Jeremiah 4:3-4
"… Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts … or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done--burn with no one to quench it."
"Break up your ground left uncultivated for a season" … Season of mediocrity, apathy, self-centeredness left the soil of our hearts uncultivated, unfruitful, not put to good use … break it up, break your hearts for God's season of planting. "Break my heart for what breaks Yours."
"So that you may not sow among thorns" … Planting on unclean soil ("thorny") will be unproductive. Remember the parable of the soil when the seeds fell on thorny ground, it choked the seedlings. The transforming Word of God can be choked by our worries and worldly cares. Jesus taught about not putting new wine on old wineskins. Don't sow new seeds on old, uncultivated soil.
Before we could be use by God for His good purposes, allow Him to cleanse you, wash you clean, make you fit for service. This is a clear reminder that ministry without a healthy relationship with God is empty and dangerous.
"Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts." In the ancient times, circumcision in the bible is not just a physical rite of passage, but has a spiritual meaning. It's a God-given covenant between God and his people that set them apart from the people around them. To circumcise meant to remove, or to set apart. As followers of Jesus, we must set ourselves apart from the world and wholly dedicated/set apart for God's use. We must set our hearts apart for God's use and will, not allowing worldly thoughts, desires dwell in it.
"My wrath will flare up" … Every disobedience, despite God's stern warning, will result in ushering God's wrath, judgment, discipline in our life. This adds a new dimension when the Bible says, the Lord disciplines whom he loves. God will show tough love to those whose heart needs to be turned back to him.
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