754_The danger of becoming accustomed to evil (Jeremiah 12:7 -13:27)
Jeremiah 13:15-17 Hear and pay attention,
do not be arrogant,
for the Lord has spoken.
16 Give glory to the Lord your God
before he brings the darkness,
before your feet stumble
on the darkening hills.
You hope for light,
but he will turn it to utter darkness
and change it to deep gloom.
17 If you do not listen,
I will weep in secret
because of your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly,
overflowing with tears,
because the Lord’s flock will be taken captive.
When we first encounter a strong fragrance, at first it is overwhelming. But after a while we hardly notice it any more. The smell has not weakened, but our senses have adapted. Something similar happens in our spiritual lives. What once troubled our conscience slowly becomes familiar. A careless word, a hidden compromise, neglect of worship and fellowship, a cherished resentment—any of these may fester in secret if we ignore the warning of God. It is not that God stops speaking, but that we become accustomed to ignoring Him.
The nineteenth-century preacher Charles Spurgeon wisely observed, “Beware of no man more than of yourself; we carry our worst enemies within us.” Those words capture the burden of Jeremiah 12:7–13:27. Sin is rarely a sudden fall. It grows on people, accustoming them to its presence. Long before it ruins a life, it numbs the conscience until it feels normal. Through Jeremiah, the Lord warns his people of this lethal attribute of sin, seeking to turn them back.
The Lord says, “I have forsaken my house; I have abandoned my heritage” (Jeremiah 12:7, ESV). These are painful words. The one who speaks is not a severe Judge, but a grieved husband whose beloved has chosen to abandon him. The people of God persistently ignored his words of life, despised his warnings, and refused to learn from his discipline. They continued in rebellion until their hearts were completely hardened. Sin had become the norm.
Yet even in the midst of judgment, God’s mercy shines through. The Lord speaks both to Judah and the surrounding nations. He promises that all who repent of their evil ways, and choose to learn his ways, will be built up among His people (Jeremiah 12:14–17). For God never desires to punish men for the sake of punishment. He delights to restore the fallen to righteousness in his grace and passionate love.
Scripture reveals this throughout. Peter writes, “The Lord is… not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, ESV). God’s warnings are expressions of His love. He exposes our sin because He desires to heal us.
The expression of God’s heart comes in a little object lesson. Following God’s instructions, Jeremiah buys a linen waistcloth, which is usually worn close to the body, over the tunic and robe. Next, without washing it, he was to hide it near the river. Finally, after several days, he was to retrieve it.
When the prophet pulled it out, it was ruined and useless (Jeremiah 13:1–11). The Lord explains, “For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel… that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory” (Jeremiah 13:11, ESV). The overwhelming desire of God is that his people cling to him in love, trust, and obedience, knowing him and looking only to him. But instead, his people chose to cling to their idols and their worldly lusts and greed.
Distance from God always leads to decay. A life detached from its Creator gradually loses the beauty for which it was designed.
We are still vulnerable to the same danger. We were created to abide in Christ, as he said, “Abide in me, and I in you… apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4–5, ESV). Our life depends, not merely on avoiding serious sins but on our abiding in him. When we allow our hearts to drift into carelessness and disobedience, through casual neglect or compromising with injustice or evil, we have set our feet on the path to spiritual decline and death.
The prophet then warns his people, cryptically, that every vessel of wrath will be filled with judgment (Jeremiah 13:12–14). The people misunderstand his words (“every wineskin will be filled with wine”) because their hearts are fixed on material things. They cannot see beyond the things of this world. Their pride has intoxicated them. Pride convinces us that we are wiser than God, stronger than temptation, and immune to danger. Sin deceives us, and blinds us to our own blindness. But “pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18, ESV).
Hence Jeremiah’s heartfelt appeal. “Hear and give ear; be not proud, for the Lord has spoken” (Jeremiah 13:15, ESV). As a true servant of God, he is not satisfied merely to announce judgment; he longs for repentance. If they refuse to listen, he will weep in secret because of their pride (Jeremiah 13:17). Like his God, he grieves over those who remain trapped in their sin, destining themselves to utter ruin and destruction.
And in his grief, he asks, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil” (Jeremiah 13:23, ESV). These words reveal the deep-seated nature of our sinful inclinations. It is neither nurture nor environment, but our love for evil that dooms us to sin. What begins as an occasional choice eventually becomes a settled pattern. Repeated actions shape our character until sin feels natural. We no longer struggle against it because we have learned to live with it. But it has not become less dangerous.
We often fear dramatic failures, yet habitually tolerate the small compromises that reshape our hearts. It becomes easier to be dishonest. We are less disturbed by an impure thought. Prayer is more habitually neglected. And before long, what once grieved us no longer troubles us at all. The greatest danger is that we may become comfortable with a sinful way of life.
Yet God’s grace shines in the pit that human habit cannot get us out of. For “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV).
In the love of the Cross, the Spirit reveals to us the boundless, unwavering love of God our creator. For at the cross, the Son of God who reveals the invisible God to us, Christ our Lord, made atonement through death for our sin. And thus the Spirit of God softens our hardened minds, and turns us against our own sin.
In humbly submitting to that love, revealed in Christ our Lord, we are united with the Lord in his death to sin on the cross. Thus, through our death with him, the power of sinful patterns is broken. And in rising to new life with our risen Lord, our spiritual eyes and ears are opened to God.
But we must never mistake God’s patience for His approval. Every leading of the Holy Spirit is meant to turn us back to God lest our hearts become hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Let us examine our own attitudes, habits, and entertainments. Let us look deeply to see if we have become accustomed to sinning against our own conscience. Let us not explain away what scripture rebukes. Let us cling to Christ rather than drift away from our only anchor.
The safest heart is not the one that trusts in its strength, but the one that remains tender before God. For sin never becomes less dangerous because it becomes more familiar. Living in awe of him will keep our consciences sensitive and our hearts humble. For our only safe place is in our Savior. God bless.
Reflection Questions
1. What attitudes or habits in your own life have become so familiar that you no longer sense the Holy Spirit’s conviction as strongly as before?
2. Why do you think small compromises are often more spiritually dangerous than sudden, obvious failures?
3. How can you intentionally remain close to Christ each day so that your heart stays tender and responsive to His voice?
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for warning me before my heart grows hard. I know it is in your love that you warn me. Search out every area where I have become comfortable with sin. I flee to your Son Jesus for refuge, seeking to walk in step with the Spirit, with humility and obedience. Thank you for making my life a testimony to your rich grace. In the name of Lord Jesus, Amen.
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