Jeremiah 3
THE first commandment of the ten was, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me;" and the second, "Thou shalt not make thyself any graven image, or any form of what is in the heavens above, or what is in the earth beneath, or what is in the waters under the earth; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I, Jehovah thy God, am a jealous God ...." Exodus 20:3-53Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; (Exodus 20:3‑5).
But these first commandments (and the other 8, also) were speedily set aside by those to whom they were given. Israel and Judah, particularly after Solomon's reign, in large measure became idolaters. Israel was already banished because of this, but Judah yet remained for a little. So Judah is here seen as guilty of turning away from God to idols after the example of a wicked woman departing from her husband to live in sin with other men.
Josiah (verse 6) was the first king under whose reign Jeremiah prophesied. 2 Chronicles 34 and 35 give the character, under grace, of this young man's reign;—young, for he was made king when eight years old, and died before he was forty. But Jeremiah's prophecy shows that the people were not, in heart, one with the king in his determination to cleanse the kingdom of everything contrary to God's word, and their following Him all of Josiah's days (2 Chron. 34:3333And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord their God. And all his days they departed not from following the Lord, the God of their fathers. (2 Chronicles 34:33)) was a pretense—hypocrisy not hidden from God.
"Israel" (verses 6, 8, 11, and 12) refers to the 10 tribes carried away by the Assyrians in 721 B,C.—80 years before Josiah became king of Judah. The two tribes did not take warning from what had happened to Israel; however, while the ten tribes had been openly worshipers of idols, the two that remained kept up the outward appearance of serving the true God, while idolaters at heart. Thus backsliding Israel was in God's sight more just than treacherous Judah (verse 11), and Jeremiah was directed to proclaim mercy toward the north (the former home of the ten tribes); if they would but acknowledge their iniquity (verses 12 and 13).
From verse 14 to the end of the chapter is taken up with the day, still future, but not now distant, when Israel as well as Judah shall be brought back to dwell in the land of their forefathers.
It is in abounding grace that, after all the dark pages of the history of Jacob's children, God will say (as verse 14), "Return, backsliding children, for I am a husband unto you," and (verse 22), "I will heal your backslidings." We know that many will be cut off in unbelief; so it is said, "And I will take you, one of a city arid two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion."
In the Millennium there will be no ark; that which was made at Sinai (Ex. 37) must have been destroyed 900 years afterward when Jerusalem was destroyed (2 Chron. 3G:19), for it is never mentioned again.
Verses 21 to 25 anticipate the day when the twelve tribes shall return, in weeping supplication. Jehovah will call, and they will answer:
"Behold, we come unto Thee, for Thou art Jehovah our God.... truly in Jehovah our God is the salvation of Israel. . . . We he down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us, for we have sinned against Jehovah our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah our God."
Messages of God’s Love 7/15/1934