By Eugene Garner

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.

    MOREOVER the word of the LORD came to me, saying. 2 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. 3 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. 4 Hear ye the word of the LORD, 0 house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel: 5 Thee saith the LORD, what iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they we gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? 6 Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us though the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land no man passed through, and where no man dwelt? 7 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. 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. 9 Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children's children will I plead. 10 For pass over the Isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing. 11 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. 12 Be astonished, 0 ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, salt the LORD. 13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and have hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

    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. Ezek. 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, (Deut. 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, 5; 4:12; 5:7; 7:13; Ezek. 16:8-13, 30-32; 23:1-7, 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, (Ex. 19:5-6; Num. 18:12; Deut. 7:6; 14:2; comp. Lev. 23:10-14, 17; Deut. 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. 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; II Kings 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; Ex. 20:2; Deut. 8:12-15; 32:9-12).
      a. How faithful was Jehovah in bringing the covenant-nation into the Land of Promise - a land of abundant fruitfulness! (Deut. 8:7-8; 11:10-12).
      b. But, they soon defiled the land - making His inheritance an abomination! (3:2; 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. 10:21);
      b. By teachers who did not know the Lord, (4:22);
      c. By shepherds (rulers) who rebelled against God, (comp. Ezek. 34); and
      d. By prophets who prophesied by Baal (23:13; I Kings 18:18-21) - all of them pursuing things that were OF NO VALUE! (comp. 16:19-21; Hab. 2:18; Isa. 42:17; 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. Micah 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. Amos 3:1-3).

    14 Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled? 15 The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant. 16 Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head. 17 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way? 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? 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.

    1. In ancient times a person could become a slave: 1) through defeat in battle, 2) by purchase, 3) by indebtedness or, 4) by being born of slave-parents; but none of this covers Israel's situation, (vs. 14-17).
      a. He has become a prey to "young lions" whose voices have been lifted against him - laying his land waste, and burning his cities with fire, (vs. 15; comp. 4:7).
      b. The Egyptians also have broken (or, "fed on") the crown of his head, (vs. 16; comp. 48:45); Noph and Tahapanes recall an earlier humiliation of the covenant-nation before Egypt.
      c. The present servitude is a self-inflicted bondage - brought on by a deliberate forsaking of the Lord and the way wherein He leads; when men forsake His "way" they must not expect the fellowship of His presence, or the protection of His mighty hand, (vs. 17; 4:18; comp. Deut. 32:10).
    2. Repudiating the way (and counsel) of the Lord, the people of God have committed themselves to "the way" of Egypt and Assyria - a deliberate, willfulness that has led to their humiliation and shame. (vs. 18-19).
      a. What suicidal folly to distrust and reject the life-giving fountain, which flows from the Rock of Ages, while drinking from the dark waters of the Sihor and the treacherous waters of the Euphrates! (vs. 18).
      b. By commitment to a life of wicked rebellion and backsliding, the people of the covenant (Ex. 20) have brought upon themselves the certainty of divine discipline and judgment - designed to turn back their hearts to Jehovah, their God, (vs. 19; 4:18; Isa. 3:9; Jer. 5:23-25).
        1) Sin always carries with it the seed of judgment.
        2) The ancient warning, given to Israel, is still applicable today: "Be sure your sin will find you out!" (Num. 32:23).

    20 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 thou wanderest, playing the harlot. 21 Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me? 22 For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD. 23 How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways; 24 A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her. 25 Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go. 26 As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets, 27 Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast 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, and save us. 28 But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.

    1. Spotlighting the atrociousness of Judah's sin, Jeremiah employs six figures to illustrate her infidelity to Jehovah. (vs. 20-25).
      a. She is likened to an unyoked oxen, (vs. 20).
        1) God broke the yoke of Egypt - liberating her from bondage there, (Lev. 26:13);
        2) In spite of His liberating grace, she has refused to serve Him, (17:1-2; comp. Deut. 12:1-3; Isa. 57:5-8).
        3) Like a harlot, she has, rather, enslaved herself to the fertility-deities of Canaan, (Isa. 57:5-8).
      b. Judah was a "sorek vine" - a red grape of excellent quality, (vs. 21; Ex. 15:17; Psa. 44.2; 80:8-11).
        1) The divine husbandman planted His vineyard with the choicest of vines; He made them noble, (comp. Isa. 5:1-7).
        2) But Judah soon degenerated to such a state of wildness that she brought forth not fruit to the glory of God - only wild grapes! (Ezekiel 17:5-10).
      c. Next, Judah is said to have an indelible stain; so deeply ingrained was her perversity before the Lord that it could not be scrubbed away with the strongest of soaps, (vs. 22-23a).
        1) Of course, Judah denied having polluted herself by going after Baal - the fertility god of Canaan, (comp. Prov. 30:12).
        2) But one had only look to the valley (possibly that of Ben-Hinnom - just south of Jerusalem) to see where heathen rites were performed by Judah just prior to the days of Josiah, (7:21; 9:13-14; 2 Kings 23:10).
      d. Judah is then likened to a swift she-camel, which, with no driver, runs here and there - with no sense of purpose, (vs. 24a; comp. vs. 33, 36; 31:22).
      e. Like a wild she-ass, passionately controlled by the heat of physical lust, Judah is pictured as offering herself to ANY false deity, (vs. 24b; 14:6).
      f. Completing the vicious circle, she is finally pictured as enslaved to her idols, (vs. 25).
        1) Ironically, God warns them against chasing their idol-lovers until their shoes wear out and their throats are parched with thirst!
        2) But, the reply He receives is that "It is no use to try; I have loved strangers, and after them will I go!" (18:12; 14:10; Deut. 32:15-21).
        3) Judah has turned her back to Jehovah (vs. 27b; comp. 18:17; 32:32-35).
    2. The utter stupidity of idolatry is clearly set forth in verses 26-28, (compare 10:1-16).
      a. As a thief is ashamed when caught in the act of his sin; so do the leaders of Judah (kings, princes, priests and prophets) blush when the spotlight of God's word reveals the perversity of their foolish ways.
      b. How ridiculous for men to bow before a "stock" or "stone" and say: "You are MY FATHER! You have begotten me!"
      c. Yet, when trouble comes, they will inevitably cry out for Jehovah to: "Get up! Deliver us!" - assuming Him to be both obligated and glad to help them, immediately! (vs. 28; comp. Isa. 26:16).
      d. But, with a touch of sarcasm, the Lord suggests that they collect their dues from the many gods of their own making, and upon whom they have lavished their love; if these are truly gods, then let THEM meet the needs OF THEIR OWN DEVOTEES! (vs. 28; 11:12-13; comp. Deut. 32:37-38; Isa. 45:20).

    29 Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD. 30 In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion. 31 O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee? 32 Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number. 33 Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways. 34 Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these. 35 Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned. 36 Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria. 37 Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head: for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.

    1. Judah has no right to complain against Jehovah; SHE is the one who has defected! (vs. 29-30; 5:1; 6:13; Dan. 9:11-14).
      a. God's attempts to discipline her have proved fruitless, for she has refused to receive instruction! (vs. 30; 5:3; 7:28; comp. Isa. 1:4-6).
      b. As a destroying lion, the sword of Judah has destroyed her true prophets, (26:20-24; Neh. 9:26; comp. 2 Kings 21:16; Matt. 23:37-39).
    2. Why will not this GENERATION hearken to the word of the Lord, (vs. 31-32)?
      a. Has He been to them as a desert? or a land of darkness - unable to meet their needs? (Isa. 45:19).
      b. Then, why do they insist on being "lords" - who will no longer permit the rule of Jehovah over their destinies? (comp. Judg. 10:6-7).
      c. Is it not as unnatural for Judah to forget her covenant-obligations as for a virgin to neglect her jewels? or a bride the attire which identifies her as married? (vs. 32; 3:21; 3:25-27; Isa. 17:10; Hosea 8:14).
    3. Then the Lord charges the nation with SPECIFIC sins, (vs. 33-34).
      a. So deliberately has she charted her course to seek a "strange love" that she has taught the wicked new ways of sinning! (vs. 33).
      b. In this reckless abandon she has covered her skirts with the innocent blood of those who opposed her, (vs. 34; 19:4-8).
    4. Because of her contention that she is INNOCENT (and, thus, that Jehovah has no right to be angry with her), judgment is inevitable; the unrepentant heart can never rightfully expect God's mercy! (vs. 35; Prov. 28:13; comp. Jer. 25:30-31).
    5. The unholy alliances Judah seeks with Egypt (instead of submitting herself to God) will prove futile. (vs. 36-37).
      a. Egypt will be a shame to her - even as Assyria has been, (37:7-8; Isa. 30:1-3).
      b. She will go away from Egypt with her "hands upon her head" - as Tamar went out from Ammon who had abused her, (vs. 37a; comp. 2 Sam. 13:19).
      c. There is no prosperity for those who put their trust in what the Lord has rejected! (vs. 37b; 17:5-8; 37:7-10).