Israel s Earlier Faithfulness. The Unfaithfulness of Israel s Ancestors. Israel Charged With Spiritual Adultery

Transcription

1 1 Israel s Earlier Faithfulness The Unfaithfulness of Israel s Ancestors Israel Charged With Spiritual Adultery Israel s Reliance on Foreign Alliances The Lord s Exasperation at Judah s Idolatry Jeremiah 2:1-37

2 2 Israel s Earlier Faithfulness The Unfaithfulness of Israel s Ancestors Israel Charged With Spiritual Adultery Israel s Reliance on Foreign Alliances The Lord s Exasperation at Judah s Idolatry Text: Jeremiah 2:1-37, 1. The Lord spoke to me. He said: 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 remember how you loved me like a new bride; you followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted. 3. Israel was set apart to the Lord; they were like the first fruits of a harvest to him. All who tried to devour them were punished; disaster came upon them, says the Lord. 4. Now listen to what the Lord has to say, you descendants of Jacob, all you family groups from the nation of Israel. 5. This is what the Lord says: What fault could your ancestors have possibly found in me that they strayed so far from me? They paid allegiance to worthless idols, and so became worthless to me.

3 3 6. They did not ask: Where is the Lord who delivered us out of Egypt, who brought us through the wilderness, through a land of desert sands and rift valleys, through a land of drought and deep darkness, through a land in which no one travels, and where no one lives? 7. I brought you into a fertile land so you could enjoy its fruits and its rich bounty. But when you entered my land, you defiled it; you made the land I call my own loathsome to me. 8. Your priests did not ask, Where is the Lord? Those responsible for teaching my law did not really know me. Your rulers rebelled against me. Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal. They all worshiped idols that could not help them. 9. So, once more I will state my case against you, says the Lord. I will also state it against your children and grandchildren. 10. Go west across the sea to the coasts of Cyprus and see. Send someone east to Kedar and have them look carefully. See if such a thing as this has ever happened: 11. Has a nation ever changed its gods (even though they are not really gods at all)? But my people have exchanged me, their glorious God, for a god that cannot help them at all! 12. Be amazed at this, O heavens! Be shocked and utterly dumbfounded, says the Lord. 13. Do so because my people have committed a double wrong: they have rejected me, the fountain of life-giving water, and they have dug cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns which cannot even hold water.

4 4 14. Israel is not a slave, is he? He was not born into slavery, was he? If not, why then is he being carried off? 15. Like lions his enemies roar victoriously over him; they raise their voices in triumph. They have laid his land waste; his cities have been burned down and deserted. 16. Even the soldiers from Memphis and Tahpanhes have cracked your skulls, people of Israel. 17. You have brought all this on yourself, Israel, by deserting the Lord your God when he was leading you along the right path. 18. What good will it do you then to go down to Egypt to seek help from the Egyptians? What good will it do you to go over to Assyria to seek help from the Assyrians? 19. Your own wickedness will bring about your punishment. Your unfaithful acts will bring down discipline on you. Know, then, and realize how utterly harmful it was for you to reject me, the Lord your God, to show no respect for me, says the Lord God who rules over all. 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. 21. I planted you in the land like a special vine of the very best stock. Why in the world have you turned into something like a wild vine that produces rotten, foul-smelling grapes? 22. You can try to wash away your guilt with a strong detergent. You can use as much soap as you want. But the stain of your guilt is still there for me to see, says the Lord God.

5 5 23. How can you say, I have not made myself unclean. I have not paid allegiance to the gods called Baal. Just look at the way you have behaved in the Valley of Hinnom! Think about the things you have done there! You are like a flighty, young female camel that rushes here and there, crisscrossing its path. 24. You are like a wild female donkey brought up in the wilderness. In her lust she sniffs the wind to get the scent of a male. No one can hold her back when she is in heat. None of the males need wear themselves out chasing after her. At mating time she is easy to find. 25. Do not chase after other gods until your shoes wear out and your throats become dry. But you say, It is useless for you to try and stop me because I love those foreign gods and want to pursue them! 26. Just as a thief has to suffer dishonor when he is caught, so the people of Israel will suffer dishonor for what they have done. So will their kings and officials, their priests and their prophets. 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! 28. But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them save you when you are in trouble. The sad fact is that you have as many gods as you have towns, Judah. 29. Why do you try to refute me? All of you have rebelled against me, says the Lord. 30. It did no good for me to punish your people. They did not respond to such correction. You slaughtered your prophets like a voracious lion.

6 6 31. You people of this generation, listen to what the Lord says. Have I been like a wilderness to you, Israel? Have I been like a dark and dangerous land to you? Why then do you say, We are free to wander. We will not come to you any more? 32. Does a young woman forget to put on her jewels? Does a bride forget to put on her bridal attire? But my people have forgotten me for more days than can even be counted. 33. My, how good you have become at chasing after your lovers! Why, you could even teach prostitutes a thing or two! 34. Even your clothes are stained with the lifeblood of the poor who had not done anything wrong; you did not catch them breaking into your homes. Yet, in spite of all these things you have done, 35. you say, I have not done anything wrong, so the Lord cannot really be angry with me any more. But, watch out! I will bring down judgment on you because you say, I have not committed any sin. 36. Why do you constantly go about changing your political allegiances? You will get no help from Egypt just as you got no help from Assyria. 37. Moreover, you will come away from Egypt with your hands covering your faces in sorrow and shame because the Lord will not allow your reliance on them to be successful and you will not gain any help from them. (NET Bible) Introduction: I. Smith observed that chapter 2 contains excerpts from several early sermons of the prophet (Jeremiah).

7 7 A. The material is largely accusatory, Smith further stated. II. Judah/Israel brought about their own destruction because they forsook God. (See Willis.) A. Coffman noted that in Jeremiah chapter 2 Israel refers to the whole nation, but in chapter 3 Israel refers to the Northern Kingdom. III. Coffman observed that Jeremiah 2 contains twenty-two references to Genesis, eighteen to Exodus, ten to Leviticus, five to Numbers, and seventeen to Deuteronomy. A. For a list of these references, see The Pulpit Commentary. B. This frequent referencing to verses in the Pentateuch is found throughout the book of Jeremiah. (Coffman) C. Coffman concluded that this shows that The Book of Law discovered in the Temple by Hilkiah the priest during King Josiah s reign was the entire Pentateuch, Genesis through Deuteronomy. Commentary: Israel s Earlier Faithfulness Jeremiah 2:1, The LORD spoke to me. He said: (NET Bible) I. The Lord spoke to me: He said: A. The Lord told Jeremiah what he should say to Jerusalem and Jeremiah faithfully delivered these messages to the people of Jerusalem.

8 8 B. No less than twelve times it is said in Jeremiah 2 that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah and that he faithfully delivered these messages to Israel. (See Coffman.) 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 remember how you loved me like a new bride; you followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted. (NET Bible) I. Go and declare in the hearing of Jerusalem: A. This, Hamilton wrote, personifies Jerusalem; that is, Jeremiah delivered God s Word to Jerusalem as if it were a person. II. This is what the Lord says: A. Chapter 2 has a double literary introduction, Willis wrote, The Lord spoke to me: He said: Go and declare in the hearing of Jerusalem: and This is what the Lord says: (See Willis.) III. I have (remember) fond memories of you, how devoted (holy, sanctified) you were to me in your early years. A. The Lord reminds Israel how faithful they had been to him in their early years. 1. The Lord began speaking to Israel in a conciliatory manner. 2. In early years Israel was a devoted wife, figuratively speaking, to the Lord.

9 9 3. Coffman observed that such expressions of Israel s devotion to the Lord are quite generous because the record reveals countless murmurings and rebellions against God. 4. However, comparatively speaking, Israel was much more dedicated to God then than in the lifetime of Jeremiah. 5. These days of devotion covered the Egyptian plague period, crossing the Red Sea and the encampment at Mount Sinai. (Coffman) B. Jerusalem/Israel is figuratively presented here as the bride of the Lord. (Willis) 1. The Lord is acting as a husband whose wife has been unfaithful to him, Willis wrote. 2. Hosea 1:2-11, When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, he said to him, Go marry a prostitute who will bear illegitimate children conceived through prostitution, because the nation continually commits spiritual prostitution by turning away from the Lord. So Hosea married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim. Then she conceived and gave birth to a son for him. Then the Lord said to Hosea, Name him Jezreel, because in a little while I will punish the dynasty of Jehu on account of the bloodshed in the valley of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. At that time, I will destroy the military power of Israel in the valley of Jezreel. She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to him, Name her No Pity (Lo-Ruhamah) because I will no longer have pity on the nation of Israel. For I will certainly not forgive their guilt. But I will have pity on the nation of Judah. I will deliver them by the Lord their God; I will not deliver them by the

10 10 warrior s bow, by sword, by military victory, by chariot horses, or by chariots. When she had weaned No Pity (Lo-Ruhamah) she conceived again and gave birth to another son. Then the Lord said: Name him Not My People (Lo-Ammi), because you are not my people and I am not your God. However, in the future the number of the people of Israel will be like the sand of the sea which can be neither measured nor numbered. Although it was said to them, You are not my people, it will be said to them, You are children of the living God! Then the people of Judah and the people of Israel will be gathered together. They will appoint for themselves one leader, and will flourish in the land. Certainly, the day of Jezreel will be great! (NET Bible) 3. Hosea 2:1-23, Then you will call your brother, My People (Ammi)! You will call your sister, Pity (Ruhamah)! 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 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.

11 11 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 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. However, in the future I will allure her; I will lead her back into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. From there I will give back her vineyards to her, and turn the Valley of Trouble into an Opportunity for Hope. There she will sing as she did when she was young, when she came up from the land of Egypt. At that time, declares the Lord, you will call, My husband ; you will never again call me, My master. For I will remove the names of the Baal idols from your lips, so that you will never again utter their names! At that time I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creatures that crawl on the ground. I will abolish the warrior s bow and sword that is, every weapon of warfare from the land, and I will allow them to live securely. I will commit myself to you forever; I will commit myself to you in righteousness

12 12 and justice, in steadfast love and tender compassion. I will commit myself to you in faithfulness; then you will acknowledge the Lord. At that time, I will willingly respond, declares the Lord. I will respond to the sky, and the sky will respond to the ground; then the ground will respond to the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil; and they will respond to God Plants (Jezreel)! Then I will plant her as my own in the land. I will have pity on No Pity (Lo-Ruhamah). I will say to Not My People (Lo-Ammi), You are my people! And he will say, You are my God! (NET Bible) 4. Hosea 3:1-5, The Lord said to me, Go, show love to your wife again, even though she loves another man and continually commits adultery. Likewise, the Lord loves the Israelites although they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols. So I paid fifteen shekels of silver and about seven bushels of barley to purchase her. Then I told her, You must live with me many days; you must not commit adultery or have sexual intercourse with another man, and I also will wait for you. For the Israelites must live many days without a king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred fertility pillar, without ephod or idols. Afterward, the Israelites will turn and seek the Lord their God and their Davidic king. Then they will submit to the Lord in fear and receive his blessings in the future. (NET Bible) IV. I remember how you loved me like a new bride; A. Israel in its early days and the church now are pictured as brides of God/Christ. (See Hamilton.) 1. Exodus 24:6-8, Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and half of the blood he splashed on the

13 13 altar. He took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people, and they said, We are willing to do and obey all that the Lord has spoken. So Moses took the blood and splashed it on the people and said, This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words. (NET Bible) 2. 2 Corinthians 11:2, For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. (NET Bible) 3. Ephesians 5:23-27, because the husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is the head of the church he himself being the savior of the body. But as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word, so that he may present the church to himself as glorious not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless. (NET Bible) B. However, Israel, because of later sinfulness, became figuratively an unfaithful wife. C. The early days of Israel s wilderness wanderings were the honeymoon period of their relationship. (See Willis.) V. you followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted. A. The early behavior of Israel toward GOD was commendable although far from perfect and GOD remembered those days with fondness. (Clarke)

14 14 Jeremiah 2:3, Israel was set apart to the Lord; they were like the first fruits of a harvest to him. All who tried to devour them were punished; disaster came upon them, says the Lord. (NET Bible) I. Israel was set apart (holy, sanctified, fully consecrated) to the Lord; they were like the first fruits of a harvest to him. A. Willis suggested the term first fruits references the agricultural life the Israelites would lead and the blessings which Abraham s seed would bring to the world. 1. Israelites were expected to produce first fruits of righteousness and justice. a. Isaiah 5:1-7, I will sing to my love a song to my lover about his vineyard. My love had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He built a hedge around it, removed its stones, and planted a vine. He built a tower in the middle of it, and constructed a winepress. He waited for it to produce edible grapes, but it produced sour ones instead. So now, residents of Jerusalem, people of Judah, you decide between me and my vineyard! What more can I do for my vineyard beyond what I have already done? When I waited for it to produce edible grapes, why did it produce sour ones instead? Now I will inform you what I am about to do to my vineyard: I will remove its hedge and turn it into pasture, I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there. I will make it a wasteland; no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground, and thorns and briers will grow there. I will order the clouds not to drop any rain on it. Indeed Israel is the vineyard of the LORD who commands armies, the people of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took

15 15 delight. He waited for justice, but look what he got disobedience! He waited for fairness, but look what he got cries for help! (NET Bible) B. Here Israel is likened to a quality vineyard which became good for nothing, went to rot and ruin. C. The Israelites belonged wholly to the Lord just as the first fruits were allotted to the priests. (See Clarke.) 1. Numbers 18:13, And whatever first ripe fruit in their land they bring to the LORD will be yours; everyone who is ceremonially clean in your household may eat of it. (NET Bible) D. Israel in those early days, was consecrated to the Lord and the Lord regarded them highly. 1. Exodus 19:5-6, And now, if you will diligently listen to me and keep my covenant, then you will be my special possession out of all the nations, for all the earth is mine, and you will be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you will speak to the Israelites. (NET Bible) 2. Deuteronomy 7:6, For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. He has chosen you to be his people, prized above all others on the face of the earth. (NET Bible) 3. Deuteronomy 14:2, For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. He has chosen you to be his people, prized above all others on the face of the earth. (NET Bible)

16 16 4. Deuteronomy 26:19, Then he will elevate you above all the nations he has made and you will receive praise, fame, and honor. You will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he has said. (NET Bible) E. The first fruits of the land were devoted to the house of the Lord. (The Pulpit Commentary) 1. Exodus 23:19, The first of the firstfruits of your soil you must bring to the house of the Lord your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother s milk. (NET Bible) 2. Numbers 18:12-13, All the best of the olive oil and all the best of the wine and of the wheat, the first fruits of these things that they give to the LORD, I have given to you. And whatever first ripe fruit in their land they bring to the LORD will be yours; everyone who is ceremonially clean in your household may eat of it. (NET Bible) II. All who tried to devour them were punished; disaster came upon them, says the Lord. A. While Israel remained fruitful to God, the Lord protected them from their enemies. 1. In these days of faithfulness, God fought for Israel and defeated their enemies. (See Clarke.) The Unfaithfulness of Israel s Ancestors Jeremiah 2:4, Now listen to what the Lord has to say, you descendants of Jacob, all you family groups from the nation of Israel. (NET Bible)

17 17 I. Now listen to what the Lord has to say, you descendants of Jacob, all you family groups from the nation of Israel. A. The tenor of the message here changes to one of confrontation. B. The descendants of Jacob and family groups from the nation of Israel exhibit the characteristic parallelism of Hebrew poetry, being equivalent references to the Israelites. (Hamilton) C. Willis observed this section also has a double introduction; viz., 1. Now listen to what the Lord has to say, and This is what the Lord says: Jeremiah 2:5, This is what the Lord says: What fault could your ancestors have possibly found in me that they strayed so far from me? They paid allegiance to worthless idols, and so became worthless to me. (NET Bible) I. This is what the Lord says: A. Willis wrote that this appears to be a courtroom setting with the Lord as prosecutor bringing charges against the defendant; that is, Israel/Judah. II. What fault (iniquity) could your ancestors have possibly found in me that they strayed so far from me? A. The Israelites could find no fault with the Lord, but they strayed away from God, anyway! 1. The Lord s actions had in no way contributed to Israel s/judah s unfaithfulness.

18 18 2. This is a rhetorical question presented to sinful Jerusalem. (Hamilton) B. Israel is pictured as an ungrateful heir, Smith advised. They made his inheritance an abomination. 1. Israel was God s beloved, chosen, whom the Lord had delivered from Egyptian and Canaanites enemies. 2. Israel threw all this away by forsaking the Lord, going headlong into sin and worshipping every idol in sight. (See Coffman.) C. God had done Israel only good. (See Clarke.) 1. He had in no way mistreated Israel. 2. He was not at fault for Israel s forsaking him and going headlong after idols. a. Deuteronomy 32:4, As for the Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are just. He is a reliable God who is never unjust, he is fair and upright. (NET Bible) b. Psalm 18:36, You widen my path; my feet do not slip. (NET Bible) c. Micah 6:3, My people, how have I wronged you? How have I wearied you? Answer me! (NET Bible) d. Isaiah 5:3, So now, residents of Jerusalem, people of Judah, you decide between me and my vineyard! (NET Bible)

19 19 III. They paid allegiance to worthless idols, and so became worthless to me! A. The rulers, prophets, priests and people followed the unprofitable paths of idolatry, Smith wrote. 1. Israel went after idols, served them as a vassal, and sank from priceless to worthless. 2. Romans 1:21, For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened. (NET Bible) B. Why did Israel become unfaithful to God? 1. Could it be that they were deceived into thinking that the idols rather than God provided what they wanted? Jeremiah 2:6, They did not ask: Where is the Lord who delivered us out of Egypt, who brought us through the wilderness, through a land of desert sands and rift valleys, through a land of drought and deep darkness, through a land in which no one travels, and where no one lives? (NET Bible) I. They did not ask: A. They did not ask the right question nor seek the right God. 1. The right question follows: II. Where is the Lord who delivered us out of Egypt, who brought us through the wilderness, through a land of desert sands and rift (pits) valleys, a land of drought and deep darkness, through a land in which no one travels, and where no one lives?

20 20 A. For all these blessings, Israel showed no appreciation. (Willis) 1. Gratitude and praise with lives of justice and righteousness would have been the appropriate responses. (See Willis.) B. The desert between Mt. Sinai and Palestine abounds in chasms and pits, in which beasts of burden may sink down to their knees. Shadow of death refers to the darkness of the caverns amidst the rocky precipices, Coffman wrote. 1. Deuteronomy 8:15, and who brought you through the great, fearful desert of venomous serpents and scorpions, an arid place with no water. He made water flow from a flint rock and (NET Bible) 2. Isaiah 63:11-14, His people remembered the ancient times. Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea, along with the shepherd of his flock? Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them, the one who made his majestic power available to Moses, who divided the water before them, gaining for himself a lasting reputation, who led them through the deep water? Like a horse running on flat land they did not stumble. Like an animal that goes down into a valley to graze, so the Spirit of the LORD granted them rest. In this way you guided your people, gaining for yourself an honored reputation. (NET Bible) Jeremiah 2:7, I brought you into a fertile land so you could enjoy its fruits and its rich bounty. But when you entered my land, you defiled it; you made the land I call my own loathsome to me. (NET Bible)

21 21 I. I brought you into a fertile land (plentiful country) so you could enjoy its fruits and its rich bounty. A. The Lord brought Israel into a land flowing with milk and honey, the Promised Land. 1. God was most generous to his chosen people, Israel. 2. Jeremiah 4:26, I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert and that all of the cities had been laid in ruins. The LORD had brought this all about because of his blazing anger. (NET Bible) 3. Isaiah 29:17, In just a very short time Lebanon will turn into an orchard, and the orchard will be considered a forest. (NET Bible) 4. Isaiah 37:24, Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, With my many chariots I climbed up the high mountains, the slopes of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedars and its best evergreens. I invaded its most remote regions, its thickest woods. (NET Bible) II. But when you entered my land, you defiled it; A. The Israelites were totally ungrateful for all God s gifts. 1. They did not appreciate God s goodness to them at all! B. By their sinfulness they defiled the land God had given them. III. you made the land I call my own loathsome to me. A. Israel took God s gift and polluted it making it loathsome even to the Lord who had given it to them.

22 22 B. What is our attitude regarding God s blessings? Jeremiah 2:8, Your priests did not ask, Where is the Lord? Those responsible for teaching my law did not really know me. Your rulers rebelled against me. Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal. They all worshiped idols that could not help them. (NET Bible) I. Your priests did not ask, Where is the Lord? A. The priests had failed to teach the word of the Lord to the people. 1. Leviticus 10:11, and to teach the Israelites all the statutes that the LORD has spoken to them through Moses. (NET Bible) 2. Deuteronomy 24:8, Be careful during an outbreak of leprosy to follow precisely all that the Levitical priests instruct you; as I have commanded them, so you should do. (NET Bible) 3. They did not even seek the Lord who would have been easy to find, everywhere present. 4. The priests did seek the Lord. B. It was the priests obligation to know the law and teach it to the people. (See The Pulpit Commentary.) 1. Deuteronomy 17:9-11, You will go to the Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and seek a solution; they will render a verdict. You must then do as they have determined at that place the LORD chooses. Be

23 23 careful to do just as you are taught. You must do what you are instructed, and the verdict they pronounce to you, without fail. Do not deviate right or left from what they tell you. (NET Bible) 2. Deuteronomy 33:10, They will teach Jacob your ordinances and Israel your law; they will offer incense as a pleasant odor, and a whole offering on your altar. (NET Bible) 3. Deuteronomy 18:18, I will raise up a prophet like you for them from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them whatever I command. (NET Bible) II. Those responsible for teaching my law did not really know me. A. Could this be said of many of today s preachers and church leaders? B. Teachers of the law did not know the law of the Lord nor the Lord himself. 1. Furthermore, they showed no interest in learning God s law or really knowing the Lord. III. Your rulers rebelled against me. A. Political, civil rulers rebelled against the Lord and lead the people away from God. (See Willis.) 1. Rulers today who lead people away from God are everywhere, too many to count. IV. Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal.

24 24 A. False prophets are also everywhere, too numerous to count. B. Those who were charged with the responsibility of leading the people in the way of righteousness; that is, the priests, scribes, rulers and prophets, were chief among those who lead the people away from God. (See Willis.) 1. Jeremiah 22:16, He upheld the cause of the poor and needy. So things went well for Judah. The LORD says, That is a good example of what it means to know me. (NET Bible) 2. Many of God s prophets were now prophesying for Baal. (See Willis.) 3. Coffman concluded that Israel s leaders were stupid, blind, selfish, and apostate. C. Prophets who were supposed to proclaim God s word forsook God and went to work for Baal. 1. Talking about lying spirits. (Clarke) V. They all worshipped idols that (do not profit) could not help them. A. Psalm 115:4-8, Their idols are made of silver and gold they are man-made. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see, ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell, hands, but cannot touch, feet, but cannot walk. They cannot even clear their throats. Those who make them will end up like them, as will everyone who trusts in them. (NET Bible) B. Psalm 135:15-18, The nations idols are made of silver and gold, they are man-made. They have mouths, but cannot speak,

25 25 eyes, but cannot see, and ears, but cannot hear. Indeed, they cannot breathe. Those who make them will end up like them, as will everyone who trusts in them. (NET Bible) C. God had delivered Israel from Egyptian captivity, through the Red Sea, across the wilderness and into the land flowing with milk and honey. 1. Israel turned to idols unable to do anything for anybody. 2. What sense does that make? a. Jeremiah 16:19, Then I said, Lord, you give me strength and protect me. You are the one I can run to for safety when I am in trouble Nations from all over the earth will come to you and say, Our ancestors had nothing but false gods worthless idols that could not help them at all. (NET Bible) b. Isaiah 44:9, All who form idols are nothing; the things in which they delight are worthless. Their witnesses cannot see; they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame. (NET Bible) c. 1 Samuel 12:21, You should not turn aside after empty things that can t profit and can t deliver, since they are empty. (NET Bible) Israel Charged With Spiritual Adultery Jeremiah 2:9, So, once more I will state my case against you, says the Lord. I will also state it against your children and grandchildren. (NET Bible) I. So, once more I will state my case against you, says the Lord.

26 26 A. God charged Israel with having committed an unprecedented crime and with having no defense. (Smith) 1. This verse pictures the Lord as a persecuting attorney pressing a criminal case against a defendant (Israel) who has no defense. (See Coffman.) II. I will also state it against your children and grandchildren. A. Clarke wrote that the Lord would vindicate his conduct and prove the wickedness of Israel s conduct. B. God visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation. 1. Exodus 20:5, You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children to the third and fourth generations of those who reject me, (NET Bible) Jeremiah 2:10, Go west across the sea to the coasts of Cyprus and see. Send someone east to Kedar and have them look carefully. See if such a thing as this has ever happened: (NET Bible) I. Go west across the sea to the coasts of Cyprus (Kittim, Chittim) and see. A. Cyprus and Kedar figuratively represent the eastern and western extremities. (See Hamilton.) 1. Go everywhere and you will see that this is true, Israel was being told.

27 27 2. The Pulpit Commentary suggested Chittim, Cyprus could represent the islands and maritime countries of the West. a. Genesis 10:4, The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim, and the Dodanim. (NET Bible) b. Numbers 24:24, Ships will come from the coast of Kittim, and will afflict Asshur, and will afflict Eber, and he will also perish forever. (NET Bible) c. Daniel 11:30, The ships of Kittim will come against him, leaving him disheartened. He will turn back and direct his indignation against the holy covenant. He will return and honor those who forsake the holy covenant. (NET Bible) II. Send someone east to Kedar (Arabia) and have them look carefully. A. Kedar was in northern Arabia between Petraea and Babylonia and represents the far east. (See Coffman and The Pulpit Commentary.) 1. Kedar can represent the Arab tribes in general. a. Jeremiah 49:28, The Lord spoke about Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered. Army of Babylon, go and attack Kedar. Lay waste those who live in the eastern desert. (NET Bible) b. Isaiah 21:16-17, For this is what the sovereign master has told me: Within exactly one year all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. Just a handful of archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be

28 28 left. Indeed, the LORD God of Israel has spoken. (NET Bible) III. See if such a thing as this has ever happened: A. Look everywhere! No other people had done such a thing; that is, renounce their ancestral god and pledge their allegiance to imaginary deities. 1. Has any heathen nation ever changed its idol-god for another? (The Pulpit Commentary) 2. In fact, nations have changed gods either by force when conquered by a foreign nation or willingly. (See The Pulpit Commentary.) a. Consider the mythologies of ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, Native Americans, Central and South American native, et. al. 3. In various ways, however, Israel s behavior was the worst on record in a number of ways. Jeremiah 2:11, Has a nation ever changed its gods (even though they are not really gods at all)? But my people have exchanged me, their glorious God, for a god that cannot help them at all! (NET Bible) I. Has a nation ever changed its gods (even though they are not really gods at all? A. No such change of gods could be named. (Willis) 1. Israel/Judah had set a new world s record in switching gods. (Willis)

29 29 2. in all history it was never even heard of that a pagan nation would forsake its ancestral gods! (Coffman) 3. Idols were thought to have provided basic needs while the Lord sought to lift Israel to a high spiritual level.. (Coffman) II. But my people have exchanged me, their glorious God, for a god that cannot help them at all! A. God s people had exchanged the Lord for worthless idols and had become worthless themselves. 1. Their glorious God was the source of all outward prosperity. (The Pulpit Commentary) a. Psalm 3:3, But you, LORD, are a shield that protects me; you are my glory and the one who restores me. (NET) b. Amos 8:7, The LORD confirms this oath by the arrogance of Jacob: I swear I will never forget all you have done! (NET) c. Hosea 5:5, The arrogance of Israel testifies against it; Israel and Ephraim will be overthrown because of their iniquity. Even Judah will be brought down with them. (NET) d. Psalm 106:20, They traded their majestic God for the image of an ox that eats grass. (NET) e. Romans 1:28, And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done. (NET)

30 30 Jeremiah 2:12, Be amazed at this, O heavens! Be shocked and utterly dumbfounded, says the Lord. (NET Bible) I. Be amazed (astonished, appalled) at this, O heavens! Be chocked and utterly dumbfounded. says the Lord. A. Even the heavens are astonished (Clarke) at Israel s behavior. 1. All concerned are shocked and utterly dumbfounded by the iniquities of Israel which were worse than heaven or earth had ever witnessed before. (See Clarke.) 2. Become stiff with horror appears to be the meaning here. Be amazed, appalled. (The Pulpit Commentary) Jeremiah 2:13, Do so because my people have committed a double wrong: they have rejected me, the fountain of life-giving water, and they have dug cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns which cannot even hold water. (NET Bible) I. Do so because my people have committed a double wrong (two evils): A. These two evils were rejecting, forsaking the fountain of living waters (i.e., Yahweh) and hewing out for themselves cisterns which were broken and could hold no water. (Smith) 1. Israel had rejected the Lord and had begun worshipping a variety of idols. a. Jeremiah 17:13, You are the one in whom Israel may find hope. All who leave you will suffer shame. Those who turn away from you will be consigned to

31 31 the netherworld. For they have rejected you, the LORD, the fountain of life. (NET) b. Psalm 36:9, For you are the one who gives and sustains life. (NET) II. they have rejected me, the fountain of life-giving water, A. The Lord was a fountain of life-giving water, but Israel rejected him. B. In a dry, arid desert land this metaphor would be clearly understood by all. (See Willis.) 1. Springs, Oases, wells were highly prized. a. Why then would any rational person exchange a fountain of life-giving water (Yahweh) for a cistern (idols) that would hold no water? C. Israel had rejected God and had gone after worthlessness, a double wrong. (See Coffman.) III. and they have dug cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns which cannot even hold water. A. Instead, they rejected God, turned to idols, dug cisterns that were cracked and would not even hold water, much less produce water. B. Willis reminds us that all too often we seek solutions to our problems and needs in places and from sources that have no solutions whereas we ought to seek help from God, the fountain of all blessings.

32 32 C. Israel foolishly exchanged a spring, fountain of life-giving water for a cracked cistern that would not hold water. (See Coffman.) 1. Well built cisterns were necessary in a desert land to hold, conserve water through the dry season. 2. Even for a good cistern, no wise person would trade a fountain of life-giving water. Israel s Reliance of Foreign Alliances Jeremiah 2:14, Israel is not a slave, is he? He was not born into slavery, was he? If not, why then is he being carried off? (NET Bible) I. Israel is not a slave, is he? He was not born into slavery, was he? A. The answer to their two questions is, No. 1. Israel was a son in the family of God. a. Exodus 4:22, You must say to Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord, Israel is my son, my firstborn, (NET) 2. They despised their relationship with God and chased after idols. II. If not, why then is he being carried off? A. A triple question as seen here suggests the beginning of a new unit. (Willis)

33 33 1. Jeremiah 2:31, You people of this generation, listen to what the Lord says. Have I been like a wilderness to you, Israel? Have I been like a dark and dangerous land to you? Why then do you say, We are free to wander. We will not come to you any more? (NET) 2. Jeremiah 8:4, 22, The Lord said to me, Tell them, The Lord says, Do people not get back up when they fall down? Do they not turn around when they go the wrong way? There is still medicinal ointment available in Gilead! There is still a physician there! Why then have my dear people not been restored to health? (NET) 3. Jeremiah 14:19, Then I said, Lord, have you completely rejected the nation of Judah? Do you despise the city of Zion? Why have you struck us with such force that we are beyond recovery? We hope for peace, but nothing good has come of it. We hope for a time of relief from our troubles, but experience terror. (NET) 4. Jeremiah 49:1, The Lord spoke about the Ammonites. Do you think there are not any people of the nation of Israel remaining? Do you think there are not any of them remaining to reinherit their land? Is that why you people who worship the god Milcom have taken possession of the territory of Gad and live in his cities? (NET) B. This question requires an answer. 1. They may have answered that all their troubles were God s fault. 2. God s reply was that Israel s/judah s troubles were the result of their sins in forsaking him and following idols and their sinful lifestyles.

34 34 Jeremiah 2:15, Like lions his enemies roar victoriously over him; they raise their voices in triumph. They have laid his land waste; his cities have been burned down and deserted. (NET Bible) I. Like (young) lions his enemies roar victoriously over him; they raise their voices in triumph. A. Hamilton wrote that lions are a metaphor for foreign rulers from both Egypt and Mesopotamia (Assyria and Babylonia) Kings 17:25, When they first moved in, they did not worship the LORD. So the LORD sent lions among them and the lions were killing them. (NET) 2. 1 Samuel 17:34, David replied to Saul, Your servant has been a shepherd for his father s flock. Whenever a lion or bear would come and carry off a sheep from the flock, (NET) 3. Isaiah 5:29-30, Their roar is like a lion s; they roar like young lions. They growl and seize their prey; they drag it away and no one can come to the rescue. At that time they will growl over their prey, it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster, clouds will turn the light into darkness. (NET) 4. 2 Kings 19:25, Certainly you must have heard! Long ago I worked it out, In ancient times I planned it; and now I am bringing it to pass. The plan is this: Fortified cities will crash into heaps of ruins. (NET) B. Coffman wrote, These words make it certain that the passage applies to Northern Israel particularly, because, since 722 B.C.

35 35 when the Samaritan Israel had fallen to Assyria, the young lions (identifying Assyria) had indeed been feeding upon the ruins of Northern Israel. 1. Nahum 2:11-13, Where now is the den of the lions, the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion, lioness, and lion cub once prowled and no one disturbed them? The lion tore apart as much prey as his cubs needed and strangled prey to provide food for his lionesses; he filled his lairs with prey and his dens with torn flesh. I am against you! declares the LORD who commands armies: I will burn your chariots with fire; the sword will devour your young lions; you will no longer prey upon the land; the voices of your messengers will no longer be heard. (NET) 2. Clarke wrote, The Assyrians had sacked and destroyed the kingdom of Israel with a fierceness like that of animals pouncing upon their prey. II. They have laid his land waste; his cities have been burned down and deserted. A. Smith wrote, Powerful nations (young lions) had plundered the land leaving cities desolate. From B.C. the Assyrians had systematically destroyed the Northern Kingdom and deported most of her citizens. B. Israel had been plundered, towns had been burned and left deserted. Jeremiah 2:16, Even the soldiers from Memphis and Tahpanhes have cracked your skulls, people of Israel. (NET Bible)

36 36 I. Even the soldiers from Memphis (Moph, Noph) and Tahpanhes (Daphni) have cracked your skulls, people of Israel. A. Egyptian soldiers from Memphis and Tahpanhes would humiliate the people of Israel. (See Smith.) 1. This may refer to Pharaoh Neco s defeat of Josiah at Megiddo in 609 B.C. and the following deportation of King Jehoahaz to Egypt. (Smith) a. If so, this can be dated to 609 B.C. (Willis) b. 2 Kings 23:29-34, During Josiah s reign Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt marched toward the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched out to fight him, but Necho killed him at Megiddo when he saw him. His servants transported his dead body from Megiddo in a chariot and brought it to Jerusalem, where they buried him in his tomb. The people of the land took Josiah s son Jehoahaz, poured olive oil on his head, and made him king in his father s place. Jehoahaz was twentythree years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. He did evil in the sight of the Lord as his ancestors had done. Pharaoh Necho imprisoned him in Riblah in the land of Hamath and prevented him from ruling in Jerusalem. He imposed on the land a special tax of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. Pharaoh Necho made Josiah s son Eliakim king in Josiah s place, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. He took Jehoahaz to Egypt, where he died. (NET)

37 37 2. Egyptians have shaved the crown of your heads. 3. Talpanhes, a fortified frontier town, was located on the eastern border of the Egyptian Delta while Memphis was an ancient royal city which was situated on the west bank of the Nile River about thirteen miles south of Cairo. (Coffman and Youngblood, Nelson s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary) 4. Josiah s death could be referenced as cracking the skull. B. One of the evils of Israel/Judah was they sought help in times of trouble from heathen nations instead of seeking help from God. (See Willis.) 1. Egypt and Assyria were regarded as possible allies, enemies of Israel, but a greater danger was developing from the Babylonians. (See Willis.) Jeremiah 2:17, You have brought all this on yourself, Israel, by deserting the Lord your God when he was leading you along the right path. (NET Bible) I. You have brought all this on yourself, Israel, A. Because of their sins, all these evils had come upon Israel. B. The same is true of us all. We reap what we sow! II. by deserting the Lord your God when he was leading you along the right path (way). A. Israel was pictured as a faithless wife who had prostituted herself with other gods.

38 38 B. God was leading Israel in the right path, way, but they refused to follow his lead. 1. Jeremiah 31:9, They will come back shedding tears of contrition. I will bring them back praying prayers of repentance. I will lead them besides streams of water, along smooth paths where they will never stumble. I will do this because I am Israel s father; Ephraim is my firstborn son. (NET) 2. Psalm 25:8, The LORD is both kind and fair; that is why he teaches sinners the right way to live. (NET) Jeremiah 2:18, What good will it do you then to go down to Egypt to seek help from the Egyptians? What good will it do you to go over to Assyria to seek help from the Assyrians? (NET Bible) I. What good will it do you then to go down to Egypt to seek help (to drink water from the Shihor) from the Egyptians? A. Israel held Egypt and Mesopotamia in awe and had forsaken the Lord. (Smith) 1. Israel sought alliances and help from Egypt, but found Egypt to be an enemy. 2. Sihor or Shihor refers to the Nile River. (Clarke) a. Isaiah 23:3, the deep waters! Grain from the Shihor region, crops grown near the Nile she receives; she is the trade center of the nations. (NET) B. None, is the answer to this question.

39 39 1. To the contrary, going over to Egypt will cause them great harm! C. Alliances with foreign nations were forbidden by the Mosaic Law. II. What good will it do you to go over to Assyria to seek help (to drink water from the River)(NIV 1984) from the Assyrians? A. None! Is the answer to this question. 1. To the contrary, going over to Assyria will cause them great harm. a. The River here refers to the Euphrates. (Clarke) 2. Also, Assyria and Egypt were defeated by the Babylonians at Carchemish. B. Israel was unwisely seeking help from their enemies, a very bad mistake! Jeremiah 2:19, Your own wickedness will bring about your punishment. Your unfaithful acts will bring down discipline on you. Know, then, and realize how utterly harmful it was for you to reject me, the Lord your God, to show no respect for me, says the Lord God who rules over all. (NET Bible) I. Your own wickedness will bring about your punishment! A. Related references: 1. Deuteronomy 8:5, Be keenly aware that just as a parent disciplines his child, the LORD your God disciplines you. (NET)