Change your spots

“Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.” (Jeremiah 13:23)

God was not being a “racist” when He had Jeremiah the prophet to pen these words. As a matter of fact, the Bible declares, “God is no respecter of persons…” (Acts 10:34) and in addition the Bible says, “God hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the earth…” (Acts 17:26) It is the God given nature of the Ethiopian to have dark skin just as it is for the leopard to have spots.

Jeremiah was addressing the nation of Judah who had a sin nature that was impossible for them to eradicate. That sin nature showed itself in their sinful actions. They could not of themselves change. Attempts to change that sinful nature would be as difficult as changing one’s skin pigmentation.

Man is a sinner by nature. (Ephesians 2:3) It is impossible for us to change that sinful nature. It requires a miracle from God to change a sinner’s sinful heart. That is why God sent His Son, Jesus to pay our sin debt and give us a new heart, a new nature. Otherwise we will continue to manifest our sinful nature by our sinful activities.