Circumcision was commanded of Abraham after his decision to try and fufill God’s plans his way by conceiving a son with his slave Hagar (Genesis 16). It was a mark to remind him of his folly
Circumcision of the heart
Balm of Gilead
When in a terrible situation we long to find comfort from our trials. Here God warns the people of Judah that they will not because their wickedness.
Broken conversations
God is speaking to Judah through Jeremiah, but Judah isn’t listening. He has spoken of how their corpses will be exposed due to the shame of the child sacrifices they’ve been offering. They now turn that into an opportunity to worship the stars.
In the fire
God is going to send Judah into exile under a foreign empire. Why would he cause such suffering? It’s because the people will not listen to him and that is exemplified in their sacrifices.
Stop praying
Jeremiah has been poetically announcing the coming invasion of Judah and the resulting fall of Jerusalem, at the hands of a terrible army from the north. Why is this happening? Because, like the human race as a whole, the city has become contaminated by sins like lying.
Anchored
Abraham started life not knowing God. But in his later years, God called this elderly, childless man to move to Canaan where he would be blessed with family and home. Yet having given Abraham a son – Isaac – God then demanded him back via sacrifice