They say = [It is a common] saying. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 24:1-4 ). yet return again to Me = yet [thinkest thou to] return, &c. It was contrary to the law of Deuteronomy 24:1-4 . It will be the new Israel of Matthew 21:43 of a yet future day. God never mends what man has marred. This is the lesson of the potter's house. See Jeremiah 18:1-4 . to Me. See Jeremiah 3:7 ; Jeremiah 4:1 . read more
JEREMIAH 3JUDAH MORE SINFUL THAN ISRAELWe continue to find little interest in the guessing game connected with assigning dates to the various chapters of Jeremiah. In very few instances can it be affirmed that the exact date makes much difference. Jellie gave the date of the first paragraph here as the thirteenth year of Josiah, the next paragraph as the seventeenth year of Josiah, pointing out that some scholars favored the eighteenth year (E. Henderson), and some the year 620 B.C.... read more
1. They say—rather, as Hebrew, "saying," in agreement with "the LORD"; Jeremiah 2:37 of last chapter [MAURER]. Or, it is equivalent to, "Suppose this case." Some copyist may have omitted, "The word of the Lord came to me," saying. shall he return unto her—will he take her back? It was unlawful to do so (Jeremiah 2:37- :). shall not—Should not the land be polluted if this were done? yet return— (Jeremiah 3:22; Jeremiah 4:1; Zechariah 1:3; compare Ezekiel 16:51; Ezekiel 16:58; Ezekiel 16:60).... read more
God posed the question to His people of what happens in a divorce. The answer to His rhetorical question is: "No, if a husband divorces his wife, and she goes to live with (or remarries) another man, he will not return to (or remarry) her." [Note: The Septuagint has the question being, "Will the woman return to her first husband." But there is inferior support for this translation.] The Mosaic Law prohibited such a thing (cf. Deuteronomy 24:1-4). If Judah was a wife and Yahweh was her husband,... read more
Yahweh’s call for His people’s repentance 3:1-4:4A passionate plea for repentance follows logically and textually the indictment of God’s people for their sins (ch. 2)."There is a problem with free forgiveness. If you can always wipe the slate clean, how much does it matter what you write on it next? It is a problem for both parties-not only for the one in the wrong, who may feel that he can get away with more and more, but also for the one who forgives, who has to wonder what his forbearance... read more
The spiritual unfaithfulness of Judah 3:1-5 read more
Aspects of false religion 7:1-8:3All the messages in this section deal with departure from the Lord in religious practices, either in pagan rites or in the perversion of the proper worship of Yahweh that the Mosaic Law specified. All the material in this section fits conditions in Judah after 609 B.C., when Jehoiakim began allowing a return to pagan practices after the end of Josiah’s reforms. Another feature of this section is the large amount of prose material it contains, much more than the... read more
The Prophet Sets Forth the Sin of the Nation and Points Out the Inevitable Result (Reign of Josiah, and Probably Before the Reforms of that King: cp. Jer 3:6)This section furnishes us with the gist of the prophet's testimony during the early years of his ministry, and doubtless represents the commencement of the roll written by Baruch at Jeremiah's dictation. In these five chapters he lays before his hearers the grossness of their conduct in deserting Jehovah, and urges repentance and amendment... read more
III.(1) The parable of the guilty wife who is condemned in spite of all her denials is carried out to its logical results.They say.—Better, So to speak, as introducing a new application of the figure. The direct reference is to Deuteronomy 24:4, which forbade the return to the past husband as an abomination, a law which the recent discovery of the Book of the Law (2 Kings 22:10-11) had probably brought into prominence. But there is also an obvious allusion to the like imagery in Hosea. There... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 3:1-5
Judah unfaithful and unashamed (3:1-5)By her spiritual adultery Judah has broken the marriage bond with Yahweh and defiled the land. In her immorality and idolatry she has acted like a prostitute who lures lovers in the city streets. She is like a desert outlaw who looks for innocent victims along the country’s highways (3:1-2).God sent drought to bring Judah to repentance, but the nation has remained unmoved. She is so shameless she even looks like a prostitute (3). Yet she is bold enough to... read more