According to Jeremiah 3, the Good Old Days for the Israelites were in the days of Solomon’s reign over a united Israel. The people had a beautiful temple where they worshipped God. The temple held the ark of the covenant, the symbol of God’s presence with the people, and the ark contained the Ten Commandments, God’s law to the people. Yet, God said there would come a time when the ark (His presence) wouldn’t be missed in the future kingdom because His presence by the Holy Spirit would be among His people.

In the verses leading up to Jeremiah 3:16-17, Jeremiah shares a message from the Lord about the ways of Israel. Israel is referred to as an adulterous prostitute who chases after false gods with no shame. But much worse is Judah, the sister nation to Israel, who has seen the sin of Israel and heard God’s judgment but with no fear and with false remorse, worships false gods and refuses to return to the one true God. We are Judah. Over and over, we see the sin of God’s people, God’s judgment and mercy when his people repent; there are 66 books of the Bible full of proof. Yet, many of us are still chasing false gods like self, money, fame, and much more, all while having the presence of God with us in the form of the Holy Spirit.

Over this past year, I found myself missing the good old days. Being a Christian is not easy. Living out this life that God calls us to is not something we can do without the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit. God calls us to lower ourselves to be humble. He calls us to forgive others, although we may feel justified in not forgiving, to obey his laws, and much more, which all goes against our sinful nature. He also puts us on a healing journey that, in most cases, is extremely hard. This walk with Jesus causes us to be venerable, and venerability is uncomfortable for me. For me, the good old days were when I had defense mechanisms that I thought protected me. When I was guarded, it seemed nothing could hurt me. When I’m hurting, I often want to run back to those fleshly ways of thinking. I want to run back to the false god of self. At least then, I wouldn’t feel as much pain as I sometimes do now. But I am reminded of the unhealthy difficulties connected to what I once thought of as the good old days, the help I have from the Holy Spirit, and the freedom and joy I now feel in Christ.

Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding.” “Yes, we will come to you, for you are the Lord our God. vs. 22