If you return, Israel—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
you will return to me,
if you remove your abhorrent idols
from my presence
and do not waver,
then you can swear, “As the Lord lives,”
in truth, justice, and righteousness,
and then the nations will be blessed<sup data-fn="#fen-CSB-19030b" data-link="[b]”>by him
and will boast in him.

For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

Break up the unplowed ground;
do not sow among the thorns.
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord;
remove the foreskin of your hearts,
men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem.
Otherwise, my wrath will break out like fire
and burn with no one to extinguish it
because of your evil deeds.

These verses relate directly back to the Abrahamic covenant. The Israelites, specifically the nation of Judah, had turned from God to chase after lesser things. Yet the covenant promised that they would be blessed and be a blessing to the nations.

God was calling them through Jeremiah to repent and return to Him. Their hearts had become hardened against God, but God called them to break up the hard ground of their hearts.

God had given Israel the sign of the covenant in fleshly circumcision, but God truly desired not circumcision of the flesh but rather one of the heart. He called them to repent and return, else they receive His wrath because of their evil deeds.

What lesser things are you chasing after instead of God? I often find myself forsaking time of personal Bible study to prepare for the corporate proclamation of the Word. The selfishness of my time has caused my heart to become rigid. Oh Lord, break the hard ground of my heart. Till the soil of my heart to receive Your Word. Implant it in my heart, that I might not sin against You.