Jeremiah 2 FSI - HEAR, O EARTH

> [!title|noicon] **Jeremiah 2 Notes** > [[Jeremiah 1 FSI|<Prev]]   [[Jeremiah 3 FSI|Next>]] > [[Jeremiah 2|Verse list view]] > [Jeremiah 2:2](Jeremiah%202.md#^2) note > > "Thus saith the LORD" - The role of the messenger of God is to faithfully declare what *God* has declared. This means that we must tremble before God and not to declare something of our own minds. We are to search everything out, to go through the Bible to see if there's anything we have missed. We want to make sure we are saying, "Thus saith the Lord." > > Now this is the first of 3 main proofs in Jeremiah that Jerusalem and Judah cannot identify with ancient Israel, but with the churches and congregations of our day. To read the full explanation for this verse, see the [Jeremiah Intro - Spiritual Context](Jeremiah%201.md#^100) ^jer2-2 > [Jeremiah 2:3](Jeremiah%202.md#^3) note > > Looking first at the word *firstfruits* -- in the Old Testament there are 2 dominant words translated firstfruits, and they are entirely different words. The first is used in connection with the first harvest that was brought in with Pentecost, or the Feast of Pentecost: [Lev 23:17](Leviticus%2023.md#^17). And this identifies with the New Testament in [Revelation 14:4](Revelation%2014.md#^4) as it's talking about the church age that began with Pentecost and the early rain. The whole New Testament church throughout the church age are the firstfruits, as that is the setting for Revelation 14. In [James 1:18](James%201.md#^18) we see the same idea. But the word firstfruits in Leviticus 23:17 is not the same Hebrew word as the one found here in Jeremiah 2:3. > > The word found in Jeremiah 2:3 is found in [Leviticus 23:10](Leviticus%2023.md#^10) - [11](Leviticus%2023.md#^11). And this was seven weeks earlier than the firstfruits of [Leviticus 23:17](Leviticus%2023.md#^17) that we read about above. [Leviticus 23:15](Leviticus%2023.md#^15) - [16](Leviticus%2023.md#^16) give us this time bridge. The sheaf of the wave offering was presented when they first came into the land very close to the Passover day. So the first firstfruits of [Lev 23:10](Leviticus%2023.md#^10) identifies with Passover, and the firstfruits of [Lev 23:17](Leviticus%2023.md#^17) came 7 weeks later and identifies with Pentecost, and they are different Hebrew words. > > Interestingly, both Hebrew words are found in [Exodus 23:19](Exodus%2023.md#^19), where God speaks about the *first* of the firstfruits. And the word first there is the Hebrew word that identifies with the firstfruits of Passover. > > So, if the firstfruits of Pentecost identify with the New Testament church, which identifies with the early rain, the *first* of the firstfruits associated with Passover identifies with Christ Himself, as we see in [1 Corinthians 15:22](1%20Corinthians%2015.md#^22) - [23](1%20Corinthians%2015.md#^23). So Christ is the First of the firstfruits from Passover insofar as the New Testament is concerned, and then 50 days later at Pentecost comes the bigger harvest of the church age firstfruits when people are becoming saved. > > Now the Hebrew word for *firstfruits* in [Jeremiah 2:3](Jeremiah%202#^3) is the word that identifies with the *Passover* day. So it identifies with Christ, it does not identify with the church. > > Verse 3 would actually be more literally translated, "A holy thing Israel to Jehovah, the firstfruits of his increase, all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD." What Israel is a holy thing or a holy place to Jehovah? It is the Lord Jesus Christ. The word Israel commonly identifies with the whole body of believers, but it can also identify with Christ Himself. In [Isaiah 49:3](Isaiah%2049.md#^3), we read about the servant of the Lord in whom He is glorified. And Christ is the Servant in Whom God is glorified. Israel itself means *Prince of God*, and Christ is THE Prince of God. So going back to Jeremiah 2:3, we can say, "Christ the holiness to Jehovah, the firstfruits of his increase..." along with [1 Corinthians 15:23](1%20Corinthians%2015.md#^23) that Christ is the Firstfruits of His increase. In fact, if Christ had not risen, would we have risen? Of course not, so He is the THE Firstfruits. He is the One who is absolutely faithful. > > And verse 3 continues, "...all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD." Anyone who comes against Christ, evil shall come upon them. The narrative here emphasizes that Christ is the Centerpiece of the whole Word of God. And when you offend Him, when you do evil toward Him -- the moment you say, "Thus saith the LORD," when the Lord has not said -- you're making a liar out of God by superimposing yourself on the Word. And this is where the indictment comes against the churches because they're saying, "No, we have our doctrines, we are faithful to them." But in what they follow they have set Christ aside regardless of whether they claim that they follow Him. So then comes the indictment here, "Evil shall come upon them." This is why churches and congregations have come under the judgment of God, they have done evil against Christ. It as enormous offense of rebellion against God to say, "Thus saith the Bible" when the Bible doesn't say it. ^jer2-3 > [Jeremiah 2:4](Jeremiah%202.md#^4) note > > In verses 1-2 we already read, "Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem...." And now here God is saying, "Hear ye the word of the LORD." He's saying, "Listen! Listen! What I am declaring is very, very important." It has a very ominous ring to it, especially in our day in which there's a famine of hearing the Word of God. But that doesn't mean His Word isn't out there, or that His command has been modified in any way. We are to *listen* to the Word of God. And the only way we will is if God gives us the spiritual ears to hear. That's a scary proposition when all kinds of people say, "Oh, come on, what's the big deal?" They aren't hearing the Word of God. So we'll see presently why God must really emphasize that we must listen. > > "O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel." God doubles up here. He wants *everyone* who claims to be of the house of Jacob or the families of Israel, whatever you want to call it, to listen to Him! This is *very* serious business. But how many pastors and how many Bible teachers are really concerned? They have no interest. ^jer2-4 > [Jeremiah 2:5](Jeremiah%202.md#^5) note > > This is a curious statement. God is coming down to the level of man like He is arguing with the church leaders. He asks them the candid question, "What iniquity have your fathers found in me?" Why would He ask this question? All we have to do is analyze what is going on in the churches. > > For example, when God has declared that a woman is not to preach or teach or to have authority over men [1 Cor 14.34](1%20Corinthians%2014.md#^34)-[35](1%20Corinthians%2014.md#^35), yet the churches say, "Oh, but we want women pastors." Effectively they are saying that God isn't fair, they cannot follow Him, He is discriminating against women. When the churches and congregations set up their own rules they are critiquing God that He is not honorable in what He has declared. > > Likewise, the churches have modified the rules regarding marriage and divorce, even though God has declared that there's not to be divorce: [Mt 19.6](Matthew%2019.md#^6). But men say, "But God, is that really fair, is that really honorable and righteous? Here's a woman who is married to a beast of a man or a man who is married to a harlot of a woman, that they can never divorce? That isn't righteous, that isn't fair." They are effectively finding iniquity in God. > > Now they would never admit this, obviously -- it's too strident. But that's the language God is using. Any time a church establishes a rule that's contrary to the Word of God it means they have decided God is not honorable in what His rule is, that He is not righteous. > > When we look at what is required for salvation, the Bible is very clear that God has to do the whole work of salvation. Yet virtually every church has some kind of rule saying the person has to do something -- that we reach out or have faith or pray a certain kind of prayer to initiate our salvation. "We have to depend 100% upon God, and we can't do anything to further our salvation? No, that can't be right." They can protest that they think the Lord is righteous and wonderful and holy, but if they really mean what they say they'd better practice it, too. > > And according to Jeremiah 2:5, this goes back to the church fathers as well. They had already established certain doctrines for every denomination for their churches. This is a terrible indictment. If they really believed God deep in their hearts they would tremble in their hearts before they locked their denominations into this rule or that rule. And even after it has been practiced and followed through for some time, they should reexamine each doctrine again prayerfully and carefully if they claim that they love the Lord and want to follow Him implicitly. ^jer2-5 > [Jeremiah 2:6](Jeremiah%202.md#^6) note > > God declares, "Neither said they, Where is the Lord?" That is, they haven't needed the Lord. They have come up with their doctrines and their confessions and are happy together. They have a wonderful salvation plan that has been worked out. They don't have to look for the Lord anymore -- "We're doing fine, thank you. We don't have to ask again, Is this what the Lord is *really* teaching." This is the implication here. This is why God says what He does in [Ezekiel 28:2](Ezekiel%2028.md#^2), "You are a man, and not God," because the church has placed itself in the seat of God. "We have worked through our church doctrines very carefully. There's evidence we are blessed of God. We've grown as a denomination. Many people faithfully attend. It's all worked out and we are the ones who have properly interpreted the Bible." So effectively they place themselves in the very seat of God. But then in [Ezekiel 28:9](Ezekiel%2028.md#^9) God tells us this will result in judgment. > > Again, no pastor is going to admit to this. If you ask them they will of course say that God is God and so on. But in *practice* this is what they are doing when they set their rules and doctrines that have greater authority than God's authority, which is the Word of God. > > Verse 5 continues, *"that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?"* > > Now, virtually every seminary has made a rule that if God does not declare that what He is saying is a metaphor or a parable, then we are not to look for any kind of spiritual meaning out of the statement. For example, when Jesus would say, "The kingdom of God is *like* ... so and so." That's spiritual language where God gives an earthly story with heavenly meaning. But when we read a statement like this in verse 5, God does not say, "Look, I'm speaking to you in a parable." So the seminary students and graduates will look at this and only apply a historical context. So they will conclude that this is only speaking about the nation of Israel and it doesn't have any real import for us today other than as a history lesson. > > The second rule they commonly employ is to attempt to understand what a statement meant *to the people of that day*. But God's Word is for everyone of every time period, so we are to read it for what it means for us in our situation: [Ro 15:4](Romans%2015.md#^4), [1 Pe 1:12](Jesus%20Saves%20HIS%20People%20(Pt%201).md#^d16b6a). It is a *living* Word. > > So when you start with these 2 strictures (there are no parables unless God says so, and what does it mean to the people of that day), then you've emptied the Bible of its content, there's not much there to be concerned about. > > But this is wrong, this chapter is for us today. So what does it mean that the Lord brought us up out of the land of Egypt? It represents when God brought us out of the house of bondage to sin and enslavement to Satan. Otherwise, it has no meaning because only the nation of Israel was literally, physically brought out of the land of Egypt in earthly history. But that was a type or a figure, an earthly story with a heavenly meaning that relates to salvation. > > And this is the same for the rest of verse 5: *"that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?"* > > When we summarize these statements, through the language of Israel coming out of Egypt and traveling through the wilderness and so on, God has in view our salvation from being under the wrath of God. The wilderness, deserts, pits, land of drought, shadow of death, land where no man passes through or dwells (lives) -- it is a land of no Gospel water, no spiritual life, everything is wild(erness) away from God. And God is the One Who made provision to rescue us from this place of death and drought unto Himself and eternal Life. So He is the One Whom we are to be concerned about and to serve with fear and trembling because He is the One Who can rescue us. And He goes on in verse 7 to where He brings us spiritually ... (this discussion continues into verse 7). ^jer2-6 > [Jeremiah 2:7](Jeremiah%202.md#^7) note > > Continuing the discussion from verse 6 into verse 7: > > *And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof* > > God has made provision for our salvation. This plentiful country is the Kingdom of God where there is the fruit of the Spirit, where God is working to feed us with the spiritual good of the Word of God. He is *this* kind of a God. And not only has He set up this salvation program, we know that there have been many, many people who have been brought into the Kingdom of God. *He* is the God we have to deal with before Whom we ought to fear and tremble. So we shouldn't think for a moment that just because we have a fine set of doctrines and are a lovely congregation with social amenities and so on that now we don't need God anymore. > > And in many churches God is just something on the side -- "We have to pray to Him now and we're going to sing this little chorus that makes us feel kind of happy as we repeat those same words over and over again. We want music that's more exciting to our sinful passions and desires, so we added some drums and so on." In other words, they aren't trying to please God beyond lip-service. They want a Gospel that's acceptable to as many people as possible with excitement. They don't need God, they just want to use their wisdom and thinking to accomplish what they want. > > So God faults this: *"but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination."* > > Anytime we set aside any law of God, or claim something that is not in the Bible, it is an abomination before the Lord, we are defiling the Kingdom of God and the heritage that God has provided: [Prov 12:22](Proverbs%2012.md#^22), [Lk 16:15](Luke%2016.md#^15). And the amazing thing is that for nearly 2000 years God has allowed this to happen, but in spite of this God has used the churches to evangelize the world. God has been so patient. See Revelation 2 and 3 where God writes to the 7 churches that are only about 35 years from their beginning, and already they are guilty of the very things that are being spoken of here. And you would think that God would have wiped out the church long ago. But God tolerated it just as He did the high places of ancient Israel until the fullness of time. And today Jeremiah is speaking of our day that this is how bad things have become. It's no wonder that God will bring judgment because the church has defiled His land, the Kingdom of God and made His heritage an abomination by bringing in their own rules, but saying "Thus saith the Lord, " when the Lord has not said. > > This is not happy language but it is what God is telling us the Truth about ourselves. And we better listen, God tells us to listen. These are not just idle statements, these are God's statements for us today. This is the kind of language that every pastor, every elder, every deacon, every person that claims to be a true believer ought to be reading and pondering. "Is this how I am, is this how bad it has become in my life or in our church?" And the fact is, yes, this is how bad it has become. ^jer2-7 > [Jeremiah 2:8](Jeremiah%202.md#^8) note > > *The priests said not, Where is the LORD?* This parallels what we read in verse 6: *Neither said they, Where is the LORD...* God drives home the point here that God has lost His importance. "We're just one big, happy Christian family, we're the family of God and we have the rules set forth, our church has carefully worked them out. You can keep studying the Bible if you want but don't trouble us. We have this wonderful chorus and the pastor keeps us in stitches with his jokes, and we're going to have a wonderful singer Sunday evening." Now this specifically doesn't fit every single church, but it's in many churches, it becomes like showbiz. "But we're happy, we don't need the Lord. We don't need to examine again what we're doing. We just stick to our church fathers. We might modify a little from them in order to fit our own ideas more faithfully, but that's where it is." > > *...and they that handle the law knew me not...* God is speaking about the priests, those who have been ordained by God to be the spiritual rulers in the congregation. They're the ones who are to be dealing with the law of God, the Bible. They handle the law, they hold it in their hand, but they haven't studied it and compared Scripture with Scripture carefully to make sure they are as faithful as possible to it. They are not crying out to God for help to know Truth. So they did not know God. And if we don't know God where are we? [1 Jo 2:4](1%20John%202.md#^4) -- if we do not know Him then we are not saved. They are simply blind leaders of the blind. > > This is God message to us and we'd better listen. He is not playing games. When he speaks words of doom and gloom they are going to happen. > > If we go to [Matthew 16:19](Matthew%2016.md#^19) and [Matthew 18:17](Matthew%2018.md#^17) - [18](Matthew%2018.md#^18), we can see how churches respond to this today. What God is saying there is that once you have been ordained a pastor, what they do is final, it is the action of God. When someone becomes saved, for example, they are loosed from bondage to sin and to Satan. But God is the one actually doing the work, even as the proper wording for these verses is "having been bound" and "having been loosed" rather than "shall be bound" and "shall be loosed." That is, God in Heaven is the One doing the actual binding and loosing. It is not the church that is doing the ultimate spiritual work. But the leaders believe they have the power to loose someone, that they have been assigned to do this. > > So churches preach the Gospel and someone becomes interested. Then the person makes a confession of faith and they are baptized in water, depending on the framework of the church. And finally at some point they deem that the person is a child of God and can become a member of the congregation. Then they participate in the communion service which many times is only taken by those who are true members. So the church has a whole program that is meticulously carried out, and if you follow the program well, finally you are assured you are a child of God. Well, they believe God is working through this in the background, going through with whatever the church decides. Whatever is bound on earth is bound in Heaven. > > The same is true with excommunication. If the church excommunicates you you're no longer identified with the Kingdom of God. And they believe God gives assent to that because the church has decided this person is not really a child of God. Again, whatsoever shall be bound on earth shall be bound in Heaven. > > But who, finally, has to do the saving? God has to do the saving. We can't just trust in what the church does. The church has become a security blanket for many that has done everything necessary for their salvation, they believe. And leaving the church for them would be tantamount to rejecting God Himself. But for them, they don't really need God because their trust is in their church. And this is why God's judgment has come upon the church, this is what He is warning us about that they have taken the seat of God. The whole business of salvation is a personal transaction between an individual and the Lord and we look to Him entirely to be the only One who can save us. We need Him desperately, we cannot exist without Him, we need His mercy. So all of the paraphernalia are not the things that can get us saved. > > *...the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.* > > A pastor is a shepherd, someone who leads and feeds the flock, someone that churches all over the world seek to have within them to feed the flock. And the language here is language of judgment, the pastors transgressed against God and the prophets prophesied by Baal, walking after things that do not profit. A commentary on this is Ezekiel 34, which was written about the same time as the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah wrote during the last 40 years before Judah was destroyed by the Babylonians and Ezekiel was written during the last 6 years. > > So in [Ezekiel 34:1](Ezekiel%2034.md#^1) - [2](Ezekiel%2034.md#^2), notice 4 times in verse 2 God says, "the shepherds, the shepherds, the shepherds, the shepherds". These are the pastors, those who have the spiritual care over the congregation, those who are to be feeding the congregation spiritually. And He's saying, "Woe to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves. Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?" > > The rationale for becoming a shepherd, a pastor, is not to have an interesting profession. It's not to receive the compliments and plaudits of the congregation because you preached a fine sermon. It's not to be looked upon as being so especially used of the Lord. It's not to be a part of an elite group with special crowns in Heaven. It is to humbly serve the congregation, to make no demands on the congregation of any kind. It's not based on what kind of a house you might live in or what kind of salary might be paid as though you are a professional that needs to have a respectable salary. That's what it would mean to be in business to feed themselves. > > This is continued in [Ezekiel 34:3](Ezekiel%2034.md#^3), their concern is what's in it for them, what kind of recognition or house or salary will I get? > > And then we read [Ezekiel 34:4](Ezekiel%2034.md#^4), [5](Ezekiel%2034.md#^5) and [6](Ezekiel%2034.md#^6). Is God speaking of pastors in our day as a general rule in this kind of language? The fact is, if a pastor is preaching a works-grace gospel or a morality gospel based on what the church or good works provides then it is not the Gospel of salvation. And the dear people there are looking for salvation, it's why they identify with churches. But if they hear a gospel that isn't faithful to God's Word then it leads them in their spiritual deadness to eternal death, it is a cruel situation. He's setting them up to be killed, he's setting them up for the judgment of God. They are scattered to be meat for the beasts of the field. > > Then in [Ezekiel 34:7](Ezekiel%2034.md#^7), [8](Ezekiel%2034.md#^8), [9](Ezekiel%2034.md#^9) and [10](Ezekiel%2034.md#^10) we see God's judgment upon them for this. We are to get out from among them and God Himself will be the Shepherd to seek us out, as we see in [Ezekiel 34:11](Ezekiel%2034.md#^11) - [12](Ezekiel%2034.md#^12). The cloudy and dark day in verse 12 has to do with God's judgment upon the churches in our day as we have been scattered by the pastors, the shepherds are no longer doing the task of being shepherds. > > This continues in verses [13](Ezekiel%2034.md#^13), [14](Ezekiel%2034.md#^14), [15](Ezekiel%2034.md#^15), and [16](Ezekiel%2034.md#^16). God is doing everything now without any under-shepherds. Notice in verse 14 that upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be. This ties in with [Mk 13:14](Mark%2013.md#^14) that we are to flee to the mountains (see also [Ps 121:1](Psalm%20121.md#^1)). God operates in the mountains which is a figure of speech relating to the Kingdom of God itself, God no longer has an external body called the churches and congregations. It is the individual child of God who is fed in the Kingdom of God by Christ Himself through His Word. We're like the ant in [Proverbs 6:6](Proverbs%206.md#^6), [7](Proverbs%206.md#^7) and [8](Proverbs%206.md#^8), we have no ruler or guide to care for us, we're all on the same level and God is our ultimate ruler. It's all the work of Christ. > > We wonder why God started out with the churches to begin with. There was a very mechanical reason in that for many centuries people were illiterate, and there was no printing press so the number of available Bibles was very small. So how would people consistently hear the Word? God established under-shepherds to do this work. God planted the churches like strawberry plants where each church would send out their missionaries to reach other villages to evangelize the world, to spread the Gospel. And there were those with spiritual oversight who were able to read and to teach, who maybe had a copy of the Bible or portions of the Bible that were very scarce for much of NT history. > > But now that we've come to the point where most people in the world are literate and when the Bible can reach the eyes and ears of the whole world, the mechanical need for under-shepherds isn't there anymore, so that work is finished as we approach the end, as God's judgment comes upon the churches. God simply works through His Word in making this change in our day. > > Notice in the close of [Ezekiel 34:16](Ezekiel%2034.md#^16) that there is judgment. Again, God brings judgment upon the shepherds that are feeding themselves, those who are in this business for their own glory, satisfaction, ego or whatever it may be that drives them to this elite group. > > But we'll find that God has one final season planned, called the Latter Rain, to send the Gospel out like the waters cover the seas: by radio, by internet, by satellite, etc. The Bible is directly the supervisor and people are in direct contact with the Bible far more extensively than before in the churches. But as an integral part of that transition between the church age and the Latter Rain period, God's judgment upon the churches is painful beyond measure and looses Satan to rule within those congregations. And this is what Jeremiah is speaking about. ^jer2-8 > [Jeremiah 2:10](Jeremiah%202.md#^10) note > > Chittim is a name for Cyprus, and it's a name used as a figure of the whole world. Historically, Chittim was a descendant of Japheth ([Gen 10:2](Genesis%2010.md#^2), [4](Genesis%2010.md#^4)), the son of Noah who was the progenitor of the European nations. But Chittim spiritually represents the whole world -- whenever you read about the *isles*, as in this verse, they are the continents of the world. So here, God is saying, "Pass over the isles of Chittim, and see...", that is, "Look anywhere in the world." > > *"and send unto Kedar..."* Kedar is a name used a dozen times or so and normally identifies with those who are in total rebellion against God. We see this in Psalm 120 where the context is of distress: [Psalm 120:1](Psalm%20120.md#^1), [5](Psalm%20120.md#^5), [6](Psalm%20120.md#^6), [7](Psalm%20120.md#^7). So Kedar is associated with those who are in direct rebellion against God, those who hate peace. > > So God is saying in this verse with Chittim and Kedar, "Go, look anywhere in the world as typified by the isles of Chittim, or look in the most wicked areas of the world typified by Kedar..." God is saying He wants to show us something. And what He's going to show us beginning in verse 11 will contrast with the situation in the churches and congregations who are saying they no longer need God at all (in [Jeremiah 2:6](Jeremiah%202.md#^6) and [8](Jeremiah%202.md#^8)) as they think they are bringing salvation to people of themselves. ^jer2-10 > [Jeremiah 2:11](Jeremiah%202.md#^11) note > > Here God is asking, "*Has a nation* anywhere in the world (typified by Chittim in verse 10), have even the wicked of the world (typified by Kedar in verse 10), *changed their gods which are yet no gods?*" Followers of false gospels and false gods continue to become even more strident and convinced that their false gods are *the* god. All the religions that ultimately have nothing to do with the Bible don't change. Granted, false religion comes out of the minds of men to begin with, but they generally don't change. > > But here God is saying in the second half of the verse, "Yet here are My people. They have the Truth... *but My people have changed their glory for that which does not profit."* God emphasizes this particular idea repeatedly: See [Ezekiel 16 (all)](Ezekiel%2016.md#^1) where God brought them His covenant of salvation, love and so on -- how gloriously He decked them with the royal riches of the Gospel of Christ that brings eternal Life -- far greater than any false gospel or false god of the world that only brings death. But they not only spurned all of that but became even more wicked than the heathen in their pride and lusts. Even the followers of false heathen gods don't do this by turning away from their idols. How sad when the churches had *the Truth*. We would expect that if *anybody* is going to be faithful, *they* would be faithful because they have the glorious Truth and should be shining like a faithful jewel in the world because there's nothing like it. But they have become a spiritual harlot. This is why God says what He does in verse 12. . . ^jer2-11 > [Jeremiah 2:12](Jeremiah%202.md#^12) note > > This is talking about the Heavens. How can this be that God has established such a wonderful Gospel and it has ended up so badly? > > Do you think a church would openly allow you to cross-examine every doctrine they hold? Reexamine their confession and every doctrine and every statement in the light of the Bible to be assured every doctrine they teach is faithful to the Word of God. Do you think you'd get very far if you tried that? You would likely hear, "We've had these doctrines for hundreds of years and you don't know more than all of our church fathers." So Heaven itself is astonished this could happen. > > Now, of course, God knows the end from the beginning. He knew all of this was going to happen and wrote about it here in Jeremiah ~2600 years ago. But even though God saw it back from that vantage point, it's still an astonishment that the church -- like we see in Ezekiel 16 where God bestowed His love upon the congregations, and they only exist because of the love of God -- that it has yet turned out this bad. ^jer2-12 > [Jeremiah 2:13](Jeremiah%202.md#^13) note > > God continues to fault *his people* here. When people became part of the church during the church age, it wasn't just any old organization. It was God's church that He established where God's people were found. And they have committed two evils. The first great sin is that they have *forsaken* God, *the Fountain of Living Waters*. Remember we saw in [Jeremiah 2:6](Jeremiah%202.md#^6) and [8](Jeremiah%202.md#^8) where they didn't even say, "Where is the Lord?" That's the same as saying, "Who needs God?" They've left off Christ Himself, the Fountain of Living Waters, the Gospel that brings eternal Life. There are no true believers left at this point, they have become altogether dead, there is no spiritual life. > > The second sin is that they *hewed [carved] them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.* Normally the ancient cities would have a big cistern carved out of the rock, a big hole in the ground that would collect rain so that in the dry season they would have water to drink. But here God is saying they have cut out cisterns that won't hold any water, they're broken. There's nothing there that can give them life. The only water that can give us life is the Fountain of Living Waters, the Lord Jesus. And anything else is broken, it is a path to death with no living water. > > Any time anyone brings false doctrines or a false gospel, it is like a broken cistern. They think they have a space for living water, but the fact is that it is a dry hole, there is nothing that can give life. And this picture is stark -- we cannot live long at all without any water, even physically. So it's the prime example of the nature of the Gospel that it is what gives us Life. > > And look at a desert where there is no water -- how much vegetation do you see? Virtually none. But pour some water on the ground and the next thing, almost mysteriously, wild flowers and vegetation will come up, seeds will suddenly germinate and you will have life. There is a living environment. The key of it is water. > > So if you have a broken cistern, if you have a (false) gospel without water so that the Lord Jesus Christ is no longer there, then you have a dead, empty cistern. If the Holy Spirit has been withdrawn then Christ is not there. It is a place that should hold the living water but it is a broken cistern. It might appear that they've done a marvelous job carving out the cistern but it is not God's cistern, so it is broken and dry. > > So this verse indicates a rejection of the true Gospel and a decision to follow their own kind of gospel by polluting it with false doctrines, and finally judgment comes. ^jer2-13 > [Jeremiah 2:14](Jeremiah%202.md#^14) note > > Here God continues to develop other figures. And we have to remember that this is God's Word. We aren't speaking about this out of vindictiveness, but only because this is what *God* is saying. This is not the word of man, not the word of Jeremiah, it is God's assessment of where the churches are today. > > *Is Israel a servant?* The word servant here means *slave*, just as the version continues, "*...is he a homeborn slave?*" When someone who was a slave bore children, those children then became *home-born* slaves. And many times slaves were treated very badly. In a few cases with true believers slaves were treated very well, even like a son. But on the average slaves were in bondage. And this is a picture of us before salvation, we are in bondage to our sin and to Satan. When we are saved we are taken out of the house of bondage (represented by Israel's enslavement in Egypt) and set free to serve God, even though we then become a bond-servant of the Lord Jesus. > > But the question is raised here, "Is Israel, are the churches and congregations, still in bondage to sin?" This is actually a rhetorical question as the verse continues, "*...why is he spoiled?*" Why is he plundered? If these were true believers doing the will of God, would God allow Satan to plunder them and bring judgment upon them? True believers are children of God, they are the bride of Christ. And the answer is, of course not! God does not bring the true believers under judgment and into enslavement to Satan. So they are being plundered here because they are yet in bondage to sin and Satan indicated they are not saved. > > This will be underscored in verse 16 where it's speaking of Noph and Tahapanes, cities of Egypt that represent once again coming into the house of bondage, under the authority of Pharoah who represents Satan. This is the indictment that God is bringing. ^jer2-14 > [Jeremiah 2:15](Jeremiah%202.md#^15) note > > The young lions have to do with God bringing destruction: see [Isaiah 5:29](Isaiah%205.md#^29)-[30](Isaiah%205.md#^30). Isaiah 5, like Jeremiah, is talking about the very same thing that is happening today, it is a prophetic chapter that has its fulfillment in our day. Read verses [20](Isaiah%205.md#^20)-30 there to get the fuller context (notes have been added to that passage). ^jer2-15 > [Jeremiah 2:16](Jeremiah%202.md#^16) note > > Noph and Tahapanes were cities of Egypt. So this ultimately means the children of *Egypt* have broken the crown of thy head. And word crown here is the top of the head, not a crown like what a king or a queen would wear. So God is emphasizing a blow that comes into their whole personality, from the top of the head. It emphasizes a total destruction or a total punishment that is coming. > > But why is God talking about Egypt here? The reason is, the true believers have been taken *out* of the land of Egypt ([Ex 20:2](Exodus%2020.md#^2)), out of the house of bondage to sin and Satan, so those who remain in the churches and congregations who don't come out and remain unsaved are effectively remaining in Egypt. And Egypt assists in their destruction, as we read, "they have broken the top of thy head." They're under the rule of Satan so that there's nothing there but spiritual destruction. There is no building up, there is no light that shines, there is no hope, there is no salvation left. That's what saddens this situation so much. ^jer2-16 > [Jeremiah 2:17](Jeremiah%202.md#^17) note > > Here God is pinning responsibility. Humanity would love to pin responsibility on God, "God is the one who made me this way and hasn't elected to save me, so I don't have a chance. It's God's fault." > But anytime we sin, we are accountable to God, it is because of what *we* have done. > > Man was created perfect in the image and likeness of God, in no way was he created to sin. But people, of our own volition, of our own evil desire, fall into sin. So God is saying here, "All of this is happening because *you* are at fault." > > *When he led thee by the way* -- All this when God led us by the way, in the way of the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave us His Word so that we might know who we are and where we're going. But you elected to go your way, to establish your own rules like you know more than God in determining how you are to live. You modified God's salvation program that He offered to suit yourself. So you have forsaken the LORD thy God and judgment is coming upon you because of what *you* have done. ^jer2-17 > [Jeremiah 2:18](Jeremiah%202.md#^18) note > > Sihor is probably the Nile river, the principle river of Egypt. And it's talking about drinking the waters, and what are the waters? [Waters](Water(s).md) many times represents the Gospel. But. [ like Naaman the Syrian](2%20Kings%205.md#^12) who was cleansed of his leprosy in the Jordan River (a picture of being cleansed from sin), they believe they have *better* waters than the waters of the true Gospel. So they are going to the waters of Egypt and of Assyria. They are going to the waters of Satan, of a false gospel, and that is what they want to drink. > > Anytime we're not ready to humbly listen to the Word of God, and pray to the Lord to open our eyes and to be obedient, it means we would rather drink the waters of our own gospel. It goes back to [v13](Jeremiah%202.md#^13) we have rejected the Fountain of living waters, we have carved out our own cisterns or wells or reservoirs and put the kind of water we want in them. But that kind of water will not provide any spiritual health whatsoever, our broken cisterns will not hold or contain the water of life. ^jer2-18 > [Jeremiah 2:19](Jeremiah%202.md#^19) note > > Again, God pins it back on their own wickedness. And sadly, in this verse God isn't saying their backslidings will correct them where they will be straightened out. Rather, their wickedness will simply show them that they have been wrong. There will come a time when their wickedness will appear to themselves and they will be reproved, but -- it will be too late for salvation. It will be time for final judgment. But they will know that they have been going in the wrong direction, by the way of their minds rather than the way of God, and that they are in trouble. > > *that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee ...* If we could sum up the one sin that's everywhere amongst unbelievers it is that they have no fear of God. They believe they have a plan or a lifestyle worked out for their lives that they're happy with and they don't tremble before the Word of God. ^jer2-19 > [Jeremiah 2:20](Jeremiah%202.md#^20) note > > In [Leviticus 26:13](Leviticus%2026.md#^13) we read what God has in view here where He says, *"For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands..."* In Leviticus 26 God uses Egypt as a picture of being in bondage to sin and Satan. Remember how the 10 Commandments begin in [Exodus 20:2](Exodus%2020.md#^2). The kingdom of God has come into existence because God has made provision to free people from the bondage of sin and of Satan. And that was typified by Israel coming out of the land of Egypt. So this is what God is emphasizing here in Jeremiah 2:20. God had made provision to set them (and us) free. But while God brought them into the land of Canaan, nearly all of them remained unsaved in unbelief as God declares here that they wandered and played the harlot. In the same way, we find the same situation in the churches and congregations where we don't really find those who have been set free, this is spiritually referring to the churches of our day. So immediately God faults them. > > *"and thou saidst, I will not transgress..."* The word transgress here is really the word for "pass, pass over, pass away, depart." One thing that we want to be praying is that we will be a humble servant of the Lord, that we will know His will for our life, and not to think in our pride that we know better. Which is what those are doing who are *wandering upon every high hill and under every green tree,* a picture of idolatry, *playing the harlot* with self and with with false gods. This is again what we see in the churches of our day, they have rewritten the rules to suit themselves. > > When someone claims they really love the Lord and want to do His will, yet they will not seriously focus on any and every verse that is called to their attention -- anytime they try to evade a verse because it contradicts what they believe, then you have a guide that there is a doctrine that is contrary to the Word of God. And this is a high place that needs to be removed. And that applies to each one of us. ^jer2-20 > [Jeremiah 2:21](Jeremiah%202.md#^21) note > > If we look at [John 15:1](John%2015.md#^1) - [2](John%2015.md#^2), where is the strength of the child of God? God is using language here with this noble vine that the kingdom of God is altogether associated with the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Essence of the kingdom of God, He is what the churches should have focused on altogether constantly. And Christ is the Word, He is Word made flesh and dwelt among us. So when God planted His kingdom a noble vine, He put His Word right in the center of it. It is the control, the strength, the protection that we have. > > But here in Jeremiah 2:21, we find that the vine has turned into a *degenerate plant* so that all of the branches in trouble, it has become a strange vine that is no longer pleasing to God at all. And when we go to [Isaiah 5:1](Isaiah%205.md#^1) - 7 (see notes there!), we see this same picture of the vineyard which has produced wild grapes and thus comes into destruction. > > This is all parallel again to Ezekiel 16, which illustrates the great love and care of God for His people just for them to become like a wicked harlot against God. It began so well just for it to become degenerate. ^jer2-21 > [Jeremiah 2:22](Jeremiah%202.md#^22) note > > We see from this that there is absolutely going to be judgment coming -- there is no cleansing possible, there's no turning away (see [Jer 7:16](Jeremiah%207.md#^16)). Under normal circumstances God calls the wicked to repentance ([Jer 18:7](Jeremiah%2018.md#^7) - [8](Jeremiah%2018.md#^8)). God has been very tolerant with Israel and with the churches over the many years. But when He starts using language like in Jeremiah 7:16, He is saying not even to pray -- it's too late! And all of this is prophesied concerning the great tribulation. The die is cast, the line has been crossed, God has to fulfill His prophetic promises. We can't argue with God and think maybe we can change His mind, maybe this, maybe that. > > Review the related verses and notes for [1 Peter 4:17](1%20Peter%204.md#^17), [Jeremiah 25](Jeremiah%2025.md):13-29 and [Ezekiel 9](Ezekiel%209.md). ^jer2-22 > [Jeremiah 2:23](Jeremiah%202.md#^23) note > > Baalim is a plural word referring to a series of heathen or false gods. And any time that we hold a doctrine that does not come from the Bible but from the minds of men, effectively we are worshiping heathen gods -- whenever we say, "The Lord says," and the Lord has not said. It is like an idol, it is like Baal whenever someone is not faithful to the Word of God. And this is spiritual *adultery* against God ([James 4:4](James%204.md#^4)). And as we have come to the end of the church age God is setting the record straight that He will no longer tolerate the worship of Baalim, no more high places, no more of your own false doctrines. That is adultery. > > And here God sets forth just how bad this is: "you are a swift dromedary (camel) traversing her ways..." (continued in the next verse). ^jer2-23 > [Jeremiah 2:24](Jeremiah%202.md#^24) note > > Continued from verse 23, "...you are a swift dromedary (camel) traversing her ways..." and into this verse, God is using the illustration when male animals know that the female is in heat, when the mating period comes. And God is using this illustration to talk about the church -- like animals that are in heat to breed, committing terrible adultery with other gods (that is, with Baalim in verse 23). > > Again we can find similar language in [Ezekiel 16](Ezekiel%2016.md), where God indicates how He had cared for Jerusalem (Ezekiel 16:6-14) with loving care over His churches and congregations. Then in verses 15-59 God speaks about all of the ugly harlotry and sin that they have committed against Him in going adulterously after other gods. > > And again in [Ezekiel 23](Ezekiel%2023.md) God uses the same language. ^jer2-24 > [Jeremiah 2:25](Jeremiah%202.md#^25) note > > To be unshod or barefoot is a picture of spiritual nakedness, of being exposed in sin ([Is 20:2](Isaiah%2020.md#^2), [3](Isaiah%2020.md#^3), [4](Isaiah%2020.md#^4)). The foot is responsible for the will or the path that one walks, so God is saying withhold your will from being spiritually naked. And thirst has to do with the lack of water, the lack of the Gospel which is the living water. So God is saying to drink of the water of life, to withhold their throat from thirst. > > But they respond with, "No, we are committed, we cannot change. This is the way it's going to be and if it's wrong, it's wrong." What has been built into the church age is going to stay, not unlike the synagogues and the temple. This is how sin and sinners are in general, "I can't help myself, this is the way I am, I can't change." They are going to go this way right up until the end. "...and after them I will go" - it's like the harlot in [Ezekiel 16:31](Ezekiel%2016.md#^31), [32](Ezekiel%2016.md#^32), [33](Ezekiel%2016.md#^33), [34](Ezekiel%2016.md#^34) who pays for her own harlotry rather than receiving pay for a living. It's how vicious the church has become today, it *has* to have it's wrong, worldly, man-centered doctrines, it cannot exist without them, it satisfies their pride, they are committed, they are locked in, it is a part of their essence so that they can't turn away from it. As ugly as all of this is, it is the language that God is using. ^jer2-25 > [Jeremiah 2:26](Jeremiah%202.md#^26) note > > The thief is a thief because that is his way of life. But in that thief, there is still a recognition that it's wrong because he's created in the image of God, so he knows there's such a thing as wrongdoing. And to steal is wrong. Even though he is so locked in that he can't get out of it, nevertheless he knows it is wrong. And finally, when standing before judgment he knows he did wrong even though he never would have given up that way of life. > > God is using this illustration for those in the churches and congregations -- their kings, their princes, their priests and their prophets -- that is, those who have the spiritual rule over the churches. Deep in their heart they know they're doing something wrong. But they're so locked into it by their pride, prestige or whatever other reasons, they can't get out of it. They're going to stay right in it until the finish somehow, even though deep in their hearts they know it is wrong. And they will be brought to shame because, being created in the image of God, they know there's such a thing as sin and that they are living in it. But that shame will only appear at the very end when it is too late. They will go on doing what they're doing and have no desire to get out of it like, again, the harlot in Ezekiel 16. ^jer2-26 > [Jeremiah 2:27](Jeremiah%202.md#^27) note > > God brings it back to the idols again. Any doctrine that is out of the minds of men that they trust as the Word of God when it did not actually come from God's Word is an idol. When we trust God's Word, we trust God. When we trust the doctrines of men, we trust men. It is no different than following an idol of gold and silver or of stone. They are bowing down before these idols. They have turned their back to God and not their face, that is, they don't want God, they don't want what God is teaching, they want their own doctrines. And they even confess that these false doctrines are their father that brought them forth, they come forth from the church fathers rather than from God Himself. > > But then on the last day there will be complete shame, they will see that they have gone down a completely wrong path. And we'll see this confrontation with God in the new few verses. ^jer2-27 > [Jeremiah 2:28](Jeremiah%202.md#^28) note > > In verse 27 God speaks of their idols made of wood (stock) and of stone. And the churches today don't literally worship these objects. But these are idols, and idols are that which we are ready to bow and accept as the giver of the laws that we are to follow, and as the one who blesses us. Whatever is the source of those commandments and blessings, if it is not God, it is an idol. When we hold a doctrine or teaching, if it indeed comes from the Bible, then we are worshiping God. But any doctrine or teaching that does not truly originate in the Bible comes from the minds of men, so in that case the followers are worshiping men and idols. And ultimately, those who follow men and idols are worshiping Satan, they are in rebellion against God. > > And this is what God is faulting here. He uses the figure of a stone or a stock as a picture of the false doctrines that are worshiped. At the end of verse 27 God indicates they will realize that those doctrines were not of God and did not provide salvation. And here in verse 28 God will respond, "Where are your gods that you have made for yourselves? Let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble?" Another way of reading this is [Matthew 7:21](Matthew%207.md#^21), [22](Matthew%207.md#^22) and [23](Matthew%207.md#^23). There, they fully believed that they were worshiping Christ, but since they were following doctrines that did not come from the Bible they were actually worshiping a false god. They didn't truly trust Christ and His Word, so He did not know them and away they go, they were not free from the wrath of God. > > And from verse 26, there is much shame in this. They said of their false doctrines that came from the minds of men, "This is Truth." In verse 27 they turned their face toward these doctrines while turning their back to God. And now they are facing God alone, the actual moment of Truth. > > Now when God says in verse 28, "Where are your gods that you have made for yourselves? Let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble?" God is ridiculing the idea that their gods will save them, it's a rhetorical question -- of course their gods can't save them. The church didn't pay for our sins, the church can't apply the Word to our hearts and give us a new, resurrected soul. Christ must do this. > > God then makes the assessment, "*according to* the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah." There are numerous denominations and sects with different doctrines. And to some degree there is some respect between them that they are all Christian (at least amongst the Protestant distinctions). It's almost like philosophy, I am of the school of Plato or of some other philosopher. And that's what the churches are like, each one has their own distinctives that come from their own schools of thought. That is, they all have their own sources of truth, or what they believe to be truth. But in reality, there's only one Source of Truth, the Bible. So God effectively calls every wrong teaching a false god. And they have plenty of them -- as many as there are "cities" or denominations and sects. But will those gods, will those false teachings save them? Christ will say to them, "I never knew you, depart from me ye that work iniquity." ^jer2-28 > [Jeremiah 2:29](Jeremiah%202.md#^29) note > > Again, any time we hold a doctrine that is not faithful to the Word of God, we are transgressing and blaspheming God. We're saying, "Thus saith the Lord," when God has not said. So God is saying, "Why will you plead or content with me, saying I did all of this and now why do I have to be punished?" ([Mt 7:21](Matthew%207.md#^21), [22](Matthew%207.md#^22), [23](Matthew%207.md#^23)). They had the Word of God, which is the Truth. But they didn't follow the Truth, they followed their own minds. They worshiped their own gods, they set up their own idols as to what they wanted to have as their doctrines. ^jer2-29 > [Jeremiah 2:30](Jeremiah%202.md#^30) note > > God has not been neutral through all of this. Even in the most conservative of denominations the children grow up and become enamored by the world. If they have any interest in the Gospel it's generally very tentative and superficial. Yet the church just blissfully goes along with their kind of doctrines. > > "Your *own* sword has devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion." This isn't a sword from outside coming in, this was their own sword that devoured their prophets, their own false gospels, their own lies that are tearing them apart. So the destruction is from within. > > "like a destroying lion" -- See note under [Jeremiah 5:6](Jeremiah%205.md#^6), cp also [Jer 4:7](Jeremiah%204.md#^7). ^jer2-30 > [Jeremiah 2:31](Jeremiah%202.md#^31) note > > God is pleading while there is still little time, "See ye the Word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness to Israel, a land of darkness?" This is again a rhetorical question, as when God said in verse 28, "But where *are* thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble." There are no other gods that can save them. And in verse 29, "Why will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD." It's too late now for salvation, you didn't listen to My Word so there is no point in pleading with God at all. So He's asking another rhetorical question here, "Have I been a wilderness to Israel, a land of darkness?" > > Has God been a wilderness a land of darkness? He has given us this wonderful book, the Bible, with the whole counsel of God. It's a full statement of God's plan for the churches and for the world and the nature of salvation. It has all of it in it. And with that the promise that God will bring us into all Truth through His Spirit so that we can cry to God for wisdom and spiritual understanding. So can anyone in the churches and congregations argue with God that He didn't tell us Truth? It's right here in Jeremiah, for example. He has given us the Bible with all of this. No one can argue with God that He didn't give us warning, He didn't give us enough information -- our life is out here like a wilderness and a desert, there was no water of the Gospel, no Gospel light, that we could turn to. That's not possible because we have the Bible. > > When we read the Bible, we are hearing the very voice of God with no one in-between. So God has not left us in darkness or in the wilderness at all. He has given us the very Fountain of Truth. But they are not breaking before God, they aren't crying out to God that maybe they messed it up and need to read the Bible more carefully. Instead, they are following their own doctrines, their own gods because they are comfortable with that. And they're going to find at the judgment throne that what they've been trusting in was not adequate for salvation and it will be too late. > > "Why say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?" God uses the phrase "my people" to indicate those who should be worshiping Him but are not, which makes this even worse. They are not actually His redeemed people who have eternal life, but those who go by His Name only. And they see themselves are lords, in direct opposition to [1 Peter 5:2](1%20Peter%205.md#^2), [3](1%20Peter%205.md#^3). The purpose of the overseers is to serve as a humble example to the flock, not to be the big boss, not to be a lord over the flock. They've interpreted [1 Timothy 3:15](1%20Timothy%203.md#^15) to teach that the church, rather than God, is the pillar and ground of the Truth. So they've given themselves the spiritual authority that they are lords over the flock. > > This was so bad that, remember, in [verse 6](Jeremiah%202.md#^6) and [verse 8](Jeremiah%202.md#^8) of this chapter, they didn't even wonder where the Lord was Who had led them out of the land of Egypt. They built their own salvation plan that was "doing very well, thank you" without any assist from God Himself. The procedure is all set up. They baptize a baby or a child who eventually gives a public confession of faith and if you confess Christ before men, then Christ will confess them before His Father in Heaven. Then they partake of the communion service that is supposed to be an assist to that person's faith. And so all is well provided that they follow this prescription. And as long as that person doesn't rebel against the authority of the church and reasonably obeys -- they can believe they are a child of God, especially since the church is the pillar and ground of the truth. But where is God in all of this? They have become the lords and come no more until Him. > > According to [Acts 6:4](Acts%206.md#^4), those who have the spiritual oversight of the congregation are to give themselves *continually* to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. We pray to the Lord, of course, to thank Him for His blessings. But we also pray because we are so *needy*, we are so lacking in wisdom, we are so incompetent in understanding the Bible. We are so limited in so many characteristics of our life. The elders themselves have no power, they have no spiritual authority, God is the Authority. And we must pray and be in the Word, praying for understanding that we might be more faithful. This is not to minister the confessions, it's not to minister the doctrines of the church, it is to minister the Word of God. But the church has become self-sufficient and that's the reason why God's judgment comes upon it. ^jer2-31 > [Jeremiah 2:32](Jeremiah%202.md#^32) note > > This is another phrase God picks up from Ezekiel 16, beginning in verses [4](Ezekiel%2016.md#^4) and [5](Ezekiel%2016.md#^5). In other words, before we become saved we are altogether lost, we have nothing going for us, we are heading for destruction, we are under the wrath of God. No one really loves us like God in the sense that they want us to have eternal life. Then we read in verses [6](Ezekiel%2016.md#^6) and [7](Ezekiel%2016.md#^7) where God comes to us with the Gospel of salvation and gives us eternal Life, saying "Live!" And His intention in [verse 8](Ezekiel%2016.md#^8) was to make these poor, lost people the bride of Christ, a queen having the highest possible position with God. (See notes for verses [9](Ezekiel%2016.md#^9) - [10](Ezekiel%2016.md#^10), [13](Ezekiel%2016.md#^13) as well). How much more could God have done for us? This was God's intention for those in the churches, He describes in dramatic, picturesque language the beauty of the kingdom of God. And in verses [7](Ezekiel%2016.md#^7), [11](Ezekiel%2016.md#^11) and [12](Ezekiel%2016.md#^12) we find this language of the *ornaments* that God has decked her with. > > You'd think that even if people didn't become saved in the churches they would still be in awe at what God is doing. He gives eternal life and His people become eternal citizens of the kingdom of God. And He says He will never leave us nor forsake us and we can go boldly to the Throne of Grace in our time of need. And we can bring our loved ones to Him to plead for their salvation. They have been given the Truth as the world around is groveling in its misery and in its sin, desperately trying to find the meaning of life but having no clue as one commits suicide, another becomes an alcoholic and another becomes a drug addict. Or someone immerses themselves in the pursuit of pleasure or of some ideal, going from one thing to another to sustain a temporary happiness. It's like the endless pursuit to make a better, faster, more exciting roller coaster; or those who climb higher and higher mountains to find the meaning of life. Never satisfied, always looking. But in the Bible God gives us the ultimate, most wonderful solution. > > So God asks here in Jeremiah 2:32, "Can a maid forget her ornaments, *or* a bride her attire?" He has described the attire of the bride of Christ in Ezekiel 16, all of this fine linen and the ornaments and the love of God He has put upon her. And yet what has happened in the churches and congregations? "...yet my people have forgotten me days without number..." They have despised it. They have written their own rules about where joy, happiness and Truth are. And as God withdraws the Holy Spirit from them then the sky is the limit, you begin to have churches that copy the world until they degenerate to an even worse condition than the world itself. They have bowling alleys and places of entertainment and so on to draw thousands of people, so that the potential bride where God normally had His elect present has completely forgotten God. They are unable to see Him anymore. So the churches are like someone who was a beautiful maiden prepared to become the bride of Christ, but it has become a harlot, selling her wares and even paying her own money in order to be a prostitute ([Eze 16:33](Ezekiel%2016.md#^33)). > > Keep in mind this is again a rhetorical question, "Can a maid forget her ornaments, *or* a bride her attire?" The answer normally is no, the maid or bride would not forget these things, it was a time of beauty. Why do people take photographs of a wedding? Because they want to remember how wonderful it was. But God states, "...yet my people have forgotten me days without number..." The churches have forgotten God altogether, they have become their own authority where they do not "need" God anymore so that the time has come that God no longer operates there. ^jer2-32 > [Jeremiah 2:33](Jeremiah%202.md#^33) note > > God continues His complaint, "Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love?" That is, Why are you *diligently doing well* or *amending your ways* to seek love (similar idea to [verse 36](Jeremiah%202.md#^36))? > > First of all, they have lost the biblical definition for the word *love*. We read in [1 John 4:8](1%20John%204.md#^8), [10](1%20John%204.md#^10) - [11](1%20John%204.md#^11); [John 14:21](John%2014.md#^21), [23](John%2014.md#^23) that Christ is the Covering for our sins -- and this act of Love emanates from God. We are then to love God and others as He loved us, that is, we keep His commandments. We read the Bible and pray for wisdom and obedience to it. That is the biblical definition of love. > > But the churches have increasing modified the Law of God in order to make it more palatable. Ultimately, it means they don't want to follow God's rules, they know better than He does. They change the rules of divorce and remarriage and adjust many other laws to make things more "loving" from a worldly, personal emotional perspective that leads to death, rather than from a spiritually loving, orderly perspective that leads to life. If a woman has a particular gift to understand and to teach the Bible, they will place her in the position of authority to lead the congregation. "How can it be love if we're going to deny her the possibility of being a pastor?" even though God has instructed that we follow the pattern of Christ and His bride to only allow men to speak and to lead in the churches, regardless of our personal gifts? Churches have modified doctrine after doctrine because *they* know what love is, even if it doesn't agree with the Bible. They seek love by adjusting their ways away from what God has proclaimed in order to please the world to accommodate as many people as possible. They've set up their own kind of a gospel. And this is happening now -- the judgment of God is upon the churches and congregations as a result of this. This is not just some hypothetical, future situation. > > "...therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways...." The wicked ones are the unsaved of the world. And here the wicked ones of the world are being falsely told, "God loves you," giving them a false sense of peace with God. And as the church changes and grows more and more wicked it gives the world a false sense of an excuse, it gives license to the world to become even more wicked. Sin breeds sin. So the church has become dreadfully wicked and has no honor for God or respect for His laws, therefore it teaches the world also not to have any respect for God. ^jer2-33 > [Jeremiah 2:34](Jeremiah%202.md#^34) note > > "Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents..." It's true that before salvation, we are all guilty, there is no one who is innocent before God. However, once we have become saved, those who have become saved are innocent before God. And the word *poor* is like what we see in [Matthew 5:3](Matthew%205.md#^3), Blessed are the poor in spirit. They are those who have a broken and contrite heart, they are broken before God and recognize their spiritual impoverishment and have come, by God's grace, to trust in Christ as their Savior. They are the poor and the innocent of the world in the eyes of God because Christ has paid for their many sins so that the guilt of their sins has been washed away. > > And in verse 34 we see that something bad is happening to them, the blood of their souls is found in the skirts of the fallen churches. To put it another way, when the churches go bad, who are the ones who suffer first? It is the true believers. This is parallel to the 2 witnesses in [Revelation 11:3](Revelation%2011.md#^3), [7](Revelation%2011.md#^7), [8](Revelation%2011.md#^8), [9](Revelation%2011.md#^9) and [10](Revelation%2011.md#^10), who represent the true believers during the church age, as they are killed and left in the streets after Satan is loosed to come against them during the final tribulation period. > > Verse 34 continues, "I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these." The Hebrew translated "secret search" would be better rendered, "breaking up" as seen in [Exodus 22:2](Exodus%2022.md#^2). And this was part of the Law that God had given to Israel that if a thief was found breaking into a place, and in restraining him he is killed -- given a fatal blow of some kind -- the person who killed him is innocent of a crime. So this is the figure that God is using in Jeremiah 2:34. > > Moreover, the last part of verse 34 would be better rendered, "*you did not find them* breaking up *concerning these things*." The argument here is that the churches are saying, "But we had a right to kill these people. We had a right to drive them out of the churches and to silence them." And thus this is why they celebrated the killing of the 2 witnesses in Revelation 11 and leaving their bodies to lie in the street. "We had a right to do this because they came in and were stealing. They are like thieves that have come in and in the process of restraining them we killed them." > > Practically speaking, this is when someone becomes saved and they have a lot of zeal, so they start asking all kinds of questions like, "How come we believe this when I don't find this in the Bible. The Bible appears to be saying something else." And pretty soon the pastor and overseers are getting uncomfortable because this person is creating dissension. Before that they were all happily following the teachings of the church and there was peace, but this person is breaking up, they have come in to destroy. And so they are going to cast them out. And they believe they are innocent because they are protecting the integrity of their church so that everything can continue to be done decently and in good order. > > We see the same truth in [John 16:2](John%2016.md#^2). God gave a remarkable illustration of this in Saul of Tarsus, a man who was really on fire for doing God's will. He was present when they martyred Stephen, when he was stoned. Then he went about with threatenings and slaughter, hauling people from as far away as Damascus, bringing them into Jerusalem to be tried and punished because they dared to proclaim Christ. So effectively they are saying, "We are innocent of their blood because we catch them breaking in like thieves. We are doing God's service." > And so this is what God is teaching here. They go after those who are messing up the status quo, those who are messing up their happiness with the Truth, so they cast them out. And God equates being cast out with being killed on a spiritual level. It is the blood of the souls of the poor innocents, not of those who were thieves breaking in. And this theme continues into verse 35. ^jer2-34 > [Jeremiah 2:35](Jeremiah%202.md#^35) note > > Continuing from the note under verse 34, the church overseers are saying, "We are guiltless. Surely His anger shall turn from me." Again, this is like those in [John 16:2](John%2016.md#^2) who believe they are doing God service. After all, isn't this what God expects, that they keep everything quiet and orderly in the churches? So they believe they are innocent in driving them out or causing them to be excommunicated. But these that they are driving out are actually the prophets that God says He sends to the husbandmen of the vineyards for a taste of its fruits but are driven away and killed. ^jer2-35 > [Jeremiah 2:36](Jeremiah%202.md#^36) note > > God uses again a historical parable. The kingdom of Israel consisting of the 10 tribes to the North went after the pomp and circumstance of Assyria - their splendid horses and clothing - and they loved their altars. They wanted to be like the Assyrians. But it was the Assyrians that destroyed them, they brought Israel into shame. > > The spiritual parallel to this during the New Testament is when churches and congregations accommodate themselves to the world around them. And this has happened down through the New Testament period with increasing frequency until we get to our day when the congregations have been spiritually neutralized. They have joined with Assyrian, they have tried to be as much like the world as possible. > > As the church became more and more decadent and contrary to the will of God, it means the Holy Spirit is no longer operating withing it, there's no spiritual guidance from God. They certainly aren't listening to the Bible anymore, they long ago decided they know more than the Bible. So they're on their own as they have brought in more and more of the world. That is, they have gone back into Egypt, to the house of bondage, that is, back into sin. They may retain some of the moral tenets of the Bible, but on the spiritual level, there is no more Gospel. There's no understanding of salvation, there's no conviction of the wrath of God, they're trusting in their own sinful ways. > > Remember God said that He had brought them *out* of Egypt, *out* of the house of bondage ([Deut 6:12](Deuteronomy%206.md#^12); [BLB Search (results in browser)](https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=out+Egypt+house+bondage&t=KJV#s=s_primary_0_1)). That's a representation of salvation. *Before* salvation we are in bondage to sin and to Satan, but God brings us out from that situation into eternal life, into the kingdom of Christ, if we are true believers. So when churches and congregations fall away from the will of God and descend more and more into sin and into the world, God speaks of that as going back into Egypt, into the house of bondage to sin and Satan. > > So just as Assyria and Egypt became the shame of national Israel in the historical setting, so the churches and congregations go back into Egypt, into the shame of sin and judgment. ^jer2-36 > [Jeremiah 2:37](Jeremiah%202.md#^37) note > > "thine hands upon thine hand" - In [2 Samuel 13](2%20Samuel%2013.md), there is the terrible situation with one of David's sons, Amnon, who was sick with love for his stepsister, Tamar. And he brought her into a situation of deception where he might lie with her, feigning sickness and requesting that she care for him. So Amnon forced Tamar and then forced her out with a hatred greater than the love he had had for her, enhancing the shame upon her. He threw her away as a despicable, unclean object, "Get out, I hate you!" And once she was forced out, we read in [2 Samuel 13:19](2%20Samuel%2013.md#^19) that she put ashes on her head, tore her garment of virginity and put her hand on her head, crying. So God is teaching us that putting the hand on the head is associated with a tragic event of great shame. If he had at least married her after humiliating her there could have been an amelioration of the shame. > > And this is what we saw in verse 36, "thou also shalt be *ashamed* of Egypt." In this verse God is saying they will go forth from Egypt with shame upon their heads, just as Amnon cast out Tamar with utter hatred. And this is how Satan operates. He comes with the wooing of love, "I can provide this, I can make everything wonderful for you." Remember his promises to Jesus during Christ's temptation in the wilderness -- if He would only bow down to him, he would give Him the glory of all the kingdoms of the world. When Satan tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden he told her they would be like God, knowing good and evil, and all would be well, they would not die. They would be way more knowledgeable and wise and happy than they are now. > > In the same way Satan comes into the churches and congregations through the glamour and enticements of the world. But what is his real intention? He hates them with a passion, he is there to destroy. It is his desire to throw away the kingdom of God on the earth. He is doing nothing out of love, he is coming like Amnon with, "I love you," but after he gets his way, he throws you away. > > This is true of any sin. Someone thinks they love alcohol, they think it makes them so happy. But they will be destroyed by it. ^jer2-37 Tags: #Old_Testament #Jeremiah #Gods_judgment_on_His_people #FSI