As a young man, Jeremiah was called by the Lord to prophetic service. King Josiah was on the throne in Jerusalem, and a revival was underway. Josiah had removed the idolatrous displays that infected the land, even personally supervising the destruction of Baal’s altars (2 Chr. 34:3–5). Five years after Jeremiah’s call, a tremendous Passover feast was held—the greatest since the days of Samuel (35:18–19). It probably looked as if Jeremiah would enjoy much encouragement.

But less than forty years later, Jerusalem lay in ruins. The house of God had been burned, the city walls had been broken down, the precious things of the kingdom had been destroyed, many people had been killed, and those who remained were carried away to Babylon (36:18–20). What a tragedy! How did things change so quickly?

There seems to be a hint that the revival of Josiah’s time was only an outward one. The king had required everyone to take a stand for the Lord (34:32), but God’s assessment through Jeremiah was this: “Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense” (Jer. 3:10). Further, despite Josiah’s national reforms, it appears he had no impact on his own family. The last four kings of Judah were three sons and one grandson of Josiah, and every one of them did evil in the sight of the Lord. Jeremiah continually called them to return, but to no avail.

This is instructive for us. It is easy to demand or even impose our expectations for outward performance. But when hearts are not reached and the prophetic word is ignored, a downward course is sure to follow. If we detect a decaying testimony in our families and our local gatherings, perhaps we are only enforcing outward conformity as well. Let us consider our ways.