Listen up!

Yet you have not listened to me, declares the LORD, that you might provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.​  Jeremiah 25:7

This was a sad pattern in Israel’s history: “…you have not listened to me…” Again and again, for decades, God had sent prophets to His people, patiently calling them to turn from their sin. They had no lack of revelation. They simple refused to receive it. Their ears heard, but their hearts rebelled. They chose false, selfish voices over God’s voice, and their “independence” was in fact willful, disobedient rebellion. Jeremiah reminds us that ignoring God’s Word is never neutral — it is a deliberate rejection of God, Who speaks for our good.

Refusing to listen hardens us over time. What we resist today is much easier to dismiss again tomorrow. Scripture is meant to correct, reprove, warn, guide, and lovingly lead, but when we push it aside, we attempt to reshape reality around our own desires. Like Judah, we may outwardly look quite religious while also pursuing idolatry that pulls us from the Lord. And this will provoke God’s righteous anger — not because God is harsh, but because He is holy and just. He loves us too much to let us ignore Him! To disregard His Word is to reject His authority, and that invites consequences of living apart from Him.

The gospel meets us here. We have refused to listen, but Jesus perfectly listened. He heard and taught every Word of the Father and obeyed without fail, revealing the Father, and becoming obedient to death on a cross. There, He bore God’s wrath that our sins had provoked. There is now forgiveness for our rebellion and a new heart for those who believe. We listen to Jesus and are saved! He obeyed so that we can hear, believe, obey, and find life.