised ears” imply about the people’s ability to hear God? How does the sermon connect this to modern spiritual deafness? [44:24]
According to Jeremiah 6:16, what did God invite the people to do, and how did they respond? What example of “ancient paths” was given in the sermon? [56:28]
What specific religious rituals did the people continue practicing in Jeremiah 6:20, and why did God reject them? How does the sermon describe “empty religion”? [01:08:22]

Interpretation questions

Why is contempt for Scripture described as a “spiritual sickness” rather than mere intellectual disagreement? What idols might replace reverence for God’s Word today? [48:40]
Jeremiah 6:13-15 highlights greed and normalized sin. How might greed “rot a nation from top to bottom,” and what modern parallels does this warning evoke?
The sermon contrasts Abraham’s obedience (Romans 4:20) with Judah’s refusal to walk God’s paths. Why is Abraham’s faith linked to resurrection hope, and how does this contrast with self-reliance? [39:40]

Application questions

The sermon warns about “uncircumcised ears” resisting God’s Word. What practical steps can someone take to cultivate a “listening heart” rather than relying on mere religious routines? [44:24]
Where do you see the pursuit of “a little bit more” (greed) affecting your decisions or relationships? How might contentment in Christ disrupt this pattern? [51:15]
The “ancient paths” are described as the “good way” that brings rest. What habits or traditions in your life align with God’s timeless truths, and which ones might need reevaluation? [56:28]
Empty religion “multiplies guilt” without repentance. Are there areas where you’ve substituted rituals (e.g., church attendance, giving) for genuine heart change? How can you shift focus from external acts to internal transformation? [01:08:22]
The sermon warns that rejecting Christ turns Him into a “stumbling block.” How can someone recognize if they’re resisting God’s claims on their life, and what would yielding to His mercy look like today? [01:11:02]

Sermon Clips

75s

#GodsPassiveWrath

“``You know what the active wrath of God is? Bringing fire and brimstone down upon Sodom and Gomorrah. That's active wrath of God. You know what the passive wrath of God is? Letting people have what they want. Letting them have their way. But God says there's gonna be stumbling blocks every which way you go in your path, and you're gonna trip all over. What does it say in the New Testament? In Zion, I have given a rock. That rock is the Lord Jesus Christ. But because you have refused, I'm gonna make the rock, Jesus, to be a stumbling block to you Jews, and you will perish.”

82s

#SpiritualCircumcision

“So you had a Jew's attention when you brought up the subject of circumcision. Oh, yes. It's right. We are to circumcise our children. That is the sign of the covenant. But yet, the many as opposed to the few, the many who were circumcised had not been spiritually circumcised. Their ears were uncircumcised. It says that they cannot listen. There has to be a supernatural done by God to a person's ear, to a person's heart called circumcision a change has to be made. But because their ears were uncircumcised or they were not able to hear, they would not listen.”

80s

#ValueGodsWord

“People are the same today. The word of God is not valued. It is even an object of scorn. You bring up the word of God. You bring up the commandments of God, and they hate that you say that. We're a free people. We can do what we want. We do not put ourselves under the word of God. And what do they do when you pull up the Bible, the word of God, and say this is God's word? Like in Stephen's day, they run up with their teeth clenched, gnashing on them like they did to Stephen. They hated hearing the word of God that he spoke from the Old Testament, and they stoned him. They killed him. The word of God is not valued by people today.”

83s

#AncientPaths

“There's a fifth thing that I wanna point out to you here that they said that we say. They said they would not the path. God showed them a path. They said, no, we're not gonna walk in that path. Verse 16, thus says the lord. He says, y'all go stand by the roads and look. or ask for the ancient paths where the good way is and walk in it and find rest for your souls. But they said, we will not walk in it. No. We're not gonna walk in it. We want new paths. We believe that in this new and advanced age that we're living, the old paths are not what we should be trekking in, but we should cut some new paths. People are just the same today as they were back then.”

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Central Fellowship Baptist Church Macon / WR This sermon · AI assistant

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