"Thus saith the Lord: stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein" (Jeremiah 6:16).
When the prophet Jeremiah spoke the words in our verse, Jerusalem was being threatened with total destruction. Just like in the world today, the warning signs were all around the people. But Jeremiah said, even though they were in a bad place, there was wisdom available for them in the old paths. If they would look to their history and forefathers, they would be reminded about what God had done in and through them before and find peace. But, despite Jeremiah’s message from God, Judah rejected the wisdom of the old paths and decided to go their own way.
Looks Like ...
Jeremiah was only about 17 when God called him to ministry. He had great inner turmoil over the fate of his people, and he begged them to listen. He is known as “the weeping prophet,” because he cried tears of sadness, not only because he knew what was going to happen, but because no matter how hard he tried, the people would not listen.
In addition, he had no human comfort. God had forbidden him to marry or have children of his own (Jeremiah 16:2), and his friends had turned their backs on him. So, along with the burden of the knowledge of impending judgment, he must have also been very lonely. He lived like this for 40 years.
Jeremiah may have been tempted at some point to leave the old path and make his life easier. But Jeremiah remained on the path where God directed him, and as a result became one of the most unpopular prophets in Jewish history. Measured by human standards, his ministry was a miserable failure, but measured by the will of God, he was a total success.
It wasn’t easy for Jeremiah to walk down the old paths alone, resist the crowd, and walk out of step with the philosophies and values of his times – and it still isn’t easy today. But we have a choice.
Ask Yourself ...
Are you walking in the old paths? If you’re not sure, ask God to reveal the old paths to you. Once He reveals them, commit yourself to walking in them. Make them an everyday practice in your life. If you do so, God states that you will find rest for your soul.