Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

2:1-2 God's word is aimed at Jerusalem, the heart of the nation. God recalls Israel's past devotion (Hb. hesed, the term used in covenantal passages to indicate loyalty, faithfulness, and commitment). While in the wilderness Israel had the love of a bride for her husband (Hos. 2:14-15).

2:3 Israel was holy to the Lord, set apart for his purposes, just as Jeremiah was set apart for the Lord's purposes in his role as a prophet (1:5). Israel was the firstfruits of his (God's) harvest, his chosen and blessed people. He protected Israel, for all who ate of it (i.e., of Israel as the holy firstfruits) faced disaster, such as befell Egypt at the Red Sea (Ex. 14:1-15:21). Now disaster awaits Israel (Jer. 1:14); a great reversal has occurred.

2:4 God's message is for all the clans of the house of Israel, for all the people with whom God made the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants. Here, it is specifically Judah (and any remnants of the northern tribes who had taken refuge there).

2:5 Israel has been faithless to God though God was faithful to Israel. The Israelites found fault where there was no fault (31:32). They sought out lifeless, and therefore "worthless," idols (Isa. 44:9-20; Jer. 8:19; 10:1-25; 14:22; 16:19; 51:17-18) and as a result became worthless covenant partners.

2:6 The Israelites did not seek the Lord, the one whose sovereign power brought them up from the land of Egypt, the one who led them through a land of deserts, pits, drought, darkness, and desolation. They quickly forgot who had saved and sustained them.

2:7 God gave his people Canaan, a plentiful land full of fruits and . . . good things. God delivered them from Egypt, bringing them through the desert and into the Promised Land. Yet once there they defiled God's land by embracing Canaanite gods (Judg. 2:11-15).

2:8 Three groups (priests, shepherds, and prophets) bear heavy responsibility for this unfaithfulness. The priests handle the law but did not know God. Their lack of saving, knowledgeable faith meant they could not teach the people the knowledge of God (Hos. 4:1-3). The shepherds, the nation's rulers (see note on Jer. 3:15), rebelled against God's rule. The prophets prophesied by Baal rather than by the Spirit of God, a clear contrast to the task of a true prophet (1:17-19). Baal was a Canaanite storm god. Considered the source of fertility, he was thought to make the earth and women bear fruit. Such power was important in an agricultural economy. Worship practices included sexual activities for men and women at sacred shrines. Thus, people could worship money, sex, and power and be considered righteous for doing so. In the ninth century b.c., Baalism was promoted by Jezebel and Ahab (of the northern kingdom) but opposed by Elijah (1 Kings 16:29-18:46).

2:9 Given this situation, God will contend with Israel. This word introduces a common lawsuit metaphor (25:31; Hos. 4:1-4).

2:10-11 The charge is that God's people have done worse than idolaters. Most nations are loyal to their lifeless deities, but Israel has forsaken their glory (i.e., Yahweh and the covenants) for that which does not profit. Their act is as unnatural as it is ungrateful.

2:12-13 The heavens, called as witnesses in the lawsuit (see note on v. 9), are appalled by Israel's twin evils of abandoning the fountain of living waters for broken cisterns that can hold no water. Palestine has three sources of water: the best is fresh running water, such as flows from a spring or stream, which is called "living water" (Hb. mayim khayyim; cf. Lev. 14:5, ESV footnote; Gen. 26:19; Song 4:15; John 4:10-11; 7:38; Rev. 7:17); next comes ground water, such as might collect in a well; and last is runoff water collected in a cistern (a pit hewn into the limestone and plastered to prevent seepage; see note on Jer. 38:6; it also collects silt and mosquito larvae). Thus, in Jeremiah's image, not only have the Israelites traded the best of water supplies for the worst, but their cistern is broken, with all its water leaked out and nothing but sludge remaining. Their covenant infidelity is not just ungrateful and unnatural; it is also foolish. It leaves them without help in the coming difficult days.

2:14 Is Israel a slave? This rhetorical question expects a negative answer. Israel is God's bride (v. 2), not a slave or homeborn servant. Yet she has become prey, or the "plunder" of war (Num. 14:3). How did Israel go from being the one God protected (Jer. 2:3) to the one God let enemies capture?

2:15 The lions are nations like Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon that have made Israel's cities lie in ruins, without inhabitant (vv. 18, 36).

2:16 Prior to the exiles of 605, 597, and 586 b.c., Egypt took parts of Judah's land and received many refugees. Egypt seemed like Judah's ally against Babylon (43:7-9), but actually took advantage of Judah.

2:17 The only answer to the question in v. 14 is that Israel has brought all of this on itself by turning from God's protection and has therefore left itself defenseless. See Lev. 26:14-33 and Deut. 28:15-63.

2:18-19 Resorting to allies like Egypt and Assyria cannot save Judah now. In fact, doing so amounts to apostasy and evil. The Judeans do not fear God in the sense of respecting and trusting him and their covenant with him.

2:20 At the time of the exodus God broke Israel's bonds. He set the Israelites free, yet they refused to serve him. Indeed, under every green tree, the places where local idols were worshiped, the people bowed down like a whore. This stark language is meant to stir shame, though it pales in comparison to imagery found in Ezekiel 16, 20, and 23. Israel committed spiritual whoredom (see note on Jer. 3:1; cf. Hos. 2:1-13).

2:21 God planted Israel in the Promised Land (Ex. 15:17) out of pure seed. Yet Israel has become a wild vine that bears only putrid fruit. For the image of Israel as a vine and vineyard, see notes on Isa. 5:1 and Ezek. 15:1-8. The Septuagint of this verse reads, "Yet I planted you a fruitful vine, all true." This probably is the background for Jesus' words in John 15:1, "the true vine": he claims to embody the genuine people of God, unlike the Israelites of Isaiah's day.

2:22 Apparently the people tried to cover their sins through ritual cleansing using lye and much soap (cf. Ps. 51:2, 7; Isa. 1:15-20). A cleansing that is merely ritual does not remove guilt. Only repentance and God's forgiveness can do that.

2:23-24 Israel has become unclean, or unfit to appear before God, by serving Baal. All sorts of pagan observances occurred in the valley (7:31-32; 2 Kings 23:10; 2 Chron. 28:3). The Israelites have acted like a wild donkey . . . in her heat sniffing the wind and going where the scent leads her. They run to Baal, Egypt, and Assyria.

2:25 God gave Israel sandals (Deut. 29:5) and water (Ex. 17:6) in the desert. Her "Husband" thus supported her, but she loved foreigners and was determined to keep her lovers. Her decision defied logic.

2:26-27 All the culprits mentioned in 1:17-19 and 2:8 will be shamed like a captured thief. They turned their back to God, pretending to worship him (v. 22) while pursuing deities made from a tree or a stone (v. 27). Thus, they think they can receive God's deliverance whenever they need it.

2:28-29 God is not fooled or moved. Let them arise. God challenges the Israelites to have their helpless, inanimate gods save them. After all, they worship as many gods as they have cities! In their prayers they contend (or bring suit) against God, when he has reason to contend with them (v. 9). They have transgressed (or broken faith with) their bridal covenant with God (v. 2). They have no case against God.

2:30 Though God struck the Israelites in order to bring them back to himself (Lev. 26:14-24; Amos 4:6-13), they took no correction. Instead, their sword devoured . . . prophets. They killed the very messengers of God sent to warn and help them (2 Kings 17:13-14; 21:16; Neh. 9:26; Jer. 26:20-23).

2:31-32 God's question basically means, "Have I failed to keep my word to bless you and thus have been like a wilderness and a land of thick darkness?" If not, then Israel is not free to forsake him. To do so is like a bride forgetting her jewelry and wedding dress on her wedding day. No bride forgets such things, yet Israel, God's bride (v. 2), has forgotten him repeatedly.

2:33 Israel's treachery is so complete and so well planned that wicked women learn from her.

2:34 Covenant infidelity always leads to ethical infidelity. God has found the lifeblood of the guiltless poor on Israel's skirts (Amos 4:1-5). Israel has harmed the poor though they did not break into her home (Ex. 22:2). She has brought false charges for her own gain.

2:35 Israel claims she is innocent, which only adds to her guilt. God will bring her to judgment for committing spiritual perjury.

2:36-37 Israel changes her political course of action (v. 18) very easily, but whoever she chooses (whether Egypt or Assyria) will bring her shame. Placing one's hands on one's head was a sign of grief brought on by sexual shame. Tamar did so when Amnon raped her (2 Sam. 13:19). But Israel is actually guilty of seeking sexual shame. Her shame will be apparent when Assyria and Egypt fail to defeat Babylon. Israel has trusted allies whom God has rejected. She will chase her lovers, lose her virtue, and forfeit her land.

3:1 Jeremiah may have Deut. 24:1-4 in mind, which answers the first question (will he return to her?) negatively and the second question (Would not that land be greatly polluted?) positively. With the words played the whore (cf. Jer. 2:20; 13:27), Jeremiah uses the image of Judah as God's promiscuously unfaithful wife; the image begins in the Pentateuch (Ex. 34:15; Deut. 31:16) and is widespread in the Prophets (Isa. 1:21; Ezekiel 16; 23; Hosea 1-3). Israel tries to alternate between God and idols (Jer. 2:25, 27, 35-36), but God rejects this arrangement. She must commit herself exclusively to God.

3:2 The imagery moves to Israel sitting by waysides . . . awaiting lovers. Such idolatry pollutes the Promised Land (Lev. 18:25-28).

3:3 God says the showers have been withheld as a means of trying to get Israel to change (Deut. 28:24; Amos 4:7). The nation's sin resulted in economic loss. Yet Israel has the forehead of a whore, which refers either to her blatant obstinacy (cf. Isa. 48:4; Ezek. 3:7) or to a special headpiece worn by prostitutes. Either way this metaphor highlights Israel's refusal to be ashamed.

3:4-5 Israel acts as if God has been angry for no reason, or perhaps for too long. She calls out to God after being with other lovers/gods (2:26-29), but God cannot accept her duplicity.