Jeremiah 2

REVIEW OF CHAPTER FIVE

I. Facts to Master.

The time of these sermons (Jeremiah 3:6).

The great act in the past that demonstrated God’s special favor (Jeremiah 2:6-7).

Places which Jeremiah challenges the people to look for similar examples of apostasy (Jeremiah 2:10).

Something that foreign nations had never done (Jeremiah 2:11).

What the people had substituted for the Fountain of Living Waters (Jeremiah 2:13).

The two cities representative of Egypt (Jeremiah 2:16).

The identity of the waters of Sihor and the River (Jeremiah 2:18).

The significance of the term harlotry in Jeremiah’s preaching.

A key word in Jeremiah: Your children have received no______________ (Jeremiah 2:30).

The law which Jeremiah cites in Jeremiah 3:1.

The two faithless sisters mentioned in Jeremiah 3:6-10.

That which would no longer be missed in the Messianic Age (Jeremiah 3:16).

The name that Jerusalem would have in the Messianic Age (Jeremiah 3:17).

The great reunion in the Messianic age.

The name by which God desired to be called (Jeremiah 3:19).

Questions to Ponder.

How would you compare and contrast Jeremiah’s reference to living water with Jesus-’ use of the term in John 4:5-26?

What are some of the broken cisterns which men have hewed out for themselves today?

In what ways does Jeremiah indicate the worthlessness of idols in chapter 2?

Should Jeremiah 3:1-5 be regarded as an appeal to the people or as a rejection of Israel? Are these verses a plea or a protest?

Should the call for repentance in Jeremiah 3:6-10 be dated before or after the reformation of Josiah in 621 B.C..? See the hint in Jeremiah 3:10.

What lesson of history had Judah failed to learn? See Jeremiah 3:8. Why is it important for a citizen to know the history of his country?

What is repentance? What are the idols from which men need to turn in our days?

What principle was the prophet employing when he declared in Jeremiah 3:11 that Israel (Northern King dom) was more righteous than Judah?

What role does confession play in repentance? What should the sinner confess? Why should he confess if God already knows all the sin that he has committed? See Jeremiah 3:13; Jeremiah 3:23-25.

Who are the shepherds that God promises to give to his restored people? Why are they necessary? See Jeremiah 3:15. Do you think that enough emphasis is put on conserving those who are converted to Christ today?

Is it legitimate to regard Jerusalem in Jeremiah 3:17 as a prophetic reference to the church and the re unification of Judah and Israel as prophetic of the union of Jew and Gentile in the church?

What are the various conditions which the people were to meet if they were to enjoy the blessings of God? Jeremiah 4:1-2.

Jeremiah 2:1-3

CHAPTER FIVE

SERMONS FROM THE REIGN OF JOSIAH

Jeremiah 2:1 to Jeremiah 6:30

Chapter s 2-6 contain several discourses uttered at different times in the early years of Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry. Some of these messages seem to be addressed to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel. The material is cast in poetic form as can be seen from the verse arrangement in the New American Standard Version. The theme which runs through these Chapter s is that of past faithfulness and present apostasy. Several times Jeremiah amplifies the contrast between the implicit faithfulness of Israel during the early stage of national existence and the present state of backsliding. Needless to say, only a summary of the actual words of Jeremiah have been preserved here. It is impossible to tell whether this section contains two or three longer addresses, each given on a specific occasion, or a number of shorter speeches or excerpts from sermons which were gathered up by Jeremiah or Baruch at a later time. The second alternative is more probable.

Nearly all commentators are agreed that the messages in Chapter s 2-6 should be assigned to the reign of king Josiah, A reference to that king appears in Jeremiah 3:6. Certain verses seem to point to the period of Josiah’s reformation which fell between the years 627 and 621 B.C.

I. THE INAUGURAL SERMON Jeremiah 2:1-37

Jeremiah’s inaugural sermon might well be entitled God’s Indictment of His People. If chapter 2 does contain Jeremiah’s first sermon or at least excerpts from his earliest sermons, it is apparent that this young man from the very beginning did not pull any punches. The language is tough and hard-hitting. The logic is impeccable and the conclusion is inevitable: Judah is deserving of divine judgment. The prophet begins by bringing to the attention of his hearers the past association which they as a nation had enjoyed with God (Jeremiah 2:1-3). He then attacks the present apostasy (Jeremiah 2:4-8) and offers a penetrating analysis of it (Jeremiah 2:9-19). Jeremiah then drives home his accusations with a series of devastating analogies and figures of speech (Jeremiah 2:20-28). The chapter closes with the prophet smashing whatever arguments the apostate people might use to justify their behavior (Jeremiah 2:29-37).

A. Past Associations Jeremiah 2:1-3

TRANSLATION

Now the word of the LORD came unto me saying, (2) Go and cry in the presence of Jerusalem and say, This is what the LORD has said: I remember for your sake the kindness of your youth, your bridal love; how you went after me in the wilderness in a land that was not sown. (3) Israel was the LORD’S holy portion, the first fruits of his increase; all who devour him shall be held guilty, calamity shall come against them (oracle of the LORD).

COMMENTS

Apparently Jeremiah did not have to wait long to receive the first message from the Lord which he was to deliver to his people. While still at Anathoth instructions came to go and preach in Jerusalem the capital city. His message is to open with a nostalgic note which would certainly have gained Jeremiah an initially favorable hearing. The introduction to his sermon was psychologically sound. He proceeds to paint a beautiful picture of the tender relationship which had in past years existed between God and His people. He points out Israel’s loving care for God (Jeremiah 2:2) and God’s loving care for Israel (Jeremiah 2:3).

1. Israel’s loving care for God (Jeremiah 2:2)

God still remembered the loving care which Israel had demonstrated toward Him in the days of national youth. It is in the period of the Exodus and wilderness wandering that the tribes of Israel became a nation. During those formative years Israel had shown tender and affectionate kindness to the Lord their God. This bridal love, as Jeremiah calls it, had caused Israel to follow the Lord from Egypt, a land of comparative plenty (Numbers 11:5) into the wilderness (a land not sown). As a bride in loving trust follows her husband into a strange land so Israel had followed God into the barren wastes of Sinai.[127] But how can the period of wilderness wandering be regarded as a time of love and trust when the narratives of Exodus and Numbers are replete with examples of murmuring and lack of faith? Jeremiah was not ignorant of the wilderness failings of Israel but he apparently felt that these shortcomings did not detract in the least from the loving trust displayed by Israel in venturing into the desert with God. For Jeremiah, and other prophets as well,[128] the wilderness wandering was the honeymoon period of Israel’s history. In the wilderness Israel was completely dependent on God. He had no rivals for their affections. Israel was completely devoted to Him.

[127] The figure of a bride is also used in Hosea 2:19-20, Isaiah 54:4-5 and Ezekiel 16:8.

[128] Cf. Isaiah 1:26; Hosea 11:1; Hosea 11:3-4; Ezekiel 16:6-14.

2. God’s loving care for Israel (Jeremiah 2:3)

God reciprocated the loving care of Israel. He regarded Israel as his holy portion. According to Isaiah, God was the holy one of Israel; according to Jeremiah, Israel was the holy one of God. Israel belonged to God[129] just as did the first-fruits of the harvest.[130] This being the case, Israel was under the divine protection of the Lord. Foreigners were forbidden to eat of consecrated things; by breaking this law they became guilty of a trespass (Leviticus 22:10; Leviticus 22:15-16). Since Israel was consecrated to God that nation could not be harmed with impunity. Though elsewhere Jeremiah regards the nations as agents used of God to punish Judah, here he lays down the general principle that any who attack God’s people will be punished.

[129] Exodus 19:5-6; Deuteronomy 7:6; Deuteronomy 14:2; Deuteronomy 26:19.

[130] Exodus 23:19; Numbers 18:12-13. The use of the term first-fruits in reference to Israel implies that God expected a later harvest among the nations of the world. with the spread of the Gospel such has been the case.

Jeremiah 2:4-8

B. Present Apostasy Jeremiah 2:4-8

TRANSLATION

(4) Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. (5) This is what the LORD has said: What fault did your fathers find in Me that they went far from Me and have walked after vain things and have themselves become vain? (6) They did not say, Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who guided us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, a land of drought and deep darkness, a land which no man traverses and in which no human being dwells. (7) I brought you unto a Carmel-land to eat of her fruit and her goodness. But you came and polluted My land and My inheritance you made an abomination. (8) The priests did not say, Where is the LORD? They that handle the law do not know Me; the shepherds transgressed against Me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and walked after the useless ones.

COMMENTS

Hear the word of the Lord is a characteristic introduction to a prophetic oracle, This formula occurs at least twenty-three times in Jeremiah with slight variation. Note that Jeremiah calls upon all families of the house of Israel to hear his message (Jeremiah 2:4). He apparently regarded Judah as the representative of the entire covenant nation. It may be that the prophet is also addressing the exiles of the northern kingdom as well as some Israelite families who were still left in Samaria. In pointing out the present apostasy of the people Jeremiah makes three points: the apostasy is (1) unjustified (Jeremiah 2:5); (2) ungrateful (Jeremiah 2:6-7) and (3) universal (Jeremiah 2:8).

1. Unjustified apostasy (Jeremiah 2:5)

In verse five God asks a question and that question implies an emphatic negative answer: What fault did your fathers find in Me? There is no reason or fault on God’s part which can account for the infidelity of the nation. Yet they have forsaken Him and gone after idols, vain things (lit., a breath, a vapor). With all of its pomp and pageantry idolatry in the eyes of Israel’s prophets was mere nothingness, utterly futile, useless and vain. Following after these vain deities, the men of Israel became vain.[131] The thought that men become like the object of their worship can be traced back to Hosea. Concerning the initial apostasy of the nation Hosea declares: They came to Baal-peer, and consecrated themselves unto the shameful thing (i.e., the idol) and became abominable like that which they loved (Hosea 9:10). A man is no better than the god that he worships.

[131] 2 Kings 17:15 uses the same wording as the present verse. Bright sees a word play here: They think that they are following habbaal. The Baal, but in reality they are following hahebel the wind, emptiness.

2. Ungrateful apostasy (Jeremiah 2:6-7)

Once the great apostasy set in, Israel seemed to forget about the God who had led them through the barren desert wastes. The word rendered wilderness in this verse may have the connotation pastureland or it may refer to a barren and inhospitable region. Several phrases are added to the word wilderness to paint a picture of the Sinaitic peninsula through which the Israelites had passed so many years before. It was a land of drought, deserts, and darkness. The word darkness in the Old Testament frequently connotes distress or extreme danger (cf. Psalms 23:4). A trackless desert can be every bit as bewildering as Stygian darkness. But God had brought Israel through that hostile land of pits, holes, rents and fissures in the soil to a beautiful land (Jeremiah 2:7). The Hebrew uses the word Carmel to describe this land. A Carmel-land is a land planted with vines and other choice plants.[132] Bright translates the phrase a land like a garden while Freedman renders it a land of fruitful fields. Yet the Israelites were still unappreciative. They took that holy land that God had consecrated to His own purposes and defiled it by their idolatry. With their pagan rites they made the holy land an abomination to God.

[132] Cf. Jeremiah 4:26; Isaiah 29:17; Isaiah 37:24.

3. Universal apostasy (Jeremiah 2:8)

The apostasy extended even to the political and spiritual leaders of the nation. Even the priests and those who handle, i.e., were skillful in, the law were guilty. One can know the Book but not really know the Lord of the Book! The shepherds[133] or rulers of the nation did not restrain the apostasy but in fact they too transgressed against the Lord. Many prophets began to walk after idol gods and prophesy by Baal. The reference is not to the band of the prophets which appears in 1Samuel 10, 19 or to the sons of the prophets which appear in connection to Elijah and Elisha. The Scriptures no where link these early prophets to Baal worship. Rather the reference is to prophets like those in the court of Ahab who actually had gone over to the cult of Baal (1 Kings 18:19). Since Jeremiah himself was both a priest and a prophet it must have particularly grieved his heart to point out that apostasy had infected both orders. The entire nation had ceased to follow the Lord who brought them to Canaan and had begun to follow useless things, gods which had not done nor could do anything for them.

[133] The term shepherds in the Old Testament generally refers to civil, not spiritual, leaders. See Jeremiah 3:15; Jeremiah 10:21; Jeremiah 22:22; Jeremiah 25:34; Zechariah 10:3; Zechariah 11:5; Zechariah 11:8; Zechariah 11:16; Isaiah 44:28.

Jeremiah 2:9-19

C. Penetrating Analysis Jeremiah 2:9-19

TRANSLATION

(9) So yet I present My case against you (oracle of the LORD), and with your children I must contend. (10) For pass over to the isles of Kittim and look! To Kedar send and make serious investigation! See if there was ever the like. (11) Has a nation changed gods (and they are non-gods)? But My people have exchanged their Glory for the useless one. (12) Be appalled, O heavens, at this! Bristle and be exceedingly amazed (oracle of the LORD). (13) For two evils My people have done: Me they have forsaken, a fountain of living water, to hew for themselves cisterns, cracked cisterns which can not contain water. (14) Is Israel a bondman? Is he a house-born slave? Why does he become a prey? (15) Against him the lions roar, they let their voice resound; they have made his land a desolation, his cities are laid waste without inhabitant. (16) Also the children of Noph and Tahpanhes have cracked your skull. (17) Did you not bring this upon yourself in that you forsook the LORD your God when He was leading you in the way? (18) And now, what advantage is it to you to go to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile or what advantage is it to you to go to Assyria to drink of the waters of the River? (19) Your wickedness shall chastise you and your backsliding shall rebuke you. Know and see that bad and bitter is your forsaking the LORD your God, and My fear you do not possess (oracle of the LORD, GOD of host).

COMMENTS

In Jeremiah 2:9-19 the prophet analyzes the present apostasy pointing out (1) the deplorable condition of apostasy (Jeremiah 2:9-13) and (2) the terrible consequences of their backsliding (Jeremiah 2:14-19).

1. The deplorable condition of apostasy (Jeremiah 2:9-13)

As a prosecutor arguing his case before a jury the Lord presents His case against Israel. A technical legal word is actually used in Jeremiah 2:9 which means to plead in a legal sense or present one’s case. The you of Jer 2:9 probably refers to the past generation of apostates about whom the prophet has been speaking in Jeremiah 2:4-8. The children’s children would be the present generation to which Jeremiah was preaching. Repeated acts of rebellion through the years have called forth repeated reproach and punishment on the part of God.

The prophet argues that the apostasy of Judah is unprecedented in all the history of the world. He challenges his hearers to go westward to Kittim and eastward to Kedar to see if they could uncover another example of a nation which had changed deities (Jeremiah 2:10). Kittim refers to the isles of the Mediterranean (cf. Numbers 24:24; Daniel 11:30) and perhaps also the coastlands of Italy and Greece (cf. Genesis 10:4). Kedar was the name of one of the sons of Ishmael (Genesis 25:13) and is here used of Arabia in general. A pagan nation will not voluntarily change gods even though they have the best reason in the world to do so viz., their gods are nonentities (Jeremiah 2:11). Yet Israel has changed their Glory (God)[134] for the useless one (Baal). When a nation ceases to trust in God that nation has lost its true glory.

[134] The use of Glory for God occurs in Psalms 106:20 and Psalms 3:3. A similar title for God is the Pride of Israel (Amos 8:7; Hosea 5:5).

It is characteristic of the divine lawsuit that God or the prophet calls upon the heavens to bear testimony in the case (e.g., Micah 6:1 f.; Isaiah 1:2). Thus in Jeremiah 2:12 the prophet calls upon the heavens to be appalled, to bristle (lit., make your hair stand on end) and be exceedingly amazed (lit., become stiff with horror) over the sin of Judah. The heavens had looked down upon the original prophetic admonition and warning to Israel (Deuteronomy 32:1). Now they look down upon the willful and reckless transgression of the divine will. Nature which functions in perfect obedience to the will of the Creator is, as it were, horrified at the thought of God’s highest creatures rebelling against His will.

Two specific charges are leveled against the people of God in Jeremiah 2:13. They have forsaken the Lord, a fountain of living water,[135] in order to hew out for themselves cisterns. A cistern in antiquity had three fundamental deficiencies: (1) The best cisterns in Palestine, even those cut in solid rock, were prone to crack thus causing the precious water to be lost. (2) Even if by constant care the cistern was made to hold, yet the water collected from clay roofs has the color of weak soapsuds, tastes like the earth and is full of worms.[136] (3) A cistern at its best is limited in the amount of water it can hold. In the hour of greatest need, during the long dry spells, it fails to supply the life-giving water. Who in their right mind would prefer this unwholesome and inadequate water supply to the sweet and wholesome water of a bubbling fountain? Why do men prefer man-made systems of salvation to the over-flowing, ever-fresh and invigorating fountain of divine grace? God satisfies the needs of the whole man both for time and eternity. One who truly drinks at this fountain shall never thirst again (John 4:13).

[135] Jeremiah uses the figure again in Jeremiah 17:13. Many years earlier David had said of the Lord: With you M the fountain of life (Psalms 36:9).

[136] W. M. Thompson, The Land and the Book (London: Nelson, 1873), p. 287.

2. The terrible consequences of apostasy (Jeremiah 2:14-19)

In making the transition from considering the condition of apostasy to pointing out the consequences of apostasy, Jeremiah points to the example of the northern kingdom of Israel. Israel had been dragged away into slavery by the Assyrians. By means of two rhetorical questions the prophet drives home the point that Israel had not been born to be a slave to nations. Israel was in fact a member of the Lord’s family, the firstborn son of the Lord (Exodus 4:22). That Israel should be captive in another land is an unnatural state of affairs and demands a reasonable explanation. Why then has Israel become a prey to the nations, helpless to resist the advances of neighboring states? (Jeremiah 2:13). Israel’s enemies like lions have roared against God’s people, have made the land a desolation and laid waste the cities (Jeremiah 2:14). Why?

From Israel in the north Jeremiah turns his attention to Judah in Jeremiah 2:16. The verse is best regarded as a prediction written as though it has already been fulfilled.[137] The translation cracked your skull is based on a slight alternation in the Hebrew vowel points which, in effect, the American Standard Version has also followed. Noph and Tahpanhes are important Egyptian cities, the latter being a fortress commanding the road to Palestine (Jeremiah 44:1; Jeremiah 46:15). The prophecy then is that Judah will receive a mortal blow at the hands of Egypt. The fulfillment is to be found in the defeat of Josiah at Megiddo and the consequent subjugation of Judah (2 Kings 23:29).[138] Unable to learn from the fate of the northern kingdom, Judah was doomed to repeat that fate.

[137] The Hebrew language has no past, present and future tenses as does English. Hebrew is concerned only with whether a certain action is complete or incomplete. In English translations predictive prophecy has often been obscured by past tense. [138] Some would date these verses after 609 B.C. and since the passage is not dated, this possibility cannot be ruled out.

Now why had Israel suffered? Why was Judah yet to suffer? You have brought it upon yourself, says the prophet. From the time of the wilderness wanderings to the present they had refused to follow the leading of the Lord (Jeremiah 2:17). Having turned from the Fountain of Living Water Judah was drinking desperately from the waters of the Nile and from the River, i.e., the Euphrates[139] in Assyria (Jeremiah 2:18). These broken cisterns could not provide the life-giving water the nation needed. In the view of Jeremiah there was no advantage whatsoever for Judah to become entangled in international politics.[140] The historical books of the Old Testament bear witness to the fact that Israel’s vacillation between Egypt and Assyria proved disastrous. Since they had forsaken the Lord and no longer feared Him they were doomed to chastisement and punishment at the hands of their enemies (Jeremiah 2:19). Through the depths of their suffering they would come to realize how heinous was their crime against God. They had sowed the wind and they were about to reap the whirlwind.

[139] The Euphrates river was regarded as the boundary between Syria-Palestine and Assyria. Genesis 15:18 points to the fact that the River is the Euphrates.

[140] Isaiah (Isaiah 30:2-5; Jeremiah 31:1) and Hosea (Hosea 7:11; Hosea 7:16) had already in veighed against an Egyptian alliance.

Jeremiah 2:20-28

D. Pointed Accusation Jeremiah 2:20-28

TRANSLATION

(20) For from of old you have broken your yoke, you have burst your bands and you said, I will not serve. For upon every high hill and under every green tree you reclined, committing harlotry. (21) But as for Me, I planted you a choice vine of wholly reliable stock. How sad it is that you have become a degenerate, strange vine unto Me! (22) But if you scrub with lye and multiply to yourself soap your iniquity is a permanent stain before Me (oracle of the lord GOD). (23) How sad it is that you say, I have not defiled myself; after the Baalim I have not gone. Look at your conduct in the Valley! Understand what you have done! A swift camel running hither and yon! (24) A wild ass accustomed to the wilderness, in her desire, snuffs at the wind; in her occasion who can restrain her; all who seek her will not become weary; in her month they shall find her. (25) Withhold your foot from bareness and your throat from thirst. But you say, It is no use! No! for I love strangers and after them I will continue to go. (26) As the shame of a thief that is found thus the house of Israel shall be put to shamethey, their kings, their primes, their priests and their prophets(27) who say to a tree, You are my father, and to a stone, you brought me forth! For they turn unto Me the back and not the face; but in the time of their calamity they shall say, Rise up, Save us! (28) But where are your gods which you have made for yourself? Let them arise if they can save you in the time of your calamity; for according to the number of your cities are your gods O Judah.

COMMENTS

In a series of brilliant metaphors Jeremiah sharpens his accusation against Judah. The nation is compared to (I) an ox that breaks his yoke (Jeremiah 2:20); (2) a vine that bears strange fruit (Jeremiah 2:21); (3) a stain that will wash off (Jeremiah 2:22); (4) a roving dromedary (Jeremiah 2:23); (5) a wild ass in heat (Jeremiah 2:24); (6) a persistent paramour (Jeremiah 2:25); and (7) a thief caught in the act (Jeremiah 2:26-28).

1. An ox that breaks his yoke (Jeremiah 2:20)

Jeremiah 2:20 presents some difficult textual problems and consequently the differences between English translations of the verse are considerable. The Hebrew permits and the ancient Greek and Latin versions support the reading you have broken. you have burst. This is also the marginal reading in the American Standard Version. Like a stubborn ox Israel refused to submit to the yoke of divine restraint and the bands of ethical obligation. Israel categorically declared, I will not serve. The Greek and Syriac versions support the reading serve rather than the alternate translation transgress. Having demanded freedom from the Lord, Israel became the slave to the passion and lust of idolatrous worship. On the bare treeless heights Israel offered sacrifices to the Baalim. The groves and leafy trees provided the necessary privacy for the lewd rites of Asherah and Ashtoreth. Sacred prostitution was part of the rites of these fertility cults and thus Jeremiah likens the national apostasy to harlotry and adultery.

2. A vine that bears strange fruit (Jeremiah 2:21)

To produce choice grapes takes many years of patient and tender care of the vines. The divine Horticulturist had planted a choice[141] seed in the soil of human history. Over the years He had trained the temperamental vine, pruned it, and had given it the tender and loving care it required. But when the vine reached the age of productivity it bore strange fruit of inferior quality. The vintage was not commensurate with the time and effort and care expended by the One who had planted the vine. It was a degenerate plant worthy only of destruction. In this brief but brilliant metaphor Jeremiah surveys God’s dealings with Israel. Abraham, the father of the faithful, was the choice seed. During the years of the Patriarchal journeying, the Egyptian bondage and the wilderness wandering God had patiently and lovingly watched over the tender young plant. When the people reached Canaan they refused to yield the fruit of service and obedience to the Lord but on the contrary rendered their allegiance to other gods. How sad it is,[142] says the prophet, as he shakes his head in amazement at what has become of that noble vine.

[141] The Hebrew says God planted a Sorek vine, the choicest kind of Oriental vine. The word Sorek refers to the deep-red color of the grapes which this type of vine produced.

[142] The Hebrew interjection used here is one of the distinctive words in the vocabulary of lamentation as can be seen in Ezekiel 26:17; Jeremiah 48:39; 2 Samuel 1:19; 2 Samuel 1:26-27. English translations have failed to capture the spirit of the word by rendering it how. The translation how sad it is better conveys the melancholy force of the word.

3. A stain that will not wash off (Jeremiah 2:22)

The iniquity of Israel is clearly visible to the Holy One of Israel. It is an indelible stain which cannot be removed through human effort. The best cleansing agents of the day are not sufficient to eliminate that blot. Lye (Hebrew, neter) is a mineral alkali deposited on the shores and on the bed of certain lakes in Egypt. This substance was collected for making lye for washing purposes (see Proverbs 25:20). Soap (Hebrew, borit) is the corresponding vegetable alkali (m Isaiah 1:25). Though the outward man may be scrubbed clean yet the ugly-’ blot of iniquity remains upon the heart and the soul. Only God can wipe it away. What joy it is for the Christian to know that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin (1 John 1:7).

4. A roving dromedary (Jeremiah 2:23)

The people who were secretly worshiping Baal apparently did not regard this as apostasy as long as they went through the formal acts of worshiping the Lord. Perhaps they even went so far as to claim that the rites of Baal were performed in the service of God. Jeremiah calls their attention to what was taking place in the Valley of Hinnom. From the days of Ahaz this valley had been used for the rites of Molech, a god who demanded human sacrifice. The prophet compares their conduct to that of a swift young camel running hither and yen. Most commentators have interpreted this figure to be that of a female camel in heat, driven by lust, pacing to and fro. Kenneth Bailey, who spent seventeen years in the Middle East, argues that this is not the point of comparison in Jeremiah 2:23. As a matter of fact, says Bailey, the female camel does not come into heat; rather it is the male camel that experiences rut. It is true that the word camel in this verse is feminine, but all references since Jeremiah 2:16 have been feminine singular. It is not the femaleness that is being stressed in this verse, but rather the youthfulness of the camel. On the basis of his personal observation Bailey writes:

The young camel is the perfect illustration for all that is -skittery-’ and unreliable. It is ungainly in the extreme and runs off in any direction at the slightest provocation, much to the fury of the cameldriver.[143]

[143] Kenneth E. Bailey and William L. Holladay, The -Young Camel-’ and -Wild Ass-’ in Jer. II. 23-25, Vetus Testamentum XVIII (April, 19681, 256-260.

5. A wild ass in heat (Jeremiah 2:24)

In Jeremiah 2:24 the prophet compares the apostasy of Israel to the dramatic and vulgar actions of a female ass in heat. In the month of mating, sires need not weary themselves in seeking out the female ass; on the contrary she will eagerly seek them out. So Israel eagerly turns to the lewd rites of Baalism. The impact of this metaphor becomes even more forceful when one studies it in detail. Bailey from his own personal observation has thrown considerable light on the phrase in her desire, (she) snuffs at the wind.

She sniffs the path in front of her trying to pick up the scent of a male (from his urine). When she finds it, she rubs her nose in the dust and then straightens her neck and, with head high, closes her nostrils and sniffs the wind. What she really is doing is snuffing the dust which is soaked with the urine of the male ass. With her neck stretched to the utmost she slowly draws in a long, deep breath, then lets out an earthshaking bray and doubles her pace, racing down the road in search of the male.[144]

[144] *Ibid.

6. A persistent paramour* (Jeremiah 2:25)

In Jeremiah 2:25 the divine Husband pleads with his adulterous wife, Israel, to cease from her wild pursuit of illicit lovers. The difficult first part of the verse might allude to the fatiguing practices of the Baal cultthe barefoot dances and endless repetition of the name Baal (see 1 Kings 18:26). In a more general sense the admonition might be taken to be: Do not run till your sandals wear out and you faint with thirst chasing your gods. In any case Israel rejects this earnest appeal. She cannot be turned from the paths of apostasy. The lure of false worship was too great to be resisted. It is no use, she cries, I love the strange gods and I will continue to go after them.

7. A thief caught in the act (Jeremiah 2:26-28)

A thief caught in the act is embarrassed and ashamed. Under the Mosaic law a thief if apprehended in the act had to restore what he had stolen and pay a stiff fine (Exodus 22:1; Exodus 22:4). In addition to the shame of public exposure he would then experience the shame of disappointment in having his anticipated gain result in a substantial loss. All segments of the Israelite population would experience the shame of embarrassment and the shame of disappointment when the folly of their ways became manifest (Jeremiah 2:26). In times of peace and prosperity the Israelites turned their back upon God to experiment with idolatry. They bowed down before a tree, a sacred pole or idol made of wood and piously confessed, You are my father, i.e., my guardian, my protector. Before the cold and lifeless stone pillar or idol made of stone they bowed and said, You brought me forth, i.e., you are my mother, my creator. But in the hour of national or personal calamity when their idols of wood and stone proved utterly worthless they would cry out to the living God in their desperation (Jeremiah 2:27). With Elijah-like sarcasm Jeremiah taunts the idolaters in Jeremiah 2:28: Your gods are as numerous as the cities of your land![145] Surely among the multiplicity of the gods you have made for yourselves there is one deity who can aid you in the day of your calamity!

[145] The famous Ras Shamra texts indicate that the Canaanites venerated fifty gods and half as many goddesses. No doubt many if not most of these native gods were adopted by the Israelites during the wicked reign of Manasseh.

Jeremiah 2:29-37

E. Pungent Argument Jeremiah 2:29-37

TRANSLATION

(29) Why do you continue to complain to Me? All of you have transgressed against Me (oracle of the LORD). (30) In vain I have smitten your sons; they have not received correction; your sword has devoured your prophets like a ravening lion. (31) O generation, see the word of the LORD! Have I been a wilderness to Israel? a land of darkness? Why do my people say, We are free; we will not come again unto you? (32) Does a virgin forget her ornaments or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten Me days without number. (33) How skillfully you set your course to seek love! Therefore even the wicked women you have taught your ways. (34) Also in your skirts is the blood of the innocent poor; you did not find them in the act of breaking in; but it is because of all these things. (35) But you say, I am innocent; surely His wrath has turned from me! Behold, I am about to enter into judgment with you because you have said, I have not sinned. (36) Why is it such a very light thing for you to change your way? Also because of Egypt you shall be ashamed as you were ashamed because of Assyria. (37) Indeed from this place you shall go out with your hands upon your head for the LORD has rejected the object of your trust and you shall not prosper because of them.

COMMENTS

In the closing verses of the inaugural sermon Jeremiah drives home his final arguments against the apostasy of the people. He points out that their complaints against God are unjustified (Jeremiah 2:29-30). Their rebellion indicates ingratitude (Jeremiah 2:31-32), their protestations of innocence are useless (Jeremiah 2:33-35) and their alliances with foreign powers are utterly unprofitable (Jeremiah 2:36-37).

1. Unjustified complaints (Jeremiah 2:29-30)

The brazen-faced apostates actually attempted to justify themselves before God. They contended with Him or complained against Him. The Hebrew word used here is the same technical legal term used in Jeremiah 2:9. It means to go to court with, to present a legal case against. The people think that they have a legal case against God; but He replies by resuming His case against them. All of the people of Israel had transgressed against God! (Jeremiah 2:29). They cannot blame Him for their failures. He had done everything in His power to keep them in the narrow paths of fidelity. As a concerned Father He had attempted to discipline his wayward children. He had smitten them with sword, drought, famine and pestilence. But these disciplinary disasters had not brought the nation to its senses. God had raised up mighty men to preach his word and call His people to repentance. Instead of heeding the message of God the people destroyed the messengers (Jeremiah 2:30). Jeremiah probably has reference here to the reign of Manasseh when much innocent blood was shed (2 Kings 21:16). According to Josephus, Manasseh’s persecution extended especially to the prophets. Isaiah is said to have died a martyr’s death during the reign of this tyrant.

2, Ungrateful rebellion (Jeremiah 2:31-32)

Rather than the usual Hear the word of the Lord Jeremiah here calls upon the people to see the word of the Lord. He wants his hearers to get a mental picture of the ingratitude of their rebellion against God. Has God been barren? Has He failed to provide for His people? God has not been a wilderness to His people nor a land of thick darkness. The latter expression is literally in the Hebrew land of the darkness of the Lord. It probably refers to that deep kind of darkness such as the Lord sends in judgment upon the wicked (Exodus 10:21-23). This thick darkness is symbolic here of misery and uncertainty. God did not leave Israel to grope in such darkness without guidance. Yet the people of Israel have declared, We are free![146] The word translated free means basically, to wander restlessly, to roam. As used here it is equivalent to a declaration of independence from God. As far as the people were concerned the estrangement from God was permanent: We will not come again unto you! God is asking His people in Jeremiah 2:31, How can you say such terrible things? How can I be deserving of such treatment? A maiden will not forget the ornaments or jewels which are part of her dowry, nor will a bride forget the girdle or sash which is a token of her married state. The ornaments and girdle would be objects in which any woman would take pride. Just so, God is the source of Israel’s glory. Yet Israel has forgotten Him.

[146] The King James Version has taken this word to be from an entirely different root and has translated it we are lords.

3. Useless protestations (Jeremiah 2:33-35)

The evidence in the case against Israel is clear. Israel is so skillful, so brazen, so experienced in the ways of the licentious and immoral love of the Baal cult that she became a teacher to the prostitute of the street (Jeremiah 2:33). Their very garments were stained as it were with the blood of poor innocent people. No doubt the reference here is to the persecutions which spring up during the wicked reign of Manasseh (2 Kings 21:16). What a paradox! Those who were most skillful in pursuing love were at the same time belligerent towards, and intolerant of those who tried to remain faithful to the laws of God. The populace to a large degree must have supported their king in his attacks upon the faithful and the humble. Had these folks been caught red-handed attempting to break through (lit., dig through) the mud brick sides of a house then perhaps homicide might have been justified (Exodus 22:2). But this was not the case. Those who had been slain were innocent of wrong doing. They were executed because of all those things, viz., the apostasy and zeal for the false gods (Jeremiah 2:34).

In spite of the clear evidence against them Israel continued to raise strong protestations of innocence of any wrong doing. Their argument was simple: We cannot be as guilty before God as the prophets say we are because God’s wrath has turned from us. The nation had been undisturbed for so long by foreign powers that they thought they were pleasing to God or at least not offending Him. If we were sinners God would have punished us; God has not punished us; therefore we must not be sinners. The fatal flaw in this reasoning is that God sometimes delays the punishment for sin in order to give the sinners ample time to repent. It will not be long now, says the prophet, and God will enter into judgment with you (Jeremiah 2:35). In that hour Israel would come to realize how utterly corrupt and sinful she had been.

4. Unprofitable alliances (Jeremiah 2:36-37)

Israel will not be able to maintain the status quo and forestall the divine judgment by political alliances. The political history of both Israel and Judah since the accession of Tiglath-pileser III in 745 B.C. had been characterized by frequent and often disastrous shifts in foreign policy. One king would yield to Assyria; his successor would secretly negotiate with Egypt. The Egyptian party seems to have held sway in Jerusalem at the time Jeremiah was preaching his first sermon. The guiding principal among the royal advisers seems to have been that a strong Egypt to the south would mean a free and independent Judah. Jerusalem would not be in danger of attack from the north so long as Egypt was a friendly ally. Sadly Jeremiah warns these political optimists that Egypt would disappoint them just as Assyria had done many years before. The prophet probably has in mind that episode when king Ahaz urgently called upon Tiglath-pileser III to come and rescue him from an attack by neighboring kings. The king of Assyria was more than glad to comply with this request but at the same time demanded that the king of Judah render tribute to him. Ahaz stripped the Temple and his own palace to bribe Tiglath-pileser (2 Chronicles 28:20).

Political alliances with Egypt would not be able to deliver Jerusalem from destruction. The day would come when they would go out from Jerusalem with their hands upon their heads in a gesture of shame and surrender (cf. 2 Samuel 13:19). They will not prosper because of their political schemes for God had rejected that nation in whom Israel trusted, viz., Egypt. Hosea had warned against alliance with Egypt (Hosea 7:11; Hosea 12:1) and Isaiah had repeated the warning (Isaiah 31:1). The prophetic warning against trusting Egypt was justified more than once in the history of both Israel and Judah. The most dramatic demonstration of Egyptian ineffectiveness came during the final siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Pharaoh Hophra tried to march to the aid of Jerusalem but the great Babylonian monarch easily defeated him and resumed the siege which he had temporarily suspended (Jeremiah 37).