What Does Jeremiah 35:15 Mean?
The prophecy in Jeremiah 35:15 is God’s urgent call to His people to turn from their sinful ways and stop worshiping other gods. He says, 'I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, “Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.” But you did not incline your ear or listen to me.' This verse shows how God kept sending prophets to warn His people, but they kept ignoring Him.
Jeremiah 35:15
I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, ‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ But you did not incline your ear or listen to me.
Key Facts
Book
Author
Jeremiah
Genre
Prophecy
Date
Approximately 609 - 586 BC
Key People
- God
- The people of Judah
- The prophets
Key Themes
- God's persistent call to repentance
- The consequences of rejecting divine warnings
- The importance of listening to God's prophets
Key Takeaways
- God repeatedly calls His people to turn from sin.
- Ignoring God’s voice leads to broken covenant and exile.
- True return to God requires heart change, not ritual.
God’s Persistent Call Through the Prophets
Jeremiah spoke to the people of Judah while they were still in their homeland, not long before God allowed Babylon to take them into exile because they refused to change their ways.
God had sent one prophet after another to warn them: 'Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.' This was His repeated message over many years - He wanted them to stop doing wrong and come back to Him.
The people never really listened. The verse says they did not 'incline your ear or listen to me,' meaning they didn’t truly pay attention or respond. God was patient, but His patience wasn’t endless - He meant what He said about consequences if they kept ignoring Him.
A Call to Change, Not Just a Prediction
This verse isn’t mainly about predicting a future event - it’s about God urgently preaching a message to His people in that moment, calling them to turn from sin before it’s too late.
God’s message was simple and direct: 'Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.' This was not a cryptic prophecy. It was a clear plea for repentance and a warning about the consequences of stubbornness.
The promise of staying in the land depended entirely on their response - it wasn’t automatic. As we see in other parts of Scripture, like when God told Israel through Moses to obey and live in the land (Deuteronomy 11:26-28), blessings were tied to faithfulness. Here, the people refused to listen, showing hearts hardened against God’s repeated calls.
A Return Worth Making
The heart of God’s message in Jeremiah 35:15 is about punishment and His deep desire for His people to return to Him, echoing Deuteronomy 30:1-2: 'Then you shall return to the Lord your God and obey him, and you shall listen to his voice just as I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul.'
This pattern of calling His people to turn back shows up again and again in the story of the Bible. God doesn’t enjoy seeing people suffer, but He does care about their hearts - He wants them to stop chasing false gods and false peace and come back to the One who made them.
Later, Jesus would live out this same heart when He called people to repent and believe the good news. He warned people about judgment and also offered a way back to God through His own life, death, and resurrection. In Him, the old call to 'return to the Lord' finally finds its answer.
The Promise of a New Covenant
While Jeremiah 35:15 highlights Israel’s failure to respond to God’s repeated calls, it also points forward to a future solution that God would provide when He said through the prophet, 'Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers... For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more' (Jeremiah 31:31-34).
That old covenant required obedience written on stone, but the people’s hearts were hard and they could not truly listen. The new covenant, however, promises a change from within - God Himself writing His law on hearts and removing sin completely.
This is the hope we now live in: Jesus began this new covenant by dying for our sins and rising again, making it possible for us to truly turn back to God.
Yet we still wait for its full completion - when Christ returns, sin and rebellion will be no more, and God’s people will finally dwell securely in the new creation, forever at peace with Him.
Application
How This Changes Everything: Real Life Impact
I once knew a woman who came to church every Sunday but felt increasingly empty. She was doing all the right things - giving, serving, leading - but her heart was far from God. She later admitted she’d been chasing approval, success, and comfort like false gods, thinking God would tolerate it. Then she read verses like Jeremiah 35:15 and realized: God was warning ancient people and also speaking to her. She had been ignoring His quiet call to turn. That honesty broke her, but it also opened the door to real change. When she finally stopped trying to manage her own life and truly listened, she found a peace she’d never known - because she was no longer merely going through the motions. She was coming back to God.
Personal Reflection
- When have I heard God’s call to change but chose to ignore it, like the people in Jeremiah 35?
- What 'other gods' - like approval, control, or comfort - am I tempted to serve instead of fully following Him?
- How can I show that I’m truly listening to God this week, rather than merely hearing the words?
A Challenge For You
This week, take ten minutes to sit quietly and ask God to show you one area where you’ve been going your own way. Then, choose one practical step to 'turn back' - like confessing a sin, making amends, or giving up a habit that’s pulling you away from Him. Let someone know what you’re doing, so you’re hearing God’s voice and responding.
A Prayer of Response
God, I admit there are times I’ve heard You calling but turned away. I’ve gone after other things, thinking they’d satisfy me. But today, I want to truly listen. Thank You for not giving up on me, even when I’ve been stubborn. Change my heart. Help me turn back to You with both words and my life. I need Your grace to walk this path.
Related Scriptures & Concepts
Immediate Context
Jeremiah 35:14
Recalls how the Rechabites obeyed their ancestor’s command, contrasting their faithfulness with Judah’s refusal to obey God in verse 15.
Jeremiah 35:16
Continues the indictment against Judah for not listening, showing the immediate consequence of their stubbornness after God’s repeated appeals.
Connections Across Scripture
Isaiah 30:8-9
Describes a rebellious people who refuse to listen to God’s instruction, mirroring the spiritual condition exposed in Jeremiah 35:15.
Ezekiel 33:30-33
Shows how people hear God’s word but do not act, echoing the failure to incline the ear as seen in Jeremiah 35:15.
Matthew 23:37
Jesus laments over Jerusalem’s rejection of prophets, reflecting God’s sorrow in Jeremiah 35:15 over unheeded calls to return.