“How can you say, ‘I am not unclean, I have not gone after the Baals’? Look at your way in the valley; know what you have done— a restless young camel running here and there, a wild donkey used to the wilderness, in her heat sniffing the wind! Who can restrain her lust? None who seek her need weary themselves; in her month they will find her. Keep your feet from going unshod and your throat from thirst. But you said, ‘It is hopeless, for I have loved foreigners, and after them I will go.’” — Jeremiah 2:23–25 (ESV)
Jeremiah’s words are raw, even shocking. God paints a picture of Israel like a wild donkey in heat—driven by instinct, chasing after every passing scent of desire. It’s not exactly the image we want to see in ourselves, but that’s the point. Israel had convinced herself she was pure, that her pursuit of other gods didn’t count as unfaithfulness. But God saw through the pretense.
It’s an uncomfortable mirror for us today. We may not bow to Baal, but how easily do we chase after modern idols—success, comfort, affirmation, control—sniffing the cultural winds to see what might satisfy next? Like Israel, we often justify it: “I’m not unclean. I’m just trying to live my life.” But our wandering hearts tell another story.
God’s lament isn’t about control—it’s about covenant love. He warns not to “go unshod” or “grow thirsty,” because He knows that the pursuit of lesser loves always leads to exhaustion and emptiness. The same God who pleaded with Israel still pleads with us: Return to Me.
The question is—will we recognize the restlessness in our souls for what it really is? A sign that we’ve been chasing the wind when we were made for the Spirit.
And that’s the mid-week memo.
Steve
