Unfaithful Israel and Judah. A Call to Repentance. Jeremiah 3:1-25

Transcription

1 1 Unfaithful Israel and Judah A Call to Repentance Jeremiah 3:1-25

2 2 Unfaithful Israel A Call to Repentance Text: Jeremiah 3:1-25, 1. If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and becomes another man s wife, he may not take her back again. Doing that would utterly defile the land. But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. So what makes you think you can return to me? says the Lord. 2. Look up at the hilltops and consider this. You have had sex with other gods on every one of them. You waited for those gods like a thief lying in wait in the desert. You defiled the land by your wicked prostitution to other gods. 3. That is why the rains have been withheld, and the spring rains have not come. Yet in spite of this you are obstinate as a prostitute. You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done. 4. Even now you say to me, You are my father! You have been my faithful companion ever since I was young. 5. You will not always be angry with me, will you? You will not be mad at me forever, will you? That is what you say, but you continually do all the evil that you can. 6. When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done. You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods.

3 3 7. Yet even after she had done all that, I thought that she might come back to me. But she did not. Her sister, unfaithful Judah, saw what she did. 8. She also saw that I gave wayward Israel her divorce papers and sent her away because of her adulterous worship of other gods. Even after her unfaithful sister Judah had seen this, she still was not afraid, and she too went and gave herself like a prostitute to other gods. 9. Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she defiled the land through her adulterous worship of gods made of wood and stone. 10. In spite of all this, Israel s sister, unfaithful Judah, has not turned back to me with any sincerity; she has only pretended to do so, says the Lord. 11. Then the Lord said to me, Under the circumstances, wayward Israel could even be considered less guilty than unfaithful Judah. 12. Go and shout this message to my people in the countries in the north. Tell them, Come back to me, wayward Israel, says the Lord. I will not continue to look on you with displeasure. For I am merciful, says the Lord. I will not be angry with you forever. 13. However, you must confess that you have done wrong, and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God. You must confess that you have given yourself to foreign gods under every green tree, and have not obeyed my commands, says the Lord. 14. Come back to me, my wayward sons, says the Lord, for I am your true master. If you do, I will take one of you from each town and two of you from each family group, and I will bring you back to Zion. 15. I will give you leaders who will be faithful to me. They will lead you with knowledge and insight.

4 4 16. In those days, your population will greatly increase in the land. At that time, says the Lord, people will no longer talk about having the ark that contains the Lord s covenant with us. They will not call it to mind, remember it, or miss it. No, that will not be done any more! 17. At that time the city of Jerusalem will be called the Lord s throne. All nations will gather there in Jerusalem to honor the Lord s name. They will no longer follow the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. 18. At that time the nation of Judah and the nation of Israel will be reunited. Together they will come back from a land in the north to the land that I gave to your ancestors as a permanent possession. 19. I thought to myself, Oh what a joy it would be for me to treat you like a son! What a joy it would be for me to give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful piece of property there is in all the world! I thought you would call me, Father and would never cease being loyal to me. 20. But, you have been unfaithful to me, nation of Israel, like an unfaithful wife who has left her husband, says the Lord. 21. A noise is heard on the hilltops. It is the sound of the people of Israel crying and pleading to their gods. Indeed they have followed sinful ways; they have forgotten to be true to the Lord their God. 22. Come back to me, you wayward people. I want to cure your waywardness. Say, Here we are. We come to you because you are the Lord our God. 23. We know our noisy worship of false gods on the hills and mountains did not help us. We know that the Lord our God is the only one who can deliver Israel. 24. From earliest times our worship of that shameful god, Baal, has taken away all that our ancestors worked for. It

5 5 has taken away our flocks and our herds, and even our sons and daughters. 25. Let us acknowledge our shame. Let us bear the disgrace that we deserve. For we have sinned against the Lord our God, both we and our ancestors. From earliest times to this very day we have not obeyed the Lord our God. (NET) Introduction: I. In Jeremiah 3, Israel refers to the Northern Kingdom while Judah refers to the Southern Kingdom whereas in Jeremiah 2 Israel and Judah appear as one people. (See Willis.) II. The NIV text is arranged so as to distinguish prose from poetry, one such break occurring at Jeremiah 3:6. (See an NIV Bible for clarification of this point. Also, see Willis.) III. It is most difficult to accurately assign dates to the various passages, sections in Jeremiah because the material is not arranged in chronological order. A. Coffman observed that dating the chapters is not necessary to determine the meaning of the text. IV. Coffman outlines Jeremiah 3 as follows: A. Verses 1-5, The final divorce of Israel as God s wife, and the impossibility of her return to her former status. B. Verses 6-10, The refusal of Judah to learn her lesson despite the wretched example of Israel.

6 6 C. Verses 11-13, God s continued pleading for both Israel and Judah to return unto their God in full repentance. D. Verses 14-18, The promise of God to receive a remnant from both of the treacherous sister nations in the Messianic Age. E. Verses 19-22, The healing to take place in the days of the New covenant; a further admonition regarding the uselessness and hurtfulness of idolatry. F. Verses 23-25, Israel and Judah consent to lie down in their shame. Commentary: Jeremiah 3:1, If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and becomes another man s wife, he may not take her back again. Doing that would utterly defile the land. But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. So what makes you think you can return to me? says the Lord. (NET) I. If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and becomes another man s wife, he may not take her back again. A. And the word of the Lord came unto me (Jeremiah) in the days of Josiah the king, saying,... (The Pulpit Commentary) B. References:

7 7 1. Deuteronomy 24:1-4, If a man marries a woman and she does not please him because he has found something offensive in her, then he may draw up a divorce document, give it to her, and evict her from his house. When she has left him she may go and become someone else s wife. If the second husband rejects her and then divorces her, gives her the papers, and evicts her from his house, or if the second husband who married her dies, her first husband who divorced her is not permitted to remarry her after she has become ritually impure, for that is offensive to the Lord. You must not bring guilt on the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. (NET) a. A divorced woman could never return to her former mate if she in the interim had married another person. 2. In Jeremiah 3:1-5, the sacredness of marriage is stressed. (Hamilton) C. If a man and his wife have been formerly divorced and the woman (wife) became the wife of another man, the first husband could never take her again to be his wife. (See Clarke, et. al.) 1. Israel, God s wife in a figurative sense, had been guilty of repeated spiritual adultery and could have been divorced by the Lord who would never again be able to return to him.

8 8 2. God, however, still loved Israel and mercifully sought her return to him. 3. God, with Israel and with us, has gone far beyond the call of duty to lead us to return to his favor. II. Doing that would utterly defile the land. A. Such conduct was not holy and would utterly define the land. (See Willis.) 1. Genesis 34:7, Now Jacob s sons had come in from the field when they heard the news. They were offended and very angry because Shechem had disgraced Israel by sexually assaulting Jacob s daughter, a crime that should not be committed. (NET) B. Sin has corrupted our society. This is an undeniable fact. III. But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. So what makes you think you can return to me? says the Lord. A. Israel had committed spiritual adultery by forsaking God and worshipping all manner of idols. 1. God was certainly in a position to divorce Israel which means, under the Mosaic Law, that they could never again be, figuratively speaking, God s wife.

9 9 2. God had sought to lead the Israelites, who had been like a bride to him, to repent and to return to him, but they refused the Lord s overtures. 3. Israel had lived a totally immoral life, physically and spiritually, and had not even gotten a divorce. a. Isaiah 50:1, This is what the Lord says: Where is your mother s divorce certificate by which I divorced her? Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? Look, you were sold because of your sins; because of your rebellious acts I divorced your mother. (NET) B. Willis suggested one difference between what is said here and what is said in Jeremiah 3:1a is that the man and his wife in verse 1 were actually divorced and the wife had married another man while Israel had not married other gods, but had committed rampant adultery as a prostitute with them. C. Coffman explained that the last sentence in this verse means, After your wretched conduct, do you really suppose that you can return as the wife of God? Jeremiah 3:2, Look up at the hilltops and consider this. You have had sex with other gods on every one of them. You waited for those gods like a thief lying in wait in the desert. You defiled the land by your wicked prostitution to other gods. (NET) I. Look up at the hilltops (bare heights) and consider this.

10 10 A. Israel had sinned everywhere a person looked! 1. Hilltops or barren heights were known as places idols were worshipped. a. Jeremiah 2:20, Indeed, long ago you threw off my authority and refused to be subject to me. You said, I will not serve you. Instead, you gave yourself to other gods on every high hill and under every green tree, like a prostitute sprawls out before her lovers. (NET) 2. Everywhere a person looked Israel had worshipped idols and had indulged in their sexual orgies. (Coffman) II. You have had sex with other gods on everyone of them. A. Idols were often worshipped on hilltops. 1. Worship of these idols often involved literal, physical adultery as well as spiritual adultery. 2. Israel had played the harlot with many lovers, but God was still willing to take her back. (See Smith.) III. You waited for those gods like a thief (nomad) lying in wait in the desert. A. A nomad would be a street vendor who would sell to anyone who happened to pass by, Willis advised.

11 11 B. Coffman explained, Israel has been like the Arabians in the wilderness, (1) either lying in wait to rob a caravan, or (2) sitting by the highway seducing travelers to adultery. 1. Genesis 38:6-30, Judah acquired a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah s firstborn, was evil in the Lord s sight, so the Lord killed him. Then Judah said to Onan, Have sexual relations with your brother s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise up a descendant for your brother. But Onan knew that the child would not be considered his. So whenever he had sexual relations with his brother s wife, he withdrew prematurely so as not to give his brother a descendant. What he did was evil in the Lord s sight, so the Lord killed him too. Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, Live as a widow in your father s house until Shelah my son grows up. For he thought, I don t want him to die like his brothers. So Tamar went and lived in her father s house. After some time Judah s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah was consoled, he left for Timnah to visit his sheepshearers, along with his friend Hirah the Adullamite. Tamar was told, Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep. So she removed her widow s clothes and covered herself with a veil. She wrapped herself and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the way to Timnah. (She did this because she saw that she had not been given to Shelah as a wife,

12 12 even though he had now grown up.) When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute because she had covered her face. He turned aside to her along the road and said, Come on! I want to have sex with you. (He did not realize it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, What will you give me in exchange for having sex with you? He replied, I ll send you a young goat from the flock. She asked, Will you give me a pledge until you send it? He said, What pledge should I give you? She replied, Your seal, your cord, and the staff that s in your hand. So he gave them to her and had sex with her. She became pregnant by him. She left immediately, removed her veil, and put on her widow s clothes. Then Judah had his friend Hirah the Adullamite take a young goat to get back from the woman the items he had given in pledge, but Hirah could not find her. He asked the men who were there, Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim by the road? But they replied, There has been no cult prostitute here. So he returned to Judah and said, I couldn t find her. Moreover, the men of the place said, There has been no cult prostitute here. Judah said, Let her keep the things for herself. Otherwise we will appear to be dishonest. I did indeed send this young goat, but you couldn t find her. After three months Judah was told, Your daughter-inlaw Tamar has turned to prostitution, and as a result she has become pregnant. Judah said, Bring her out and let her be burned! While they were bringing her out, she sent word to her

13 13 father-in-law: I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong. Then she said, Identify the one to whom the seal, cord, and staff belong. Judah recognized them and said, She is more upright than I am, because I wouldn t give her to Shelah my son. He did not have sexual relations with her again. When it was time for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. While she was giving birth, one child put out his hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand, saying, This one came out first. But then he drew back his hand, and his brother came out before him. She said, How you have broken out of the womb! So he was named Perez. Afterward his brother came out the one who had the scarlet thread on his hand and he was named Zerah. (NET) 2. Proverbs 7:12, at one time outside, at another in the wide plazas, and by every corner she lies in wait.) (NET) C. Israel was as fully intent on worshipping idols as Arabians were in lying in wait to plunder caravans. (See Clarke.) IV. You defiled the land by your wicked prostitution with other gods. A. Israel had engaged in many infidelities and, because of this, had defiled the land. 1. God was fully aware of all Israel s sins.

14 14 Jeremiah 3:3, That is why the rains have been withheld, and the spring rains have not come. Yet in spite of this you are obstinate as a prostitute. You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done. (NET) I. That is why the rains have been withheld, and the spring (latter) rains have not come. A. In the Old Testament, human behavior is said to affect the weather. 1. This is taught in this verse. 2. Don t forget the flood and Noah s ark. a. Genesis 6:5-8, But the Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made humankind on the earth, and he was highly offended. So the Lord said, I will wipe humankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth everything from humankind to animals, including creatures that move on the ground and birds of the air, for I regret that I have made them. But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord. (NET) B. The drought did not have its intended result. (See Hamilton.)

15 15 1. The people continued in their sinfulness. a. Amos 4:7-8, I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. I gave rain to one city, but not to another. One field would get rain, but the field that received no rain dried up. People from two or three cities staggered into one city to get water, but remained thirsty. Still you did not come back to me. The Lord is speaking! (NET) C. Smith well noted that Baal was thought to have been the storm god who controlled the weather, but Baal couldn t even make it rain when God had decreed a drought. 1. God showed his anger at Israel because of their sins and sent this weather related punishment upon them. D. These spring or latter rains were the ones without which it was not possible to have an abundant harvest. (Coffman) E. Clarke observed that the former rain came in early November or a little sooner and prepared the land for plowing while the latter rain fell in mid-april after which little rain fell during the summer. II. Yet, in spite of this, you are as obstinate as a prostitute. You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done. A. This principle is seen all about us today; that is, people appear unashamed of conduct which would have, in another day, been totally disgraceful.

16 16 B. Israel/Judah did not repent, did not even blush because of their disgraceful conduct, but blamed God for all their troubles. (Hamilton) 1. Isn t it expected that the wrongdoer will blame someone else for everything. 2. In this case God was confronted with the question, Will your wrath continue forever? (Hamilton) Jeremiah 3:4, Even now you say to me, You are my father! You have been my faithful companion ever since I was young. (NET) I. Even now you say to me, You are my father! You have been my faithful companion ever since I was young. A. Hamilton observed these people were self-deluded. 1. Indeed they were! B. They addressed God as father, but served the devil, idols. 1. There is a lot of this going around today as well! C. Israel continued to claim that Yahweh was their national God, their spiritual father on whom they called in times of trouble, but otherwise they lived sinfully and worshipped all manner of idols, Coffman advised. 1. Coffman quoted Fernberg as explaining this to mean:

17 17 a. This is how you talk, but you do all the evil you can. b. Matthew Henry via Coffman wrote that Israel had done all the evil they could and that they would have done more evil if they could have. c. Israel had turned away from God and would never be received again by Jehovah as his spiritual espoused wife. (Matthew Henry via Coffman) d. Israel called God father. Why would they not serve him and stop worshipping idols? (See Clarke.) 2. Jeremiah 2:27, They say to a wooden idol, You are my father. They say to a stone image, You gave birth to me. Yes, they have turned away from me instead of turning to me. Yet when they are in trouble, they say, Come and save us! (NET) D. God had been Israel s companion every since the days of Israel s youth, and yet they forsook the Lord. 1. Proverbs 2:17, who leaves the husband from her younger days, and forgets her marriage covenant made before God. (NET) 2. Jeremiah 2:2, Go and declare in the hearing of the people of Jerusalem: This is what the Lord says: I have fond memories of you, how devoted you were to me in your early years. I

18 18 remember how you loved me like a new bride; you followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted. (NET) Jeremiah 3:5, You will not always be angry with me, will you? You will not be mad at me forever, will you? That is what you say, but you continually do all the evil that you can. (NET) I. You will not always be angry with me, will you? You will not be mad at me forever, will you? A. At this time, early in Jeremiah s ministry, there was hope that Judah would repent and that their destruction could be averted. (See Coffman.) 1. A gracious God would have forgiven a repentant Judah, but Judah did not repent. II. That is what you say, but you continually do all the evil that you can. A. Israel thought they could return to God at anytime they chose, but continued to do all the evil they could - which was a lot. 1. They were quite gifted in the art of sinning! B. Forgiveness and restoration did not return to Israel and Judah under the Old Covenant, but they and people of all other nations have ready access to forgiveness and restoration under the New Covenant, the New Testament.

19 19 C. It appears that Israel did not want God to be forever angry with them, but they did not cease serving idols, the very thing that fueled God s anger. (See Clarke.) Jeremiah 3:6, When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done. You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods. (NET) I. When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me,... A. This dates this divine communication to the early days of Jeremiah s prophetic ministry. 1. Willis dated the reign of Josiah to B.C. 2. This was a different discourse than what went before. 3. Josiah s reformation had a major short term superficial effect on Judah, but little or no true, long term repentant changes. B. The Northern Kingdom of Israel did not repent at all and was destroyed. 1. Hosea 2:2-13, Plead earnestly with your mother (for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband), so that she might put an end to her adulterous lifestyle, and turn away from her sexually immoral behavior. Otherwise, I will

20 20 strip her naked, and expose her like she was when she was born. I will turn her land into a wilderness and make her country a parched land, so that I might kill her with thirst. I will have no pity on her children, because they are children conceived in adultery. For their mother has committed adultery; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, I will seek out my lovers; they are the ones who give me my bread and my water, my wool, my flax, my olive oil, and my wine. Therefore, I will soon fence her in with thorns; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way. Then she will pursue her lovers, but she will not catch them; she will seek them, but she will not find them. Then she will say, I will go back to my husband, because I was better off then than I am now. Yet until now she has refused to acknowledge that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil; and that it was I who lavished on her the silver and gold which they used in worshiping Baal! Therefore, I will take back my grain during the harvest time and my new wine when it ripens; I will take away my wool and my flax which I had provided in order to clothe her. Soon I will expose her lewd nakedness in front of her lovers, and no one will be able to rescue her from me! I will put an end to all her celebration: her annual religious festivals, monthly new moon celebrations, and weekly Sabbath festivities all her appointed festivals. I will destroy her vines and fig trees, about which she said, These are my wages for prostitution

21 21 that my lovers gave to me! I will turn her cultivated vines and fig trees into an uncultivated thicket, so that wild animals will devour them. I will punish her for the festival days when she burned incense to the Baal idols; she adorned herself with earrings and jewelry, and went after her lovers, but she forgot me! says the Lord. (NET) 2. Jeremiah 3:6-8a, When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done. You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods. 7 Yet even after she had done all that, I thought that she might come back to me. But she did not. Her sister, unfaithful Judah, saw what she did. 8 She also saw that I gave wayward Israel her divorce papers and sent her away because of her adulterous worship of other gods. (NET) II. Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward (backsliding) Israel has done. A. They had given themselves over to the fertility cult, Smith noted. III. You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods. A. Judah had seen the sinfulness of Israel and their destruction.

22 22 1. Judah was living sinfully as well and would also be destroyed if they did not repent and return to the Lord. (See Clarke.) 2. Hosea 8:4, They enthroned kings without my consent! They appointed princes without my approval! They made idols out of their silver and gold, but they will be destroyed! (NET) Jeremiah 3:7, Yet even after she had done all that, I thought that she might come back to me. But she did not. Her sister, unfaithful Judah, saw what she did. (NET) I. Yet even after she had done all that, I thought that she might come back to me. But she did not. A. Years went by and God continued to hope Israel would repent and return to him, but they did not. 1. God said to Israel, Come back to me! but Israel did not repent and was destroyed. (Willis) B. God had begged Israel and Judah to repent by his prophets Elijah, Elisha, Hosea, Amos, Ezekiel and now Jeremiah as well as others. (See Clarke.) 1. God s longsuffering was so great as to amaze us all, but Israel and Judah refused to respond to the Lord s love and mercy.

23 23 a. Human nature has not changed. II. Her sister, unfaithful Judah, saw what she did. A. Israel, by her sinfulness, influenced Judah to forsake God and worship idols. B. This is truly amazing! Judah saw all the evil Israel had committed and their captivity at the hands of the Assyrians, but they still did not repent! 1. Judah believed it could not happen to them. 2. Of course not! Don t worry about it. C. God hoped to also lead Judah to repentance. Jeremiah 3:8, She also saw that I gave wayward Israel her divorce papers and sent her away because of her adulterous worship of other gods. Even after her unfaithful sister Judah had seen this, she still was not afraid, and she too went and gave herself like a prostitute to other gods. (NET) I. She also saw that I gave wayward Israel her divorce papers and sent her away because of her adulterous worship of other gods. A. God finally divorced Israel! 1. They went into Assyrian captivity and have become known as The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.

24 24 a. Ezekiel 23:11-14a, Her sister Oholibah watched this, but she became more corrupt in her lust than her sister had been, and her acts of prostitution were more numerous than those of her sister. She lusted after the Assyrians governors and officials, warriors in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. I saw that she was defiled; both of them followed the same path. But she increased her prostitution. (NET) II. Even after her unfaithful sister Judah had seen this, she still was not afraid, and she too went and gave herself like a prostitute to other gods. A. How can you explain this? B. Judah did not profit by the experience of the Northern Kingdom and is therefore more guilty, as Calkins via Coffman wrote. Jeremiah 3:9, Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she defiled the land through her adulterous worship of gods made of wood and stone. (NET) I. Because she took her prostitution (whoredom) so lightly, she defiled the land through her adulterous worship of gods made of wood and stone. A. Prostitution was regarded as a thing of little importance, of no significance.

25 25 1. This attitude is pervasive in our society. 2. Our land has also been defiled by adultery, literal and spiritual. 3. Judah regarded their grievous sins as of little significance. i. They regarded their idolatry and adultery, grave felonies, as parking tickets, the smallest of misdemeanors. ii. They regarded their sins, whoredoms and idolatries as light things. iii. Sin is to the soul what cancer is to the body. a. It will kill your soul in the everlasting fires of hell! b. Be not deceived. God is not mocked! B. Worshiping idols made of wood and stone was foolish, but it defiled the land and its people. 1. Jeremiah 2:27, They say to a wooden idol, You are my father. They say to a stone image, You gave birth to me. Yes, they have turned away from me instead of turning to me. Yet when they are in trouble, they say, Come and save us! (NET)

26 26 Jeremiah 3:10, In spite of all this, Israel s sister, unfaithful Judah, has not turned back to me with any sincerity; she has only pretended to do so, says the Lord. (NET) I. In spite of all this, Israel s sister, unfaithful (treacherous, deceitful) Judah, has not turned back to me with any sincerity (with all their heart). A. Both Judah and Israel had turned their backs on God and did not turn back, return to God. 1. Jeremiah used these expressions, to turn back, return more than any other biblical writer. (Willis) B. Judah saw all that had happened to Israel, but concluded such disaster would never befall them. 1. Willis wrote that Judah became emboldened by the misconception that they had an eternal endowment of divine protection. 2. Judah was deceptive, a false sister. a. Willis observed that the northern kingdom was conquered for being openly unfaithful to the Lord while Judah was unfaithful but tried to appear faithful. II. She has only pretended (feigned an appearance) to do so, says the Lord.

27 27 A. Judah was hypocritical and only pretended to return to God. 1. Judah did not return with all her heart, but only in pretense. 2. Judah s repentance was only a pretense, an outward show, false, not what it claimed to be. (Willis) B. God must be served, loved with all our hearts. 1. Deuteronomy 6:5, You must love the Lord your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength. (NET) 2. 2 Kings 23:25, No king before or after repented before the Lord as he did, with his whole heart, soul, and being in accordance with the whole law of Moses. (NET) C. Coffman stated, They publicly went along with all the reforms (of Josiah); but, at heart, they still adored and worshiped their beloved fertility gods of the Baalim. Jeremiah 3:11, Then the Lord said to me, Under the circumstances, wayward Israel could even be considered less guilty than unfaithful Judah. (NET) I. Then the Lord said to me, Under the circumstances, wayward Israel could even be considered less guilty than unfaithful Judah. A. In what ways were the people of Judah guilty of more grievous sins against God than Israel who had been so evil

28 28 they had been delivered to destruction at the hands of the Assyrians? B. Both were guilty, one more so than the other, and both were condemned to be destroyed. 1. Jeremiah s message was directed to Judah who had developed an arrogant and holier-than-thou attitude toward the North, because they had been taken captive by Assyria, Willis observed. C. Judah had Israel s destruction as an example. 1. If Judah failed to repent they would be worse than Israel because Israel had no such destructive example by which to be warned. Jeremiah 3:12, Go and shout this message to my people in the countries in the north. Tell them, Come back to me, wayward Israel, says the Lord. I will not continue to look on you with displeasure. For I am merciful, says the Lord. I will not be angry with you forever. (NET) I. Go and shout (proclaim) this message to my people in the countries in the north. A. This focused attention on the land once occupied by the Northern Kingdom of Israel and beyond. (Hamilton) B. Clarke identified these countries in the north as Mesopotamia, Assyria, Media, et. al. which were located north of Judea while The Pulpit Commentary identifies these countries as those north of Assyria.

29 Kings 17:6, In the ninth year of Hoshea s reign, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the people of Israel to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes. (NET) 2. 2 Kings 18:11, The king of Assyria deported the people of Israel to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes. (NET) 3. Jeremiah 31:8, Then I will reply, I will bring them back from the land of the north. I will gather them in from the distant parts of the earth. Blind and lame people will come with them, so will pregnant women and women about to give birth. A vast throng of people will come back here. (NET) II. Tell them, Come back to me, wayward Israel, says the Lord. A. Divorced mates could never be reunited. Why then could God and Judah who had figuratively divorced because of Judah s prolonged and pervasive wickedness reunite? 1. Some Israelites of the Northern Kingdom did return to Jerusalem during the Persian period, Smith observed. B. Willis wrote that this passage for the first time suggested the possibility for marital reconciliation, a theme which dominates the succeeding section.

30 30 1. In effect the Lord may have here countermanded his own law regarding the reconciliation of divorced people, some commentators believe. 2. Willis wrote, The issue at hand is not whether the Lord is subject to the laws which he has placed on humans, but the magnitude of Israel s sin. III. I will not continue to look on you with displeasure. For I am merciful, says the Lord. I will not be angry with you forever. A. God calls wicked Israel to repentance. 1. There is still hope for the wicked from our merciful God. (See Willis.) 2. God would not be angry forever if only they would confess their sins and genuinely repent. 3. Willis describes Israel s and Judah s wickedness as rebellion against the Lord, being promiscuous with many idols and failure to obey God. B. Harrison via Coffman wrote that there is no evidence that God s merciful offer of repentance was ever taken seriously by either Israel or Judah. Jeremiah 3:13, However, you must confess that you have done wrong, and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God. You must confess that you have given yourself to foreign gods under every green tree, and have not obeyed my commands, says the Lord. (NET)

31 31 I. However, you must confess that you have done wrong, and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God. A. What must we do to be forgiven of our sins? B. People of all nations and races including Israel and Judah are now urged to return to God through his Son, Jesus Christ. C. Confession of sins then and now is necessary to achieve forgiveness. D. They had sinned against the Lord their God. 1. God had been to them both Lord and a husband, but the people had rebelled against him. II. You must confess that you have given yourself to foreign gods under every green tree, and have not obeyed my commands, says the Lord. A. Hamilton well wrote, The long-suffering of God exceeds human comprehension. B. God urges them to return to him indicating that he does not regard the marriage bond as broken. 1. God is still the husband and Israel is still the bride. (See The Pulpit Commentary.) Jeremiah 3:14, Come back to me, my wayward sons, says the Lord, for I am your true master. If you do, I will

32 32 take one of you from each town and two of you from each family group, and I will bring you back to Zion. (NET) I. Come back to me, my wayward (ever-turning, faithless) sons, says the Lord, for I am your true master. A. The figure changes here from Judah s being God s wife to being God s sons. 1. God was their true master. Baal was their false master. 2. God s sons, people were ever-turning away from the Lord; they were faithless and wayward. (See Willis.) B. Even these people were invited, urged to return to the Lord. II. If you do, I will take one of you from each town and two of you from each family group, and I will bring you back to Zion. A. A remnant will be saved, spared. 1. Isaiah 10:22, For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back. Destruction has been decreed; just punishment is about to engulf you. (NET) 2. Isaiah 28:5, At that time the Lord who commands armies will become a beautiful crown and a splendid diadem for the remnant of his people. (NET)

33 33 B. This remnant, one from this town and two from each family group, would be returned to Zion, not Samaria. (Hamilton) C. The return of Israel from captivity to Zion/Jerusalem, Smith wrote, appears to reference the messianic period. 1. Hebrews 12:22-29, But you have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the assembly and congregation of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous, who have been made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of something better than Abel s does. Take care not to refuse the one who is speaking! For if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less shall we, if we reject the one who warns from heaven? Then his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven too. Now this phrase once more indicates the removal of what is shaken, that is, of created things, so that what is unshaken may remain. So since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and through this let us offer worship pleasing to God in devotion and awe. For our God is indeed a devouring fire. (NET)

34 34 2. Smith well wrote, The purpose of this call to the northern tribes is to underscore this truth: for individuals there is hope on the other side of national judgment. God would still have a people even after the destruction of physical Jerusalem. D. This verse refers to the righteous remnant, a few who would be saved. 1. This New Israel, the church, those blessed of God compose the righteous remnant. a. Romans 11:5, So in the same way at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. (NET) E. Clarke explained, If there should be but one of a city left, or one willing to return, and two only of a whole tribe, yet I will receive these, and bring them back from captivity into their own land. 1. The Pulpit Commentary states,... the prophet foresees that the number of the exiles who return will be small compared with the increase to be divinely vouchsafed to them. Jeremiah 3:15, I will give you leaders who will be faithful to me. They will lead you with knowledge and insight. (NET) I. I will give you leaders (shepherds) who will be faithful to me. They will lead you with knowledge and insight (understanding).

35 35 A. Shepherds frequently referred in the ancient Near East to Kings and other royal, political, or military leaders. (NET footnote) 1. References: a. 2 Samuel 7:7, Wherever I moved among all the Israelites, I did not say to any of the leaders whom I appointed to care for my people Israel, Why have you not built me a house made from cedar? (NET) b. Psalm 78:70-72, He chose David, his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds. He took him away from following the mother sheep, and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people, and of Israel, his chosen nation. David cared for them with pure motives; he led them with skill. (NET) c. 1 Samuel 13:14, But now your kingdom will not continue! The Lord has sought out for himself a man who is loyal to him and the Lord has appointed him to be leader over his people, for you have not obeyed what the Lord commanded you. (NET) d. Acts 13:22, After removing him, God raised up David their king. He testified about him: I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after my heart, who will accomplish everything I want him to do. (NET)

36 36 2. The leaders, shepherds provided by the Lord would be markedly different than the previous leaders who had lead the people into the depths of sin. (Hamilton) a. 2 Kings 27:21-23, He tore Israel away from David s dynasty, and Jeroboam son of Nebat became their king. Jeroboam drove Israel away from the Lord and encouraged them to commit a serious sin. The Israelites followed in the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and did not repudiate them. Finally the Lord rejected Israel just as he had warned he would do through all his servants the prophets. Israel was deported from its land to Assyria and remains there to this very day. (NET) 3. Wonderful blessings await those who repent and faithfully follow the Lord. 4. Leaders, who upheld justice and righteousness such as Ezra and Nehemiah during the post-exilic period (circa B.C.), prefigured the wondrous reign of the Messiah. (See Smith.) a. Jeremiah 9:24, If people want to boast, they should boast about this: They should boast that they understand and know me. They should boast that they know and understand that I, the Lord, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the

37 37 earth and that I desire people to do these things, says the Lord. (NET) b. Jeremiah 22:1-4, The Lord told me, Go down to the palace of the king of Judah. Give him a message from me there. Say: Listen, O king of Judah who follows in David s succession. You, your officials, and your subjects who pass through the gates of this palace must listen to what the Lord says. The Lord says, Do what is just and right. Deliver those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Do not exploit or mistreat foreigners who live in your land, children who have no fathers, or widows. Do not kill innocent people in this land. If you are careful to obey these commands, then the kings who follow in David s succession and ride in chariots or on horses will continue to come through the gates of this palace, as will their officials and their subjects. (NET) c. Jeremiah 23:5, I, the Lord, promise that a new time will certainly come when I will raise up for them a righteous branch, a descendant of David. He will rule over them with wisdom and understanding and will do what is just and right in the land. (NET) d. Jeremiah 9:7, Therefore the Lord who rules over all says, I will now purify them in the fires of affliction and test them. The

38 38 wickedness of my dear people has left me no choice. What else can I do? (NET) e. Jeremiah 16:5, Moreover I, the Lord, tell you: Do not go into a house where they are having a funeral meal. Do not go there to mourn and express your sorrow for them. For I have stopped showing them my good favor, my love, and my compassion. I, the Lord, so affirm it! (NET) f. Jeremiah 22:20-24, People of Jerusalem, go up to Lebanon and cry out in mourning. Go to the land of Bashan and cry out loudly. Cry out in mourning from the mountains of Moab. For your allies have all been defeated. While you were feeling secure I gave you warning. But you said, I refuse to listen to you. That is the way you have acted from your earliest history onward. Indeed, you have never paid attention to me. My judgment will carry off all your leaders like a storm wind! Your allies will go into captivity. Then you will certainly be disgraced and put to shame because of all the wickedness you have done. You may feel as secure as a bird nesting in the cedars of Lebanon. But oh how you will groan when the pains of judgment come on you. They will be like those of a woman giving birth to a baby. The Lord says, As surely as I am the living God, you, Jeconiah, king of Judah, son of Jehoiakim, will not be the earthly

39 39 representative of my authority. Indeed, I will take that right away from you. (NET) g. Jeremiah 32:1-8, In the tenth year that Zedekiah was ruling over Judah the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. That was the same as the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. Now at that time, the armies of the king of Babylon were besieging Jerusalem. The prophet Jeremiah was confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse attached to the royal palace of Judah. For King Zedekiah had confined Jeremiah there after he had reproved him for prophesying as he did. He had asked Jeremiah, Why do you keep prophesying these things? Why do you keep saying that the Lord says, I will hand this city over to the king of Babylon? I will let him capture it. King Zedekiah of Judah will not escape from the Babylonians. He will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon. He must answer personally to the king of Babylon and confront him face to face. Zedekiah will be carried off to Babylon and will remain there until I have fully dealt with him. I, the Lord, affirm it! Even if you continue to fight against the Babylonians, you cannot win. So now, Jeremiah said, The Lord told me, Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will come to you soon. He will say to you, Buy my field at Anathoth because you are entitled as my closest relative to buy it. Now it happened just as

40 40 the Lord had said! My cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guardhouse. He said to me, Buy my field which is at Anathoth in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. Buy it for yourself since you are entitled as my closest relative to take possession of it for yourself. When this happened, I recognized that the Lord had indeed spoken to me. (NET) II. At that time, says the Lord, people will no longer talk about having the ark (chest) that contains the Lord s covenant with us. A. The ark of the covenant vanished before or during the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. (Hamilton) 1. The ark was not in the temple that stood in Jerusalem during Christ s life on earth. 2. By the time of the New Testament the ark had been someway, somewhere destroyed and no longer exists. B. God s people in this present messianic age would not need the ark of the covenant nor the temple because God s presence among his people would be realized in the person of Jesus Christ, Smith wrote. C. The ark of the covenant and Jerusalem, the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling place for his name, had long been associated. (See Willis.) 1. Deuteronomy 12:11, Then you must come to the place the Lord your God chooses for his

41 41 name to reside, bringing everything I am commanding you your burnt offerings, sacrifices, tithes, the personal offerings you have prepared, and all your choice votive offerings which you devote to him. (NET) 2. 2 Chronicles 5:5-6, The priests and Levites carried the ark, the tent where God appeared to his people, and all the holy items in the tent. 6 Now King Solomon and all the Israelites who had assembled with him went on ahead of the ark and sacrificed more sheep and cattle than could be counted or numbered. (NET) 3. 2 Samuel 6:2, David and all the men who were with him traveled to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts, who sits enthroned between the cherubim that are on it. (NET) 4. The Lord says here that no one will think about the ark or miss it at all, Willis explained. a. The people may have come to worship the ark as if it were an idol. (See Willis.) b. The people may have thought that God was obligated to bless them because the ark was among them. (See Willis.) c. The people may have associated the ark with the house of David rather than with God alone

42 42 which could hinder national reunification. Willis.) (See d. In the Messianic period... the ark would no longer be thought of. (The Pulpit Commentary as quoted by Coffman.) i. Jeremiah 31:31-35, Indeed, a time is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I delivered them from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them, says the Lord. But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel after I plant them back in the land, says the Lord. I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts and minds. I will be their God and they will be my people. People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me, says the Lord. For I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done. The Lord has made a promise to Israel. He promises it as the one who fixed the sun to give light by day and the moon and stars to give light by night. He

43 43 promises it as the one who stirs up the sea so that its waves roll. He promises it as the one who is known as the Lord who rules over all. (NET) ii. God s worship in the Christian era is not confined to any one place. III. They will not call it to mind, remember it, or miss it. No, that will not be done any more! A. The ark of the covenant is now, in the Christian age, of no importance and is not even missed or thought about in regard to Christian worship. Jeremiah 3:17, At that time the city of Jerusalem will be called the Lord s throne. All nations will gather there in Jerusalem to honor the Lord s name. They will no longer follow the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. (NET) I. At that time the city of Jerusalem will be called the Lord s throne. A. The city of Jerusalem, the new Jerusalem, would then be recognized as the Lord s throne in place of the ark of the covenant. (Hamilton) 1. The entire city, the new Jerusalem would then be regarded as the throne of God, not just the temple and the ark.