“But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.”
My Notes
What Does Jeremiah 7:24 Mean?
Jeremiah 7:24 captures the trajectory of a people who have chosen their own direction: "But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward."
The Hebrew shĕriruth — translated "imagination" but margined "stubbornness" — means the hardened determination of a heart that has made up its mind. It's not ignorance. It's resolve — the deliberate choice to follow your own counsel rather than God's. They didn't lack information. They lacked willingness.
"Went backward, and not forward" — this is the verse's devastating punchline. The Hebrew lĕ'achor vĕlo lĕphanim means they moved in reverse. They thought they were progressing. They were regressing. Every step taken in the stubbornness of their own heart was a step backward, not forward. Self-directed progress is an illusion. When you walk away from God, you're not going somewhere new. You're going backward — toward the chaos, the bondage, the formlessness that God brought you out of.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Is there an area of your life where you think you're moving forward but might actually be going backward? How would you know?
- 2.The word is 'stubbornness,' not ignorance. Where have you hardened your resolve against something God is saying?
- 3.What does it look like to 'incline your ear' — to actually tilt toward God's voice instead of your own counsel?
- 4.Can you trace a past decision where you walked in your own heart's stubbornness? Where did it actually lead?
Devotional
They thought they were moving forward. They were going backward. That's the cruelest trick of self-directed life: it feels like progress while it's actually regression.
Every person who walks in the stubbornness of their own heart believes they're heading somewhere good. A new direction. A better plan. My way, for once. And Jeremiah says: every step in that direction is a step backward. Not sideways. Not neutral. Backward. Toward the things God already rescued you from.
The Hebrew for "imagination" is really "stubbornness" — shĕriruth. It's not a dreamy, creative wandering. It's a hardened, set-jaw refusal to listen. The ear is present but not inclined. The capacity to hear God's voice exists, but the will to receive it has been shut down. That's not a disability. It's a decision.
"Backward, and not forward" — think about that in terms of your own life. The relationship you pursued against every warning — did it move you forward or backward? The habit you chose over the discipline God was building in you — progress or regression? The independence you demanded from God — did it make you freer or more bound?
The person walking in the stubbornness of their own heart can't see the direction they're heading. That's the nature of backward movement: your eyes face the wrong way. You think you're looking ahead, but you're actually watching what you've already passed while the cliff approaches from behind. The only way to know your direction is to check it against the voice you've stopped listening to.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear,.... Neither to the law that was given them, nor to the promises that…
Imagination - Better, as in the margin. And went backward - literally, as in the margin; i. e., they turned their back…
God, having shown the people that the temple would not protect them while they polluted it with their wickedness, here…
intheir own counsels lit. in counsels. The words are best omitted (with LXX).
stubbornness Cp. Jer 3:17.
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture