The Ancient Paths

THE ANCIENT PATHS

Read Jeremiah 6:16-21

Read Jeremiah 6:16-21

Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths. Jeremiah 6:16

There is a hauntingly beautiful literary image that the prophet Jeremiah uses three times in his great prophecy. It is the picture of “ancient paths” (6:16; 18:15; 31:21). The mental image is of an old, forgotten, forsaken highway that is no longer in use and is now overgrown with underbrush. It remains where it has always been, but it is hardly visible anymore.

In the state of Mississippi there is one of the least known, but most lovely, of all of American’s national parks: The Natchez Trace Parkway. It is a two-lane road stretching from Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee. The speed limit is 50 mph (and strictly enforced). There are no signs, no commercial buildings, other than historical cabins and old inns), and no private homes on the Natchez Trace. This road follows an ancient Indian pathway made by the Natchez Indians prior to Europeans coming to North America. The old Trace is never more than a few yards from the blacktop highway. To stop, walk down onto the Old Trace and stand there is a wonderful thing…a step back into ancient history. I used to get in my car, get on the Trace, set the cruise control at 50 mph and ride for hours––going nowhere, praying, thinking, unwinding with God in the car with me. My wife and I often rode up and down the Trace, talking and praying together.

There is something annoying, even grating to the soul, about modernity. I have heard it called “the arrogance of the modern.” It’s the idea that anything old is inferior and all things new are better. It’s stupid. This arrogance of the modern causes Americans to be afraid to grow old, to be enamored with youth, to make their children idols, to be imprisoned to whatever is trendy, to crave the latest fashion and to worship and rely upon new technology. I’ll let C. S. Lewis explain the root of this insanity.

It may spring from the belief that human history is a simple, unilinear movement from worse to better—what is called a belief in Progress—so that any given generation is always in all respects wiser than all previous generations. To those who believe thus, our ancestors are superseded and there seems nothing improbable in the claim that the whole world was wrong until the day before yesterday and now has suddenly become right. With such people I confess I cannot argue, for I do not share their basic assumption. Believers in progress rightly note that in the world of machines the new model supersedes the old; from this they falsely infer a similar kind of supercession in such things as virtue and wisdom.²⁶

There is no logic to this disdain for the old. There is no good reason for thinking God’s Word is no longer relevant or His ways are not beneficial to us. Listen to Jeremiah:

Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient

paths,where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.

But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” (Jeremiah 6:16)

Pure and simple: “We will not! We don’t want to! No one else is doing it. We will not walk in your ways. We will not pay attention. The answer is ‘No!’ We refuse to obey.”

And yet, the ancient paths are still there. The old ways that the old folks used to tell us about––a life with God at the center and not man, a life that was concerned more with spiritual growth than technological progress. We need only walk off the highway of modernity a brief distance, and we’ll find ourselves on an old trace that was once the ancient pathway.

There is an irony about modernity. The more people experience “the latest in modern advancement,” the more they yearn for something ancient, deep down in their souls. Somewhere, in the back of their minds they know that not all those ancient people were stupid and going nowhere. Modernity lives with this unsettled apprehension: The old ways slowly led us to God, while our modern highways click along at an ever-increasing pace of change and excitement. The only problem is this: We’re not quite sure where we are headed and why we’re in such a hurry to get there.

PRAYING FOR THE PCA

AC: Please petition our heavenly Father to grant generous giving and the increased participation of each of our churches in financially supporting every General Assembly Committee and Agency. These gifts enable the various arms of the General Assembly to carry out the ministries committed to us.

CTS: Pray for pastors, alumni and others who seek to enhance their understanding of Scripture through Covenant Seminary’s continuing education opportunities, such as our intensive 24-hour classes or Lifetime of Ministry course offerings.

MTW: Pray for the Church in Africa, which is facing issues of HIV/AIDS, political and religious upheaval, and internal strife in many countries. Ask God to strengthen His Church, open hearts to the Gospel and grow His Kingdom.

RUM: Please pray for the training of student leaders while on campus and the ongoing ministry they will have in the church in years to come. Ask God that He will enable Campus Ministers and staff to teach students how to minister to those around them in the campus community.

RBI: Please pray for Mr. Scott Schanen and Mr. Ross Walters, Jr., as the newest members of the Board of Directors for RBI. Pray the Lord calls these men to seek His face and equip them to carry out His Kingdom’s work as they serve on the RBI Board.