“O Israel,” says the Lord, “if you wanted to return to me, you could. You could throw away your detestable idols and stray away no more. Then when you swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ you could do so with truth, justice, and righteousness. Then you would be a blessing to the nations of the world, and all people would come and praise my name.” Jeremiah 4:1-2
This is simple enough. If Judah is going to restore things with God, they must destroy the other objects of their worship. This was not a metaphor. God was telling them to literally take a hammer to the idols. Bust them up. Destroy them. The physical act of destruction was showing how much they loved God alone. In the same way, we clean up our lives. What is it that I love more than God? We have to acknowledge what it is, then root it out. Be done with it. Is there an idol we need to remove? An idol is anything that is more important than God.
Then God asks them to commit, to swear, that is, take an oath, a pledge. Often times it had a public component. In ancient times there was no legal or recording system like we would understand it. Still, to swear a verbal oath came with significant legal ramifications. It was binding. God is wanting to see a commitment on the part of Judah, just like He wants to see a commitment on the part of America. What is commitment? Committed people have priorities and they stick to those priorities. They develop a routine that allows them to slowly and steadily work toward their goals. They are loyal to their families, their friends, their team, their sport and themselves because they are determined to succeed. Commitment creates a bond of mutual trust. It creates an understanding and obligation between two parties. It provides purpose and a pledge to uphold.
“But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1:6
The Jews thought their deliverance would come from the idols they worshipped in the high places—the hill shrines—but their only hope was to repent and trust the Lord.11 These idols were unable to save them. In fact, they brought nothing but shame. Yet the Jews had sacrificed their God-given produce, flocks, and herds, and even their children to these shameful idols!
The detestable idols had to be removed from God’s sight, and the people could no longer go astray after their false gods. Yet if the nations of Israel and Judah did repent, they would be blessed by God.
He is vitally interested in them, and He wants to bring them back into a right relationship to Himself. He tells them that He will not remove them from the land if they will but turn to Him.”