Devotional Commentary:  Jeremiah 3

When Jeremiah was preaching for the Lord his father Hilkiah the Highpriest found the book of Deuteronomy in the temple in the year 624/623 BCE or 18^th year of Josiah. Jeremiah was fond of this Book of Moses and he read Deuteronomy from cover to cover and again and again. He couldn’t stop reading it. So one day a message came to Jeremiah from the Lord “God says” (verse 1) and God cited from four verses by Moses in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 which became the civil law of the remnant dealing with the issue what to do when a woman is divorced from her husband but then marries again and is divorced again from the second husband but want to come back to the first husband? Cannot, says Moses in Deuteronomy. Jeremiah knew the case-law very well here and presented a paraphrase of exactly the same meaning of Moses to this law. Not a letter in the word argues for a different meaning than Moses. They are 100% saying the same thing regarding the civil law. But God is speaking not Jeremiah and Jeremiah is not trying to add or twist God’s words as some modern Jewish commentators are trying to argue, He compared civil law case of an intimate relationship going sour with a spiritual case of an intimate relationship which went sour. That is verse 1 and there is no attempt by Jeremiah to change Moses’ law of prohibition of return into a call for return. The God of Moses prohibiting did not change to a new God of Jeremiah permitting. It is the same God. The levels are different since the relationship is between human and human in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 but actually in chapter 3 of Jeremiah between human and God. God throughout the chapter is explaining that Israel “divorced” from their relationship with Him and did not return to Him (verse 7 ‘but she did not return’) as compared to Judah who also was “divorced” from their relationship with Him but did return (verse 1 ‘yet you returned to Me’) and thus are called “treacherous” (verse 7). This is the spiritual issue in the chapter. Verse 1 is addressed to Judah who returned but with a deceitful heart because it was halfheartedly (verse 10) “Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception”. The return prohibition is still standing if there is no repentance but the repentance has to be a full one not halfheartedly. This is the case in the spiritual relationship between human and God and one wonders how much of this core-return qualities are also meant to be read into Deuteronomy 24:1-4 prohibition of return? Can absolutely not return provided that there is full repentance? Is this the intention of the prohibition also for divorced couples, not stated explicitly by Moses but implicitly build into the prohibition? Judah was to look around at the country for every time they return to the Lord halfheartedly the country was punished (verse 2-3). There was no flush rains (verse 3a); no spring rains (verse 3b). Judah did even worse, they returned halfheartedly and mocked the Lord by saying that the Lord is quick to forgive “will He be angry forever?” (verse 5a). Now these things happened in the days of Josiah the king (verse 6). Israel was called “unfaithful” since she ran after other gods (verse 6). God thought that Israel would return to Him “but she did not return”. Israel is thus called by God “faithless” (verse 8). He sent Israel away. Judah saw it but was also faithless but returned to the Lord of course not in complete repentance. God actually preferred faithless Israel more than treacherous Judah (verse 11). To play church with God every week is a greater sin for God than not coming at all because of sinfulness not solved. God promise hope and forgiveness to Israel and ask them to return and God will give them faith (verse 12). They must acknowledge their sins (verse 13a); transgressions (verse 13b); that they have done wrong (verse 13c); they were disobedient to the Lord (verse 13d). If they do this the Lord will send them preachers to take care of them (verse 15) who will give them understanding and knowledge. Then Jeremiah saw the Eschaton at the end of times and he saw the time when Christ already came and Resurrection is a past event and the faithful are assembled in heavenly Jerusalem. There shall be no more a temple (verse 16 = Revelation 21:22). The New Jerusalem in heaven shall be called “the throne of God” (verse 17) because at that time God shall be in the city (Joel 3:17 ‘Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion My holy mountain). Just as Joel saw all nations coming to it so also Jeremiah. “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered” (Joel 2:32). This is not just ethnic Israel but spiritual Israel as it always was for God since Adam. There is no such doctrine as “ethnic Israel promises” in the Old Testament and “spiritual Israel promises” in the New Testament. It always was just spiritual Israel that God was interested in, regardless of Old or New Testaments. There will be unity since physical divided faithful in Judah will walk together with physical divided faithful in Israel. It sounds like today’s Israel will be given back to them in verse 18. Not so. This earth will be created anew completely and this will become the promised inheritance as Paul in Hebrew 11 explained so ably about Abraham wishing for a land on earth but never saw it. In the Eschaton the past promises is finally made real. When they are made perfect and “not turn away from following Me” in that day their promise land will be a reality on newly created earth after the eradication of evil on this same earth as Hell burning and destroying all bad before God the Creator creates it anew as dwelling for the faithful saints of all ages. God complains about unfaithful Israel in Jeremiah’s day (verse 20). They are perverted and forgot God (verse 21). Solution: they should return and God will heal (verse 22). From verse 22c-25d is the repenting reaction of the faithful ones: they came (verse 22c); they admitted their deception (verse 23a); they acknowledged God as salvation (verse 23c); they admitted shameful things (verse 24a); they say that they have sinned against the Lord (verse 25c) and they did not obey the Lord (verse 25d).   

Dear God, not only Judah are deceptive and Israel unfaithful at time, all of us are. Accept our acknowledgment of sins and our desire for salvation, we pray in Jesus name, Amen.