Just Thinking.........Again

The prophet Jeremiah became brokenhearted over the condition of his nation and the city of Jerusalem as they were judged by God.  He was down in His spirit and feeling a little sorry for himself.  He thought since he had done all that God told him, he deserved better treatment than to see things go bad.  God says this to him:

Therefore thus says the LORD:
      "If you return,
      Then I will bring you back;
      You shall stand before Me;
      If you take out the precious from the vile,
      You shall be as My mouth.
      Let them return to you,
      But you must not return to them.

Jeremiah was called to return to the Lord.  He needed to get his eyes off the world and quit looking back and look up instead.  When he did this the Lord would bring him back and Jeremiah would stand before Him.  Jeremiah could once again be God's prophet if he removed the precious from the vile.  Removing the precious from the vile is a separation or extraction process.  It is removing the pure metal from the dross.  When he once again became God's mouthpiece, then the sinners could return to him and hear God's word but he was not to return to them.