The children and I read this passage during our Bible reading the other day.
This is what the Lord says:
Jeremiah 6:16 NIV
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”
There is an ancient path.
There is a good way.
When we come to a crossroad, we should first stand. Stand and consider, ponder, wait. We need to look. And we need to ask: Oh God, where is the timeworn path? Where is the good way?
Then, as God reveals and gives revelation, we should move forward and take that excellent way.
But this is not our human bent. Our sinful selves naturally desire to rebel and to do the opposite. We say: We will not walk in it. Another translation actually says: No, that’s not the road we want! (NLT) That’s honesty right there. And still another says: We won’t! (CSB)
The stubbornness of our hearts knows no bounds. Even when we are shown the way of promise and the way of hope, we often still choose our own way. Yet God’s way is the way of soul-rest! This Old Testament passage beautifully connects to words from Jesus Himself.
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Matthew 11:28-29
Jesus is our Way (Jn. 14:6)–the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:9) and the Good Shepherd who makes a path for His sheep (Jn. 10:11). There is an ancient path. There is a good way. WALK IN IT. Walk steeped in Scripture, committed to love and truth and justice and mercy. And only then will your soul find rest. Rest given from the gentleness and lowliness of Jesus.
Our natural instincts can only give us a God like us. The God revealed in Scripture deconstructs our intuitive predilections [biases] and startles us with one whose infinitude of perfections is matched by his infinitude of gentleness. . . . It is who he is. It is his very heart. Jesus himself said so.
Dane Ortlund, “Gentle and Lowly”
At all of the crossroads in life
may we take the way of Jesus
trusting He will bring rest to our souls.
