Ask for the Old Paths

Tanner Collette  |  The Voice of Zion August 2026 -The Sabbath Word 2 --

Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken. Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it. – Jeremiah 6:16–19

Jeremiah was an Old Testament prophet to whom God gave a difficult task. He was instructed to preach to those who had forsaken God’s teaching and had lost their fear of God. The Lord called them a backsliding people for so boldly disobeying Him. Their hearts were hardened by sin, and they refused to repent. Jeremiah bluntly rebuked them, “Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts” (Jer. 2:19). 

God wanted to forgive His people. He instructed Jeremiah to remind them that He remembered the kindness of their youth, and still loved them, yet His patience would not last forever. Their time of visitation would someday come to an end.

God has not changed. He still loves His people and has mercy for us, even when we fall into sin. This message is still timely for us today. When sin burdens the conscience, we can turn to a travel escort and receive the Gospel message, restoring that heavenly peace in our hearts.

The Old Testament travelers of Jeremiah’s time had found pleasure for their flesh in the sinful ways of the world. Their hearts had been consumed to the point that they no longer feared God and even attempted to justify their worldly lifestyles. They listened to false prophets that proclaimed, “Peace, peace; when there is no peace” (Jer. 6:14).

Today, there is a loud message from this increasingly turbulent world that tells us there is an easier path, one that pleases our flesh and allows all manner of sin. There are false prophets all around us, luring us with a deceitful message that if we simply ignore our conscience, sin will no longer be a burden. Our text illustrates that this is an age-old lie of the enemy of souls. God’s Word has not changed: “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). The Holy Spirit continues to guide God’s children, and it is important that we heed the trumpet that sounds so clearly in God’s congregation.

We know that God’s Word is a two-edged sword: it either heals or it offends. To the people of Jeremiah’s time, it was an offense. Sometimes it may be that the message of God’s Word we hear in the congregation has a bit of a sting to it. This is a good sign that we should care for matters. It would be dangerous to be as those to whom Jeremiah preached and begin to defend ourselves and our actions against God’s instruction. If ever the beauty of God’s kingdom loses its appeal, pray that repentance and a humble heart could lead you back to the middle of the flock and to fellowship with the believers.

Jesus explained to His disciples that those who hated Him, hated Him because He had exposed their sin. “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin” (John 15:22). It is important that we put sin away. Trying to forget about or hide our sin is simply the cloak that Jesus speaks about here. If we allow sin to build, our conscience will become hardened, and eventually we will lose faith. God is loving and merciful, but, as is recorded for us in Scripture, He will not tolerate sin and disobedience forever. If we choose the wrong path in this life, there is no promise of another time of visitation.

Continue to ask for the old paths, and here in God’s precious kingdom, you will find rest for your soul.