Jeremiah 6:16-17

16 
Thus says the LORD:
“Stand in the ways and see,
And ask for the old paths, where the good way is,
And walk in it;
Then you will find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 
Also, I set watchmen over you, saying,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not listen.’

“Good Old Ways”

New Year will always remind us that there’s a start for every ending, before 2021 will end it
should start first. This is something that we can’t skip, and we have to live with it whether we
like it or not.

In fact in order for us to be prepared for what is ahead we set some standards or criteria that we
think will help us get through our journey.
 New year’s resolution
o New perspective
o New attitude
o New style
o New dreams
 Because we wanted to have a fresh start ( That’s why we wanted something new)

Something new is biblical:

 2 Corinthians 5:17 -Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things
have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
 Ezekiel 36:26 -And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.
 Revelation 21:5 -And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all
things new.

But truth is, sometimes we still need the old things, the old stuff.
 Some old things may have higher value than the new ones.
 Old stuff had been tested over time whereas new stuff is still questionable. Subject for
test.
 There must be a reason behind why some things that has been used over a period of time
still exist today and God wanted you to follow.

-Story of a wallet with an Old letter for John written 60 years ago.
In Jeremiah 6, out of 12 tribes of Jacob only Judah and Benjamites remained faithful to the
lineage of David. Others cross marriages to others cursed tribes.
As they settle in the city of Jerusalem, God sent Jeremiah to remind the people of the sins they
continually committing.

According to scholars, Jerusalem’s sin was “lack of care to one another”. Wala nila
ginasaway/gina rebuke ang mga mali sang ila palibot. They kept silent and they do nothing.
 They commit adultery.
 They worshipped idols.

It is a familiar scene that somehow God is reminding us of the same sin today. We are also guilty
of such sin “of not caring for one another”.

Why? Is not caring for one another is a sin?

 Mark 12:31-And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
There is no other commandment greater than these.”
 “Each of God’s commandments can be summed up with, Love your neighbor as yourself.
Love does not harm; therefore it is God’s way.

The story of the Good Samaritan.

If we will true to ourselves:

 We make up stories against one another
 We pull them down
 Somehow we rejoice in others failures
 Backbite them
 Not helping the poor
 Abandoning the orphan/widow
 We are not reaching the lost

In Jeremiah 6, God reminded us some key words:

 Stand – means a belief that cannot be shaken, firm and solid.
 See – means we need to search for it.
 Ask – means the need to continually desire what God wants.

Stand, see and ask for what?

 The old path where the good way is.

Jeremiah asked his people to follow the old path. Not new but old path. Jeremiah did not ask
them to change for someone new. It was instructed to them before, with their forefathers. Ang
instruction indi na bag-o sa ila.

What are these old paths?

 Repentance
 Reconciliation
 Fear to God
  Love to God

Repentance – of the things they did wrong. Also for not caring for one another.

Reconciliation – because of that sin there was separation of man and God.

Fear to God – after repentance and reconciliation there should be fear of the Lord of yet
committing another sin.

Love to God – Loving God means loving also our neighbor.

Again God is not asking us to look for NEW solutions or answers, He said “see and ask for the
OLD PATH”

Siguro nahadlok kita to follow the ways of the old;

 We will be labeled old fashioned
 Undated
 Ancient
 Uncool

If we read in the succeeding verse Old path;

 It is the where the good way is
 We will find rest in our soul

This simply means mga utod nga indi naton need nga everytime nalang dapat bag-o. Sometimes
we just need to search carefully because God had already prepared it for us.

Conclusion:
We should not be like the people in Jerusalem where:
 They were given the opportunity to walk in the old path but they say “ We will
not walk in it”
 They were given watchmen to remind them but they say “we will not listen to
him”

Mga utod ko sa aton Christian journey – I ask of you all – lets walk in the ways of the Lord, the
world may teach us new and cool things, easy, convenient, cheap but God’s ways no matter how
old it may be, it will always be the truth.