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Journal Entries

Jeremiah 3:6-4:4--Faithless Israel Called to Repentance

4/25/2025

 
Jeremiah 3:6-4:4
English Standard Version


Faithless Israel Called to Repentance
6 The LORD said to me in the days of King Josiah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the whore? 7 And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8 She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore. 9 Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree. 10 Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the LORD.”

11 And the LORD said to me, “Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say,

“‘Return, faithless Israel,
declares the LORD.
I will not look on you in anger,
    for I am merciful,
declares the LORD;
I will not be angry forever.
13 Only acknowledge your guilt,
    that you rebelled against the LORD your God
and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree,
    and that you have not obeyed my voice,
declares the LORD.
14 Return, O faithless children,
declares the LORD;
    for I am your master;
I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,
    and I will bring you to Zion.

15 “‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the LORD, they shall no more say, “The ark of the covenant of the LORD.” It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again. 17 At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the LORD, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart. 18 In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers for a heritage.

19 “‘I said,
    How I would set you among my sons,
and give you a pleasant land,
    a heritage most beautiful of all nations.
And I thought you would call me, My Father,
    and would not turn from following me.
20 Surely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband,
    so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel,
declares the LORD.’”

21 A voice on the bare heights is heard,
    the weeping and pleading of Israel's sons
because they have perverted their way;
    they have forgotten the LORD their God.
22 “Return, O faithless sons;
    I will heal your faithlessness.”
“Behold, we come to you,
    for you are the LORD our God.
23 Truly the hills are a delusion,
    the orgies on the mountains.
Truly in the LORD our God
    is the salvation of Israel.

24 “But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our fathers labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. For we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.”

4 “If you return, O Israel,
declares the LORD,
    to me you should return.
If you remove your detestable things from my presence,
    and do not waver,
2 and if you swear, ‘As the LORD lives,’
    in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,
then nations shall bless themselves in him,
    and in him shall they glory.”

3 For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

“Break up your fallow ground,
    and sow not among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD;
    remove the foreskin of your hearts,
    O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem;
lest my wrath go forth like fire,
    and burn with none to quench it,
    because of the evil of your deeds.”

God does not mince His words when He speaks to Jeremiah about Israel playing the whore when they go to worship all the other gods of all the other nations on every hilltop and in every grove during the days of King Josiah.  Josiah was a "good" king, but the people still bound themselves to their idols.  She never returned home, never tired of her life of shameful rebellion, and now the Land is polluted by her sin.  Only in pretense does she come back when she wants something.

God calls out Judah and says that the northern kingdom of Israel is "more righteous" than they are.  That was a slap in the face to the kingdom of Judah that was made up the people of Judah, Benjamin and Levi and had the Temple and all who served in it and the kings.  They fancied themselves the righteous ones when Israel had wicked kings like Jeroboam and Ahab, but the LORD sees the heart and is not fooled by the outward actions that are just going through the motions of "going to church" with an insincere heart for the people of the southern kingdom.

God calls all of Israel (but especially the northern 10 tribes) to return to Him and to stop worshiping their idols (they will not and will be first to go into Exile).  God promises that if the northern tribes return to the LORD, they will have access to Mount Zion (The Temple) again, which they have been cut off from.  He also promises good king (shepherds) for them.  He will reunite the divided kingdom under one king who will be a good king--ultimately fulfilled in Jesus, but the kingdom was reunited after the Exile.

​The LORD wishes to restore them and bless them again, even though they have been treacherous and deserve nothing of the sort.  (Aren't we glad that the LORD doesn't give us what we deserve).  The LORD continues to send them prophets to call His people to repentance, but they do not listen to them--they even threaten the prophets with persecution and death.  The prefer the false prophets that will say whatever the king and the people are willing to pay for.  Want the gods to curse your enemies?  That can be arranged for a price.  Want a prophecy of blessing?  That too can be bought for a price.  You get the idea.  The whole system of false gods and false prophets was meant to enrich the priestly class and the gods were really powerless to do anything to bless or to curse because they were not real.  These demons only had the limited power that the LORD allowed them to have.

The LORD invites the northern kingdom (and the southern kingdom too) to return to Him, but they have to get rid of their idols if they are going to come back.  They cannot have a divided heart and a double-mind.  That would be like inviting the woman you had married back to be your wife while she is having an open elicit affair with another man that everyone knows about.  You would not do that--you would tell her that she has to stop seeing other men and live in accordance with her marital vows if she is to return to your house and live as your wife.

The LORD then changes metaphors and says they are like land that was once a vineyard that has laid fallow and needs to be tilled and cultivated so that the stones and weeds and thorns are removed and the walls rebuilt so that animals do not make their dens and nests there.  God calls them to circumcise their hearts so that they become His people not only with an outward commitment to the covenant, but an inward one.  Otherwise, there is no choice than for the landowner (the LORD) to set the land on fire to burn up the weeds and thorns and thistles if the land refuses to grow good things even after it is cultivated.  The LORD will eventually judge them if they do not turn to Him in repentance.  That day is coming soon when the kingdoms of Assyria and Babylon (both very wicked kingdoms) will be used by God to judge His people.

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    Daniel Westfall

    I will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others.

    Occasionally, I'll also post some true blog/opinion pieces focused on what the Bible has to say about current events or the importance of a particular spiritual discipline, or something more topic-related to orthodoxy (right belief) or orthopraxy (right living).  You can also find those blogs over at Faith and Culture.

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