JEREMIAH – CHAPTER 2

A REBUKE OF JUDAH’S INFIDELITY

TOWARD GOD

Chapter One was, basically, a dialogue between Jeremiah and the Lord concerning his call to the prophetic office.

In Chapter Two it is obvious that God sends forth His message immediately – not merely with information, but with a call for action in the name of the Lord. The oracles recorded In chapters 2-6 are almost universally recognized as having been delivered during the reign of King Josiah – thus, representing the earliest prophetic messages of Jeremiah.

Vs. 1-13: EXCHANGING THE LIVING GOD FOR GRAVEN IMAGES

1. At the command of Jehovah (the covenant God of Israel) Jeremiah is sent to “cry in the ears of Jerusalem,” (vs. 1-3).

a. He remembers, with fondness, what the nation once was -the kindness (“hesed,” implying “covenant fidelity”) of her youth (comp. Eze 16:8); the love that she manifested in response to Jehovah’s wooing, when she was first pledged to Him; and her readiness to follow Him into the wilderness where she fully trusted Him for the supply of every need, (Deu 2:7; Isa 63:7-14).

b. As in Hosea, God reminds His people that their spiritual relationship to Him is as intimate as that of marriage, (comp. Hos 2:2; Hos 4:12; Hos 5:7; Hos 7:13; Eze 16:8-13; Eze 16:30-32; Eze 23:1-7; Eze 23:11-21).

c. Israel was regarded as “holiness to the Lord,” -sacred, clean, separated and devoted to Jehovah as the firstfruits (the most precious portion) of His harvest, (Exo 19:5-6; Num 18:12; Deu 7:6; Deu 14:2; comp. Lev 23:10-14; Lev 23:17; Deu 26:1-11; Jas 1:18).

d. And whoever set himself against the holy people made himself the enemy of Jehovah and the object of His judgment! (Comp. Jer 30:16; Isa 41:11).

2. Now, however, the covenant-people have forsaken their God! and He wants to know WHY! (vs. 4-5).

a. It is significant that He here addresses the faithless nation as “House of Israel” (those who are “God-ruled”).

b. Of what can they possibly accuse God in vindication of their appalling infidelity – manifested in abandoning Him to walk after such futility as has left them empty and deluded? (Isa 5:4; Mic 6:3; Jer 8:19; 2Ki 17:15-17). This is the challenge of wounded love, conscious fidelity and absolute integrity to His covenant!

3. Judah has not even INQUIRED after Him Who so marvelously delivered Israel from Egypt and miraculously guided, sustained and preserved her through a waste and howling desert, (vs. 6-7; Exo 20:2; Deu 8:12-15; Deu 32:9-12).

a. How faithful was Jehovah in bringing the covenant-nation into the Land of Promise – a land of abundant fruitfulness! (Deu 8:7-8; Deu 11:10-12).

b. But, they soon defiled the land – making His inheritance an abomination! (Jer 3:2; Jer 16:18; Psa 106:34-40).

4. The most despicable thing about this defection is that it was promoted by their spiritual leaders, (vs. 8).

a. By priests who no longer inquired after Jehovah, (comp. Jer 10:21);

b. By teachers who did not know the Lord, (Jer 4:22);

c. By shepherds (rulers) who rebelled against God, (comp. Ezekiel 34); and

d. By prophets who prophesied by Baall (Jer 23:13; 1Ki 18:18-21) – all of them pursuing things that were OF NO VALUE! (comp. Jer 16:19-21; Hab 2:18; Isa 42:17; Isa 44:9).

e. Spiritual leaders who have lost sight of God, and the power of His guiding presence in their lives, forebode terrible darkness and danger for any nation!

5. But, God is not ready to abandon the people of the covenant – those upon whom He has lavished His love; He will state His case against their senseless folly, (vs. 9-11).

a. He challenges them to diligently consider whether the heathen nations round about them have ever acted in such a way -those who have fashioned gods to harmonize with their own lusts.

b. Who ever heard of a nation abandoning the gods of its own choosing?

c. But Judah had forsaken her “glory” – the true, faithful and living God Who has lovingly sustained her through all her history -for graven images (literally, “for Lord Useless”-a pun on Baal) that can do NOTHING for her!

6. Thus, God calls the leaders of Judah (the “heavens,” the high and mighty) to astonishment, fear and desolation in view of His unveiling of their TRUE spiritual condition! (vs. 12-13; comp. Mic 6:1).

a. The nation (“my people,” says the Lord) has forsaken Him Who is the never-failing “fountain of living waters” – her ONLY source of life and sustenance!

b. In His place they have turned to dumb idols – hewing out for themselves “broken cisterns” that cannot give or hold water.

c. Selfish, forgetful, unthankful and sinful, they must be disciplined; the very holiness of God requires it! (comp. Amo 3:1-3).

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES.1. Chronology. Most probably in thirteenth Josiah, quickly after his call. Dr. Dahler (Stratsbourg) would interpose chapters 4, 5, 6; deferring this chapter till after them. But Hitzig sees in chap. 2 and 3 (where they think this discourse ends) all the characteristics of an inaugural prophetic deliverance; for in its finished completeness it gives the impression of a first uttered outpouring of the heart, in which are set forth, without restraint, Jehovahs list of grievances against Israel. We may safely regard this as Jeremiahs earliest public utterance; its place must be within the thirteenth and eighteenth years of Josiah.

2. Cotemporary Scriptures, as in chap. 1.

3. Historic Facts. Josiah engaged in his religious reformation of Judah. Auspicious advent of this discourse: for it was calculated to (a.) Animate the king and nation in rectifying desecrations and apostasy; and (b.) arrest the policy of the Egyptian party in Jerusalem who were urging alliance with that power (Jer. 2:18).

4. Cotemporary History. Egypt rising into dominance under Psammeticus. In Jerusalem this event was hailed with satisfaction, as a counterpoise to Assyrian tyranny. Ninevehs downfall was approaching. This growth of Egyptian, and decay of Assyrian, power led statesmen in Judea to covet the friendship of Egypt (Jer. 2:16; Jer. 2:18; Jer. 2:36). In consequence of Jeremiahs protest, it seems probable that Josiahs course became changed; he turned from hope in Egypt, and then rose in fatal resistance. See Critical Notes, chap. 1, Personal allusions, 6. Josiah. The exact juncture of this chapter therefore seems to be when the king and counsellors of state were contemplating a protective alliance with Egypt.

5. Geographical References. Jer. 2:2; Jer. 2:6. Wilderness, land of deserts and pits, &c. A more frightful desert it had hardly been our lot to behold. The mountains beyond presented a most hideous aspect; precipices and naked conical peaks of chalky and gravelly formation, rising one upon another, without a sign of life or vegetation.Dr. Robinson. The whole country is made up of arid and barren plains, intersected by rocky mountains, amid the precipices of which are depths and caverns of the most horrid gloom.Henderson. Jer. 2:7. A plentiful country; lit. a Carmel land; a beautiful garden like Carmel (comp. Isa. 33:9; Isa. 35:2). The name used metaphorically, and as an adjective, also in Isa. 10:18; Isa. 16:10; Isa. 37:24. Jer. 2:10. Isles of Chittim: originally the name of the inhabitants of Cyprus; Phoenician colonists, who founded Citium on S.E. coast. Greeks called them Kittaei. The Seventy render Kittim by , Ketii or Cetii. They extended commerce to all the islands and maritime coasts of the Mediterranean; to all which inclusively the name Isles of Chittim became applied. These Chittans are here made to represent the peoples on the West. Kedar (son of Ishmael, Gen. 25:13). The Kedarenes were a pastoral people inhabiting the Arabian desert; but the name became extended to the Bedouins generally, who occupied the regions east of Palestine.Henderson. Kedar thus represents the East. Jer. 2:16. Noph, called by Greeks Memphis, a few miles south of Cairo; the capital of Egypt in the time of the patriarchs, Pharaoh, and the Exodus. Situate just at that point of the Delta where the Nile separates into streams. As the residence of the court of the Pharaohs, it was the scene of Josephs varying fortunes: chief seat of Egyptian literature and idolatrous worship: temple of Apis there, the most splendid erection in Egypt: the pyramids stood close bythe sepulchres of the kings. Tahapanes, in Greek , Daphne, the first Egyptian town on crossing the border from Palestine, about sixteen miles south of the flourishing seaport Pelusium, and on the margin of the Lake Mensals, thus enjoying facilities of traffic with the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. One of the palaces of the Pharaohs stood there (Jer. 43:9). Being one of the most influential cities of Egypt, it and the capital stood for the country and the government itself. Jer. 2:18. Sihor, a Hebrew word = the black, meaning the Nile, whose appearance is turbid when loaded with alluvial matter, and whose deposit is black soil. The river (of Assyria) means the Euphrates. Jer. 2:23. Thy way in the valley: a definite locality is designated; the vale of Hinnom. This runs along the south side of Mount Zion, and was infamous for the celebration of the horrid rites of Moloch (chap. Jer. 7:31, Jer. 32:35).

6. Natural History. Jer. 2:15. The young lions roared upon him, &c. Never roars but when in sight of prey or when striking it down. Roar = signal of attack and consequent destruction (Isa. 31:4; Amo. 3:4). Entire regions are sometimes depopulated by his fury (Jer. 4:7). These are mystical lions; but the valour of a conquering tyrant and the rage of a savage lion work like effects. Jer. 2:21. A noble vine, a degenerate plant. Noble, properly reddish; a Sorek vine, producing red wine (Pro. 23:31); a symbol of perpetual blessedness and bounty (Gen. 49:11). But Israel had become degenerate branches; not plant, but sprouts or suckers; evil outgrowths of a good stock, like Deu. 32:32. The noble vine of Palestine (Num. 13:23) yields clusters weighing ten or twelve pounds, and the grapes are like plums. Jer. 2:22. Nitre, soap. Nitre is the natron of Egypt, a mineral alkali found in the Nile valley after the water has evaporated. Soap, or potash, Borith, is a vegetable alkali obtained from the ashes of plants. These were the most powerful detergents known (Speakers Com.). Jer. 2:23. Swift dromedary. , a young female, which has never yet had a foal. Dromedary is famed for amazing speed. Arabs affirm it will get over as much ground in one day as will take one of their best horses ten days. Hence used to carry despatches in haste (Est. 8:10). Jer. 2:24. Wild ass, snuffeth up the wind. The Onager, of the mule kind (Henderson): accustomed to the desert, = wild, reckless, ungoverned, obedient to nothing but desire: snuffeth up the wind, i.e., scenteth the male. Extremely swift, of slender form and animated gait. Mr. Morier, alluding to its peculiar cry with its nose (Jer. 14:6; Jer. 2:24), says, In crossing the desert we gave chase to two wild asses, which had so much the speed of our horses, that when they had got to some distance they stood still and looked behind at us, snorting loudly with their noses in the air (Journey through Persia, quoted by Dr. Paxton)

7. Manners and Customs. Jer. 2:3. First-fruits of His increase; Gods consecrated portion of the harvest (Exo. 23:19). Jer. 2:13. Hewed cisterns. Tanks for rainwater, common in East in cities and along roads; wells are scarce. These cisterns become dilapidated, cracked; and in consequence the rain which falls, or water poured into them, sinks into the earth and becomes lost. The Hebrews give the name living water to that which welled from a fountain, and flowed along, as if possessing the property of life.Henderson. Jer. 2:20. Upon every high hill, &c. Spots chosen for idolatries and the worship of nature (Deu. 12:2; 1Ki. 14:23; Eze. 6:13). Jer. 2:32. Ornaments and attire. Oriental females wear profusion of decorations, rings, jewels, bracelets, &c. (cf. Isa. 61:10): attire here means girdle, sash, worn across the breasts (Rev. 1:13), often beautifully embroidered; an object of great pride to the wearer. Jer. 2:37. Hands upon thine head; the natural attitude of mourning (2Sa. 13:19). With hands clasped upon the head, Israel would retrace her steps, disgraced and discarded.Speakers Com.

8. Literary Criticisms. Jer. 2:2. Go, cry in ears of Jerusalem; a form of address implying his absence from the city. When he dwelt there the address assumed an altered form (chap. Jer. 17:19, Jer. 35:13). I remember thee, = of thee, to thy credit, for thy sake. with means to remember to ones account that it may stand him in good stead afterwards. Cf. Neh. 13:22; Neh. 13:31; Psa. 98:3.Keil. Kindness of thy youth; either Mine to thee, or thine to Me: Gods generous regard and lavish privileges for Israel, or Israels ardour and devotion to the Lord. The latter is preferable. Jer. 2:3. Was holiness. Lange renders it a Sanctuary. Keil favours this: Israel was so shielded by Him, as His sanctuary, that whoever touched it must pay the penalty (Psa. 114:2). But Bishop Hall, Henderson, and Speakers Com. = an offering consecrated; Sharps, holy unto the Lord (cf. Exo. 19:6, with Lev. 20:24, Deu. 7:6). Jer. 2:4. Families of the house of Israel; not Judah only, but all Israel inclusively, though ten tribes were dispersed; not merely the few members of those tribes still in Jerusalem, but an ideal audience, the whole nation. Jer. 2:12. Be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate; lit., shudder and be withered away (Lange). An evident paronomasia . Impassioned personification: Be horrified; be exceedingly aghast at the monstrous spectacle. , to be parched up, deprived of vital force; devastated. Places devastated have such an unsightly look.Maurer. They have forsaken me, lit., ME have they forsaken; force in the initial pronoun, raising into prominence Him whom they have thus wronged. Jer. 2:16. Broken the crown of thy head, = will feed down the crown (Henderson); depasture the crown (Lange); feed upon thy crown (Keil). , to eat up by grazing (Mic. 5:5). Gesenius, They devour the crown of the head. The hair of the head being held in high estimation by the Hebrews, baldness was regarded as ignominious and humbling (cf. chap, Jer. 47:5, Jer. 48:37). This fulfilled both in the sense of depopulating the land and draining the resources of the nation by taxation. Shave thee bald, points to extreme devastation and misery (cf. Jer. 44:12). Jer. 2:17. Hast thou not procured this! &c., i.e., Hath not thy forsaking Jehovah procured this to thyself! Led thee by the way; query, in what way! A distant historic way, in Arabian wilderness? (So Speakers Com. and Keil.) But this would affirm that their fathers sin in the desert originated the criminality which would eventuate in Judahs ruin. But Kimchi, Hitzig, Henderson = the right way, the way of holiness; not through the wilderness merely, but the course of moral training under the Mosaic dispensation. Jer. 2:18. To drink the waters, i.e., to draw from these sources, Egypt or Assyria, power and reinvigoration. Jer. 2:20. I have broken: many authorities reject the Masoretic punctuation, which makes the verb first person, and read Thou hast broken. If the A.V. stands, it = Gods emancipation of Israel from Egyptian bondage. If thou hast broken be substituted, it = Israels rebellion against Gods rule. Thou wanderest, &c.; stretchest thyself. Under every leafy tree thou layest thyself down as a harlot (Speakers Com.), indicating her ready prostration before objects of idolatrous worship. Jer. 2:22. Thine iniquity is marked; is a stain, is ingrained; i.e., a filthy blot which no acids, or devices, or remedies can purge. Jer. 2:23. Traversing her ways, = rambling in her courses; running in all directions in quest of a male.Henderson. Jer. 2:24. Snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; a symptom of excited passions (Lange). In her occasion, &c., = as for her heat, who can repel it? (Henderson). Keil, That in her lust panteth for air; her heat, who can restrain it? All that seek her, &c.: she will not hide from them, herself too ready to be found. In her month; at the pairing season. Jer. 2:25. Withhold thy foot, &c. Cease this wearing and feverish rushing after idols; for only wounded feet and a dry thirst will ensue. No longer undertake fruitless journeys to places of idolatrous worship, which wore out their shoes, injured their feet, and entailed extreme thirst.Henderson. God, the true Husband, exhorts Israel not to run barefoot, and with parched throat, like a shameless adulteress, after strangers.Speakers Com. Jer. 2:29. Wherefore will ye plead. = Why do ye, or to what purpose will ye, contend against Me? Their propensity to complain against God (see Exo. 17:2-3; Exo. 17:7; chap. Jer. 5:19, Jer. 13:22, Jer. 16:10). Jer. 2:30. They received, i.e., they accepted no correction. Jer. 2:31. We are lords. , = to ramble about in an unbridled manner; they had thrown off the reins, and wandered at will after idolatrous gratification (Hos. 11:12). Jer. 2:33. Taught the wicked ones thy ways; either taught idolatrous nations new idolatries, or taught thy ways wickedness, i.e., trained thyself to habits of atrocity. Jer. 2:34. Not found it by secret search. Henderson, = by deep search, i.e., atrocities have not been perpetrated in subterraneous caverns, as too horrible to bear the light of day, but openly in the valley of Hinnom, within the sacred precincts of the Temple, and about Jerusalem. But upon all these, = upon all thy skirts. Speakers Com. gives a wholly new interpretation, = thou didst not find them (the poor innocents) breaking into thy house, i.e., they had committed no crime justifying violence. By secret search, = digging, i.e., digging through the walls of a house for the purpose of breaking into it. (Lange renders the words, in the place of burglary.) But upon all these, = because of all this, i.e., thou killedst the poor innocents, not for any crime, but because of this thy lust for idolatry. Jer. 2:37. Go forth from him, from thence; not prosper in them, have no success with them. Hastening to Egypt in hope of succour and strength, at a time when Nineveh is tottering before the armies of Cyaxares and Nabopolassar, thou shalt return repelled and forlorn.

HOMILETIC TREATMENT OF SECTIONS OF CHAPTER 2

Section

Jer. 2:1-3.

Beautiful retrospectreciprocation of love.

Section

Jer. 2:4-8.

Lamentable changesviolated faith.

Section

Jer. 2:9-13.

Facts for amazementreckless apostasies.

Section

Jer. 2:14-19.

Looming disastersoutward results of impiety.

Section

Jer. 2:20-29.

Baseness of idolatryreflex degradations of impiety.

Section

Jer. 2:30-37.

Affecting expostulationsincorrigible impenitence.

Jer. 2:1-3. PIETY A RECIPROCATION OF LOVE

By Israels youth is meant the period spent in Egypt and of the exodus thence (Hos. 11:1; Hos. 2:15). From the exodus till Sinais covenant constitutes the season of plighted affection and betrothal (Exo. 19:4-8). The bridal relationship was consummated there, and God was a Husband unto Israel from that hour (cf. Keil and Hend.). God emphatically calls Himself the husband of her youth (Joe. 1:8), so tender, full of fond memories, sacred and intimate, was the union.

Query, whether here is meant Israels love to God, or Gods to Israel? Chrysostom originated the latter explanation; many still contend for it.Graff., Rosenm., Venema, &c. But the accumulated decisions of interpreters favour the former. The kindness (or grace) of thy youth, and thy going after Me in the wilderness, can refer only to the bride. Yet who can think of the brides love without instantly reverting to the higher, grander, vaster love of the Bridegroom? (See Literary Criticisms above, Jer. 2:2.)

I. Loves origin and alliance. In the case of

i. Jehovahs love for Israel, it led to (1.) Perception of excellencies: the grace of thy youth; for although there was little to admire in Israel when in Egyptian bondage, or when releaseda wild horde in the desertGod saw graces, appreciated kindness; for love is quick to perceive and admire. (2.) Covenant of attachment: espousals; the Lord drew Israel into plighted alliance; He must claim her all for Himself as His beloved. (3.) Leading her forth into a new world and a new life: after Me in the wilderness; a different but better scene than Egyptian degradation; life spent in the society of her Bridegroom; all things become new.

ii. Israels love for the Lord was (1.) Ardent: it was her first love; glowing, joyous, full of graces and kindness (cf. Exo. 35:20-29). (2.) Single: she asked no paramour then, sought no other lord,God was all-sufficient. They saw no man save Jesus only! (3.) Unhesitating: she ready to go anywhere after Him; even into wilderness. His will was her law, her bliss. Lord, I am ready to go with Thee, both into prison and to death (Luk. 22:33). Let us go also that we may die with Him (Joh. 11:16). Such is the attitude of first love. (See Addenda to chap. 2, Love of thine espousals.)

II. Loves outgrowth and manifestation.

i. Gods love was (1.) Redeeming: from Egypt, from enemies, from perils, from wilderness. (2.) Disciplinary: educating her and preparing her for higher position, nobler advantages, larger enjoyments and privileges. (3.) Enduring: through forty years in desert. (4.) Unwearied: never alienated or exhausted by all Israels forgetfulness and failings.

ii. Israels love was (1.) Human, therefore variable and perishable. (2.) Yet trustful, surrendering herself and her future to God. (3.) Responsive, going after Him, carrying out His precepts, though with many defects and even occasional disobedience. (4.) Grateful; for a religious regard and reverence characterised Israels early career. Alas! she was sometimes also querulous.

III. Loves honours and blessedness.

Its object must be beautified and enriched; love ever acts thus.
i. The Divine affection for Israel took delight in lavishing beauty and dignity upon its object. (1.) It robed Israel with sanctity (Israel was holiness); invested her with national distinction and privileges. (2.) It constituted Israel Gods abode. (See Literary Criticisms, chap. 2 Jer. 2:3). (3.) It secured to Israel Divine overshadowing (All that devour, evil shall come upon them).

ii. Israels affectionate allegiance found expression. (1.) Her first-fruits were yielded to God: this was the gift of her most prized possessions; it avowed that God was first in her thoughts, and first to receive the acknowledgment of her grateful love. (2.) Her history witnessed for God, made Jehovah known to surrounding nations; His character, mighty acts, supreme deity. (3.) Her worship was a sweet savour to the Lord: the Tabernacle services, the altar sacrifices, the gifts and offerings of the people, all were precious to Himan oblation of love (Psa. 76:1-2).

Truly a beautiful retrospect. Piety flowing forth in love for God, in faith that worketh by love, in zealous attachment and lavish offerings and loyal devotion. God remembers it with delight. It is the garden of Eden, luxuriant and lovely, before sins devastation blighted the fair scene. Alas! that on the sacred blessedness and beauty of first love could come so withering a blight!

Jer. 2:4-8. LAMENTABLE CHANGESVIOLATED FAITH

(See Addenda, chap. 2 Jer. 2:6 : Neither said they, Where is the Lord?)

The love of youth might be referred either to Jehovah or Israel; for early affection was reciprocal. But there can be no double reference of this dark factvows broken, love false, loyalty abandoned. God is incapable of inconstancy (Jas. 1:17). It is only in man to deteriorate, to forget (what God remembers, Jer. 2:2) the first love (Rev. 2:4-5).

There should be a reason for all our courses of conduct; we could ordinarily justify our proceedings, in commerce, politics, &c. It should be so in spiritual as in temporal affairs. God here reviews Israels career, sets sins in array, calls her to justify her conduct, summons her to account. Foreshadows this: Every one must give account to God.

i. A startling contrast (Jer. 2:5) between Gods fidelity and their in-fidelity. ii. An unanswerable challenge. Their conduct was without reason. iii. An appalling charge. Asked not after God (Jer. 2:6; Jer. 2:8), despoiled Gods heritage (Jer. 2:7), violated duty and knowledge (Jer. 2:8). The guilt of backsliding stands out in vivid portrayal here. (Addenda, Jer. 2:10-11, Idolatry.) Thus is shown:

I. That apostasy from God is wholly unjustifiable.

The question of its guiltiness remains in abeyance till the appalling injustice of it is proved (Jer. 2:5). What iniquity, &c. The word , vel, stands opposed to , tsedek, righteousness; and means perversity, wrongfulness; the contrary of good faith and truthful deedinjustice therefore: Ergo, their action was unjustifiable.

1. Could they adduce any provocations to apostasy? Had Jehovah failed to do what they might expect of Him? Had He done aught they could complain of? In any way had He been unkind, unfaithful, unjust? If so, they might justify their having removed far from Him (Jer. 2:5). Let men charge God with wrong done to them individually if they can, and so prove their neglect and hostility reasonable and right. Against all complaints shall be set the grand facts of Gods love, verity, and abounding grace.

2. Had they derived any advantages from apostasy? Walked after vanity (Jer. 2:5); after things that do not profit (Jer. 2:8). To lose the good and, pursue an evil is a double loss, a twofold calamity. Losing God is a frightful loss; but losing Him means the surrender of all and failure of everything. A man hanging over a chasm lets go his only holda piece of projecting rock, to grasp shadows thrown across the perpendicular sides of the chasm: he clutches at vanity, and falls headlong to ruin. See Mar. 8:36-37. Interrogate men as to the substantial gains of godliness. The world will yield us at last nought but a grave; but when heart and flesh fail, God will be the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

II. That apostasy is felt by God to be a gross injustice.

It is unreasonable in itself, and equally undeserved by God. It is impossible to miss the fact that God felt their conduct. He does not regard it impassively; it occasions grief and calls forth sadness. Mans conduct affects God.

1. Heartless ingratitude for favours (Jer. 2:6). Did not heed them; felt no sense of obligation for them; acted as if none had ever been shown them. Flagrant, insensate, graceless ingratitude, (a.) They owed to God all their deliverances: from Egypt (Mic. 6:4); oppression of Pharaohs (Exo. 3:7); from pathless and inhospitable deserts; land of pits, full of rents and fissures, and deep, waterless valleys, parched and unfruitful, of deadly terrors and dangers; of shadow of death (so Sheol is named, Job. 10:21), utterly solitary, offering neither path nor abode for travellers. Instead of this heartless insensibility, we should say with David, Bless the Lord, &c. (Psa. 103:1-4). (b.) They had received from God all their blessings (Jer. 2:7). They were nothing, had nothing, never gained anything by themselves or for themselves. What hast thou which thou hast not received? We are indebted to God for all things richly to enjoy; and for redemption, sanctification, and heavenly hope. How much owest thou unto my Lord?

2. Base abuse of favours. Never asked after the Giver (Jer. 2:6; Jer. 2:8): prostituted their possessions to vile idolatrous uses (Jer. 2:7), and handed Gods inheritance over to traitorous rival deities (Jer. 2:7). Frightful desecration. Comp. Rom. 6:1; Heb. 6:7-8; Heb. 10:26-29.

3. Glaring dishonour to God, who had put His glory in their charge. Selected to show forth the praises of the Lord amid the nations, to be holiness unto Him; they had defiled and made an abomination (Jer. 2:7) of sacred things. Can this be less than a gross injustice? Is not all sin a flagrant insult to God, a virulent outrage on the very purpose of our existence, a return of hate for wondrous love?

III. That apostasy is an offence of greatest criminality.

There may be an unconscious decline from religion, unintentioned. This bad, yet not defiant and designed. But
1. Consider who they were who were guilty of it (Jer. 2:8). Priests: Chrysostom remarks, See, the evil springs from the head. Had they done their duty, the apostasy had never become national. Their sin was heedlessness of their work. They said not, Where is the Lord? They that handle the law, = exponents of the Scriptures: the preachers of those days ignored Godknew Him not. The pastors, i.e., shepherds, temporal rulers, civil magistrates (Targum renders it kings), these disobeyed and disregarded Jehovahs will. The prophets, who should have listened to no voice, nor conveyed any message save Jehovahs, consulted Baal, chose an alien deity and a false inspiration (cf. Luk. 12:45-48). What is our case? Can we shelter ourselves by the plea of ignorance?

2. Also their apostasy was deliberate and determined. Positive act: defiled, &c. (Jer. 2:7). Negative act: Neither said; knew not (Jer. 2:8).

3. And equally insensate and insolent. Turned persistently and flauntingly from God, and walked after vanity. The Hebrew idiom, things that do not profit (Jer. 2:8), means things baleful and pernicious (Speakers Com.). Heed 1Sa. 12:20-21. Hitzig points out a climax in the guilt: the ministers of Temple worship took no heed of God; the teachers of the law passed deliberately by the truths they knew; the civil powers actively disobeyed the law; the prophets deserted God entirely for a lying spirit. It is an evil and a bitter thing to sin against the Lord. What a fall from what Israel was! Begin to sin, and where will it end?

Jer. 2:9-13. FACTS FOR AMAZEMENTRECKLESS DESERTION OF THE FOUNT OF LIFE

Comments:
The fidelity of Jehovah had been presented in contrast with Israels inconstancy (Jer. 2:5); now the fidelity of the heathen is adduced, for they never change their gods (Jer. 2:11), although they are no gods. How astounding, therefore, is Israels guilt!

Though they might consider diligently (Jer. 2:10), they would find no parallel. Yet they might justly desert gods who do not profit (Jer. 2:11); whereas, Gods people had abandoned that which was their glory, without hesitation or remorse.

, glor, is the glory in which the invisible God manifested His majesty in the world and amidst His people. God had shown His glory to the Israelites in glorious deeds of His omnipotence and grace, like those mentioned in Jer. 2:5-6. The Baals, on the other hand, are nothings, phantoms without a being, that bring no help or profit to their worshippers.Keil.

Though the worship of the one true God is a nations greatest glory, yet it is irksome because it puts a constraint on human passions doubly. For, first, it requires obedience to a law revealed from above; and, secondly, it endeavours to raise men to something higher than the mere level of human nature. Hence a true religion awakens an antagonism in mans heart, as naturally as a false religion pleases and soothes it.Speakers Com

Be astonished, O ye heavens. The greatness of the crime can be estimated by none so well as the over-arching heavens, which can behold and compare all that takes place.Lange.

These strongest terms in the language show how intensely amazed all the holy in heaven are at the monstrous folly of human sinning. That when men might have the infinite God for their friend, they choose to have Him their enemy; might have Him their exhaustless portion of unmeasured and eternal good, they spurn Him away, and set themselves to the fruitless task of making some ruinous substitute: this is beyond measure amazing! Verily, sin is the mockery of human reason!Cowles.

The heathen are guilty of but one sin, idolatry: the covenant people commit two, in that they abandon the true God to serve idols.Speakers Com. The sin is twofold: (1.) They do not obey the Lord; (2.) They will labour tooth and nail, if only they may not obey Him.Zinzendorf.

Forsake the fountain, &c. His people, who have the true religion, have the fountain: they can (1.) obtain water without difficulty; (2.) as much as they want. But they substitute means which are (1.) difficult; (2.) new; (3.) insufficient; (4.) deceptive; (5.) rejected on trial. Hence come the works of supererogation, the many ceremonies, ecclesiastical regulations, which are unquestionably twice as difficult as to follow the Saviour; and they have no promise for this life or the life to come.Zinzendorf.

What can quench the thirst of the soul? (1.) It cannot be quenched by drawing from the broken cisterns of earthly good. [Though the hewn cisterns please us better; and the cistern-water of this world is more to our taste than the living water, the living God and His Word.Hochstetter.] (2.) It can be quenched only by drawing from the fountain of life, from which the soul originally sprang, even from God.Naegelsb.

The dead gods have no life and can dispense no life; just as wells with rents or fissures hold no water [and can yield none]. But living water, i.e., that originates and nourishes life, is a significant figure for God, with whom is the fountain of life, i.e., from whose Spirit all life comes. If man forsakes the living God, he passes, in spite of himself, into the service of dead, unreal gods. For, created by God and for God, he cannot live without God.Keil. Hence the labour to substitute the loss.

Jer. 2:14-19. LOOMING DISASTERSTHE EXTERNAL RESULT OF IMPIETY

Not only is it Gods ordinance, but an inevitable and spontaneous law, that evil deeds work evil issues. To trifle with fire ensures burning; to desert friends involves desertion in turn; to wound Christ inflicts wounds on conscience; to turn from Him as those who know Him not (Jer. 2:8), will issue in the doom I know you not, depart! (Luk. 13:27).

I. Gods free son in unnatural slavery through sin (Jer. 2:4). The answer to the inquiries in an emphatic negation. Israel is Jehovahs first-born (Exo. 4:22); how is it he has become a spoil? Fallen into the hands of oppressors.

1. Not born to slavery, as a serf of the soil or a child of enslaved parents. Liberty, spiritual freedom from tyranny, the birthright of man. We are none of as born to thraldom to any spiritual adversary. If become slaves, because sold our birthright,

2. Not allowed to perish in bondage. Ensnared in Egypt, the foe had them in his power, and bitterly oppressed them. Even as the devil led us captive at his will after we had yielded to his rule. But God redeemed Israel; us also.

3. Yet enslaved again by the spoiler, through wilful desertion of God, and the last state worse than the first (Mat. 12:25).

II. Furious adversaries lurking for Israel (Jer. 2:15-16). Quick to rush down upon the prey who strays from safety. Night and day, beasts of prey, lurking, are devouring. (See Critical Notes, chap. 2; Natural History, Jer. 2:15.)

1. Envious of Gods heritage (Jer. 2:15); for it is a heritage to be coveted (Jer. 2:7). These two nations shall be mine, &c. (Eze. 35:10).

2. Thirsting for destruction. Your adversary walketh about seeking whom he may devour (1Pe. 5:8).

3. Implacable in their fury (Jer. 2:15-16). (See Natural History on Jer. 2:15, and Literary Criticisms on Jer. 2:16.) The devil hath great wrath (Rev. 12:12).

III. When God is lost false remedies are sought (Jer. 2:18). The previous verse shows why and how God was lost by Israel.

1. Startling; that Israel, once redeemed by God from Egypt, should be deserting God for Egypt! (2Pe. 2:19-22).

2. Admonitory; for Israel was not confident of Egypts sufficiency; the night-bag of doubt was on her heart; so she provided an alternative should Egypt failAssyria. Not satisfied or sure. Wicked have no assurance, no peace.

3. Israels substitutes for God. These rivers (Jer. 2:18) were to compensate the loss of the fountain of living waters Israel had forsaken. The Nile was the life-giving artery of Egypt; to drink the waters of Sihor therefore meant to procure for herself the resources of life which Egypt possessed. So with Assyria. For what do men forsake God? (Jer. 2:11).

IV. Sinners are the occasion of their own overthrow (Jer. 2:17-19). The confederacies they entered into were the agencies of their desolation (Pro. 1:31; Isa. 3:9).

1. They invite the enemy by abandoning God. He was their defence; awed and restrained their foes. But like lions they crouch (Jer. 2:15), ready to spring upon the prey which wandered exposed and unprotected. Sinners court destruction, tempt the tempter.

2. They evoke Gods judgments. Though Divine punishments slumberfor God does not desire the death of a sinner, and is slow to angerthey awake at impious provocation (Rom. 1:18; Eph. 5:6).

3. They necessitate the penalties of apostasy. God has menaced all disobedience and defiance with dire penalties. Now consider this, &c. (Psa. 50:22).

Application (Jer. 2:19): Know therefore and see, i.e., at last comprehend, that it is an evil thing and bitter, &c. Evil now and bitter hereafter. For at last it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder (Pro. 8:36). A gospel counterpoise (see Rom. 5:20-21).

Jer. 2:20-29. REFLEX DEGRADATIONS OF IDOLATRY

Disasters come upon the impious from without, but the whole inward, personal, spiritual debasement which idolatry effected in the apostate was the greater calamity. Prostitution of the soul before idols, a more awful disaster than any external degradation. O Israel! thou hast destroyed thyself; the God-given nature, a wreck! Sin works a twofold doomdebasement and destruction. (For explanation of words and similes, see Critical Notes on chap. 2 above.)

The sinful corruptions of humanity(i.) Are not original (Jer. 2:21); (ii.) But very deep (Jer. 2:22); (iii.) They cannot be denied away (Jer. 2:23-24), nor removed by external means (Jer. 2:22; Jer. 2:25).Naegelsb. in Lange.

How ruinous a course it is to trust in a creature! (i.) On account of his weakness he disgracefully leaves us in the hour of our need (Jer. 2:26-27). (ii.) We thus insult God and lose His help (Jer. 2:28).Idem.

I. From immemorial antiquity Israel had broken the yoke of the Divine law laid upon her, and torn asunder the bands of decency and order which Gods commands and ordinances put on her (Jer. 2:20). Bands are not the cords of love with which God drew Israel (Hos. 11:4), but the commands of God designed to keep her within the bounds of purity and from riot in idolatry. These broken (Jer. 31:18; Hos. 4:16).

II. In this shameless prostitution to false gods Israel shows her utter corruption (Jer. 2:21); in her very nature as much as in her conduct.

III. From the defilement of her sins, not even the most powerful means of purifying could cleanse her (Jer. 2:22). (See Isa. 1:18; Psa. 51:4; Psa. 51:9.)

IV. Her degradation is the more deep in that she denies her base condition (Jer. 2:23). Though openly practising idolatry, she is blinded in self-righteousness. Her conduct is like irrational animals, yielding to sexual cravings. With unbridled desire she abandons herself to idolatrous lust (Jer. 2:24).

V. The summons to self-restraint defiantly resisted. Advice is fruitless, for I love the aliens (Jer. 2:25).

VI. Disgrace and desertion in the evil hour will eventually follow Israels sin (Jer. 2:26-28). Shame and confusion will ensue from the frustration of her hopes in false gods. And then to the living God whom she has long deserted she will make appeals in vain.

VII. God will send transgressors, who seek Him in their panic, back to the gods for whom they rejected Him (Jer. 2:28-29). Israel had gods enough (Jer. 2:28); ought therefore to be satisfied and secure! Trouble will test Israels hopes, and the worth of her idols. God will not accept any pleading (Jer. 2:29), or regard contention from those who ignored and deserted Him in their day of salvation.Arranged from Keil.

Jer. 2:30-37. AFFECTING EXPOSTULATIONSINCORRIGIBLE IMPENITENCE

When man quarrels with God, the fault is always on the side of man (Psa. 51:6). For

1. God chastises us, but we do not obey (Jer. 2:30).

2. He bestows on us vast blessings, yet we do not adhere to Him (Jer. 2:31).

3. He makes us partakers of the highest glory, yet we reject it with disdain (Jer. 2:32).Naegsb.

An unjust imputation repelled by Jehovah (Jer. 2:31). To an ingenuous mind God never appears so irresistible as when He addresses His creatures in the language of tender expostulation. Christians treat God as a wilderness

1. When they are reluctant to serve Him.
2. When they seek their happiness in the world [away from God]. The ground of complaint is in them, not in Him.Payson.

Who is it thus vindicates His own character? Jehovah Himself. Answer the challenge given and the charge brought against you.

I. His appeal in answer to charges brought against Him.

[For Jer. 2:29 shows Israel chiding (not pleading) with God.]

1. Was He to the Jews a wilderness or a land of darkness? Rescued them from wilderness (Jer. 2:6). Himself met their every want, and gave them full and peaceful possession of the promised land (Deu. 32:10-14; Neh. 9:21-25).

2. Has He in His conduct to us deserved any such humiliating imputation? We passing through wilderness: lacked ye anything? No good thing withhold. Given Son, Spirit; shown kindness and care. Charges against His liberality altogether false (Isa. 5:3-4).

II. God is vindicated; but hear His charge against you. He complains, and justly, of

1. The flagrancy of mans rebellion. Israel, = We are lords, &c. (Jer. 2:31). You also affected independence. Satans temptation. Ye shall be as gods (Gen. 3:5). Independence is the very essence of the Fall (Rev. 3:17). Shown ourselves proud, daring, impious, self-sufficient rebels.

2. The contemptuousness of mans neglect Forgotten Him (Jer. 2:32) after all His mercies. We have forgotten(a.) Our obligations to Him. (b.) Our dependence on Him. (c.) The great account we have to give Him. By our engrossing attention to trifles (Jer. 2:32) we provoke God to jealousy.

(.) Refrain from vindicating yourselves (Jer. 2:35); Hos. 5:5; Isa. 28:5. Ponder the assertion (Pro. 28:13).

(.) Humble yourselves for your guilt. Then be encouraged, for Gods goodness was Israels hope (Deu. 7:7-8), and His love and mercy avail you (Isa. 1:18).Rev. C. Simeon, M.A.

HOMILIES AND OUTLINES ON SELECTED VERSES OF CHAPTER 2

Jer. 2:2. Theme: AN UNFORGOTTEN PAST. Text: I remember thee.

As we advance in life
1. We may, as Israel did, leave the best things we once possessed in the rear. We may acquire more outward substance; Israel did (Jer. 2:7); may amass more, yet we may lose our early sweetness of character, ardour of piety, sanctity of conscience. And

2. We commonly do lose all recollection of those better days. We allow them to die from thought; perhaps helplessly so: it may be we prefer it should. There is a pang in memories of days when we were better, though we had less.

I. The unfading memory of God. I remember.

Not only as a necessity that a mind which is infinite should be incapable of forgetting, but as a voluntary and intentioned act.

1. Our habits are forgetful. The past glides from us, will it or not. Much of the good which the past held, and of the good we did, fades from recollection; and alas! much of the evil becomes lost to memory. Each wave of time rolling in upon the shore obliterates the former wave. What obliterations occur in life! What erasures from memory!

2. Yet no part of our life is lost. Gone from us, and from our recalling, but not from God. Nothing we have been or done fades from the mind of Jehovah. All things lie in His imperishable thoughts. God is not unrighteous to forget either the good or evil which the past contains; else how could He judge our years, and recompense our life?

3. He remembers our life in its religious aspects. For that is the only cognisance God takes of our existence. Though He cares for us and ministers to us temporally, as to Israel (Jer. 2:6-7), He regards our life in its spiritual bearings, estimates its religious qualities, looks for the moral and sacred elements, not the mere material accidents of human existence. We may think much of our affairs; God, of our condition; we, of our circumstances and experiences; God, of the state the soul is in, and the aspects of our life religiously. What does God think of our past?

II. The memory of God lingers fondly over what is good in our life.

There are persons with keen recollections of unkindly and condemnatory incidents; their memories are storehouses of corruptions. Morally, they have bad memories. The morbid remember all that is evil of themselves; the malignant, all that is evil of others.

1. The Divine memory is benignant (Jer. 2:2). I remember thee, is literally to thy account. God keeps the good of our life in thought:

a. For its own sake. He loves everything good. Too precious, and alas! too scarce, to be allowed to slip from thought.

b. For our sake. He loves us for the good; it makes us dearer to Him; it is His seal upon us, His image and superscription (1Ti. 5:23).

2. The good of our life may all lie in the past. It did with Israel. The time of youth was the best time. Alas! her goodness was as the morning cloud and the early dew, which goeth away. Had God limited His attention to the present state of the nation, what a changed order of things! (Jer. 2:11-13). Oh, sad that so full a blossoming should issue in such barrenness and dearth. Our youth is too often the purest and brightest era of our life. Let the mature compare themselves now with themselves then. Nothing sordid, grasping, subtle, withered, defiled; but manhood and womanhood, how deteriorated and devastated! Let the aged review the promise of youth.

Heaven lies about us in our infancy!
Shades of the prison-house begin to close

Upon the growing boy;

But he beholds the light, and whence it flows;

He sees it in his joy:

The youth, who daily farther from the east

Must travel, still is Natures priest,

And by the vision splendid
Is on his way attended:

At length the man perceives it die away,

And fade into the light of common day.

WORDSWORTH.

If, therefore, God is to remember sincere goodness, He must look to our early years. How generous and gracious He who seeks not our sins, but our few poor, short-lived virtues!

III. The memory of God lingers over the good of our life for our advantage.

1. Not that a past religious life can exonerate present sinfulness. It did not Israel: nor can it deliver any soul from the consequences of degeneracy (Eze. 33:12, &c).

2. Yet it allures the Divine tenderness and grace (Mar. 10:20-21).

3. And God does not lightly esteem the fact of our former relationship of love with Himself. He loves still, though we may have declined. He yearns over the child though a prodigal, and would fain reinstate him in His grace. God is specially pathetic and pleading with those who have formerly been His. He cannot reconcile Himself to their alienation and loss.

4. If any return to their first love, He will remember to their account all the zeal and attachment they formerly showed.

How encouraging this to spiritual delinquents! Come, and let us return to the Lord, &c. (Hos. 6:1-4).

Jer. 2:2-3. Every important historical appearance has its paradise or golden age, as now with Israel (Jer. 2:2-3). It is thus with humanity in general, with the Christian Church (Act. 2:41 to Act. 4:37), with the Reformation, so also with individual Churches (Gal. 4:14) and with individual Christians. This period of first nuptial love does not, however, usually continue long (Rev. 2:4).

I. The joyous period of first love.

1. In experience extremely precious.
2. In duration relatively brief.
3. In effect a source of everlasting blessing.
II. The nuptial state of Christs Church in its stages.

1. The first stage, love.

2. The second stage, alienation. (Addenda to chap. Jer. 2:2.)

3. The third stage, return.

III. The covenant of Christ with His Church.

1. Its ground, election.

2. Its condition, faith.

3. Its promise, the Church an indestructible sanctuary.Naeg. in Lange.

Jer. 2:1-13. Theme: The evil nature of that sin which is committed after our conversion to God.

Four things observable which aggravate the offence:
I. Committed in violation of solemn vows and covenant engagements.

Conversion is a marriage, wherein Christ resigns Himself, with all He is and has, to us; and we resign ourselves, with all we are and have, to Christ. Thy vows, O God, are upon me.

The love we then bore to Him = the lose of our espousals: At that time we took Christs cause for our cause, His people for ours, His will for our law, His glory for our end, and Himself for our portion. Did we love Him too well then? If prince espouse poor outcast, give himself and all he has to her, only requiring her heart in return, shall she refuse him that, grow first dissatisfied, and go after other lovers? O my soul! thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord.

II. Departures from God have been without any provocation whatever on His part (Jer. 2:5).

This question ought to open every spring of sensibility and self-abhorrence.
1. Was He wanting in forbearance when we were in rebellion?

2. Did He act unfeelingly when we were ruined, in that He gave His own Son to die for us?

3. Has He been a hard Master since we entered His service? Himself ever a wilderness to us, or obedience a barren path?

4. Has He been a churlish Father to us? Ever refuse us free access, or give us a stone?

5. When we have returned to Him with our whole heart, has He not always been ready to receive us, and bury all in forgetfulness? (Dan. 9:7).

III. Sins after conversion show peculiar and horrible ingratitude (Jer. 2:6-8). God has not done the self-same thing for us as for Israel; but

1. He has given, not Egypt or Ethiopia for our ransom, but His own blood.

2. Has redeemed us, not from Egyptian thraldom, but from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.

3. We never supported by miracles in lonesome deserts of Arabia, but having obtained help of God, we continue.

4. Did not possess Canaan, but God bath provided some better things for us,

Our blessings abundantly transcend theirs, and lay us under far greater obligations. To have slighted and dishonoured a God of such love as this is indeed the greater sin.
IV. Such departures from God are expressive of the most extreme and singular folly (Jer. 2:9-13).

We should so judge of a people who removed their tents from an overflowing fountain and settled in a parched desert, there to trust to hewed eisterns.
1. It is an exchange, and a foolish one; of liberty for drudgery, peace for remorse, joyfulness for anguish, abundance for penury and misery.

2. It is singular folly (Jer. 2:10-11). Israel, the only people in the world having a God worth cleaving to, must be the only people desiring a change. The people of the only true God alone prove untrue!

This not more extreme and singular than our folly when we shun God and fly for happiness to sensual and carnal gratification.Andrew Fuller.

Jer. 2:5. Theme: HEAVENS APPEAL TO THE SINNER.

I. The sinner is Divinely described.

They are gone far from Me, and have walked after vanity.
1. Sin is departure from God. Alienation of sympathy and soul.

2. Sin is a progress of vanity. An idol is nothing in the world (1Co. 8:4). Everything about a sinners life is vain. Sin is going from the real to the unreal.

(1.) The pleasures he seeks are unsatisfactory; all empty, and outside him.
(2.) The honours he aspires to are unreal; neither enrich nor ennoble the soul.

II. The sinner is Divinely challenged.

What iniquity found in Me?
1. Implies that if iniquity were found in God, there would be some justification for apostasy on the sinners part.

2. That the discovery of such iniquity it an absolute impossibility. There are three revelations of God, and each shows Him of absolute perfection.

(1.) Nature. Reflected in the universe, God is perfect.

(2.) Biography of Christ. Perfect grace, perfect truth.

(3.) The moral soul. They declare God is perfect. All men feel bound to love Him; indicates innate belief in His perfection.

No being in the universe can find iniquity in God. Could hell find it, its agony would be mitigated, if not removed.Homilist.

Comments:

Jer. 2:8. Since priests, pastors, and prophets, who have been regularly inducted into office, may be deceivers, it is necessary to try the spirits according to the criterion given in 1Jn. 4:1, sq.Lange.

Jer. 2:9. Their ancestors, themselves, and their descendants, constitute a unity(1.) In moral guilt. (2.) In persistent backsliding. Ergo, (3). In consequent penalty.

Jer. 2:11. Changed their glory. (See Addenda to chap. Jer. 2:11.) Gods no gods.

1. Israel had no glory, dignity, or renown of her own (Deu. 7:7).

2. She had derived from Jehovah all the glory she ever possessed (Deu. 4:32-38).

3. God Himself was Israels crown of glory and beauty (Psa. 106:20; Rom. 1:23).

4. The Shekinah, shining upon and filling with splendour the sanctuary, was the glorious symbol of Gods presence with Israel (1Ki. 8:11; cf. Rom. 9:4).

5. Idolatry endeavoured to materialise that ethereal symbol of God: golden calf (Exo. 32:2-5), glittering, brilliant!

6. The substitution of profitless idols for Jehovah surrendered all Israels glory, and left her baser than when God found her (Deu. 28:15-29).

Jer. 2:12-13. Theme: TWO ASTOUNDING EVILS. (See Literary Criticisms, Jer. 2:12.)

To forsake God does not mean departure from His presence nor escape from His rule, but moral alienation of soul.

I. The force of human freedom.

Mightiest rivers cannot break from their source, nor greatest planets from their centre, but man can from centre and fountain of his being.
1. This freedom is a matter of personal consciousness. This is the invincible and ultimate argument re human responsibility; men feel they are uncoerced and free.

2. This freedom invests human existence with transcendent importance. Makes them members of the great moral empire of the universe.

II. The enormity of human wickedness.

1. What ingratitude. 2. What injustice. 3. What impiety.

III. The egregiousness of human folly:

1. In withdrawing from the satisfying to toil for the unsatisfying.

2. In withdrawing from the abundant to toil for the scanty. Well may the heavens be amazed and horrified at the freedom, iniquity, and folly which they witness every age and every day, developed in the history of our race.Homilist.

Comments:

Jer. 2:14. Eichhorn thinks the prophet here proposes to Judah, as yet spared, the case of Israel (the captive ten tribes), as a warning of what they might expect if they confided in Egypt: Was Israel of meaner birth than Judah? Nay; yet if Israel fell before Assyria, could Judah hope a better fate from Egypt? But the two parts of the nation are not separated in the prophets thought and address (cf. Jer. 2:13; Jer. 2:18; Jer. 2:36).

It is an inquiry: How comes it that the nation which is not a slave by birth, being Jehovahs son, His firstborn (Exo. 4:22), is to suffer the miseries of slavery?

Speakers Com., however, renders it: If Israel is a slave, he is home-born, and hence held in respect (Gen. 14:14), may expect kindness as well as protection. Cannot Jehovah guard His own household? How happens it that a member of so powerful a family is spoiled? Next verse gives the reason: Israel is a runaway slave, deserted the family to which he belonged; hence his trouble and misery. By leaving his masters house he has exposed himself to the beasts of prey in the wilderness (Jer. 2:15).

Theme: ISRAELS SLAVERY AN EMBLEM OF THE UNIVERSAL HUMAN SLAVERY OF SIN.

1. In both it is not original. 2. Is self-incurred. 3. Is severely punished. 4. The punishment is the means of salvation (since it shows sin is ruinous, and godliness is life and peace).Naegelsbach.

Jer. 2:16. If God wishes to chastise His people, He usually employs the ungodly for this purpose (Deu. 28:49-50); and it often happens that injury and destruction come upon the ungodly from those from whom they have promised themselves the greatest help.Starke. (See Literary Criticisms, Jer. 2:16.)

Jer. 2:17. Theme: RECKLESS DESERTION OF THE RIGHT WAY.

Suggests a retrospect. Look well over your life and mark your career; the points at which you forsook God. Suggests also a calamity. How are your present misery and terror to be accounted for? Examples: Youth with wasted constitution. Merchant suddenly bankrupt. Brought it all on himself. Man is too ready to blame others, emphatically God, for his misfortunes. Text finds the cause of our personal, social, and spiritual disasters nearer home.

I. There is a gracious way wherein Jehovah leads.

Through Arabian desert went with Israel. But a way of life is meant.

1. This may not approve itself to the unregenerate.
2. Yet it is a path of pleasantness and holy joy to the godly.
3. Along it the footsteps of God, the presence of Emmanuel, are realised and enjoyed.

4. Attended by the Lord Himself he pilgrim traverses this living way, which leads away from bondage into blessed privilege and eternal rest. (See Addenda to chap. Jer. 2:17.)

How blessed, and safe, and favoured that life which has Jesus ever with it all the way; the life which is ordered so as to please Him, and never lead Him to depart; a loyal career of piety and love!

II. Man betrays a fatal refractoriness, and deserts the gracious way. Youth, though trained in wisdoms ways, forsakes them for sin. Even religious persons turn aside from the Lord and wander. Hence:

1. The criminality of those who desert God. The Lord thy God.

2. The circumstances under which refractoriness asserts itself. When He led thee. Not when God seemed distant or angry.

3. The course which this refractoriness pursued. Thou bast forsaken the Lord. Not fell back in the way because it was difficult to follow; but an entire and wilful leaving the path for another.

III. Sinners accomplish their own overthrow by their wilful impiety.

Thou hast procured this for thyself. (See Literary Criticisms, Jer. 2:17.)

1. The way led from evil to good (Jer. 2:6-7).

2. Outside the way perils and foes lurked for prey (Jer. 2:15).

3. Leaving the way forfeited Gods guidance and protection.

4. The end of transgression is doom (Mat. 7:13).

Ruin is entailed, not sent; doom is the natural issue of evil; the guilty perish as the inevitable outcome of wrong. They had, therefore, to bear their own iniquity, and to blame themselves for their woes (Eze. 33:11).

Jer. 2:19. Theme: SIN ITS OWN PUNISHMENT.

I. In the dealings of God with good men.

1. Neglect secret devotion, and God will refuse His blessing on other means of grace.

2. Indulge secret sin, and God will bring that sin into open light and condemnation.

3. Idolise created good, God will take from us our idol, or make it a plague to us.
4. Act with faithlessness to others, God will permit us to suffer from the treachery of others; as Jacobs subtlety with Esau came back in Labans treatment of him.
5. Undutifulness to parents punished by the defiance of our own children.
6. Indifference as to home piety returned upon us in the irreligion of those in the home. Elis sons.
II. In the dealings of God with wicked men.

1. Those who resent religious persuasions and strive to stifle conviction are deprived of godly parents and friends, and left to a fatal peace.
2. Those who repel the Gospel because of its humiliating truths are allowed to believe a lie and be damned, because they have pleasure in unrighteousness.
3. In death and judgment, the punishment of the sinner will reflect his sin. He who had said to Christ, Depart, I desire not the knowledge of Thy ways, will hear his own word again, DEPART!

The essence of misery in that world will consist in recollection. Then will our wickedness reprove us.

Application: How dreadful a thing sin is in all its operations! He who indulges in it kindles a fire that will burn himself. Be sure your sin will find you out.

There is no radical cure but contrition and the Cross.A. Fuller.

i. The nature of sin: forsaking the Lord as our God.

ii. The cause of sin: because His fear is not in us.

iii. The malignity of sin: it is an evil and bitter thing.

iv. The fatal consequences of sin: forsaking the Lord = without God.

v. The use and application of all this: repent of thy sin.M. Henry.

Jer. 2:20. I. The sacred yoke of God. (See Addenda to chap. Jer. 2:20, Yoke.)

1. The Lords yoke is easy (Mat. 11:29); yet

2. It seems intolerable to our flesh; nevertheless

3. Heartrending sacrifices and sufferings are the substitutes we procure for ourselves in its stead. Children given to Moloch, and infliction of self-torture (1Ki. 18:28).This, rather than renounce carnal freedom and bow to the chastisement of the Spirit.

II. sacred yoke refusd. The endeavour to cast that yoke off:

1. An ancient one. The angels revolt; mans fall; Israels apostasy.
2. A ruinous one. For (a.) It deprives us of true freedom; and (b.) It renders us the servants of powers hostile to God and destructive to ourselves.Arranged from LANGE.

Jer. 2:22. Theme: FUTILE SELF-CLEANSING. (See Critical Notes, Natural History, Jer. 2:22; and Addenda to chap. Jer. 2:22, Iniquity is marked.)

I. Sinners make vigorous efforts at external cleansing.

1. Driven thereto by remorse or apprehension.
2. Under a powerful impulse towards improvement; or
3. As a compromise with conscience; balancing inward evil by outward good.

II. Approved and promising means may be adopted. As here:

1. Rationalism prescribes its nitre of culture and respectability.

2. Sacerdotalism recommends its soap of confession, penance, gifts to the Church, vows of chastity, &c.

3. Self-righteousness urges more washing, tithes and phylacteries, and prayers; that the outside of the cup and the platter may be clean; for the Pharisees wash oft.

III. All this without any true appreciation of holiness. For that would denote loathing of sin and of self, which God accepts, and is the beginning of redemption.

1. Israel was not resolved on purifying herself. There was much ado about reformation, cleansing Temple, because Josiah was resolute; but she still loved sin (Jer. 2:25).

2. The outward effort is impotent when without heart. There may be ostentatious vigour, but it is the inward longing and purpose which give effect to action. The Lord looketh not on outward appearance, but searcheth the heart.

3. Cleansing without holiness is self-deception and abhorrent. It is the devils piety, a whited wall, a delusion to man, and detestable to God (Luk. 16:15).

IV. Therefore the guilt remains deep and immovable.

1. For the sin itself is not superficial, but inherent.
2. Superficial cleansing does not touch the seat of evil. For out of the heart proceeds evil, &c.
3. Till sin is loathed it cannot be removed. It is incarcerated within us, protected against remedies.
4. It thus lies under Gods eye an indelible stain.
Let the soul abhor itself, and repent in dust and ashes; and lo! there stands ready a Saviour, the propitiation for our sins, mighty to save; who, if the sinner will but cry to Him, Lord, save, I perish! will answer, Thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven thee! Though your sins be as scarlet, &c. (Isa. 1:18).

Jer. 2:23. Theme: WHAT HAST THOU DONE? Text: See thy way in the valley; know what thou hast done.

God undertakes to expostulate with His people. He finds them priding themselves on, and surrounding themselves with, an edifice of self-righteousness, a refuge of lies.
How does God confute this self-righteousness? By simply pointing to bare fact. The prophet takes Israel up to the summit of the hill, and points down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, to the sight of all those idolatrous emblems and monuments scattered profusely there. God lays hold of Israel, as it were, and says, How canst thou say, I am not polluted? See thy way, &c. Those stones cry out against thee, those smouldering fires down there, through which your children passed, are indications of the guilt which has brought darkness and judgment down upon the nation.

I challenge you to take a general view of your past life. See thy way; know what thou hast done.

1. Look at your life in the light of Gods Divine purpose. God sent you into the world with a noble destiny; to reflect His glory and scatter heavenly blessings. He gave thee a body to be a temple of the Holy Ghost: what hast thou done? Desecrated that sacred shrine. Gave thee an intelligence to know Him; but He has not been in thy thoughts: a heart to glow with Divine love; but it only glows under the blighting breath of sin.

2. In the light of your social position, and the circumstances by which you have been surrounded. God has given some position, wealth, business: what done with it? God asks it, but you return Nabals answer (1Sa. 25:11).

3. In the light of the responsibilities of the domestic relationship. God has made you a member of a family. Parents, negligent of souls of your children, concerned more for their social prospects, is prayer ever heard among your children? What hast thou done? Trained thy children for hell.

4. In the light of your relationship to the best and tenderest of fathers. What done to your Father in heaven? Prodigal son. That is how Gods mercy is treated; waste Divinely-given substance in selfishness and sin. What hast thou done? Turned thy back on thy Fathers love, spurned His offers of mercy, and deafened thine ear against His call.

5. In the light of the tender dealings of the Holy Spirit of God. You can remember in childhood and youth how that Spirit strove with you. In those early days there was, at times, a strange overshadowing, a Voice that seemed to say, Come! It was the Holy Spirit who longed to win you. What hast thou done to that Holy Spirit of God? Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost.

6. In the light of your relationships with Him, who, because He loved you, was content to hang as your substitute upon the cross of shame. I plead for Him. I hold Him up crucified before you. What hast thou done to that blood of His? Infatuated Jews cried, His blood be on us and our children! and it fell as showers of judgment. Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Have you taken home to your heart the message, The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin; and looked up with eyes of gratitude to your Saviours face, and said, O my Saviour! Thy blood was shed for me, for me, for me?Aitken.

Jer. 2:24. Theme: SELF-VINDICATING SINNERS REPROVED.

Circumstances under which we sin aggravates the guilt. Mercies received by us; resolutions they have prompted; degree of our degeneration; all are marked by God. But one evil transcends all others, a self-justifying spirit; this is pre-eminently offensive to the Divine Majesty.

I. The self-vindicating ways of sinners.

It might be supposed that, when mens iniquities are so visible, they would fall under the accusation and humble themselves before God. Instead, they justify themselves against the charge: some
1. In a way of direct denial; as Cain (Gen. 4:9, and text).

2. In a way of vain excuse; as Saul (1Sa. 15:13-15).

3. In a way of hypocritical palliation; as Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:11-13).

II. God substantiates His charge against His offending people.

However we may justify ourselves, God will set before us the things that we have done (Psa. 50:21):

1. By an appeal to fact. See thy way in the valley; know what thou hast done. Not discovered by secret search (Jer. 2:34); it is done without concealment. So, look at your whole lives, one continued scene of rebellion against God. All your very religion a shadow, full of shameful unreality and slips. What palliations can exonerate?

2. By a most apt comparison. (See Critical Notes, Natural History, Literary Criticisms, above; also Addenda, Jer. 2:23.) Dromedary and wild ass, when seeking their mate, are so bent upon attainment of their desire, that efforts to catch them are vain; no one will weary himself with so fruitless a labour. But when their time of pregnancy has advanced they fall comparatively an easy prey to the pursuer. So to little purpose that you are followed with invitations and entreaties: you will not hear voice of charmer, charm he never so wisely.

Application: There is a time when we may hope to prevail over sinners. In her month (Jer. 2:24). Happy if you have become weary and heavy laden with your sins, and will be led back to God. Only acknowledge thine iniquity (Jer. 3:13). Come burdened to Jesus, and He will give you rest (1Jn. 1:8-9).Simeon.

Jer. 2:25. Comments.

Schmidt interprets the words Withhold thy foot, &c., as being led barefoot away into captivity, the penalty of apostasy. Hitzig thinks the reference is to penances performed barefoot to idols, and the thirst the result of vociferous invocations. Eichhorn regards it as referring to idolatrous acts, viewed as those of a lewd person, who both exposes herself and cries out for paramours. Umbriet, = God entreats Israel as His bride to refrain from rushing like an adultress, barefoot, and with parched throat, after strangers.

The natural meaning: Abstain from incontinence (idolatry); do not so shamelessly pursue lovers, nor thirst after sexual intercourse. (See Literary Criticisms on Jer. 2:28.)

There is no hope, &c. The plea of despair is not half honest; it is taken up as an apology for rushing madly and headlong into sin.Cowles.

Jer. 2:26. If kings and princes are authorised to determine a nations religion, and priests and prophets to lord it over individual conscience and judgment, why, then, this people was not to blame. Piety, if left to their imperious care, would soon fall into a lamentable plight. Let each man be his own king and priest religiously; be fully persuaded in his own mind, and act as he knows God requires.(See Addenda to chap. 2. Jer. 2:26, Kings and priests.)

Jer. 2:27. Trouble is a fine self-revealer, and a faithful witness for God Pleasure and prosperity act on men as opiates, lull and befool them; but affliction and trouble are quick restoratives; they bring men to their senses. (See Addenda to chap. 2. Jer. 2:27, Trouble)

Jer. 2:28. 1. Shame is the only gain of impiety; it eventually covers us with confusion.

2. Subterfuges for God will be an encumbrance and a torture to us when we find out our stupidity and their uselessness.
3. We shall want a helper to arise and save in the evil times which are coming. May our hope not make us ashamed!
4. Necessity teaches men to pray; but it is a desperate thing to be calling upon vanities in the day of our dismay.
5. God may send back pleaders to their cherished delusions. Then will they know themselves as having no hope, and without God in the world.

Jer. 2:30. In vain have I smitten you. God deals two different strokes, one for grace, another for justice; to save, or to afflict; to convert, or to make sinners know their crime.

The smiting was by Gods prophets, whose words are the rod of His mouth, and fall with different effects on men, according as they hear or forbear, proving a savour of life to some, and of death to others.

This smiting by the prophets with the sword of the Spirit was answered by their smiting the prophets with the material sword of slaughtering revenge (1Ki. 18:13; Neh. 9:26; Mat. 23:37). (See Literary Criticisms, Jer. 2:30.)

1. To accept chastisement, sent by word or deed, is a sign of wisdom (Pro. 8:10; cf. Heb. 12:9).

2. To profit by it requires that we enter into the Divine purpose and respond (Heb. 12:5; Heb. 12:10). (See Addenda to chap. 2 Jer. 2:30, Correction.)

Jer. 2:31. Where God bestows most benefits, there He receives the least gratitude.Frster. God is a desert to none. This is true1. In reference to all men (comp. Mat. 5:45). (a.) He regards their bodily wants. (b.) He provides for and seeks their spiritual good. 2. He was always a fruitful land to Israel. (a.) When He blessed them and punished the heathen. (b.) When He blessed the heathen and punished them. (c.) Even when He allowed the Church of Christ to pass from the Jews to the heathen.From Homilies on Jeremiah, by Jerome, quoted in Lange.

What an attitude of graceless defiance and antagonism this for man to assume! 1. We refuse the Divine control completely. We are lords, i.e., ramble unrestrained. 2. We are determined never to return to the Lord. We will come no more unto Thee. It is an idle boast. (1.) None can escape Gods control (cf. Act. 17:28; Heb. 9:27). (2.) Every soul must come back to God (Rom. 14:10-12). Who then shall stand before Him? (See Literary Criticisms, Jer. 2:31.)

Jer. 2:32. (See Critical Notes, Manners and Customs, Jer. 2:32.)

1. The worlds trifles are esteemed more than Gods graces.
2. Adornment of the person engrosses more time and thought than enriching the soul.
3. God receives worse treatment from frivolous worldlings than their paltry trinkets. They preserve and prize them; but God is not in all their thoughts.

Jer. 2:33. Fine irony. How good thou makest thy way! = amendest (cf. chap. Jer. 7:3; Jer. 7:5), in order to gain love. To succeed in wickedness, to live immorally, necessitates no little study, self-accommodation, and effort. Evil costs more pains than godliness, and requites with penalties.

Jer. 2:35. Obstinate impenitence. (1.) It is blind to its own guilt. (2.) Blasphemes God by accusing Him of unjust anger. (3.) Will not escape just punishment.Naeg. in Lange.

i. Self-justification. ii. Delusive hope. iii. Divine testing. iv. Certain refutation.

Jer. 2:36-37. Fear, defeat, failure.

I. Fearful lest her confidences should fail, the soul anxiously multiplies human reliances; gaddest about so much to change her way; to make sure of Egypt when Assyria seems declining.

II. Dishonoured by this desertion of Him for other confidences, God will defeat her human hopes. The Lord hath rejected thy confidences (despised them); thou shalt not prosper in them.

III. All contrivances to prevent herself being left desolate issue in overwhelming failure and shame. Thou shalt go forth from him (from thence), thine hands upon thine head. (See Critical Notes, Manners and Customs, Jer. 2:37.)

NOTICEABLE TOPICS IN CHAPTER 2
Topic: EARLY PIETY THE BEAUTY OF YOUTH. Text: I remember the kindness of thy youth (Jer. 2:2).

Introduction. The sacred grace of bygone days made Israel lovely in Gods remembrance. The religious earnestness of the young ruler secured for him thisJesus looking upon him, loved him. Young lives consecrated to the Lord are sure of Heavens approval and blessing. (See Addenda, chap. 2. Jer. 2:2, Piety the beauty of youth.)

I. A picture of a beautiful youth.

A portrait hangs on your wall; you say, A lovely face! But something more beautiful and valuable than good looks. What? The character, virtues, life. God would not estimate by looks, appearance. He wants the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. See what Scripture says about appearance as compared with the inward spiritual qualities (1Pe. 3:4). Israels youth had not been vitiated by sin; it was given up to God in its freshness and beauty. Shall yours be? God says of it that it was1. Full of kindness (to Him). 2. Secretly loving and clinging. Espousals: went after me. Jesus asks each, Lovest thou me? Follow me.

II. An eye that fondly gazes on it.

What loving eyes, of mother, father, look often on that portrait on the wall! I remember thee. God could not draw His gaze off from that picture of Israels early piety. Oh, how God lingers with eyes of tender regard over each youthful life, specially over those who are early His! I love them that love Me, and those who seek Me early shall find Me. 1. God had Himself formed and graced this youth with beauty. He was a Father to Israel, and all her loveliness was derived from Him. So all our goodness is His gracious work. 2. God cherished Israel as being peculiarly precious (Deu. 7:6-8). Oh, what hopes a father entertains about his child; what love he lavishes!

III. A special desire to preserve it.

Nothing, no one, must be allowed to injure that much-prized portrait. So God laid penalties against all who should touch or damage Israel (Jer. 2:3). For1. There was no equal in the world. All the world was idolatrous, but Israel was holiness. Think what it must be for an only child to be lost. God does not want to lose you, i.e., your youth, your piety. He asks that your religion be preserved. It is an incomparably precious jewel. Your character is the best thing about you; that gone, you are nothing to God. 2. It could not be replaced. Youth once gone never can be recalled. Youthful piety cannot be recalled once lost. You may return to God later in life, but the best part of you would then be wanting. A flower with its leaves falling off is not so beautiful as the opening bud.

IV. A dreadful peril threatening it.

Precious things always seem most in danger. A portrait not valued would never get damaged; but that one precious thing, why, everything seems to threaten it. There are dreadful perils menacing a godly youth. 1. Offensive enemies (Jer. 2:3, offend) 2. Numerous enemies (all that devour). 3. Destructive enemies (devour). Remember him who seeketh whom he may devour (1Co. 1:23; cf. Mat. 18:6-7). Think how Israel was spoiled (Jer. 2:14). We need the preserving care of Jesus. He can keep us in safety, and guard our souls from the spoiler (1Ti. 1:12).

Topic: DISTRUST OF GOD ISSUING IN DESERTION. Text: My people have for saken Me, and hewed out cisterns (Jer. 2:13).

Faith and unfaith can neer be equal powers;
Unfaith in aught is want of faith in all.

Let distrust begin, it will widen into alienation. It may be small at outset, a little pitted speck in the ripe fruit of our faith, a mere doubt of Gods promises; but the leak has sprung, the fire has started, the poison has entered the blood. The speck spread, rotted inward, and slowly mouldered all. This is the principle of the text, the growth of unfaith, the ultimate issues of distrust of God.

Not applicable to those who have never loved and trusted God; but to My people, who had experienced enough to ensure their fearless love. We have known fuller demonstration of Divine sufficiency and grace in Jesus in our personal redemption and adoption. In us perfect love should cast out fear. Yet doubt has been cherished, and has issued in desertion.

I. A fact for amazement: God was theirs, yet they deserted Him. Be astonished, saith the Lord. It is a cry of amazement from God. O ye heavens! peopled with myriads of holy ones, did ye ever know such a wrong done to your faithful and gracious King? Silence your songs; be horribly afraid; for what may not ensue, now that My people can act thus?

1. There is overflowing plenitude in God. Fountain; spontaneously, from indwelling resources, giving forth streams: living water; unceasing, never stagnant, always fresh and refreshing: living waters; many streams, diverse and multiplied, suiting every taste, slaking every thirst.

2. It is Gods purpose that we should find our all in Him. (a.) Human thirst is Gods work in us. (b.) Thirsts are implanted within us to lead us to God for supply. (c.) We may therefore be satisfied fully, and can be satisfied alone in Him. Did our faith never falter, we might ask what we will and it should be done. Sad that we have let unfaith come in; and, in our want of faith, have sought to provide substitutes should God fail!

II. An effort of compensation: Having forsaken God, they constructed for themselves laboured contrivances. Withdrawal of faith from God does not better us, but beggars us; not set us at rest, but drives us to wearying toils. Having lost our good in God, we wander piteously, crying, Who will show us any good? See how this works:

1. I become perplexed. God bids, If lack wisdom, ask of God. Instead of going to Fountain, committing my way and trusting in Him, I seek counsellors; but they do not agree, and perplex me the more. They hold no water.

2. I am in grief; heart aches for consolation. I might lean on Jesus bosom; but hard thoughts drive me to avoid Him. I seek human words of comfort, and they fall on my earvapid, succourless. Miserable comforters are ye all! They hold no water.

3. The Church droops; numbers minish, agencies fail. We must get a more earnest pastor, more effective preacher, make our services more attractive! So popular preacher comes, sensational services are arranged, week-night entertainments planned. But can these bring the Breath of the Lord? They hold no water; and the spiritual life of the Church is parched and perishing still.

4. When persons lose vital godliness, they often grow valiant sectarians and doctrinal bigotstheir tenets are their cisterns; or they substitute punctilious observances for spontaneous piety.
(a.) Man has the power to construct promising appliances. (b.) He makes toilsome efforts to satisfy his soul in dearth; but thus saith the Lord, Wherefore labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto Me. A voice from the Gospel age speaks, If any man thirst, come unto Me and drink!

III. A desolating failure: Mans toilsome devices prove of no avail. Broken; for God is not careful to preserve them (Jer. 2:37). Better broken than that we should be sustained by delusions.

1. Men have left God for pleasure. Issue: The worm, the canker, and the grief are mine alone.

2. For success. Issue: All vanity and vexation of spirit.

3. Turned from Jesus to culture. Issue: O wretched man that I am, &c.

4. From Bible to rationalism. Issue: Leap in the dark.

Content yourselves with God. We are not to be creators but recipients. Shut door of your hearts on unfaith. Keep near Fountain. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters!

Topic: GOD NO BARREN WILDERNESS. Text: Have I been a wilderness unto Israel, a land of darkness? (Jer. 2:31).

In the text there are three general parts considerable: a demand, an expostulation, and an invitation.

I. A demand. Have I been a wilderness, &c.

i. It hath the force of a remonstrance or protestation, i.e., I have not been so. Not a wilderness, which is an expression of unprofitableness; not a land of darkness, which = uncomfortableness. Theme: That Gods people do not serve Him in vain and for no profit; neither are they losers by their servings of Him. This is evident from daily experience and observation; and it is founded upon Gods royalty, nobleness, and magnificence. Men are wrongly opinionated respecting God, and the reasons are:

1. Because God is pleased sometimes to suspend and delay the expressions of His goodness to them.
2. Because God does not always reward them in that way and kind as they desire and expect from Him.
ii. It hath the force of a remembrance or seasonable intimation, i.e., I have been the contrary, I have in reality been a paradise. It is an ironical inquiry suggesting the very reverse, intimating Gods great goodness and overflowing bounty. Theme: That God takes care of His Church, and provides all things necessarymeans of illumination and instruction, means of fructification and increase. His providence works wonderfully for it, keeping it from enemies, preserving it from dangers and destruction.

The more God does for any people, the more He expects from them. Their thankfulness is to be answerable to His mercies, and their obedience to their thankfulness.

iii. It hath the force of a reproach or implicit exprobration, i.e., Israel hath rather been a wilderness to Me! And so it represents to us the unfruitfulness of Gods people. Three things aggravate this unfruitfulness:

(1.) The mercies which they enjoy. (2.) The means (of improvement; advantages) they partake of. (3.) The expectations which are upon them; for God had occasion to expect fruitful returns. It is a sad thing to be under the upbraidings of the Almighty, for there is certain to be occasion for it when He reproaches.

iv. It hath the force of an appeal or provocation to them, i.e., let Israel speak what they know of Me. God here submits Himself to the judgment of their consciences. He challenges them to say the worst of Him. This is grounded upon His own innocency. Thus He justifies all His dispensations with His people; for if they consider, they must acknowledge that His ways are equal and theirs unequal (Eze. 28:26). In His goodness to His whole Church in general, and to our own persons in particular, God has approved Himself to our consciences by manifold expressions.

II. An expostulation. Wherefore say My people, We are lords, we will come no more unto Thee?

i. The charge; it is twofold:

1. Their assertion; we are lords, whereby they hold forth their own greatness, self-sufficiency, and independence. When men will be their own masters, and do what they will without control, God suffers them to be so, and gives them up to liberty. But this is the greatest misery in this world; for with our nature corrupted by sin we need One better than ourselves to guide and restrain us.

2. Their resolution; we will come no more, &c., which is a twofold sin(a.) The denial of their address. This refusal to come showed disrespect, want of due affection for God; for when men come not at God, it is a sign they do not love Him nor regard Him as they should: ingratitude; for they had received so many kindnesses from God, that His mercies should have provoked attendance upon Him: stubbornness; resisted even Gods call and persuasion. Ahasuerus took ill Vashtis refusal to come when commanded. Yet God has invited us often by the ministry, Providence, and Spirit. (b.) The discontinuance of address, no more come, which denotes their self-sufficiency and their apostasy. We are lords, and can shift for ourselves.

ii. The censure, wherefore? which signifies that

1. It was without reason; they had no cause at all for it; God had given them neither occasion or provocation.

2. It was against reason. Consider their relationMy people. What an unnatural thing for them to refuse to come near God! And their indebtedness; kindness is a strong engagement; love constrains response; yet here it was all restrained and reversed.

III. An invitation. O ye generation, see ye the word of the Lord!

By generation he meant the people of the time. There is a reflection in the phrase upon the sinfulness and wretchedness of the age, as if to say, Into what a time and age are we fallen! Here then consider:

Unto what this generation is invited. To see the Word of the Lord, i.e., mind it and attend to it. They had heard the Word often, but it had done no good; now called to see it.

The weightiness and seriousness of it in its twofold bearing1. As it respects Gods own justification, Have I been a wilderness? and 2. As it respects Israels condemnation, Wherefore say My people, &c.

What improvement have we in this generation made of our favours? Have we shown faithfulness and fruitfulness? God has been no wilderness to us: have we to Him? No darkness, for the light of truth and the Gospel shines around us: have we walked in the light? Have we waxed proud and self-confident, saying, We are lords? &c. Certainly the abominations which in these days abound speak loudly against us. If so, it is most unreasonable. And God calls us to repentance and amendment of life.T. Horton, D.D., London, A.D. 1678.

ADDENDA TO CHAPTER 2 ILLUSTRATIONS AND SUGGESTIVE EXTRACTS

Jer. 2:2. Love of thine espousals: its Divine origin:

Yes, love indeed is light from heaven,

A spark of that immortal fire

With angels shared, by Alla given.

To lift from earth our low desire.

Devotion wafts the mind above,

But heaven itself descends in love;

A feeling from the Godhead caught,

To wean from self each sordid thought;

A ray of Him who formed the whole,

A glory circling round the soul.

BYRON.

Ill-requited:

A mighty pain to love it is,
And tis a pain that pain to miss;
But of all pains, the greatest pain
It is to love, and love in vain.

COWLEY.

I remember thy youth. The retrospect on youth is too often like looking back on what was a fair and promising country, but is now desolated by an overwhelming torrent. Or it is like visiting the grave of a friend whom we have injured, and are precluded by his death from the possibility of making him an atonementJ. Foster.

Piety the beauty of youth.

What is beauty? Not the show
Of shapely form and features. No!

These are but flowers
That have their dated hours

To breathe their momentary sweets, then go.

Tis the stainless soul within
That outshines the fairest skin.

SIR A. HUNT.

Naturalists inform us that Oriental pearls are generated of the morning dew. That field is full of the richest corn which is cleansed of its noxious weeds in the spring. Jesus was carried in triumph upon a colt, the foal of an ass.Secker.

Jer. 2:6. Neither said they, Where is the Lord that brought us from Egypt. Ingratitude. Philip, King of Macedonia, caused a soldier of his, that had offered unkindness to one that had kindly entertained him, to be branded in the forehead with these two words: Hospes ingratus. Unthankfulness is a monster in nature, a solecism in manners, a parodox in divinity, a parching wind to dry up the fountain of further favour.Trapp. The Dead Sea drinks in the Jordan, and is never the sweeter; and the ocean all rivers, and is never the fresher; thus, we take all Gods mercies with insensibility.

Jer. 2:10-11. Nation changed their gods. Idolatry. We perceive, as much from the words of the prophet as from the history, that this idolatry has now become deep and radical. The state of mind latent in them is the utter incapacity for acknowledging a God not appealing to the senses, which Jeremiah discovers in his contemporaries. He boldly sets up the faith of the heathen as a lesson to the Israelites.Kings and Prophets; Maurice.

A long course of sin was needed so to deaden and blind the heart of man as to make idolatry possible. Age after age gave in its contribution, so that, besides the original sin of each man, there was a sinful tradition of mankind. Every generation bequeathed to the next a further measure of declension from God.Dr Manning.

Jer. 2:11. Gods which are yet no gods. At Buhapurum, a child about eight years old, educated in Christian faith, was ridiculed on that account by some heathen persons older than himself. Show us your God, said they. I cannot do that, answered the child, but I can soon show you yours. Taking a stone, and daubing it with some resemblance to a human face, he placed it upon the ground, and pushing it towards them with his foot, There, he said, is such a god as you worship.Dictionary of Illustrations; Dickenson.

Jer. 2:17. He led thee by the way. The blessed pilgrimage. Faith is the rod with which he cleaves Red Seas of difficulty; and Gods Word is a pillar of guiding light amid the rocks of a sandy wilderness; and Sabbaths are wells of water; and Ordinances are beautiful and shady palm-trees; and Prayer brings down manna every morning; and the sight of the Cross heals the bite of fiery serpents; and Hope is a spy going beforehand to bring back the clusters of Eshcol; and Gods presence is, at the last, as the ark in the midst of the river; and the pilgrim passes dry-shod into the land that floweth with milk and honey.J. Stoughton.

Jer. 2:19. Thine own wickedness shall correct thee and reprove thee. Sin its own punishment. Look for the man who has practised a vice so long that he curses it and clings to it; that he pursues it because he feels a great law of his nature driving him on towards it, but, reaching it, knows it will gnaw his heart and tear his vitals, and make him roll himself in the dust with anguish.Sidney Smith.

When Nicephorus Phocas had built a strong wall about his palace for his own security in the night-time, he heard a voice crying to him, O Emperor! though thou build thy walls as high as the clouds, yet, if sin be within, it will overthrow all!

Jer. 2:20. Yoke. The yoke was laid upon the neck of the beast, and fastened with thongs to it and to the ploughbeam. It thus symbolised slavery or severe rule (as Egyptian), while breaking it suggested welcome deliverance. Breaking the yoke equally represents the rejection of authority, as in this verse, and chap. Jer. 5:5.

Jer. 2:22. Thine iniquity is marked. Let a blot lie a while on a pure sheet of white satin paper; try to remove it. Erasure may ultimately rid the sheet of that one dark spot, but the paper is injured, the satin gloss is gone, and if you try to write on the place again, the lines smear. Sin effects permanent injury, cannot be removed by most careful efforts; the mark remains when all is done. Holiness is not mere cleanness; it has no mark of injury. It is pure light; the concentration of all the prismatic colours into unity.

Jer. 2:23. Swift dromedary. The camels of the Bible are of two kinds, the difference being the result simply of breeding and training. The first kind, used as a beast of burden, will carry from 500 to 1000 pounds twenty-four miles a day. The second, used to convey intelligence, will travel upwards of 100 miles in twenty-four hours; this kind is called the dromedary.Topics for Teachers; Gray.

Jer. 2:26. Kings and priests. No human authorities to dictate our religion. One of the ancient fathers replied to a clamorous disputant who shouted Hear me, hear me, I will neither hear thee, nor do thou hear me, but let us both hear Christ.Dictionary of Illustrations.

Jer. 2:27. In the time of their trouble, &c. The armies of Media and Lydia were in violent conflict on the 30th September, B.C. 610 (while Josiah was occupied in reforming Judah), when suddenly, to them, occurred an eclipse of the sun, known as Thales eclipse. It overwhelmed both armies with such terror that they gave up the contest, and peace was negotiated and settled in the camp. Happy if the eclipse of trouble, suddenly coming upon us when we are at war against God, should lead us to cease a life of antagonism, and sue for peace.

Jer. 2:30. In vain have I smitten your children, correction. Mr. Cecil observed in the Botanical Gardens a pomegranate-tree cut almost through near the root, and asked the gardener for the reason. He explained that the tree used to shoot so strong as to bear only leaves; but now that it was nearly cut through, it began to bear fruit well. Alas! that affliction on man should be profitless, when nature accepts it and turns it to account.

The good are better made by ill,

As odours crushed are sweeter still.

ROGERS.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

CHAPTER FIVE

SERMONS FROM THE REIGN OF JOSIAH

Jer. 2:1 to Jer. 6:30

Chapters 26 contain several discourses uttered at different times in the early years of Jeremiahs 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 chapters 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 chapters 26 should be assigned to the reign of king Josiah, A reference to that king appears in Jer. 3:6. Certain verses seem to point to the period of Josiahs reformation which fell between the years 627 and 621 B.C.

I. THE INAUGURAL SERMON Jer. 2:1-37

Jeremiahs inaugural sermon might well be entitled Gods Indictment of His People. If chapter 2 does contain Jeremiahs 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 (Jer. 2:1-3). He then attacks the present apostasy (Jer. 2:4-8) and offers a penetrating analysis of it (Jer. 2:9-19). Jeremiah then drives home his accusations with a series of devastating analogies and figures of speech (Jer. 2:20-28). The chapter closes with the prophet smashing whatever arguments the apostate people might use to justify their behavior (Jer. 2:29-37).

A. Past Associations Jer. 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 LORDs 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 Israels loving care for God (Jer. 2:2) and Gods loving care for Israel (Jer. 2:3).

1. Israels loving care for God (Jer. 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 (Num. 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 Israels 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 Hos. 2:19-20, Isa. 54:4-5 and Eze. 16:8.

[128] Cf. Isa. 1:26; Hos. 11:1; Hos. 11:3-4; Eze. 16:6-14.

2. Gods loving care for Israel (Jer. 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 (Lev. 22:10; Lev. 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 Gods people will be punished.

[129] Exo. 19:5-6; Deu. 7:6; Deu. 14:2; Deu. 26:19.

[130] Exo. 23:19; Num. 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.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

II.

(1) The first chapter had given the narrative of the call which had impressed itself indelibly on the prophets mind. The next five run on as one continuous whole, and, looking to the fact that the original record of his prophetic work during the reign of Josiah had been destroyed by Jehoiakim (Jer. 36:23), and was afterwards re-written from memory, it is probable that we have a kind of prcis of what was then destroyed, with some additions (Jer. 36:32), and possibly some omissions. In Jer. 3:6 we have the name of Josiah definitely mentioned.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

INTRODUCTORY, Jer 2:1-3.

1. Moreover In the original simply and, thus showing the close connexion between this first of the prophetic discourses and the preceding account of the prophet’s call.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

YHWH Is Seeking To Call His People Back To Their First-Love ( Jer 2:1-3 ).

YHWH now sums up His purpose for calling Jeremiah in terms of a restoration of His people to their wilderness first-love. He reminds them of those first heady days after their deliverance from bondage in Egypt and through the Reed Sea when they had sought Him enthusiastically, and had been holy to YHWH. At that stage YHWH had also promised them that He would regard them as His firstfruits, and see them as therefore untouchable by the nations.

We cannot agree with those who make these three verses introductory to what follows (we should rather see the whole call from Jer 1:4 to Jer 2:3 as introductory). Rather they complete what was involved with Jeremiah’s call. This is made clear by the repeated ‘the word of YHWH came to me saying’ for the fourth time (compare Jer 1:4; Jer 1:11; Jer 1:13). The section Jer 2:4 onwards commences with ‘Hear you the word of YHWH O house of Jacob’, the first of six such introductory phrases (see below on Jer 2:4).

Jer 2:1

‘And the word of YHWH came to me, saying,’

Jeremiah commences by pointing out once again for the fourth time that what he is describing is the very ‘word of YHWH’. He wants them to recognise that he is not speaking from his own wisdom but as the mouthpiece of God.

Jer 2:2

“Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem,

Saying, Thus says YHWH,

I remember for you the kindness of your youth,

The love of your espousals,

How you went after me in the wilderness,

“In a land that was not sown.”

He points out that YHWH has commanded him to go and proclaim the word of YHWH in the ears of the people of Jerusalem. And what was that word? It was that YHWH looked back and remembered what they (ideally) had been. He remembered how after the rebirth of the nation they had for a time sought YHWH as a young maiden in love seeks her lover, full of kind thoughts and love towards Him, and how in spite of the fact that they were in a barren infertile wilderness where it was not possible to grow crops, they had ‘gone after Him’, following Him and desiring to maintain their relationship with Him. This mainly has in mind their ‘engagement period’ between leaving Egypt and arriving at Sinai, where their marriage covenant with YHWH would be finally sealed. During that period, in spite of a few hiccups resulting from the new hardships that they were then facing in the semi-desert, they had sought Him with all their hearts as they rejoiced in their new found freedom, so that as they approached Sinai it was with a while-hearted commitment as summed up in Exo 19:5-6. And even later, in spite of many further hiccups, the time in the wilderness had been a time of seeking YHWH, for although they had often gone astray, falling out with Him as wives will, they had always returned and come back to Him in loving submission (through necessity if not through inclination). They had thus initially arrived on the borders of Canaan relatively free from idolatry.

This is a reminder that the wilderness period, especially the early part, was always looked back on as the time of an especially close relationship between YHWH and His people, a time before they became caught up in the sophistication of Canaan. It is also a reminder to us that for us also it is often the ‘wilderness experience’ that renews our faltering love for God at times when the attractions of the world have caused us to stumble and turn from Him to other things. And it is also a reminder of how important it is for us to maintain the flame of our first-love, lest we become like the Ephesian church which, having lost its first love, would have its lamp of witness removed from its place (Rev 2:4).

Jer 2:3

“Israel was holiness to YHWH,

The first-fruits of his increase,

All who devour him will be held guilty,

Evil will come on them,

The word of YHWH (neum YHWH).”

During that period in the wilderness up to Sinai Israel had been seen by YHWH as ‘holy to Him’, as His own special people (Exo 19:5-6) who were separated off to Him for His own purposes, and as His firstfruits of the blessing that was to come, for His plan was that through Israel the whole world would be blessed (Gen 12:3). They were His initial people and His treasured possession (Exo 19:5-6), and He had watched over them, determined to bring evil on any who sought to harm them, holding such as guilty before Him. This had been ‘neum YHWH’, the word of YHWH that accomplishes what He pleases (Isa 55:10-13), in other words His firm and assured fixed determination clearly enunciated.

‘Holiness unto YHWH.’ In the words of Exo 19:6 they were His ‘holy nation’, a holiness which was exemplified on the head piece of the High Priest as the representative of Israel (Exo 28:36; Exo 39:30). They were ‘the people of His holiness’ (Isa 63:18), the people set apart by Himself in order that they too might be holy and separated off to Him (Lev 11:44-45; Lev 19:2; Lev 20:26).

‘The firstfruits of His increase.’ The firstfruits were the first produce of the soil or yield from the land and belonged exclusively to YHWH (Exo 23:19; Num 8:8, etc.). It was His treasured possession. YHWH was thus in the future looking for a good harvest of righteous people (‘His increase’), and saw in primitive Israel their beginnings (‘the firstfruits’). For anyone to partake of the firstfruits who was not a sanctified priest was to commit blasphemy. Thus in the same way, those who offended against (devoured) YHWH’s firstfruits would become guilty, and evil would come on them. It had been a guarantee of their safety, which they had subsequently forfeited as a result of their idolatry, which was why they were now in their present position.

So the call of Jeremiah had been determined by God before His birth, was in order to bring His word to Israel and confirm that it would be successful, included one of judgment if they continued to refuse to listen to His words, and was to seek to bring the people back to their first-love. YHWH yearned over those who had once been His. Compare His tender words in Hos 2:14-23; Hos 11:1; Hos 11:3-4.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Call Of Jeremiah ( Jer 1:4 to Jer 2:3 ).

Where we have previously learned of the call of a prophet the account has been placed in the midst of the prophecy when the foundations had already been laid (e.g. Isaiah 6; Amo 7:14-16), but in the case of Jeremiah we are given the information from the commencement. This emphasises how important Jeremiah saw that calling to be. Like Paul after him, it was on that that he based his authority, and it was that (and the hand of YHWH) that sustained him through the years (compare Gal 1:15-17). It may also underline the fact that it was Jeremiah who originally and personally brought his prophecies together.

Like Moses before him (Exo 4:10) Jeremiah pleaded that he was not eloquent (Jer 1:6), but YHWH firmly pushed his fears aside assuring him that He would be with him in what he was being asked to do (Jer 1:7-8), and while He did not give him an Aaron, He gave him instead a special anointing on his lips (Jer 1:9-10) together with faithful helper in Barak, who was probably his amanuensis as well as his friend. But YHWH did not hide from Jeremiah the importance of the task lying ahead of him, pointing out that he was to have a decisive impact on peoples and nations (Jer 1:10), something which brought out that while the great nations might appear to be in control, it was really YHWH Who directed affairs. To Jeremiah, a man of great sensitivity and comparatively young, it was a great weight to have to bear.

In consequence of this YHWH gave him two symbolic visions. The first vision was by the use of word play, indicating by means of the branch of an almond bush (shoqed) that YHWH ‘would watch over (shaqed) His word and perform it’ (Jer 1:11-12). Every time that he saw an almond bush (and they were everywhere, and developed early) it would be a reminder to him that all that he was saying in prophecy was guaranteed of fulfilment by YHWH. The second was by means of a boiling cauldron pointing towards the north which vividly indicated that it was from the north that judgment would come on Judah for its sins (Jer 1:13-16). And this was because Judah had forsaken Him, rejecting the covenant, and had gone after idols (Jer 1:16).

Then He basically told him to ‘get his sleeves rolled up’ and prepare himself (‘gird up your loins’), and to get stuck into his job (Jer 1:17), assuring him that He Himself would make him like a strong fortress in the face of all opposition (Jer 1:18-19). For his purpose in what was happening was to be to call Israel/Judah back to their first-love that they had initially enjoyed in the wilderness on their deliverance from Egypt (Jer 2:1-3).

Note that in this first passage Jer 1:4 to Jer 2:3) the words ‘the word of YHWH came to me saying’ occur four times, in Jer 1:4; Jer 1:11; Jer 1:13; Jer 2:1 breaking up the passage into four as now described:

His initial call (Jer 1:4-10).

The vision of the almond tree guaranteeing YHWH’s watch over His word (Jer 1:11-12).

The vision of the boiling cauldron with its implications of coming judgment, a message which will result in persecution from his people, a persecution which YHWH will make him strong to endure (Jer 1:13-19).

And finally YHWH’s call to him to seek to bring the people back to their wilderness first-love (Jer 2:1-3).

As will be seen it is significant that God’s main purpose in what follows, at least initially, was, through His warnings, to bring His people back within the sphere of His covenant love and to restore them to their covenant love. It was only when it was clear that they were obdurate that judgment became a certainty and a necessity, and even then Jeremiah always knew that one day, once they had learned their lesson, YHWH would restore the remnant to the covenant (e.g. Jer 3:14-19; Jer 12:15-16; Jer 31:28-34).

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Jer 2:8  The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.

Jer 2:8 “they that handle the Law knew me not” Comments – Like the days of Jesus, Israel did not understand the Law (Joh 5:39-40).

Joh 5:39-40, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”

Jer 2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

Jer 2:13 Comments – In nature, living water is that water which flows from fresh springs, giving oxygen and life to otherwise stagnant and dead water. The water in these cisterns would be stale and stagnant compared to the fresh, cool spring waters flowing from the mountains. What is worse than stale water in cisterns, but broken cisterns that are empty and dry to a thirsty soul.

Jer 2:22 For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD.

Jer 2:22 Word Study on “nitre” Strong says the Hebrew word “nitre” “nether” ( ) (H5427) means, “mineral potash.” Webster defines “potash” as “The hydroxide of potassium hydrate, a hard white brittle substance, KOH, having strong caustic and alkaline properties; — hence called also caustic potash.” Webster defines nitre as “A white crystalline semitransparent salt; potassium nitrate; saltpeter.” Other English translations for Jer 2:22 use the word “lye” ( ASV, RSV). Webster defines lye as “A strong caustic alkaline solution of potassium salts, obtained by leaching wood ashes. It is much used in making soap, etc.” This Hebrew word is found only twice in the Old Testament Scriptures, being translated in the KJV as “nitre 2.” The other use is found in Pro 25:20.

Pro 25:20, “As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.”

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Jeremiah’s First Prophecy Against Jerusalem Jer 2:1 to Jer 3:5 contains what is likely Jeremiah’s first prophecy against the children of Jerusalem. We can date it to the time of Josiah’s reign from the statement made in Jer 3:6, “The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king,” which immediately follows this prophecy.

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Israel’s Lack of Faithfulness

v. 1. Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, this being an introduction both to the first prophetic discourse and to the whole cycle of Jeremiah’s prophetic messages,

v. 2. Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, the expression “in the ears” showing that the prophet should preach to the people living in this center of idolatry with clamoring insistence, saying, Thus ‘saith the Lord: I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love which Israel bore the Lord in Egypt and at the time of the Exodus, or the merciful kindness which Israel experienced from the earliest days of its history, the love of thine espousals, at the period between the Exodus from Egypt and the formal establishment of the covenant upon Mount Sinai, when thou wentest after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown, with no strange god in evidence in the midst of the arid desert.

v. 3. Israel was holiness unto the Lord, consecrated to Him and to His service, and the first-fruits of His increase, the people chosen by Him as the first among all nations, produced as the first in the garden of His love and mercy. All that devour him shall offend, all those who dared to prey upon Israel became guilty before the Lord; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord. His punishment descended upon the Amalekites, the Amorites, and upon all other nations that interfered with His plans of love toward His chosen people. Such were the manifestations of Jehovah’s mercy and kindness to Israel, and therefore His rebuke certainly came with good reason.

v. 4. Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel, individually and collectively, the whole nation, all of them being in the same condemnation.

v. 5. Thus saith the Lord, What iniquity have your fathers found in Me, what wrong done to them by Jehovah, that they are gone far from Me, deserting Him for the false gods of the heathen, and have walked after vanity, the nothingnesses of their idols, and are become vain? The worshipers of idols become just as vain and worthless as their empty gods, and are therefore despised and condemned by God in the same degree. Cf Deu 7:26; Psa 115:8; 2Ki 17:15; Rom 1:21.

v. 6. Neither said they, Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, that of Sinai, Paran, and Arabia, through a land of deserts and of pits, where chasms and sink-holes abounded, endangering the lives of man and beast, through a land of drought and of the shadow of death, as the way led under overhanging rocky precipices, through a land that no man passed through and where no man dwelt? Israel is thus pictured as having utterly forgotten the Lord’s protection and blessings, wherefore the Lord asks such reproachful questions.

v. 7. And I brought you into a plentiful country, a well-cultivated and fruitful land, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof, to enjoy all the blessings it offered to the full; but when ye entered, ye defiled My land, namely, by becoming addicted to idolatry, and made Mine heritage an abomination, so that He was filled with loathing for the land which He had chosen for them. V. 8 . The priests said not, Where is the Lord? The very ones who were supposed to expound the Law ignored the very Giver of the Law. And they that handle the Law knew Me not, the teachers who were occupied with it as the subject of their profession paid no attention to the Lord. The pastors also, the princes of the people, who were supposed to be its shepherds both in a civil and in a spiritual sense, transgressed against Me, being themselves in rebellion against the Chief Shepherd, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, in his name and by his authority, and walked after things that do not profit, that are vain and worthless beside the eternal truths of God’s will.

v. 9. Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the Lord, by citing them before His tribunal and pronouncing judgment upon them, and with your children’s children will I plead, since they follow their parents in all their wicked ways.

v. 10. For pass over the isles of Chittim, applied first of all to the island of Cyprus, but later to the entire coast of the Mediterranean, especially to Greece, and see, and send unto Kedar, the descendants of Ishmael in the Arabian Desert, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing. The children of Israel were bidden to search both the West and the East for an instance in which a heathen nation had become guilty of such foolish behavior as exhibited by them.

v. 11. Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? In spite of the fact that their idols were false gods, the heathen at least had the pride and the decency of clinging to their gods. But My people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit, exchanging their possession of Jehovah, the true God, for vain idols, with less consistency than that shown by the ignorant and despised heathen. In astonishment and horror the Lord cries out:

v. 12. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, at the unspeakable wickedness of their behavior, and be horribly afraid, be filled with shuddering loathing, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord, exceedingly aghast at the monstrous spectacle thus presented.

v. 13. For My people have committed two evils, thus exceeding even the heathen with their one transgression of foolish idolatry: they have forsaken Me, the Fountain of living waters, the only true and living God, and hewed them out cisterns, whose waters lack the freshness and the sparkle of spring- or well-water, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. Putting aside the one and only Source of spiritual life and power, they placed their trust in gods which belied even the outward appearance that men had given them. The same foolish and harmful course is pursued by all those who in our days deny the inspiration of the Bible, the deity of Christ, and other fundamental doctrines and turn to man-made doctrines instead.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

EXPOSITION

The second chapter forms the introduction of a group of discourses (Jeremiah 2-6), which should be read together. It is called By Ewald (and the position of the prophecy favors this view) the first oracle which Jeremiah delivered in public (“oracle” is, in fact, the nearest English equivalent to those two remarkable Hebrew synonyms, massa and neumespecially for the latter). This would bring it into the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah (see Jer 1:3), though of course we cannot be sure that references to a later period may not have been inserted afterwards. It is, obviously, only a summary of the prophet’s spoken words which we have in this most impressive discourse. In order to appreciate it, we must bear in mind the external political relations and the internal religions condition of the kingdom of Judah. These have Been already touched upon in the general introduction. Suffice it to remind the reader that Josiah’s reformationin the strict sense of the worddid not begin till the eighteenth year of that king’s reign; and that the state of things was at this time complicated by a dangerous alliance with that power against whoso religion the teaching of the prophets of Jehovah was a continual protest (on the Egyptian alliance, comp. Ewald, ‘History of Israel,’ 4.218). The first section of the prophecy is a general introduction, already full of serious charges against the people (verses 1-9); in the second, the special occasion of the discourse is declared in the form of a question, and the sin referred to is rebuked (verses 10-19); in the third, Judah’s inveterate idolatry is denounced, and the disappointment and ruin to which it led candidly pointed out (verses 20-28); and in the fourth, “half in earnest and half in ironical satire” (Ewald), the prophet points the moral of this foolish Egyptian fever which has seized upon rulers and people (verse 29-37).

It is always interesting to notice how later inspired writers hasten to do honor to their predecessors. Originality is not an object with the prophets, but rather the developing and adapting the truths long ago “delivered.” The whole group of prophecies to which Jer 2:1-37. belongs contains numerous points of contact, in ideas or phraseology, with the song of Hoses (Deu 32:1-52.). The following have been indicated:Cf. Jer 2:5 with Deu 32:4; Deu 32:11, Deu 32:12 with Deu 32:1, Deu 32:21; Deu 32:20 with Deu 32:15; Deu 32:26-28 with Deu 32:6, Deu 32:18, Deu 32:37, Deu 32:38; Deu 32:31 with Deu 32:5; Jer 3:19 with Deu 32:6; Jer 4:22 and Jer 5:21 with Deu 32:6; Jer 5:7 with Deu 32:15; Jer 5:14 with Deu 32:22; Jer 5:28 with Deu 32:15; Jer 6:11 with Deu 32:25; Jer 6:15 with Deu 32:35; Jer 6:19, Jer 6:30 with Deu 32:18, Deu 32:19.

Jer 2:1

Moreover; literally, and. The introductory formula agrees with Jer 1:4. We have as it were two parallel prophecies (Jer 1:4, etc; and Jer 2:1, etc.); both branching out of the original chronological statement in Jer 1:2 (see Introduction).

Jer 2:2

In the cars of Jerusalem. Presumably Jeremiah had received his call at Anathoth (comp. Jer 1:1). I remember thee, etc.; rather, I remember for thy good the kindness of thy youth. It is an open question whether the “kindness” spoken of is that of God towards the people, or of the people towards God. The usage of the Hebrew (khesed) admits of either acceptation; comp. for the first, Psa 5:7, Psa 36:5, and many other passages; for the second, Hos 6:4, Hos 6:6 (in Hos 6:6 rendering for “mercy,” “goodness”) and Isa 57:1 (rendering “men of piety”). But the context, which dwells so strongly on the oblivion into which the Divine benefits had been allowed to pass, is decidedly in favor of the first view. How beautiful is this condescending language! Jehovah’s past feelings come Back to him; at least, so it appears to the believer, when God lets the light of his countenance shine forth again (comp. Jer 31:20; Hos 9:10). He even condescends to overlook the weakness and inconsistency of the Israel of antiquity. He idealizes it (i.e. Jeremiah is permitted to do so). This is in harmony with other prophetic passages (see Isa 1:26 (“as at the first”); Hos 11:1, Hos 11:3, Hos 11:4; Eze 16:6-14). The figure of the bride recurs constantly (see Hos 2:19, Hos 2:20; Isa 54:4, Isa 54:5; Eze 16:8). Thine espousals; rather, thy bridal state. When thou wentest after me (comp. Deu 8:2, “all the way which Jehovah thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness”).

Jer 2:3

Israel was holiness, etc. Israel was a consecrated people (comp. Exo 19:5, Exo 19:6; Deu 7:6; Deu 14:2; Deu 26:19). Isaiah, fond as he is of the phrase “Israel’s Holy One,” does not expressly enforce the correlative truth, as Jeremiah does here. The first-fruits of his increase; rather, his firstfruits of increase. Israel is compared to the firstfruits (reshith) of the land, which were devoted to the house of the Lord (Exo 23:19; Num 18:12, Num 18:13). So in Amo 6:1, the title given him is “the chief [margin, ‘firstfruits’] of the nations” (in Jer 31:7, a synonymous and cognate word, rosh, takes the place of reshith for “chief”). All that devour him shall offend; rather, all that ate him incurred guilt, or became guilty of a trespass. Foreigners were forbidden to eat of consecrated things; by breaking this law they became guilty of a “trespass,” having invaded the rights of Jehovah (Le 22:10, 15, 16). The word for “trespass” is the same as that rendered “guilt.”

Jer 2:5

What iniquity, etc.; rather, what unrighteousness, etc. (comp. Deu 32:4, “a God of faithfulness, and without unrighteousness,” alluding to the “covenant” between Jehovah and Israel). God’s condescending grace (his ‘anavah, Psa 18:36). As if he were under an obligation to Israel (comp. Mic 6:3, etc.; Isa 5:3). Vanity; i.e. the idols; literally, a breath (so Jer 10:15; Jer 14:22; Jer 16:19). Are become vain. The whole being of man is affected by the want of solid basis to his religion (comp. Jer 23:16; Psa 115:8); and the evident allusion to our passage in Rom 1:21. The clause is verbally repeated in 2Ki 17:15, with reference to the ten tribes.

Jer 2:6

Neither said they, etc.; as their children’s children were forced by stress of trouble to say (Isa 63:11; see note). A land of desserts and of pits. The first phrase applied to the region through which the Israelites passed (“a wilderness”) was vague, and might mean merely pasture-land. The remainder of the description, however, shows that “wilderness” is here meant, as often (e.g. Isa 35:1; Isa 50:2), in the sense of “desert.” Though recent travelers have shown that the Sinaitie peninsula is not by any means universally a “desert,” and that in ancient times it was still less so, it is not unnatural that an agricultural people should regard it as a most inhospitable region, and should even idealize its terrors (comp. Deu 8:15). “Pits,” i.e. rents and fissures in the soil, in which the unwary traveler might lose his life (Jer 18:20, Jer 18:22).

Jer 2:7

A plentiful country. “A Carmel land,” as it were (so Payne Smith). “Carmel” is strictly an appellative noun, meaning” garden-land,” i.e; land planted with vines and other choice plants. So Jer 4:26; Isa 29:17; Isa 37:24.

Jer 2:8

The priests, etc. The blame principally falls on the three leading classes (as in Jer 2:26; Mic 3:11). First on the priests who “handle the Law,” i.e. who have a traditional knowledge of the details of the Law, and teach the people accordingly (Deu 17:9-11; Deu 33:10; Jer 18:18; see also on Jer 8:8); next on the “pastors,” or “shepherds” (in the Homeric sense), the civil and not the spiritual authorities; so generally in the Old Testament (see Jer 3:15; Jer 10:21; Jer 22:22; Jer 25:34; Zec 10:3; Zec 11:5, Zec 11:8, Zec 11:16; Isa 44:28); and lastly on the prophets, who sought their inspiration, not from Jehovah (comp. note on Jer 2:30), but from Baal. To prophesy by (by means of) Baal or rather, the Baal, implies that prophecy is due to an impulse from the supernatural world; that it is not an objectifying of the imaginations of the prophet himself. Even the Baal prophets yielded to an impulse from without, but how that impulse was produced the prophet does not tell us. We are told in 1Ki 22:19-23, that even prophets of Jehovah could be led astray by a “lying spirit;” much more presumably could prophets of the Baal. The Baal is here used as a representative of the idol-gods, in antithesis to Jehovah; sometimes “Baalim,” or the Baals, is used instead (e.g. 1Ki 22:23; Jer 9:13), each town or city having its own Baal (“lord”). Things that do not profit. A synonym for idols (comp. Jer 16:19; Isa 44:9;. 1Sa 12:21). An enlightened regard for self-interest is encouraged by the religion of the Bible, at any rate educationally. Contrast Comtism.

Jer 2:9

I will yet plead, etc. Repeated acts of rebellion call forth repeated abjurations and punishments. With your children’s children. For God “visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children” (Exo 20:5).

Jer 2:10

Justification of Jehovah’s judicial action towards Judah. Consider the heinousness of the offence. Pass overrather, pass over tothe isles of Chittim; i.e. the islands and maritime countries of the West, represented by Cyprus (see on Gen 10:4). For the wide use of Chittim, comp. Num 24:24; Dan 11:30). Kedar, in the narrower sense, is a large tribe of Arabian origin, whose haunts were between Arabia Petraea and Babylonia. Here, however, it is used in a wider sense for the Arab tribes in general (so Jeremiah Tiler 28; Isa 21:16, Isa 21:17).

Jer 2:11

Hath a nation changed their gods? Has any heathen nation ever changed its idol-god for another? The prophet clearly implies a negative answer; and yet it must be admitted that the adoption of a new religion, under the pressure of conquest or a higher foreign civilization is not an unknown phenomenon in the ancient world. Glory; i.e. source of all outward prosperity (comp. Psa 3:3,” my Glory, and the Lifter up Of my head”). Religion was, in fact, the root of national life in antiquity; contrast our own division between the sacred and the secular Jehovah elsewhere receives the title “the Pride of Israel”Authorized Version, rather weakly, “the Excellency of Israel”(Amo 8:7; Hos 5:5. Comp. the parallel passages, Psa 106:20; Rom 1:23).

Jer 2:12

Be astonished. “Be appalled” would more nearly express the force of the Hebrew (so Jer 18:16; Jer 19:8). Be ye very desolate; literally, become dry; i.e. not so much “shrivel and roll up” (on the analogy of Isa 34:4), as “become stiff with horror.”

Jer 2:13

Two evils. Israel has not merely offended, like the heathen, by idolatry, but by deserting the only God who can satisfy the needs of human nature. The fountain of living waters. So Jer 17:13 (comp. Psa 36:9). Fountain; literally, tank or reservoir. Such reservoirs were “dug in the ground (see on Jer 6:7), and chiefly intended for storing living waters, i.e. those of springs and rivulets” (Payne Smith). Cisterns, broken cisterns. A cistern, by its very nature, will only hold a limited amount, and the water “collected from clay roofs or from marly soil, has the color of weak soapsuds, the taste of the earth or the stable.” Who would prefer such an impure supply to the sweet, wholesome water of a fountain? But these cisterns cannot even be depended upon for this poor, turbid drink. They are “broken,” like so many even of the best rock-hewn cisterns. How fine a description of the combined attractiveness and disappointingness of heathen religions, qualities the more striking in proportion to the scale on which the religions problem is realized (e.g. in Hinduism)!

Jer 2:14-19

Israel’s punishment and its cause.

Jer 2:14

Is Israel a servant? The speaker is evidently the prophet, who exclaims in surprise at the view which his prophetic insight opens to him: “quasi de re nova et absurda sciscitatur” (Calvin). For Israel is a member of Jehovah’s family; he is not a servant (except in the same high sense as in Isaiah 40-53, where “servant” is virtually equivalent to “representative”), but rather in the highest degree a free man, for he is Jehovah’s “firstborn son” (Exo 4:22). How is it, then, that he is dragged away into captivity like a slave who has never known freedom? The view of some, that “servant” means “servant of Jehovah” (comp. Jer 30:10), and that the question therefore is to be answered in the affirmative, is less natural. “Servant,” by itself, never has this turning; and there is a precisely similar term in the discourse at Jer 2:31, where the negative answer of the question does not admit of a doubt.

Jer 2:15

The young lions, etc. A fresh figure, and a most natural one in Judaea; already applied to the Assyrians by Isaiah (v. 29, 30). Burned; rather, made ruinous (comp. “ruinous heaps,” 2Ki 19:25).

Jer 2:16

Also the children of Noph, etc. This is the climax of the calamity. Noph, called Moph in the Hebrew text of Hos 9:6, is generally identified with Memphis, which was called in the inscriptions Mennufr, or “the good abode,” but may possibly be Napata, the Nap of the inscriptions, the residency of the Ethiopian dynasty (De Rouge’). Tahapanes. The Hebrew form is Takhpanes or Tahhpanhhes. This was a fortified frontier town on the Pelusiot arm of the Nile, called in Greek Daphnae (Herod; Hos 2:20), or Taphnae. Have broken, etc.; rather, shall break, or (for the pointing in the Hebrew Bible requires this change) shall feed off (or depasture). From this verse onwards, Judah is personified as a woman, as appears from the suffixes in the Hebrew. Baldness was a great mark of disgrace (2Ki 2:23; Jer 48:45). There is a striking parallel to this passage in Isa 7:18-20, where, in punishment of the negotiations of Ahaz with Assyria, the prophet threatens an invasion of Judah both by Assyria and by Egypt: and employs the very. same figure (see Isa 7:20). So here, the devastation threatened by Jeremiah is the punishment of the unhallowed coquetting with the Egyptian power of which the Jewish rulers had been recently guilty. The fact which corresponds to this prediction is the defeat of Josiah at Megiddo, and the consequent subjugation of Judah (2Ki 23:29). The abruptness with which verse 16 follows upon verse 15 suggests that some words have fallen out of the text.

Jer 2:17

Hast not thou procured this? rather, Is it not this that doth procure it unto thee (namely) that thou hast forsaken, etc.? or, Is it not thy forsaking Jehovah that pro. cureth thee this? When he led thee by the way. The prophet thinks, perhaps, of the rebellion of the forefathers of Israel, who too soon ceased to “go after” Jehovah (comp. Jer 2:2), and whose fickleness was imitated but too well by their descendants. This view is favored by the phraseology of Deu 1:33; Deu 8:2, Deu 8:15. But we may, if we prefer it, explain “by (or, rather, in) the way,” on the analogy of the promise in Jer 31:9, “I will lead them in a straight way,” i.e. I will grant them an uninterrupted course of prosperity. The omission of the adjective in the present passage may be paralleled by Psa 25:8, “Therefore will he instruct sinners in the (right) way.”

Jer 2:18

What hast thou to do in the way of Egypt? rather, with the way to Egypt. Isaiah (Isa 30:2-5; Isa 31:1) and Hosea (Hos 7:11, Hos 7:16) had already inveighed against an Egyptian alliance. The name given by Manasseh to his sen and successor (Amen) suggests that at one period in his reign an Egyptian policy was in the ascendant, which coincides with the tradition preserved in 2Ch 33:11, of an Assyrian captivity of Manasseh. Jehoiakim at a later period was a vassal of Egypt (2Ki 23:31, 2Ki 23:35). To drink the waters; taking up the idea of the second clause of verse 13. Sihor, or Shihor, occurs again in Isa 23:3, as a name of the Nile. It properly means, not so much “the black” as “the dark grey” (connected with shakhar, the morning grey), from the color of the water. Rosenmller’s contrast between the muddy waters of foreign streams and the “fountain of living waters” is uncalled for; besides, the Nile water has always been held in high esteem. The Septuagint has , i.e. Gihon, also a name of-the Nile according to Ecclesiasticus 24:27. The way ofrather, toAssyria. It is true that Assyria was, to say the least, powerless to interfere for good or for evil, when these words were written. But in verse 5 the prophet has already warned us that his complaints are partly retrospective. It would seem that the Assyrian party from time to time gained the upper hand over the Egyptian in the councils of the State. Or perhaps the prophet may refer to the Quixotic fidelity to Assyria of Josiah (see below on verse 36). The river; i.e. the Euphrates, “the great river” (Gen 15:18). Babylonia it should be remembered, was in nominal subjection to Assyria; the Euphrates was the boundary between Syria and Palestine on the one hand, and Assyriahere the Assyrio-Babylonian regionon the other.

Jer 2:19

Shall correct shall reprove; rather, chastise punish. It is a constantly renewed punishment which follows the ever-repeated offence.

Jer 2:20

Here a new section begins. I have broken burst. This is, grammatically, a possible rendering, but inconsistent with the second person in thou saidst, unless indeed (with Ewald) we suppose that something has fallen out of the text between the first and the second clauses of the verse. The best critics, except Ewald and Dr. Payne Smith, are agreed that we should follow the Septuagint and Vulgate in rendering “thou hast broken (and) burst.” This does not, strictly speaking, imply a new reading of the text, for ti was the old form of the suffix of the 2nd pers. fem, sing.; there is a precisely similar case in Mic 4:13. It is a true description of the history of Israel before the exile. It would almost seem as if there was a fusion of two races among the Israelites, and that the smaller but nobler stock supplied all the great men in the sphere of religion; just as in Florence, most of the men who have illustrated her annals bear names of Teutonic origin. So we might argue, if we wished to explain the Biblical history from purely natural causes. But God (to apply the Caliph Omar’s words) “knoweth his own.” Bands (see on Jer 5:5). I will not transgress. This is the translation of the marginal reading in the Hebrew Bible, which, though implied also in the Targum, is probably a conjecture of the Jewish critics. The text reading is, “I will not serve,” (equivalent to “I will not be a slave any longer”). Obviously this does not harmonize with the rendering “I have broken,” etc; in the first clause (unless, with Dr. Payne Smith, we explain “I will not serve” as virtually equivalent to “I will still serve my idol-gods”); hence the Jewish critics, by just adding a (Mat 5:18), changed “serve” into “transgress.” They did not venture to alter the next clause, which, quite as much as the first, presupposes the reading “serve” (see next note). Whenrather, forupon every high hill, etc. Bare, treeless heights were favorite spots for sacrifices, especially for Baal; groves, and leafy trees, in general, for the lascivious rites of Asherah and Ashtoreth. The apparently extreme statement of the prophet is not to be minimized. Travelers still tell us of vestiges of ancient and doubtless pro-Christian idolaters worship still visible on almost every attractive spot in the open country in Palestine. Under every green tree. We have no single word to convey the “fluid” meaning of this expressive word. It combines, in fact, the senses of pliant, sappy, leafy (comp. note on Jer 11:16). Thou wanderest; rather, thou wast stretching thyself out.

Jer 2:21

A noble vine. Jeremiah means the choicest kind of Oriental vine, called sorek (from the dark-red color of its grapes), and mentioned again in Isa 5:2. The figure of the vine is one endeared to us by its association especially with our Lord; it was endeared to the Jews by the annual festivities of the vintage. The sacred writers are never afraid of its palling on the ear by repetition (comp. Jer 5:10; Jer 6:9; Jer 12:10; Isa 5:1-7; Isa 27:2, Isa 27:3; Eze 17:6; Psa 80:8-16). A right seed; i.e. a vine-shoot of the genuine sort. “Seed” for “shoot,” as in Isa 17:11 (comp. Isa 17:10). The degenerate plant; rather, degenerate shoots (if at least the text is right).

Jer 2:22

Nitre does not mean the substance which now bears that name, but “natron,” a mineral alkali, deposited on the shores and on the bed of certain lakes in Egypt, especially those in the Wady Nat-run (the ancient Nitria, whence came so large a store of precious Syriac manuscripts). In ancient times, this natron was collected to make lye from for washing purposes (comp. Pro 25:20). Sope; rather, potash; the corresponding vegetable alkali (comp. Isa 1:25). Thine iniquity is marked. So Kimchi and Gesenius (through a doubtful etymology); but the Aramaic use of the word favors the rendering stained, i.e. filthy. The word is in the participle, to indicate the permanence of the state (comp. “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood,” etc.? ‘Macbeth’).

Jer 2:23

How canst thou say, etc.? This is not a mere rhetorical fiction equivalent to “or if thou shouldst perhaps say,” but probably represents an objection really made by the inhabitants of the kingdom of Judah. Their fault was not in neglecting the public worship of Jehovah in his appointed temple, but in superadding to this, idolatrous rites inconsistent with the spiritual religion taught by Jeremiah. The people did not, it seems, regard this as tantamount to “following Baalim,” just as some converts to Christianity in our own foreign missions might exclaim against being accused of apostasy, because they secretly carry on certain heathen practices. The prophet, however, applies a more rigorous test to their conduct. Baalim; the plural of Baal, used for “other gods” (Jer 1:16; comp. on Jer 1:8). Thy way in the valley. The valley in this context can only be that of Hinnom (see on Jer 7:31), which from the time of Ahaz had been defiled with the rites of “Moloch, horrid king” (see ‘ Paradise Lost,’ 1.392-396). Thou art a swift dromedary. Ewald would attach this half of the verse to verse 24; and there is something to be said for this plan. Swift dromedary is, properly speaking, in the vocative. The ardor of the people for idolatry is expressed by the comparison of it to the uncontrollable instinct of brute beasts. The word rendered “dromedary” is in the feminine gender; it means strictly the young she-camel which has not yet had a foal. Traversing her ways; rather, interlacing her ways; i.e. running backwards and forwards at the impulse of passion.

Jer 2:24

A wild ass, etc. The type of wildness and independence (comp. Gen 16:12; Job 39:5-8). That snuffeth up the wind; to cool the heat of her passion. In her occasion in her month; i.e. at the pairing-time.

Jer 2:25

Withhold thy foot, etc. Hitzig, with unnecessary ingenuity, explains this with reference to the fatiguing practices of the heathen cultus, comparing 1Ki 18:26, where “vain repetitions” of “Baal, Baal,” and (as he thinks) barefoot religious dances, are mentioned as parts of the worship of Baal. Umbreit’s view, however, is far more natural. “God the true husband exhorts Israel not to run barefoot, and with parched throat, like a shameless adulteress, after strangers” (Payne Smith). There is no hops; i.e. the exhortation is in vain (so Jer 18:12).

Jer 2:26

Is ashamed. It is the per-feet of prophetic certitude.

Jer 2:27

And to a stone, etc. Stone (‘ebhen) is feminine in Hebrew, and therefore addressed as the mother.

Jer 2:28

According to the number of thy cities, etc. A remarkable statement, and one that well illustrates the superficial character of Hezekiah’s reformation. True, Manasseh’s reactionary reign had intervened, but his counter-movement would not have been so successful had it not been attended by the good wishes of the people; and besides, the last years of Manasseh, according to the tradition in 2Ch 33:12-16 were devoted to undoing the mischief of his former life. The force of the prophet’s words is strikingly brought out by M. Renan (he led an expedition to Phoenicia), who has shown that every district and every town had a cultus of its own, which often only differed from the neighboring cultus by words and titles (nomina, numina); comp. Baal-Hamon, Baal-Hazor, eta Dr. Payne Smith well expresses the argument of Jeremiah: “When every city has its special deity, surely among so many there might be found one able to help his worshippers.”

Jer 2:29

Wherefore will ye plead with me? How can ye be so brazen-faced as to attempt to justify yourselves?

Jer 2:30

Have I smitten your children. The cities and towns of Judah are represented as so many mothers, and the populations as their children. It would, no doubt, be more natural to take “children” literally; but then we must read the verb in the next clause, “Ye have received,” as the Septuagint actually renders. In the former case the “smiting” will refer to all God’s “sore judgments”sword, drought, famine, pestilence; in the latter, to the loss of life in battle. Your own sword hath devoured your prophets. Manasseh’s persecution (which extended, according to Josephus, especially to the prophets) may account for the preponderance of “false prophets” referred to in verse 8 (cf. Mat 23:29).

Jer 2:31

O generation, see ye. It is doubtful whether generation here means “contemporaries” (equivalent to “men of this generation”), or, like sometimes in the New Testament, a class of men united by moral affinity (comp. Psa 14:5; Psa 78:8). In the latter case we should rather attach the pronoun in “see ye” to “O generation,” and render “O (evil) generation that ye are!” So Hitzig, Keil, and Payne Smith; Ewald and Delitzsch adopt the first rendering. Have I been a wilderness, etc.? “Have I not been the source of light and happiness to my people, and of all temporal blessings?” (comp. Jer 2:6). So the Divine speaker in Isa 45:19, “I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain,” or more literally, “in chaos” (same word as in Gen 1:2); “chaos” and “the wilderness” are both images of that which is utterly unremunerative. A land of darkness. This is, of course, not literally accurate as a description of the Arabian desert. “Darkness” is here used as a synonym for “misery.” Cloud and rain occupy precisely opposite places in the estimation of nomadic and agricultural peoples respectively. “The Bedouins,” says an Arabic scholast, “always follow the rain and the places where raindrops fall;” whereas a townsman of Mecca calls himself “child of the sun.” So Indra and Varuna, originally belonging to the cloudy and rainy sky, are in the Vedic hymns endowed with solar traits. It should be added here that it is an old problem, and too difficult a one for us to investigate, whether we should render “the darkness of Jah” (Jehovah) or (as Authorized Version) simply “darkness.” The former rendering will mean very great darkness, such as Jehovah sends in judgment (e.g. to the Egyptians, Exo 10:21-23). On this question, see Dr. Ginsburg on Son 8:6 (where a similar doubt exists), Geiger’s ‘Urschrift und Uebersetzungen der Bibel,’ p. 276; Ewald, ‘Lehrbuch der Hebraischen Sprache,’ 270 e. We are lords; rather, we have broken loose. It is, however, a difficult word, which only occurs elsewhere in Gen 26:1-35 :40; Hos 12:1; Psa 55:3.

Jer 2:32

Or a bride her attire. The prophet perhaps means the magnificently adorned girdle which the bride wore on her wedding day (comp. Isa 49:18). But the word only occurs again in Isa 3:20, and its precise signification is uncertain.

Jer 2:33

Why trimmest thou thy way I rather, How well thou contrivest thy way, etc.? Therefore hast thou also taught, etc. The meaning which floated before our trans-labors seems to be this: “so utterly immoral is thy course of life, that even the worst of women [‘wicked ones’ is in the feminine] have been able to learn something from thee”. But a more natural rendering is, “Therefore [i.e. to gain thine ends] thou hast accustomed thy ways to those evil things.” Nemo repente fuit tupissimus. It required a deliberate “accustoming,” or “training” (such is the literal meaning of limad), to produce such a habit () as is here rebuked.

Jer 2:34

Also in thy skirts, etc.; or, there is even found in thy skirts (or, perhaps, in thy sleevesthe wide sleeves of an Eastern mantle). The fact which follows is adduced as the crowning evidence of wickedness. Blood of the souls is explained by the statement in Le Jer 17:11, “The soul of the flesh [i.e. of the body] is in the blood;” hence the importance of the blood in the Mosaic sacrifices. The historical reference of this passage of Jeremiah may well be to the persecution of Manasseh, who is said to have “shed innocent blood very much” (2Ki 21:16). It is Judah, no doubt, who is addressed, but the prophets mostly assume the “solidarity” of king and people (analogous to that of a forefather and his posterity); Manasseh, moreover, probably had the support of a large section of the population, at any rate in so far as he favored the inveterate cultus of the high places or local sanctuaries. I have not found it by secret search; rather, thou hast not found them breaking through (houses). The phraseology agrees with that of Exo 22:2, the law against “breaking through;” it suggests that the houses of all but the highest class in ancient as well as often in modern Palestine, were made of mere sun-dried brick, which could be easily “dug into” (comp. Eze 12:5; Mat 6:19, Mat 6:20, in the Greek). [Lieut. Conder states, it is true, that in hilly districts of Palestine the houses of the villages are built of stone, but he adds that the stone is simply taken from the ruins of the ancient towns.] Burglars caught in the act might be killed (Exo 22:2), but the innocent victims of persecution could not be brought under this category, and hence those who slew them were really guilty of murder. But upon all these; rather, but because of all these things; i.e. not for any crime, but because of thine things,” as in Jer 3:7); so Hitzig, Keil Payne Smith; less naturally De Dieu, “because of those false gods”

Jer 2:35

Because. This “because” is misleading; there is no argument, but the statement of a supposed fact. The particle so rendered merely serves to introduce the speech of the Jews (like ). Shall turn; rather, hath turned. Judah had so long been undisturbed by any foreign power, that the people fancied the promises of Deuteronomy were being fulfilled, and that they, on their part, had pleased God by their formal obedience. I will plead with thee. Here, as in some other passages (e.g. Isa 66:16; Eze 38:22), the word includes the sense of punishing.

Jer 2:36

Why gaddest thou about so muchmany render, Why runnest thou so quickly; but the verb simply means to go, and it is enough to refer to foreign embassies, such as are alluded to in this very chapter (Jer 2:18)to change thy way? The “way” or policy of Judah was “changed,” according as the party in power favored an Egyptian or an Assyrian alliance. Thou also shalt be ashamed of; rather, thou shalt also be brought to shame through. As thou art ashamed of Assyria (correct rendering as before). This is certainly difficult, for in the reign of Josiah it would appear that the political connection with Assyria still continued, Is it possible that Jeremiah, in these words, has in view rather the circumstances of Jehoiakim than those of Josiah? Does he not appear to look back upon Judah’s final “putting to shame through Assyria” as a thing of the past? And to what event can this expression refer but to the overthrow of Josiah at Megiddo (so Graf)?

Jer 2:37

From him; i.e. from Egypt, personified as a man (so whenever a people is referred to; a laud is represented as a woman). Egypt was, in fact, the only great power capable of assisting Judah at this time (see Introduction); yet even Egypt, the prophet says, shall disappoint her Jewish allies, for Jehovah has rejected thy confidences (i.e. the objects of thy confidence). As a matter of fact, “the King of Egypt came not again any more out of his laud” after Necho’s crushing defeat at Carehemish (2Ki 24:7; comp. Jer 37:5).

HOMILETICS

Jer 2:1-3

Recollections of the happy past.

It is pleasing to see how the prophet of judgment opens his first oracle with touching reminiscences of the early happy relations between God and his people. Thus the young man connects his new utterances with ancient experience and the old well-tried principles of spiritual religion. Thus, too, he leads the way from thoughts of God’s goodness and memories of early devotion to a right condition of reflectiveness and tenderness of heart, in which the revelation of dark truths of the future will be less likely to harden his hearers in rebellion than if they had been spoken abruptly and harshly.

I. MANY OF US, LIKE THE JEWS, MAY BE REMINDED OF A HAPPY PAST. In years of deepening disappointment the sunny days of youth rise up to memory anal rebuke the cynical mood which sorrow is too ready to engender. In years of lessening spirituality the holy seasons of early devotion may be recalled to mind to startle us out of our self-complacency. It is well to reflect upon such a past history as that of the Jews.

1. This was marked by peculiar blessings on God‘s side.

(1) It was a time when God’s love and kindness were felt with all the fresh receptiveness of youth; and

(2) it was memorable for remarkable Divine protection and blessing.

2. This was characterized by great fidelity on the side of Israel. In spite of frequent murmurings and rebellions, the age of the Exodus had been the heroic age of Israel’s national and religious history.

(1) The people then followed God with affectionate devotion; they “went after him.”

(2) They consecrated themselves in purity and in service; “Israel was consecrated unto the Lord.”

(3) They were the earliest true servants of GodGod’s “firstfruits.” Yet the first may become last (Mat 20:16).

(4) This devotion was witnessed under trying circumstances. It was “in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.” God’s love is sometimes most manifest when outward circumstances are most distressing, and men are often more faithful to God in the wilderness than in the land flowing with milk and honey. What a strange irony of history is this, that though, while passing through the wilderness, the people looked forward to their happiness in the possession of the promised land, after they have had long possession of it they are led to look back on those early homeless wanderings as containing the most blessed age of their existence! But true happiness is ever found, not in external comfort, but in spiritual blessedness. Can we recollect early days when the battle of life was hard, and we longed for the ease which came with success, and now see that there, in that hard battle, our best days were lived, our true blessedness was realized? Such a memory must be full of pathetic suggestions.

II. THE RECOLLECTION OF A HAPPY PAST IS PROFITABLE.

1. God remembers the past. Not like the sour censor who remembers only our past faults, but rather like the kind parent who delights to call to mind the goodness of his children’s early days, God makes no mention of the sins of the wilderness life, but dwells graciously on its happy features. God remembers our past for our good:

(1) as a link of affection after subsequent sin has driven us from him;

(2) as an ideal to which he would bring us back; and

(3)still for our goodas a standard by which to measure our present condition, and a just ground for wholesome chastisement.

2. We are to recollect our happy past. Israel is reminded of his early days. If we have “lost our first love” it is well that we should know this:

(1) that we may see how far we have fallen, and repent (Rev 2:4, Rev 2:5);

(2) that the recollection of the blessedness of early devotion may revive the longing for its return;

(3) that the consciousness that this was once attained may encourage us to believe that it is a possibility, and therefore may be attained again, In conclusion, note:

1. It is foolish simply to regret the happy past. The use of memory is not to give to us profitless melancholy, but to lead us actively to do better for the future.

2. It is a mistake for us to seek simply to regain the lost past, because

(1) this is gone irrevocably,

(2) the new age requires new forms of life, and

(3) we should seek better things in the future. The second Adam is better than the first Adam before the fall. The kingdom of heaven is more glorious than the garden of Eden. The ripe Christian is higher in the spiritual life, though he may have fallen in the past, than the innocent child who has never known evil but has not experienced the discipline of life.

Jer 2:5-7

The ingratitude of sin.

Of the many aspects under which sin may be viewed none is more sad than that of ingratitude to God. Every act of sin is a distinct act of ingratitude; for every such act is an offence against him who has shown to us nothing but love, and from whom we are taking innumerable favors in the very moment of our transgression.

I. THE INGRATITUDE OF SIN IS SEEN IN THE FORGETFULNESS OF GOD‘S SAVING MERCY. So the Israelites forget the glorious deliverance from Egypt, and preservation amidst the horrors of the wilderness (Jer 2:6). God is resorted to in distress only to be ignored, forsaken, insulted, directly rebelled against, when he has effected a deliverance.

II. THE INGRATITUDE OF SIN IS SEEN IN THE IGNORING OF THE PRESENT GOODNESS OF GOD. (Jer 2:7.) The Israelites were eating the fruit of the good land which God had given to them while they were rebelling against him. This is even worse than ingratitude for past blessings. Such ingratitude might attempt to plead the excuse of failure of memory; but ingratitude for present mercies can only arise from gross spiritual blindness or willful disregard of all claims of justice and affection.

III. THE INGRATITUDE OF SIN IS SEEN IN THE FALSE CHARACTER WHICH IS ASCRIBED TO GOD. God asks, “What unrighteousness have your fathers found in me?” The conduct of the Jews was a direct indictment of the character of God. They deliberately insulted him, and rejected him for heathen deities. Such conduct could only be justified by the discovery that he was not what he claimed to be. After God has revealed himself to men in myriad fold evidences of goodness, there are some who hold, if they do not confess to, such evil conceptions of his character as amount to the basest calumnies of heartless ingratitude.

IV. THE INGRATITUDE OF SIN IS SEEN IN THE CHARACTER OF THE GODS WHO ARE PREFERRED TO JEHOVAH. These are “false” gods. Jews who knew that converted religious worship into an unreality, and thus became themselves hollow and unreal. For this miserable result did they forsake the God of heaven and earth, their Savior and constant Benefactor! If they had found a rival with some pretensions to worth the insult would have been less. Herein is the grossness of the insult to God seen in all sin. What do men prefer to him? Transient pleasures, earthly dross. The pearl of great price is flung away, not for a smaller pearl, but for dust and ashes.

V. THE INGRATITUDE OF SIN IS SEEN IN THE ABUSE AND CORRUPTION OF GOD‘S GIFTS. God gave the Israelites “garden-land,” and they defiled it; they made God‘s heritage an abomination. When we sin we do so by employing the very powers which God has bestowed upon us. We insult him by turning his own gifts into weapons of rebellion. We blaspheme him with the tongue which he has made.

Jer 2:8

Wickedness in leading men.

The great indictment of Israel reaches its climax in the accusation of the leaders of the people. Even they who should have been the guardians of truth and the vindicators of right have turned aside to evil ways. After this the defection of the whole nation appears utter and hopeless. We have here an instance of the terrible condition into which a country has fallen when its leaders, its teachers, its responsible civil and religious authorities, are unfaithful to their mission and set examples of wickedness.

I. CONSIDER THE SIGNS OF WICKEDNESS IN LEADING MEN.

1. These are often unrecognized until the evil has wrought disastrous effects. For there are circumstances which make them difficult to detect, viz:

(1) External propriety. The priests still minister at the altar, the Law is still slavishly observed in ceremonial details, rulers still exercise authority, prophets still write and preach in orthodox language, and on the outside all things go on respectably, while there is rottenness hidden within. This was specially the case after the reformation of Josiah, when an outward respect for religious observances was established without any purification of heart or revival of spiritual life.

(2) Respect for authority. Many people are too subservient to question the character of their leaders. They would rather unite with their rulers in crucifying Christ than recognize his claims against the authority of these men. They do not judge of the character of their leaders by any standard of morals, but found their standard of morals on that character.

2. The signs of wickedness in leading men may be detected in its bearing on the special functions of their respective offices. The priests are the temple servants of Jehovah, yet they never seek their Master. They who are familiar with the precepts of the Law know nothing of the person and will of the Lawmaker. The civil rulers who are ruling under a theocracy directly transgress the Law of God. The prophets lend themselves to a corrupt source of inspiration. So now again we may see men abusing the powers of office, and sinning in the very exercise of the responsibilities which are entrusted to them for the sake of the maintenance of right and truth. Therefore we must be on our guard, and not simply follow those who claim to lead because of their rank or office. Men of leading are not always men of light. We must try the spirits (1Jn 4:1), and judge of the character of those who claim to lead us by their actions, “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Mat 7:16).

II. CONSIDER THE PECULIAR GUILT OF WICKEDNESS IN LEADING.

1. It is contrary to knowledge. The priests handle the Law. Men of influence are usually in a position to learn what is wise and good. Teachers of religion may be presumed to know more than the average of men. How great, then, is their guilt when their conduct is corrupt (Rom 2:21-23)

2. It is contrary to profession. These leaders set themselves up as examples to others, and then even they go wrong. They who assume a high position should justify that position by manifesting a high character. More is expected of the professed Christian than of the confessed man of the world.

3. It is an abuse of great responsibility. If men willfully employ positions of trust as means of violating the very objects of those trusts, their guilt is proportionate to the privileges they have received and the honors they have accepted. He who uses a Christian pulpit to propagate doctrines subversive of Christianity is guilty of base treason.

III. CONSIDER THE INJURIOUS EFFECTS OF WICKEDNESS IN LEADING MEN. These will be great in proportion to the influence of the men, and will partake of the special characteristics of that influence, viz.:

1. Breadth. Leading men have a wide influence, and the seeds of evil which they sow will be widespread.

2. Depth. Leading men have power at their disposal. Their example is weighty.

3. Subtlety. Dignity, prestige, authority, disguise the evil which would be recognized if it were stripped of the pomp of price. Therefore:

(1) see that good men are chosen for posts of influence, and let the selection and education of civil and religious leaders be a matter of more prayer and thought on the part of the Church; and

(2) be not too ready to follow with blind obedience those who may be in high positions. Be independent and watchful. Follow the one infallible Leader, “the Good Shepherd,” Christ.

Jer 2:13

Broken cisterns.

I. ALL MEN NEED SPIRITUAL REFRESHMENT. The soul has its thirst (Psa 63:1).

1. This is natural. We are born with instincts which reach out to the unseen, and the worldly habits which deaden these instincts cannot utterly eradicate them. If they could, we should cease to be men and become merely rational brutes, for “man is a religious animal.”

2. This is intensified by the presence of life. Thirst is increased by a heated atmosphere, hard work, disease, and special agents, e.g. salt water; so spiritual thirst is deepened by the heat and burden of life, by its toil and battle, by the fever of passion and the weariness of sorrow, by the poison of sin and the disappointment of delusive promises of satisfaction. How pathetic is this picture! If the living water is forsaken, cisternseven poor, broken cisterns, with scant supply of foul water, are resorted to, for in some way the burning thirst of the soul must be quenched.

II. THEY WHO FORSAKE GOD INJURE THEIR OWN SOULS. Hitherto the prophet has spoken of the guilt of unfaithfulness. He now speaks of the loss this entails. It is right that we should first think of the simple sinfulness of our sin, for this is its most important feature. But it is profitable to consider also the folly of it, and the misery that it must bring upon us. This is not to be all relegated to the world of future punishments. It is to be felt now, and would be felt keenly if men were not blind to their own condition. As godliness has the promise of the life which now is as well as of that which is to come, so ungodliness brings present loss. This must not be looked for in the direction of material profit and loss, of bodily pain and pleasure, towards which the Jew was too much inclined to turn his attention. It is inward and spiritual, yet it is not the less real. For the spirit is the self. When the noise of the world is stilled, in silent watches of the night, in lonely hours of reflection, does not the poor homeless soul feel some sense of unrest, some vague thirst which no pleasure or possession has yet satisfied?

III. THE INJURY ARISING FROM FORSAKING GOD IS FOUND FIRST IN THE VERY LOSS OF GOD. God is more to us than all his gifts. The greatest loss of the prodigal son is not the food which he craves for in the land of famine, but the father whom he has forsaken. God is the chief source of the soul’s refreshment. Men talk of the duty of religion. They should consider its blessings, and learn to sock God as they seek their bread and waterthe first necessaries of life. God is a Fountain of living water.

1. His refreshing grace is ever flowing, and in great abundance, not limited in quantity as that of the largest cistern may be so that there is enough for all, and it may be had at all times.

2. It is fresh, like the mountain stream bubbling forth cool from the rock, not like the stale waters of the cistern. “He giveth more grace” (Jas 4:6), and “grace for grace” (Joh 1:16). The Christian does not have to go back to the grace of God in past ages. There is a fresh stream now flowing, and prayer opens to us fresh supplies of the love and help of God.

3. It is wholesome and invigorating, unlike the earthy waters of the cistern. How foolish, then, to turn aside from such a supply for anything! We need no better.

IV. THE INJURY ARISING FROM FORSAKING GOD IS INTENSIFIED BY THE UNSATISFACTORY NATURE OF THE SUBSTITUTES MEN TURN TO.

1. These are stir-made. God makes the fresh spring, man makes the cistern. Can our work equal God’s?

2. They are limited in supplyreservoirs, not flowing streams.

3. They are often impure; the cistern soon gets impregnated with unwholesome matter.

4. They are imperfect of their kind. The cisterns are broken; what little unwholesome water they have leaks away. All these characteristics apply to the waters men turn to in preference to Gode.g. human religion, philosophy, public occupation, social distraction, pleasure; these all fail to slake the soul’s thirst. “Cor nostrum inquistum est donec requiescat in te.”

Jer 2:19

Sin self-corrected.

I. SIN BRINGS ITS OWN CHASTISEMENT.

1. Sin reveals its evil character as it comes into existence, and is no sooner completed than it is regarded by its parent with disgust. The wicked action which looks attractive in desire is repulsive to reflect upon. The very sight and thought and memory of sin are bitter. The burden of guilt, the shame of an evil memory, the sin itself is thus its own chastisement.

2. Sin naturally produces its punishment. The penalty of sin is not arbitrarily adjudicated nor is it inflicted ab extra. It is the natural fruit of sin. It is reaping what we have sown (Gal 6:7, Gal 6:8). This fruit the guilty man must eat as his bread of sorrows (Pro 1:31). Thus intemperance naturally breeds disease, mental degradation, poverty, and dishonor. Greedy selfishness brings upon a man dislike and provokes retaliation. Unfaithfulness to God deprives us of the communion of his Spirit and the protection of his providence. We have to wait for no formal sentence, no executioner. The law within us carries its own sentence, and is its own executioner, and even as we do wrong we begin to bring upon ourselves the penalty of our conduct.

H. THE CHASTISEMENT OF SIN IS TO REPROVE AND CORRECT. The headache of the morning is a warning to the drunkard not to repeat the debauch of the night.

1. Chastisement corrects by bringing us to our right mind. It sobers a man, and thus helps him to look at his life in a true light.

2. Chastisement corrects by revealing the true character of sin. Its charms are all torn off, and the hideous monster is revealed in its naturally hateful shape. Then we see that all sin involves our forsaking God, and is due to the loss of respect for his willthe loss of the “fear of God” according to the Old Testament view, the loss of love to God according to the Christian view.

III. IT IS NOT WELL TO WAIT FOR THE CORRECTIVE INFLUENCE OF CHASTISEMENT BEFORE REPENTING OF SIN.

1. The chastisement may be a terrible experience from which we would fain shrink if we knew the nature of it.

2. Sin is evil in itself, and the sooner we stay our hand from it the better for ourselves, for the world, and for the honor of God. It is better not to fall than to fall and be restored.

3. God has provided a higher means than chastisement for delivering us from sin. This is an exercise of his goodness to lead us to repentance (Rom 2:4). The gospel shows us how Christ can save us from our sins by drawing us to himself and constraining us by his love to walk in his footsteps of holiness.

Jer 2:22

The stains of sin.

I. SIN STAINS THE CHARACTER AND LIFE OF MEN.

1. Sin leaves stains behind it. No man can have clean hands after touching it. These stains are of two classes:

(1) internalthe soiled imagination, the corrupted will, the vitiated habit which a single act of sin tends to produce; and

(2) external, in the form of guilt before God, and lowered reputation in the sight of men.

2. The stains of sin are not natural. They are no part of the true color of a man’s character. They are all contracted by experience.

3. These stains are all evil things. They are not like marks of immature development or of the necessary imperfection of humanity. They are products of corruption.

II. NO MAN CAN WASH THE GUILT OF SIN FROM HIS CHARACTER. (Jer 13:23.) The Jews were attempting this by denying the offences charged against them or excusing them. They would not admit their apostasy; but in vain.

1. Sin cannot be undone. We cannot recall the past. History is unchangeable. What we have done we have done.

2. Sin cannot be hidden. We can never hide it from God, who searches the heart (1Jn 3:20). We cannot long or perfectly hide it from man. It will color our lives and reveal itself in action, in conversation, in countenance.

3. Sin cannot be excused. We may point to our training, our temptations, our natural weakness, our ignorance; and no doubt these facts are important as determining the degree of our guilt (Luk 23:34). But the sin itself, greater or less as it may be, cannot be explained away. Our sins are our own or they would not be sins.

4. Sin cannot be expiated by us. Sacrifice is of no real avail. That was only acceptable as a symbol and type of God’s method of cleansing sin. Penance could only act as discipline for the future; for the past it is no better than a fruitless sacrifice. Future goodness cannot atone for the past; for that is required on its own account, and if it were perfect it would be no more than it ought to bewe should still be “unprofitable servants.”

III. No MAN CAN WASH THE STAIN OF INDWELLING SIN FROM HIS LIFE. Men have tried all methods; but in vain.

1. Simple determination to conquer it. But he who commits sin is the slave of sin (Joh 8:34), and a slave who cannot emancipate himself. The worst effect of sin is seen in the corruption of the will. Hence we have not the power to reform until our will is renewed, i.e. until, in New Testament language, we are “born again.”

2. Charge of external circumstances. This is a helpful accessory of more effectual means, but it is not sufficient in itself, because sin is internal, and no change of scene will effect a change of heart. A man may cross the Atlantic, but he will be the same being in America that he was in England. He may be lifted from the dunghill to a throne, but if he had a vicious nature in his low condition he will carry that with him to his new sphere. Base metal does not become gold by receiving the guinea’s stamp. Sanitary arrangements, education, reforming influences, etc; are all helpful, but none are fundamental enough to effect the complete change. The stains are too ingrained for any such washing to remove them.

IV. IN THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST WE MAY SEE THE MEANS FOR CLEANSING BOTH THE GUILT OF CHARACTER AND THE STAIN OF INDWELLING SIN.

1. Guilt is shown to be removed by the free forgiveness of God in Christ, for no merits of our own, but for the sake of his work and sacrifice; by no effort of ours, but on condition of repentance and the faith which trusts him as our Savior, and submits to him as our Lord (Act 10:43).

2. The stain of indwelling sin is shown to be removed by the renewal of our nature, so that we are born “from above” and “of the Spirit” (Joh 3:3-8), and become new creatures in Christ by means of the same faith of trust and submission (2Co 5:17).

Jer 2:35-37

False confidence.

I. THE GROUNDS OF FALSE CONFIDENCE.

1. Assumed innocence. Israel says, “I am innocent;” “I have not sinned.” This assumption may result from

(1) self-deception, or

(2) hypocrisy.

2. A claim to be favored by God. Israel says again, “His anger has turned from me.” Present peace is taken as a warrant for expecting continued security, so that the very forbearance of God is converted into an excuse for presumption and indifference. Perhaps, too, pride comes in and aids the assumption that the guilty people are special favorites of Heaven and will be protected, whatever wrong they do. This was the mistake of the contemporaries of our Lord when they relied on the mere fact that they were Abraham’s children (Joh 8:39).

3. Trust in human aid. Judah turned first to Assyria, and then to Egypt. So men look to worldly associations for security in trouble.

4. Reliance on diplomatic skill. Israel turned from Assyria to Egypt when the former power failed and the latter was in the ascendancy. Men think to protect themselves by their own ingenuity.

II. THE FAILURE OF FALSE CONFIDENCE. The reasons of this may be noted:

1. The reality of sin. This is not the less real because it is denied. God still sees it. It still bears its necessary fruits.

2. The rejection of God. Israel turned from God to man. How then could he expect God’s continued protection?

3. Lack of principle. Israel turned about from Egypt to Assyria. There was no settled policy. When expediency is the sole guide of conduct we are sure to be landed in ultimate failure.

4. The character and fate of the human objects of confidence. These were rejected by God. They who trust them must share their doom. It is always vain to “put confidence in princes” (Psa 118:9). But when these are bad men, godless men, rejected by God, the consequences of trust in them will be fatal. We are always involved in the fate of what we trust ourselves to. If we trust to the world, to human aid, to errors and falsehoods, to evil things, the certain overthrow of these must involve us in its ruin.

HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY

Jer 2:1-14

A sweet remembrance embittered;

or Divine delight turned by his people’s ingratitude into Divine distress.

I. GOD GREATLY DELIGHTS IN HIS PEOPLE‘S LOVE. See the similitude he employs: “the love of thine espousals.” It is difficult for us to recall any period in the history of Israel when such high praise as this was merited by them. For it is of their love to God rather than of his to themthough there was never any doubt about that-that the prophet is here speaking. But when was Israel’s love at all of such devoted and intense order as to deserve to be thus spoken of? It is difficult to say. And he that knows his own heart will be slow to credit himself with any such ardent affection as is spoken of here. The explanation of such language is found in that joyous appreciation by God of all movements of our hearts towards him which leads him to speak of our poor offerings as if they were altogether worthy and good. Cf. “Lord, when saw we thee and hungred, or athirst,” etc.? (Mat 25:44); also our Lord’s estimate of the widow’s two mites; the cup of cold water given in his Name, etc. Still, whilst the believer is compelled to confess that his Lord’s loving estimate of his poor service and affection is an exaggerated one, it is one which is nevertheless founded upon a very blessed fact. There is such a thing as the child of God’s “first love,” when our delight in God was intense, real, abiding; when prayer and service were prompt and frequent and delightful. Then we were content to leave the world, and to go out into the dreary wilderness if but our God led the way. Then there was not, as now there too often is, a wide separation between our religious and our common life; but, as Jer 2:3 tells, we ourselves and all we had were counted as holy unto the Lord. We sought that in whatsoever we did we might do all unto the glory of God. Now, such service is a delight to the heart of God. We are shown, therefore, that we can add to or diminish the joy of God. Such power have we. And the Divine appreciation of such service is shown by his anger towards those that in anywise hurt his servants. “All that devour him,” etc. (Jer 2:3). The Book of the Revelation is one long and awful declaration of how the Lord God will avenge his saints.

II. BUT THIS DIVINE DELIGHT HAS BECOME DIVINE DISTRESS. The remembrance has become hitter. The cause of this change is by reason of his people having forsaken him. As is the joy of God at men’s hearts yielding to him, so is his grief at their unfaithfulness. The heart of God is no figure of speech, but a reality. It rejoices in our love, it mourns over our sin. And this all the more because of the aggravation attending such forsaking him. For:

1. It is in violation of solemn vows and pledges of fidelity which, we have given him. The yielding of the soul up to God is likened unto the espousal of the soul to God. At the time we made our surrender we joyfully confessed, “Thy vows are upon me, O God: O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord.” Now, to go back from God is to violate all these sacred vows.

2. And whatever departures from God have taken place, they have been without any provocation whatsoever. Verse 5, “What iniquity have your fathers found in me?” etc. Has he been hard with us, or impatient, or unready to answer prayer, or faithless to his promise? Can any who have forsaken God charge him so?

3. And such forsaking of God has been an act of base and shameful ingratitude (cf. verse 6). God had brought Israel up out of the land of Egypt, etc. And he had brought them into a plentiful country, but they had polluted it, etc. (verse 7). All men are under a vast debt of gratitude to God, even the heathenso St. Paul teaches uswho never heard his Name. But how much more vast is the debt of those who have “tasted that the Lord is gracious,” and known his redeeming love, and who yet “turn back and walk no more with him!”

4. Such departures from God are characterized by most unheard-of and monstrous foolishness. The prophet in contemplating it (verse 12) calls on the heavens to be astonished, etc. For such conduct was unheard of (cf. verses 10, 11). Idolatrous nations remained true to their gods, though they were no gods; but Israel, etc. Too often is it that the professed people of God are put to shame by those who make no such profession at all. And it was as monstrous as it was unheard of (cf. verse 13). It was as if any should abandon the waters of some bright, pure running fountain for the muddy mixture of a tank or cistern, which at the best is almost repulsive to one accustomed to the fountains of living water. And the folly of such exchange is even exceeded, for not only was it this foul cistern for which the living fountains had been forsaken, but even these very cisterns were flawed and fractured so that they could “hold no water.” The force of folly could no further go. And men do the like of this still. As, e.g; when they forsake the faith of the Father in heaven for the creed of the materialist, the agnostic, the atheist; when they choose rather the peace of mind which contemplation of their own correctness of conduct can afford instead of the joyful assurance of sin forgiven and acceptance with God, gained through Jesus Christ our Lord; when, in the controversy that is ever going on between God and the world, they decide for the world; when, reliance is placed on a religion of sacraments, professions and forms of worship, instead of that sincere surrender of the heart to God, that spiritual religion which alone is of worth in his sight; when the lot of the people of God is rejected in order that the pleasures of sin may be enjoyed for a season, and in many other such ways.

5. And the sin is of such desperate character. For see (verse 8) how it has mounted up and overwhelmed those who from their profession and calling we should have thought would have been above it. The ministers of religion, the priests, pastors, teachers, have all been swept away by the torrent of sin. When these whose lives are given to prayer, to the study of God’s holy Word, and to that sacred ministry which should be a bulwark and defense, not only for those for whom, but also for those by whom, it is exercised; when these are seen to be involved in the common corruption, then the case of such a Church, community, or nation is hopeless indeed. See, too, the insensibility that such sin causes. In verse 2 Jeremiah is bidden “Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem.” As you would bend down your face to the ear of one in whom the sense of hearing was all but dead, and would place your lips close to his ear, and by loud, clear utterance strive to make him hear, so had it become necessary by reason of the insensibility which their sin had caused, to deal with those to whom the prophet wrote. It is one of the awful judgments- that overtake the hardened and impenitent, that whereas once they would not hear the voice of God, they at length find they cannot. Oh, then, let the prayer of us all be “From hardness of heart, and contempt of thy Word and commandment, good Lord, deliver us”C.

Jer 2:14-19

The Divine ideal, how lost and regained.

The prophet has in his mind what was God’s original thought for Israel, the Divine ideal concerning him; and along with that the mournful and utter contrast of his actual condition. An indignant “No” is the answer which rises to the prophet’s lips as the questions, “Is Israel a slave? Is he a home born slave?” are asked. He thinks of God’s words (Exo 4:22). But then there stares him in the face the most distressing but yet most unanswerable fact that Israel has become altogether such an one. “He is spoiled; the young lions roar over him,” etc. (Jer 2:15). Applying the story of Israel to ourselves, we learn

I. THE DIGNITY AND GLORY WHICH GOD DESIGNED FOR HIS REDEEMED. They were to be as his sons (cf. Joh 1:12, and parallels). Think of the ideas which we associate with the relationship of sons. Take the story of Abraham and Isaac as setting forth in human form what these relationships are. What affection, what confidence, what sympathy, what affluence, what honor, were Isaac’s because he was Abraham’s son! All that appertained to him no doubt manifested his happy consciousness of the place he held in his father’s love. His looks, his tones, his dress, his demeanor, the respect paid to him, the freedom of his intercourse with Abraham, the influence he had with him, wall made manifest his honored and his happy position. Now, all that which was Isaac’s because he was Abraham’s son, God purposes should be ours because we are his. Were the Divine ideal fulfilled, all that appertains to us would reveal the terms on which we stand towards God. Our look, our voice, our demeanor, our freedom from care, the general brightness of our life,all would show our happy consciousness that we were the “sons” of our Father in heaven. The delight that Isaac had in Abraham, the delight that children have in their parents (Pro 17:6), above all, as the supreme example of true sonship, the delight that Jesus had in God, we should increasingly realize. Such is God’s ideal for his redeemed.

II. THE SAD CONTRAST WHICH ACTUAL FACTS TOO OFTEN PRESENT TO THIS IDEAL. This contrast Jeremiah presents in a series of vivid similitudes.

1. Israel is “spoiled.” That is, he who had been a beloved son, happy, honored, and free in his father’s affluent home, is made a prey of, bound, beaten, abused, carried off as a slave.

2. Next he is likened to some unhappy traveler who, passing by a lion’s lair, has fallen a victim. The beast’s talons are fastened in his quivering flesh as he lies prostrate on the ground, and its fierce, exultant yells over him make the forest ring again.

3. The next is that of a wasted land, the desolated homesteads, the stripped fields, the torn-down vineyards, the flocks and herds all driven away.

4. The next, that of once goodly cities, their buildings now a heap of smoldering ruins.

5. And last, that of mocked and insulted captives in Egypt. Their captors have inflicted on them the indignity, so terrible in the eyes of a Hebrew, of shaving off their hair; the words “broken the crown of thy head” rather meaning “shorn the crown of thy head.” Now, all these pictures which would call up vivid ideas of humiliation and suffering before the minds of Israel, the prophet suggests in these several sentences, in order to show the Contrast between what God proposed for Israel at the first, and that to which he had now fallen. But that which was true of Israel is true now, once and again, of those who should have continued as God’s sons. Does not that verse “Where is the happiness I knew?” etc; and the whole tone of that well-known hymn, describe a spiritual condition all too common? Our very familiarity with it shows how often there has been the sad experience of which it tells. One reason why we love the Psalms so much is that they clothe our own thoughts in the very words we need; they say what our hearts have often said, and not least do they thus speak for us when, as they so often do, they confess the smart, the shame, the pain, and the manifold distress which our sin has brought upon us.

III. THE CAUSE OF ITS CONTRAST. (Verse 17.) Did not thy forsaking of Jehovah thy God procure thee this? Let conscience confess if this he not the true explanation of verse 19. Let us beware of explaining away the true cause, and sheltering our sin beneath some convenient excuse.

IV. THE REMEDY FOR THIS CONDITION OF THINGS.

1. There must be the clear perception of its true cause. Verse 19, “Know therefore and see that,” etc. To further this most salutary knowledge was the reason of so many distresses coming upon Israel, and for the same reason God will not suffer sin to be only pleasant, nor the cup of iniquity to be free from bitterness. To the riot and gaiety of the prodigal in the “far country,” God added on the poverty, the swine-feeding, the rags and wretchedness, the husks for food, and the desertion by all his so-called friends,all that misery that he might “come to himself,” which whilst his riches and riot lasted he never would. And this is God’s way still. He would have us know and see that it is an evil thing and hitter to forsake the Lord.

2. And when this has been thus known and seen, would we regain what we have lost, we must have done “with the way of Egypt and the waters of Sihor,” that is, we must resolutely abandon those forbidden ways in which we have hitherto been walking. Verse 18 is an earnest expostulation with such as have wandered flora God. It seems to say to such, “What hast thou to do to be going after the world’s sinful ways, or to be looking for help from her Sihor-like, her foul dark, waters? Oh, have not her ways harmed thee sufficiently already? will not the burnt child dread the fire? Wilt thou again belie thy name, and live rather as the devil’s slave than as God’s child? Was the one sorrow and shame which thy sin heaped upon thy Savior not sufficient, that thou must crucify the Son of God afresh, and put him anew to open shame? Shall the dove vie with the vulture in greed for foul food, or the lamb find satisfaction in the trough of the swine? As soon shouldest thou, child of God, love sin and its evil ways.” Let us remember for our great comfort, when well-nigh despairing of deliverance from the dread power of sin, that Christ has as certainly promised to deliver us from this, the power of sin, as he has from its guilt. The earnest look of trust to him, pleading his promise herein,this repeated day by day, and especially when we know that “sin is nigh,” will break its mastery, and win for us the freedom we need.C.

Jer 2:20-37

Jehovah’s indictment against Israel.

Note

I. ITS MANY COUNTS.

1. Their sin of outrageous character. It is spoken of as in Jer 2:20, because it so commonly involved the grossest fleshly sins, and because it involved shameful denial of God. Cf. Jer 2:27, “Saying to a stock, Thou art my father,” etc. And it was chargeable with numerous and shameful murders (Jer 2:30). Killing the prophets of God; Jer 2:34, “In thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents,” etc.

2. Of long standing. Jer 2:20, “Of old time thou hast broken thy yoke” (see exegesis for true translation), “and saidst, I will not serve.”

3. In no wise chargeable to God. Jer 2:21, “Yet I had planted thee a noble vine,” etc.

4. Was ingrained into their very nature (Jer 2:22). All manner of endeavor had been made to cleanse away the defilement, but its stain remained in them still.

5. Was fiercely and determinately pursued after (Jer 2:23, Jer 2:24, Jer 2:33; see exegesis). They “worked all uncleanness with greediness.”

6. And this in spite of all that might have taught them better.

(1) Warnings (Jer 2:25, where they are entreated to have done with such wickedness).

(2) Miserable results of their idolatry in the past (Jer 2:26-28).

(3) Divine chastisements (Jer 2:30).

(4) God’s great mercy in the past (Jer 2:31). God had not been to them as a wilderness.

(5) The honor and glory God was ready to place upon them (Jer 2:32), like as a husband would adorn his bride with jewels.

7. And their sin is aggravated by

(1) their shameless assertion of innocence (Jer 2:23, Jer 2:35);

(2) their persistence in sin (Jer 2:36), “gadding about to change their way,” going from one idolatry to another, one heathen alliance to another.

II. THE MISERABLE DEFENSE OFFERED. It consisted simply in denial (Jer 2:23, Jer 2:35). It augmented their guilt and condemnation (Jer 2:37).

III. THE INSTRUCTION FROM ALL THIS FOR OUR OWN DAY AND FOR OUR OWN LIVES.

1. It shows us the terrible nature of sin.

(1) The lengths it will go.

(2) The gracious Barriers it will break through.

(3) The condemnation it will surely meet.

2. It bids us not trust to any early advantages. Israel was planted “a noble vine, wholly a right seed,”

3. The folly and guilt of denying our sin (cf. 1Jn 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin,:’ etc.).

4. The needs be there is for us all of the pardoning and preserving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.C.

Jer 2:22

The sinner’s attempt to wash away his sin.

I. WHEREFORE HE MAKES THE ATTEMPT. Sometimes it is that

(1) conscience is aroused; or

(2) the Word of God is too plainly against him; or

(3) Divine providence threatens ominously; or

(4) like Felix, he trembles as some Paul preaches.

II. THE MANNER IN WHICH HE PROCEEDS.

1. He partially abandons known sin, as Pharaoh, Nineveh, Israel. at time of Josiah’s reformation, Herod.

2. Multiplies religious services.

3. Is ready with good resolves.

4. There is some stir of religious feeling. Tears are shed, the emotional nature is excited, and there is some temporary tenderness of conscience. Added to all this there may be:

5. Self-inflicted punishments, bodily mortifications. Such is the washing with nitre and the taking of much soap which the prophet describes.

III. ITS USELESSNESS. The stain of the iniquity is there still (Jer 2:22). How powerfully is this confessed in the great tragedy of ‘ Macbeth’! After his dread crime, the conscience-stricken wretch thus speaks

“How is’t with me, when every noise appals me?
What hands are here? Ha! they pluck out mine eyes!
Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the greenone red.”

IV. THE TRUE CLEANSING WHICH IT SUGGESTS AND INVITES US TO. Isa 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together,” etc.C.

Jer 2:25

A dread snare of the devil.

I. IN WHAT IT CONSISTS. The persuading the sinner that “there is no hope.”

II. ITS TERRIBLE CHARACTER. It leads the sinner to excuse himself in his sin by the false belief that he is delivered to do all his abominations. It encourages him to go on in his sin (cf. Jer 2:25), instead of resolutely breaking away from it

III. How MEN FALL INTO IT. By letting sin become the habit of their lives; the constant repetition of separate sinful acts forges the chain of habit, which it is hard indeed for any to break through.

IV. How MEN MAY GET OUT OF IT.

1. By prayerful pondering of the many proofs which show that this suggestion of Satan, that “there is no hope,” is one of his own lies. These proofs are to be found in the plain statements, and in the many examples of the Word of God, which tell of God’s grace to the very chief of sinners. They are to be found also in the recorded biographies and observed lives of many of the people of God. And also in our own experience of God in the past.

2. By then and there committing our souls into the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ for pardon, for restoration, and for safe keeping for the future.

3. By renewing this self-surrender day by day, and especially when we are conscious that danger is near. So shall we be able to say, “My soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowler.”C.

Jer 2:36, Jer 2:37

The restlessness of sin.

“Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way?” etc.

I. THIS IS A COMMON COURSE OF CONDUCT IN SINFUL MEN.

II. THE REASONS FOR ADOPTING IT ARE OF VARIOUS KINDS.

1. Hope of larger gain.

2. Prospects of increased pleasure.

3. Disappointment with the way that has hitherto been tried.

4. Conscience will not be quiet in continuing the present way, etc.

III. BUT IT IS ALL OF NO AVAIL. The same wretched result is reached whichever way is taken (Jer 2:36, Jer 2:37).

IV. GOD IN ALL THIS IS SAYING, “LET THE WICKED FORSAKE HIS WAY, AND THE UNRIGHTEOUS,” ETC. (Isa 55:1-13.).C.

HOMILIES BY A.F. MUIR

Jer 2:2

God’s estimation of his people’s love.

A remarkable passage: to be taken in its evident meaning, and not to be explained away. What a loving use to make of the past faithfulness and attachment of his people! He would remind them of them, that they may repent and return.

I. IT IS FULL OF INTEREST TO HIM. TO those who feel intense love for others, it is exceedingly grateful to find their love reciprocated. High, pure, disinterested love, like that of God for men, never receives equal return; but what it does elicit it prizes beyond all its intrinsic value. The parent thinks more of the child’s love for him than the child of the parent’s.

1. It spoke of trust. There is no fear or selfishness in love Divine love awakens. The wilderness could not daunt the simple hearts of faithful Israel. They were willing to take God at his word, and to look for the ]and of promise. So with respect to Christ.

2. It spoke of gratitude. He had saved them from Egypt’s bondage, and made them his own freemen. No service was too arduous; no trial too severe. Jesus has saved us from sin and its consequences; we owe to him a deeper gratitude.

3. It spoke of an affection that was its own reward. There was delight in the presence and communion of God. Worship was rapture. The chief interest of life was spiritual and Divine. The life of Israel was separated and sanctified to God. Love that could manifest itself thus was a sign and guarantee that the love of God had not been in vain.

II. ITS FAILINGS ARE CONDONED BY ITS GENUINENESS. No mention is made of their murmurings, their disobedience, and unbelief. Where the true spirit of Divine love is exhibited God can forgive defects, etc. To him it is enough for the present that we do our best, and are true and earnest. So at the first signs of repentance he is willing to forget all our offences. What is good and real in men, is of infinitely more value to him than we can imagine, and for the sake of that he is willing to cover the guilty past. This is all the more precious a trait in the Divine character that it does not spring from ignorance of us. He knows us altogether, our secret thoughts, our down-sitting and our uprising. The readiness of God so to forgive and to overvalue past love and trust on the part of his people, ought to fill us with compunction and shame. We ought to ask, “Was this our love?” “Lord, when saw we thee an hungred,” etc.?

III. THOUGH TRANSIENT, IT ELICITS AN ETERNAL ATTACHMENT AND LEAVES AN UNDYING MEMORY. “I remember.” It ought to be a strong motive to the Christian to think that his-little works of faith and labors of love are so highly prized, and so long remembered. “For thy works’ sake.” Who would not rather charge the memory of God with such gracious memories, that “heap up wrath against the day of wrath?”M.

Jer 2:2, Jer 2:3

First love to God.

We have here a picture of the idyllic days of the soul’s first love for God. The emphasis is on the sentimentits depth, reality, and attractiveness. It is spoken of as something in which’ God delights; as in the odor of a rose, the beauty of a landscape, or the pleasant melody of a song.

I. IT IS ATTRACTIVE. For its spontaneity; its spirit of self-sacrifice; and its absoluteness.

II. IT IS IMMEDIATE IN ITS INFLUENCE. UPON CHARACTER AND LIFE. Generous sacrifice. Dominance of spiritual aims and interests. Personal holiness.

III. IT IS FULL OF PROMISE. Not only what it is, but what it may become. In one sense the bud is more valuable than the leaf, or flower, or knit. It has the interest of growth and the future about it. Israel’s best gifts, then, were to God but “first fruits.” God only knows what capacity of spiritual progress and enlargement is ours; and he alone can tell the influence and importance of his people’s faithfulness.M.

Jer 2:3

Guilty instruments of Divine judgment.

A great problem in morals. Pharaoh’s “heart is hardened,” and yet his guilt remains. Nations are raised up to punish Israel for unfaithfulness, yet they “offend” in doing this very thing.

I. WHEREIN THE GUILT OF INSTRUMENTS OF DIVINE VENGEANCE MAY CONSIST. At least two explanations of this are to be found:

1. In the distinction between the formal and the material character of actions. The essential evil or good of an action is in the intention, the subjective conditions that originate and give character to it. It is subjective, not actualized; or its actualization in one of several forms or directions is indifferent. Towards any of these the Divine power may direct the impulse and tendency; or they may be shut up to them through the unconscious influence of providence, working in wider cycles.

2. In the overdoing or aggravation of the appointed task.

II. WHAT IT IS THAT AGGRAVATES THE GUILT OF THE WICKED INSTRUMENT OF DIVINE WRATH. It is the character of God’s people, and the relation they boar to him. They have been “holiness unto the Lord.” In so far as this character is interfered with or injured by the instruments of vengeance, the latter shall be the more guilty. In so far, too, as hatred for this character, either as past or present, in God’s people has actuated the vengeance inflicted, the avengers “shall offend.” (Cf. for a similar sentiment, Mat 18:6.) The Divine Being declares his personal attachment to those he has chosen, and his identification with them. To injure them is to injure him. They also represent, even in their apostasy, the stock from which salvation is to come, and the world’s spiritual future.M.

Jer 2:4-9

The indictment of Israel.

The chosen nation is arraigned in all its generations and in all its orders. It is a universal and continuous crime; and it ran parallel with a succession of unheard-of mercies, deliverances, and favors. In these respects it corresponds to the sin of God’s people in every ageforgetfulness of past mercy, abuse of present blessings, the corruption and perverseness of those who were entrusted with Divine mysteries and sacred offices.

I. JEHOVAH APPEALS TO HIS CHARACTER AND DEALINGS IN THE PAST IN DISPROOF OF THERE BEING ANY EXCUSE IN THEM FOR THE SIN OF HIS PEOPLE. Inquiry is challenged. History is rehearsed. So it always has been. The reason for the sins, etc; of God’s people is in themselves and not in God. God is just, and all the allegations and murmurs of unbelieving and disobedient Israel are lies. So the excuses Christians often give for their faults and offences are already answered in advance. We have received from him nothing but good. His help and protection were at our disposal; but we forsook him, and sinned against both him and ourselves.

II. THE ENORMITY OF THE OFFENCE IS THEN SET FORTH. The recital is marked by simplicity, symmetry, force, and point. It contains the undeniable commonplaces of history and experience, but the artist’s power is shown in the grouping and perspective.

1. It is ancient and hereditary. The fathers, the children, and the children’s children. Just as they could not go back to a time when God had not cared for them and blessed them, so they could not discover a time when they or their forefathers had not shown unbelief and ingratitude. It is pertinent to ask in such a case, “Must there not be some hereditary and original taint in the sinners themselves?” What will men do with the actual existence of depravity? How will they explain its miserable entail? Human history in every age is marked by persistent wickedness; Christianity suggests an explanation of this. It is for objectors to substitute a better.

2. It consists in ingratitude, unbelief, and the service of false gods. The Exodus with all its marvels and mercies, the blessings that surrounded them in the present, go for naught. They are forgotten or ignored. And idols, which are but vanity, are sought after to such an extent that their worshippers “are like unto them.” This is the history of religious defection in every age. Forgetfulness of God, ingratitude, and the overwhelming influence of worldly interests and concerns, and the lusts of our own sinful nature, work the same ruin in us. How many idols does the modern world, the modern Church not set up?

3. It is marked by the abuse of blessings and the breach of sacred trusts. When men are rendered worthless by their sinful practices, they cannot appreciate the good things of God. Divine bounty is wasted, and blessings are abused. Sacred things are desecrated. Those who ought to be leaders and examples are worse than others. The priest who, if any one, ought to know the “secret place,” “the holy of holies,” of the Most High, is asking where he is. The lawyers are the greatest law-breakers. The pastors, who ought to guide and feed, are become “blind mouths.” And the prophets are false. Corruptio optimi pessima. How hard is the heart that has once known God! “If the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness!” The backslider, the child of holy parents, etc; who shall estimate their wickedness?

III. FOR ALL THESE THINGS MEN WILL BE BROUGHT INTO JUDGMENT. The assurance is very terrible: “I will yet plead with” (i.e. reckon with or plead against) “you and with your children’s children will I plead.” This is the same Jehovah who “keepeth mercy for thousands” but “visiteth the iniquity of the fathers upon the children.” There is a solidarity in Israel, Christendom, and the race, which will be brought to light in that day. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” and to bear our offences in the company of transgressors and the universal connection of the world’s sin. “But as in Adam all have died, so in Christ shall all be made alive.” Jesus is set forth as the Head and Representative of the humanity he redeems. Let us seek oneness with him through faith.M.

Jer 2:10-13

The marvel of unbelief.

A magnificent apostrophe. Yet this is no mere rhetoric. There is a terrible reality in the phenomenon to which attention is directed. Chittim, the general name of the islands and coast of the eastern Mediterranean, stands for the extreme west; and Kedar, the general name of the Arabs of the desert for the extreme east of the “world,” with which the prophet and his hearers were familiar. Our “from China to Peru” would represent its meaning to us.

I. THE CONSIDERATIONS THAT MAKE IT MARVELLOUS. The people themselves were but dimly conscious of the strangeness of their apostasy. The prophet seeks to rouse their better nature by the most striking comparisons and illustrations.

1. He compares it with the general fixedness of heathen systems. A tendency to subdivide and stereotype life in the family, society, and the state is shown by idolatry. Idolatries reflect and pamper human desires and ideas, and enter into the whole constitution of the people. They undermine the moral life and spiritual strength, and flourish upon the decay they have made. Their victims are helpless because they are moribund or dead. The words of Isaiah are justified in such a case; “from the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it,” etc. This is the reason of the perpetuation of error and superstition; but the fact is there all the same, and it is in striking contrast to the vacillation and apostasy of God’s people. That which only appears to be good is clung to with reverence and tenacity from age to age. That which is acknowledged to be best, and in part realized to be so, is east aside repeatedly.

2. Look too at the character of him who is forsaken. He has already told them a little of God’s doings (verses 5-7). Now it is sufficient to describe him as the “Glory” of Israel. The heavens, which look at everything all the world over, are to wonder and to be horror-struck at this unheard-of ingratitude and folly.

3. Disadvantage and dissatisfaction must evidently result. The action of the apostate is twofoldnegative and positive. Describe the figure. How great the labor of worldliness; and its disappointment!

II. How SUCH CONDUCT CAN BE ACCOUNTED FOR. If it were the result of genuine and honest experience, it might be fatal to the claims of Jehovah. But it is explained by:

1. The influence of the near and sensible. The physical side of our nature is more developed than the spiritual. Our need appeals to us first and most strongly on that side. Abraham, who pleaded for Sodom, lied for Sarah. Jacob, the dreamer of Bethel, is the craven at Penuel. How unaccountable the yielding of the man of God to the false prophet (1Ki 13:1-34.)! After David’s signal escapes and deliverances, he yet said in his heart, “I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines.” Elijah, after all his miracles and testimonies, sighs out, “Let me die.” Peter, upon whoso witness Christ was to found his Church, is addressed as he is ready to sink at the vessel’s side, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” Paul, who had withstood them “that seemed to be pillars,” quails beneath the “thorn in the flesh.”

2. The demands made by true religion. Self has to be denied. The whole carnal life is condemned. Diligence is insisted upon. We have to “pray without ceasing,” to labor and not faint. We have to “press toward the mark for the prize.” Patience is demanded, and the Christian profession commits us to indefinite sacrifice.M.

Jer 2:18

The unreasonableness of appealing to worldly assistance in spiritual enterprises.

This was the tendency of Israel when her faith grew weak. It is shown even now by those who trust to the arm of flesh, and who seek worldly alliances for the Church. We ought to be deterred from this when we consider

I. THE OPPOSITION OF THE CHARACTER AND AIMS OF THE WORLD TO THOSE OF SPIRITUAL RELIGION.

II. THE UNRELIABLENESS OF THE WORLDLY.

III. THE DISHONOR AND SPIRITUAL PERIL OF SUCH ALLIANCES.M.

Jer 2:19

God’s method of punishing apostasy.

I. ITS OWN SIN IS TO FIND IT OUT.

II. THAT THE TRUE CHARACTER OF ITS ACTIONS AND THE BITTER FRUITS OF ITS SIN MAY APPEAR.M.

Jer 2:26-28

The shameless shame of idolatry.

I. ITS DEGRADING INFLUENCE. It violates all morality. Is repeatedly affronted by the discoveries which are made of its wickedness and folly. It affects the whole nation from the highest and the best. The reason is debased and set at naught.

II. CALAMITY IS THE TEST OF ITS PRETENSIONS. Whilst things go well with the idolater he forgets God or consciously dishonors him. But when he is overtaken with the consequences of his evil deeds he is not ashamed to call upon God. The unreasonableness and inconsistency of this conduct are no barrier to it. Beneath the unbelief and worldliness of men there is a tacit belief in the goodness and power of God. In prosperity they are idolaters, in adversity they find their way back to the God they had despised. This is the universal and permanent inconsistency of the world life.M.

Jer 2:28

Lords many and gods many.

The multiplicity of idols contrasts with the unity of the true God. It involves inconsistency, spiritual confusion, etc. But here the argument is

I. THAT IDOLATRY IS A LOCAL, EXCLUSIVE, AND SEPARATIVE PRINCIPLE.

II. IT IS THUS THE CREATURE AND THE OCCASION OF IGNORANCE, PREJUDICE, AND DISCORD.

III. IT IS THEREFORE BOUND TO DISAPPEAR BEFORE THE LIGHT AND PROGRESS OF HUMANITY.M.

Jer 2:30

Rejecting the chastisements of God.

The spiritual benefits of pain, calamity, etc; are contingent for the most part upon their being received in a right wayas from God, and not by accident. They are intended to discover our sins to us, and to lead us to the love and righteousness of God. Where this result is not effected, “chastisement is not accepted.”

I. THE POSSIBILITY OF REFUSING CHASTISEMENT.

II. MISERY AND PAIN ARE NOT OF THEMSELVES MINISTERS OF GRACE.

III. RIGHTLY RECEIVED, OUR GREATEST GRIEFS MAY BECOME OUR GREATEST MERCIES.

Jer 2:35

The plea of innocence a culminating sin.

We do not know to which particular charge this reply is given. Perhaps the key is contained in 2Ki 23:26. An external reformation was considered enough in the reign of Josiah, and it was assumed that the anger of God was thereby turned away. The prophet assures them that this was a mistake, and more than this, a sin in itself.

I. DEADLY SIN MAY EXIST IN THE MIND WHICH IS NOT SPECIALLY CONSCIOUS OF IT.

II. SUCH UNCONSCIOUSNESS EXHIBITS PERVERTED MORAL NATURE AND CALLOUSNESS OF HEART.

III. IT PROVOKES THE MORE SEVERE JUDGMENT FROM GOD.M.

HOMILIES BY D. YOUNG

Jer 2:1-8

Israel’s desertion of Jehovah viewed in the light of the past.

Desertion rather than apostasy is the word by which to describe the offence charged against Israel in this chapter. Apostasy from principle is too abstract and unemotional a way of putting the thing. The spectacle presented to us is that of one person deserting another in the basest and most ungrateful way. It is a desertion without excuse, aggravated by every circumstance which can aggravate it. And now Jehovah sends his servant to bring the reality of this desertion distinctly before the nation. And suitably enough he sends him to “cry in the ears of Jerusalem.” Whatever is sounded forth in the capital by a man who has had the words of God put in his mouth may be expected to go to the ends of the land.

I. THE WHOLE NATION IS SPOKEN TO. God has the power to look at human life in the light of a unity which the individual man is scarcely able to conceive. Here he looks not only at the living generation of those who had sprung from Jacob, but all backward through the past; each generation is, as it were, a year in the life of one who still lives, and is able to look back on things that happened centuries ago as events of his own youth. Thus not only is it true that one generation goes and another comes, while God abides forever, but it is also true that while one generation goes and another comes, Israel abides forever. Israel is spoken to as a full-grown man might be spoken to, exhorted in the midst of backsliding and unworthy habits to look back on the far different promise of his youth.

II. THE NATION IS SPOKEN TO AS SUSTAINING A MOST ENDEARING RELATION TO GOD. Even as a husband loves and cherishes his wife; so God has loved and cherished Israel. He looks back into the past, and he sees a great fall. The youth of Israel, according to his present view of it, was a time of love and devotion. No doubt there were murmurings and rebellions; and indeed, when we think of some of the things that Israel did during the leadership of Moses, the words of God seem exaggerated in speaking of the kindness of Israel’s youth and the love of its espousals. But then we must bear in mind that we know only in a very imperfect way what is recorded, whereas God saw all, and to him the enthusiasm of the people on certain memorable occasions was very significant. He remembered all those events in which Israel rose to the height of its better self, and indicated the possibilities that might be expected from it. Such events now stand forth like sunny heights in memory. They are reasons why God should not allow his people quietly to depart, farther and further, into the alienations of idolatry. This is what makes the present attempt at restoration so full of interest, that it is an attempt to bring back the erring spouse to her

III. The nation is viewed in the light of A PAST IN WHICH JEHOVAH HAD MADE GREAT PROMISES AND ENTERTAINED GREAT EXPECTATIONS WITH REGARD TO ISRAEL‘S FUTURE. They were reckoned a holy nation. They were as firstfruits of the whole earth, to which he attached an especial value. Levi he brought in sacred nearness to himself in lieu of the firstborn of Israel. It is one of Christ’s distinctions that he has become the firstfruits of them that slept; and so here there was a nation which was the first to step out from long-accustomed idolatry. The glory of Abraham’s faith in the unseen was still, as it were, resting on Israel in the wilderness. Jehovah told the people where to go; he gave them bread, water, and defense against enemies, in a land of peculiar desolation and danger. Promises for the future were given in the most effective way by distinguished services rendered in the present. When at last the Israelites settled down in Canaan, it might have been said to them, “May you not Be sure that he who has freely, amply, and just at the right time, supplied your every need, will also, in all the generations to come, whatever their peculiar experiences, do the same thing?” God had taken his people into the deepest darkness, and put out every earth-enkindled light, just that he might manifest in greater glory and attractiveness that light which is the portion of all unwavering believers in himself. Thus the past of Israel glorified the Cod of Israel; and at the same time, it not only disgraced Israel itself, but had in it such elements of God’s favor and assiduity as made the national desertion of him a great mystery.

IV. OBSERVE HOW COMPLETELY IT IS BROUGHT OUT THAT THE DESERTION IS A NATIONAL ACT. The priests appointed mediators in offering and atonement between Jehovah and his people; the expounders of the Law, whose business it was to keep ever manifest the difference between right and wrong; the shepherds, such, for instance, as every father at the head of his household, providing and guiding; the prophets, who should have been the messengers of Jehovah;all these, far away from their right place, are found in the very forefront of iniquity. Jehovah is not only ignored; he is almost treated as if he were unknown. The people carelessly let their superiors think for them. When the priest in the parable went by on the other side, the inferior would have thought it presumption to have acted differently.Y.

Jer 2:10, Jer 2:11

Heathendom gives an unconscious rebuke to apostate Israel.

From humiliating contrast of the present conduct of Israel with what might have been reasonably expected from the peculiar experiences of the past, God now turns to make a contrast more humiliating still with heathen nations. The request to look back is succeeded by a request to look round. Search through every nation, inquire in every idol temple, watch the religious life of idolaters, and everywhere you will see a fidelity which puts the apostate children of Israel to shame. The heathen gods themselves Jehovah has indeed put to shame, notably the gods of Egypt and Philistia; but in spite of all, the heathen are still clinging to the falsehoods in which they have been taught to believe. Their fanatical devotion is, indeed, a pitiable thing, but even in the midst of all that is pitiable, God can find something to be used for good. This very fidelity to what is so false and degrading may be used to point a keen reproach to those who owe but do not pay allegiance to Jehovah.

There is thus suggested as a topic the UNCONSCIOUS REBUKES WHICH THE WORLD GIVES TO THE CHURCH. The heathendom on which Jehovah bade his people look has long passed away. In spite of the fidelity here indicated, the temples have fallen into ruin and the idols are utterly vanished. Nay, more; increasing signs come in from year to year, that all heathendom is gradually dissolving, so that, in one sense, Jehovah’s words may be said no longer to apply. But we know that, in the spirit of the words, they continue to apply only too forcibly. It is but the form of the idol that passes away; the reality is the same. Thus he who calls himself and wishes to be thought a believer in Christ, does well to look out and see what he can gather by way of spiritual instruction and rebuke from the world. The world has much to teach us if we would only learn. Jesus himself gave the New Testament parallel when he spoke of the children of the world being wiser in their generation than the children of light. And though we should be very foolish to pay any attention to the world, when it puts on the air of a wiseacre and talks with the utmost self-conceit of things it does not understand, there is all the more reason why we should learn all we can by our own divinely directed observation. How the world rebukes us, for instance, every time we see men of science searching after truth! Think of the patient attention given day after day with the telescope, the microscope, and all the apparatus of the experimentalist in physics. Think of the perils and privations of the traveler in tropic and in arctic zones. Think of the unwearied hunting of facts, for possibly a whole lifetime, in order to turn some hypothesis into an established truth. And we also have truth to attain. Jesus and his apostles often spoke of truth which we have to make our own; understanding it, believing it, and making it part of our experience. But that truth assuredly is not to be won without effort. The question may well be asked if such differences would continue to exist among Christians as do exist, provided they only set themselves in reality and humility to discover all that may be known on the subject-matter of their convictions. A man of science, for instance, would not grudge the labor needed to learn another language, if he felt that an increase of knowledge would prove the result to be worth the labor. But how many Christians can be found who have any notion that it might be worth their while to learn the Greek Testament for themselves instead of depending upon even the best of translations? Again, the world rebukes us as we consider the enthusiasm of terrestrial citizenship. There is much for the Christian to learn as he contemplates the spirit breaking forth in many men at the thought of the land that gave them birth. How the feelings of such men glow to fever heat with the exhibition of a national flag, the singing of a national anthem, or the mention of great military and naval triumphs, with the names of the captains who achieved them! Then think of what is better still, the unwearied labors of social reformers, simply from love to their country, to lessen crime, vice, disease, and ignorance. In view of all this deep attachment to the land where the natural man has sprung into existence and is sustained, may not Christ well ask his people, if the heavenly into which they have been introduced by the second birth, is as dear to them? Then, what a rebuke comes to us as we look at the efforts of commercial enterprise. What toil there is here! what daring investments of capital! what quick combinations of the many to attain what cannot be done by the one I what formation of business habits so as to make easy and regular what would otherwise be difficult, perhaps impossible I And yet it is all done to get that wealth on which the Scriptures have so many warning words to speak. As these gods of the nations were no gods, so the wealth men think so much of is really no wealth at all. We are not to look towards the goal of their desires, nor follow in their steps. But as earnestly as they look towards the goal of an earthly fortune, we should look towards that of a heavenly one. As we stand among men clinging to riches which they cannot keep, and clinging none the less firmly because the riches are hollow, let us bear in mind how easy it is for us who are but sinful mortals also to be deluded away into neglect of the true riches.Y.

Jer 2:13

Forsaking the fountain of living waters.

I. THERE IS SUGGESTED HERE AN INCONCEIVABLE ACT OF FOLLY. It is a thing which could be believed of no one in his sound senses that he would leave a fountain of living water, knowing it to be such, and enjoying the use of it; and be contented with a cistern such as is here described. A fountain is that from which he benefits without any trouble; it is a pure gift of grace, and all he has to do is to take up his habitation by it. Why, then, should he leave a fountain for a cistern, even if the cistern were ready-made? Still less credible is it that he should take the trouble to make a cistern. And the incredibility reaches its height when we are asked to suppose him doing all this with the end of possessing a broken cistern that can hold no water. Such broken cisterns the people of Israel seem to have known only too well. Dr. Thomson says there are thousands such in Upper Galilee, which, though dug in hard rock and apparently sound, are all dry in winter; at best they are an uncertain source of supply, and the water, when collected, is bad in color and taste, and full of worms. The whole action, then, of the character here indicated is scarcely conceivable, unless as the expression of fear in a diseased mind. In somewhat of this way we have heard of men acting, who, after having made great fortunes, have become victims to the horrid delusion that they are paupers, and must make some sort of provision against utter destitution. So we might imagine the victim of delusion, with fountains all round him, still insisting upon having some sort of cistern provided. Note, moreover, that the aspect of folly becomes more decided when we consider that it is water which is treated in this way. The water which is offered so freely and continuously in the fountain is a thing which man needs, and yet it is for the supply of that which is a great and may be a painful need that he is represented as depending on broken cisterns which with great toil he has constructed for himself.

II. THERE IS MENTIONED AN INDISPUTABLE ACT OF DESERTION. Israelites, stung to wrath by a charge of folly, might reply that they had not left a living fountain for broken cisterns. This, however, was but denying the application of a figure; the historical fact which the prophet had connected with the figure they could not possibly deny. Assuredly they had forsaken God. Not simply that at this time they were without him, but, having once been with him, they had now left him. Had’ he not taken them up when they were in the weakness, dependence, and waywardness of national infancy? Had they not received all their supplies from him, and gathered strength and prestige under the shelter of his providence? They owed the land in which they lived, and the wealth they had heaped up, to the fulfillment of his promises, and yet they were now worshipping idols. Their worship was not a momentary outbreak like the worship of the golden calf, soon after leaving Egypt, and when they had so long been living in the midst of idolaters. It was a steady settling down into the worst excesses of an obscene and cruel worship, after long centuries during which the Mosaic institutions had been in a place of acknowledged authority. What extenuations there may have been for this apostasy are not to be considered here. The thing insisted upon is the simple undeniable fact of the apostasy itself.

III. THIS DESERTION OF JEHOVAH IS DIVINELY ASSERTED TO BE AN ACT OF THE GROSSEST FOLLY. We have noticed the figure under which this act is set forth; and if Israel meant to get clear of a humiliating charge, it was only by denying that God was indeed a fountain of living water. The figure, therefore, resolves itself into a sort of logical dilemma; and the fact is clearly shown that in spiritual affairs men are capable of a folly which, in natural affairs, they are as far from as possible. Man holds within him a strange duality of contradictions. In some directions he may show the greatest powers of comprehension, insight, foresight; may advance with all the resources of nature well in hand. But in other directions he may stumble like a blind man, while around him on every hand are piled up the gracious gifts of a loving and forgiving God. There is no special disgrace to any individual in admitting what a fool he may be in spiritual things. In this respect, at all events, he is not a fool above other fools. He may see many of the wise, noble, and mighty of earth who have lived and died in apparent neglect as to the concerns of eternity and the relation of Christ to them. Men toil to make securities and satisfactions for themselves, but if they only clearly saw that they are doing no better than making broken cisterns, their toils would be relinquished the next moment. It is but too sadly plain how many neglect the revelations, offers, and promises of God; but who can doubt that if they could only really see him to be the true Fountain of living waters, the neglect would come to an end at once?Y.

Jer 2:26

A shame to be ashamed of.

There is, as Paul tells us (2Co 7:1-16.), a godly sorrow and a sorrow of the world; a godly sorrow working out a repentance never to be regretted, and a sorrow of the world which works out death. So there is a shame and humiliation which is profitable in the right way and to the highest degree, when a man comes into all the horrors of self-discovery, and is ready to declare himself, feeling it no exaggeration, as the chief of sinners. Such a shame is indeed the highest of blessings, since it gives something like a complete understanding of what human nature owes to the cleansing blood of Christ, and to the renewing power of the Spirit. But there is also shame and humiliation such as the jailer at Philippi felt when he suspected his prisoners were gone, and degradation was impending over him at the hand of his masters. It is to such a shame that our attention is directed here. The shame of a thief, not for the wrong he has done, but because he is detected in the doing of it. Israel, we see, is being dealt with in very plain language. Already the nation which God had so favored, and from which he had expected so much, has been spoken of as lower than an idolater. And now it is likened to the thief in the moment when his knavery is discovered. Consider, then, as here suggested

I. WHY THE SINNER SHOULD BE ASHAMED. The thief, of course, ought to be ashamed, and ashamed whether he is caught or not. He ought to come into such a state of mind as to acknowledge his offence and make restitution, even when otherwise his offence might remain undiscovered. He should be ashamed because he has done wrong; because he has broken a commandment of God; because he lives on what has been won by the industry and toil of his neighbors; because, in addition, he is robbing his neighbors of what benefit should have come to them from his own industry and toil. Some have enough to make them bow their heads in despair of ever being able to make restitution; and it is just when we thus begin to estimate the sense of shame that should fill the thoughts of the thief that we also come to have a clear idea of what a universal feeling amongst mankind shame should be. “The thief should be thoroughly ashamed of himself, you say, in all possible ways. True, he ought. But now take to mind the home-pressing words of the apostle, “Wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things” (Rom 2:1). Nay, there may be more to be said for the thief than for thee. Only too often he has a bad start, and no real chance of getting out of bad associations. He may get so hemmed in with temptations as to find it very difficult to resist. And in any case, the thief has no more cause to Be ashamed of his theft than any other sinner for his own particular mode of self-indulgence. God does not draw the distinctions which we are compelled to do, between wrongs that are crimes and wrongs that are not crimes. His distinctions are made on altogether different principlesprinciples which abide. If the thief has wronged his neighbor in one way, be sure of this, that you have wronged him in another. If the thief has sinned against God in one way, you have sinned against him in another. You may go through the world without the slightest fear of anything leaping to the light such as will bring the detective’s tap upon your shoulder, and nevertheless you have yet to be bowed in unspeakable bitterness of shame because you have been defrauding God and missing the great end of life. What is wanted is that all of us should come to ourselvesbeing guided by that unerring Spirit which guides into all truth, and self being revealed by the light of the cross and of eternity.

II. WHY THE SINNER ACTUALLY IS ASHAMED. Discovery is what he dreads; discovery puts him in utter confusion. Discovery is disgrace and ruin, so far as his future relation to men is concerned. Henceforth he passes into a suspected and avoided class; he has test the mark of respectability and confidence. The sad thing is that, in the eyes of a large part of mankind, discovery seems to make all the difference. One may do a great deal of wrong with social impunity, if only there is cleverness enough to keep on the hither boundary of what is reckoned criminal. Those who are most serenely indifferent to the Law of God will fall into all sorts of sins, real and far-reaching evils, rather than transgress a certain social code. It is not so long ago since the duel ceased to be a part of the social code of England; and what a curious standard of honor was involved in such a practice! There are countries still where a man is disgraced if he refuses to fight; if he fights and kills his man it is reckoned no shame at all. The most immoral and debauched of men are yet curiously sensitive to what they choose to consider points of honor. People will plunge over head and ears into debt, and run into the wildest extravagance, that they may flourish a little longer in the social splendor which they know they have not the honest means to maintain. They feel it is a greater disgrace to sink in the world than to he unable to pay their debts. How needful it is for the Christian to take up all positions which he feels to be rightright according to the Divine will, no matter how much he may be exposed to the reproach of folly, Quixotism, and fanaticism I Let us pray that we may ever have a godly shame when the light of heaven is thrown on us, and we are contrasted with God in his holiness and Jesus in his perfect manhood. Let us equally pray that we may never Be ashamed of Jesus. It is a harder thing than many seem to think, even though they are constantly acknowledging in hymn and prayer what they owe to Jesus in the way of gratitude and service.Y.

Jer 2:37

Why the confidences of men do not prosper.

The people of Israel are set forth, even within the limits of this one chapter, as having multiplied and extended their confidences; and yet it could not be said that they were prospering. Men with the religious element in their nature strongly clamoring for satisfaction, had turned to the gods of neighboring nations, and multiplied these objects of worship until it could be said, “According to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.” God compares them to thirsty people who, with a copious fountain in their midst, work and toil to make cisterns, only to find that the end of their labor is in broken cisterns which can hold no water. And then, when their broken cisterns had proved quite unavailing, they fly to drink of Nile and of Euphrates. Evidently their confidence had not prospered, and a continuance and increase of adversity was threatened, the cause of it all being that their confidences were such as God, in his righteousness and majesty, must inevitably reject. Consider

I. WHY THIS QUESTION AS TO THE SUFFICIENCY OF HUMAN CONFIDENCES IS SO IMPORTANT. The answer is that men cannot do without confidences. The events of a single day of life might be registered in such an aspect as to show what a confiding creature man is. Faith has become so much a habit with him as to be almost a second nature. Hence, even in the great concerns of life, we find many reposing trust with very little inquiry. Looking at others, we find their lives proving the need of confidence by the very frequency of doubt and irresolution in them. They are ever asking the question, yet never quite able to answer it, “What is the best thing for me to do?” And then, as so often happens, the end of hesitation and perplexity is, that they seem to have no choice at all, and go submissively towards the confidence that happens to be most inviting at the moment. Seeing, therefore, that we are compelled to have confidences, it is of the first importance to discover in what sort of confidences prosperity will alone be found.

II. MANY ACTUAL CONFIDENCES OF MEN PROVE FAILURES IN THE END. They approach men invitingly, they seem to stand well in the judgment of past generations, they may be the objects of very general approval, and yet, when they are searched into, when the truth concerning them is got from the bottom of the proverbial well, that truth is seen to Be well expressed in the words which say men have not prospered in them. There is, for instance, a very plausible appearance of prosperity in worldly wealth. Many fail to acquire it, and when they acquire it, fail to keep it; but this is held to come in the majority of cases from some fault in the man, and not in the stability of his possessions. To say that a possession is as safe as the Bank of England is to utter the strongest conviction as to its stability and security; and yet such confidences fail because they are not enough for the whole man. It is just one of the perils of wealth that man should let his whole heart rest upon it; should come to let the comforts, occupations, and hopes of life depend upon external possessions. There is failure also when men put confidence in self, confidence in present views of life, present feelings, present vigor of body and mind, in natural qualities, such as shrewdness, self-control, presence of mind, and in habits of attention, industry, and promptitude, that have been cultivated. What manifest failure also often comes from too much confidence in the judgment of man! The counsels of the wisest, most experienced, most successful of men, must be listened to with discretion.

III. THE REASON WHY SUCH CONFIDENCES DO NOT BRING PROSPERITY IS MADE PLAIN. They are not confidences after God’s own heart. They are an ungodly waste of affections and energies given for higher purposes and more durable occupations. The practical lesson is that we should reject all confidences if we are not made quite certain that God approves them. Blessed is that man who has found his way, it may be through many losses and agonizing pains, to the truth that the unseen is more trustworthy than the seen, the eternal than the temporal. One who has thus risen into the sphere of Divine realities may have his confidences rejected and despised of men. What do these rejections matter? He who has firm hold of God himself need not to care for contemptuous words. The hard words of worldly men cannot destroy spiritual prosperity.Y.

HOMILIES BY J. WAITE

Jer 2:13

The people’s sin.

This is the sum and substance of the charge the prophet was called to bring against Israel. Idolatry was their destroying sin, the root of all their discords and miseries. It involved the renunciation of their allegiance to the God of their fathers, and in this their conduct was without a parallel. No instance of such apostasy could be found elsewhere. Those whom God had chosen to be witnesses for him before all the world were put to shame in this respect by the very heathen whom it was their mission to enlighten and bless. But we may regard this as the condemnation of the whole human race. “They have forsaken,” etc. Note the view we get here

I. OF THE BEING OF GOD AND THE RELATION HE SUSTAINS TOWARDS US. “The Fountain of living waters “(see also Jer 17:13; Psa 36:9).

1. He is emphatically the Living One. The grand distinction of the Bible is that it reveals “the living God.” The Name Jehovah, the mysterious and incommunicable Name, was expressive of this. “And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM,” etc. (Exo 3:14). Absolute existenceessential, independent, necessary beingis the idea it conveys. The knowledge of such a spiritual Being, of a personality kindred with our own but absolutely exempt from its limitations, is our supreme need. David did but utter forth the insatiable longing of our nature for its true home, its only possible resting-place, when he cried, “My soul thirsteth for God, yea, for the living God.” We want, not mere vague impressions of infinitude and eternity, but an Infinite and Eternal One in whom we may trust. Not mere abstract ideas of truth, and beauty, and righteousness, and love, but One of whom these are the unchanging attributes, and to whom, in the frailty of our nature, we can fly for refuge. “Our heart and our flesh cry out for the living God.”

2. He is the Giver and Sustainer of all other forms of spirit-life. The “Fountain” of life; all other existences are dependent upon him. “The Father of spirits;” “we also are his offspring;” “in him we live and move and have our being.” Whether our spirit-life once given can ever become extinct again may be a matter of doubt and controversy, but certainly it cannot be regarded as absolute and necessary existence. Though God may have endowed our nature with his own immortality, we do not possess immortality in the sense in which he does. “He only hath immortality.” Ours is not self-existent being; it is dependent on him from whom it camean outflow of the “Fountain” of life.

3. He is the Source of all that nourishes, enriches, and gladdens this dependent creature-life“the Fountain of living waters.” “Living waters” are the Divine satisfactions of the human soul. The Scriptures abound with similar figurative representations (Gen 2:10; Zec 14:8; Joh 4:14; Rev 22:1, Rev 22:17). Every age has had its witness to the truth that man’s real satisfactions are only to be found in God. In Christ that witness is perfected, that truth verified. “This is the record,” etc. (1Jn 5:11, 1Jn 5:12). Here are the conditions of infinite blessedness for every one of us. To be separated from God in Christ, to turn away from him, is to perish, to doom yourself to the pangs of an insatiable hunger and a quenchless thirst. “This is life eternal, that they might know thee,” etc. (Joh 17:3). This is death eternalnot to know him, to refuse the knowledge of him, to dream that you can live without him.

II. THE FOLLY AND EXCEEDING SINFULNESS OF SIN; The “two evils” here spoken of are but two forms, two sides, of one and the same thing. There is the self-willed departure from God, and there is the endeavor in that to lead a self-determined and self-sufficient life.

1. They have forsaken me. All sin is a forsaking of God. Adam turned his back on God when he listened to the voice of the tempter. The prophet rebukes here the shameful idolatries of the people. Think what idolatry means. It has, no doubt, its fairer side, in which it is seen to be the ignorant but still honest expression of the religious sentiment in menthe blind “feeling after God if haply they may find him.” But think how it arose, and what its issues have been. St. Paul tells us how it was born of the corruption of man’s nature, and has ever since been the Satanic means of deepening that corruption (see Rom 1:20, et seq.). So is it with every sinful life. It begins with a more or less intentional and deliberate renunciation of God. The exact point of departure may not be very definitely marked; but as the life unfolds itself, the fact that this is its true meaning becomes more manifest. How marvelous a picture of this dread reality of moral life does our Lord’s parable of the prodigal supply! Such is the history of prodigal souls. Happy are they who “come to themselves” before it is too late to return to the forsaken home of the Father.

2. The dream of a self-determined and self-contained life. “They have hewed them out cisterns” of their own, which shall render them, as they think, independent of the “Fountain of living waters.” Here is the idea of a proud endeavor to find in one’s self and one’s own self-willed way all necessary good. But it is altogether vain. The cisterns are miserably shallow, and they are “broken.” It is true of every man, indeed, that his satisfactions must spring from what he finds within rather than from his earthly surroundings; but then he is “satisfied from himself” only because he has learnt to link himself with the Divine Source of all blessednessthe living God.

“Here would we end our quest;

Alone are found in thee

The life of perfect love, the rest

Of immortality.”

W.

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary

Jer 2:1. Moreover, &c. The prophesy begun in this chapter is continued to the end of the 5th verse of the next chapter. In it God professes to retain the same kindness and favourable disposition towards Israel, which he had manifested in their earlier days. He expostulates with them on their ungrateful returns for his past goodness, and shews that it was not want of affection in him, but their own extreme and unparalleled wickedness and disloyalty, which had already subjected, and would still subject them to calamities and misery. He concludes with a pathetic address, exhorting them to return to him, with an implied promise of acceptance; and laments the necessity that he was under, through their continued obstinacy, of giving them farther marks of his displeasure.This prophesy may not improbably have been delivered soon after the beginning of the prophet’s mission.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

II. FIRST DIVISION

The Passages relating to the Theocracy, Chaps. 244

(with an appendix, Jeremiah 45)

______
FIRST SUBDIVISION
The Collection of Discourses, with Appendices, Jeremiah 2-35
1. The First Discourse

Jeremiah 2

This chapter contains an independent discourse; it does not, as Graf supposes, form, with chap. 34, a connected whole. For, as we shall show, chap. 3 begins a discourse clearly arranged and complete in itself, which would not bear any addition either at the beginning or at the close. The present discourse is of very general import, and contains probably only the quintessence of several discourses made before those in chap. 34, since it is scarcely probable that in the course of nearly two decades Jeremiah only addressed this short discourse, besides chap. 34, to the people. The position at the beginning, the style, the non-mention of the Chaldeans (comp. rems. on Jer 25:1), besides the command Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem (Jer 2:2), and an intimation probably to be referred to the time of Josiah (Jer 2:35, see the Comm.), all point to the commencement of Jeremiahs prophetic ministry. This seems to be contradicted by some not obscure allusions to the flight of the remaining Jews to Egypt (Jer 2:16; Jer 2:36-37; coll. chaps. 4244). But since Jeremiah, as was remarked on Jer 1:2, probably did not finish the second writing out of his book till after the destruction of Jerusalem (Jer 36:32), possibly not till his arrival in Egypt, it is possible that he then added to this earliest discourse some allusions to the eventful journey to Egypt. He may have added them to this discourse for the reason that it contained some passages, the connection and purport of which especially invited such allusions to the emigration to Egypt. Compare Jer 2:15, the predicted devastation so exactly corresponding to the result, and Jer 2:33, the mention of the religio-political errors of the people.

After the introduction (Jer 2:1-3), the ever-recurring theme of complaint and threatening is treated in four tableaux or acts, the particular contents of which may be designated as follows:

1. Israels infidelity in the light of the fidelity of Jehovah and the heathen (Jer 2:4-13).

2. Israels punishment and its cause (Jer 2:14-19).

3. The lust of idolatry: deeply rooted, outwardly insolent, faise at last (Jer 2:20-28).

4. Whose is the guilt? (Jer 2:29-37).

The Introduction

Jer 2:1-3

1.And the word of Jehovah came also unto me, saying,

2.Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying,

Thus saith Jehovah; I remember of thee,
The kindness of thy youth,
The love of thine espousals,
When thou wentest after me in the desert,
In a land that was not sown.

3.Israel is a sanctuary unto Jehovah,

The first-fruits of his produce:
All who devour him1 incur guilt;

Calamity will come upon them, saith Jehovah.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

These words form the introduction both to the first discourse and at the same time to the whole of Jeremiahs prophetic announcements. Indeed, it may be said that they contain the thought, which reaches far beyond the prophecies of Jeremiah, and lies at the foundation of the entire history of the theocracy, that not withstanding the revolts on the one side and the punishments on the other, love is the key-note of the relation between God and Israel, and the Lords inalienable property.

Jer 2:1-2. And the word not sown.It is probable that in the opening words of Jer 2:2 Jeremiah received the command to leave Anathoth and go to Jerusalem as the scene of his prophetic labors. For here only is the audience, to which he was to address himself, designated thus briefly by the word Jerusalem. Everywhere else the address reads differently. Comp. Jer 17:19; Jer 19:3; Jer 25:13.I remember of thee. The expression occurs in malam partem Psa 79:8; Psa 137:7; Neh 6:14; Neh 13:29 : in bonam partem Psa 98:3; Psa 106:45; Psa 132:1; Neh 5:19; Neh 13:22; Neh 13:31. In any case of thee contains an emphasis which should not be overlooked in the expositionThe kindness of thy youth. The commentators dispute whether the kindness and love of God toward the people or that of the people toward God is meant. In behalf of the former view it is urged, (1) that in the following context the people is described as rebellious from the first, and (2) that with this the historical representation of the Pentateuch and other declarations of Old Testament passages accord. (Comp. especially Hos 11:1; Ezekiel 16.) To the first argument it may be objected that these verses form the introduction not to the second chapter only, but to the whole book, and although the greater part of this consists of threatenings, or rather because it does so, the prophet places the assurance of Gods unchangeable fidelity in the foreground. Though Israel may have always sinned, yet originally he was united to God in love, and this fundamental relation is eternal and inviolable. Comp. Romans 11. It cannot then be disputed that the infidelity of Israel was of an early date (comp. from of old, Jer 2:20) going back to the pilgrimage through the desert (the golden calf and even prior to this, the murmuring of the people, Exo 15:24; Exo 16:2; Exo 17:2), but it must nevertheless be maintained that the acceptance by Israel of the privileges offered by the Lord, when He sent Moses, and the people trustingly followed him into the Red Sea and the wilderness, is to be regarded as the binding of an inviolable and perpetual covenant. Compare the short and significant, and the people believed, Exo 4:31, with Gen 15:6, and he believed in Jehovah; Rom 4:3; Gal 3:6. To this also point many prophetic declarations, ex. gr.Hos 11:1 : When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. The period in the youth of Israel at which the Lord loved the people was that in which He brought them out of Egypt. For immediately afterwards (Jer 2:2), it is said of them that they sacrificed to Baalim, and burned incense to graven images. But then, in that important moment, when the Lord delivered Israel from the encircling power of Egypt, displaying His might so grandly, He concluded a covenant of love with Israel; they must therefore then have not only been found worthy of love, but have reciprocated His love. How sweet and precious Israels love then was to Him is expressed by Hosea in the splendid image of the early figs, which the pilgrim finds in the desert, Hos 9:10. So, says the Lord, He found Israel in the wilderness, but alas! He has to add, they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto their shame. The objections are then unfounded which have been raised to the rendering of verses 2 and 3 in the sense of Israels love for God, and other arguments speak positively in its favor, viz. (1) . This dative has everywhere the sense of a reckoning to ones account in a good or bad sense. (See the passages cited above.) But since this is not possible here in a bad sense, for the kindness and love of the past are remembered only as good, it can be meant only in a good sense. If, now, Israel has a balance with Jehovah in an active sense, he (Israel) must have done something,performed some service. It might be said that this service is in allowing himself to be loved, but this is himself to love. We are thus brought again to this point, that Israel in that opening period of his existence turned to the Lord with such love that, though of momentary duration, it sufficed to found an everlasting covenant and imperishable remembrance of its glory. We may also take in the sense of the kindness of a maiden towards her master, being justified in doing so by passages like Hos 6:4; Hos 6:6. Indeed, in view of Isa 40:6, it might not appear unsuitable to recognize in the element of loveableness, gracefulness, which in itself is connected with the idea of love and grace, and etymologically in gratia, , grace; (2) the words favor this interpretation, since they represent Israel, a pilgrim through the desert, walking in the foot-prints of the Lord. Some indeed would understand these words as denoting, not the obedient following of the people, but the gracious precedence of the divine Leader. This interpretation, however, is arbitrary. The text expresses only the idea of following, or pushing after; we are not justified in exchanging this idea for another. (3). The third verse is manifestly in favor of Israel. When it is said (Graf, S. 23), It should be so, but how it became entirely otherwise is shown in what follows, we reply, it has not become otherwise; but on this point we shall say more presently.

Jer 2:3. Israel come upon them.Though in the words remember of thee it is implied that the kindness and love of the espousals are now only an object of remembrance, a lost joy, yet the third verse declares what a permanent relation was the result of that transient one, an indelible character having been impressed upon the people by that sometime connection with their Lord. They thus became a sanctuary of Jehovah, separate from the profanum vulgus of the nations. This thought is further expressed by a beautiful image: Israel is related to the Gentiles as the first fruits sanctified unto the Lord are to the multitude of common wild fruits, and as profane lips were forbidden to eat the former (Exo 23:19; Num 15:20, sq.; Jer 18:12; Deu 26:1; comp. Lev 22:16-26), so will guilt be upon those who touch the sacred first-fruits in the field of humanity. In accord with this image are Jer 10:25; Jer 50:7; Psa 14:4; Psa 79:7.All who devour, etc. The instruments of discipline though chosen by the Lord Himself, by the manner in which they execute their commission, bring guilt upon themselves and call for the vengeance of Jehovah, as is especially set forth in reference to Babylon. Hab 1:11; Jer 50:11; Jer 15:23, 28; Jer 51:5 (N. B.), Jer 51:8; Jer 51:11; Jer 51:24.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. Although in Jer 31:32 Jeremiah represents the covenant made with Israel at the exodus from Egypt as the worse because broken by them, and that a new one in the future, to be kept faithfully by the people, would be opposed to it (comp. Jer 32:40; Jer 50:5; Isa 55:3), and although in Rom 11:28 (as touching the election beloved for the fathers sake) the steadfastness of God is founded entirely on the promise given by Him and on the worth of the fathers in His sight, it is yet evident from our passage that the entering into covenant relation by Israel at the Exodus was not without significance. Though the covenant does not rest positively and in principle on that acceptance, yet this latter appears to be the negative condition sine qua non. Had Israel decidedly rejected Moses, had they refused to follow him into the wilderness, the promise given to the fathers would have been nullified. But if we should say that the people were obliged to believe in and follow Moses, we should injure the law of freedom, and endanger the moral value of human personality as well as the glory of God.

2. Every important historical appearance has its paradise or golden age. It is thus with humanity in general, with Israel, with the Christian Church (Act 2:41 to Act 4:37), with the Reformation, so also with single churches (Gal 4:14), and with individual Christians. This period of first, nuptial love does not, however, usually continue long, comp. Rev 2:4.

3. As Israel is called the firstling among the nations, so Christians are called the firstlings of His creatures, being regenerated by the word of truth (Jam 1:18, comp Wiesinger in loc., Rev 14:5), in whom first that life-principle is active which is to renew heaven and earth. (Isa 65:17; Isa 66:22; Rev 21:1; 2Pe 3:13). And since Israel as the firstling of the nations is called the sanctuary of God, so Christians by virtue of that principle, implanted in them by word and sacrament, of true, divine, eternal life, without regard to their subjective constitution are , (1Co 1:2; Act 20:32, etc.), the community of the saints, in antithesis to the home communis, i.e. natural, earthly, profane humanity. Thus as the firstling Israel cannot be devoured by its enemies, so likewise with the Church (community of the saints), Mat 16:18; Luk 21:17; Mat 28:20; Rev 12:5, etc.

4. Zinzendorf: Jeremiah a preacher of Righteousness, (S. 148). Behold this maiden who is here described! Listen to her leaders, Moses and Aaron! Consider the rods with which she has been beaten and that unbelief and disobedience swept all but two away in the desert, and compare that with the words, I remember still that we were together in the wilderness, quasi re bene gesta; and with the others which we heard before from Moses: Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by Jehovah, (Deu 33:29). The cause is to be found in this, Thou followedst me.

5. Idem (S. 150): In the application to the people it is useful and well to show them that they also were once a maiden who followed partly in the beginnings of the Gospel (see Act 4:4), partly in the beginnings of the Reformation. There is an important trace of this in the letter of Luther to the Elector Johann Friedrich. So it then appeared. Likewise in the earlier ages of the Church, even so late as last century, since certainly in the sermons of an Arndt, a Joh. Gerhard, a Selnecker, a Martin Heger, a Scriver, a Spener, a Schade, the people still made quite another figure, and had not only another form, but certainly also a different feeling.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

1. The period of first love (in a spiritual sense). (1) In experience extremely precious. (2) In duration relatively brief. (3) In effect a source of everlasting blessing.2. The nuptial state of Christs Church in its stages. (1) The first stage, first love, (2) second stage, alienation, (3) third stage, return.3. The covenant of Christ with His Church, (1) its ground, election, (2) its condition, faith, (3) its promise, the Church an indestructible sanctuary.

Footnotes:

[1]Jer 2:3.For (Comp. Naegelsb. Gram. S. 93, Anm.) some Codd. read . It would be natural to pronounce the consonants which has been also done by J. D. Michaelis who refers the word to Jer 2:2, but the reference of the suffix to Jehovah is demanded by the connection.

2. The Infidelity of Israel viewed in the light of the Fidelity of Jehovah and of the Heathen

Jer 2:4-13

4Hear ye the word of Jehovah, O house of Jacob!

And all the families of the house of Israel!

5Thus saith Jehovah, What injustice have your fathers found in me,

That they went far from2 me,

And followed vacuity arid became vacuous?

6They said not: Where is Jehovah?

Who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
Who led us through the wilderness,
A land of deserts and pits,
A land of drought and the shadow of death,
A land which no man traversed,
And where no man dwelt?

7And I brought you into the garden-[literally, Carmel-] land

To eat its fruit and its goodliness;
But ye came and defiled my land,
And made my heritage an abomination.

8The priests said not, Where is Jehovah?

And those that handle the law knew me not;
The shepherds also rebelled against me,
And the prophets prophesied by Baal,
And followed those that cannot profit.

9Wherefore I will reckon with you, saith Jehovah,

And with your childrens children will I reckon.

10For pass over to the isles [or countries] of Chittim, and see,

And send to Kedar, and well consider,
And see if there has been anything like this.

11Has a people changed3 gods, which yet are no gods?

But my people has changed its glory for that which cannot profit.

12Be ye astonished, O ye heavens! at this,

Be ye horrified, utterly amazed [lit., shudder and be withered away], saith Jehovah.

13For my people have committed two evils:

Me they have forsaken, the fountain of living waters,
To hew out for themselves cisterns,
Broken cisterns that hold no water.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

The conduct of Israel is compared (a) with the conduct of Jehovah towards him (Jer 2:4-9) (b), with the conduct of the heathen nations towards their gods (Jer 2:10-13.)

Jer 2:4. Hear ye house of Israel. Although the reformation of Josiah extended over the rest of the kingdom of Israel (2Ki 23:15-20; 2Ch 34:33), and although some from the tribes of Israel were present at divine service in Jerusalem (2Ch 35:18), the expression used here is too comprehensive to designate these only; it includes the whole nation. Comp. Isa 46:3; Jer 31:1.Jeremiah addresses himself not only to those who are actually present, but to an ideal audience: to the whole people of Israel of all times and places, to all those whose common fathers had incurred the guilt reproved in the following verses, and bequeathed it to their descendants. Comp. the address to a still greater circle of ideal hearers, Deu 32:1; Isa 1:2; Mic 1:2; Mic 6:1-2.

Jer 2:5. Thus saith vacuous. Observe the gradation: your fathers, you (Jer 2:7; Jer 2:9), your childrens children; an historical survey which proceeds from the conduct of the fathers in the past and present, to the fate of the children in the future. The prophet by beginning with the fathers, shows that Israels ingratitude and disobedience was of ancient date. Moreover, these fathers were not those of any definite period, and therefore not as Kimchi supposes, those who have lived since the entrance into the promised land. Could those who had accompanied the journey through the desert indeed speak thus?The expression What iniquity have your fathers found in me? is an exhibition of the condescending love of God, who speaks just as though He were under obligation to Israel, and they had a right to call Him to account. Comp. Mic 6:3; Isa 5:3. Theodoret: , , .Followed vacuity and became vacuous. are the idols (Jer 10:15; Jer 14:22; Deu 32:21, etc.). He who devotes himself to that which is nothing and vanity, becomes himself vain. LXX. , of which there seems to be a reminiscence in Rom 1:21. The words are found reproduced verbatim in 2Ki 17:15.

Jer 2:6. They said not no man dwelt.Comp. Jer 2:8. To ask where is Jehovah? is to ask after him, to seek Him. To ask after him implies that He is forgotten or lightly esteemed. A land of deserts, comp. Jer 50:12; Jer 51:43. , comp. Jer 18:20; Pro 22:16; Pro 23:27. They are pits or holes in which man and beast sink. Comp. Rosenmueller, ad loc.Shadow of death. Psa 23:4; Job 3:5; Job 28:3; Isa 9:1; Amo 5:8. [For a similar description of the Arabian desert, see Robinson, Bibl. Res., II., 502.S. R. A.]

Jer 2:7. And I brought you an abomination. resumes the address of Jehovah from Jer 2:5. On the subject-matter compare Deuteronomy 8. If stood here in a merely appellative signification, the article would be either superfluous or insufficient. We should expect either merely (or fruitful land, or (in this fruitful land) for Palestine cannot be called the fruitful land , since there are many others more fruitful. To ascribe a demonstrative signification to the article is not allowable, since it has this only in formulas like . I believe, therefore, that the Prophet here intended Carmel for a proper name, with a hint, however, at the appellative meaning. So the Vulgate: in terram Carmeli. Carmel, in this reference, is contrasted with the desert, as a mountain with the plain, as a fertile cultivated land of forests, vineyards, gardens, and fields, with the desert sand, as a place of springs with the land of drought. Comp. Jerome on Jer 4:26.And its goodliness. This addition is not superfluous. The Vau is here the climactic and indeed, Gen 4:4But ye came. After that has been enumerated which the Lord did for the people, we are told what the people did against their Lord. Herein a comparison is instituted between the conduct of Jehovah and the conduct of the people.

Jer 2:8. The priests said not that cannot profit. That which in Jer 2:6 was laid as a reproach upon all, is now declared specially of the priests. It was their especial duty to seek and inquire after the Lord, comp. , Jer 10:21; Psa 9:11; Psa 34:5, , Jdg 1:1; 28:5; 1Sa 22:13; Jos 9:14.Who handle the law, not those who decide legal cases, but those who handle the book of the law. We see that the handling is intended in this external sense from the contrast, knew me not. Comp. Jer 18:18; Eze 7:26; Mal 2:7.The shepherds ought to keep the flock well together and lead it, and how can they do this when they are themselves in rebellion against the chief shepherd? Comp. Jer 10:21; Jer 12:10; Jer 23:1; Jer 50:6.By Baal (Jer 23:13) or through Baal, that is, through the influence and inspiration of Baal. It is opposed to in the name of Jehovah Jer 11:21; Jer 14:15; Jer 26:9; Jer 26:20. Remark the antithesis: They would be prophets, and yet are the organs of falsehood, they would be leaders, yet themselves go astray. The imperfect is used of a permanent quality. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 87 d. There appears, moreover, in this expression, to be an allusion to (comp. especially Isa 44:9), perhaps also to , comp. also 1Sa 12:21.

Jer 2:9. Wherefore will I reckon.The comparison of Israels conduct in the past and present, with that of Jehovah, results so much to the disadvantage of the former, that in the future, remote as well as proximate, only litigatio is to be expected. Jehovah will now prosecute His claims. Isa 3:13; Isa 57:16; coll. Psa 103:9.

Jer 2:10. For pass over anything like this. Jer 2:9 divides the two halves of the strophe, belonging to both, as the statement of the result. It is affixed to the first half by means of , and prefixed to the second by . Comp. Amo 5:10-12.Chittim. The word or occurs eight times in the Old Testament: Gen 10:4 (1Ch 1:7), Num 24:24; Isa 23:1; Isa 23:12; Jer 2:10; Eze 27:6; Deu 11:30. Comp. 1Ma 1:1; 1Ma 8:5. It is acknowledged that it denotes primarily the inhabitants of the islands of the Eastern Mediterranean (Knobel on Gen 10:4). The name seems to have been given by way of preference to the island of Cyprus, the ancient capital of which was Citium, (Herzog, Real-Enc., III. S. 215). We have, therefore, translated islands in preference to coasts. It is evident that Chittim, in a wider sense, denoted Greece, and even the North-western coasts of the Mediterranean in general, since according to Dan 11:30, Antiochus Epiphanes was attacked by ships from Chittim, according to 1Ma 1:1, Alexander the Great, and according to Jer 8:5, Perseus came from Chittim [pronounced Kittim]. The Chittans are here the representatives of the West, Kedar of the East. For Kedar, according to Gen 25:13, is a son of Ishmael; Jer 49:28, Kedar is reckoned with the men of the East, . They are a pastoral people inhabiting the Arabian desert (Isa 21:13-17; Isa 42:11; Isa 60:7; Eze 27:21; Psa 120:5; Son 1:5). The Rabbins designate the Arabians generally by Kedar. is the Arabic language. Comp. Knobel on Gen 25:13. Buxtorf, Lex. Talm. et Rabb. p. 1976.If, in the conditional sense as ex. gr.Exo 4:1; Exo 8:22; Isa 54:15; Jer 3:1. Hence it may also be used as an interrogative particle, like (comp. si in French). It never occurs in this sense, however, except in this passage. The passages, Job 12:14; Job 23:8, which Fuerst adduces, may be otherwise explained.

Jer 2:11. Has a people cannot profit.But my people has changed, comp. Amo 8:7.Which cannot profit. The idols are meant, comp. rem. on Jer 2:8,Jer 16:19; Hab 2:18.This is the second comparison unfavorable to Israel which is instituted in this strophe. The heathen nations who have good reason to change their gods do not, but Israel, whose preeminence over all other nations is founded in their possession of the true God, exchanges Him for vain idols.

Jer 2:12. Be ye astonished saith Jehovah. The greatness of the crime can be estimated by none so well as be over-arching heavens, which can behold and compare all that takes place. Comp. Deu 32:1; Isa 1:2. , to be dry, stiff, is found here only in the sense of to be amazed. The imperative with o, corresponds to the intransitive signification: transitive , Jer 50:27.

Jer 2:13. For my people water. The two evils are a negative and a positive. The Lord, the fountain of living waters, who offered Himself to them, they have forsaken, and leaky cisterns they have dug, comp. Jer 17:13. In the physical sense the phrase is used in Gen 26:19; a well of springing water.Fountain of living water; Psa 36:10; Pro 10:11; Pro 13:14; Pro 16:22. , Joh 4:10; Joh 7:37 sqq.The repetition of , cisterns, reminds us of Gen 14:10. Leaky wells are cisterns dug in the ground, which, having cracks in them will not retain the collected rain-water. reminds us in sense and sound of , ver 8.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. Gods love is meek and lowly of heart, Mat 11:29, comp. 1Co 13:4. It is not a love which desires only to receive. It will take, but only on the ground of that which it has given. But since in giving it has done its duty, in taking it demands its rights. It would reap where it has sowed, and not let the devil reap what God has sowed, Isa 42:8; Isa 48:11. Comp. Mat 25:14-30.

2. Only the true is the real. Falsehood is mere appearance, and all that is based on falsehood, is only an apparent life. It disappears in the fire of judgment, Psa 62:11; Psa 115:9; Psa 132:18.

3. When God tells us, lam doing this for thee, what art thou doing for me? we cannot answer Him one for a thousand. Every sin is at the same time the basest ingratitude towards the greatest benefactor and the most disgraceful rebellion against the truest, most gracious and wisest Lord.

4. Since priests, pastors, and prophets, who have been regularly inducted into office may be deceivers, it is necessary to try the spirits according to the criterion given in 1Jn 4:1 sqq.

5. As we read here that the heathen adhere more faithfully to their false gods than Israel to the true God, so is it generally confirmed by experience that men, as a rule, pursue a bad cause with more zeal, devotion and wisdom, than a good one. Comp. the case of the unrighteous steward; Luk 16:1-8; 1Ki 18:27-28; Jer 4:22.

6. His people, the nation on which He has bestowed the true religion, have the fountain, they can obtain water without difficulty, as much as they want, but they choose in preference, means difficult, new, insufficient, deceptive, rejected on trial and even in daily experience, rather than be willing to do as they should. Hence come the works of supererogation, the many ceremonies, vows, ecclesiastical regulations, which unquestionably are twice as difficult as to follow the Saviour, and have no promise for this life or for the life to come. The sin is twofold; (1) they do not obey the Lord. (2) They will labor tooth and nail, if only they may not obey Him. Zinzendorf, ut sup., S. 162.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

1. On Jer 2:4 sqq. The ingratitude of man towards God: (1) It is not to be laid to the charge of God (2). It consists in this, that men (a) forget the divine benefits, (b) they adhere to idols (both coarse and refined), (3). It does not remain unpunished.

2. On Jer 2:12. [These strongest terms in the language show how intensely amazed all the holy in heaven are at the monstrous folly of human sinning. That when men might have the infinite God for their Friend, they choose to have Him their enemy; that when they might have Him their exhaustless portion of unmeasured and eternal good, they spurn Him away and set themselves to the fruitless task of making some ruinous substitute: this is beyond measure amazing! Verily, sin is a mockery of human reason! It defies all the counsels of prudence and good sense, and glories only in its own shame and madness: Cowles.S. R. A].

3. On Jer 2:13. All hunger and thirst is a desire for nourishment by those elements which are necessary to life. This brings us to the question:

What can quench the thirst of the soul?
1. It cannot be quenched by drawing from the broken cisterns of earthly good.
2. It can be quenched only by drawing from the fountain of life, from which the soul originally sprang, even from God.

4. On Jer 2:13. Our double sin. It consists in this, that we (1) have forsaken the Lord, the living fountain, and (2) have dug for ourselves cisterns which hold no water. Genzken, Epistelpredigten, 1853.How is it that the Lord has to say, they have forsaken me, the living spring? It arises from this, that the hewn cisterns please us better. The creature attracts us so powerfully, all that is below has such an influence on the wavering heart, that it is drawn away from the living spring, and finds the cistern-water of this world more to its taste than the living water, the living God and His word. Hochstetter. Twelve Parables from the prophet Jer., 1865, S. 6, sq. [This may be applied to every sinner: qui relicto fonte fodit sibi cisternas rimosas; and to heretics: qui purum doctrin fontem in Scripturis et Ecclesia Dei deserunt et fodiunt sibi cisternas cnosas falsorum dogmatum (S. Irenus, III. 40; S. Cyprian, Ep. 40; a. Lapide). Comp. Sir 21:13-14, and Bp. Sanderson, I. 361. Wordsworth. Comp. Thomson, The Land and the Book, I. 443.S. R. A.]

5. Those who have forsaken the true God, the Creator of all, and serve false gods, are worthy that all creatures should refuse them service. Deu 28:23. Starke.

Footnotes:

[2]Jer 2:5. [from upon=from near). Comp. Gen 32:12; Exo 35:22; Jer 3:18; Amo 3:15. The Hebrew loves to consider that as cumulation, which we represent as association.

[3]Jer 2:11.The form seems to require the root , which occurs besides only in Hithpael, Isa 61:6. Since the form follows directly afterwards, the present form may have originated in a mere oversight, as Olshausen supposes ( 39 f.; 255 e. i.)

3. Israels Punishment and its Cause

Jer 2:14-19

14Was Israel a slave? Was he a house-born (slave)?

Why then is he become a spoil?

15The young lions roar over him,

They raise their voice,
And they made his land desolate:
His cities were burned up4 without an inhabitant.5

16Even the children of Noph and Tahpanhes6

Will depasture the crown of thy head.

17Did not thy forsaking7 of Jehovah, thy God, procure thee this,

At the time when he was leading thee8 in the way?

18And now what hast thou to do9 in the way to Egypt,

To drink the water of the Black river [Nile]?
And what hast thou to do in the way to Assyria,
To drink the water of the river [Euphrates]?

19Thine own wickedness shall correct thee,

And thine apostasies shall punish thee,
That thou mayest know and see10 how evil and bitter it is,

That thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God,
And that11 the fear of me12 is not in thee,

Saith the Lord Jehovah of Hosts.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

In a new picture the prophet sees Israel in the form of slaves, evil entreated and dragged away by enemies, their land desolated, their cities destroyed. He asks the question: Why is this? The answer is: This is the consequence of their revolt from Jehovah, and their devotion to their idols.

Jer 2:14. Was Israel a slave? become a spoil? Who is the interrogator? God, the people, the prophet, or some other? Not the people; for this condition of misery is still future, perceived only prophetically, therefore still hidden from the people. It would then also read . God also is not the questioner, for He it is who is asked, and who answers, (Jer 2:17-18). A third person at a distance cannot be the interrogator, since the subject of inquiry being still future is not known by him. The prophet only can be the questioner. He perceives prophetically the future calamitous condition of his people, and he implores from God a disclosure concerning it.As to the import of the question, it cannot possibly be regarded as requiring an affirmative answer, as Hitzig supposes, explaining the meaning: for is not Israel the servant of God or son of the house? For, 1. We must then read ; 2. We must then have , or ; 3. never signifies the son of the house, but always the house-born slave in opposition to one who is bought. Gen 14:14; Gen 17:12-13; Gen 17:23; Gen 17:27; Lev 22:11.The question must then be one requiring a negative answer; Israel is not a purchased slave but one born in the house. But how then could he be left like a mere thing for a spoil to the enemy? How far this has taken place is shown in the following verse.

Jer 2:15. The young lions roar without an inhabitant. This is the condition of Israel which the prophet sees with prophetic glance, and from which it seems to proceed that Israel has ceased to be Gods son (comp. Exo 4:22; Deu 26:18; Deu 32:9 sqq.). Graf renders =against him, because the lion only growls (Isa 31:4) over prey that is slain. Strange! As though the lion could not roar for joy and from a desire for more, etc. Comp. Amo 3:4. The connection requires the sense of over, since Israel appears to have already become a prey; his land is wasted, his cities destroyed. On this account the inquiry is made, whether then he is a slave and no longer Jehovahs first-born son. The imperfect denotes that the fact is not yet an objective reality but still pertains to the subjective conception of the prophet. What further follows is nevertheless represented as present or past. Comp. Naeglsb., Gr. 84, h.

Jer 2:16. Even the children of Noph thy head. (Isa 19:13; Jer 44:1; Jer 46:14; Jer 46:19; Eze 30:13; Eze 30:16) or (only in Hos 9:6 : both forms are explained by the Egyptian Mon-nufi, see Arnold in HerzogReal-Enc. Art. Memphis), is the Hebrew name for Memphis, the ancient capital of lower Egypt. Tahpanhes ( , Herod. II 30. not , LXX. Jer 43:8-9; Jer 44:1), was a fortified border city to the east. In these two cities especially, the Jews who fled to Egypt after the murder of Gedaliah, appear to have settled (Jer 43:7; Jer 44:1; Jer 46:14).Depasture the crown, etc. Triple explanation: 1. The LXX and translations dependent upon it appear to have read or . For they translate (the latter probably ). The Vulgate also has constupraverunt te usque ad verticem. 2. Most expositors up to the time of the Reformation follow the Peschito version in translating affligent, contundent, conterent. They derive the word from confregit. 3. The only grammatically admissible derivation from pascere, depascere is found first (according to Seb. Schmidt) in Luther (but not in his translation). He is followed by most of the modern commentators. But it is decidedly wrong to take the imperfect here in the past sense, as Graf does. If a definite, past fact, viz., the incursion of Shishak (1Ki 14:25 sq.) were alluded to, we should have the perfect here. For there is no occasion to render this act of depasturing as taking place in the past (comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 87, 3). We are rather led by the mention of Noph and Tahpanhes to the conclusion that something in the future, resulting from the residence of the Jews in the places named (Jer 43:7; Jer 44:1) is alluded to. We read in Jer 42:15-22, that Jeremiah predicted complete destruction to the Jews who were proposing to flee from the vengeance of Nebuchadnezzar into Egypt. Particularly in Jer 44:12 he insists that the last remnant of the fugitives in Egypt would be destroyed (Jer 2:14, none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone into the land of Judah to sojourn there, shall escape or remain). To this I refer the depasturing of the crown. The last and only covering, the natural covering of the hair, shall be taken from Judah, he shall be made entirely bald, that is, he shall be entirely swept away: and they shall all be consumed, Jer 44:12, [The hair of the head being held in high estimation among the Hebrews, baldness was regarded as ignominious and humbling. Henderson.S. R. A.] In the meantime I confess that the definite mention by name of these places is remarkable. The prophet has hitherto mentioned no names. As was shown above on 1:44 sqq., he does not yet know what nation is appointed for the accomplishment of the divine judgment on Judah. Why, when he is ignorant of the northern enemy, should he know so exactly the southern, who in comparison with the former is of almost no importance? Although I cannot agree with Ewald that Jer 2:14-17 did not originally belong here, since if we divide correctly, there is no break in the connection, yet Jer 2:16 may possibly be an addition which the prophet himself made when writing out his book the second time (Jer 36:32), after the destruction of Jerusalem, in Palestine or in Egypt. (Comp. Comm. on Jer 1:3 and Jer 2:36, and the Introduction to chapter 2). [I render it, The children of Noph and Tahpanhes have pastured down the crown of thy head.Memphis and Daphne, distinguished cities of Egypt, are here put for Egypt herself. Jehoiakim made league with Egypt, but was subjected to severe and shameful taxation. Such a process of shaving, taxation and consequent disgrace our passage forcibly describes. Cowles.S. R. A.]

Jer 2:17. Did not thy leading thee in the way? The fate of the people described in Jer 2:14-16, so directly contradictory to the filial relation, is explained by their revolt from Jehovah. Comp. Jer 4:18.This, is without doubt the object, forsaking, the subject. As here the leader is put for the leading, so elsewhere the proclaimer for the message (Isa 41:27), the destroyer for the destruction (Exo 12:13), the shooter for the shot (Gen 21:16), the retractor for the retraction (Gen 38:29). Comp. Naeglsb. Gr., 50, 2; 61, 2 b, and below, Jer 2:25 and the remarks thereon.The expression leading thee points back to led thee, Jer 2:6. It is not then Gods leading in general which is meant, but His leading through the desert, the rather, as the following verse shows that their forsaking of Him was not confined to the time of their pilgrimage. [Most of the moderns take to be the nominative to the verb and in opposition to and render: Is it not this that hath procured it to thee,thy forsaking, etc.; but the common rendering seems more appropriate, as it includes both the agent and the act, charging directly on the former the guilt contracted by the latter.By the way is meant the right way, the way of the Lord; and the leading of the Jews therein denotes the whole of the moral training which they enjoyed under the Mosaic dispensation. In spite of every motive to the contrary, they forsook Jehovah as the object of their fear and confidence. Henderson.S. R. A.]

Jer 2:18. And now what hast thou to do in the way to Egypt to drink the water of the river? is in antithesis to Jer 2:17. The latter points to the ancient time, the former to the present. The way to Egypt according to the analogy of Amo 8:14, is not the Egyptian idol-worship. We see this from the statement of its object,to drink the water of Shihor. The sense is, what will the way to Egypt (or Assyria) avail thee, which thou takest in order to drink the water of the Nile, &c.: that is, to draw from this source power and re-invigoration, i. e. to procure help in Egypt (or Assyria)? Here the question arises, whether the facts experienced by the prophet were the occasion of this mode of expression. Josiah so far from seeking to obtain help from the Egyptians lost his life in contending against them (2Ki 23:29; 2Ch 35:20). He did not undertake this contest as an ally of Assyria, for his object undoubtedly was to prevent these powers from encountering each other. Comp. the Article Josia in Herzog, Real-Enc.Subsequently, indeed (Jer 37:5; comp. 2Ki 24:20, and Jeremiah 43), we find Jeremiahs contemporaries laying claim to aid from Egypt, but at the same time the northern empire, by which we must understand Assyria, was the enemy which menaced them. Hence it appears that Jeremiah does not here, as in Jer 2:16 and probably also in Jer 2:3, allude to definite facts of recent date, but that he has in view only in general the propensity repeatedly manifested in the later history of Israel since Phul to seek help from the two heathen empires between which it was placed, instead of from Jehovah. In this period Egypt and Assyria are, as it were, two poles, which are always mentioned together in a stereotyped form in the most various connections. (Hos 11:11; Isa 7:23; Isa 10:24; Isa 19:23 sqq.; Isa 27:13; Isa 52:4; Ezekiel 31.) Particularly the seeking aid from Egypt and Assyria is a reproach made both by the older prophets (Hos 7:11, They call to Egypt, they go to Assyria, Jer 12:2, comp. Jer 11:5) by his contemporaries (Eze 16:26 sqq; Jer 23:2) and by Jeremiah himself elsewhere (Lam 5:6). There is therefore no reason here for the inquiry whether by Assyria Jeremiah meant Babylon, for he has really, at least in the first intention, the true Assyria in mind. here as in Isa 23:3 is the Nile. The name signifies the black, black-water (Leyrer, Art. Sichor in HerzogR.-Enc.); hence, also, among the Greeks and Romans the name , Melo, from the black mud of the Nile (Comp. Servius on Virg. Georg. IV. 288 sqq. n. I. 745, IV. 246). the Euphrates, as in Gen 31:21; Exo 23:31; Num 22:5, &c.

Jer 2:19. Thine own wickedness shall correct thee Jehovah of hosts. There is here a reference to Jer 2:17-18. The wickedness described in these verses will correct Israel, that is, will produce the effects portrayed in Jer 2:14-16, and this correction will lead Israel to shameful but yet wholesome knowledge.Apostasies () is a word used especially by Jeremiah. Except in this book it occurs in only three passages (Pro 1:32; Hos 11:7; Hos 14:5), the plural only in Jer 3:22; Jer 5:6; Jer 14:7. With this the train of thought in this strophe seems to conclude. It begins with astonishment at the desolate condition of the people (Jer 2:14 to Jer 2:16), then explains why it must be so (Jer 2:17-18), and finally designates salutary knowledge as the intended effect of this severe discipline (Jer 2:19). The full form, Saith the Lord, &c., seems to denote the close of a section. The following strophe, though an independent tableau, is closely connected with the preceding, opening a deeper insight into the source of the apostasy described in Jer 2:17-19.

Footnotes:

[4]Jer 2:15.The Keri is an unnecessary correction by the Masoretes, who here as in Jer 22:6, regarded the plural as necessary with . But the singular may be used, in accordance with the capacity of the 3d Per. Fem. Sing., to involve an ideal plural. Naegelsb. Gr., 105, 4, 6. Ewald, 317, a. Whether is derived from (comp. Ewald, 140, a. Fuerst, s. v. ) to kindle (Olshausen regards it as a derivative from a root , Lehrb. d. Hebr. Spr., S. 591), or to destroy (Jer 4:7; Jer 9:11; Isa 37:26; 2Ki 19:25) is undecided.

[5]Jer 2:15. . is not to be taken as causal but local=away from without. Comp. Jer 4:7; Jer 9:9-11. There are two negatives: without no inhabitant. Gesen., 152, 2.

[6]Jer 2:16.The reading for (vide Jer 43:7-9; Jer 44:1; Jer 46:14, ; Eze 30:18 ) is probably no more than an ancient clerical error.

[7]Jer 2:17.The Infinitive, in accordance with its abstract signification, is regarded as feminine, and therefore has the predicate in the fem. (comp. 1Sa 18:23) as for the same reason it frequently assumes a fem. termination, ex. gr. ,, etc. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 22, Anm. 3.

[8]Jer 2:17. , we should expect . The participle is used in a somewhat unusual manner, as concretum pro abstracto.

[9]Jer 2:18.The construction is not the same as in the formula , for this means: What have I and thou in common? The construction here, without the Vau, expresses only having to do with, having reference to. Comp. Psa 50:16; Hos 14:9.

[10]Jer 2:19. . The intended consequences are represented as a command. Comp. Psa 128:5; Gen 20:7; Gen 41:2; Rth 1:9; Ewald, 347, a. Naegelsb. Gr., 90, 2.

[11]Jer 2:19. is to be regarded as one conception, and as the subject, co-ordinate with to the predicate . Comp. Jer 5:7; Isa 10:15; Isa 31:8. This passage moreover has this specialty, that besides the negation, the preposition with the suffix also pertains to the one conception.

[12]Jer 2:19. might be taken in an objective sense like , Gen 9:2 (comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 164, 4)=timor mei. would then have to be taken as a fortified as it in fact occurs, ex. gr., after verbs like (Exo 25:16) (Isa 14:10) (1Sa 2:27). But the suffix may also be regarded as the genitive of subject=terror, quem injicio. Then the construction would be entirely like that in Job 31:23, and would be taken in its proper sense: my fear enters not into thee. The latter view seems to me the more correct, because in this the preposition receives its full significance.

4. THE LUST OF IDOLATRY: DEEPLY ROOTED, OUTWARDLY INSOLENT, FALSE AT LAST

Jer 2:20-28

20 For from of old thou hast broken thy yoke,13

Thou hast burst thy bonds,
And hast said, I will not serve.
For upon every high hill
And under every green tree
Thou stretchest thyself as a harlot.

21And yet I had planted thee a noble14 vine,

It was wholly of genuine seed.15

But how art thou changed16 with respect to me

Into bastards of a strange vine!

22For though thou wash thyself with alkali

And take thee much of the soap,
Yet thine iniquity is a stain before me,
Saith the Lord Jehovah.

23How canst thou then say: I am not polluted,

I have not followed the Baalim.
Look at thy way in the valley!
Know what thou hast done!
A she camel, young, fast, involving her courses;

24A wild she-ass,17 accustomed to the desert;

In the desire of her soul she gasps for air,
Her leaping,18 who can repel it?

All, who seek her, become not weary;
In her month they find her.

25Guard thy foot from the loss of shoe,

And thy throat19 from thirst!

But thou sayest: In vain! No!

26For I love strangers, and after them I will go.

As a thief is ashamed when caught,
So the house of Israel is put to shame,
They, their kings, their princes, their priests, their prophets:

27Who say to a block, My father thou!

And to a stone, Thou hast begotten me.20

For they turn to me the back and not the face,
But in the time of their calamity
They say, Up and deliver us!

28But where are thy gods which thou madest for thyself?

Let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble.
For as many as thy cities
Are thy gods, O Judah!

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Israels propensity to idolatry is ancient (Jer 2:20), deeply rooted (Jer 2:21-22), yet at the same time betraying itself outwardly by the most passionate behaviour (Jer 2:23-25), but finally causing deep shame on account of the nothingness of its objects (Jer 2:26-28). The connection with the previous strophe is this, that here the forsaking of Jehovah (Jer 2:17), and the wickedness and apostasies (Jer 2:19), are more particularly explained. The is, therefore, to be regarded as explicative.

Jer 2:20. For from of old as a harlot. here as frequently (comp. Isa 42:14; Isa 46:9; Isa 63:16; Psa 24:7, etc.), is used of inconceivable duration.Israel is compared with wild refractory draught cattle (a bullock untrained, Jer 31:18; a backsliding heifer, Hos 4:16), because they refuse the discipline and guidance of the Lord (comp. Jer 5:5; Pro 2:3), and are obstinate in carrying out their own carnal will. I will not serve. The second is also explicative. It forms the transition to the explanation of the imagery employed in Hemist. a.Every high hill, etc., a frequent designation of the places especially sacred to the worship of nature. Comp. 1Ki 14:23; 2Ki 16:4; 2Ki 17:10; Isa 57:5; Jer 3:6; Jer 3:13; Jer 17:2; Eze 6:13.Stretchest thyself. occurs only in Isa 51:14 of one who is bound and thus bent crooked, in Isa 63:1 of the strong man, who bends proudly backwards; Jer 48:12 of the vessel, which we bend over in order to pour from it. Hence it seems to be used in the sense of or inclinari of the bending of the body in a woman who lies with a man. Comp. of the man, in Job 31:10.

Jer 2:21. And yet I had planted thee strange vine.And I stands in strong antithesis to thou, Jer 2:20.The antithesis is similar, which Isaiah sets forth between the vineyard for which all has been done, and the proprietor, whose hope is disappointed, Isa 5:1 sqq. Comp. Psa 80:9 sqq.That we are not to translate (with Ewald): I have planted thee with noble vines, as in Isa 5:2, is clear from the identity of the object of with the subject of .Noble vine, properly reddish from splendere, subrubicundum esse, comp. Isa 11:8; Zec 1:8, and Koehler, ad loc.That the red wine was considered the nobler, may be inferred from the fact that it was prescribed for the feast of the Passover. See Lightfoot, Hor. Hebr. p. 478.But how art thou changed, etc. It is not inadmissible to regard as the accusative, as Graf, Hitzig, and others suppose. The mere accusative frequently stands in apposition with the object, (or in passive construction with the subject, where we use a preposition of motion, and the Hebrew more commonly uses , comp. . Amo 5:8; Amo 6:11; Isa. 28:38; Isa 37:26. See Naegelsb., Gr. 69, 3.The absence of the article before is certainly abnormal, but not without example: Jer 22:26; Isa 37:4; Isa 37:17; 2Sa 6:3. See Naegelsb. Gr. 73, 2. Anm.

Jer 2:22. For though thou wash thyself thy iniquity is a stain before me. is causal. Israel is to be compared with degenerate vines; their depravation, therefore, is essential, since it cannot be removed by outward means.This figure of speech is based on the work of the fuller. For simple washing is ; properly to tread, to stamp, is the technical expression for the work of the fuller. Hence, also, we have Piel here, comp. Naegelsb., Gr. 41, 2; 61, 2, c. is, therefore, properly. even if thou doest the work of a fuller, comp. Mal 3:2. The reflexive meaning is implied in the connection, and is sufficiently indicated by the following ., is a mineral, ( among the Greeks and Romans, also called nitrum) is a vegetable alkali. The former is obtained from water, the latter from the soap-plant. Comp. Winer, R. B. W., s. v. Laugensalz. [Thomson, The Land and the Book, II. pp. 302, 303.S. R. A.] is an . Some commentators render it (=) ingrained, indelibly engraven is thy guilt. Some render, hidden, laid up, others; spotted, dirty, a stain. The last meaning, which is certified by the dialects (Aram. macula, maculosus) is also required by the connection. Comp. Psa 51:3; Psa 51:9.

Jer 2:23. How canst thou then say? involving her courses. The prophet has in mind an assertion actually made and often repeated by his contemporaries. This is the sense of the imperfect, comp. Naegelsb., Gr. 87, c.Thy way in the valley, must mean a definite valley, since hills, and not valleys were the places usually appropriated by the Israelites to idolatrous worship. In the vicinity of Jerusalem there was, however, a valley celebrated as a place of worship; the vale of Hinnom (Jer 7:31; Jer 29:2; Jer 29:6; Jer 32:35; Jos 15:8; 2Ki 23:10).That the valley might be called absolutely is seen from the fact that the gate leading to it was called absolutely (2Ch 26:9; Neh 2:13; Neh 2:15), comp. Raumer, Palstina, 4 Aufl. S. 291.A she-camel, etc., and stand in apposition to the subject of the preceding sentence, viz., Israel. The former is feminine of (Isa 60:6), camel-foal. The (unused) root signifies to be early there, hence , . is found here only as a verb. It means to weave, cross, involve. Hence shoestring, Gen 14:23; Isa 5:27.

Jer 2:24. A wild she-ass they find her. It is clear that the female is meant both from the connection and the construction of the following sentence:Accustomed to the desert, (Job 24:5; Job 39:5), therefore, in general shy, wild and unconfined.All who seek her, etc. Since they meet her half-way, there is no need to weary themselves with seeking her. In her month, that is, in her period of heat, they find her. This is the natural rendering. Other artificial explanations are found in J. D. Michaelis, Obsv., p. 17, and in Rosenmueller, ad h. loc.

Jer 2:25. Guard thy foot after them I will go. As a further proof of the intensity of this proneness to idolatry (Jer 2:21-22), the prophet adduces the answer of the people to all warnings against it, their decided declaration that they would not relinquish it. The words of admonition, Guard, etc., are not to be regarded as spoken by commission from the Lord. The figure of passionate running is continued, but man is now understood as the subject.The construction is that of the concrete for the abstract. Comp. 1Sa 15:23, where it reads hath rejected thee from king, while afterwards it is, hath rejected thee from being king, Jer 2:26; Jer 8:7; in Jer 16:1, it is from reigning. Comp. further Jer 2:17 and 1Ki 15:13; Eze 16:41. is not of the same gender as , being feminine, but this variation is of no account. See remark on Jer 2:24.We might as well translate: Hold back thy foot, to be somewhat unshod, as in Psa 73:2, means inclinatum, aliquid sunt pedes mei.On the general subject, comp. Jer 31:16; Pro 1:15.As to the import of the warning, we are certainly not to take with Schnurrer, Rosenmueller and others, as in Gen 49:10; Deu 28:57; Eze 16:25 in the sense of crura et pudenda, and the discalceatio as denudatio. The prophet would merely say, Cease from thy mad running after idols, from which nothing accrues to thee, but wounded feet and a dry throat, i.e., bitter injury instead of the expected advantage. Part. Niph., from (comp. 1Sa 27:1; Job 6:26; Isa 57:10; Jer 18:12) = desperatum, perditum. The sense is: the warning is in vain. No! as in. Gen 42:10; Num 22:30, etc.The following verses portray the contrast between the passionate striving of Israel after the favor of their gods, and the results thereof.

Jer 2:26-27. As a thief deliver us. Comp. Exo 22:1; Exo 22:6-7. The thief is ashamed not merely because he is caught in his wickedness, but because at the moment of discovery he makes a ridiculous figure. Israel also plays this ridiculous part when the poodles heart is displayed.Put to shame. Comp. Jer 6:15; Jer 8:9; Jer 8:12.Who say, , apposition to the nomen determinatum without the article, as frequently in the later books. See Naegelsb., Gr. 97, 2 a.For they turn to me the back, etc. This period to the end of Jer 2:28, shows in three clauses the shameful character of idol-worship: (a) they turn their back on me; (b) in the time of calamity I am yet to help them; (c) I cannot then do so, but must direct them to their gods. These, however, are nowhere to be found, though as numerous as the cities in Israel.

Jer 2:28. But where are thy gods.O Judah! This inquiry is made of the idolaters as a punishment for their having previously made it in scorn of the faithful, comp. Psa 42:4; Psa 42:11; Psa 79:10; Psa 115:2.If they can save. We are reminded of Deu 32:37-38. See Kueper, S. 6. Comp. Jer 11:12. The indirect interrogative sentence is best understood as dependent on a verb to be supplied: let us see?For as many as the cities, etc., is repeated verbatim in Jer 11:13. is causal. One would think they could save thee, since they are so numerous. The close of this strophe corresponds to the close of the preceding, (Jer 2:19).

Footnotes:

[13]Jer 2:20.The Masoretes take and as in the first person. So, also, the Chaldee and Syriac versions and most of the Jewish expositors. As , then, does not give a good meaning, unless with the Syriac, we arbitrarily assume the false gods to be objects of service, the Keri reads which must then he taken in the sensetransgredi verbum divinum. But neither does occur in this sense without an accusative of the object, nor does this explanation suit the following .The Masoretic punctuation is therefore erroneous, and the words are to be punctuated as 2nd Pers. Fem. according to the analogy of Jer 2:33; Jer 3:4-5; Jer 4:19; Jer 13:21; Jer 22:23; Jer 46:11; Eze 16:18; Eze 16:20; Eze 16:22; Eze 16:31; Eze 16:36; Eze 16:43-44; Eze 16:47; Eze 16:51 etc. Comp. on this form Ewald, 190 c; Olshausen, 226, b: 232, h; and Naegelsb. Gr. 21. Anm. 3.

[14]Jer 2:21. only here and in Isa 5:2. The fem. form Gen 49:11.

[15]Jer 2:21. literally: seed of truth, i.e. genuine seed, (Comp. Pro 11:18), opposed to .

[16]Jer 2:21.. The passive participial form (Comp. Ewald, 149, f) occurs, except here, only in the fem. form (Isa 49:21) and as Keri, Jer 17:13. (Chethibh .) The meaning is not doubtful, anomalous, alienated, bastard.

[17]Jer 2:24.Instead of , many editions read , which we usually find elsewhere, Gen 16:12; Job 6:5; Job 11:12; Job 39:5; Hos 8:9.It is clear that the female is meant, both from the connection and the construction of the following sentence. The masc. stands in and , under the immediate influence of the form , but further on, the gender, which the prophet has in mind, comes to light, hence, , etc The Masoretes would incorrectly read . The Hebrew language is much freer with respect to gender, number, and person than our modern languages. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr. 60, 4. Comp. Jer 14:6.

[18]Jer 2:24. is also an . .There is a double root : I. respirare, suspirare, ejulare (Isa 3:26; Isa 19:8), from which the substantive forms (groan, and groaning, Isa 29:2; Lam 2:5) are derived. From this derivation we obtain for the meaning of deep breathing, snorting, catching for air, which is usually a symptom of excited passions. II. Kal inus. Piel.=a meeting, to prepare to meet (Exo 21:12); Pual, to be made to meet, occurrere (Psa 91:10; Pro 12:21); Hithp. to prepare a meeting for ones self, to seek occasion (2Ki 5:7).From this root is derived (Comp. , Jdg 14:4) encounter, occursus. Etymologically both are possible. The connection favors the latter view.

[19]Jer 2:25.The Chethibh is an anomaly which is by no means to be traced back to a form for as (Jer 21:12) for (Jer 22:3), but as frequently (Jer 17:23; Jer 27:1; Jer 29:23; Jer 32:23) through an oversight, a displacement of the mater lectionis seems to have occurred. See on Jer 17:23.

[20]Jer 2:27.. So according to Jer 15:10 the Chethibh is to be spoken. The is occasioned by , but needlessly, for the sing. may be used collectively. Those who pronounce Keri overlook the fact that precedes, and that this second member is doubtless intended to designate the part of that mother. Wood my father,a stone my mother!

5. WHOSE IS THE GUILT?

Jer 2:29-37

29Why do you contend against Me?

Ye have, all of you, offended against Me, saith Jehovah.

30In vain have I smitten your children,

Chastisement they have not accepted.
Your sword has devoured your prophets
Like a ravening lion.

31O ye generation! see the word of Jehovah:

Have I been a desert, O Israel?
Or a land of deepest night?21

Why do my people say: We ramble,22

No more will we come to thee?

32Can a virgin forget her ornaments?

A bride her girdle?
But my people have forgotten Me days without number.

33How well trimmest thou thy way to seek love intrigue!

Therefore also to wickedness thou hast accustomed23 thy ways.

34Even on thy skirts [wings] has been found

The blood of the souls of poor innocents.
Not at the place of burglary have I found it,
But on all these.

35Yet thou sayest,24 I am innocent,25

Surely His anger is turned from me.
Behold, I enter into judgment with thee concerning this,
That thou sayest: I have not sinned.

36How goest thou asunder26 much in changes of thy ways?

Even by Egypt shalt thou be put to shame,
As thou hast been put to shame by Assyria.

37Also from thence27 wilt thou go forth, thy hands on thy head,

For Jehovah rejects thy supports,
And thou wilt have no success with them.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

As in the beginning of the discourse (Jer 2:5), (the prophet proceeds on the ground, that Israels revolt cannot be excused by any neglect on the part of Jehovah, but Israel is alone to blame (Jer 2:20). The Lord has allowed nothing to fail: neither discipline (Jer 2:30), nor the necessaries of life (Jer 2:31), not even ornament and splendor (Jer 2:32). But the people have shown a taste and fitness only for the service of idols (Jer 2:33 a). The consequence is two-fold: (1) deep moral corruption (Jer 2:33 b34) which at the same time affords the most striking proof of the rebellion of the people, which they boldly deny (Jer 2:35); (2) the shame of the people resulting from their political and religious wanderings (Jer 2:36-37).

Jer 2:29. Why do you contend saith Jehovah. Israels propensity to complain of the Lord was displayed even in the wilderness at Meribah (Exo 17:2-3; Exo 17:7), and that Jeremiahs contemporaries manifested the same disposition is evident from Jer 5:19; Jer 13:22; Jer 16:10. Not I, saith the Lord, towards you have failed, but you towards Me, even all of you. Comp. Jer 2:26.The following verses enumerate what the Lord has done for Israel. Three things are mentioned; first, discipline.

Jer 2:30. In vain ravening lionin vain, used only by Jeremiah among the prophets, Jer 4:30 : Jer 6:29; Jer 46:11. Comp. besides, Exo 20:7 : Deu 5:11; Psa 24:4; Psa 139:20. cannot be taken in a proper sense = your young men, as Hitzig maintains, for Jehovahs blows were upon the whole people. When we reflect that the persons smitten by the Lord are those, who instead of accepting chastisement, slay Gods servants, and further, that these same are afterwards, Jer 2:31, addressed as generation, and previously, in Jer 2:28, as Judah, there can be no doubt that the prophet has here in view the abstract communities, the people being designated as their children. Comp. Jer 5:7; Lev 19:18; Joel 4:6; Zec 9:13.The smiting had not the intended effect (comp. Jer 5:3) but was answered by the murder of the prophets, 1Ki 18:4; 1Ki 18:13; 2Ch 24:20 sqq. Comp. Mat 23:35; Mat 23:37; Luk 11:47, etc.The second fact, with which the charge is indignantly repelled, is Jehovahs liberal provision for all the wants of the people.

Jer 2:31. O ye generation come to thee? The first words of this verse are attached by Jerome and Maurer to the preceding verse: tanquam leo vastator est hc vestra tas. But the beginning of the following sentence is then altogether too bald. It is better to take them as in the vocative, and the subject of the following verb. On the article with the vocative, comp. Ewald, 327, a;Naegelsb. Gr., 71, Anm. 4.It is disputed whether is to be taken in the sense of age, generation (Ewald: The present people) or in the sense of race, kind, breed. It is not clear why the generation then living should be rendered so expressly prominent, does not occur again, at least not alone in a bad sense. But from passages like Jer 7:29; Deu 1:35; Deu 32:5; Psa 78:8; Pro 30:11 it is evident that the word is at any rate capable of such a determinatio in malam partem.See, comp. Jer 2:19. is a stronger . The word of the Lord is held before them with the demand that they regard it.Desert, i.e., barren land, where no bodily nourishment or necessaries are found.Here follows the third point, which the Lord has not neglected; glory and adornment. He is Himself His peoples highest glory, Israels crown of glory is He (Gen 9:27; Isa 28:5). But they have forgotten this emblem of royalty, which causes them to rank above all other nations. The Lord is however Israels jewel as her husband. This is the thought which suggests the figure in Jer 2:32.

Jer 2:32. Can a virgin forget without number? besides only in Isa 3:20. Comp. Isa 49:18. Is it a girdle or a fillet? Drechsler on Isa. l. c. translates a small girdle of fine material, which unites both meanings.The failure then is not in this, that the Lord has forgotten to make provision for the adornment of His bride, but that the bride has forgotten to make use of the ornament. Comp. Jer 18:14.Days without number. Comp. of old, Jer 2:20.

Jer 2:33. How well trimmest thou accustomed thy ways. cannot here be rendered in the sense of bonum simulare, exornare, as many of the ancients rendered, because then the following does not afford a suitable meaning. It is therefore necessary to take it in the sense of scite instituere (Maurer) according to the analogy of Jer 7:3; Isa 23:16; Deu 9:21, etc. Observe the contrast: the people in criminal frivolity forget Jehovah, their highest glory, but with the greatest diligence employ means and ways to procure illicit love (with foreign nations and their idols). The effects of this are shown in what follows. is neither = but, as De Wette proposes, nor = (Venema, Dathe: ut confirmes malitiam, assuefacis vias tuas), but simply = therefore, thus, in this way.To wickedness. The article before (comp. Jer 3:5) is general. Israel has accustomed his ways not to particular wickedness, but to wickedness in general, to wickedness of every kind. to teach, to accustom, as , Jer 2:24. In meaning the expression is coincident with that in Jer 13:23, accustomed to do evil.On the subject-matter, comp. Rom 1:24 sqq.In what follows the statement is verified by an instance.

Jer 2:34. Even on thy wings on all these. The here resumes the in Jer 2:33 b. The special fact is introduced by the same particle as the general statement. In German nmlich [videlicet, namely] would be used. is used here, as frequently of the skirts, (wings) of a coat, 1Sa 24:6; Hag 2:12; Zec 8:23, etc.Has been found. The plural is explained thus, (1) an ideal plural is contained in , namely, the idea of innocent blood, in which sense is usually employed (the sing. ex. gr. Jer 19:4; Lam 4:13). The same construction in Eze 22:13, comp. Nalgelsb. Gr., 61, 2, e, (2) with connected subjects the predicate may be governed in number by the main grammatical or logical idea. So also here the conception of the multiplicity of what has been stained by blood may have determined the number of the predicate. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 105, 6.Not at the place, etc. occurs only in Exo 22:1 (2), and our passage maybe explained by this. If a thief be found breaking up (or at the place of burglary) and he be smitten and die, he (the doer) shall incur no guilt. Jeremiah alludes to this both in words and sense. The Lord has found the blood of the murdered (and we may here understand the blood of the prophets, Jer 2:30) not in the place of the crime committed by them. In this case their murderers would according to the law quoted above, be without guilt. But he says, On all these have I found it. These words have given much trouble to the commentators. Disregarding the circumstance that the LXX, the Syriac and Arabic translations instead of read , and therefore translate or sub quacunque arbore, and that Jerome combines the two renderings: in omnibus istis qu supra memoravi, sive sub quercu, having in mind the often denounced hill-worship (comp. Jer 2:20),omitting those interpretations which are based on a wrong reading we mention only three proposed by eminent modern commentators: (1) Ewald translates after Abarbanel, not in the murderers den found I it, but on all these, viz., summits. The objection to this is, that the word does not signify den of murderers, and that the reference to Exo 22:1 (2) is wholly ignored. (2) Venema, Dathe, Vogel, Gaab, Maurer, Umbreit and others attach the final clause to the next verse and take in the sense of notwithstandingnotwithstanding all this thou sayest. This rendering leaves both the and the Vau cons. before without any satisfactory explanation. (3) Graf: not for the sake of a crime didst thou kill the poor ones, but on account of all this, i.e. because they stood in the way of thy harlotry and opposed thy revolt. But it must be objected to this that we cannot say, not at the breaking in hast thou met them (Graf takes as 2d person), but on account of all this. For here the verb met does not suit the second clause of the sentence. We should have to supply a suitable verb hast thou killed them, which would be arbitrary, because the author, if he had this verb in mind, could not have omitted it. The whole question seems to me to turn on the correct rendering of , namely, not as burglary in general, but the place of burglary. It is well known that substantives with (Mem loci) have this meaning, Ewald, 160 b.In the original passage Exo 22:1, we may indeed translate at the breaking in, but in the text, where it is not the seizure of the thief, but the subsequent discovery of blood-stains, which is spoken of, the place of burglary must be meant. Traces of blood are subsequently discovered, not at a burglary, but at the place where the surprised thief was wounded. If this is the correct rendering of this word, the final clause must also designate a place. If we consider that in the first clause the Lord has rebuked Israel for the murder of the innocents, it is appropriate that in the second He should bring a proof of this heavy charge. This proof is afforded in this way;the Lord says He found the blood of the slain not in places where they had commuted burglary, but on the persons of those He addresses. Thus on all these refers back certainly to thy skirts, but only indirectly. refers primarily to persons. We may suppose that the prophet pointed with his hand to his hearers.In spite of this flagrant proof of guilt, Israel is so bold as to continue to maintain his innocence, and dares even to boast that the divine anger is already turned away from him.

Jer 2:35. Yet thou sayest not sinned. . The translation of the LXX., and of the Vulgate, aversatur would suit very well in the connection, if it were grammatically justifiable. As the words read they make declaration of a fact, not a wish. =nothing but, only, i.e. sure, certain. Comp. Gen 26:9; Gen 29:14, etc.To what historical fact this erroneous assumption of Israel refers, it is difficult to say; perhaps to the narrative of 2Ki 23:26 (observe also the resemblance of the words). Josiahs reforms might have given rise to the idea that the wrath of the Lord formerly threatened (comp. 2Ki 22:17) was now turned away from Judah. The people are here assured that this was not the case, because the reform was more outward than inward (at least among the masses).I enter into judgment. Comp. Jer 1:16; Jer 25:31. He who denies the sin he has committed adds to his guilt and provokes a new manifestation of the divine judgment.

Jer 2:36-37. How goest thou? no success with them. (in Aramaic frequently = ) has in Hebrew throughout the meaning of to melt, dissolve, go asunder. So of yielding to a misfortune (Pro 20:14), of the flowing away of water (Job 14:11), of the running out of the means of subsistence (1Sa 9:7), of the disappearance of power (Deu 32:36). The infinitive designates not the end but the mode of the going asunder: quid diffluis mutando viam? The is the particle of the Infin. modalis. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 95, e. On the meaning comp. Jer 3:13.As Jer 2:34-35 are dependent on Jer 2:33 b, so Jer 2:36-37 on 33a. The inquiry, how trimmest thou thy ways? is resumed here more definitely.In respect to the historical bearing of the passage, as we have already remarked on Jer 2:18, it is not known that Josiah ever sought aid from the Egyptians. From the time of Jehoiakim, who was an Egyptian vassal (2Ki 23:33 sqq.), much aid was continually sought. To this Jer 2:36 may refer. The expression also from thence wilt thou go forth, seems even to imply a residence in Egypt. Comp. on Jer 2:16. As was remarked on this passage we admit the possibility of Jeremiahs having made this addition on the completion of his second writing. Comp. Graf, ad loc. Masc. referring to the people. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr. 60, 3, Anm.It appears as if the story of Tamar and Absalom hovered before the prophets mind. Comp. Kueper, S. 55; 2Sa 13:19, Est ibi nostra manus, in qua nos parte dolemus (Bugenhagen).

Footnotes:

[21]Jer 2:31. is . Composed of and = caligo Jov, as = Gods flame (of love) Son 8:6. serves to enhance the force of the expression according to the analogy of great deep Psa 36:6. ) 1Sa 26:12, 1Sa 14:15. is also punctuated in connections, ex. gr., Jer 27:1, etc. The Masoretes have given two accents to the whole word in the text, because they were uncertain as to the etymology of the syllable and consequently as to its accentuation. Kimchi found in some codices which Ewald also accepts and translates simply darkness ad form. Jer 8:18, coll. .

[22]Jer 2:31., only in Gen 27:40; Psa 55:3; Hos 12:1. Radical signification vagari. We are not with Rosenmueller to translate vagabimur. The perfect is used expressly to designate an accomplished fact.

[23]Jer 2:33.. On this form comp. rem. on Jer 2:20.On the double accusative comp. Ewald, 283, c; Naegelsb. Gr., 69, 2, c.

[24]Ver.35. before a direct address, as frequently, ex. gr., Jos 2:24; 1Sa 10:19. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 109 1, a.

[25]Jer 2:35. Niph. Comp. Num 5:28; Num 5:31.

[26]Jer 2:36. contracted from as from (Pro 8:17), from (Gen 32:5), comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 10, II., Anm.

[27]Jer 2:37. Masc. referring to the people. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 60, 3, Anm.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. On Jer 2:14 : Whoever makes himself a servant of sin makes himself also a servant of punishment, for sticks and cudgels are for a bad servant. Maliti comes individua est miseria. Cramer.

2. On Jer 2:14 : Peccatum ex hominibus liberis facit miserrimos servos; ex filiis Dei mancipia diaboli. Seb. Schmidt.Is then Israel a servant or a bondman? So that get him who may, except the one father, whose son he is, he may starve him? A noble question to lead the soul to reflect what it is; a subject on which Joh. Arndt much labored and in which Fr. Richter of Halle lived altogether. He wrote a book on the exceeding nobility of the soul. . We can also form an idea from his poems, The soul is born to enjoy, something that is divine,Hew bright the Christians inner life,O how happy are the souls, etc., how important this subject was to him. And it is a great subject even if we leave aside all exaggerated mystical or still more loftily conceived ideas. It is enough that we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. We must indeed be ashamed, and a preacher may well grieve his whole life long (as Spener is said to have done), that our glory is so departed. Zinzendorf.

3. On Jer 2:17 : Sin is the destruction of a people, Pro 14:34. But the Lord is not willing that any be lost but that all should come to repentance (2Pe 3:9). He therefore chastises them, not to destroy them, but by bodily sufferings to save the soul (1Pe 4:1).

4. On Jer 2:15 : The sins of men, especially of Gods people, strengthen the arm of their enemies, encourage them to their hurt (Jdt 5:22). Starke.

5. On Jer 2:16 : If God wishes to chastise His people He usually employs the ungodly for this purpose (Deu 28:49-50). Idem.

6. On Jer 2:16 : It often happens that those redound to the injury and destruction of the ungodly, from whom they have promised themselves the greatest help (Jdg 15:3). Idem.

7. On Jer 2:17 : What a man soweth that will he also reap (Gal 6:7). They sow wind and reap the whirlwind (Hos 8:1). What theyve done, that theyve won. Bullinger. Comp. Mic 7:9.

8. On Jer 2:19 : Sanitatis initium immo dimidium est agnoscere morbum. Seb. Schmidt.

O si ista videremus

Quantum flere deberemus. Thom. Aquinas.

9. On Jer 2:20 : Although the Lords yoke is easy (Mat 11:29), it seems intolerable to our flesh, and we would rather sacrifice our children to Moloch and cut ourselves with knives and lancets (1Ki 18:28) than bow to the chastisement of the Spirit and renounce carnal freedom.

10. On Jer 2:21 : Peccata tam contra sanam hominis naturam sunt quam labrusc contra naturam bon vitis. Seb. Schmidt.

11. On Jer 2:21 : Whatever comes from Gods hand is good and welcome. Man was originally . He bore no principle of corruption within him. This came from without. Hence such depravity has become possible [actual, S. R. A.], as on its side renders necessary a complete remoulding (regeneration) of man.

12. On Jer 2:22 : We gee in nature that affected beauties, which are intended either to hide deformities or give new adornments not proper to the person, only render one uglier than before Zinzendorf.

13. On Jer 2:25 : [The passage suggests that in many cases the plea of despair is not half honest. The heart takes it up simply as an apology for rushing madly and headlong into sin To quiet conscience and to seem to lend some ear to reason, men try and even pretend to think there is no longer any hope from God, and hence that they may as well get all the good from sin they can while they can get any. Cowles.S. R. A.]

14. On Jer 2:26 : It often occurs in the office of a preacher that he sees poor humanity in its nakedness. He must be on his guard that he use his victory with moderation and in such a way that the souls ashamed may see more hearty love and compassion than tyranny and assumption. There ought not to be mere Hildebrands or mere Henry Fourths; a village schoolmaster may also show to one of his scholars that he is more concerned about his own authority than the pupils salvation; and this has no better effect on the youth than his penance in the court at Canossa had on the Emperor Henry IV. Zinzendorf.

15. On Jer 2:28. Necessity teaches prayer. Necessity compels men to cast away all false props and to stay themselves on Him, who alone endures everlastingly. Yet this may be done with insincerity, merely for outward advantage. Then will God say: He who will not serve Me, but will only serve himself with Me, has nothing to hope from Me. He may serve himself with those whom only he wishes to serve.

16. On Jer 2:30 : Mich. Ghislerus, in his commentary, discusses the question at length:In how far it may be said that the Lord has smitten Israel in vain, since the means which God uses always correspond exactly to the end in view, and therefore the application of means without the attainment of the object is inconceivable. He answers in the words of Petrus a Figueira: Dicitur autem Deus frustra percussisse quantum ad finem extrinsecum, qui erat emendatio percussorum, non quantum ad internum, qui erat ipsemet. Ideo enim percutiebat etiam eos, quos sciebat non recepturos disciplinam nec emendationem, ut omnibus se bonum medicum, bonumque parentem demonstraret, utpote omnia faciendo ad grotorum sanitatem et filiorum disciplinam necessaria. Atque quoad hunc finem non frustra percussit, sed finem consecutus est. Ghislerus more correctly distinguishes between a percussio grati and a percussio justiti, the former for salvation, the latter for judgment. We must, indeed, say that the strokes of God are relatively, but not absolutely in vain. If they do not attain the end of conversion, they show at least that God has done His part, which is the meaning also of this passage; and they serve for a testimony against them. Comp. Gal 3:4.

17. On Jer 2:30. In order that the divine chastisement may have the desired result, it is necessary that man enter into the divine purpose, i. e., that he understand what God would say to him, and whereto He would move him, and that he also hear and obey. This is to accept the chastisement. To accept chastisement is a sign of wisdom (Pro 8:10; Pro 19:20), while not to accept it is a sign of folly (Pro 1:7; Pro 3:11-12; Pro 5:12; Pro 5:23; Pro 13:18; Pro 15:32. Comp. Psa 50:17; Isa 1:5).

18. On Ye generation, Jer 2:31. That is not to be denied, which Paul says to the Cretans, they are altogether . This applies sometimes to whole nations, sometimes to certain cities and places. Servants of Christ, who have fallen in such places where their hearers are of a bad sort, experience it indeed. Zinzendorf.On Have I been a desert, etc. Where God bestows most benefits, there He receives the least gratitude. Foerster.

19. On Jer 2:32. The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light (Luk 16:8).A virgin who forgets her bridal ornaments might be compared to the foolish virgins who forgot their oil (Mat 25:1), nay, she is even worse than these.

20. On Jer 2:33, a. Not only zealous, but clever and inventive is man in evil, but lazy and unskilful for good; comp. Jer 4:22.

21. On Jer 2:33, b. (1Co 15:33). Every man is as his God. Everything, which is called a god, is inimical to the true God, therefore also to the absolute idea of the True and the Good. All kinds of idolatry, therefore, whether gross or refined, must demoralize men.

22. On Jer 2:35, a. Men frequently from obstinacy and pride will not confess their sins. Comp. 1Jn 1:8. But Zinzendorf (Pred. d. Ger. S., 184) remarks with justice on this passage: It is not so absolutely obstinacy and wickedness, hypocrisy, dogmatism; but men really come by many sins in such a way that they do not know them. As that savage at Copenhagen who killed his comrade and was severely wounded, thought that he should die for such a legitimate cause (for the other had insulted him).

23. On Jer 2:36-37. Serus post pnam luctus. Sero sapiunt Phryges, si tamen vere sapiant, non sero sapiunt. Seb. Schmidt.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

1. On Jer 2:14-19. Israels slavery an emblem of the universal human slavery of sin: (1) In both it is not original. (2) In both cases it is self-incurred. (3) In both it is severely punished. (4) In both the punishment is the means of salvation. [1. The nature of sin; it is forsaking the Lord as our God. 2. The cause of sin; it is because His fear is not in us. 3. The malignity of sin, it is an evil thing and a bitter. 4. The fatal consequences of sin. 5. The use and application of all thisrepent of thy sin. Henry.S. R. A.].

2. On Jer 2:17. Penitential sermon: on a retrospect of the past three things are manifest. (1) The goodness of God who sought to lead us in the right way. (2) Our disobedience, in forsaking the Lord our God. (3) Gods justice, in not allowing our rebellion to go unpunished.

3. On Jer 2:19. The evils of the present time are (1), The consequences of sin (not natural accessity, not chance, not the effect of an overpowering evil influence), (2) Means of salvation from sin, since by them we learn that (a) sin is ruinous deception, (b) godliness is life and salvation.

4. On Jer 2:20. The endeavor to cast off the yoke of God is (1) an ancient one (the angels, the apostasy, Israel), (2) a ruinous one; for (a) it deprives us of true freedom: (b) it renders us the servants of powers hostile to God and destructive to ourselves.

5. On Jer 2:21-25. The sinful corruption of humanity is (1) not original, but (2) very deep. (3) It cannot be denied away; (4) it cannot be removed by external means.

6. On Jer 2:26-28. How ruinous a course it is to trust in a creature: (1) who on account of his weakness leaves us disgracefully in the lurch: (2) we thus insult God and lose His help.

7. On Jer 2:29-32. When man quarrels with God, the fault is always on the side of man (Psa 51:6). For (1) God chastises us, but we do not obey: (2) He bestows on us the necessaries of life, but we do not thank Him: (3) He makes us partakers of the highest glory, but we reject it with disdain.

8. On Jer 2:31. Have I been a desert, etc., there is extant a homily of Origen on this text, the third of his homilies on Jeremiah. His fundamental thought is, God is a desert to none. This is true (1) in reference to all men (comp. Mat 5:45) (a) in a bodily, (b) in a spiritual regard. For He was always a fruitful land to Israel, (a) when He blessed them and punished the heathen, (b) when He blessed the heathen and punished them, (c) even when He allowed the church of Christ to pass from the Jews to the heathen.[An unjust imputation repelled by Jehovah. To an ingenuous mind God never appears so irresistible as when He addresses His creatures in the language of tender expostulation. Christians treat God as a wilderness (1) when they are reluctant to serve Him, (2) when they seek their happiness in the world. The ground of complaint is in them, not in God. Payson.S. R. A.]

9. On Jer 2:32. What is the adornment of clothes compared with the imperishable adornment of the righteousness of Christ! Food for moths and worms, and nothing more. Shall such a perishable adornment be so dear to thy heart that thou never forgettest to put it on when thou art going out, or when thou preparest thyself for church on Sunday: but the imperishable adornment be so unimportant that thou art ever forgetting it, even though so frequently spoken to concerning it? No, be followers of the apostle Paul, Philippians 3 Hochstetter. Twelve Parables from the prophet Jeremiah, S. 9.

10. On Jer 2:35. Obstinate impenitence. (1) It is blind to its own guilt. (2) It blasphemes God, accusing Him of unjust anger. (3) It will not escape just punishment.

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

CONTENTS

The Prophet is here entering upon his ministry. He begins with expostulation: and he carries it on, in a way of reproof and correction through the whole chapter.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

I pray the Reader to observe, the graciousness of God’s dealings with his people, even when he is about to reprove them. He puts them in mind of their past affection, and when matters were different with them, from what they now are: and this serves to heighten to their view his grace, and the unreasonableness of their backsliding. Reader! mark how the Lord takes notice of the smallest affections of his people. What could the Lord say more sweet and gracious than what is here said: I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals. Oh! thou gracious Lord! Should any poor backslider of thine, read this blessed scripture; oh give the poor soul grace to discover here from, how the bowels of thy love yearn over precious souls, in their wanderings, and that thou lost remember them still. See Jer 31:18-20 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Trimming

Jer 2:33

What is trimming? It is the holding of a middle course or position between parties, so as to appear to favour each. The Jews trimmed between God and the idols. And the just God who loathes all that is not straight and upright shakes their equivocal souls with this stormy interrogatory, ‘Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love?’

I. Expressions of Trimming. We often find trimming expresses itself in speech. Quite as often it shows itself in conduct Policy is the regulating principle of some men’s action. They act with a view to universal conciliation. They would establish themselves upon the basis, always most insecure, of general approval. Silence is quite commonly the result of trimming. The trimmer knows well the value of taciturnity: but he prostitutes it into a vice.

Every sphere of life unhappily has those who trim their way to seek love. The religious trimmer is worst of all.

II. The Motive of Trimming. The motive which actuates a trimmer is here succinctly and accurately described. It is ‘to seek love’ to win favour, to gain commendation, to stand well with everybody.

III. The Folly of Trimming. This system cannot permanently attain the end it seeks. No ‘love’ worth having can be thus won. A trimmer is soon discovered, and his judgment does not linger. Contempt becomes his portion.

Moreover trimming destroys our individual testimony. It makes us echoes of other voices, but prevents us being voices ourselves. We bear no personal witness if we thus trim our way.

This mean habit also hinders the prevalence of truth.

And what an evil influence the trimmer has upon others! Hear how God impeaches him in the words which ensue upon my text; ‘therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways’. Trimming is infectious: all evil is.

When we understand that the trimmer will be condemned at the judgment-seat of God, we are indeed convinced of the folly he works. Truth alone will stand the scrutiny of the ‘Bar severe’.

IV. The Cure of Trimming. As the previous verse (v. 32) shows, it is forgetting God which leads to this trimming of our way. If we walk before Him we can never grieve Him by such folly.

Would we avoid this paltry habit we must seek depth of conviction.

To recall the examples of the heroic saints who scorned to trim their way is another means of health and cure in this regard.

The example of our Lord is the grand deterrent from this evil. He died upon the cross because He would not by trimming His way seek love. When we are tempted to be trimmers let us remember our Saviour’s bright example and pursue it.

Dinsdale T. Young, The Travels of the Heart, p. 237.

References. II. 36. W. G. Rutherford, The Key of Knowledge, p. 30. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. lii. No. 3007. III. 1-23. Ibid. vol. xlii. No. 2452.

Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson

Three Shameful Possibilities In Human Life

Jer 2:6-8

The second chapter of Jeremiah sets forth Almighty God as earnestly expostulating with his people. They had forgotten his mercies; they had trimmed their way so as to tempt idolatrous nations into alliance; they had not heeded the chastisements which were intended to bring them to repentance; and therefore God offers a remonstrance as tender as the appeal of a father, and, in the event of that failing to subdue the stubborn heart, he threatens to reject the confidences and to hinder the prosperity of Israel. Such is a general outline of the chapter. But following the order of the text, we are arrested by three considerations:

I. The possibility of dishonouring the great memories of life. “Neither said they, Where is the Lord, that brought us up out of the land of Egypt?” An event like that would fix itself in the memory for ever. Who could forget the Egyptian bondage, the sufferings, the groans, the horrors of a lifetime? Who could forget the joy of deliverance, the rapture, the ungovernable ecstasy of triumph? Yet ancient Israel was as little humbled and stimulated by divine mercy as if Egypt had never plagued it with intolerable oppressions. The dark night was forgotten, and Israel did not know who had lifted upon it the brightness and hope of morning.

The great memories of life are dishonoured (1) when the vividness of their recollection fades; (2) when their moral purpose is overlooked or misunderstood; (3) when their strengthening and stimulating function is suspended.

What would human life be without its hallowed memories? Man must have facts as well as hopes, something to which he can go back with confidence; back to some place where he met God; to some bush that burned without being consumed; to some slaughtered lion, or overthrown giant of Gath; something about which he can say with confidence, God did this for me and it shall be holy to me for ever. There is, however, a possibility of forgetting sacred scenes, and of cheating the soul of reminiscences which ought to be a perpetual inspiration. The text says so; experience proves it. May we descend to every-day particulars? Let each man find the proofs in his own history: Sickness, Poverty, Danger, etc.

II. The possibility of under-estimating the interpositions of God. Look at the case in the text, through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and pits, through a land of drought and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt. Viewed prospectively, men shrink from such difficulties; viewed retrospectively, a good many of the terrors are forgotten. In this description of the wilderness nothing is wanting to complete the horror, deserts, pits, drought, solitude, shadow of death; yet through all God conducted them by the light of his mercy and the majesty of his power. That such an interposition could have been forgotten, or that the memory of it could have ceased to be operative for good in the soul, is a revolting illustration of human depravity. Granted that we have not the same outward difficulties, will any man deny that his moral pilgrimage is beset by many perils, and that the grave is constantly open at his feet? (Think of the training and defence of one human life, and multiply this by the number of lives in the world.)

Not only was the dark side of history forgotten, but the bright side was overlooked, “I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof.” What was the result? Were they who had been preserved in the desert glad when they were brought into the garden? Did they erect the altar, and bow in long-continued prayer, and unite in the loud, sweet psalm of thankfulness? Hear the answer: “Ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.”

If we try our own lives by these historical disclosures, shall we shame Israel by our purity and love? Have we not been conducted through dangerous places? Has the voice of the wild beast not shaken us with alarm? Have we not trembled on the edge of the pit, and been sad in awful loneliness? Remember the Deliverer! On the other hand, have we not been led into a garden of delights, into a land of which it may be said, “It is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: a land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year”? Remember the Giver!

III. The possibility of the leading minds of the Church being darkened and perverted.

“The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit” ( Jer 2:8 ).

The most affecting of all subjects to contemplate is, God grieved, God complaining! Would he complain without reason? Would he startle the universe for some trifling cause? He says, “Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate;” and again, “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord hath spoken: I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.” It is as though he would take inanimate creation into his confidence, and replace his children by the works of his hands. It is the voice of lamentation; it is the lamentation of God! Hear him, moving as it were through the chambers of the worlds, and shaking the heavens by the utterances of his great grief, “Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid.” Docs not the distracted parent often pace his chamber in the darkness of night, and mourn bitterly the revolt of his first-born, sobbing and groaning under the sting of a thousand recollections which throng upon the heart? God, abandoned by his children, grieved and wounded by those upon whom he has poured the resources of his love, calls upon the heavens to be astonished, and upon the works of his hands to be horribly afraid! It is as the cry of one whose heart is breaking; his great deliverances have been forgotten; his heritage has been defiled; his power has been despised, and his mercy been treated as an empty sentiment; what if the throb of his great sorrow should send a shudder of distress through the heavens and the earth! Look at Calvary for the full expression of all this divine emotion. The horrible darkness and the bursting rock show the sympathy of nature. All this agony was suffered by Jesus Christ in consequence of our sins; “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes are we healed.”

Seeing that such pain was inflicted by sin, let us avoid it as the abominable thing which God hates.

Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker

V

THE IMPEACHMENT, CALL, AND JUDGMENT

Jeremiah 2-6

This chapter is a discussion of the prophecies of Jeremiah during the reign of Josiah, chapters 2-6. They are abstracts from Jeremiah’s sermons, preached sometime between 626 B.C. and 608 B.C., eighteen years of his public ministry. Here we have the essential points of his discourses for that time, the best parts of the prophecies which he had uttered during that long period. Josiah was one of the best kings that Israel ever had. There are no sins recorded against him. The most complete reformation ever enacted in the nation was wrought under his direction. But it was an external reformation. It is true that he destroyed all the idols, all the high places and stopped the idolatrous worship throughout the entire realm, but he did not change the hearts of the people. “The serpent of idolatry was scorched but not killed.” The renovation was not deep enough; it was a reformation only. We cannot enforce religion by statutory law, legal authority, or royal mandate. It is a matter of the heart. During those years and following, the prophet Jeremiah was at work. His keen prophetic and penetrating mind was able to see deeper than Josiah. He perceived that the reformation and the revolution were external. He knew that many of the people, in fact, most of them, had never really repented. He knew that the nation was still inclined to idolatry, and ready to lapse into heathen worship; yea, he knew that as soon as the pressure was removed, the nation would fall back into the old life of wickedness and idol worship.

Now, the subject matter of these five chapters is this: Israel’s history one long apostasy which would bring on her inevitable destruction. For eighteen years Jeremiah sought to drill that into the people’s minds and hearts and produce the needed reformation which alone could save. Let us see how he went to work; how he brought this truth before them; how he appealed to them; what arguments he used; what threats he uttered against them, if possible to turn them from idolatry and bring them back to the true worship of Jehovah.

The subject of Jer 2 is this: Israel’s history a continual defection to idolatry. He is dealing with all Israel. He makes no distinction between Northern and Southern Israel. He is talking here to the whole race. He reviews their history, that is, their religious history and their present condition.

He has a very beautiful statement here in Jer 2:1-3 , picturing the former fulness of Israel. He says, “The word of Jehovah came unto me saying, Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, I remember for thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals; how thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto Jehovah.” Thus he introduces his arraignment with this reference to their former fidelity. Israel started out faithful and true. Hosea pictures her as a faithful bride. She was faithful and true at first. Israel was true to God, and God was true to Israel. Now that is the same picture here and it may be that he got it from Hosea. The relation between the nation and God was fidelity and love. It was the “honeymoon” of the nation’s life. That is how she started.

Since then Israel’s history has been one of repeated acts of unfaithfulness to her God. The prophet seeks to drive it home to their very hearts by a series of questions. We have this question in Jer 2:4-8 : “What unrighteousness have your fathers found in me, that they have gone from me?” Was it because they had found unrighteousness in God? Had they found Jehovah untrue? Had they discovered unfaithfulness in him? We might ask the backslider today, “Is it because there is something wrong with God that you turn from him?” There is a great sermon in that. He shows next that the leaders turned from him: “I brought you up into a plentiful land, to eat the fruit thereof.” I was kind to you; I gave you no occasion to turn from me; I never forsook you and left you in need; I cared for you. Still you and your leaders turned from me. “I brought you up into a land of plenty, to eat the fruit thereof; but when ye entered ye defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination. . . . They that handle the law knew me not; the rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.”

A serious question is raised in Jer 2:9-13 : Has any other nation changed gods but you? “Pass over to the isles of Kittim and see; send unto Kedar, and consider diligently; and see if there hath been found such a thing.” Kittim here refers to the island of Cyprus and the isles of Greece. Go there and see if they have ever changed their gods. Has it ever been done in the world except as you have done it? Hath a nation changed its gods? “But my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.” Do you know of any nation in history that has ever done such a thing? These Hebrews had changed their God? Why had they done so? What reason could they give? Jeremiah says, You Israelites have changed to other gods, and in that you are an exception to the nations of the earth. The strange thing about it, too, is that you have changed from your true God to those that are not gods. “My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” Here we have for the first time in the history of religion, a statement that the idols of the nations are not gods. Verse 13 is one of the most beautiful passages in all the Bible. God is a fountain of living waters. That sounds like the words of Jesus to the woman of Samaria at Jacob’s well. Idolatry is pictured as cisterns that are broken; that cannot hold water. He means to say that every other form of religion but the worship of Jehovah is a false religion; there is no saving truth in it; it is dry; it will not hold water; it is man made. That is a true description of all false religions. Some scientists and men who study religions deny this; they say that there is a certain amount of truth in other religions as well as in Christianity. Well, so there is some truth in every one, but not saving truth. All other religions are man-made cisterns that will not hold water. This is one of the most suggestive texts in all the Bible, as to the comparative value of the religion of Jehovah and other religions; as to the value of Christianity as compared with heathen religions.

He says, in Jer 2:14-17 : “Is Israel a servant? is he a home-born slave?” Is he such that he must become a prey? “The young lions have roared upon him, and yelled.” Now it is only the slave in the household that is whipped to make him do his duty. Is that the case with Israel? Must he be whipped like a slave to compel him to do his duty? to obey Jehovah? Other nations have whipped him, they have chastised him, “They have broken the crown of his head.” Was Israel but a slave to be thus whipped and beaten? Is there no manhood in the nation? What a powerful appeal to national pride and honor is this? He raises another question in verses Jeremiah 18-19: “Now what hast thou to do in the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Shihor? or what hast thou to do in the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River?” What business have you turning from Jehovah to make alliances and seek help from Egypt? What business have you to be turning to Assyria for aid? We have seen that one of the causes of the destruction of both the Northern and the Southern Kingdoms was that they made alliances with Egypt rather than trust in Jehovah. It was an evil thing that they should turn from Jehovah to seek aid from human strength.

Other questions are raised in Jer 2:20-25 . He says, Jer 2:21-22 : “I planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate branches of a foreign vine?” That reminds one of Isa 5 . Here he is saying that they were bad to the heart: “Though thou wash thee with soap, with lye, yet is thine iniquity marked,” or ingrained, “before me.” In Jer 2:23-25 we see Israel trying to condone her sin. She has tried to make out that she has not done wickedly. Now can you say you have not been faithless? You are like the wild ass in the wilderness, snuffing up the wind in her desire who can turn her away? They, like an animal, were running hither and thither, wild with passion, raving with desire for other gods, crazed with eagerness for idolatry. It is not a very elegant figure, but a highly suggestive one.

Then the question of Jer 2:26-28 is, Why don’t you go to your idols in the time of trouble? As a thief is ashamed when found out, so is the house of Israel; priests, princes, and king, that say to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou art my mother. Now why do you come to me in trouble? Why don’t you let your gods help you? This passage tingles with sarcasm. It is a very striking arraignment, showing the helplessness of heathenism.

In Jer 2:22 he presents the impossibility of improving the internal nature by external applications. This is true because:

1. Of the nature of the operation. Wash and paint are applied only to the external.

2. They do not affect the diseased will.

3. They do not free one from fascinating and enslaving pleasure.

4. They do not affect a morbid appetite which increases with indulgence.

5. They have no power to break habit.

6. They cannot remove the blindness of the understanding.

7. They cannot purify a drugged conscience.

If this be true then why should we preach? Because:

1. There is a law that condemns and a gospel that liberates from the bondage of the law;

2. The only hope of a change lies in driving one from the conviction that he can change himself.

The following poem contains the whole story: O Endless Misery I labor still, but still in vain; The stains of sin I see Are woaded all, or dyed in grain, There’s not a blot will stir a jot, For all that I can do; There is no hope in fuller’s soap Though I add nitre, too. I many ways have tried; Have often soaked it in cold fears; And when a time I spied, Poured upon it scalding tears; Have rinsed and rubbed and scraped and scrubbed And turned it up and down; Yet can I not wash out one spot; It’s rather fouler grown. Can there no help be had? Lord, thou art holy, thou art pure: Mine heart is not so bad, So foul, but thou canst cleanse it sure; Speak, blessed Lord; wilt thou afford Me means to make it clean? I know thou wilt; thy blood was spilt; Should it run still in vain?

A sinner released from hell would repeat his sins.

There are yet other questions propounded in Jer 2:29-37 : Why do you plead with me when all the while you transgress against me? I have smitten you; I have smitten your children but they are incorrigible; they will not be corrected. You have killed the prophets that were sent unto you. Why then will you still plead with me? Why do you have anything to do with me? Go after those gods that you have made for yourselves.

Jer 2:31 : “O generation . . . have I been a wilderness unto Israel, or a land of thick darkness?” Now that is a question full of suggestion. You have turned away from me. Is it because my religion and my services have been like living in a wilderness where there is no light, no love, no joy, no food? Have I never been a blessing? Is that the reason you have left me? How suggestive! Many people think the services of God are like a wilderness. O Backslider, have God and his services been as a wilderness to you, that you have strayed away? You have not been a faithful bride. “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!” Just like a married woman fixing up to make love to a man that is not her husband. See her as she adorns herself to look attractive that she may win favor of strange men. Now that is the picture here. “Why gaddest thou about?” This is the only place in the Bible where that word, “gad,” occurs.

Jehovah shows his love and faithfulness to Israel in spite of her sins (Jer 3:1-5 ). Though Judah has been faithless, there is a prospect of a better future for her: If a man put away his wife, can she return to him? No, “Yet return again to me, saith Jehovah.” I will take you back in spite of all. See what you have been doing; you have been like a watcher in the wilderness, watching for false gods and religions to come along that you might adopt them. They have betrayed you. “Wilt thou not now cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?”

A special lesson by Jehovah is given to Judah (Jer 3:6-18 ). This is a contrast, unfavorable to Judah (Jer 3:6-10 ). Judah had taken no warning from the downfall of the Northern Kingdom. Notice especially Jer 3:10 : “And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not returned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith Jehovah.” Now that gives us some idea of the opinion of Jeremiah in relation to Josiah, the great king, in his work of reform. Josiah had touched only the outside of the matter. Judah was no better than Northern Israel, but rather worse. Her improvement was only feigned.

Note the comparison in Jer 3:11-13 . The promise was to Northern Israel first. In that promise was blessing on condition of return. Jer 3:12 : “Go, and proclaim these words toward the north. . . . I will not look in anger upon you; for I am merciful, saith Jehovah.” These blessings are going to come when Judah repents, Jer 3:18 : “In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I gave for an inheritance unto your fathers.” Observe that the blessing is to come when Judah and Israel walk together; when they are united again. By that statement he shows that Northern Israel was not more steeped in iniquity than Southern Israel. The Messiah’s advent is coming and Judah will come in with Israel.

Jehovah holds out hope of Judah in Jer 3:19-22 : “But I said, How I will put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land. . . . Ye shall call me My Father, and shall not turn away from following me. Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, saith the Lord. . . . Return, ye backsliding children, I will heal your backslidings.”

The prophet bases his hope for Israel on the fact that the perverted nation shall confess its sin Jer 3:23-25 , especially Jer 3:24 : “The shameful thing [the thing ye have been worshiping, Baal] hath devoured the labor of our fathers. . . . for we have sinned against Jehovah our God, we and our fathers.” Now that is a great confession. The prophet presumes to speak for the people by way of prediction that they will do this someday. He still has hope for Israel.

Jehovah makes a proposition to Israel in Jer 4:1-4 , that he will bless them if they will return: “If thou wilt return to me, and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight; then shalt thou not be removed.” But the change must be thorough (Jer 4:3-4 ) a very suggestive passage: “Thus saith Jehovah to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground.” Finney, in his great book on revivals, has several sermons on this text. He says that every revival of religion ought to begin with preaching on this text. The fallow ground must be broken up. “Fallow ground” stands for two things: First, undeveloped possibilities; and, second, unused powers. The ground must be both broken up and sown with right kind of seed. “Sow not among thorns.” Every revival of religion has that object in view. Put the weeds and briers out and put the unused talents and powers to work. Sow the seed of righteousness and benevolence where the weeds of sin and waywardness have been. If we are going to be Christians, let us be wholehearted ones. Break up the fallow ground by putting sin out and service in. All this means that the change must be complete.

The following is a digest of the coming judgment of Jer 4:5-6:30 . In this description of the coming judgment he pictures it as advancing from the North. He had in mind the coming Babylonian invasion. Note these items:

1. They are told to get themselves to the fortified cities, Jer 4:5-10 : “Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry aloud and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities. . . . flee for safety, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north.”

2. It is coming even to Jerusalem herself (Jer 4:11-18 ). Jeremiah now speaks of the invasion as a hot, withering blast from the desert. He sees the foe coming as a swift cloud; the watchers are at hand; he hears the snorting of their horses; he sees them enclose the cities.

3. The anguish of the prophet. Here we have the suffering of this magnificent patriot, Jer 4:19 : “My vitals, my vitals!”

4. The devastation is pictured Jer 4:23-26 : “The earth was waste and void.” The same expression is used in Genesis (Jer 1:2 ). The heavens had no light. The mountains trembled, the cities were broken down. The whole land was devastated. All this is a vision of the destruction to come.

5. The destruction is almost complete (Jer 4:27-31 ). Notice verse Jer 4:27 : “I will not make a full end.” There is a remnant to be left, the root, the stock, not the entire people. It is not to be utter destruction.

6. This is merited, for all are corrupt (Jer 5:1-9 ). Here is a striking statement: “Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see if you can find a man, if there be any that doeth justly.” He means to say, You cannot find a true man in the whole city. There was not one manly man in Jerusalem. This reminds us of Diogenes, going through the streets of Athens with a lantern looking for a man. In Sodom there were not to be found ten righteous men, only one, and he was a poor specimen. So it is here in Jerusalem. All are corrupt. Verse Jer 4:5 : “I will get me unto the great men,” the leaders. But he finds that they were corrupt, too.

7. Jer 4:10-19 is a picture of the disaster. They are not to make a full end, but disaster is to come, Jer 5:16-17 : “Their quiver is an open sepulchre, . . . they shall eat up thy harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat; . . . they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig-trees; they shall beat down thy city.” But remember they shall not make a full end. There shall be a remnant. The cause of all this is the corruption of the people (Jer 4:20-29 ). Both people and prophets are evil. He repeats these warnings and messages over and over again. He describes the moral condition of the people. A wonderful and horrible thing is come to pass in the land, Jer 5:30-31 : “The prophets prophesy falsely.” The preachers are deceiving the people. And the worst thing about it is that the people like to have it so.

8. The foe is still nearer. The capital is invested and must be prepared, for the enemy plans to storm it; another vivid picture, Jer 6:1-8 : “Flee for safety, ye men of Jerusalem.” Flee to Tekoa, flee to the wilderness, for evil is coming from the north. A great destruction is coming. Thus he goes on with his awful picture of the destruction hastening upon the city. The enemy says, We will take it by storm, at full noon; no, it is past noon; the shadows begin to decline; let us go up at night; let us take it by a night attack.

9. The doom is certain and fixed (Jer 4:9-21 ). Note Jer 4:14 : “They have slightly healed the hurt of my people, saying, Peace, peace; where there is no peace.” We are indebted to Jeremiah for that oft-quoted sentence. It is classic. Spurgeon preached a great sermon on that passage. His theme was a blast against false peace. Jer 4:16 : “Stand ye in the way and see, and ask for the old paths.” There has been many a sermon preached from that text, on the subject, “The Old Paths.”

10. In Jer 4:22-26 is a full description of the enemy. Note the minuteness of it, Jer 4:23 : “They have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; they ride upon horses; they are against the daughter of Zion.”

11. There is another picture of the nation. In Jer 6:28-30 : “They are as grievous revolters.” “Going about with slanders, they are brass and iron. . . . They are refuse silver, fit only to be thrown out in the street. As silver amalgamates with other metals and loses its value, so these people by amalgamated religion become refuse to be tossed aside into the dump pile of rubbish. This is a magnificent passage. It sums up what Jeremiah preached and taught for eighteen years.

QUESTIONS

1. When were these prophecies uttered and what the conditions under which they were spoken?

2. What is the subject matter of these chapters and what the general content?

3. What is the subject of Jer 2 and to whom addressed?

4. What is the picture of Jer 2:1-3 ?

5. What, in general, Israel’s history after the first love, what question raised in Jer 2:4-8 , and what the charge here brought against the leaders?

6. What question is raised in Jer 2:9-13 , what two sins charged against Israel and how illustrated?

7. What are the questions of Jer 2:14-19 and what their application?

8. What tare he other questions raised in Jer 2:20-25 , and what the application of each, respectively?

9. What is the question of Jer 2:26-28 and what its application?

10. What is the import of Jer 2:22 ?

11. If this be true, then why should we preach?

12. Can you recite from memory the poem based on Jer 2:22 ?

13. What are the questions propounded in Jer 2:29-37 and what are their application?

14. How does Jehovah show his love and faithfulness to Israel in spite of her sins (Jer 3:1-5 )?

15. What special lesson by Jehovah is given to Judah and what the result?

16. What hope does Jehovah hold out to Judah in Jer 3:19-22 ?

17. On what does the prophet base his hope for Israel and how is it signified?

18. What proposition does Jehovah make to Israel in Jer 4:1-4 and of what homiletic value is this section?

19. Give a digest of the coming judgment of Jer 4:5-6:30 .

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

Jer 2:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ver. 1. Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying. ] The prophet being thus called and confirmed, as Jer 1:1-19 sets forthwith upon the work. Est autem hoc caput plenum querelae, et quasi continuum pathos. In this chapter the Lord heavily complaineth of Jerusalem’s unworthy usage of him, convincing them thereof by sixteen different arguments, as A Lapide hath observed; and all little enough; for they put him to his proofs, as is to be seen. Jer 2:35

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Jeremiah Chapter 2

The opening charge of the prophet to the people occupies these five chapters.

Jer 2 Nothing can be more affecting than the Lord’s appeal as He reminds them, as it were, of plighted troth and consecration to Jehovah at the beginning of their history. (Ver. 1-3.) Was it iniquity in the Lord that their fathers walked after vanity? Were they not willingly ignorant, who felt not His goodness in bringing them out of the furnace of Egypt, through the dreary desert, and into His good land, which they had made defiled and an abomination? (Ver. 4-7.) Nor were the priests, the pastors, or the prophets one whit better, but rather worse, or at least more conspicuous in their sin against Him. (Ver. 8.)

Next, how slow is the Lord to abandon His people, pleading with those before Him then, to their children’s children! Go where they pleased – north-west or south-east, to Greeks or to Arabians: they would hear of none so false to their false gods as Israel to the true God. Well might the heavens be amazed and afraid and greatly wasted, at the sight of God’s people guilty of two such evils: forsaking Him, the fountain of living waters, to hew them out cisterns, broken cisterns that hold not the waters! (Ver. 9-13.)

And why such exposure to enemies? Was Israel a slave from without or one born at home, that he should suffer the grossest wrong and indignity even from those they most trusted – the sons of Noph and Tahapanes – feeble as they were? Jehovah forsaken was Israel’s punishment and shame. What had they to do with drinking of the Egyptian river or of the Assyrian? They must yet learn the bitterness of abandoning the Lord their God. (Ver. 14-19.) Of old they had been set free, and promised obedience, but turned to all licentiousness. God had failed in no case: the fault was their own, their stain indelible.

(Ver. 20-22.) Self-righteous were they, yet swift to do evil and irreclaimable, given up to others hopelessly (Ver. 23-25. ), and as palpably as a thief caught in the very act; and this, not the masses only, but their kings, their heads, and their priests, and their prophets, saying to a stock, My father art thou, and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth. In their trouble they might turn to God with Arise and save us; but God challenges their gods to arise if they can save them. It was from no lack of number alas! for Judah’s gods were as many as their cities. In vain did they excuse themselves. They were all guilty, and far from accepting Jehovah’s correction, their own sword had devoured their prophets. (Ver. 26-30. ) The prophet closes this appeal on the Lord’s part by asking if He had been a desert or land of darkness to Israel that they came no more to Him, forgetting Him unnaturally and continually, and teaching the wicked their ways, and with the most evident blood-guiltiness yet pretending to innocence. And truly it was but a shift of sin. It had been Assyria, it was now Egypt: but shame and sorrow would be the lot of their depraved affections.

Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 2:1-3

1Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, 2Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD,

I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth,

The love of your betrothals,

Your following after Me in the wilderness,

Through a land not sown.

3Israel was holy to the LORD,

The first of His harvest.

All who ate of it became guilty;

Evil came upon them, declares the LORD.’

Jer 2:1 This is a literary phrase in the prophets to designate YHWH’s message. These were His words not Jeremiah’s! It was a very specific revelation. The question is how much of the

1. genre (poetry)

2. vocabulary

3. imagery

is YHWH’s and how much is Jeremiah’s mind, education, and culture. We simply do not know, but by faith all believers assert it is God’s self-revelation (i.e., Thus says the LORD, Jer 2:2). See Special Topic: Inspiration .

Go and proclaim One would think these are IMPERATIVES but they are not.

– go, Qal INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE

– proclaim, Qal PERFECT

in the ears of Jerusalem Poetry condenses for emphasis. This phrase is addressing the people of Jerusalem, not a personification of the city. Also the message was for all Judeans not just the capital city.

Does this imply that Jeremiah is speaking only to Judah and that Israel has already been exiled (i.e., 722 B.C.)? It is hard/impossible to date the individual poems of Jeremiah. The word Jerusalem is missing in the LXX.

In Jer 2:2 YHWH speaks of the time of the beginning of Israel as a nation (i.e., the exodus and wilderness wandering period of 38 years).

1. I remember (anthropomorphic metaphor, see Special Topic at Jer 1:9)

a. the devotion (hesed) of your youth (see Special Topic below)

b. the love of your betrothal

c. your following after Me in the wilderness

The rabbis called this period the honeymoon period between YHWH (husband) and Israel (wife). He provided their every need. See Special Topic below.

1. food (manna and quail)

2. water

3. clothing

4. shade

5. His personal guidance

In a sense this strophe is like Rev 2:4, which describes how the OT people of God, like the church at Ephesus, had left her first love (i.e., beginning devotion and commitment).

SPECIAL TOPIC: LOVINGKINDNESS (HESED)

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE WILDERNESSES OF THE EXODUS

Jer 2:3 Israel See Special Topic.

SPECIAL TOPIC: ISRAEL (THE NAME)

SPECIAL TOPIC: HOLY

The first of His harvest This imagery is an allusion to the offering of the first fruits which symbolized YHWH’s ownership of the whole crop (cf. Lev 23:10-11; 1Co 15:20; Jas 1:18). Here the imagery turns negative. The nations attacked and rejected YHWH by rejecting His chosen vessel of revelation, Israel.

ate This term (Qal PARTICIPLE, BDB 37, KB 46) was used in Akkadian for an illegal invasion, but here it denotes the nations of Palestine’s rejection and attack on Israel. This phrase shows Israel’s specialness (cf. Gen 12:3; Gen 27:29). She was created and called for a larger purpose (see Special Topic: YHWH’s Eternal Redemptive Plan ).

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

Jeremiah’s Fourth Prophecy (see Book comments for Jeremiah).

Moreover. Jeremiah 2 is the first chapter of the roll which was re-written after being burned (Jer 36), while Jer 11 is the first of the “many like words” (Jer 36:32) added afterwards.

word. See note on Jer 1:1, Jer 1:4

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Chapter 2

Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD ( Jer 2:1-2 );

Now this is the first message that he has to deliver. As God is calling to His people and it’s really a very pathetic thing. It’s filled with pathos as God is calling the people much as Jesus did in His message to the church of Ephesus. “Oh, you’ve got your works. You’ve got your organizations. You’ve got your committees. You’re functioning but oh, I’ve got this against you. You’ve left your first love. Now remember from whence you have fallen.” And God is actually calling the people to the very same thing-to remember the first love that they had for God. God said, “I can remember that first love that you had. That excitement that you had in Me where all you could think about all day long was Me. You were singing the praises unto Me. Your life was just filled with joy and ecstasy as you were walking with Me. You were writing little notes to Me. You were singing praises unto Me. You were making up love songs to Me. I remember those days,” God said. The days of your first love. And God is recalling it to Jerusalem.

Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of that engagement, when you went after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown ( Jer 2:2 ).

“When you were willing to follow Me wherever I would lead you. When you were so dedicated and committed that nothing was held back as far as your commitment.” “Where do you want me to go, Lord? What do you want me to do? Lord, I’m for it. Let’s go.” And God said, “I remember those days when you were so devoted, so committed. The love that you had for Me then.”

Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD. Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel: Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity did your fathers find in me, that they are gone far from me, and walked after emptiness, and become empty? ( Jer 2:3-5 )

“What have I done? What did I do?” And the messages are perennial. There’s always a certain group to whom the message still applies. And I feel that God is speaking to many of you tonight, even as He spoke to Israel. Even as Jesus spoke to the church of Ephesus. He said, “Hey, what did I do that you would turn away from Me? I remember the love, the devotion, the commitment that you used to have. What did I do? How did I offend you? Where did you get turned off? How is it that you’ve turned your heart away from Me? How is it that you don’t have that same devotion and dedication anymore? What iniquities did your fathers find in Me that they would turn and follow after these emptinesses until they themselves became empty?”

They no longer say, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through the land of the deserts and pits, through a land of drought, and the shadow of death, through the land that no man passed through, and where no man lived? And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit of it and the goodness thereof; but when you entered, you defiled my land, and you made my heritage an abomination. The priests weren’t saying, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law did not know me: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after the things that do not profit ( Jer 2:6-8 ).

Now of course when the priests, the pastors become corrupted, then what can you expect? There are so many men today who are so completely liberal in their theology that they no longer really rank as Christians. But still they occupy pulpits and preach their messages to the attended throngs on Sunday morning. But it is no longer the Gospel that they preach. It is no longer the power of Jesus Christ to save a man from sin and the blood of Jesus Christ that redeemed us from our lost estate. But they are flowery speeches of, “It’s nice to be nice so go out and be nice this week and just platitudes. Think right. You are what you think. You become what you think. And so correct your thinking.” The whole problem with the world is the way men are thinking. Get rid of your negative thoughts; only think in positive terms and all. And there is no more a preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And this is tragic. The same condition that God was crying about in Israel.

John Hilton, I was with him this week back in Maryland, Middletown, Maryland. And John met the pastor in Middletown of the United Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ. Now you that know John can appreciate it. John was in his cut offs. He introduced himself as the new pastor of Calvary Chapel there in Middletown and he thought, “Well, this fellow’s a pastor of the United Church of Christ,” so he said, “Well, it’s great to meet you and I imagine you’ve been a pastor there for thirty-five years.” He said, “I imagine it’s a real thrill to share Jesus Christ with people for thirty-five years.” He said I was just trying to make conversation. And this guy turned on him and said, “Young man, you don’t know a thing about the gospel, talking about Jesus Christ.” Just started berating, yelling at John, getting livid with him. And John said, “I didn’t know what I’d said. Just tried to talk to the man about the joy of the Lord and loving Jesus.” But what can you expect from the people that are sitting under that man’s ministry week after week of a real devotion to God or a love for God or a commitment of their lives to Him? It’s all programmed. It’s all a formal relationship with God.

So God speaks out against them, “The priests who handle the law, they don’t even know me. The pastors have transgressed against Me. The prophets are prophesying by Baal.”

Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children’s children will I plead ( Jer 2:9 ).

Even so I’m still going to plead with you, God said.

For pass over the isles of Cypress ( Jer 2:10 ),

In other words, go to the west. And Cypress was considered the door to the whole western part of the world. Chittim, Cypress.

and send unto Kedar ( Jer 2:10 ),

Now Kedar was the gateway to the east. So go to the west, go to the east.

and consider diligently, and see if such a thing has ever happened before ( Jer 2:10 ).

Such a thing exists.

Has a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? ( Jer 2:11 )

People don’t do that. Their whole religious system is so deeply involved in their cultural aspects that people just don’t change their gods, even those that worship false gods.

But God said,

but my people have changed their glory ( Jer 2:11 )

That is, their fellowship with Me.

for that which does not profit. Be astonished, O ye heavens ( Jer 2:11-12 ),

The angels looking down with astonishment. And I’m sure that they do that on us many times. The angels, I’m sure, are just shocked when they see us starting to do something. “Oh no, look at that, what’s that?” Now you know it. And they see us in our stupid moves. I’m sure they just think, “Oh no, I can’t look.” And they know the disaster that we’re going to fall into because of our own follies.

Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. For my people have committed two evils; [first] they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters ( Jer 2:12-13 ),

So many times water is used as a symbol of life because water is so essential for life. And the Lord so often takes it from the physical on into the spiritual and He said, “I am the water of life. If any man drinks of Me, he will never thirst again.”

Jesus cried to the assembled multitude at the Feast of Tabernacles. “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink. He that drinks of the water that I give, out of his belly there will flow rivers of living water” ( Joh 7:37-38 ). And the last chapter of the Bible, the last invitation in the Bible, “And he that is athirst, let him come and drink of the water of life freely” ( Rev 22:17 ). The last invitation to the gospel, for thirsty man to come and to drink of the water of life freely.

Now God said they were forsaken me, the fountain of living water. The source, the spring from which life comes.

and [instead they have] hewed out cisterns ( Jer 2:13 ),

Now, that land being an arid land and not really receiving that much rain, it is necessary over there that they set up exotic type of water systems. The Essenes were able to exist in the very dry, barren area down near the Dead Sea where you get maybe an inch of water a year or an inch and a half, two inches at the most a year. But the way they were able to survive down there was by building these great cisterns. And then when it would rain up in the highlands and these washes and gullies would become full of water, they had their dams and they diverted the flow of the water on into these cisterns that they had carved out of this limestone. If you go to Masada, you’ll find that all the way around the side of the hill there in Masada are these huge cisterns that they’ve carved out, as well as the cisterns up on the top of Masada. These huge caverns that have been carved down of the sandstone and, again, they had a dam in the river. And you can see the little ledges that they have carved where they would bring the water along the ledges and dump into these cisterns. And thus, they would gather just the sparsest amount of rain but they would gather the over, the water that would run off and they would preserve it in these cisterns.

But cisterns were not a source of water, except that they were a reservoir. In other words, they weren’t springs; they had no source within them. They had to gather the runoff water. And so at best, a cistern could hold only water that would get stagnant. And God said, “Marvel ye heaven, be astonished. Look at that. They have forsaken Me, the spring, the fountain of living water, in order that they might hew out these cisterns.” But then He said, they are

broken cisterns, that can’t hold water ( Jer 2:13 ).

Now carrying it over to the spiritual aspect of it, man basically, instinctively is religious. He’s got to believe in something. And when men forsake God, they establish a system of thought, a philosophy, concepts, or whatever that they commit themselves to. They become devoted to and they have to believe in it and it requires faith. A creed to be believed, a standard of life, philosophy of life or whatever. So men create their own philosophies, their own rationales for life, their own cisterns. But the thing is all of these cisterns, they can’t hold water. They leave you thirsty. They will not satisfy you. The end result is emptiness.

Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled? The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant. Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes [actually cities of Egypt] have broken the crown of thy head. Hast thou not procured this unto thyself ( Jer 2:14-17 ),

Haven’t you brought all of this upon yourself? God said.

in that thou hast forsaken the LORD your God? ( Jer 2:17 )

Looking at the calamities that have happened, we bring them upon ourselves. If we’d only been serving the Lord these things wouldn’t have happened. Why does it take calamity many times to wake us up?

And now what have you to do with the way of Egypt? ( Jer 2:18 )

They were, of course, looking to an alliance with Egypt to save them from the Babylonians. And an alliance with Assyria, but Assyria was soon to fall to the Babylonians. So an alliance with Assyria wasn’t going to be any good. Egypt itself will be taken.

Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that you have forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts. For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree you are wondering, playing the harlot ( Jer 2:19-20 ).

So the high hills were the places of worship, under the groves that they planted, the green trees. Again, the places of worship as they had turned from God and were committing spiritual adultery or playing the harlot in a spiritual sense.

Yet [when I created, when I planted you] I planted you a noble vine, it was good seed ( Jer 2:21 ):

Abraham.

how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me? ( Jer 2:21 )

Again, the figure as Isaiah so graphically illustrates the fifth chapter of the vine that became wild.

For though thou wash thee with nitre ( Jer 2:22 ),

That isn’t the saltpeter that we know today, potassium nitrate, but it is a residue that is on the bottom of the lakes when the lakes dry up that they would boil and use in making soap. They’d use it for cleaning.

and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD ( Jer 2:22 ).

You may try to wash yourself outwardly, but it’s an inward problem.

How can you say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? See thy way in the valley, know what you have done: for you are as a swift camel traversing her ways; you’re like a wild donkey that is used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure ( Jer 2:23-24 );

Now this figure of the wild donkey that God uses is a wild donkey that is in heat, a female donkey in heat. And she’s sniffing the wind trying to find out where the male donkeys are in order that she might go and she doesn’t care what the male donkey is. She just wants a male donkey. And God uses this as a figure here of Israel who is just turned away from God and just will take anything. Will worship anything. And so susceptible to worship anything. Like the wild donkey snuffing the wind at her pleasure.

in her occasion ( Jer 2:24 )

That is, during the time of her season.

who can take her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her heat they will find her. Withhold thy foot from being unshod ( Jer 2:24-25 ),

In other words, you’re running after these things until you wear your feet out.

and thy throat from thirst: but you have said, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go. As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, the kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets, Saying to a stock [that is, to a piece of wood they’ve carved into an idol], You are my father; and to a stone [that they’ve carved out a little figure, You are the one that created me], You have brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise O god, and save us. But where are your gods that you have made? let them arise, if they can save you in the time of trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah ( Jer 2:25-28 ).

So each city had its own local pagan deity. And as many cities as they had, they had gods. And the tragic thing was God said, “Hey, look, you’ve turned away from Me. You’ve turned to these other gods, but in trouble you’ll be calling. When your calamity comes you’ll be saying, ‘Arise, God, save us.'” He said, “But don’t bother calling. Go ahead and call unto these gods that you have been worshipping, you have been serving.”

It is a tragic thing when God turns a deaf ear to man. When God said to Jeremiah, “Ephraim is given over to her idols. Let her alone. Don’t pray anymore for their good, for if you do I’m not going to listen.” That’s a sad day when God turns a deaf ear to man and God said that day is coming. If you persist in following after strange flesh, strange gods and the worship of these strange gods, there will come a day of trouble and you will call upon God. But He said, “I won’t hear, I won’t answer.” “Many will come in that day,” Jesus said, “saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open unto us.'” He’ll say, “No, I never knew you.” Those are heavy words that we need to consider seriously.

Wherefore will ye plead with me? you’ve all transgressed against me ( Jer 2:29 ),

Why are you going to plead? You’ve been transgressing against Me.

In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion ( Jer 2:30 ).

God said, “I’ve dealt with you in vain. Your children are so stubborn and rebellious. And with your own sword you’ve killed My prophets that I sent to you.”

O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? Why do my people say, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee? Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her gown? yet my people have forgotten me days without number ( Jer 2:31-32 ).

Now one thing we’ve never had and that is a bride that forgets a gown for her wedding. You just don’t forget some things. And yet God said you’ve forgotten Me so many days that you can’t number them.

Why do you trim your way to seek love? therefore you have taught the wicked ones thy ways. 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 ( Jer 2:33-34 ).

You’re open with it.

Yet you say, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because you say, I have not sinned ( Jer 2:35 ).

You say, “Well, it’s not wrong. It doesn’t matter. God doesn’t care. It’s not really sin.” And God speaks out against that. He said,

Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria. 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 ( Jer 2:36-37 ).

No wonder God said to Jeremiah, “Now don’t look at your faces. Don’t be afraid of their faces.” Boy, he had a heavy, heavy message to lay on these people. He was really laying it on them and not sparing. “

Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary

Jer 2:1-3. Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD.

God remembered what Israel used to be in those good days when the Lord alone did lead them and there was no strange god among them. Now he bids them remember from whence they had fallen, and repent and do their first works lest he come unto them in wrath. Oh, beloved, if you ever lived near to God if you ever rested your head on Christs bosom, and have now wandered away from him and are spiritually cold and dead, begin to chide yourself; for the Lord himself, in the word before us, doth chide you. He calls you to a sorrowful remembrance of the position from which you have descended the heights of grace from which you have come down. Breathe the prayer that he would restore you again. Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee.

Jer 2:4-5. Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel: thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your father found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?

He asks them whether there was any fault in him any failure in keeping his promise, whether he had dealt unjustly or unmercifully with them that they had thus gone away from him and walked after vanity.

Jer 2:6. Neither said they; Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?

Ought they not always to have remembered the wonderful wilderness journey where God seemed to multiply his miracles in the midst of their great necessities? Some of you have passed through a wilderness too, yet have you been richly supplied. You have had to admire the constancy of the divine goodness. God has not failed you ever, even in your worst circumstances. Do not let it be said of you that you never say, Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt. On the contrary, always fly to him when you are in time of trouble. Remember that this is the way to glorify God. He shall call upon me and I will answer him is one of Gods own promises; and then he adds and he shall glorify me.

Jer 2:7-8. And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination. The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.

Was not this very shameful that in Canaan, which God had chosen beyond all countries for its fertility that he might give it to his own people for ever, there they began to set up idols, and altars to other gods? And the priests, whose lips ought to have kept knowledge, and the prophets who above all men were bound to have spoken in the name of the Lord joined the people in their sin. They even urged them to worship Baal that dummy deity, unworthy of a moments respect who should not have been so much as thought of by Gods people. They ought not even to have taken the name of Baal into their lips. Do you not see yourselves here, O backsliders? If you ever knew the Lord and have gone back to the world, if you have submitted yourselves again to the powers thereof, and sinned with a high hand, have you not acted most shamefully towards your God? And ought you not, with a blushing countenance and weeping eyes to return to him and ask mercy at his hands?

Jer 2:9-11. Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your childrens children will I plead. For pass over the Isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing. Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.

How powerfully this is put! No other nation gave up its gods. Though they were no gods, but mere images of clay or gold, they would not change them. They stuck to their idolatries with wonderful pertinacity; but Gods people gave up the true God to worship the demons of the nations round about. And is it not an unhappy thing that there are now some who at least call themselves Gods people who go back to the world and seem to be more in love with it than ever they were? It is a horrible thing that is done. I have heard of a chieftain of an Indian tribe whose nephew was converted to the faith but who, after a short time, fell into sin and renounced his profession; the old chief used always to answer all the teaching of the missionary with this argument: My nephew tried it and gave it up. He ought to know. Well, when this was told to the young man it broke his heart, and happily brought him back to the God he had forsaken. Perhaps there are some in the world who are gathering excuses for continuing in sin from the unhappy conduct of such as backslide. Look at him, say they, how hot and zealous he was, and see what he is now. Can you bear the thought, backslider? If there remains a spark of love to Christ in your soul, you will feel bitterly the sorrow that others should make an excuse for blasphemy and for rebellion against Christ, out of your evil conduct. Oh, pray tonight Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Jer 2:12-13. Be astonished O, ye heavens at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. For my people have committed two evils they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

If a man should change for the better, his selfishness might be a little excuse for leaving his old love, but when he changes for the worse leaves a fountain for a cistern a flowing fountain for a broken cistern that holds nothing why, there is madness in his sin. Be astonished, O ye heavens and be horribly afraid.

Jer 2:14-17. Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled? The young lions roared upon him and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant. Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head. Hast thou not procured this unto thyself in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way?

The people of Israel had got into a dreadful state of poverty and famine and oppression. Their enemies had so destroyed the land that it was full of lions that even yelled in the very streets where once men and women and children abounded. And God says to them, Is not this the result of your own sin? Was it so when you lived near to me? Have you not brought this upon yourself by your sin? So, child of God, if you are unhappy tonight if you are mourning if you cannot find comfort in the world no comfort in God either, hast thou not procured this unto thyself? When thou didst live near to God, when prayer was continual, when thou didst watch thy conduct, when thou didst go softly asking God to guide thee from day to day, was it not better with thee then than now. Then thy peace was like a river and thy righteousness like the waves of the sea. If it be not so now, hast thou not procured this unto thyself in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God when he led thee by the way?

Jer 2:18. And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?

For instead of going to the fountain of living waters, they were hoping to be helped by the Egyptians or helped by the Assyrians. Just as there are some Christians who try to drink the muddy waters of sinful pleasure and of carnal lust, they are beginning to think the muddy river very sweet and to like the taste of it. It is a deadly evil when professing Christians begin to do as others do, and to mix with the world and feel pleasure in it. There will be a blight upon you if you turn from God! Misery will dog your steps ere long, if you be indeed a child of God.

Jer 2:19. Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

A very solemn passage. May we lay it to heart. Not only is there guilt in our sin for which we shall have to answer at Gods judgment seat, but there is evil in it which will come swiftly upon our own heads even here, Be sure thy sin will find thee out. The thing thou thinkest will be thy strength, will be thy scourge. What thou dreamest of as pleasure will prove to be thy plague. If thou hast ever known the joy of Gods service all this shall be doubly true of thee: thou shalt never be able again to find satisfaction in the world, and God, the God whom thou didst once delight in, will let thine own wickedness correct thee, and thy backslidings reprove thee, because he wishes thee to come back again to his side, and to drink again of the living waters which thou hast so foolishly forsaken.

Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible

Jer 2:1-3

Jer 2:1-3

THE APOSTASY OF ISRAEL

“In this chapter, `Israel’ refers to the whole nation, but in Jeremiah 3 the reference is to the Northern Israel. Keil’s summary of the chapter notes these divisions: Israel had indeed loved God at first during the days of their delivery from Egypt (Jer 2:1-3); but Israel had fallen away from the love of God and had taken up the worship of idols (Jer 2:4-8); therefore God will punish Israel for her shameful conduct (Jer 2:9-19). From of old, Israel had been renegade, and by their pursuit of idols had contracted terrible guilt, not even God’s punishments leading them to repentance (Jer 2:2-30); and therefore God will severely punish them (Jer 2:31-37).

In our study of the Pentateuch, especially in Deuteronomy, we learned the importance of the old fifteenth century B.C. suzerainty treaties executed during that mid-second millennium B.C. period between overlords and their vassals, that being the form followed by the author of Deuteronomy and establishing the near-certainty of a very early date for Deuteronomy in the vicinity of 1,500 B.C. A full discussion of this is given by Meredith G. Kline in the Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary..

That the Book of the Law discovered by Hilkiah (2Ki 22:8) was indeed a mid-second millennium document, and not a recent invention of Jewish priests is certified here in Jeremiah by the fact that the pattern of those old treaties is found right here in this chapter. Furthermore, this part of Jeremiah honored the very procedures that were required under those old treaties.

When lesser kings offended their overlords in some act of rebellion, the overlord sent a written message by the hands of a messenger. There was a proper legal way to do this: (1) There was an appeal to the vassal to pay heed, and a summons to the earth and sky to act as witnesses. (2) There was a series of questions, each of which carried an implied accusation. (3) There was an enumeration of past benefits conferred upon the vassal by the overlord. (4) There was a refutation of the notion that ritual compensations would do any good toward healing the breach; and (5) there was a declaration of the vassal’s guilt and culpability and a stern threat of judgment against the offender.

This pattern is clearly visible in this chapter, despite the fact of its being somewhat concealed by the particular style of Jeremiah’s writing. This prophecy, therefore, has the element of being a legal compliance with what was required to bring an offending vassal in to judgment and punishment.

From this, it is clearly evident that Jeremiah had before him the Book of Deuteronomy, in which this pattern appears; but by no means does this mean that he did not have also the entire Book of the Law. It is unfair the way some scholars neglect to stress this. For example, Cheyne cited a dozen references from Deuteronomy which are reflected in this chapter; but he failed to notice that there are far more passages from the other portions of the Pentateuch that should also be cited. A careful study will reveal that Jeremiah used material or made references more frequently from the books other than Deuteronomy in the Pentateuch than he did from Deuteronomy alone.

The Cross-Reference Bible, which we have as our text in this study, has the following references to that Book of the Law that Hilkiah found in the temple. This 2chapter has twenty-two references to Genesis, eighteen to Exodus, ten to Leviticus, five to Numbers, and seventeen to Deuteronomy! This is a fair sample of the way it is throughout this prophecy of Jeremiah. This is the only proof that is needed to demonstrate that it was not merely the Book of Deuteronomy that was found in the temple by Hilkiah, but that it was, as the Bible flatly declares, “The Book of Law” namely, those first five books of the Bible usually called the Pentateuch. This cannot mean Deuteronomy only!

Jer 2:1-3

“And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying Thus saith Jehovah, I remember thee for the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals; how thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto Jehovah, the first-fruits of his increase: all that devour him shall be found guilty; evil shall come upon them, saith Jehovah.”

“The word of the Lord …” (Jer 2:1-3). Notice the triple declaration that the words of this chapter came from Jehovah. This truth is reiterated no less than a dozen times in this chapter.

“The love of thine espousals …” (Jer 2:2). “The word `love’ in this passage is a reference to Israel’s love as a bride for God her husband.: The NIV renders this, “your love as a bride;” and Barnes’ Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition) translated it, “your bridal love.”

Such expressions of Israel’s devotion to the Lord are quite generous on the part of Jehovah, because the record reveals their countless murmurings and rebellions against God’s will. Still, in a relative sense, compared with the gross idolatries which later corrupted the Chosen People, the words are appropriate.

The period when Israel loved God was in that era when he sent the plagues upon Egypt, delivered Israel from slavery, and ratified the covenant with them at Sinai.

The very next passage begins the recitation of Israel’s apostasy; and despite this chapter’s being usually assigned to the earliest years of Jeremiah’s ministry, we do not believe that it is necessary to suppose that it was necessarily delivered before the great reforms of Josiah that followed the discovery of the Book of the Law. Many respected scholars, Ash, for example, so understand it; but we believe it probably came concurrently with Josiah’s reforms. Why?

As this chapter surely reveals, Judah’s reforms under Josiah were external only and did not at all touch the heart of the people who went right on delighting in the sexual orgies of their shameless love of the old Canaan fertility gods. “The valley” mentioned later in the chapter (v. 23) indicates the sacrifice of their children to Molech at the very time of their brazen claim of innocence. If the reform under Josiah had truly resulted in the repentance of Israel and their return to the God of their fathers, the Lord would most certainly have postponed their terminal judgment in the captivity.

One of the great benefits bestowed upon Israel by their great Benefactor God was that he made them secure against all foreign enemies (Jer 2:3).

SERMONS FROM THE REIGN OF JOSIAH

Jer 2:1 to Jer 6:30

Chapters 2-6 contain several discourses uttered at different times in the early years of Jeremiahs 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 chapters 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 chapters 2-6 should be assigned to the reign of king Josiah, A reference to that king appears in Jer 3:6. Certain verses seem to point to the period of Josiahs reformation which fell between the years 627 and 621 B.C.

THE INAUGURAL SERMON Jer 2:1-37

Jeremiahs inaugural sermon might well be entitled Gods Indictment of His People. If chapter 2 does contain Jeremiahs 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 (Jer 2:1-3). He then attacks the present apostasy (Jer 2:4-8) and offers a penetrating analysis of it (Jer 2:9-19). Jeremiah then drives home his accusations with a series of devastating analogies and figures of speech (Jer 2:20-28). The chapter closes with the prophet smashing whatever arguments the apostate people might use to justify their behavior (Jer 2:29-37).

Past Associations Jer 2:1-3

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 Israels loving care for God (Jer 2:2) and Gods loving care for Israel (Jer 2:3).

1. Israels loving care for God (Jer 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 (Num 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. The figure of a bride is also used in Hos 2:19-20, Isa 54:4-5 and Eze 16:8. 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, the wilderness wandering was the honeymoon period of Israels history. Cf. Isa 1:26; Hos 11:1; Hos 11:3-4; Eze 16:6-14. In the wilderness Israel was completely dependent on God. He had no rivals for their affections. Israel was completely devoted to Him.

2. Gods loving care for Israel (Jer 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 (Exo 19:5-6; Deu 7:6; Deu 14:2; Deu 26:19.) just as did the first-fruits of the harvest. See Exo 23:19; Num 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. 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 (Lev 22:10; Lev 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 Gods people will be punished.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

The first movement in commissioning the called man now commences. He was commanded to utter a great impeachment in the ears of Jerusalem. This impeachment was threefold. It first declared how Israel had forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves. In the second place, Israel was charged with obstinate sinfulness, the meaning of her suffering was declared, the folly of her alliances was pointed out, the guilt of her degeneracy was pronounced, the falseness of her denial of sin was denounced, the helplessness of her gods was declared, and the injustice of her protest was affirmed.

This section moves forward in the form of question and answer. The impeachment ends with a summary, charging Israel with lack of love, obstinate impenitence, and useless alliances.

Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible

Ungrateful Forgetfulness

Jer 2:1-8; Jer 26:1-24; Jer 27:1-22; Jer 28:1-17; Jer 29:1-32; Jer 30:1-24; Jer 31:1-40; Jer 32:1-44

God regarded Israel as His bride, who had responded to His love, or as a vineyard and cornfield which were expected to yield their first fruits in response to the careful cultivation of the owner. Why had they failed to respond? For the answer let us question our own hearts. What marvels of perversity and disappointment we are! Who can understand or fathom the reason of our poor response to the yearning love of Christ! The heathen, in their punctilious devotion and lavish sacrifices at their idol-shrines, may well shame us. The root of the evil is disclosed in Jer 2:31. We like to be lords, to assume and hold the mastery of our lives. But God has been anything but a wilderness to us. He has given us ornaments, and we owe to His grace the garments of righteousness which He has put on us. In return we have forgotten Him days without number, Jer 2:32. Let us ask Him to call us back-nay more, to draw us by the chains of love.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

CHAPTER TWO

ENTREATY AND WARNING

(Jer 2:1-37, Jer 3:1-5)

Jeremiah’s first expostulation with his people – at least, the first recorded – is certainly a most remarkable address for one who said, “I cannot speak, I am but a child.” (Jer 1:6) It would be difficult to find any portion of Scripture that would surpass it in genuine pathos and tenderness, not to speak of eloquence. The earnest pleading of the insulted and forgotten Lord, His grace and compassion towards the guilty nation, blended with solemn warnings of dreadful days to come if the heart is not turned back to Him – all together make up a discourse that might have moved the very stones; but alas, we read of no response on the part of hardened, willful Judah.

The opening words are remarkably beautiful.

“I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the firstfruits of His increase. All that devour him shall offend: evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord” (Jer 2:1-3).

How He delights to recall the first love of His people, when their hearts beat true to Himself and joy welled up in their souls at the thought of His dwelling among them (Exodus 16)!

Do we not well remember that it was so with us when first we knew Him to be really our Saviour-God and ourselves to be His forever, when the confidence of our hearts was established in His grace?

How much He was to us then!

What a poor thing this world seemed, with all its glittering baubles! How gladly we turned from everything we had once delighted in to go out after Himself revealed in JESUS! He was outside this scene, the rejected One; we, too, then, must be separated from it. That which had before been as the well-watered plains of Egypt to us now became as a desert, parched and dry, in which was nothing for our hearts. With deepest joy we exclaimed, “All my springs are in Thee,” (Psa 87:7) and sang exultingly of the “treasure found in His love,” which had indeed “made us pilgrims below.”

Those were truly bright and happy days when first CHRIST dwelt in our hearts by faith: days when He joyed in us and we in Him. But, may we not ask ourselves, is it so now? Must He look back and say, “I remember,” or does He find us still occupied with Himself, still gladly and cheerfully counting all below as dross and dung for Him, still exclaiming, “One thing I do”? (Php 3:13) Alas, that it should be ever otherwise! But the first complaint He had to make against the newly-founded Church, when all else was going on well and orderly, was this: “Thou hast left thy first love” (Rev 2:4).

“Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother. crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart” (Son 3:11).

If our joy was great, how deep was His when first our hearts were won for Himself! Beloved, do we give Him joy now as to our practical ways, and our heart’s affections from which our ways spring? Or is His Spirit grieved on account of our cold-hearted indifference – our heartlessness? for is it not worse than coldness? Let us turn, then, to His further gracious words in the portion before us.

“What iniquity have your fathers found in Me, that they are gone far from Me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?” (Jer 2:5).

Just think that He should ask that question – He to whom they owed everything! He had delivered them from bondage and brought them safely through a desert land, to their inheritance in the land of blessedness. He had planted them in a beautiful country to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof!

Alas, they had defiled the land.

– They had turned His grace into lasciviousness;

– They had made His heritage an abomination.

– They walked after things that could not profit (Jer 2:4-8).

Terrible indictment! Base ingratitude! But oh, beloved, let us ask ourselves, Are we any less guilty than they? Nay, have we not known a far greater deliverance, a more wonderful preservation, a more costly inheritance; and yet, have not our hearts, too, gone after the vain and unprofitable things of earth? Have we not forgotten that the cedar-wood, the hyssop and scarlet, were cast into the burning of the heifer (Numbers 19) – that, for faith, all the glory of this world came to an end on the cross? That tree on which He hung, that testified to His entire rejection by this world, has it really separated us from the scene where He has been set at nought?

Do we still want favor, power and place where He found only rejection, a cross, and a tomb?

How, then, is this? What iniquity have our hearts found in Him that they can thus turn from Him so ruthlessly? Ah, charge Him with this we cannot. Let us confess that it is in ourselves alone the iniquity is found. It is we who have changed our glory for that which doth not profit. Well may He say: “Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water” (Jer 2:12-13).

But has He changed towards those who have so changed towards Him?

Far be the thought: though He loves His own too much to permit them to prosper in the paths of disobedience. He chastened Israel with scourge after scourge, but His heart of love remained unchangeably the same. They might blame Him for what He could so easily have prevented, as we are in danger of doing; but He can say, “Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, when He led thee by the way”? (Jer 2:17)

He must make the backslidden in heart eat of the fruit of his own devices (Pro 14:14) in order to turn the heart back from its devices to Himself, the source of all blessing.

It is in vain to turn to Egypt, or Assyria – each speaking of different aspects of the world; for how can one who has known Him ever find refreshment and rest anywhere else?

– The waters of Sihor (supposed to be the mystic Nile, coming from no one knew where) could no longer satisfy those who once rejoiced in rain direct from heaven.

– Egypt is the world as we knew it when we groaned beneath the sense of its cruel bondage.

– Assyria is rather the world as the open enemy of the people of GOD.

How can His own look for comfort in either of these? Yet how true it is that the heart when turned from Himself soon sinks back to the dead level of the things from which it was once delivered, and sometimes also is found ranged against the very truths it once enjoyed!

In such a condition, when other remedies have failed, it is not seldom that the principle enunciated in Jer 2:19 has to be used to bring the wandering one to his senses. “Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that My fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.”

This is, one might say, His last resource (if souls are not otherwise brought back to Himself) to “deliver unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1Co 5:5).

It has often been said that a child of GOD out of communion with the Father will stoop to evil reprobated even by the world – and this is doubtless true – until the very depths of the depravity is used of GOD to correct and reprove.

So it was in the case of David, who, confessing his sin, acknowledged that he had been left to fall so low “that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest, and be clear when Thou judgest” (Psa 51:4).

So, too, with Peter. Self-confidence had characterized him for some time, and his self-confidence at last corrected him; his dreadful backsliding reproved him. And thus it was with the wretched man of I Corinthians 6. He must be left to himself-given over to Satan till, as a result, his brokenness and penitence can be pressed, in II Corinthians 2, as a reason for his being again received into the fellowship of the assembly.

Blessed it is to know, as already intimated in the preceding chapter, in the wisdom of GOD: that sin must serve. The waters below, though they speak of sinful self-will, shall yet be made to bring forth abundantly to the glory of GOD, as in the fifth day’s work in Genesis 1. This is not, in any sense, to excuse sin, but the contrary. Its very hideousness is used of GOD to humble and bring very low the soul that has wandered from Him.

As we continue to look at the passage before us, it is well to remember that while the nation, as such, was in covenant-relationship with the Lord, it was not yet the New Covenant, but that entered into at Sinai. It still looked for something in man, who had said when his bonds were broken and he was delivered from the yoke, “I will not transgress” (Jer 2:20). But, far from continuing in that covenant, they had sinned and broken it from its very ratification.

He had planted them a noble vine. They had by their ways become a degenerate plant of a strange vine unto Him (Jer 2:21). Nor was their resource in themselves: “For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before Me, saith the Lord God” (Jer 2:22).

The covenant under which they had placed themselves had only manifested their guilt and helplessness. GOD alone would be their resource: and we know He was yet to send a Saviour whose precious blood does for every believing sinner what no “soap and nitre” (Jer 2:22) (no human effort) ever could cleanse from every sin. But this it is not yet the province of Jeremiah to make known. His present object is to impress upon them their condition, their utter hopelessness, unless they return to the Lord; so he next likens them to the untamable wild ass of the desert, refusing all correction.

Exhorted to submission, they reply, “There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go” (Jer 2:25).

Still they were not entirely without a measure of shame and apparent penitence, for even at this time revival had begun among them; but, with the mass at least, there was no real conscience-work. “As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed” (Jer 2:26).

They were ashamed to have the light turned on their idolatry, but not ashamed of the sin itself. Not that they had utterly given up all faith in the Lord. Idols might do when things went well outwardly. In their trouble they turned to GOD. How much do we know of this today!

But if they seek not His face in times of quietness, He will not be found of them in the day of their sorrow, unless it is with true self-judgment and confession of their sin (Jer 2:27-30).

How sad the reproach of Jer 2:31-32 – “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? Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet My people have forgotten Me days without number.”

This opened the way for all else: it was quite unnecessary to dig deep (as the word “secret search” is said to mean, Jer 2:34) to find the evidence of the sin they refused to acknowledge. Ah, let GOD but be forgotten, let the soul be estranged from His presence, and most godless practices are indulged in unblushingly, and with a degree of self-confidence and effrontery that is amazing! But His word to such is, “The Lord hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them” (Jer 2:37).

Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets

Jer 2:6-8

There are three shameful possibilities in life.

I. The possibility of dishonouring the great memories of life. The great memories of life are dishonoured (1) when the vividness of their recollection fades; (2) when their moral purpose is overlooked and misunderstood; (3) when their strengthening and stimulating function is suspended.

II. The possibility of under-estimating the interpositions of God.

III. The possibility of the leading minds of the Church being darkened and perverted. The priests, the pastors, and the prophets, all out of the way. How easy it is for such men to succumb in periods of general corruption is too evident from universal history. The leader is often but the adroit follower. (1) Such men should watch themselves with constant jealousy; (2) such men should never be forgotten by those who pray.

Parker, Pulpit Analyst, vol. ii., p. 569.

References: Jer 2:10-11.-Parker, The Ark of God, p. 77. Jer 2:11.-J. G. Rogers, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xvii., p. 345. Jer 2:12, Jer 2:13.-W. A. Essery, Ibid., vol. i., p. 481.

Jer 2:13

Consider some of the cisterns, and see whether it be not strictly true that they can hold no water.

I. The cistern of Sensualism. Not even the sensualist himself can always succeed in so utterly hoodwinking himself as to believe that the passions have a right to govern us. The flimsy, gaudy curtains of his sophistry are often burnt up around him by the fire of a kindling conscience, and he has to weave fresh concealments which in their turn will be consumed. He forgets that from their very nature the passions can never yield a constant happiness. Every stroke he puts to this cistern will put him farther from his aim; the more he strives to make it hold water the less certainly it will hold it, and if he continues his abortive labour until death his cistern will be his sepulchre, for he that liveth in pleasure is dead while he liveth.

II. The cistern of Wealth. The love of wealth for its own sake is a passion, and grows with that it feeds on, swelling far more rapidly than the acquisitions it makes, and therefore leaving the man who is the victim of it, day by day more in arrears of his aim.

Would you learn the weakness of wealth as well as its power? Look at the narrow limits within which after all its efficacy is bounded. If there are times when one feels that money answereth all things, there are times when one feels still more keenly that it answereth nothing.

III. The cistern of Intellectualism. Even the intellectual man is not satisfied; if he gets fresh light he seems only to realise more fully the fact that he is standing on the border of a vaster territory of darkness; that if he solves one mystery it serves but to show a thousand more.

IV. The cistern of Morality. This cistern, too, has chinks and cracks. “By the deeds of the law shall no flesh living be justified.” Christ said, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink.” He is the Fountain of living waters.

E. Mellor, The Hem of Christ’s Garment, p. 236.

Along the journey of life there are many “cisterns,” and one fountain. The children of Israel-in their passage through the desert-had one fountain all the way, and always the same. And to us it is the like. Let us see the difference between the fountain and the cisterns.

I. God makes fountains, or, for the word means the same thing, springs. Cisterns man makes. And therefore because God makes the fountain, it is of living waters. This is exactly what those thoughts and feelings and pleasures are which come straight from God Himself.

II. The water from the fountain follows a man wherever he goes, and just suits his appetite, and is sweetest and best with him at the last. The water from the cistern is always low and never reaches the margin of your real heart, and when you want it most, it is gone-is not.

III. Cisterns, the world’s waters, lie in open places; the fountain is in the shade. Cisterns are of flimsy make; fountains are in the rock. You must go to Jesus if you want the Fountain.

J. Vaughan, Sermons, 15th series, p. 237.

I. The evils of which we are here accused: (1) departure from our Creator; (2) seeking our happiness in the creature rather than in the Creator.

II. The light in which these evils are here represented: (1) their folly; (2) their guilt; (3) their danger. (a) Let us return to the Fountain of living waters. (b) Having returned, let us avoid the cisterns.

G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 145.

References: Jer 2:18.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. vii., No. 356; Ibid., Evening by Evening, p, 203. Jer 2:19.-J. Keble, Sermons on Various Occasions, p. 384.

Jer 2:22

The nitre here mentioned was a mineral substance, and the soap was a vegetable substance, both employed for the purpose of removing spots; and the meaning is, “Adopt what means you may, and all the means within your power, still your sin will remain, it will strike through again, and be as fresh as the day on which it was committed. This is true of sin in both its aspects of guilt and stain; as guilt or wrong you cannot remove it, and as a blot you cannot remove it.”

I. Who can expiate it as a matter of right? It does not require much thought to teach us that God could never give, to any of His creatures, the power of expiation, consistent with the stability of His own throne and government. To grant that a man has power to expiate a sin would be to grant that he has a right to insult God, and to sin whenever he desires. A man would have the right to sin because he could pay.

The commands of God are not the offspring of His will, as if they were capricious and might at any moment be changed or even reversed. The commands of God are God Himself in expression, and not merely the power of God or the will of God. They express His own eternal nature, and they appeal to our moral nature.

God’s commands contemplate and secure, in so far as they are obeyed, our happiness. In other words, they not only enjoin the right way, but the happy way. To sin, therefore, is not only to disobey, but to disarrange. If, therefore, the line of obedience to the Divine will is also the line of blessedness to yourself, do you not see that there can be no expiation for disobedience?

II. What expiation can there be which you can offer? (1) Will punishment for a certain time be an expiation? Many mistake altogether the meaning of punishment. They treat it as if there were something virtuous in the endurance of it, when, in fact, there is no virtue at all. The first meaning of punishment is the expression of the disapproval and righteous anger of the lawgiver. (2) It may be said that suffering is not the only nitre and soap by means of which men seek to wash off the guilt of sin; that there is repentance and future amendment, and that these are sufficient as a set-off against any amount of transgression. Repentance does not mean sorrow only for sin. Repentance is a change of mind and heart and life; and in the dispensation under which we live, repentance is connected with faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Saviour did not admit the value and sufficiency of any repentance, which was separated from faith in Him. Repentance does not bear our sins; Christ bears our sins. We are not bidden to look within us; we are bidden to look without us, to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.

E. Mellor, In the Footsteps of Heroes, p. 79.

References: Jer 2:22, Jer 2:23.-W. Hay Aitken, Mission Sermons, vol. i., p. 37. Jer 2:25.-H. F. Burder, Sermons, p. 249. Jer 2:28.-Parker, The Ark of God, p. 301. Jer 2:32.-Spurgeon, Ser?nons, vol. xxvii., No. 1634; S. Martin, Westminster Chapel Pulpit, 2nd series, No. 20. Jer 3:1.-J. H. Evans, Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. vi., p. 365. Jer 3:4.-E. Blencowe, Plain Sermons to a Country Congregation, 1st series, p. 23; J. Vaughan, Sermons. 15th series, p. 133; G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 145; D. E. Ford, Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. iii., p. 411. Jer 3:12, Jer 3:13.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxxi., No. 1833. Jer 3:12, Jer 3:14, Jer 3:22.-Ibid., My Sermon Notes: Ecclesiastes to Malachi, p. 265. Jer 3:14.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xiii., No. 762; Ibid., Morning by Morning, p. 204; S. Cox, Expositions, 2nd series, p. 1. Jer 3:15.-J. E. Vaux, Sermon Notes, 2nd series, p. 90. Jer 3:16.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxvii., No. 1621. Jer 3:17.-J. Irons, Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. xiii., p. 317.

Fuente: The Sermon Bible

CHAPTERS 2:1-3:5

Expostulation and Impeachment

1. His love and kindness to Jerusalem (Jer 2:1-3)

2. The unfaithful people (Jer 2:4-11)

3. The two evils and the results (Jer 2:12-18)

4. Impeachment (Jer 2:19-30)

5. Expostulation (Jer 2:31-37)

6. Jehovah waiting to show mercy (Jer 3:1-5)

Jer 2:1-3. The first message Jeremiah received begins with reminding Jerusalem of the kindness Jehovah bestowed upon the nation in her youth, and how she went after Him in the wilderness. He had separated Israel to belong to Him, to be a holy nation, the first fruits of His increase, which probably means that other nations should through Israel be called to know Him. He was their protector and those who tried to devour them would be held guilty.

Jer 2:4-11. After Jehovah had called to the remembrance of the people the days of her youth, He reproves them for their unfaithfulness. This is the opening chapter of the roll which Jehudi read in the presence of Jehoiakim, which he threw into the fire after he had mutilated it with his penknife (Jer 36:23). The remonstrance starts with a pathetic question: What iniquity have your fathers found in Me, that they are gone far from Me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? Was there anything unrighteous in Him: had He dealt in a treacherous way? Was the fault in Jehovah that they had left Him? They had not thought on His faithfulness as He had led them out of Egypt, through the desert and the shadows of death. It was forgotten by them, and when Jehovah brought them to the land of promise they had defiled the land. Priests, pastors and prophets had apostatized. Thus Jehovah states His case to plead with them and their children. Their folly and ingratitude were worse than that of heathen nations. Such was the failure of the favored nation. The failure of Christendom is even greater when we think of the greater manifestation of Gods love in the gift of His Son, and the greater blessing and deliverance.

Jer 2:12-18. The two evils are, forsaking Jehovah, the fountain of living waters, and the hewing for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. Jehovah was the storehouse of the living waters, put at the disposal of His people without money and without price. But instead of confessing, All my springs are in Thee, they had left Him, the source of life and comfort; and turned to broken cisterns of their own invention, as well as to the idols and worshipped them. It is so among the professing people of God in this dispensation; the two evils are present with us also. The result for Israel was enslavement. The young lions came (the Assyrian invasion) and made the land waste. Noph (Memphis) and Tahpanhes (Daphnae), that is, Egypt, did the same. It came as the fruit of having forsaken the fountain of living water.

Jer 2:19-30. The impeachment begins with the solemn statement: Know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken Jehovah Thy God, and that my fear is not in Thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts. They had broken the covenant and played the harlot. The noble vine He had planted had degenerated. Their iniquity was marked before the Lord, and nothing that they did could remove the stain (Jer 2:22). Yet they denied their guilt of going after idols. And when the Lord tells them, withhold thy foot from being unshod, that is, running so much after strange gods, so that the feet become unshod, by wearing out the sandals, they boldly declared, There is no hope; no, for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go. Their backs and their faces were turned from Jehovah. But when the time of trouble comes, they will say, Arise, save us. But could or would the false gods they had made respond and save them? Some day a remnant of that nation will turn to the Lord and cry, Arise, save us, and He will answer.

Jer 2:31-37. Israels conduct was incomprehensible. Once more it is the Why of Jehovah. What had He done that they should turn away from Him? Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet His people had forgotten Him, who had loved and adorned them, days without number. He will plead with them because they said, I have not sinned.

Jer 3:1-5. Here is the first time the gracious invitation is given, Return again to Me, saith the LORD. And how many times after, the Lord pleads in the riches of His mercy for His people to return unto Him and offers them forgiveness.

Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)

word of the Lord

The general character of the first message from Jehovah to Judah by Jeremiah is threefold:

(1) He reminds Israel of the days of blessing and deliverance, e.g. Jer 2:1-7.

(2) He reproaches them with forsaking Him, e.g. Jer 2:13.

(3) He accuses them of choosing other, and impotent, gods, e.g. Jer 2:10-12; Jer 2:26-28.

All these messages are to be thought of as inspired sermons, spoken to the people and subsequently written. Cf. Jer 36:1-32.

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

the word: Jer 1:11, Jer 7:1, Jer 23:28, Eze 7:1, Heb 1:1, 2Pe 1:21

Reciprocal: Jer 16:1 – The word Eze 22:3 – and maketh Luk 3:2 – the word

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Jer 2:1. The prophet frequently will tell us the source of his information, that it is the word of the Lord.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

PERSECUTED IN HIS HOME TOWN

The length of this lesson may alarm, but preparation for it only requires the reading of the chapters two or three times. One who has gone through Isaiah will soon catch the drift of the Spirits teaching and be able to break up the chapters into separate discourses and the discourses into their various themes. The main object of the lesson is to dwell on the prophets personal experience in his home town which is reached in the closing chapters.

It is thought that the discourses in this section were delivered prior to the finding of the law-book in 2 Kings, which explains their more moderate tone as compared with the later ones, but this is a feature not relevant to this work.

Note in chapter 2 the divine expostulation (Jer 2:1-13); the reminder of the divine goodness (Jer 2:14-22); the vain excuses made by the nation (Jer 2:23-28); and the lamentation of the Lord over its condition (Jer 2:29 to Jer 3:5).

In chapter 3, beginning afresh at Jer 3:6, we have Gods complaint against Judah for learning nothing from her treacherous sister, i.e., from Israels experience (Jer 3:6-11); this is followed by a plea to that same Israel (now scattered through the north country by Assyria), to return if she would, and mercy would be shown her. In this connection the promise for the future is set before her (Jer 3:12-17); Judah and Israel will be reunited then, and so on to Jer 4:1-2.

Chapter 4 and the following, indicate that a mere outward reformation is not sufficient to bring divine blessing. Judgment is coming from the north! A lion out of his thicket! A stormwind! The prophet laments.

In chapter 7 there is a call to repentance and a spiritual religion. In chapters 8 and 9 coming judgment is again announced.

THE TREACHERY OF FRIENDS

Coming to Jer 11:18, we see the beginnings of the persecution that farther on became so bitter against the prophet as to make him a striking type of the suffering Savior. It takes its rise among his neighbors and kinfolk in Anathoth. At first he is unsuspicious, but God reveals the plot to him. They would kill him, destroying the tree to be rid of the fruit. He appeals to God, whose answer is in the closing verses of the chapter. Anathoth was to suffer, but not immediately.

In chapter 12 the prophet expresses his surprise at this in the spirit of Job, and that of Psalms 37, 73. The divine comfort he receives is to be told that worse things will follow. His friend Josiah is now on the throne, but wait till he is gone and Jehoiakim and Zedekiah reign! He is now like a man running a race with men, but then it will be like running a race with horses! He is dwelling in a land of comparative peace now, but then he will be in the swellings of Jordan.

To understand this keep the politics of the period in mind. Judah is turning to Egypt for help against Babylon, the Gentile nation now in great power. But the divine purpose is that she shall submit herself to the yoke of Babylon. The prophet is proclaiming this against a strong party in the nation that will not have it so. They consider him a pessimist, a traitor to his country who must be silenced. And silenced he would have been if it were not for God.

QUESTIONS

1. How should one prepare himself to get the results out of these lessons?

2. When, presumably, was this series of discourses delivered, and how is that fact supposed to be exhibited in them?

3. Name some of the leading features of these discourses.

4. Of whom is Jeremiah a type, and in what aspect?

5. Give the history of his earliest persecution.

6. Who is the human author of Psalms 73?

7. How does God comfort the prophet?

8. What is the outward cause of his persecution?

Fuente: James Gray’s Concise Bible Commentary

Jer 2:1. Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me The discourse begun here is continued to the end of the fifth verse of the next chapter. In it God professes to retain the same kind and merciful disposition toward his people which he had manifested in their earlier days. He expostulates with them on their ungrateful returns for his past goodness, and shows that it was not want of love in him, but their own extreme and unparalleled wickedness, which had already subjected, and would still subject them, to calamities and misery. He concludes with a pathetic address, exhorting them to return to him, with an implied promise of acceptance; and laments the necessity he was under, through their continued obstinacy, of giving them further proofs of his displeasure. See Blaney.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Jer 2:2. I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth. God now addressed them, that he might do the same to the children as he had done to the fathers, and rejoice over them as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride in the day of her espousals. Base must be the heart that could reject so gracious a message, and from a prophet so young. But the Israelites in those days, as Judah in later times, made ungrateful returns for favours so divine.

Jer 2:6. Neither said they, where is the Lord thatled us througha land of deserts and of pits? veshuchah designates glens, gills, ravines, as well as pits, deep places, gloomy like the shadow of death, and where the sun cannot shine: a country without roads, a waste howling wilderness. Psa 23:4.

Jer 2:9. I will yet plead with you, saith the Lord; concerning the crime, the grievous crime and blindness of idolatry. I will yet plead with your children, and argue the question at large, if it can be adduced why you of all the nations of the earth should be the only people which have changed their gods? Is there any such thing in the more enlightened Isles of Chittim, and in all the nations of the Greeks, of whom you borrow arts and sciences? What benefit has this change of gods brought to your country? In the days of David, and other upright kings, you were happy; now the fine promises of Baal have superinduced the worst of miseries.

Jer 2:13. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters. The figures here are beautiful. Fountains of water are the joy of citizens, around which villages and towns are built. God is a fountain of joy to his people, and a well of salvation; while the idols of the age, pleasure, music, feasting and dancing are but broken cisterns to the conscious mind, which seeks for happiness not dependent on created good.

Jer 2:15. The young lions, the princes of Chaldea, have roared upon him, as on their prey.

Jer 2:16. The children of Noph and Tahapanes. The inhabitants of Memphis and Daphni, cities of Egypt, Isa 19:11; Isa 19:13, have broken the crown from off thy head, by depriving thee of national independence.

Jer 2:18. What hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor, the old name of the Nile, whose waters were black and muddy, according to Virgil: Et viridem gyptum nigr fcundat aren. Georg. 4:291. This great river was called Siris by the Ethiopians, but the Hebrews retain the old name.Or in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river. The Euphrates in Syria is called by way of eminence, the River. Why vacilate, oh Judah, between those two great powers for safety? Egypt will strip thee. Babylon will destroy thee. Why not cast thy gods into the fire, and cry to heaven, as Samuel in Mizpeh, and Hezekiah in the day of rebuke and blasphemy? This idea is repeated, Jer 2:33.

Jer 2:22. Though thou wash thyself with nitre; that is, natron, steatite, or a peculiar kind of fullers earth found in Syria and Egypt: yet thine iniquity is marked before me. Natron will effervesce with acids like calcareous earths.

Jer 2:23. How canst thou say, I am not polluted. Thy glory is thy shame. Hast thou not departed from me, the best of husbands, filling the valley of Jehoshaphat with thy bloody worship, immolating poor innocents to Moloch, and multiplying thy gods, as thy cities. Ah Judah, once the choice vine of Sorek, but now bitter as the apples of Sodom.

Jer 2:24. A wild ass, flying from me as the swift-footed dromedary, to every criminal excess. The bichra, onager, is said to be the wild ass of the woods. Job 6:5. This animal, most difficult to tame, strikingly expressed the impetuous passions of gentile excesses, enormities, and shame, to which there is here a delicate allusion. In her occasion, when she strays for society with the male, who can turn her away. But in her month thou shalt find her. Those breaks of the jews for gentile feasts, are here rebuked by the wanton ass, the lowest of the brutes. Well might the kings, the prophets, and the priests of Judah be ashamed as a thief when apprehended for robbing his neighbours house.

Jer 2:32. Can a maid forget her ornaments. betoolah, a virgin. Isaiah applies the word to Babylon, and other virgin cities, which had never been taken by storm, and plundered. Virgins were distinguished in the east from married women by the superior ornaments of dress: and the better sort of women would never appear without proper attention to that distinction. This was a very ingenious mode of reproving a harlot nation.

Jer 2:33. Why trimmest thou thy way. See on Jer 2:18.

REFLECTIONS.

Our young prophet, being divinely inspired, goes from Anathoth to open his commission in Jerusalem. His sword is sharp, his words are strong, and his confidence divine. Oh what a sight, to see a child going to reclaim greyheaded rulers and priests from apostasy and crimes! He attacks them single-handed, and in their grand fort, the courts of the temple. Sinners and nations should be allured to repentance by the hallowed recollections of former years. The Lord remembered the kindness and love which distinguished the Hebrew piety in their youth, and the love of righteousness they sometimes showed in the day of their espousals. But ah, whither, whither are ye fled, oh happy days of infantine simplicity and active zeal. Shall man, who ought to grow in grace, degenerate into ignorance, and be carried away with the worst of crimes? Let him call to mind his first love, that he may weep and do his first works.

God expostulates with backsliders in most conclusive arguments. What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone after vain idols; and that in their troubles they have never enquired for the God who delivered them from the Egyptians! Was I ever wanting to bless their labours, and to defend their country, while they walked in my ways? Men who forsake the good ways of the Lord will one day be called upon to assign a reason for their conduct, and at a tribunal where they shall not dare to offer a specious defence. How grievous in the eyes of heaven is the criminal preference which men give to the pleasures of the age to all the hallowed delights of communion with God!

Apostasy is a crime not only grievous, but peculiar in its nature. Which of the nations of Chittim have changed their gods? Which of the southern nations, of whom Kedar is first, have changed their gods? These interrogations mark the highest displeasure of heaven against degeneracy of heart and conduct. God is indeed greatly dishonoured by a blasphemous and profligate public, but he is not so much dishonoured by them as by men who forsake the ways of righteousness. The heavens themselves are astonished and tremble at this.

Apostasy is a complicated crime. It forsakes God the fountain of living waters, to hew out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. God in the effusion of his Spirit, which flows in the channel of his ordinances, is this fountain of life; but they who seek help in idols, or in the pleasures, riches and honours of the world, shall be as much disappointed as those who come to seek water in broken cisterns.

Israels apostasy was horrible in its characters, worse than beasts in their feasts, and destitute of help in war. They relied on Egypt, though that nation had often plundered their country; and they immolated their infants to idols, wanted for glory and defence; yet neither Tophet nor Moloch pitied the fathers when bleeding by the sword. How awful that a people who have once known the Lord should ever return to their vomit, and commit the enormities of the age. Oh save my soul from the slightest shades of guilt, that righteousness may be my glory, my salvation and defence.

Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Jer 2:1 to Jer 4:4. These chapters belong to the time of Josiah (626ff. B.C.), and contain some of the earliest prophecies of Jeremiah. Their central thought is the faithlessness of the people as Yahwehs bride, an idea developed in the previous century by Hosea. Note that the name Israel frequently denotes the whole people, including both kingdoms, sometimes (cf. Jer 3:6 ff.) the northern kingdom only, in contrast with the southern. The aim of the prophet is naturally to rebuke the infidelity of the surviving Judah, but, in order to do this, he reviews the conduct and character of the Hebrew nation.

Jer 2:1-3. Early Loyalty and Security.The prophet reminds the people of its desert wanderings, when it loved Yahweh as a young bride does her husband. In those days, Israel was safe from all interference, like a gift laid on the altar, Yahwehs first-fruits (Exo 23:19). This idealisation of the nomadic period was carried furthest by the Rechabites (Jeremiah 35), who abstained from the civilisation of Canaan.

Jer 2:3, holiness: lit. a consecrated thing, the word has no moral significance here; Israel was under taboo, and so inviolable.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

Yahweh’s remembrance of Israel’s past 2:1-3

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah and instructed him to proclaim a message to the people of Jerusalem-a message from Yahweh. [Note: Other verses that refer to Jeremiah receiving a word from the Lord begin other sections of speeches, namely, 7:1; 11:1; 13:1; and 18:1.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

{e-Sword Note: In the printed edition, this material appeared near the end of 2 Kings.}

JEREMIAH AND HIS PROPHECIES

Jereremiah 1:1 – Jer 5:31

“Count me oer earths chosen heroes-they were souls that stood alone, While the men they agonized for hurled the contumelious stone; Stood serene, and down the future saw the golden beam incline To the side of perfect justice, mastered by their faith divine, By one mans plain truth to manhood and to Gods supreme design.”

– LOWELL

TRULY Jeremiah was a prophet of evil. The king might have addressed him in the words with which Agamemnon reproaches Kalchas.

“Augur accursed! denouncing mischief still:

Prophet of plagues, forever boding ill!

Still must that tongue some wounding message bring,

And still thy priestly pride provoke thy king.”

Never was there a sadder man. Like Phocion, he believed in the enemies of his country more than he believed in his own people. He saw “Too late” written upon everything. “He saw himself all but universally execrated as a coward, as a traitor, as one who weakened the nerves and damped the courage of those who were fighting against fearful odds for their wives and children, the ashes of their fathers, their altars, and their hearths. It had become his fixed conviction that any prophets-and there were a multitude of them-who prophesied peace were false prophets, and ipso facto proved themselves conspirators against the true well-being of the land Jer 6:14; Jer 8:11 Eze 13:10. In point of fact, Jeremiah lived to witness the death struggle of the idea of religion in its predominantly national character. {Jer 7:8-16; Jer 6:8} The continuity of the national faith refused to be bound up with the continuance of the nation. When the nation is dissolved into individual elements, the continuity and ultimate victory of the true faith depends on the relations of Jehovah to individual souls out of which the nation shall be bound up.”

And now a sad misfortune happened to Jeremiah. His home was not at Jerusalem, but at Anathoth, though he had long been driven from his native village by the murderous plots of his own kindred, and of those who had been infuriated by his incessant prophecies of doom. When the Chaldaeans retired from Jerusalem to encounter Pharaoh, he left the distressed city for the land of Benjamin, “to receive his portion from thence in the midst of the people”-apparently, for the sense is doubtful, to claim his dues of maintenance as a priest. But at the city gate he was arrested by Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the captain of the watch, who charged him with the intention of deserting to the Chaldaeans. Jeremiah pronounced the charge to be a lie; but Irijah took him before the princes, who hated him, and consigned him to dreary and dangerous imprisonment in the house of Jonathan the scribe. In the vaults of this house of the pit he continued many days. {Jer 37:11-15} The king sympathized with him: he would gladly have delivered him, if he could, from the rage of the princes; but he did not dare. Meanwhile, the siege went on, and the people never forgot the anguish of despair with which they waited the re-investiture of the city. Ever since that day it has been kept as a fast-the fast of Tebeth. Zedekiah, yearning for some advice, or comfort-if comfort were to be had-from the only man whom he really trusted, sent for Jeremiah to the palace, and asked him in despicable secrecy, “Is there any word from the Lord?” The answer was the old one: “Yes! Thou shalt be delivered into the hands of the King of Babylon.” Jeremiah gave it without quailing, but seized the opportunity to ask on what plea he was imprisoned. Was he not a prophet? Had he not prophesied the return of the Chaldaean host? Where now were all the prophets who had prophesied peace? Would not the king at least save him from the detestable prison in which he was dying by inches? The king heard his petition, and he was removed to a better prison in the court of the watch where he received his daily piece of bread out of the bakers street until all the bread in the city was spent. For now utter famine came upon the wretched Jews, to add to the horrors and accidents of the siege. If we would know what that famine was in its appalling intensity, we must turn to the Book of Lamentations. Those elegies, so unutterably plaintive, may not be by the prophet himself, but only by his school but they show us what was the frightful condition of the people of Jerusalem before and during the last six months of the siege. “The sword of the wilderness”-the roving and plundering Bedouin-made it impossible to get out of the city in any direction. Things were as dreadfully hopeless as they had been in Samaria when it was besieged by Benhadad. {Lam 5:4} Hunger and thirst reduce human nature to its most animal conditions. They obliterate the merest elements of morality. They make men like beasts, and reveal the ferocity which is never quite dead in any but the purest and loftiest souls. They arouse the least human instincts of the aboriginal animal. The day came when there was no more bread left in Jerusalem. {Jer 37:21; Jer 38:9; Jer 52:6} The fair and ruddyNazarites, who had been purer than snow, whiter than milk, more ruddy than corals, lovely as sapphires, became like withered boughs, {Lam 4:7-8} and even their friends did not recognize them in those ghastly and emaciated figures which crept about the streets. The daughters of Zion, more cruel in their hunger than the very jackals, lost the instincts of pity and motherhood. Mothers and fathers devoured their own little unweaned children. There was parricide as well as infanticide in the horrible houses. They seemed to plead that none could blame them, since the lives of many had become an intolerable anguish, and no man had bread for his little ones, and their tongues cleaved to the roof of their mouth. All that happened six centuries later, during the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, happened now. Then Martha, the daughter of Nicodemus ben-Gorion, once a lady of enormous wealth, was seen picking the grains of corn from the offal of the streets; now the women who had fed delicately and been brought up in scarlet were seen sitting desolate on heaps of dung. And Jehovah did not raise His hand to save His guilty and dying people. It was too late!

And as is always the case in such extremities, there were men who stood defiant and selfish amid the universal misery. Murder, oppression, and luxury continued to prevail. The godless nobles did not intermit the building of their luxurious houses, asserting to themselves and others that, after all, the final catastrophe was not near at hand. The sudden death of one of them-Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah-while Ezekiel was prophesying, terrified the prophet so much that he flung himself on his face and cried with a loud voice, “Ah, Lord God! wilt Thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?” But on the others this death by the visitation of God seems to have produced no effect; and the glory of God left the city, borne away upon its cherubim-chariot. {Eze 11:22}

Even under the stress of these dreadful circumstances the Jews held out with that desperate tenacity which has often been shown by nations fighting behind strong walls for their very existence, but by no nation more decidedly than by the Jews. And if the rebel-party, and the lying prophets who had brought the city to this pass, still entertained any hopes either of a diversion caused by Pharaoh Hophrah, or of some miraculous deliverance such as that which had saved the city from Sennacherib years earlier, it is not unnatural that they should have regarded Jeremiah with positive fury. For he still continued to prophesy the captivity. What specially angered them was his message to the people that all who remained in Jerusalem should die by the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, but that those who deserted to the Chaldaeans should live. It was on the ground of his having said this that they had imprisoned him as a deserter; and when Pashur and his son Gedaliah heard that he was still saying this, they and the other princes entreated Zedekiah to put him to death as a pernicious traitor, who weakened the hands of the patriot soldiers. Jeremiah was not guilty of the lack of patriotism with which they charged him. The day of independence had passed forever, and Babylon, not Egypt, was the appointed suzerain. The counseling of submission-as many a victorious chieftain has been forced at last to counsel it, from the days of Hannibal to those of Thiers-is often the true and the only possible patriotism in doomed and decadent nations. Zedekiah timidly abandoned the prophet to the rage of his enemies; but being afraid to murder him openly as Urijah had been murdered, they flung him into a well in the dungeon of Mal-chiah, the kings son. Into the mire of this pit he sank up to the arms, and there they purposely left him to starve and rot. But if no Israelite pitied him, his condition moved the compassion of Ebed-Melech, an Ethiopian, one of the kings eunuch-chamberlains. He hurried to the king in a storm of pity and indignation. He found him sitting, as a king should do, at the post of danger in the gate of Benjamin; for Zedekiah was not a physical, though he was a moral, coward. Ebed-Melech told the king that Jeremiah was dying of starvation, and Zedekiah bade him take three men with him and rescue the dying man. The faithful Ethiopian hurried to a cellar under the treasury, took with him some old, worn fragments of robes, and, letting them down by cords, called to Jeremiah to put them under his arm-pits. He did so, and they drew him up into the light of day, though he still remained in prison.

It seems to have been at this time that, in spite of his grim vaticination of immediate retribution, Jeremiah showed his serene confidence in the ultimate future by accepting the proposal of his cousin Hanameel to buy some of the paternal fields at Anathoth, though at that very moment they were in the hands of the Chaldaeans. Such an act, publicly performed, must have caused some consolation to the besieged, just as did the courage of the Roman senator who gave a good price for the estate outside the walls of Rome on which Hannibal was actually encamped.

Then Zedekiah once more secretly sent for him, and implored him to tell the unvarnished truth. “If I do, ” said the prophet, “will you not kill me? and will you in any case hearken to me?” Zedekiah swore not to betray him to his enemies; and Jeremiah told him that, even at that eleventh hour, if he would go out and make submission to the Babylonians, the city should not be burnt, and he should save the lives of himself and of his family. Zedekiah believed him, but pleaded that he was afraid of the mockery of the deserters to whom he might be delivered. Jeremiah assured him that he should not be so delivered, and, that, if he refused to obey, nothing remained for the city, and for him and his wives and children, but final ruin. The king was too weak to follow what he must now have felt to be the last chance which God had opened out for him. He could only “attain to half-believe.” He entrusted the result to chance, with miserable vacillation of purpose; and the door of hope was closed upon him. His one desire was to conceal the interview; and if it came to the ears of the princes-of whom he was shamefully afraid-he begged Jeremiah to say that he had only entreated the king not to send him back to die in Jonathans prison.

As he had suspected, it became known that Jeremiah had been summoned to an interview with the king. They questioned the prophet in prison. He told them the story which the king had suggested to him, and the truth remained undiscovered. For this deflection from exact truth it is tolerably certain that, in the state of mens consciences upon the subject of veracity in those days, the prophets moral sense did not for a moment reproach him. He remained in his prison, guarded probably by the faithful Ebed-Melech, until Jerusalem was taken.

Let us pity the dreadful plight of Zedekiah, aggravated as it was by his weak temperament. “He stands at the head of a people determined to defend itself, but is himself without either hope or courage.”

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary