Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 2:29
Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD.
29. plead with me ] remonstrate against My wrath. For “plead” see on Jer 2:9, and cp. Jer 12:1.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all: q.d. You are all at my mercy, why will you contend? all this that I charge you with is clear and evident, and all makes against you, Jer 2:23,34. Wherefore do you expostulate, and put me to my proofs? This they were good at, Jer 16:10. There is nothing that you can justly reply, Jer 2:19.
Ye all have transgressed against me, i.e. some of all sorts; there is not any one sort of you innocent.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
29. plead with methat is,contend with Me for afflicting you (Jer 2:23;Jer 2:35).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Wherefore will ye plead with me?…. Strive and contend, chide, murmur, and complain, when evil came upon them, as if the Lord dealt hardly with them, and as if they had never sinned against him; when their case would not bear to be brought into judgment and examined openly; what would they get by that but shame and disgrace?
ye all have transgressed against me, saith the Lord; high and low, rich and poor, great and small; men of all ranks, degrees, and character; kings, priests and prophets; and therefore ought not to contend with God, and charge him with injustice or unkindness, but themselves with folly and wickedness.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Judah has refused to let itself be turned from idolatry either by judgments or by the warnings of the prophets; nevertheless it holds itself guiltless, and believes itself able to turn aside judgment by means of its intrigues with Egypt. Jer 2:29. “ Wherefore contend ye against me? ye are all fallen away from me, saith Jahveh. Jer 2:30. In vain have I smitten your sons; correction have they not taken: your sword hath devoured your prophets, like a devouring lion. Jer 2:31. O race that ye are, mark the word of Jahveh. Was I a wilderness to Israel, or a land of dread darkness? Why saith my people, We wander about, come no more to thee? Jer 2:32. Does a maiden forget her ornaments, a bride her girdle? but my people hath forgotten me days without number. Jer 2:33. How finely thou trimmest thy ways to seek love! therefore to misdeeds thou accustomest thy ways. Jer 2:34. Even in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent poor ones; not at housebreaking hast thou caught them, but by reason of all this. Jer 2:35. And thou sayest, I am innocent, yea His wrath hath turned from me: behold, I will plead at law with thee for that thou hast said, I have not sinned. Jer 2:36. Why runnest thou so hard to change thy way? for Egypt too thou shalt come to shame, as thou wast put to shame for Asshur. Jer 2:37. From this also shalt thou come forth, beating thy hands upon thy head; for Jahveh rejecteth those in whom thou trustest, and thou shalt not prosper with them.” The question in Jer 2:29, Wherefore contend ye against me? implies that the people contended with God as to His visitations, murmured at the divine chastisements they had met with; not as to the reproaches addressed to them on account of their idolatry (Hitz., Graf). with , contend, dispute against, is used of the murmuring of men against divine visitations, Jer 12:1; Job 33:13. Judah has no ground for discontent with the Lord; for they have all fallen away from Him, and (Jer 2:31) let themselves be turned to repentance neither by afflictions, nor by warnings, nor by God’s goodness to them. , to vanity, i.e., without effect, or in vain. Hitz. and Graf wish to refer “your sons” to the able-bodied youth who had at different times been slain by Jahveh in war. The lxx seem to have taken it thus, expression by ; for the third pers. of the verb will not agree with this acceptation of “your sons,” since the reproach of not having taken correction could not apply to such as had fallen in war, but only to those who had escaped. This view is unquestionably incorrect, because, as Hitz. admits the subject, those addressed in , must be the people. Hence it follows of necessity that in too the people is meant. The expression is similar to , Lev 19:18, and is used for the members of the nation, those who constitute the people; or rather it is like , Joe 3:6, where Judah is looked on by the prophet as a unity, where sons are the members of the people. , too, is not to be limited to those smitten or slain in war. It is used of all the judgments with which God visits His people, of sword, pestilence, famine, failure of crops, drought, and of all kinds of diseases; cf. Lev 26:24., Deu 28:22, Deu 28:27. is instruction by word and by warning, as well as correction by chastisement. Most comm. take the not receiving of correction to refer to divine punitive visitations, and to mean refusal to amend after such warning; Ros., on the other hand, holds the reference to be to the warnings and reproofs of the prophets ( ( stehpo hic instructionem valet, ut Pro 5:12, Pro 5:23 cet.). But both these references are one-sided. If we refer “correction have they not taken” to divine chastisement by means of judgments, there will be no connection between this and the following clause: your sword devoured your prophets; and we are hindered from restraining the reference wholly to the admonitions and rebukes of the prophets by the close connection of the words with the first part of the verse, a connection indicated by the omission of all particles of transition. We must combine the two references, and understand both of the rebukes or warnings of the prophets and of the chastisements of God, holding at the same time that it was the correction of the people by the prophets that Jer. here chiefly kept in view. In administering this correction the prophets not only applied to the hearts of the people as judgments from God all the ills that fell upon them, but declared to the stiff-necked sinners the punishments of God, and by their words showed those punishments to be impending: e.g., Elijah, 1 Kings 17 and 18, 2Ki 1:9.; Elisha, 2Ki 2:23; the prophet at Bethel, 1Ki 13:4. Thus this portion of the verse acquires a meaning for itself, which simplifies the transition from the first to the third clause, and we gain the following thought: I visited you with punishments, and made you to be instructed and reproved by prophets, but ye have slain the prophets who were sent to you. Nehemiah puts it so in Neh 9:26; but Jeremiah uses a much stronger expression, Your sword devoured your prophets like a lion which destroys, in order to set full before the sinners’ eyes the savage hatred of the idolatrous people against the prophets of God. Historical examples of this are furnished by 1Ki 18:4, 1Ki 18:13; 1Ki 19:10; 2Ch 24:21., 2Ki 21:16; Jer 26:23.
The prophet’s indignation grows hotter as he brings into view God’s treatment of the apostate race, and sets before it, to its shame, the divine long-suffering and love. , O generation ye! English: O generation that ye are! (cf. Ew. 327, a), is the cry of indignation; cf. Deu 32:5, where Moses calls the people a perverse foolish generation. : see, observe, give heed to the word of the Lord. This verb is often used of perceptions by any sense, as expressive of that sense by which men apprehend most of the things belonging to the outward world. Have I been for Israel a wilderness, i.e., an unfruitful soil, offering neither means of support nor shelter? This question contains a litotes, and is as much as to say: have not I richly blessed Israel with earthly goods? Or a land of dread darkness? , lit., a darkness sent by Jahveh; cf. the analogous form , Son 8:6.
(Note: Ewald, Gram. 270, c, proposes to read with the lxx , because (he says) it is nowhere possible, at least not in the language of the prophets, for the name Jah (God) to express merely greatness. But this is not to the point. Although a darkness sent by Jah be a great darkness, it by no means follows that the name Jah is used merely to express greatness. But by ; 1Sa 26:12, it is put beyond a doubt that darkness of Jah means a darkness sent or spread out by Jah .)
The desert is so called not merely because it is pathless (Job 3:23), but as a land in which the traveller is on all sides surrounded by deadly dangers; cf. Jer 2:6 and Psa 55:5. Why then will His people insist on being quit of Him? We roam about unfettered (as to , see on Hos 12:1), i.e., we will no longer bear the yoke of His law; cf. Jer 2:20. By a comparison breathing love and longing sadness, the prophet seeks to bring home to the heart of the people a feeling of the unnaturalness of their behaviour towards the Lord their God. Does a bride, then, forget her ornaments? etc. , found besides in Isa 3:20, is the ornamental girdle with which the bride adorns herself on the wedding-day; cf. Isa 3:20 with Isa 49:18. God is His people’s best adornment; to Him it owes all the precious possessions it has. It should keep fast hold of Him as its most priceless treasure, should prize Him more highly than the virgin her jewels, than the bride her girdle. but instead of this it has forgotten its God, and that not for a brief time, but throughout countless days. is accus. of duration of time. Jeremiah uses this figure besides, as Calv. observed, to pave the way for what comes next. Volebat enim Judaeos conferre mulieribus adulteris, quae dum feruntur effreni sua libidine, rapiuntur post suos vagos amores .
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Expostulations with Israel. | B. C. 629. |
29 Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD. 30 In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion. 31 O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee? 32 Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number. 33 Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways. 34 Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these. 35 Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned. 36 Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria. 37 Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head: for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.
The prophet here goes on in the same strain, aiming to bring a sinful people to repentance, that their destruction might be prevented.
I. He avers the truth of the charge. It was evident beyond contradiction; it was the greatest absurdity imaginable in them to think of denying it (v. 29): “Wherefore will you plead with me, and put me upon the proof of it, or wherefore will you go about to plead any thing in excuse of the crime or to obtain a mitigation of the sentence? Your plea will certainly be overruled, and judgment given against you: you know you have all transgressed, one as well as another; why then to you quarrel with me for contending with you?”
II. He heightens it from the consideration both of their incorrigibleness and of their ingratitude. 1. They had not been wrought upon by the judgments of God which they had been under (v. 30): In vain have I smitten your children, that is, the children or people of Judah. They had been under divine rebukes of many kinds. God therein designed to bring them to repentance; but it was in vain. They did not answer God’s end in afflicting them; their consciences were not awakened, nor their hearts softened and humbled, nor were they driven to seek unto God; they received no instruction by the correction, were not made the better by it; and it is a great loss thus to lose an affliction. They did not receive, they did not submit to, or comply with, the correction, but their hearts fretted against the Lord, and so they were smitten in vain. Even the children, the young people, among them (so it may be taken), were smitten in vain; they were so soon prejudiced against repentance that they were as untractable as the old ones that had been long accustomed to do evil. 2. They had not been wrought upon by the word of God which he had sent them in the mouth of his servants the prophets; nay, they had killed the messengers for the sake of the message: “Your own sword has devoured your prophets like a destroying lion; you have put them to death for their faithfulness with as much rage and fury, and with as much greediness and pleasure, as a lion devours his prey.” Their prophets, who were their greatest blessings, were treated by them as if they had been the plagues of their generation, and this was their measure-filling sin, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 16. They killed their own prophets, 1 Thess. ii. 15. 3. They had not been wrought upon by the favours God had bestowed upon them (v. 31): “O generation!” (he does not call them, as he might, O faithless and perverse generation! O generation of vipers! but speaks gently, O you men of this generation!) “see the word of the Lord, do not only hear it, but consider it diligently, apply your minds closely to it.” As we are bidden to hear the rod (Micah vi. 9), for that has its voice, so we are bidden to see the word, for that has its visions, its views. It intimates that what is here said is plain and undeniable; you may see it to be very evident; it is written as with a sun-beam, so that he that runs may read it: Have I been a wilderness to Israel, a land of darkness. Note, None of those who have had any dealings with God ever had reason to complain of him as a wilderness or a land of darkness. He has blessed us with the fruits of the earth, and therefore we cannot say that he has been a wilderness to us, a dry and barren land, that (as Mr. Gataker expresses it) he has held us to hard meat, as cattle fed upon the common. No; his sheep have been led into green pastures. He has also blessed us with the lights of heaven, and has not withheld them, so that we cannot say, He has been to us a land of darkness. He has caused his sun to shine, as well as his rain to fall, upon the evil and unthankful. Or the meaning is, in general, that the service of God has not been to any either an unpleasant or an unprofitable service. God sometimes has led his people through a wilderness and a land of darkness, but he himself was then to them all that which they needed; he so fed them with manna, and led them by a pillar of fire, that it was to them a fruitful field and a land of light. The world is, to those who make it their home and their portion, a wilderness and a land of darkness, vanity and vexation of spirit; but those that dwell in God have the lines fallen to them in pleasant places. 4. Instead of being wrought upon by these, they had grown intolerably insolent and imperious. They say, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee. Now that they had become a potent kingdom, or thought themselves such, they set up for themselves, and shook off their dependence upon God. This is the language of presumptuous sinners, and it is not only very impious and profane, but very unreasonable and foolish. (1.) It is absurd for us who are subjects to say, We are lords (that is, rulers) and we will come no more to God to receive commands form him; for, as he is King of old, so he is King for ever, and we can never pretend to be from under his authority. (2.) It is absurd for us who are beggars to say, We are lords, that is, We are rich, and we will come no more to God, to receive favours from him, as if we could live without him and need not be beholden to him. God justly takes it ill when those to whom he has been a bountiful benefactor care not either for hearing from him or speaking to him.
III. He lays the blame of all their wickedness upon their forgetting God (v. 32): They have forgotten me; they have industriously banished the thoughts of God out of their minds, jostled those thoughts out with thoughts of their idols, and avoided all those things that would put them in mind of God. 1. Though they were his own people, in covenant with him and professing relation to him, and had the tokens of his presence in the midst of them and of his favour to them, yet they forgot him. 2. They had long neglected him, days without number, time out of mind, as we say. They had not for a great while entertained any serious thoughts of him; so that they seem quite to have forgotten him, and resolved never to remember him again. How many days of our lives have passed without suitable remembrance of God! Who can number those empty days? 3. They had not had such a regard and affection to him as young ladies generally have to their fine clothes: Can a maid forget her ornaments or a bride her attire? No; their hearts are upon them; they value them so much, and themselves upon them, that they are ever and anon thinking and speaking of them. When they are to appear in public they do not forget any of their ornaments, but put every one in its place, as they are described, Isa. iii. 18, c. And yet my people have forgotten me. It is sad that any should be more in love with their fine clothes than with their God, and should rather leave their religion behind them, or part with that, than leave any of their ornaments behind them, or part with them. Is not God our ornament? Is he not a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty to his people? Did we look upon him to be so, and upon our religion as an ornament of grace to our head and chains about our neck (Prov. i. 9), we should be as mindful of them as ever any maid was of her ornaments, or a bride of her attire, we should be as careful to preserve them and as fond to appear in them.
IV. He shows them what a bad influence their sins had had upon others. The sins of God’s professing people harden and encourage those about them in their evil ways, especially when they appear forward and ringleaders in sin (<i>v. 33): Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? There is an allusion here to the practice of lewd women who strive to recommend themselves by their ogling looks and gay dress, as Jezebel, who painted her face and tired her head. Thus had they courted their neighbours into sinful confederacies with them and communion in their idolatries, and had taught the wicked ones their ways, their ways of mixing God’s institutions with their idolatrous customs and usages, which was a great profanation of that which was sacred and made the ways of their idolatry worse than that of others. Those have a great deal to answer for who, by their fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, make wicked ones more wicked than otherwise they would be.
V. He charges them with the guilt of murder added to the guilt of their idolatry (v. 34): Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls, the life-blood of the poor innocents, which cried to heaven, and for which God was now making inquisition. The reference is to the children that were offered in sacrifice to Moloch; or it may be taken more generally for all the innocent blood which Manasseh shed, and with which he had filled Jerusalem (2 Kings xxi. 16), the righteous blood, especially the blood of the prophets and others that witnessed against their impieties. This blood was found not by secret search, not by diggings (so the word is), but upon all these; it was above ground. This intimates that the guilt of this kind which they had contracted was certain and evident, not doubtful or which would bear a dispute; and that it was avowed and barefaced, and which they had not so much sense either of shame or fear as to endeavour to conceal, which was a great aggravation of it.
VI. He overrules their plea of, Not guilty. Though this matter be so plain, yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me; and again, Thou sayest, I have not sinned (v. 35); therefore I will plead with thee, and will convince thee of thy mistake. Because they deny the charge, and stand upon their own justification, therefore God will join issue with them and plead with them, both by his word and by his rod. Those shall be made to know how much they deceive themselves, 1. Who say that they have not offended God, that they are innocent, though they have been guilty of the grossest enormities. 2. Who expect that God will be reconciled to them though they do not repent and reform. They own that they had been under the tokens of God’s anger, but they think that it was causeless, and that they by pleading innocency had proved it to be so, and therefore they conclude that God will immediately let fall his action and his anger shall be turned from them. This is very provoking, and God will plead with them, and convince them that his anger is just, for they have sinned, and he will never cease his controversy till they, instead of justifying themselves thus, humble, and judge, and condemn themselves.
VII. He upbraids them with the shameful disappointments they met with, in making creatures their confidence, while they made God their enemy, Jer 2:36; Jer 2:37. It was a piece of spiritual idolatry they were often guilty of that they trusted in an arm of flesh and their hearts therein departed from the Lord. Now here he shows them the folly of it. 1. They were restless, and unsatisfied in the choice of their confidences: “Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? Doubtless it is because thou meetest not with that in those thou didst confide in which thou promisedst thyself.” Those that make God their hope, and walk in a continual dependence upon him, need not gad about to change their way; for their souls may return to him, and repose in him, as their rest: but those that trust in creatures will be perpetually uneasy, like Noah’s dove, that found no rest for the sole of her foot. Every thing they trust to fails them, and then they think to change for the better, but they will be still disappointed. They first trusted to Assyria, and, when that proved a broken reed, they depended upon Egypt, and that proved no better. Creatures being vanity, they will be vexation of spirit to all those that put their confidence in them; they gad about, seeking rest and finding none. 2. They were quite disappointed in the confidences they made choice of; so the prophet tells them they should be: Thou shalt be ashamed of Egypt, which thou now trustest in, as formerly thou wast of Assyria, who distressed them and helped them not, 2 Chron. xxviii. 20. The Jews were a peculiar people in their profession of religion, and for that reason none of the neighbouring nations cared for them, nor could heartily love them; and yet the Jews were still courting them, and confiding in them, and were well enough served when deceived by them. See what will come of it (v. 37): Thou shalt go forth from him, thy ambassadors or envoys shall return from Egypt re infect–disappointed, and therefore with their hands upon their heads, lamenting the desperate condition of their people. Or, Thou shalt go forth hence, that is, into captivity in a strange land, with thy hands upon thy head, holding it because it aches (ubi dolor ibi digitus–where the pain is the finger will be applied), or as people ashamed, for Tamar, in the height of her confusion, laid her hand on her head, 2 Sam. xiii. 19. “And Egypt, that thou reliest on, shall not be able to prevent it nor to rescue thee out of captivity.” Those that will not lay their hand on their heart in godly sorrow, which works life, shall be made to lay their hand on their head in the sorrow of the world, which works death. And no wonder that Egypt cannot help them, when God will not, If the Lord do not help thee, whence should I? The Egyptians are broken reeds, for the Lord has rejected thy confidences; he will not make use of them for thy relief, will neither so far honour them, nor so far give countenance to thy confidence in them, as to appoint them to be the instruments of any good to thee, and therefore thou shalt not prosper in them; they shall not stand thee in any stead nor give thee any satisfaction. As there is no counsel or wisdom that can prevail against the Lord, so there is none that can prevail without him. Some read it, The Lord has rejected thee for thy confidences; because thou hast dealt so unfaithfully with him as to trust in his creatures, nay, in his enemies when thou shouldst have trusted in him only, he has abandoned thee to that destruction from which thou thoughtest thus to shelter thyself; and then thou canst not prosper, for none ever either hardened himself against God or estranged himself from God and prospered.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Vs. 29-37 JUDAH REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE HER GUILT
1. Judah has no right to complain against Jehovah; SHE is the one who has defected! (vs. 29-30; Jer 5:1; Jer 6:13; Dan 9:11-14).
a. God’s attempts to discipline her have proved fruitless, for she has refused to receive instruction! (vs. 30; Jer 5:3; Jer 7:28; comp. Isa 1:4-6).
b. As a destroying lion, the sword of Judah has destroyed her true prophets, (Jer 26:20-24; Neh 9:26; comp. 2Ki 21:16; Mat 23:37-39).
2. Why will not this GENERATION hearken to the word of the Lord, (vs.31-32)?
a. Has He been to them as a desert? or a land of darkness -unable to meet their needs? (Isa 45:19).
b. Then, why do they insist on being “lords” – who will no longer permit the rule of Jehovah over their destinies? (comp. Jdg 10:6-7).
c. Is it not as unnatural for Judah to forget her covenantobligations as for a virgin to neglect her jewels? or a bride the attire which identifies her as married? (vs. 32; 3:21; Jer 13:25-27; Isa 17:10; Hos 8:14).
3. Then the Lord charges the nation with SPECIFIC sins, (vs. 33-34).
a. So deliberately has she chatted her course to seek a “strange love” that she has taught the wicked new ways of sinning! (vs. 33).
b. In this reckless abandon she has covered her skirts with the innocent blood of those who opposed her, (vs. Jeremiah 34; Jer 19:4-8).
4. Because of her contention that she is INNOCENT (and, thus, that Jehovah has no right to be angry with her), judgment is inevitable; the unrepentant heart can never rightfully expect God’s mercy! (vs. 35; Pro 28:13; comp. Jer 25:30-31).
5. The unholy alliances Judah seeks with Egypt (instead of submitting herself to God) will prove futile, (vs. 36-37).
a. Egypt will be a shame to her – even as Assyria has been, (Jer 37:7-8; Isa 30:1-3).
b. She will go away from Egypt with her “hands upon her head” -as Tamar went out from Ammon who had abused her, (vs. 37a; comp. 2Sa 13:19).
c. There is no prosperity for those who put their trust in what the Lord has rejected! (vs. 37b; Jer 17:5-8; Jer 37:7-10).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Jeremiah concludes here his previous subject: he says that the Jews gained nothing by alleging against God that they were innocent, and by thinking that they could by mere words escape his judgment, and not only by doing so, but also by hurrying on to such a degree of presumption as to challenge God himself, and to seek to prove him guilty. But God answers them in one word, and says, that they were perfidious. The meaning then is, that the Jews ill consulted their own interest in hardening themselves in their obduracy; for God would hold them fully convicted of impiety, so that they in vain alleged this or that as an excuse. (61)
Now this passage deserves especial notice: for we know how prone we are by nature to hypocrisy; and when God summons us to his tribunal, hardly one in a hundred will acknowledge his guilt and humbly pray for forgiveness; but the greater part complains, nay almost all murmur against God, and still more, they gather boldness, and proudly dare to challenge and defy God. Since, then, hypocrisy thus prevails in us and is deeply fixed in the hearts of almost all, and since hypocrisy generates insolence and pride against God, let us remember what the Prophet says here, — that all who dispute against God gain nothing by their excuses, because he will at length detect their defection and perfidy. It then follows —
(61) The verb rendered “plead” in our version, is followed by אל, against or in opposition to. There are two other instances, Jud 21:22; Job 33:13. Our version in Job is, “Why dost thou strive against him?” The most suitable rendering of this passage is,
Why should ye contend against (or, with) me?
Then follows a fact sufficient to put an end to all contention, —
All of you have rebelled against me, Saith Jehovah.
The primary idea of פשע is, to go, to pass, to march on. See Isa 28:4. Its meaning depends on the preposition which follows it. Followed by על, over, it means to transgress, it being a going or passing over the limits set by the law, Hos 8:1, — by מ, to go from, to revolt, to apostatize, 2Kg 8:22,-and by ב, to go against, to rebel, as in this passage. Hence the noun has attained various meanings-transgression, apostasy, and rebellion. Its precise meaning in any case is to be determined by the context. Gataker and Blayhey render the verb here the same, —
All of you have rebelled against me, saith Jehovah.
The early versions vary. The Septuagint have “ ἠσεβήσατε — ye have acted impiously,” the Syriac, “ye have denied me,” — the Arabic, “ye have sinned against me,”-and the Vulgate, “ye have forsaken me.” The general idea is the same, but the specific one is that of rebelling against God. — Ed
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
E. Pungent Argument Jer. 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 (Jer. 2:29-30). Their rebellion indicates ingratitude (Jer. 2:31-32), their protestations of innocence are useless (Jer. 2:33-35) and their alliances with foreign powers are utterly unprofitable (Jer. 2:36-37).
1. Unjustified complaints (Jer. 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 Jer. 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! (Jer. 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 (Jer. 2:30). Jeremiah probably has reference here to the reign of Manasseh when much innocent blood was shed (2Ki. 21:16). According to Josephus, Manassehs persecution extended especially to the prophets. Isaiah is said to have died a martyrs death during the reign of this tyrant.
2, Ungrateful rebellion (Jer. 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 (Exo. 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 Jer. 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 Israels 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 (Jer. 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 (Jer. 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 (2Ki. 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 (Exo. 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 (Jer. 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 Gods 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 (Jer. 2:35). In that hour Israel would come to realize how utterly corrupt and sinful she had been.
4. Unprofitable alliances (Jer. 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 (2Ch. 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. 2Sa. 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 (Hos. 7:11; Hos. 12:1) and Isaiah had repeated the warning (Isa. 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).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(29) Wherefore will ye plead with me?The reply of the accuser to the false pleas of the accused. The transgression was too open to be glossed over. No plea was available but that of a full confession of the guilt into which Israel had fallen.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
YHWH Challenges His People To Explain Why They Are Behaving As They Are ( Jer 2:29-37 ).
YHWH now asks them why they are troubling Him with arguments in their favour when all they had previously done was turn away from Him and reject His admonitions and kill His prophets. In spite of His being a supplier of plenty and a giver of light to them (He has not been a desert to them or a land of gloom) they have dismissed Him and forgotten Him, seeking after lovers so assiduously that they have even taught prostitutes new ways of how to go about it, while all the time their garments were stained with innocent blood, both the blood of innocent children offered up as sacrifices (Jer 19:5), and the blood of those who offended them or got in their way. And now they have come back to Him claiming to be innocent, and declaring their hope that His anger has gone away (compare Jer 10:24-25), while at the same time gadding about to outsiders for help, a help which will only fail them in the end. They are totally inconsistent, and as a consequence they will be carried away as prisoners, with their hands on their heads.
Jer 2:29
“Why will you contend with me?
You have all transgressed against me,
The word of YHWH.”
YHWH now asks them why they have ludicrously come to argue their case, requiring Him to defend His position, when all that they had in reality ever done was continually transgress against His covenant by ignoring their covenant obligations. And it was true of every one of them. He wants them therefore to know that this position is ‘the fixed resolve of YHWH’ (neum YHWH). We do well to remember that we have no claim on God if we are not following Him with all our hearts. He is not there simply for our convenience.
Jer 2:30
“In vain have I smitten your children,
They received no correction,
Your own sword has devoured your prophets,
Like a destroying lion.”
He points out that in the past He had chastened them, but that it had been in vain, for their children had not accepted His correction any more than they had, but had obstinately gone on in their own ways. Indeed like a destroying lion they had risen up against His prophets and slain them with the sword. This probably mainly has reference to the death of Uriah the prophet (Jer 26:23), but also brings out that it has been their behaviour towards all His prophets past and present, including Jeremiah (compare 1Ki 19:10). No one except the wise love the one who disturbs their conscience.
Jer 2:31
“O generation, see you the word of YHWH,
Have I been a wilderness to Israel?
Or a land of thick darkness?
Why do my people say, ‘We are broken loose,
We will come to you no more?’ ”
YHWH then calls on that generation to see and consider His word. He asks in what way He had failed them that they should ‘break loose’ from Him. Had He been like a desert to them (unfruitful and unproductive)? Had He been like a land of gloom or thick darkness (leaving them in the dark and fearful)? Had He not rather provided fruitfulness in their land and fed them spiritually through the prophets, and given them light through His word and through His covenant? Why then had His people said that they ‘had broken loose from Him and would come to Him no more’? What good reason had they had for their desertion?
Jer 2:32
“Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet my people have forgotten me,
Days without number.
Indeed their attitude was folly. What virgin would forget to wear and treasure the ornaments that added to her beauty? What bride would forget her wedding dress and jewellery, the things that made her look so delightful? Yet they had overlooked the fact that Judah’s true glory was YHWH (Jer 2:11), and that their decoration was His covenant. Thus they had foolishly and incredibly forgotten Him days without number.
The bride’s ‘attire’ (headband, girdle) may refer to the treasured marital girdle given to her by her husband on her marriage, something which would be especially treasured.
Jer 2:33
How you trim your way,
To seek love!
Therefore even the wicked women,
You have taught your ways.”
For instead of wearing His beautiful ornaments, portraying to the world His glory, they had dressed themselves up revealingly, ‘trimming their ways’ to seek ‘love’ (which was really lust). Why, they were so depraved that by their ways they had even demonstrated to prostitutes how to go about their loathsome trade.
Jer 2:34
“Also in your skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent poor. You did not find them breaking in, but it is because of all these things.”
And they had not only demonstrated by their attire how far they had fallen into degeneracy, but had also drawn attention through it to their sinfulness in other ways. For the truth was that their skirts were stained with the blood of the innocent poor. These were not excusable killings, like the slaying of a thief who had broken into their homes, but were inexcusable violence shown towards the weak and helpless. (It would appear that violence had become rife in the days of Jehoiakim, probably largely due to his weak control, and the forced labour building activity which required violence to keep it operative. For once the government is weak all take advantage of it). So their idolatry had inevitably resulted in the ignoring of covenant requirements, and the destabilisation of normal life, that is, of life as it should have been lived, in accordance with His Law.
Jer 2:35
“Yet you said, ‘I am innocent,
Surely his anger is turned away from me.’
Behold, I will enter into judgment with you,
Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’ ”
Yet Judah still approached YHWH in wide-eyed innocency (compare Jer 2:23), not believing that YHWH could hold their ways against them. He had accused them of shedding the blood of the innocent poor, but did He not recognise that they too were innocent? Each of them cried, ‘I am innocent, surely His anger is turned away from me.’ But this was so hypocritical that it constituted a main grounds for His judgment. It demonstrated the depths to which they had fallen, in that they did not even recognise the truth about their own sin. That is why their case was almost hopeless. God could help sinners, but it was not possible to help those who were blind to their own sinfulness.
This is very like so many today who, when it is suggested that they have no claim on God are full of wide-eyed innocence because they believe that they have done nothing really wrong, and that God owes it to them to help them when they need Him (in spite of their having mainly ignored Him when things were going well). This is a reminder that God has no time for such people unless they truly repent.
Jer 2:36
“Why do you gad about so much,
To change your way?
You will be ashamed of Egypt also,
As you were ashamed of Assyria.”
He then points out that instead of genuinely coming to Him they are rather constantly changing their loyalties, first by going to Egypt and then by going to Assyria. They are incorrigible. They gad about from one to the other, and do not realise that both will let them down. For Egypt cannot cope with Babylon, and Assyria is broken. They will thus in the end be ashamed for trusting in either of them. This would appear especially to apply to the days of Jehoiakim.
Jer 2:37
“From there also will you go forth,
With your hands on your head,
For YHWH has rejected those in whom you trust,
And you will not prosper with them.”
Indeed as a result of this trust they will go from their places where they were, as prisoners (of Babylon), with their hands on their head, because YHWH has rejected both Egypt and Assyria with the result that their case will not prosper. They will be totally let down by both nations.
The hands on the head may have been in order to prevent any violent reaction by prisoners, but in 2Sa 13:19 the hands on the head indicated rather great distress, which may be the case here.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Guilt Established
v. 29. Wherefore will ye plead with Me? v. 30. In vain have I smitten your children, v. 31. O generation! v. 32. Can a maid forget her ornaments or a bride her attire? v. 33. Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? v. 34. Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents, v. 35. Yet thou sayest, with brazen boldness. Because I am innocent, surely His anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, v. 36. Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? v. 37. Yea, thou shalt go forth from him,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Jer 2:29 Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD.
Ver. 29. Wherefore will ye plead with me? ] Putting me to my proofs. Is not the case clear enough? Will ye not yield to reason? See on Jer 2:19 .
Ye all have transgressed against me.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 2:29-37
29Why do you contend with Me?
You have all transgressed against Me, declares the LORD.
30In vain I have struck your sons;
They accepted no chastening.
Your sword has devoured your prophets
Like a destroying lion.
31O generation, heed the word of the LORD.
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
Or a land of thick darkness?
Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam;
We will no longer come to You’?
32Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people have forgotten Me
Days without number.
33How well you prepare your way
To seek love!
Therefore even the wicked women
You have taught your ways.
34Also on your skirts is found
The lifeblood of the innocent poor;
You did not find them breaking in.
But in spite of all these things,
35Yet you said, ‘I am innocent;
Surely His anger is turned away from me.’
Behold, I will enter into judgment with you
Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
36Why do you go around so much
Changing your way?
Also, you will be put to shame by Egypt
As you were put to shame by Assyria.
37From this place also you will go out
With your hands on your head;
For the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust,
And you will not prosper with them.
Jer 2:29 See note at Jer 2:9.
You have all transgressed against Me Sin is personal and it is a rebellion against YHWH. The VERB is a Qal PERFECT (BDB 833, KB 981) denoting a settled attitude of rebellion and disobedience (cf. Jer 2:8; Jer 2:29; Jer 3:13; Jer 33:8; Isa 43:27; Isa 66:24; Eze 2:3; Eze 20:38; Hos 7:13).
Notice the word all, which could refer to
1. everyone in that generation (cf. Jer 2:31; Jer 5:1; Jer 6:13)
2. their ancestors as well
The rebellion of all Israel, and all humans, is clearly seen in Paul’s litany of OT verses in Rom 3:9-18 and the summary statement in Rom 3:23!
Jer 2:30-31 YHWH disciplined Israel (cf. Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28-29) so that she would return to Him, but she would not. She had forgotten His gracious presence, provision, and protection during her formation (i.e., exodus and wilderness wanderings).
Israel’s rejection of their God was surprising and unnatural! They wanted their freedom (i.e., the results of the Fall, cf. Genesis 3)! The VERB in Jer 2:31, line 4, is a Qal PERFECT, BDB 923, KB 1194.
Jer 2:31
NASBWe are free to roam
NKJVWe are lords
NRSVWe are our own masters
NJBWe are free
JPSOAWe have broken loose
LXXWe will not be ruled
The VERB (Qal PERFECT, BDB 923, KB 1194, cf. Hos 12:1) is rare. KB translates the Qal PERFECT as to roam about freely.
The UBS Handbook (p. 85) suggests it means go here and there and links back to the female camel of Jer 2:23.
Jer 2:32 attire This (BDB 905) was a sash that shows marital status of women (as does ornaments, BDB 725). Israel had broken YHWH’s covenant symbolized by the marriage contract. This chapter is YHWH’s divorce proceedings.
My people have forgotten Me This VERB (Qal PERFECT, BDB 1013, KB 1489) is a shocking comment about Israel’s relationship to her Deity (the only true Deity). This tragedy continues (cf. Jer 3:21; Jer 13:25; Psa 106:21-22).
Here the forgetfulness is a choice not an accident! Israel deliberately chose to leave YHWH, even after all He had done for her.
Jer 2:33 You have taught your ways Israel was so evil that she taught prostitutes a thing or two about evil. This is an allusion to
1. fertility worship
2. foreign alliances
Jer 2:34 lifeblood of the innocent poor The wealthy and powerful were taking advantage of the poor and powerless, see Jer 7:6; Jer 22:3; Jer 22:17; and the book of Amos.
You did not find them breaking in The word translated breaking in is a NOUN (BDB 369, KB 573) found only here and in Exo 22:2, where it refers to the killing of a burglar.
But in spite of all these things The Hebrew phrase is very uncertain. The AB, vol. 21, simply puts it in brackets!
The UBS Text Project has two options.
1. in spite of all these things (RSV)
2. on every oak (LXX, NEB)
It gives #1 a C rating (considerable doubt). The UBS Handbook also prefers #1 as the least problematic (p. 88).
The NASB, NRSV, NJB, and NIV connect the last line of Jer 2:34 with Jer 2:35.
Jer 2:35 This shows the depth of their sin and self-deception as they rationalize their conduct. Possibly their prosperity blinded their eyes as they claimed promises from Deuteronomy 28-29, but forgot the conditional nature of YHWH’s covenant!
Jer 2:36-37 These verses clearly threaten an exile by Babylon. The political alliances (i.e., Egypt and the remnant of the Assyrian army, cf. Jer 2:18) cannot save Israel from Nebuchadnezzar.
Jer 2:36
NASBgo around so much
NKJVgad about so much
NRSVhow frivolously. . .
NJBhow lightly you gad about
JPSOAhow you cheapen yourselves
REBwhy do you so lightly. . .
LXXwhatever did you greatly despise
The root of the VERB is uncertain and the ADVERB, lightly (BDB 547), seems to fit well with option #2. Here are the options for the VERB.
1. – BDB 23, KB 27 – go
2. – KB 272 -to treat lightly
Jer 2:37 hands on your head This is a sign of captivity or mourning.
SPECIAL TOPIC: GRIEVING RITES
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Jer 2:29-37
Jer 2:29-37
“Wherefore will ye contend with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith Jehovah. In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured the prophets, like a destroying lion. O generation, see ye the word of Jehovah. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? or a land of thick darkness? wherefore say my people, We are broken loose; we will come no more unto thee? Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number. How trimmest thou thy way to seek love! therefore even the wicked women hast thou taught thy ways. Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent poor. Thou didst not find them breaking in; but it is because of all these things. Yet thou saidst, I am innocent; surely his anger is turned away from me. Behold, I will enter into judgment with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned. Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou shalt be ashamed of Egypt also, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria. From thence also shalt thou go forth, with thy hands upon thy head: for Jehovah hath rejected those in whom thou trustest, and thou shalt not prosper with them.”
“Wherefore will ye contend with me …” (Jer 2:29)? “Here again we have the legal terminology of a lawsuit, this time a suit of Israel against God; but no grounds are specified.” God’s answer to such a ridiculous lawsuit is given in the same breath, “Ye all have transgressed against me.”
“Your own sword hath devoured the prophets …” (Jer 2:30). The constant description of Israel throughout her history was cited by Jesus when he wept over the city, saying, “O Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee!” It seems that only an unqualified miracle spared Jeremiah for such a long ministry; and even in the end he was (as tradition affirms) stoned to death in Egypt.
“Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire …” (Jer 2:32)? Cook tells us that ancient Hebrew women always treasured the particular girdle that indicated her status as a married woman, “just as brides now cherish their wedding ring. Nevertheless, Israel treasured no fond memories of their God, but simply forgot him “days without number!”
“How trimmest thou thy way to seek love! therefore even the wicked women thou hast taught thy ways …” (Jer 2:33). Seeking love in this verse is a reference to erotic love and refers to the embellishments and refinements that the Chosen People had learned through their countless adulteries, which they are here said to have taught even to prostitutes regarding how to make their services more tempting, seductive and satisfying. Feinberg pointed out that:
“Israel could even teach wicked women new methods of seduction, and that she used all kinds of artifices to make herself desirable to her lovers and that she cared nothing at all for the love of God.
Harrison also had a word on this: “The immoral pursuit of Baal worship by Israel enabled them to become thoroughly proficient in iniquitous ways; and now they had become so skilled that they could instruct experienced professional prostitutes in the techniques of their nefarious trade.
“The blood of the souls of the innocent poor …” (Jer 2:34). Had the Jews murdered the poor for “breaking in?” No, “It was not for any crime, but because of this thy lust after idolatry.” The text does not explain exactly how such murders contributed to the gratification of their passion for idolatry.
“I am innocent …” (Jer 2:35). It appears from this that the most aggravated element of the Chosen People’s wickedness was simply that of their stubborn protestations of innocence in spite of the wretched profusion of their sins. This verse states categorically that it was because of this that God hailed them into the severe judgment about to fall upon them.
“From thence also shalt thou go forth …” (Jer 2:37). This was a final sentence, The judgment was captivity at the hands of the Babylonians; and the meaning of it is that just as the Northern Israel had gone away into captivity, so also would Judah, there being also this difference, that in the case of Judah a “righteous remnant” would return.
These last words regarding “whom thou trustest” “apply equally to Egypt and to Assyria,” and to any other earthly power upon whom Israel might seek to rely. Her only hope was in God, and that she had stubbornly refused to seek.
Pungent Argument Jer 2:29-37
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 (Jer 2:29-30). Their rebellion indicates ingratitude (Jer 2:31-32), their protestations of innocence are useless (Jer 2:33-35) and their alliances with foreign powers are utterly unprofitable (Jer 2:36-37).
1. Unjustified complaints (Jer 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 Jer 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! (Jer 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 (Jer 2:30). Jeremiah probably has reference here to the reign of Manasseh when much innocent blood was shed (2Ki 21:16). According to Josephus, Manassehs persecution extended especially to the prophets. Isaiah is said to have died a martyrs death during the reign of this tyrant.
2. Ungrateful rebellion (Jer 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 (Exo 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!” The King James Version has taken this word to be from an entirely different root and has translated it we are lords. 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 Jer 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 Israels glory. Yet Israel has forgotten Him.
3. Useless protestations (Jer 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 (Jer 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 (2Ki 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 (Exo 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 (Jer 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 Gods 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 (Jer 2:35). In that hour Israel would come to realize how utterly corrupt and sinful she had been.
4. Unprofitable alliances (Jer 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 (2Ch 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. 2Sa 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 (Hos 7:11; Hos 12:1) and Isaiah had repeated the warning (Isa 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).
Israel Forsakes God – Jer 2:1 to Jer 3:5
Open It
1. What is one of the more outrageous excuses or rationalizations youve heard recently?
2. How would people be likely to view the heir to a large fortune who refused it and insisted on striking out on his or her own?
Explore It
3. What did God, through Jeremiah, remind Judah about her history with God? (Jer 2:1-3)
4. What acts had God performed on behalf of His people only to be answered by disobedience? (Jer 2:6-7)
5. What two sins did God say His people had committed? (Jer 2:13)
6. How was Israel being humiliated because of her disobedience? (Jer 2:14-16)
7. Why were terrible things happening to Gods people? (Jer 2:17)
8. What attitude did the people of Judah fail to have toward the Lord? (Jer 2:19)
8. What two pictures from the practice of farming did Jeremiah use to illustrate Judahs rebellion? (Jer 2:20-21)
9. To what animal behavior did God compare the behavior of Judah? (Jer 2:23-24)
10. To what did Jeremiah compare the disgrace of Israel? (Jer 2:26)
11. How did Israel respond to Gods correction? (Jer 2:29-30)
12. To what did God compare Israels abandonment of God? (Jer 2:31-32)
13. Besides spiritual prostitution, of what sin did God find Judah guilty? (Jer 2:33-34)
14. What behavior on the part of Israel made it unthinkable that God would return to her? (Jer 3:1-3)
15. How did Judahs talk contrast with her behavior? (Jer 3:4-5)
Get It
16. What should a history lesson on Gods dealings with His people inspire in us?
17. How is it possible for people to have no awe of God?
18. What options do men and women have once they are stained by sin?
19. What was ironic about the way Judah cried out to God, or even blamed God, when they were in trouble?
20. Why does violence toward the powerless tend to follow when people abandon respect for God?
21. Why are people inclined to call upon God without changing their sinful ways?
Apply It
22. What meditation would help revive your awe of God in the coming week?
23. To whom could you tell about Gods love and provision in your life?
Questions on Jeremiah Chapter Two
By Brent Kercheville
1. What is God recalling in Jer 2:1-3? What were Gods people like?
2. What is Gods question (Jer 2:5)? What have the people failed to do (Jer 2:5-8)? What have the people done? What lessons do we learn from the peoples failure?
3. What are the charges laid against Israel (Jer 2:9-12)? What is Gods point?
4. What are the two sins the people have committed (Jer 2:13)? Explain. What is the result (Jer 2:13-19)?
5. What sins does God identify in Jer 2:19? What lessons do we learn?
6. What sins are described in Jer 2:20-22? What is the condition of the people (2:20)?
7. What condemnations are stated against the people (Jer 2:23-25)?
8. What has sin done to the people (Jer 2:26-28)?
9. How else have the people failed (Jer 2:29-30)?
10. How are the people sinning against God in Jer 2:31-34?
11. What is the ultimate reason for the condemnation of the people (Jer 2:35-37)?
TRANSFORMATION:
1. What are the sins that God charges the people in this chapter?
2. What do you notice about the nature of these sins?
3. What does God desire the people to do?
4. What mindset is condemned?
5. What lessons do you learn for your life as you live as a follower of Jesus?
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
will ye plead: Jer 2:23, Jer 2:35, Jer 3:2
ye all have: Jer 5:1, Jer 6:13, Jer 9:2-6, Dan 9:11, Rom 3:19
Reciprocal: Jer 2:9 – I will Eze 18:25 – are Mic 6:2 – a controversy Eph 1:9 – purposed
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 2:29. Wherefore will ye plead is the Lords way of telling the people they have no ground on which to make a plea for favor. Ye all would Include the various classes in the nation. It is true the leaders were more to be blamed for the corruptions, but Jer 5:31 says the people loved to have it so. The principles of the Bible are that tf a person takes pleasure (is satisfied or pleased with) in the actions of another it makes him a partaker of the same (Rom 1:32).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 2:29-30. Wherefore will ye plead with me? Why do you insist upon your innocence? See Jer 2:35. Why do you lay claim to my former promises, as if you had not forfeited your title to them by your sins? In vain have I smitten your children That is, the children or people of Judah. They had been under divine rebukes of many kinds, whereby God designed to bring them to repentance, but it was in vain: they did not answer Gods end in afflicting them; their consciences were not awakened, nor their hearts softened and humbled, nor were they induced to seek unto God by repentance and prayer. They received no correction Though they were corrected, yet they would not be instructed and reformed. They did not receive, that is, they did not submit to, or comply with, the correction; but in their hearts fretted against and opposed the Lord. Observe, reader, it is a great loss thus to lose an affliction. Your own sword hath devoured your prophets You are so far from receiving and improving by Gods chastisements, that you take away the lives of those prophets who, in Gods name, reprove you, and call you to repentance. Thus Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, was put to death in the reign of Joash, 2Ch 24:20-21. See also 1Ki 19:1; 1Ki 19:10; Neh 9:26; Mat 23:30-37.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 2:29-37. The Deserved Punishment.Israels sorrows are well deserved, for Yahwehs love has been forgotten. In spite of wrong-doing, there is no penitence for sin. The help of Egypt will be as futile as that of Assyria.
Jer 2:29. plead: complain.
Jer 2:30. For your own read the with LXX.
Jer 2:32. attire: properly sash (Isa 3:20, RV).
Jer 2:33. trimmest: lit. makest good, i.e. pickest.wicked women: better, evil things, same word as in Jer 3:5; even to evil things hast thou accustomed thy ways.
Jer 2:34 as it stands apparently refers to social injustice (Jer 7:6); men are slain where no excuse of justifiable homicide (mg.) can be offered. But the verse seems corrupt, and the last clause gives no good sense, even if we supply garments with all these.
Jer 2:36. gaddest should be simply goest; ashamed of (bis), rather, put to shame by.
Jer 2:37. The gesture is one of deep sorrow (2Sa 13:19). The precise occasion of the political reference in this verse is not known; cf. Isa 30:3 ff.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
2:29 Why will {q} ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD.
(q) As though I did you injury in punishing you, seeing that your faults are so evident.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Israel’s hardness of heart 2:29-37
Israel deserved judgment, and this pericope shows why. Jeremiah presented a series of pictures of the nation’s irresponsibility and corruption.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The Lord wanted to know why His people were angry with Him. The difficulties they were experiencing were the result of their transgressions of His law.