NOTES for Jer 35:1-19

There is almost nothing people will not do to preserve their “authenticity”: they may abstain from wine, live in tents, refuse to eat bread, and so on. That was in Jeremiah's time. Today, too, many people are prepared to do a great deal to preserve their own style, freedom, and right to self-expression. Yet how little a person is prepared to do to preserve the most precious thing they possess: their bond with Heaven. This is not about the religious traditions of our ancestors—we can play at religion just as effectively as someone else plays at being a punk or a “tough guy.” But there are more serious things in the world than these games, as those who once experienced faith and joy in God know. This is what must be preserved: the bond, the memory of Him. Surely one can sacrifice much for its sake; at the very least, it matters more than any “ancestral traditions.”