Session Five: Jeremiah Part 2: Its Layered

Hi darlings, how are you?

In this session we continued studying Jeremiah 5, and the main theme we explored was what happens when provision replaces dependence, desire replaces discipline and delay replaces discernment. That’s a lot, I know.

The thing is, those shifts rarely happen overnight. They creep in slowly. And that is exactly what we see happening with the people in Jeremiah.

During the session I said something worth repeating here:

We can sit together, read scripture, talk about it and learn from it, but if we don’t actually walk the walk, God’s walk, what’s the point? We’ll end up looking just like the people we’re reading about in Jeremiah.

Last session we already saw what happens when people continually ignore instruction and conviction. Eventually God removes His protection, not because He stops caring, but because His guidance has been rejected. If someone rejected you over and over again, you’d eventually step back too, right?

Jeremiah 5:7 – The tension in the covenant

If you remember the animal analogies from last session and the layered consequences, we’re following that same pattern here. Each verse reveals another layer.

It begins with God asking the question:

“How shall I pardon thee?”

It almost sounds like He’s putting the ball in their court. As if He’s saying, if you think you know better, then you tell me. But the real question underneath it is this: if they truly knew better, would they even be in this situation?

This question shows there is tension in the covenant.

Remember we spoke about how God refers to Jerusalem as “her.” That’s because the relationship is personal. Jerusalem is His beloved land and the people are part of the covenant He established with them.

A covenant is an agreement, a relationship, a partnership. The easiest way to understand it is like marriage. In a marriage covenant there are vows and responsibilities on both sides.

So this is layer one: the tension.

God is not saying He will not forgive them. We all know how many times God has forgiven us. But a covenant cannot be one sided.

The people wanted God to keep showing grace while ignoring their role in the relationship.

God is exposing their contradiction. In simple terms He’s saying:

You cannot continue to forsake me, replace me with whatever you want, betray the covenant and ignore me, and then expect me to keep pouring out grace as if this is routine.

Grace is not casual.

- The people wanted:

- protection without submission

- forgiveness without loyalty to God and His word

They wanted to receive blessings without living in obedience. That my darlings, is not how a covenant works.

So here are two questions to sit with:

Where in your life are you in a one sided covenant? And have you normalised grace so much that you’ve forgotten your role in the relationship with God?

Layer 2 – “The children have forsaken me”

Forsaken means to intentionally abandon or turn away.

The people didn’t drift by accident, they chose their own way because they believed it was better.

And here’s the uncomfortable truth: you can still go to church, speak about God and quote scripture, but if you’re not applying what God says, you’re not living for Him. You’re living for yourself babe.

God isn’t asking us to be perfect. He is the only one who is perfect. But He does ask us to try, to grow, to seek Him and to follow His instruction.

Sometimes we say things like:
“I’ve got this.”
“I’ll pray later.”
“Let me fix it first.”

But really we should be bringing things to God first and asking Him how to move.

Because when we rely only on our own understanding, we end up following our own desires instead of His guidance.

And trust me, doing life our way usually ends in tears.

Layer 3 – “Sworn by them that are no gods”

To swear by something means to trust it. People say things like “I swear by this product” or “I swear by this method.” I’ve even said before I swear by Aces for getting the whites in the washing bright.

But think about it. How often do we say “I swear by God” in that same way?

The people in Jeremiah didn’t stop believing in God. They simply moved Him to the side so they could do their own thing, they placed other things alongside Him like competitors.

And nowadays idols usually look like:

- security

- reputation

- success

- people pleasing

- worrying about what others think

Even good things can become idols if we put them before God.

I’ve experienced that myself. I became so focused on marriage at one point that God had to CHECK ME. He made it clear He wouldn’t give it to me until I understood what marriage meant in His eyes, not the world’s.

An idol today is simply this: anything we fear losing more than we fear losing alignment with God.

Sit with that for a minute, it's actually quite sad when you think about it. 

Layer 4 – “When I had fed them to the full”

This is a big one.

Even after God gave them everything they needed, wisdom, provision, blessings, they still chose their own way.

Here’s the principle, when you're in Lack it tests your faith. When you have provision it tests your loyalty.

When we’re struggling we stay close to God. “Lord help me.”

But when life improves, the business grows, the relationship stabilises or the money comes in again, people slowly begin to distance themselves.

There’s that word again.

Drift.

Layer 5: They committed adultery

This is where the covenant is betrayed and the relationship is broken. Remember, throughout this passage God is speaking in relational language, so we have to look deeper at what the words really mean.

Adultery here isn’t just about the physical act. It represents intimacy placed in the wrong direction.

The people took the things that belonged to God, their worship, their time, their emotional investment and attention, the things meant to build their relationship with Him, and redirected them towards other things that had taken over their hearts and minds.

So write this down because this is the question we have to ask ourselves too:
What are you focusing on that is taking your time, emotions and energy instead of developing your relationship with God?

Layer 6: “They were as fed horses in the morning”

Fed horses are strong, satisfied and well nourished. The point is they were not lacking anything. They had everything they needed and still wanted more.

This verse exposes unchecked desire. They weren’t starving or desperate, they were already provided for, yet they still chased what didn’t belong to them. They weren’t truly satisfied.

There’s a lesson here for us too. You can be strong in quoting scripture and speaking about God, but the real question is are you actually living by it? That’s also why we have to discern who we follow, because not everyone speaking from a platform is aligned with God.

Today this can show up as chasing attention from people who don’t matter, constantly seeking validation on social media or overworking and overextending yourself. Sometimes we keep searching for affirmation when God has already affirmed us.

That’s why we must check our desires before they take over. Because whatever we don’t discipline will eventually dominate.

Layer 7: “Shall I not visit for these things?”

The word visit here means intervene. God is explaining to Jeremiah that if He ignored their behaviour, He would no longer be a just God. God is holy, consistent and faithful to the covenant, even when the people are not.

So correction has to come. God intervenes to teach them, correct them and bring them back onto the right path.

Remember this: delayed discipline does not mean cancelled discipline. God is not rejecting His people, He is staying loyal to His standards.

And that principle applies to us too. I always say when people tell me I’m extra, my standard is my standard. If those standards align with God, they’re more than okay for me love. Every time I’ve lowered them in the past, it’s never ended well, 

So as women we should not be afraid to keep our standards high, in our relationships, friendships, how we raise our children, our work and the standards we hold for ourselves.

Layer 8: “Destroy, but make not a full end”

This verse carries an important lesson, correction is on the way, but God is not completely destroying them. The discipline is meant to bring them back on track.

Even in judgement God leaves a space for them to come back and get right. Honestly, He gives us so many chances.

Sometimes God removes the very thing we thought was securing us, a relationship we believed was the one, a job title we worked hard for, or money we thought would sustain us. Not to destroy us, but to show us that He is Him! 

God makes it clear in Exodus 3:14 when He says, “I am who I am.” No explanation needed, a little bit of a mic drop moment when you read that right?!

That is why the lesson for us is simple: seek the Lord first. As Matthew 6:33 reminds us, “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” God sees everything we can’t see. We only see what things appear to be.

So the questions we left the session with were these:

- Where has comfort reduced your dependence on God?

- What desire in you is strong but not governed?

- Have you mistaken delay for God’s approval?

That's all from the boardroom this session darlings.

See you at the next session. 

Love always, 

Hannah-Curlita x