By: Garland M. Robinson
The spiritual condition of the people of Judah in Jeremiah’s time was deplorable. Their sad condition warranted stiff rebukes from Jehovah. They engaged in activities of which God had not commanded them. He continually sent prophets among them to call them back to his ways.
“But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers. Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee. But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth” (Jeremiah 7:23-28).
False prophets and priests had fooled the people into thinking everything was fine. It was more pleasant to listen to their “good news” than Jeremiah’s “bad news.”
Jeremiah 6:14 says,
“They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.”
God’s cry for the people to return to him was crucial and decisive.
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” (Jeremiah 6:16).
Sadly, the response of the people was, (we will not walk therein…We will not hearken” (Jeremiah 6:16-17). What a sad day for Judah. What a dismal day for anyone who will not heed the call of God to obey his word! When king Saul brought back king Agag alive instead of killing him, Samuel said, “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22). Saul’s sin was one of rebellion (1 Samuel 15:23). So is everyone who does not heed God’s word and obey what it says!
The Restoration Plea
Does God no longer desire for people to follow his commands? He has always desired it! Jesus taught it! “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love” (John 15:10). Love for God, is love for his way. “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
The command of Jeremiah 6:16 to “seek the old paths” is as relevant today as it was then. Peter wrote, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God…” (I Peter 4:11). To speak as the oracles of God is the restoration plea, to walk in “the old paths” is the restoration in practice. From the late 1700’s to the present, there have been men, both small and great, pleading for a return to the ancient order of things. Their plea has been and is: “Back to the Bible,” “Let us speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent” and, “Let us call Bible things by Bible names and do Bible things in Bible ways.”
Seeking the “old paths” is not a cry to return to Bethany or Cane Ridge, Nashville or Cincinnati, but back to Jerusalem of the first century. We need the same gospel that was preached then preached today – ringing from every housetop in every land. May we never cease to contend to that end. May we never rest until we have done what we can to accomplish it.
The Relevancy of The Plea
“The time is now and the place of action is here for the emphasis upon the restoration plea. We need to plead for a return to the ancient order until practice conforms with the plea. This applies to the religious world in general but to the Lord’s church in many places specifically (Romans 2:1-3, Romans 2:21-22; Romans 14:22). The shuffling feet of a new generation marches upon the scene as an older generation with muffled voices pass on to distant points. Every generation must be taught the fundamentals (Judges 2:7-10). Even among those who have heard the first principles of the oracles of God (what some may erroneously think of as “worn out truths”), there is a need to remind them again of these eternal verities (2 Peter 1:12-15; 2 Peter 3:1-2).
The time is urgent that we plead for a return to the Bible to prevent some from departing from the faith (Hebrews 2:1-4). We must contend for the faith lest many leave the old paths and turn to the doctrines and commandments of men (Jude 3; Matthew 15:8-9). The restoration plea is a plea for unity. It is a call for all men to stand upon the Bible and the Bible alone (1 Corinthians 1:10; John 17:20-21).” (Ben F. Vick, Jr., Speak As The Oracles, May 1989, pp.8-9)
God has always desired that men seek him. On Mar’s Hill Paul preached men “should seek the Lord” and “feel after him and find him, though he be not far from every one of us” (Acts 17:22-28).This same attitude should posses men today to return to “the old paths,” the way of Jehovah. All who do not do so are surely “without excuse” at the judgment. (1801 Cruise St., Corinth, MS 38834)
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