2. high places—the scene of idolatries which were spiritual adulteries. In . . . ways . . . sat for them—watching for lovers like a prostitute (Genesis 38:14; Genesis 38:21; Proverbs 7:12; Proverbs 23:28; Ezekiel 16:24; Ezekiel 16:25), and like an Arab who lies in wait for travellers. The Arabs of the desert, east and south of Palestine, are still notorious as robbers. 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
Continuing the figure of Judah as a harlot, the Lord urged His people to look around. There was hardly a place they could see where they had not been unfaithful to Him by worshipping idols. They had pursued this evil as avidly as roadside harlots sought lovers (cf. Genesis 38:14-23; Proverbs 7:12-15; Ezekiel 16:25). Arabs of the desert waited along the wilderness routes and eagerly offered wares for sale to anyone who passed by. They also sometimes hid in ambush to rob passing caravans. 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
(2) Lift up thine eyes.—The consciousness of guilt was, however, the only foundation of repentance, and the prophet’s work, therefore, in very tenderness, is to paint that guilt in the darkest colours possible. Still keeping to the parable of the faithless wife, he bids Israel, as such, to look to the “high places” that have witnessed her adulteries with those other lords for whom she had forsaken Jehovah. Like the harlots of the east, she had sat by the wayside, as Tamar had done (Genesis... read more
The Heavenly Guide (Sermon to the Young) Jeremiah 3:4 We are all travellers, but are not all travellingin the same direction. We need a guide. There is no difficulty in finding one. There is only one to be relied upon. I. Some of the Reasons Why we Need a Guide. 1. Our ignorance of the way. 2. Our liability to take the wrong path. 3. Our liability to leave the right path after we have chosen it. II. Some of the Reasons Why we Should Take God as Our Guide. 4. Because He knows the way. 5.... read more
7CHAPTER IITHE TRUST IN THE SHADOW OF EGYPTJeremiah 2:1-37; Jeremiah 3:1-5THE first of the prophet’s public addresses is, in fact, a sermon which proceeds from an exposure of national sin to the menace of coming judgment. It falls naturally into three sections, of which the first {Jeremiah 2:1-13} sets forth Iahvah’s tender love to His young bride Israel in the old times of nomadic life, when faithfulness to Him was rewarded by protection from all external foes; and then passes on to denounce... read more
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Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Jeremiah 3:2
Jeremiah 3:2. High-places, &c.— See Pro 7:8-10 and the Observations, p. 52. The fondness of the people for idolatry is compared to the wantonness of a harlot, who lies in wait for men as for her prey; or as the Arabian hides himself in the desert, to strip the unwary traveller. Mr. Harmer has cited from a manuscript of Sir John Chardin the following lively description of the attention and eagerness of the Arabs in watching for passengers, whom they may spoil. "Thus the Arabs wait for... read more