206661005 jeremiah-2-commentary

JEREMIAH 2 COMMENTARY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
I quote authors both old and new, and if any I quote do not want their wisdom
shared in this way they can let me know and I will remove it. My e-mail is
gdpease1@gmail.com
1 The word of the LORD came to me:
1. Barnes, “Moreover - literally, And. Notice the connection between
Jeremiah’s call and first prophecy.
2. BRIAN BELL, “1.1. Here is a story w/which we are too sadly
familiar today, the story of a marriage gone wrong!
vs.1-3 - This picture goes all the way back to Ex. 19 where the Lord
made a cov. W/Israel, & He entered into a loving relationship
w/them that He compared to a marriage.
3. Gill, “Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying. Here begins
the book, and Jeremiah's first sermon; and the following contains the
message he was sent with, to which the preceding chapter is only a
preface or introduction. The Targum calls it,
"the word of the prophecy from before the Lord.''
4. Jamison, “Jer_2:1-37. Expostulation with the Jews, reminding them of
their former devotedness, and God’s consequent favor, and a
denunciation of God’s coming judgments for their idolatry.
Probably in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah (Jer_1:2;
compare Jer_3:6, “also ... in ... days of Josiah”). The warning not to rely
as they did on Egypt (Jer_2:18), was in accordance with Josiah’s policy,
who took part with Assyria and Babylon against Egypt (2Ki_23:29).
Jeremiah, doubtless, supported the reformation begun by Josiah, in the
previous year (the twelfth of his reign), and fully carried out in the
eighteenth.
1

2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of
Jerusalem:
“This is what the LORD says:
“‘I remember the devotion of your youth,
how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the wilderness,
through a land not sown.
1. Barnes, “Up to this time Jeremiah had lived at Anathoth, he is now to
make Jerusalem the scene of his ministrations.
I remember ... - Or, I have remembered for thee the grace “of thy
youth, the love of thine espousals,” thy going “after me in the wilderness”
in an unsown land. Jeremiah contrasts the present unfriendly relations
between Yahweh and His people with their past love. Israel, as often
elsewhere, is represented as a young bride Eze_16:8; Hos_2:20; Joe_1:8.
The walking after God in the wilderness was an act of love on Israel’s
part. Israel did leave Egypt at Moses’ bidding, and at Sinai was solemnly
espoused to Yahweh.
2. Clarke, “I remember thee - The youth here refers to their infant
political state when they came out of Egypt; they just then began to be a
people. Their espousals refer to their receiving the law at Mount Sinai,
2

which they solemnly accepted, Exo_24:6-8, and which acceptance was
compared to a betrothing or espousal. Previously to this they were no
people, for they had no constitution nor form of government. When they
received the law, and an establishment in the Promised Land, then they
became a people and a nation.
Wentest after me - Receivedst my law, and wert obedient to it;
confiding thyself wholly to my guidance, and being conscientiously
attached to my worship. The kindness was that which God showed them
by taking them to be his people, not their kindness to him.
3. Gill, “Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem,.... Of the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, the metropolis of Judea. The prophet seems now to have
been at Anathoth, and therefore is bid to go from thence to Jerusalem,
and there prophesy before the people in it, as the Targum paraphrases it:
saying, thus saith the Lord, I remember thee; the Lord never forgets his
people, though they sometimes think he does; it cannot be for they are
engraven on the palms of his hands, yea, are set as a seal on his heart;
nor does he forget his covenant with them, nor favours and blessings
promised them: or, "I remember for thee"; or, "to thee" (w): things in thy
favour, and which will be to thy advantage:
the kindness of thy youth; either the lovingkindness of the Lord, which
he had shown unto them; and the benefits, as the fruits thereof, which he
had bestowed upon them in former times, when they were brought out of
Egypt, and into the wilderness, which was the infancy both of their civil
and church state; see Hos_11:1 and when they received many favours
from the Lord, Jer_31:2 or the kindness of the people of Israel to the
Lord, which was influenced and drawn forth by his love to them; though
this can only be understood of some few of them, since the greater part
tempted him, grieved, and provoked him:
the love of thine espousals; for the covenant God made with that people,
when he brought them out of Egypt, was in the form of a marriage
contract; he became their husband, and they became his spouse and
bride; and which is an aggravation of their violation of it, Jer_31:32 and
this love, as before, may be understood either of the love of God to them,
or of their love to him. The Targum interprets the former clause of the
divine goodness to them, and this of their love to him, paraphrasing the
whole thus,
"I remember unto you the blessings of ancient days, and the love of your
fathers, who believed in my word:''
when thou wentest after me; the Lord going before them in a pillar of
cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night; even the angel of God's
presence, who was their leader, guide, and preserver:
in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown; where they passed
through many difficulties, and lived upon the providence of God, which,
in a wonderful manner, supported them with the necessaries of life,
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which otherwise they could not have had. The Targum is,
"and they walked after my two messengers, after Moses and Aaron, in the
wilderness forty years without food, in a land that was not sown.''
The whole of this may be applied to the case of God's people at first
conversion, when they are as newly born babes, and become young men
in Christ; at which time they are openly espoused to him, having been
secretly betrothed in covenant before; but now, through the efficacy of
the Spirit attending the word, they are made willing to give up
themselves to the Lord, and are espoused to one husband, Christ, 2Co_
11:2 at which time also great kindness and love is expressed both by the
Lord to them, by quickening them who before were dead; by bringing
them out of a most miserable condition; by speaking comfortably to
them; by manifesting and applying his pardoning grace; and by openly
taking them into his family: and also by them to him again; for the grace
of love is then implanted, which, as it is hearty and sincere, is very ardent
and fervent; which shows itself by parting with and bearing all for Christ;
and by a concern for his company and presence; and by a regard to his
people, Gospel, ways, and worship; particularly by following him in his
ordinances with great zeal, fervency, and constancy, even though
attended with many difficulties and discouragements; and though the
way may seem to flesh and blood very unpleasant and unpromising; all
which is remembered by the Lord when forgotten by them; and when
their love is become cold to him, he not only remembers them, and his
love to them, which is always the same, but also their love to him.
4. Henry, “Here is, I. A command given to Jeremiah to go and carry a
message from God to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He was charged in
general (Jer_1:17) to go and speak to them; here he is particularly
charged to go and speak this to them. Note, It is good for ministers by
faith and prayer to take out a fresh commission when they address
themselves solemnly to any part of their work. Let a minister carefully
compare what he has to deliver with the word of God, and see that it
agrees with it, that he may be able to say, not only, The Lord sent me, but,
He sent me to speak this. He must go from Anathoth, where he lived in a
pleasant retirement, spending his time (it is likely) among a few friends
and in the study of the law, and must make his appearance at Jerusalem,
that noisy tumultuous city, and cry in their ears, as a man in earnest and
that would be heard: “Cry aloud, that all may hear, and none may plead
ignorance. Go close to them, and cry in the ears of those that have
stopped their ears.”
II. The message he was commanded to deliver. He must upbraid them
with their horrid ingratitude in forsaking a God who had been of old so
kind to them, that this might either make them ashamed and bring them
to repentance, or might justify God in turning his hand against them.
1. God here puts them in mind of the favours he had of old bestowed
upon them, when they were first formed into a people (Jer_2:2): “I
remember for thy sake, and I would have thee to remember it, and
improve the remembrance of it for thy good; I cannot forget the kindness
of thy youth and the love of thy espousals.”
4

This may be understood of the kindness they had for God; it was not
such indeed as they had any reason to boast of, or to plead with God for
favour to be shown them (for many of them were very unkind and
provoking, and, when they did return and enquire early after God, they
did but flatter him), yet God is pleased to mention it, and plead it with
them; for, though it was but little love that they showed him, he took it
kindly. When they believed the Lord and his servant Moses, when they
sang God's praise at the Red Sea, when at the foot of Mount Sinai they
promised, All that the Lord shall say unto us we will do and will be
obedient, then was the kindness of their youth and the love of their
espousals. When they seemed so forward for God he said, Surely they
are my people, and will be faithful to me, children that will not lie. Note,
Those that begin well and promise fair, but do not perform and
persevere, will justly be upbraided with their hopeful and promising
beginnings. God remembers the kindness of our youth and the love of
our espousals, the zeal we then seemed to have for him and the affection
wherewith we made our covenants with him, the buds and blossoms that
never came to perfection; and it is good for us to remember them, that
we may remember whence we have fallen, and return to our first love,
Rev_2:4, Rev_2:5; Gal_4:15. In two things appeared the kindness of their
youth: - [1.] That they followed the direction of the pillar of cloud and
fire in the wilderness; and though sometimes they spoke of returning
into Egypt, or pushing forward into Canaan, yet they did neither, but for
forty years together went after God in the wilderness, and trusted him to
provide for them, though it was a land that was not sown. This God took
kindly, and took notice of it to their praise long after, that, though much
was amiss among them, yet they never forsook the guidance they were
under. Thus, though Christ often chid his disciples, yet he commended
them, at parting, for continuing with him, Luk_22:28. It must be the
strong affection of the youth, and the espousals, that will carry us on to
follow God in a wilderness, with an implicit faith and an entire
resignation; and it is a pity that those who have so followed him should
ever leave him. [2.] That they entertained divine institutions, set up the
tabernacle among them, and attended the service of it. Israel was then
holiness to the Lord; they joined themselves to him in covenant as a
peculiar people. Thus they began in the spirit, and God puts them in
mind of it, that they might be ashamed of ending in the flesh.
(2.) Or it may be understood of God's kindness to them; of that he
afterwards speaks largely. When Israel was a child, then I loved him,
Hos_11:1. He then espoused that people to himself with all the affection
with which a young man marries a virgin (Isa_62:5), for the time was a
time of love, Eze_16:8. [1.] God appropriated them to himself. Though
they were a sinful people, yet, by virtue of the covenant made with them
and the church set up among them, they were holiness to the Lord,
dedicated to his honour and taken under his special tuition; they were
the first fruits of his increase, the first constituted church he had in the
world; they were the first-fruits, but the full harvest was to be gathered
from among the Gentiles. The first-fruits of the increase were God's part
of it, were offered to him, and he was honoured with them; so were the
people of the Jews; what little tribute, rent, and homage, God had from
the world, he had it chiefly from them; and it was their honour to be thus
set apart for God. This honour have all the saints; they are the first-fruits
5

of his creatures, Jam_1:18. [2.] Having espoused them, he espoused their
cause, and became an enemy to their enemies, Exo_23:22. Being the
first-fruits of his increase, all that devoured him (so it should be read)
did offend; they trespassed, they contracted guilt, and evil befel them, as
those were reckoned offenders that devoured the first-fruits, or any
thing else that was holy to the Lord, that embezzled them, or converted
them to their own use, Lev_5:15. Whoever offered any injury to the
people of God did so at their peril; their God was ready to avenge their
quarrel, and said to the proudest of kings, Touch not my anointed, Psa_
105:14, Psa_105:15; Exo_17:14. He had in a special manner a controversy
with those that attempted to debauch them and draw them off from
being holiness to the Lord; witness his quarrel with the Midianites about
the matter of Peor, Num_25:17, Num_25:18. [3.] He brought them out of
Egypt with a high hand and great terror (Deu_4:34), and yet with a kind
hand and great tenderness led them through a vast howling wilderness
(Jer_2:6), a land of deserts and pits, or of graves, terram sepulchralem -
a sepulchral land, where there was ground, not to feed them, but to bury
them, where there was no good to be expected, for it was a land of
drought, but all manner of evil to be feared, for it was the shadow of
death. In that darksome valley they walked forty years; but God was with
them; his rod, in Moses's hand, and his staff, comforted them, and even
there God prepared a table for them (Psa_23:4, Psa_23:5), gave them
bread out of the clouds and drink out of the rocks. It was a land
abandoned by all mankind, as yielding neither road nor rest. It was no
thoroughfare, for no man passed through it - no settlement, for no man
dwelt there. For God will teach his people to tread untrodden paths, to
dwell alone, and to be singular. The difficulties of the journey are thus
insisted on, to magnify the power and goodness of God in bringing them,
through all, safely to their journey's end at last. All God's spiritual Israel
must own their obligations to him for a safe conduct through the
wilderness of this world, no less dangerous to the soul than that was to
the body. [4.] At length he settled them in Canaan (Jer_2:7): I brought
you into a plentiful country, which would be the more acceptable after
they had been for so many years in a land of drought. They did eat the
fruit thereof and the goodness thereof, and were allowed so to do. I
brought you into a land of Carmel (so the word is); Carmel was a place of
extraordinary fruitfulness, and Canaan was as one great fruitful field,
Deu_8:7. [5.] God gave them the means of knowledge and grace, and
communion with him; this is implied, Jer_2:8. They had priests that
handled the law, read it, and expounded it to them; that was part of their
business, Deu_33:8. They had pastors, to guide them and take care of
their affairs, magistrates and judges; they had prophets to consult God
for them and to make known his mind to them.
5. Jamison, “cry — proclaim.
Jerusalem — the headquarters and center of their idolatry; therefore
addressed first.
thee — rather, “I remember in regard to thee” [Henderson]; “for thee”
[Maurer].
kindness of thy youth — not so much Israel’s kindness towards God, as
6

the kindness which Israel experienced from God in their early history
(compare Eze_16:8, Eze_16:22, Eze_16:60; Eze_23:3, Eze_23:8, Eze_
23:19; Hos_2:15). For Israel from the first showed perversity rather than
kindness towards God (compare Exo_14:11, Exo_14:12; Exo_15:24; Exo_
32:1-7, etc.). The greater were God’s favors to them from the first, the
fouler was their ingratitude in forsaking Him (Jer_2:3, Jer_2:5, etc.).
espousals — the intervals between Israel’s betrothal to God at the
exodus from Egypt, and the formal execution of the marriage contract at
Sinai. Ewald takes the “kindness” and “love” to be Israel’s towards God
at first (Exo_19:8; Exo_24:3; Exo_35:20-29; Exo_36:5; Jos_24:16-17).
But compare Deu_32:16, Deu_32:17; Eze_16:5, Eze_16:6, Eze_16:15,
Eze_16:22 (“days of thy youth”) implies that the love here meant was on
God’s side, not Israel’s.
thou wentest after me in ... wilderness — the next act of God’s love, His
leading them in the desert without needing any strange god, such as they
since worshipped, to help Him (Deu_2:7; Deu_32:12). Jer_2:6 shows it is
God’s “leading” of them, not their following after God in the wilderness,
which is implied.
6. K&D, “"And then came to me the word of Jahveh, saying: Go and
publish in the ears of Jerusalem, saying: I have remembered to thy
account the love of thy youth, the lovingness of thy courtship time, thy
going after me in the wilderness, in a land unsown. Holy was Israel to
the Lord, his first-fruits of the produce: all who would have devoured
him brought guilt upon themselves: evil came upon him, is the saying of
Jahveh." The Jer_2:2 and Jer_2:3 are not "in a certain sense the text of
the following reproof" (Graf), but contain "the main idea which shows
the cause of the following rebuke" (Hitz.): The Lord has rewarded the
people of Israel with blessings for its love to Him. ‫ר‬ ַ‫כ‬ָ‫ז‬‫ר‬ ַ‫כ‬ָ‫ז‬‫ר‬ ַ‫כ‬ָ‫ז‬‫ר‬ ַ‫כ‬ָ‫ז‬ with ְ‫ל‬ְ‫ל‬ְ‫ל‬ְ‫ל‬ pers. and
accus. rei means: to remember to one's account that it may stand him in
good stead afterwards - cf. Neh_5:19; Neh_13:22, Neh_13:31; Psa_98:3;
Psa_106:45, etc. - that it may be repaid with evil, Neh_6:14; Neh_13:29;
Psa_79:8, etc. The perfect ‫י‬ ִ ְ‫ר‬ ַ‫כ‬ָ‫ז‬‫י‬ ִ ְ‫ר‬ ַ‫כ‬ָ‫ז‬‫י‬ ִ ְ‫ר‬ ַ‫כ‬ָ‫ז‬‫י‬ ִ ְ‫ר‬ ַ‫כ‬ָ‫ז‬ is to be noted, and not inverted into the
present. It is a thing completed that is spoken of; what the Lord has done,
not what He is going on with. He remembered to the people Israel the
love of its youth. ‫ד‬ ֶ‫ס‬ ֶ‫ח‬‫ד‬ ֶ‫ס‬ ֶ‫ח‬‫ד‬ ֶ‫ס‬ ֶ‫ח‬‫ד‬ ֶ‫ס‬ ֶ‫,ח‬ ordinarily, condescending love, graciousness and
favour; here, the self-devoting, nestling love of Israel to its God. The
youth of Israel is the time of the sojourn in Egypt and of the exodus
thence (Hos_2:17; Hos_11:1); here the latter, as is shown by the
following: lovingness of the courtship. The courtship comprises the time
from the exodus out of Egypt till the concluding of the covenant at Sinai
(Exo_19:8). When the Lord redeemed Israel with a strong hand out of
the power of Egypt, He chose it to be His spouse, whom He bare on
eagles' wings and brought unto Himself, Exo_19:4. The love of the bride
to her Lord and Husband, Israel proved by its following Him as He went
before in the wilderness, the land where it is not sown, i.e., followed Him
gladly into the parched, barren wilderness. "Thy going after me" is
decisive for the question so much debated by commentators, whether ‫ד‬ ֶ‫ס‬ ֶ‫ח‬‫ד‬ ֶ‫ס‬ ֶ‫ח‬‫ד‬ ֶ‫ס‬ ֶ‫ח‬‫ד‬ ֶ‫ס‬ ֶ‫ח‬
7

and ‫ה‬ ָ‫ב‬ ֲ‫ה‬ፍ‫ה‬ ָ‫ב‬ ֲ‫ה‬ፍ‫ה‬ ָ‫ב‬ ֲ‫ה‬ፍ‫ה‬ ָ‫ב‬ ֲ‫ה‬ፍ stand for the love of Israel to its God, or God's love to Israel. The
latter view we find so early as Chrysostom, and still in Rosenm. and Graf;
but it is entirely overthrown by the ְ‫ך‬ ֵ ְ‫כ‬ ֶ‫ל‬ְ‫ך‬ ֵ ְ‫כ‬ ֶ‫ל‬ְ‫ך‬ ֵ ְ‫כ‬ ֶ‫ל‬ְ‫ך‬ ֵ ְ‫כ‬ ֶ‫ל‬ ‫י‬ ַ‫ר‬ ֲ‫ח‬ፍ‫י‬ ַ‫ר‬ ֲ‫ח‬ፍ‫י‬ ַ‫ר‬ ֲ‫ח‬ፍ‫י‬ ַ‫ר‬ ֲ‫ח‬ፍ, which Chrysost. transforms
into ποιᇿποιᇿποιᇿποιᇿσαςσαςσαςσας ᅚξακολουθᇿᅚξακολουθᇿᅚξακολουθᇿᅚξακολουθᇿσαισαισαισαι µουµουµουµου, while Graf takes no notice of it. The reasons,
too, which Graf, after the example of Rosenm. and Dathe, brings in
support of this and against the only feasible exposition, are altogether
valueless. The assertion that the facts forbid us to understand the words
of the love of Israel to the Lord, because history represents the Israelites,
when vixdum Aegypto egressos, as refractarios et ad aliorum deorum
cultum pronos, cannot be supported by a reference to Deu_9:6, Deu_
9:24; Isa_48:8; Amo_5:25., Psa_106:7. History knows of no apostasy of
Israel from its God and no idolatry of the people during the time from the
exodus out of Egypt till the arrival at Sinai, and of this time alone
Jeremiah speaks. All the rebellions of Israel against its God fall within
the time after the conclusion of the covenant at Sinai, and during the
march from Sinai to Canaan. On the way from Egypt to Sinai the people
murmured repeatedly, indeed, against Moses; at the Red Sea, when
Pharaoh was pursuing with chariots and horsemen (Exo_14:11.); at
Marah, where they were not able to drink the water for bitterness
(15:24); in the wilderness of Sin, for lack of bread and meat (Jer_16:2.);
and at Massah, for want of water (Jer_17:2.). But in all these cases the
murmuring was no apostasy from the Lord, no rebellion against God, but
an outburst of timorousness and want of proper trust in God, as is
abundantly clear from the fact that in all these cases of distress and
trouble God straightway brings help, with the view of strengthening the
confidence of the timorous people in the omnipotence of His helping
grace. Their backsliding from the Lord into heathenism begins with the
worship of the golden calf, after the covenant had been entered into at
Sinai (Ex 32), and is continued in the revolts on the way from Sinai to the
borders of Canaan, at Taberah, at Kibroth-hattaavah (Num 11), in the
desert of Paran at Kadesh (Num 13; 20); and each time it was severely
punished by the Lord.
Neither are we to conclude, with J. D. Mich., that God interprets the
journey through the desert in meliorem partem, and makes no mention
of their offences and revolts; nor with Graf, that Jeremiah looks steadily
away from all that history tells of the march of the Israelites through the
desert, of their discontent and refractoriness, of the golden calf and of
Baal Peor, and, idealizing the past as contrasted with the much darker
present, keeps in view only the brighter side of the old times. Idealizing
of this sort is found neither elsewhere in Jeremiah nor in any other
prophet; nor is there anything of the kind in our verse, if we take up
rightly the sense of it and the thread of the thought. It becomes necessary
so to view it, only if we hold the whole forty years' sojourn of the
Israelites in the wilderness to be the espousal time, and make the
marriage union begin not with the covenanting at Sinai, but with the
entrance of Israel into Canaan. Yet more entirely without foundation is
the other assertion, that the words rightly given as the sense is, "stand in
no connection with the following, since then the point in hand is the
people's forgetfulness of the divine benefits, its thanklessness and
apostasy, not at all the deliverances wrought by Jahveh in consideration
of its former devotedness." For in Jer_2:2 it is plainly enough told how
God remembered to the people its love. Israel was so shielded by Him, as
8

His sanctuary, that whoever touched it must pay the penalty. ‫שׁ‬ ֶ‫ּד‬‫ק‬‫שׁ‬ ֶ‫ּד‬‫ק‬‫שׁ‬ ֶ‫ּד‬‫ק‬‫שׁ‬ ֶ‫ּד‬‫ק‬ are all
gifts consecrated to Jahveh. The Lord has made Israel a holy offering
consecrated to Him in this, that He has separated it to Himself for a ‫ה‬ ָ ֻ‫ג‬ ְ‫ס‬‫ה‬ ָ ֻ‫ג‬ ְ‫ס‬‫ה‬ ָ ֻ‫ג‬ ְ‫ס‬‫ה‬ ָ ֻ‫ג‬ ְ‫,ס‬
for a precious possession, and has chosen it to be a holy people: Exo_
19:5.; Deu_7:6; Deu_14:2. We can explain from the Torah of offering the
further designation of Israel: his first-fruits; the first of the produce of
the soil or yield of the land belonged, as ‫שׁ‬ ֶ‫ּד‬‫ק‬‫שׁ‬ ֶ‫ּד‬‫ק‬‫שׁ‬ ֶ‫ּד‬‫ק‬‫שׁ‬ ֶ‫ּד‬‫ק‬, to the Lord: Exo_23:19;
Num_8:8, etc. Israel, as the chosen people of God, as such a consecrated
firstling. Inasmuch as Jahveh is Creator and Lord of the whole world, all
the peoples are His possession, the harvest of His creation. But amongst
the peoples of the earth He has chosen Israel to Himself for a firstling-
people (,‫ית‬ ִ‫אשׁ‬ ֵ‫ר‬‫ית‬ ִ‫אשׁ‬ ֵ‫ר‬‫ית‬ ִ‫אשׁ‬ ֵ‫ר‬‫ית‬ ִ‫אשׁ‬ ֵ‫ר‬ ‫ם‬ִ‫וי‬ ַּ‫ה‬‫ם‬ִ‫וי‬ ַּ‫ה‬‫ם‬ִ‫וי‬ ַּ‫ה‬‫ם‬ִ‫וי‬ ַּ‫ה‬ Amo_6:1), and so pronounced it His sanctuary, not to
be profaned by touch. Just as each laic who ate of a firstling consecrated
to God incurred guilt, so all who meddled with Israel brought guilt upon
their heads. The choice of the verb ‫יו‬ ָ‫ל‬ ְ‫ּכ‬‫א‬‫יו‬ ָ‫ל‬ ְ‫ּכ‬‫א‬‫יו‬ ָ‫ל‬ ְ‫ּכ‬‫א‬‫יו‬ ָ‫ל‬ ְ‫ּכ‬‫א‬ is also to be explained from the
figure of firstling-offerings. The eating of firstling-fruit is appropriation
of it to one's own use. Accordingly, by the eating of the holy people of
Jahveh, not merely the killing and destroying of it is to be understood,
but all laying of violent hands on it, to make it a prey, and so all injury or
oppression of Israel by the heathen nations. The practical meaning of
‫מוּ‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ ְ‫א‬ֶ‫י‬‫מוּ‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ ְ‫א‬ֶ‫י‬‫מוּ‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ ְ‫א‬ֶ‫י‬‫מוּ‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ ְ‫א‬ֶ‫י‬ is given by the next clause: mischief came upon them. The verbs ‫מוּ‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ ְ‫א‬ֶ‫י‬‫מוּ‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ ְ‫א‬ֶ‫י‬‫מוּ‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ ְ‫א‬ֶ‫י‬‫מוּ‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ ְ‫א‬ֶ‫י‬
and ‫ּא‬‫ב‬ ָ‫ּא‬‫ב‬ ָ‫ּא‬‫ב‬ ָ‫ּא‬‫ב‬ ָ dnadnadnadna ְ‫א‬ֶ‫י‬ְ‫א‬ֶ‫י‬ְ‫א‬ֶ‫י‬ְ‫א‬ֶ‫י‬ are not futures; for we have here to do not with the future,
but with what did take place so long as Israel showed the love of the
espousal time to Jahveh. Hence rightly Hitz.: "he that would devour it
must pay the penalty." An historical proof of this is furnished by the
attack of the Amalekites on Israel and its result, Exo_17:8-15.
7. Calvin, “God now mentions to his servant the commands which he was to
convey to the king and priests, and to the whole people; for by the ears of
Jerusalem he means all its inhabitants. God here intimates that the Jews were
unworthy of being cared for by him any more; but that he is induced by another
reason not to reject them wholly, until he had found out by experience their
irreclaimable wickedness. So then he makes this preface, I remember thee for the
kindness of thy youth, and the love of thy espousals In these words he shews that
he regarded not what the Jews deserved, nor acknowledged any worthiness in
them, as the reason why he was solicitous for their salvation, and endeavored to
bring them to the right way by the labors of his Prophet, but that this is to be
ascribed to his former benefits.
Some render the words, “I remember the piety or kindness of thy youth;” and ‫לך‬
lak, may be thus taken, as it is in other places. Others omit this word; while
others consider a copulative to be understood, “I remember thee, and the
kindness of thy youth.” But none, as I think, have attained to the meaning of the
Prophet: there is yet no obscurity in the words, if a preposition be considered as
9

being understood, so as to read thus, — that God remembered his people for the
kindness which he had shewn to them, and for the love which he had manifested
towards them from the beginning. Then the real meaning of the Prophet I think
to be this, — that God here takes away every ground for pride and boasting from
the Jews; as though he had said, that they were worthy, they had no reason to
think; but that he was still their Father, and was therefore unwilling that the
benefits he had formerly conferred upon them should be wholly lost. There is, in
short, given here a reason why God sent Jeremiah after the other prophets; as
though he had said, “It is a testimony to you of the paternal care which I shew to
you, when I send my Prophet to give you a hope of pardon, if ye return to the
right way and be reconciled to me. But how is it that I still shew a concern for
you, as ye have forgotten me, and wholly disregarded my law? It is so, because I
wish to continue my favors to you.” The kindness of thy youth he takes in a
passive sense; for he does not mean that the Jews were kind or merciful, but that
they had experienced the kindness of God.
But the metaphor here used must be noticed. God compares himself here to a
young bridegroom, who marries a youthful bride, in the flower of her age, and in
the prime of her beauty: and it is a manner of speaking commonly adopted by
the prophets. I will not now detain you with a long explanation, as the subject
will be treated more at large in another place.
As God, then, had espoused the people of Israel, when he redeemed and brought
them out of Egypt, he says now, that he remembers the people on account of that
kindness and love. He sets kindness or beneficence before love. The word ‫,חסר‬
chesad, properly means a gratuitous favor or kindness, which is shewn to the
miserable, or beneficence. By the word love, God means in many other places the
gratuitous election with which he had favored the whole people. The expression
is indeed made clearer when kindness or gratuitous favor is placed first, and
then love is added: though nothing new is added, yet the Prophet more fully
shews that the people had been loved by God in no other way than through his
kindness. 27
Now this is a remarkable passage; for God shews that his covenant, though
perfidiously violated by the Jews, was yet firm and immutable: for though not all
who derive their descent according to the flesh from Abraham, are true and
legitimate Israelites, yet God ever remains true, and his calling, as Paul says, is
without repentance. (Romans 11:29.) We may therefore learn this from the
Prophet’s words, — that God was not content with one Prophet, but continued
his favor, inasmuch as he would not render void his covenant. The Jews indeed
had impiously departed from the covenant, and a vast number had deservedly
perished, having been wholly repudiated; yet God designed really to shew that
his grace depends not on the inconstancy of men, as Paul says in another place,
for it would then presently fail, (Romans 3:4) and that were all men false and
10

perfidious, God would yet remain true and fixed in his purpose. This we learn
from the Prophet’s words, when it is said, that God remembered the people on
account of the kindness of their youth.
As to youth and espousals, we may hence learn that they had been anticipated by
God’s kindness; for they became in no other way connected with God than by
having been chosen by him: their espousal would not have been enjoyed by the
people, had not God anticipated them. What was Abraham? and what were all
his posterity? God then now shews, that the beginning of all blessings, and as it
were the fountain, was this, — that it pleased him to choose the people for
himself.
And the same thing is confirmed in other words: When, he says, thou didst
follow me in the desert, in a land not sown The people, we know, did not obey
God as they ought to have done, even when he had redeemed them. Hence God
does not so much in this place commend the people for any merits of their own,
but especially confirms what I have already stated, — that he could not cast
aside every care for a people whom he had once adopted, and whom he had led
through the desert, that they might be a people separated from the rest of the
world. He however concedes to them, according to his great goodness, the praise
of obedience, because they followed God through rough ways, as though a tender
young woman refused not to undergo hard and irksome toils from love to her
bridegroom.
8, RAY STEDMAN, "The first word is "remember." That is a look back, a call
to remember what life was like when you first began a love relationship. God
says, "I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you
followed me." In marital counseling I have dealt with couples who have been
married twenty-five or thirty years but who are having difficulties. They are
tense, angry, upset, and sometimes they will not even speak to one another. One
man was so angry with his wife that he got up, spit in her face, and walked out
the door! I have had to sit down with couples like that and try to find a way to
begin a healing process.
Long ago I learned the best way is simply to say, "You know, before we start, I
need to get acquainted with you a little bit. Tell me something about yourselves.
How did you meet, and where?" You can feel the atmosphere soften, and their
hearts begin to expand a bit, as they think back to the days when they were not
angry or upset, but were in love, and as they remember what that meant. Half
the battle is won when you can get couples thinking back to what it was like
when they first knew each other.
11

This past week I attended a pastors' conference at Mount Hermon. Rick Cruse,
one of our recent interns, was there with his new bride, Debbie. They have been
married only a few weeks, and it was fun to watch them, to see how she looked
into his eyes every time they were out together, how she followed him, walked
with him. Once, because they attended different meetings, they were separated
for about an hour. I happened to be there when they came back together. They
ran into each other's arms and kissed each other, and didn't care who was
watching! That is the way a bride is with her husband when a marriage has first
begun.
Do you remember those days in the relationship between you and the Lord -- the
wonder of love, and the joy of it? What the prophet is bringing out here is that at
such a time, the loved one is the chief priority of life. No other relationship is
more important than yours with him, or his with you. He is preeminent in your
affection. This is what God is wanting you to recall. This is the first thing God
says to a heart which has begun to drift -- "Remember, remember what it was
like when you were secure in my affections, separate unto me." Israel was "holy
to the Lord", exclusively his. "Remember when you were satisfying -- 'the first
fruits of his harvest'. Remember when you were safe -- 'All who ate of it became
guilty; evil came upon them, says the Lord.' I protected you. Do you remember
those days?
In Dallas, Texas, last week, a young man who was with me told me that he had
listened to someone speak on the letters to the seven churches in Revelation.
When the speaker got to what the Lord Jesus said to the angel of the church in
Ephesus -- "I have this against you, that you have left your first love" -- this
young man said, something gripped his heart. It was as though scales dropped
from his eyes. And he suddenly realized that he had come to love Bible study
about Jesus more than he loved Jesus himself. He saw that he had to return to
that "first love," and that Bible study, engaging and exciting as it is, is not what
holds the heart. It is Jesus himself. And that is what God says -- "Remember,
Judah, those days in the wilderness when you walked as a bride with her
husband, how you were safe, and satisfied, and exclusively mine."
12

3 Israel was holy to the LORD,
the firstfruits of his harvest;
all who devoured her were held guilty,
and disaster overtook them,’” declares the
LORD.
1. Barnes, “Render: “Israel” is an offering consecrated to Yahweh, His
firstfruits of increase. The firstfruits were God’s consecrated property,
His portion of the whole harvest. Pagan, i. e., unconsecrated, nations
must not meddle with Israel, because it is the nation consecrated to God.
If they do, they will bring such guilt upon themselves as those incur who
eat the first-fruits Lev_22:10, Lev_22:16.
2. Clarke, “Israel was holiness unto the Lord - Fully consecrated to his
service.
The first fruits of his increase - They were as wholly the Lord’s, as the
first fruits were the property of the priests according to the law Num_
18:13. These the priests alone had a right to devote to their own use.
All that devour him shall offend - As they were betrothed to the Lord,
they were considered his especial property; they therefore who injured
them were considered as laying violent hands on the property of God.
They who persecute God’s children have a grievous burden to bear, an
awful account to give.
3. Gill, “Israel was holiness unto the Lord,.... When first brought out of
Egypt into the wilderness, by the Lord's choice and separation of them to
be a holy people to him above all others; by covenant with him, and
profession of him; and by his giving them holy laws, and placing a
sanctuary among them; and by their high priest, who represented them
in the most holy place; and had on the front of his mitre written,
holiness unto the Lord; so the spiritual Israel are chosen in Christ to be
holy, and he is made sanctification to them; they are sanctified in him,
and by his Spirit; they are called with a holy calling, and unto holiness;
13

and, under the influence of grace, live holy lives and conversations,
which the grace of God teaches, and young converts are remarkable for;
their consciences being just awakened, and their hearts tender:
and the firstfruits of his increase; Israel was the first nation that God
separated for himself; and this being the firstfruits, shows that he would
separate others also, and take out of the Gentiles a people for his name,
which he has since done; and the elect of God among the Israelites were
the firstfruits of his chosen ones elsewhere; it were some of them that
first believed in Christ, and received the firstfruits of the Spirit; and all
converted ones are a kind of firstfruits of his creatures; the grace they
receive at conversion is the firstfruits of a later increase of it, and even of
eternal glory:
all that devour him shall offend; or, "all that eat him shall be guilty" (x);
and be condemned and punished, who eat up the Lord's people, as they
eat bread; see Psa_53:4, these shall not go unpunished; for his people
are as the apple of his eye, and whoever touches and hurts them fall
under the divine displeasure, and will be looked upon as criminals and
offenders, and will be judged and condemned as such. The allusion is to
the eating of the firstfruits, which only belonged to the priests; nor might
any of the increase be eaten until the firstfruits were brought to them,
Lev_23:10. This is expressed in the Chaldee paraphrase of the text,
"whosoever eats of them (the firstfruits) is guilty of death; for as the
beginning of the harvest, the sheaf of oblation, whoever eats of it before
the priests, the sons of Aaron, have offered of it upon the altar, shall be
guilty or condemned; so all that spoil the house of Israel shall be guilty or
condemned;''
so Jarchi and Kimchi:
evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord; that is, the evil of punishment,
either in this world, or in that which is to come, or in both.
4. NET BIBLE NOTES , “The Hebrew word translated “how devoted you were”
(‫ֶד‬‫ס‬ֶ‫ח‬, khesed) refers metaphorically to the devotion of a new bride to her
husband. In typical Hebraic fashion, contemporary Israel is identified with early
Israel after she first entered into covenant with (= married) the Lord. The
reference to her earlier devotion is not absolute but relative. Compared to her
unfaithfulness in worshiping other gods after she got into the land, the
murmuring and complaining in the wilderness are ignored.
5. Jamison, “holiness unto the Lord — that is, was consecrated to the
service of Jehovah (Exo_19:5, Exo_19:6). They thus answered to the
motto on their high priest’s breastplate, “Holiness to the Lord” (Deu_
7:6; Deu_14:2, Deu_14:21).
first-fruits of his increase — that is, of Jehovah’s produce. As the first-
fruits of the whole produce of the land were devoted to God (Exo_23:19;
Num_18:12, Num_18:13), so Israel was devoted to Him as the first-fruit
and representative nation among all nations. So the spiritual Israel
14

(Jam_1:18; Rev_14:4).
devour — carrying on the image of first-fruits which were eaten before
the Lord by the priests as the Lord’s representatives; all who ate
(injured) Jehovah’s first-fruits (Israel), contracted guilt: for example,
Amalek, the Amorites, etc., were extirpated for their guilt towards Israel.
shall come — rather, “came.”
6. Calvin, “God here more clearly reprobates the ingratitude of the people: and
first he enumerates his favors by which he had bound the people for ever to
himself; and secondly, he shews how malignantly the people responded to the
many blessings which they had received.
In saying, then, that Israel was holy, he intends it not by way of honor. It was
indeed in itself an illustrious testimony to their praise, that God had consecrated
that people to himself, that he designed them to be the first — fruits of his
increase: but we must remember that there is here an implied contrast between
this great and incomparable favor of God, and the wickedness of the people, who
afterwards fell away from that God who had been so liberal and gracious to
them. According to this view, then, does Jeremiah say, that Israel was holiness to
God; that is, that they were separated from all other nations, so that the glory of
God shone only among them.
He then adds, that they were the first-fruits of his produce For though whatever
produce the earth may bring forth ought to be consecrated to God, by whose
power it grows, yet we know that the first — fruits were gathered and set on the
altar as a sacred food. As, then, God had commanded, under the law, the first-
fruits to be offered to him, and then given to the priests, he says here, in
accordance with that rite, that Israel were the first — fruits of his produce. For
the nations, who then everywhere dwelt, were not removed from under God’s
government (as he is the creator of all, and shews himself to all as the Father and
supporter); but he passed by other nations, and chose the race of Abraham, and
for this end, — that he might protect them by his power and aid. Since, then,
God had so bound the nation to himself, how great and how strong was the
obligation under which that people was to him? Hence the more base and the
more detestable was their perfidy, when the people despised the singular favors
which God had conferred on them. We now see why the Prophet says that Israel
was holy to God, and the first — fruits of his increase.
He also intimates that the time would come, when God would gather to himself
other nations; for in the first-fruits the people dedicated and offered to God the
whole produce of the year is included. So then Israel was like the first-fruits,
because God afterwards took to himself other nations, which for many ages were
deemed profane. But yet his special object was to shew that the guilt of the
15

people was extreme, as they did not acknowledge the great favors which God had
bestowed on them.
He then adds, Whosoever will devour him shall be punished Of this meaning I
approve, because the explanation immediately follows, evil shall come on them
God then means not that they should be only guilty of a crime, who should
devour the first-fruits, but refers rather to punishment; as though he had said,
“The profane shall not be unpunished who shall devour the first-fruits which has
been dedicated to me.” For if any had stolen the first- fruits, God would have
executed a vengeance such as sacrilege deserved. If, however, any one prefers the
other explanation, — that it would be a crime to injure Israel, or to do him any
harm, because he was under God’s protection, I shall not oppose him: but the
wording of the sentence leads me to the other view, that is, that those who would
injure Israel would not only be guilty, but would not be able to escape God’s
vengeance, — and why? because evil will come upon them, saith Jehovah
7. TIM TEMPLE, "The first word is found in chapter 2, and the word is
remember . Notice, beginning in verse 1 of Jeremiah, chapter 2:
Jeremiah 2:
1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I
remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou
wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
3 Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all
that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD.
We will stop there with that third verse. As you can see, the first word of the
theme of this message is remember . This is a look back for Judah. It is a call to
remember what life was like when they first began a love relationship. In fact, it
is God who is saying, “I remember the devotion of your youth. I remember,
Judah, what it was like in the beginning of our relationship. I remember your
love like the love of a bride as you followed Me.”
Sometimes in premarital counseling or in marital counseling, especially when I
don't know a couple as well, I will say, “Tell me about yourselves. How did you
get to know each other. Where did you meet?” Sometimes you can almost feel the
atmosphere soften as these people who have serious enough problems to come for
counseling, begin to think back to those early days of their marriage and when
16

they were not angry or upset with each other, but they were in love. As they just
go through the exercise of remembering that, sometimes it makes a lot of
difference. Sometimes in counseling the battle is halfway won when you get
couples to thinking back on what things were like in the beginning of their
marriage when they first knew each other, when they first loved each other.
Putting the spiritual face on that concept, let me ask you something. Do you
remember what it was like in those early days in the relationship between you
and the Lord? Do you remember what it was like when you knew the surprising
wonder of the fact that He loved you? Maybe some of you were saved at such a
young age that you don't remember that as a part of your early days of salvation.
Have you had a time in your life, perhaps a time when you have come back to the
Lord or a time when the Lord has shown Himself to you in some powerful way,
in some crisis of life? “Do you remember such a time,” God said to Judah, and
God says to you and me, “and what it was like when you did love Me and when
you were aware of My love for you?”
What the prophet is bringing out here is that in that kind of situation, the Lord
and your love for the Lord is the first priority of your life, isn't it? No other
relationship is more important than your relationship with Him. Other
relationships still have importance, but your relationship with Him is the most
important in those times. That's what God wants them to recall and that is what
God wants us to recall today, I believe. That is the first thing that God says to
these hearts that had begun to drift from Him: “Remember what it was like
when you were secure in My affections, when you were devoted only to Me.”
There was a time when Israel was holiness to the Lord, exclusively His.
He says in verse 2, “Remember when you loved Me in the wilderness?” Of
course, this generation of Israelites weren't alive then, but they knew the history
of their nation. They knew that dependence upon God that their forefathers had
had as they had to go day by day, literally one day at a time at God's leading and
under God's leadership. No doubt most of them remembered some time like that
in their own personal lives.
In verse 3, He says, “You were the firstfruits of My harvest. Remember when
you were safe?” He says, “Disasters came upon all of those who tried to harm
you. I protected you. Do you remember those days? Remember, Judah, those
days in the wilderness when you walked as a bride with her husband. You were
17

safe, you were satisfied, and you were exclusively Mine.” That is the first word
that God would say to those drifting from Him. “Stop and think. Remember
your relationship with Me and My relationship with you.”
4 Hear the word of the LORD, you descendants
of Jacob, all you clans of Israel.
1. BRIAN BELL, “1. Story - William Penn, the founder of the commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, was well liked by the Indians. Once they told him he could
have as much of their land as he could encompass on foot in a single day.
So, early the next morning he started out and walked until late that night.
When he finally went to claim his land, the Indians were greatly surprised, for
they really didn't think he would take them seriously. But they kept their
promise and gave him a large area which today is part of the city of
Philadelphia. William Penn simply believed what they said. Should we do
less with God!
2. RICH CATHERS, “Some say that Jeremiah took the Ark of the Covenant
with him to Egypt. There are apparently references in the apocrypha to this
extent, but the Bible doesn’t tell us this.
There is another story that Jeremiah took one of the young princes with him to
Egypt and then afterward took the young prince to the British Isles. There are
those who then claim that the monarchy in Great Britain are a direct descendant
of this prince, being descendants of the throne of David. These are also the
people that claim that much of Europe are descendants of the lost tribes of Israel
– like the “Danish”, being descendants of the tribe of Dan, with “ish” being the
Hebrew word for “man”, thus a “Danish” person is a “man from Dan”. The
“Irish”, the “British” are all from the tribes of Israel. I like what Pastor Chuck
says, that these folks forget that the word “foolish” also has the “ish” in it.
We really don’t know what happened to Jeremiah from there, though another
tradition has it that he was killed in Egypt.
3. Gill, “Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the
families of the house of Israel. The Lord, by the prophet, having observed
18

his great kindness to this people, what they were unto him, and what a
regard he had for them, proceeds to upbraid them with their ingratitude,
and requires an attention to what he was about to say; all are called
upon, because, all were guilty. This respects the two tribes of Judah and
Benjamin, and the several families in them. The ten tribes had been long
carried captive.
4. RAY STEDMAN, “That is the folly of somebody who forsakes the Lord. This
past week at Mount Hermon we heard messages on the theme, "God as the river
of life". Remember how many times in the Scriptures he is depicted as a river of
living water, refreshing, rushing, bringing cleansing and healing and fruit. Jesus
spoke of the rivers of healing water that flow from our life when the Spirit of
God is ruling. And you know those times, don't you? Most of you have
experienced this already -- that inner sense of gladness, of joy, that God is
present. But to forsake that, to turn from it and try to be satisfied with a lot of
cheap things -- why would anyone do that? It would be like forsaking the
sunshine and huddling in a cave somewhere around the light of a candle, trying
to satisfy yourself that way. Or worse, perhaps, giving up eating and trying to
satisfy yourself by drooling and slavering over all the food ads in the magazines.
That is what God says it is like when you turn from the living God, who can
satisfy the heart, to these empty things.
Why would anyone do it? It is because they lose their sense of the worth of God,
the greatness of his being, the power which is at his disposal, the ability he has to
fill the heart with joy. We sang in the opening hymn this morning, "Thou, the
wellspring of joy of living..." That is what God is. And to turn from that to all
kinds of other things and attitudes and philosophies and relationships to try to
satisfy yourself, is to drink from broken cisterns which will not hold water.
5. Jamison, “Jacob ... Israel — the whole nation.
families — (See on Jer_1:15). Hear God’s word not only collectively, but
individually (Zec_12:12-14).
6. K&D, “But Israel did not remain true to its first love; it has forgotten
the benefits and blessings of its God, and has fallen away from Him in
rebellion.
Jer_2:4-5
"Hear the word of Jahveh, house of Jacob, and all families of the
house of Israel. Jer_2:5. Thus saith Jahveh, What have your fathers
found in me of wrongfulness, that they are gone far from me, and have
gone after vanity, and are become vain? Jer_2:6. And they said not,
Where is Jahveh that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us
19

in the wilderness, in the land of steppes and of pits, in the land of
drought and of the shadow of death, in a land that no one passes
through and where no man dwells? Jer_2:7. And I brought you into a
land of fruitful fields, to eat its fruit and its goodness: and ye came and
defiled my land, and my heritage ye have made an abomination. Jer_
2:8. The priests said not, Where is Jahveh? and they that handled the
law knew me not: the shepherds fell away from me, and the prophets
prophesied by Baal, and after them that profit not are they gone." The
rebuke for ungrateful, faithless apostasy is directed against the whole
people. The "house of Jacob" is the people of the twelve tribes, and the
parallel member, "all families of the house of Israel," is an elucidative
apposition. The "fathers" in Jer_2:5 are the ancestors of the now living
race onwards from the days of the Judges, when the generation arising
after the death of Joshua and his contemporaries forsook the Lord and
served the Baals (Jdg_2:10.). ‫ל‬ֶ‫ו‬ ָ‫ע‬‫ל‬ֶ‫ו‬ ָ‫ע‬‫ל‬ֶ‫ו‬ ָ‫ע‬‫ל‬ֶ‫ו‬ ָ‫,ע‬ perversity, wrongfulness, used also of a
single wicked deed in Psa_7:4, the opposite to acting in truth and good
faith. Jahveh is a God of faithfulness (‫ה‬ָ‫מוּנ‬ ֱ‫א‬‫ה‬ָ‫מוּנ‬ ֱ‫א‬‫ה‬ָ‫מוּנ‬ ֱ‫א‬‫ה‬ָ‫מוּנ‬ ֱ‫;)א‬ in Him is no iniquity (‫ין‬ ֵ‫א‬‫ין‬ ֵ‫א‬‫ין‬ ֵ‫א‬‫ין‬ ֵ‫א‬ ‫ל‬ֶ‫ו‬ ָ‫ע‬‫ל‬ֶ‫ו‬ ָ‫ע‬‫ל‬ֶ‫ו‬ ָ‫ע‬‫ל‬ֶ‫ו‬ ָ‫,)ע‬
Deu_32:4. The question, what have they found...? is answered in the
negative by Jer_2:6. To remove far from me and follow after vanity, is
tantamount to forsaking Jahveh and serving the false gods (Baals), Jdg_
2:11. ‫ל‬ ֶ‫ב‬ ֶ‫ה‬‫ל‬ ֶ‫ב‬ ֶ‫ה‬‫ל‬ ֶ‫ב‬ ֶ‫ה‬‫ל‬ ֶ‫ב‬ ֶ‫,ה‬ lit., breath, thence emptiness, vanity, is applied so early as the
song of Moses, Deu_32:21, to the false gods, as being nonentities. Here,
however, the word means not the gods, but the worship of them, as being
groundless and vain; bringing no return to him who devotes himself to it,
but making him foolish and useless in thought and deed. By the apostle
in Rom_1:21 ‫לוּ‬ ָ ְ‫ה‬ ֶ‫י‬‫לוּ‬ ָ ְ‫ה‬ ֶ‫י‬‫לוּ‬ ָ ְ‫ה‬ ֶ‫י‬‫לוּ‬ ָ ְ‫ה‬ ֶ‫י‬ is expressed by ᅚµαταιώ́ᅚµαταιώ́ᅚµαταιώ́ᅚµαταιώ́θησανθησανθησανθησαν. Cf. 2Ki_17:15, where the
second hemistich of our verse is applied to the ten tribes.
7. Calvin, “God here more clearly reprobates the ingratitude of the people: and
first he enumerates his favors by which he had bound the people for ever to
himself; and secondly, he shews how malignantly the people responded to the
many blessings which they had received.
In saying, then, that Israel was holy, he intends it not by way of honor. It was
indeed in itself an illustrious testimony to their praise, that God had consecrated
that people to himself, that he designed them to be the first — fruits of his
increase: but we must remember that there is here an implied contrast between
this great and incomparable favor of God, and the wickedness of the people, who
afterwards fell away from that God who had been so liberal and gracious to
them. According to this view, then, does Jeremiah say, that Israel was holiness to
God; that is, that they were separated from all other nations, so that the glory of
God shone only among them.
He then adds, that they were the first-fruits of his produce For though whatever
produce the earth may bring forth ought to be consecrated to God, by whose
power it grows, yet we know that the first — fruits were gathered and set on the
20

altar as a sacred food. As, then, God had commanded, under the law, the first-
fruits to be offered to him, and then given to the priests, he says here, in
accordance with that rite, that Israel were the first — fruits of his produce. For
the nations, who then everywhere dwelt, were not removed from under God’s
government (as he is the creator of all, and shews himself to all as the Father and
supporter); but he passed by other nations, and chose the race of Abraham, and
for this end, — that he might protect them by his power and aid. Since, then,
God had so bound the nation to himself, how great and how strong was the
obligation under which that people was to him? Hence the more base and the
more detestable was their perfidy, when the people despised the singular favors
which God had conferred on them. We now see why the Prophet says that Israel
was holy to God, and the first — fruits of his increase.
He also intimates that the time would come, when God would gather to himself
other nations; for in the first-fruits the people dedicated and offered to God the
whole produce of the year is included. So then Israel was like the first-fruits,
because God afterwards took to himself other nations, which for many ages were
deemed profane. But yet his special object was to shew that the guilt of the
people was extreme, as they did not acknowledge the great favors which God had
bestowed on them.
He then adds, Whosoever will devour him shall be punished Of this meaning I
approve, because the explanation immediately follows, evil shall come on them
God then means not that they should be only guilty of a crime, who should
devour the first-fruits, but refers rather to punishment; as though he had said,
“The profane shall not be unpunished who shall devour the first-fruits which has
been dedicated to me.” For if any had stolen the first- fruits, God would have
executed a vengeance such as sacrilege deserved. If, however, any one prefers the
other explanation, — that it would be a crime to injure Israel, or to do him any
harm, because he was under God’s protection, I shall not oppose him: but the
wording of the sentence leads me to the other view, that is, that those who would
injure Israel would not only be guilty, but would not be able to escape God’s
vengeance, — and why? because evil will come upon them, saith Jehovah
5 This is what the LORD says:
“What fault did your ancestors find in me,
21

that they strayed so far from me?
They followed worthless idols
and became worthless themselves.
1. RICH CATHERS, “God is saying, “What did I do to deserve this?”
2. Clarke, “What iniquity have your fathers found in me - Have they ever
discovered any thing cruel, unjust, oppressive in my laws? Any thing
unkind or tyrannical in my government? Why then have they become
idolaters?
3. Gill, “Thus saith the Lord, what iniquity have your fathers found in
me,.... What injustice or injury has been done them? there is no
unrighteousness in God, nor can any be done by him; or what
unfaithfulness, or want of truth and integrity in performing promises,
had they found in him? he never suffers his faithfulness to fail, or any of
the good things he has promised. So the Targum,
"what falsehood have your fathers found in my word?''
none at all; God is a covenant keeping God:
that they are gone far from me; from my fear, as the Chaldee paraphrase;
from the word and worship, and ways of God:
and have walked after vanity; after idols, the vanities of the Gentiles,
Jer_14:22,
and are become vain? in their imaginations and in their actions, in their
knowledge and in their practice, worshipping idols, as well as guilty of
many other sins.
4. Henry, “He upbraids them with their horrid ingratitude, and the ill
returns they had made him for these favours; let them all come and
answer to this charge (Jer_2:4); it is exhibited in the name of God
against all the families of the house of Israel, for they can none of them
plead, Not guilty. (1.) He challenges them to produce any instance of his
being unjust and unkind to them. Though he had conferred favours upon
them in some things, yet, if in other things he had dealt hardly with
them, they would not have been altogether without excuse. He therefore
22

puts it fairly to them to show cause for their deserting him (Jer_2:5):
“What iniquity have your fathers found in me, or you either? Have you,
upon trial, found God a hard master? Have his commands put any
hardship upon you or obliged you to any thing unfit, unfair, or
unbecoming you? Have his promises put any cheats upon you, or raised
your expectations of things which you were afterwards disappointed of?
You that have renounced your covenant with God, can you say that it was
a hard bargain and that which you could not live upon? You that have
forsaken the ordinances of God, can you say that it was because they
were a wearisome service, or work that there was nothing to be got by?
No; the disappointments you have met with were owing to yourselves,
not to God. The yoke of his commandments if easy, and in the keeping of
them there is great reward.” Note, Those that forsake God cannot say
that he has ever given them any provocation to do so: for this we may
safely appeal to the consciences of sinners; the slothful servant that
offered such a plea as this had it overruled out of his own mouth, Luk_
19:22. Though he afflicts us, we cannot say that there is iniquity in him;
he does us no wrong. The ways of the Lord are undoubtedly equal; all the
iniquity is in our ways. (2.) He charges them with being very unjust and
unkind to him notwithstanding. [1.] They had quitted his service: “They
have gone from me, nay, they have gone far from me.” They studied how
to estrange themselves from God and their duty, and got as far as they
could out of the reach of his commandments and their own convictions.
Those that have deserted religion commonly set themselves at a greater
distance from it, and in a greater opposition to it, than those that never
knew it. [2.] They had quitted it for the service of idols, which was so
much the greater reproach to God and his service; they went from him,
not to better themselves, but to cheat themselves: They have walked
after vanity, that is, idolatry; for an idol is a vain thing; it is nothing in
the world, 1Co_8:4; Deu_32:21; Jer_14:22. Idolatrous worships are
vanities, Act_14:15. Idolaters are vain, for those that make idols are like
unto them (Psa_115:8), as much stocks and stones as the images they
worship, and good for as little. [3.] They had with idolatry introduced all
manner of wickedness. When they entered into the good land which God
gave them they defiled it (Jer_2:7), by defiling themselves and disfitting
themselves for the service of God. It was God's land; they were but
tenants to him, sojourners in it, Lev_25:23. It was his heritage, for it was
a holy land, Immanuel's land; but they made it an abomination, even to
God himself, who was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel. [4.] Having
forsaken God, though they soon found that they had changed for the
worse, yet they had no thoughts of returning to him again, nor took any
steps towards it. Neither the people nor the priests made any enquiry
after him, took any thought about their duty to him, nor expressed any
desire to recover his favour.
5. Jamison, “ iniquity — wrong done to them (Isa_5:4; Mic_6:3;
compare Deu_32:4).
23

walked after vanity — contrasted with “walkest after me in the
wilderness” (Jer_2:2): then I was their guide in the barren desert; now
they take idols as their guides.
vanity ... vain — An idol is not only vain (impotent and empty), but
vanity itself. Its worshippers acquire its character, becoming vain as it is
(Deu_7:26; Psa_115:8). A people’s character never rises above that of its
gods, which are its “better nature” [Bacon] (2Ki_17:15; Jon_2:8).
6 They did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD,
who brought us up out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness,
through a land of deserts and ravines,
a land of drought and utter darkness,
a land where no one travels and no one lives?’
1. Barnes, “Modern researches have shown that this description applies
only to limited portions of the route of the Israelites through the Sinaitic
peninsula.
2. Clarke, “Through the wilderness - Egypt was the house of their
bondage: the desert through which they passed after they came out of
Egypt, was a place where the means of life were not to be found; where
no one family could subsist, much less a company of 600, 000 men. God
mentions these things to show that it was by the bounty of an especial
providence that they were fed and preserved alive. Previously to this, it
was a land through which no man passed, and in which no man dwelt.
And why? because it did not produce the means of life; it was the shadow
of death in its appearance, and the grave to those who committed
themselves to it.
3. Gill, “Neither said they, where is the Lord?.... They did not ask after
24

him, nor seek his face and favour, nor worship him, nor took any notice
of the blessings he bestowed upon them:
that brought us up out of the land of Egypt? by means of Moses the
deliverer, with a mighty hand, and outstretched arm; for, though Moses
was the instrument, God was the efficient cause of the deliverance; the
favour was his, and the glory of it ought to have been given to him:
that led us through the wilderness; of "Shur", or of "Sin", the desert of
Arabia, Exo_15:22 and a dreadful and terrible one it was:
through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of
the shadow of death; where were scorpions, fiery serpents, drought, and
no water, and so very dangerous as well as uncomfortable travelling; and
yet through all this they were led, and wonderfully supplied and
preserved;
through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt;
there was no passenger in it, nor inhabitants on it, so that there were
none to relieve them; whence it appears, that all their supply, support,
and preservation, were from the Lord. The Jews (y) interpret this of the
first man Adam, after this manner,
"all land, concerning which the first man decreed that it should be
inhabited, it is inhabited; and all land, concerning which he did not
decree it should be inhabited, it is not inhabited; and such they suggest
was this wilderness;''
4. Henry, “ First, The people said not, Where is the Lord? Jer_2:6.
Though they were trained up in an observance of him as their God, and
had been often told that he brought them out of the land of Egypt, to be a
people peculiar to himself, yet they never asked after him nor desired the
knowledge of his ways. Secondly, The priests said not, Where is the
Lord? Jer_2:8. Those whose office it was to attend immediately upon
him were in no concern to acquaint themselves with him, or approve
themselves to him. Those who should have instructed the people in the
knowledge of God took no care to get the knowledge of him themselves.
The scribes, who handled the law, did not know God nor his will, could
not expound the scriptures at all, or not aright. The pastors, who should
have kept the flock from transgressing, were themselves ringleaders in
transgression: They have transgressed against me. The pretenders to
prophecy prophesied by Baal, in his name, to his honour, being backed
and supported by the wicked kings to confront the Lord's prophets.
Baal's prophets joined with Baal's priests, and walked after the things
which do not profit, that is, after the idols which can be no way helpful to
their worshippers. See how the best characters are usurped, and the best
offices liable to corruption; and wonder not at the sin and ruin of a
people when the blind are leaders of the blind.
5. Jamison, “Neither said they, Where, etc. — The very words which God
25

uses (Isa_63:9, Isa_63:11, Isa_63:13), when, as it were, reminding
Himself of His former acts of love to Israel as a ground for interposing in
their behalf again. When they would not say, Where is Jehovah, etc., God
Himself at last said it for them (compare Jer_2:2).
deserts ... pits — The desert between Mount Sinai and Palestine
abounds in chasms and pits, in which beasts of burden often sink down
to the knees. “Shadow of death” refers to the darkness of the caverns
amidst the rocky precipices (Deu_8:15; Deu_32:10).
6. K&D, “They said not, Where is Jahveh? i.e., they have no longer
taken any thought of Jahveh; have not recalled His benefits, though they
owed to Him all they had become and all they possessed. He has brought
them out of Egypt, freed them from the house of bondage (Mic_6:4), and
saved them from the oppression of the Pharaohs, meant to extirpate
them (Exo_3:7.). He has led them through pathless and inhospitable
deserts, miraculously furnished them with bread and water, and
protected them from all dangers (Deu_8:15). To show the greatness of
His benefits, the wilderness is described as parched unfruitful land, as a
land of deadly terrors and dangers. ,‫ץ‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ֶ‫א‬‫ץ‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ֶ‫א‬‫ץ‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ֶ‫א‬‫ץ‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ֶ‫א‬ ‫ה‬ ָ‫ב‬ ָ‫ר‬ ֲ‫ע‬‫ה‬ ָ‫ב‬ ָ‫ר‬ ֲ‫ע‬‫ה‬ ָ‫ב‬ ָ‫ר‬ ֲ‫ע‬‫ה‬ ָ‫ב‬ ָ‫ר‬ ֲ‫ע‬ land of steppes or heaths,
corresponds to the land unsown of Jer_2:2. "And of pits," i.e., full of
dangerous pits and chasms into which one may stumble unawares. Land
of drought, where one may have to pine through thirst. And of the
shadow of death: so Sheol is named in Job_10:21 as being a place of deep
darkness; here, the wilderness, as a land of the terrors of death, which
surround the traveller with darkness as of death: Isa_8:22; Isa_9:1; Job_
16:16. A land through which no one passes, etc., i.e., which offers the
traveller neither path nor shelter. Through his frightful desert God has
brought His people in safety.
7. F. B. MEYER, "God regarded Israel as His bride, who had responded to
His love, or as a vineyard and cornfield which were expected to yield
their first fruits in response to the careful cultivation of the owner. Why
had they failed to respond? For the answer let us question our own
hearts. What marvels of perversity and disappointment we are! Who can
understand or fathom the reason of our poor response to the yearning
love of Christ! The heathen, in their punctilious devotion and lavish
sacrifices at their idol-shrines, may well shame us. The root of the evil is
disclosed in Jer_2:31. We like to be lords, to assume and hold the
mastery of our lives. But God has been anything but a wilderness to us.
He has given us ornaments, and we owe to His grace the garments of
righteousness which He has put on us. In return we have forgotten Him
days without number, Jer_2:32. Let us ask Him to call us back-nay more,
to draw us by the chains of love.
8. Calvin, “The Prophet goes on with the same subject; for God adduces here no
26

small crime against his people, as they had buried his favom’s in oblivion.
Indeed, a redemption so wonderful was worthy of being celebrated in all ages,
not only by one nation, but by all the nations of the earth. As then the Jews had
thus buried the memory of a favor so remarkable and valuable, their base
impiety appeared evident. Had they not experienced the power and kindness of
God, or had they only witnessed them in an ordinary way, their guilt might have
been extenuated; but as God had from heaven made an unusual display of his
power, and as his majesty had been manifested before the eyes of the people, how
great was their sottishness in afterwards forgetting their God, who had openly
and with such proofs made himself known to them!
We now then understand what the Prophet means by saying, they have not said:
for God here sharply reproves the stupidity of the Jews, — that they did not
consider that they were under perpetual obligations to him for his great kindness
in delivering them in a manner so wonderful from the land of Egypt. By saying
that they did not say, Where is Jehovah, he intimates that he was present with
them and nigh them, but that they were blind, and that hence they were without
an excuse for their ignorance, as he was not to be sought as one at a distance, or
by means tedious and difficult. If then this only had come to their mind, “Did not
God once redeem us?” they could not have departed after their vanities. How
then was it that their error, or rather their madness, was so great that they
followed idols? Even because they did not choose to make any effort, or to apply
their minds to seek or to inquire after God.
Here then the Prophet meets the objection of the hypocrites, who might have
said, that they had been deceived, and had relapsed through ignorance; for they
have ever some evasions ready at hand, when they are called to an account for
their sins. But lest the Jews should make any pretense of this kind, the Prophet
here shews that they had not been through a mistake deceived, but that they had
followed after falsehood through a wicked disposition, for they had willfully
despised God and refused to inquire respecting him, though he was sufficiently
nigh them.
This passage deserves to be especially noticed; for there is nothing more common
than for the ungodly, when they are proved guilty, to have recourse to this
subterfuge, — that they acted with good intention, when they gave themselves up
to their own superstitions. The Prophet then takes off this mask, and shews that
where God is once known, his name and his glory cannot be obliterated, except
through the depravity of men, as they knowingly and willfully depart from him.
Hence all apostates are by this one clause condemned, that they may no more
dare to make evasions, as though they have been through more simplicity
deceived: for when the matter is examined, their malignity and ingratitude are
discovered, because they deign not to inquire, Where is Jehovah?
27

And he afterwards adds what explains this sentence. I have said that other
nations are not here condemned, but the Jews, who had known by clear
experience that God was their father. As then God had, by many testimonies,
made himself known to them, they had no pretext for their ignorance. Hence the
Prophet says, that they did not consider where God was who brought them from
the land of Egypt, and made them to pass through the desert He could not have
stated this indiscriminately of all nations; but, as it has been said, the words are
addressed particularly to the Jews, who had clearly witnessed the power of God;
so that they could not have sinned except willfully, even by extinguishing,
through their own malignity, the light presented to them, which shone before
their eyes. And here, also, the Prophet amplifies their guilt by various
circumstances: for he says, not simply that they had been brought out of Egypt,
but intimates that God had been their constant guide for forty years; for this
time is suggested by the word “desert.” The history was well known; hence a
brief allusion was sufficient. He, at the same time, by mentioning the desert,
greatly extols the glory of God.
But the first thing to be observed is, that the Jews were inexcusable, who had not
considered that their fathers had been wonderfully and in an unusual manner
preserved by God’s hand for forty years; for they had no bread to eat, nor water
to drink. God drew water for them from a rock, and satisfied them with heavenly
bread; and their garments did not wear out during the whole time. We then see
that all those circumstances enhanced their guilt. Then follows what I have
referred to: the Prophet calls the desert a dry or a waste land, a dreary land, a
horrible land, a land of deadly gloom, as though he had said, that the people had
been preserved in the midst of death, yea in the midst of many deaths: for man
was not wont to pass through that land, nor did any one dwell in it 30 “Whence
then,” he says, “did salvation arise to you? from what condition? even from
death itself: for what else was the desert but a horrible place, where you were
surrounded, not only by one kind of death, but by a hundred? Since then God
brought you out of Egypt by his incredible power, and fed you in a supernatural
manner for forty years, what excuse can there be for so great a madness in now
alienating yourselves from him?” Now this passage teaches us, that the more
favors God confers on us, the more heinous the guilt if we forsake him, and less
excusable will be our wickedness and ingratitude, especially when he has
manifested his kindness to us for a long time and in various ways.
He afterwards adds, And I brought you in, etc. Here Jeremiah introduces God as
the speaker; for God had, as with his hand stretched forth, brought in the
children of Abraham into the possession of the promised land, which they did
not get, as it is said in Psalm 44:3, by their own power and by their own sword;
for though they had to fight with many enemies, yet it was God that made them
victorious. He could then truly say, that they did not otherwise enter the land
28

than under his guidance; inasmuch as he had opened a way and passage for
them, and subdued and put to flight their enemies, that they might possess the
heritage promised to them. I brought you in, he says, into the land, into Carmel
Some consider this to be the name of a place; and no doubt there was the mount
Carmel, so called on account of its great fertility. As then its name was given to it
because it was so fertile, it is nothing strange that Jeremiah compares the land of
Israel to Carmel. Some will have the preposition ‫,כ‬ caph, to be understood, “I
have brought you into a land like Carmel.” But there is no need laboriously to
turn in all directions the Prophet’s words. It is, as I think, a common noun,
meaning fruitful, and used here to shew that the Israelites had been brought by
God’s hand into a fertile land; for its fertility is everywhere celebrated, both in
the Law and in the Prophets. 31
That ye might eat its fruit and its abundance; that is, “I wished you to enjoy the
large and rich produce of the land.” By these words God intimates that the
Israelites ought to have been induced by such allurements cordially to serve him;
for by such liberal treatment he kindly invited them to himself. The greater,
then, the bounty of God towards the people, the greater was the indignity offered
by their defection, when they despised the various and abounding blessings of
God.
Hence he adds, And ye have polluted my land, 32 and mine heritage have ye
made an abomination; as though he had said, “This is the reward by which my
bounty towards you has been compensated. I indeed gave you this land, but on
this condition, that ye serve me faithfully in it: but ye have polluted it.” He calls
it his own land, as though he had said, that he had so given the land to the
Israelites, that he remained still the lord of it as a proprietor, though he granted
the occupation of it to them. He hence shews that they impiously abused his
bounty, in polluting that land which was sacred to his name. For the same
purpose he calls it his heritage, as if he said that they possessed the land by an
hereditary right, and yet the heritage belonged to their Father. They ought,
therefore, to have considered, that they had entered into the land, because it had
been given to Abraham and to his children for an heritage, — by whom? By
God, who was the fountain of this bounty. The more detestable, then, was their
ingratitude, when they made the heritage of God an abomination It follows —
7 I brought you into a fertile land
29

to eat its fruit and rich produce.
But you came and defiled my land
and made my inheritance detestable.
1. Barnes, “A plentiful country - literally, “a land of the Carmel,” a
Carmel land (see 1Ki_18:19, note; Isa_29:17, note).
2. Clarke, “And I brought you into a plentiful country - The land of
Canaan.
My land - The particular property of God, which he gave to them as an
inheritance, they being his peculiar people.
3. Gill, “And I brought you into a plentiful country,.... "Into the land of
Carmel", as in the Hebrew text; that is,
"into the land of Israel, which was planted as Carmel,''
as the Targum paraphrases it; with wheat, barley, vines, fig trees,
pomegranates, and olives; a land flowing with milk and honey, Deu_8:8,
so Ben Melech:
to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; of vineyards and
oliveyards, which they had not planted, and for which they had never
laboured, Jos_24:13,
but when ye entered ye defiled my land; which the Lord had chosen
above all lands, where he would have a temple built for his worship, and
where he would cause his Shechinah or glorious Majesty to dwell; but
this they defiled by their sins and transgressions, and particularly by
their idolatry, as follows:
that made mine heritage an abomination; by devoting it to the worship of
idols, as the Targum paraphrases it.
4. Henry, “At length he settled them in Canaan (Jer_2:7): I brought you
into a plentiful country, which would be the more acceptable after they
had been for so many years in a land of drought. They did eat the fruit
thereof and the goodness thereof, and were allowed so to do. I brought
you into a land of Carmel (so the word is); Carmel was a place of
extraordinary fruitfulness, and Canaan was as one great fruitful field,
30

Deu_8:7.
5. Jamison, “plentiful — literally, “a land of Carmel,” or “well-cultivated
land”: a garden land, in contrast to the “land of deserts” (Jer_2:6).
defiled — by idolatries (Jdg_2:10-17; Psa_78:58, Psa_78:59; Psa_
106:38).
you ... ye — change to the second person from the third, “they” (Jer_
2:6), in order to bring home the guilt to the living generation.
6. K&D, “And He has done yet more. He has brought them into a
fruitful and well-cultivated land. ‫ל‬ ֶ‫מ‬ ְ‫ר‬ ַⅴ‫ל‬ ֶ‫מ‬ ְ‫ר‬ ַⅴ‫ל‬ ֶ‫מ‬ ְ‫ר‬ ַⅴ‫ל‬ ֶ‫מ‬ ְ‫ר‬ ַⅴ, fruitful fields, the opposite of
wilderness, Jer_4:26; Isa_29:17. To eat up its fruit and its good; cf. the
enumeration of the fruits and useful products of the land of Canaan,
Deu_8:7-9. And this rich and splendid land the ungrateful people have
defiled by their sins and vices (cf. Lev_18:24), and idolatry (cf. Eze_
36:18); and the heritage of Jahveh they have thus made an abomination,
an object of horror. The land of Canaan is called "my heritage," the
especial domain of Jahveh, inasmuch as, being the Lord of the earth, He
is the possessor of the land and has given it to the Israelites for a
possession, yet dwells in the midst of it as its real lord, Num. 25:34. - In
Jer_2:8 the complaint briefly given in Jer_2:6 is expanded by an account
of the conduct of the higher classes, those who gave its tone to the spirit
of the people. The priests, whom God had chosen to be the ministers of
His sanctuary, asked not after Him, i.e., sought neither Him nor His
sanctuary. They who occupy themselves with the law, who administer the
law: these too are the priests as teachers of the law (Mic_3:11), who
should instruct the people as to the Lord's claims on them and
commandments (Lev_10:11; Deu_33:10). They knew not Jahveh, i.e.,
they took no note of Him, did not seek to discover what His will and just
claims were, so as to instruct the people therein, and press them to keep
the law. The shepherds are the civil authorities, princes and kings (cf.
Jer_23:1.): those who by their lives set the example to the people, fell
away from the Lord; and the prophets, who should have preached God's
word, prophesied ‫ל‬ ַ‫ע‬ ַ ַ‫ל‬ ַ‫ע‬ ַ ַ‫ל‬ ַ‫ע‬ ַ ַ‫ל‬ ַ‫ע‬ ַ ַ , by Baal, i.e., inspired by Baal. Baal is here a
generic name for all false gods; cf. Jer_23:13. ,‫ּא‬‫ל‬‫ּא‬‫ל‬‫ּא‬‫ל‬‫ּא‬‫ל‬ those who profit not,
are the Baals as unreal gods; cf. Isa_44:9; 1Sa_12:21. The utterances as to
the various ranks form a climax, as Hitz. rightly remarks. The ministers
of public worship manifested no desire towards me; those learned in the
law took no knowledge of me, of my will, of the contents of the book of
the law; the civil powers went the length of rising up against my law; and
the prophets fairly fell away to false gods, took inspiration from Baal, the
incarnation of the lying spirit.
31

8 The priests did not ask,
‘Where is the LORD?’
Those who deal with the law did not know me;
the leaders rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
following worthless idols.
1. Barnes, “The guilt of this idolatry is ascribed to the four ruling
classes:
(a) The accusation brought against the priests is indifference.
(b) “They that handle the law” belonged also to the priestly class Deu_
33:10. Their offence was that “they knew not God.” Compare Mic_3:11.
(c) The third class are “the pastors” or shepherds, that is the temporal
rulers. Their crime is disobedience.
(d) The fourth class are “the prophets.” It was their business to press
the moral and spiritual truths of the law home to the hearts of the
people: but they drew their inspiration from Baal, the Sun-god. Upon the
corruption of the prophetic order at this time, see the Jer_14:13 note.
Things that do not profit - Here idols, which are not merely unreal, but
injurious. See 1Sa_12:21; Isa_44:9.
2. Clarke, “They that handle the law - ‫ותפשי‬‫ותפשי‬‫ותפשי‬‫ותפשי‬ vethophe sheyvethophe sheyvethophe sheyvethophe shey, they that draw
out the law; they whose office it is to explain it, draw out its spiritual
meanings, and show to what its testimonies refer.
The pastors also - Kings, political and civil rulers.
Prophesied by Baal - Became his prophets, and were inspired with the
words of lying spirits.
3. Gill, “The priests said not, where is the Lord?.... Whose business it was
to draw nigh to God, and offer the sacrifices of the people, and inquire of
God for them; whose lips should keep knowledge, and at whose mouth
the law should be sought, they being the messengers of the Lord of hosts,
Mal_2:7,
32

and they that handle the law knew me not; the sanhedrim, according to
Jarchi; or the lawyers and scribes, the Rabbins and doctors of the law,
whose business it was to read and explain it; these did not understand it,
nor the mind of God in it; and much less did they know him in a spiritual
and evangelical manner; or as he is in Christ, and revealed in the Gospel:
the pastors also transgressed against me; kings, as the Targum, Jarchi,
and Kimchi interpret it, who were pastors or shepherds in a civil sense;
whose business it was to feed the people as the shepherd does his flock;
that is, to guide and govern them by wholesome laws, by the laws of God;
but, instead of this, they rebelled against the Lord, and transgressed his
commands:
and the prophets prophesied by Baal; in his name; pretending to be
inspired by that idol, and to receive the spirit of prophecy from him:
and walked after things that do not profit; the gods of the Gentiles, which
could not supply them with the least temporal blessing, and much less
give them spiritual and eternal ones; see Jer_14:22. This is to be
understood of false prophets, as Ben Melech.
4. Henry, “The priests said not, Where is the Lord? Jer_2:8. Those
whose office it was to attend immediately upon him were in no concern
to acquaint themselves with him, or approve themselves to him. Those
who should have instructed the people in the knowledge of God took no
care to get the knowledge of him themselves. The scribes, who handled
the law, did not know God nor his will, could not expound the scriptures
at all, or not aright. The pastors, who should have kept the flock from
transgressing, were themselves ringleaders in transgression: They have
transgressed against me. The pretenders to prophecy prophesied by
Baal, in his name, to his honour, being backed and supported by the
wicked kings to confront the Lord's prophets. Baal's prophets joined with
Baal's priests, and walked after the things which do not profit, that is,
after the idols which can be no way helpful to their worshippers. See how
the best characters are usurped, and the best offices liable to corruption;
and wonder not at the sin and ruin of a people when the blind are leaders
of the blind.
5. Jamison, “The three leading classes, whose very office under the
theocracy was to lead the people to God, disowned Him in the same
language as the nation at large, “Where is the Lord?” (See Jer_2:6).
priests — whose office it was to expound the law (Mal_2:6, Mal_2:7).
handle — are occupied with the law as the subject of their profession.
pastors — civil, not religious: princes (Jer_3:15), whose duty it was to
tend their people.
prophets — who should have reclaimed the people from their apostasy,
encouraged them in it by pretended oracles from Baal, the Phoenician
false god.
33

by Baal — in his name and by his authority (compare Jer_11:21).
walked after things ... not profit — answering to, “walked after vanity,”
that is, idols (Jer_2:5; compare Jer_2:11; Hab_2:18).
6. Calvin, “men had departed from the true worship of God, and from all
uprightness.
Now, when Jeremiah thus rebukes the teachers and the priests and others, he
does not excuse the common people, nor extenuate the crimes, which then
prevailed everywhere, as we shall see from what follows. As many think that they
set up a shield against God, when they pretend that they are not acquainted with
so much learning as to distinguish between light and darkness, but that they are
guided by their rulers, the Prophet, therefore, does not here cast the faults of the
people upon their rulers, but, on the contrary, he amplifies the atrocity of their
impiety, for they had, from the least to the greatest, rejected God and his Law.
We now, then, understand the design of the Prophet. 33
We may learn from this passage how unwise and foolish are they who think that
they are in part excusable when they can say, that they have proceeded in their
simplicity and have been drawn into error by the faults of others; for it appears
evident that the whole community was in a hopeless state when God gave up the
priests and rulers unto a reprobate mind; and there is no doubt but that the
people had provoked God’s vengeance, when every order, civil as well as
religious, was thus corrupt. God then visited the people with deserved
punishment, when he blinded the priests, the prophets, and the rulers.
Hence Jeremiah now says, that the priests did not inquire where Jehovah was:
and he adds, and they who keep the law, etc. The verb ‫תפש‬ taphesh, means to
keep, to lay hold on, and sometimes to cover; so that there may be here a twofold
meaning, — that the priests kept the law, — or, that they had it shut up as it
were under their keeping. It would not, however, be in harmony with the passage
to suppose that the law was suppressed by them; for God, by way of concession,
speaks here honorably of them, thought he thereby shews that they were the
more wicked, as they had no care for their office. He says, then, that they were
the keepers of his law, not that they really kept the law, as though a genuine zeal
for it prevailed among them, but because they professed this. They indeed
wished to be thought the keepers of the law, who possessed the hidden treasure
of celestial truth; for they wished to be consulted as though they were the organs
of God’s Spirit. Since, then, they boasted that they kept and preserved the law,
the Prophet now more sharply rebukes them, because they knew not God
himself. And Paul seems to have taken from this place what he says in the second
chapter of the Epistle to the Romans,
34

“Thou who hast the form of the law — thou who preachest against adultery,
committest adultery, and thou who condemnest idols art thyself guilty of
sacrilege; for thou keepest the law, restest in it, boastest in God, and with thee is
understanding and knowledge.”
(Romans 2:20-22.)
Paul in these words detects the wickedness of hypocrites; for the more detestable
they were, as they were thus inflated with false glory; they profaned the name of
God, while they pretended to be his heralds, and as it were his prophets. We now
see that this second clause refers to the priests, and that they are called the
keepers of the law, because they were so appointed, according to what we read in
Malachi. 34
He afterwards adds, The pastors have dealt treacherously with God We may
apply this to the counselors of the king as well as to the governors of cities. The
Prophet, I have no doubt, included all those who possessed authority to rule the
people of God; for kings and their counselors, as well as prophets, are in
common called pastors.
And he says, that the prophets prophesied by Baal The name of prophet is
sacred; but Jeremiah in this place, as in other places, calls those prophets
(contrary to the real fact) who were nothing but impostors; for God had taken
from them all the light of divine truth. But as they were held still in esteem by the
people, as though they were prophets, the Prophet concedes this title to them,
derived from their office and vocation. We do the same in the present day; we
call those bishops and prelates, and primates and fathers, who under the papacy
boast that they possess the pastoral office, and yet we know that some of them
are wolves, and some are dumb dogs. We concede to them these titles in which
they take pride; and yet a twofold condemnation impends over their heads, as
they thus impiously, and with sacrilegious audacity, claim for themselves sacred
titles, and deprive God of the honor rightly due to him. So then Jeremiah,
speaking of the prophets, does now point out those as impostors who at that time
wickedly deceived the people.
He says that they prophesied by Baal: they ascribed more authority to idols than
to the true God. The name of Baal, we know, was then commonly known. The
prophets often call idols Baalim, in the plural number; but when Baal signifies a
patron, when the prophets speak either of Baal in the singular number, or of
Baalim in the plural, they mean the inferior gods, who had then been heaped
together by the Jews, as though God was not content with his own power alone,
but had need of associates and helpers, according to what is done at this day by
those under the papacy, who confess that there is but one true God; and yet they
ascribe nothing more to him than to their own idols which they invent for
themselves at their pleasure. The same vice then prevailed among the Jews, and
35

indeed among all heathen nations; for it was the plain and real confession of all,
that there is but one supreme Being; and yet they had gods without number, and
these all were called Baalim. When, therefore, the Prophet says here, that the
teachers were ministers of Baal, he sets this name in opposition to the only true
God, as though he had said that the truth was corrupted by them, because they
passed over its limits, and did not acquiesce in the pure doctrine of the law, but
mingled with it corruptions derived from all quarters, even from those many
gods which heathen nations had invented for themselves.
Nor does the Prophet insist on a name; for it may have been that these false
teachers pretended to profess the name of the eternal God, though falsely. But
God is no sophist: there is then no reason for the Papists to think that they are at
this day unlike these ancient impostors, because they profess the name of the
only true God. It has always been so. Satan has not begun for the first time at
this day to transform himself into an angel of light; but all his teachers in all ages
have presented their poison, even all their errors and fallacies, in a golden cup.
Though, then, these prophets boasted that they were sent from above, and
confidently affirmed that they were the servants of the God of Abraham, it was
yet all an empty profession; for they mingled with the truth those corruptions
which they had derived from the ungodly errors of heathen nations.
It follows, And after those who do not profit have they gone 35 He again, by an
implied comparison, exaggerates their sin, because they had despised him whom
they had known, by so many evidences, to be their Father and the author of
salvation, whose infinite power they had as it were felt by their own hands, and
then they followed their own inventions, though there was nothing in all their
idols which could have justly allured the people of Israel. Since, then, they
followed vain and profitless deceptions, the more heinous and inexcusable was
their sin. It afterwards follows —
9 “Therefore I bring charges against you
again,” declares the LORD.
“And I will bring charges against your
children’s children.
36

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