Jeremiah 2:1

JEREMIAH 2

THE APOSTASY OF ISRAEL

"In this chapter, `Israel' refers to the whole nation, but in Jeremiah 3 the reference is to the Northern Israel."[1] Keil's summary of the chapter notes these divisions: Israel had indeed loved God at first during the days of their delivery from Egypt (Jeremiah 2:1-3); but Israel had fallen away from the love of God and had taken up the worship of idols (Jeremiah 2:4-8); therefore God will punish Israel for her shameful conduct (Jeremiah 2:9-19). From of old, Israel had been renegade, and by their pursuit of idols had contracted terrible guilt, not even God's punishments leading them to repentance (Jeremiah 2:2-30); and therefore God will severely punish them (Jeremiah 2:31-37).[2]

In our study of the Pentateuch, especially in Deuteronomy, we learned the importance of the old fifteenth century B.C. suzerainty treaties executed during that mid-second millennium B.C. period between overlords and their vassals, that being the form followed by the author of Deuteronomy and establishing the near-certainty of a very early date for Deuteronomy in the vicinity of 1,500 B.C. A full discussion of this is given by Meredith G. Kline in the Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, pp. 156ff.

That the Book of the Law discovered by Hilkiah (2 Kings 22:8) was indeed a mid-second millennium document, and not a recent invention of Jewish priests is certified here in Jeremiah by the fact that the pattern of those old treaties is found right here in this chapter. Furthermore, this part of Jeremiah honored the very procedures that were required under those old treaties.

When lesser kings offended their overlords in some act of rebellion, the overlord sent a written message by the hands of a messenger. There was a proper legal way to do this: (1) There was an appeal to the vassal to pay heed, and a summons to the earth and sky to act as witnesses. (2) There was a series of questions, each of which carried an implied accusation. (3) There was an enumeration of past benefits conferred upon the vassal by the overlord. (4) There was a refutation of the notion that ritual compensations would do any good toward healing the breach; and (5) there was a declaration of the vassal's guilt and culpability and a stern threat of judgment against the offender.

This pattern is clearly visible in this chapter, despite the fact of its being somewhat concealed by the particular style of Jeremiah's writing. This prophecy, therefore, has the element of being a legal compliance with what was required to bring an offending vassal in to judgment and punishment.

From this, it is clearly evident that Jeremiah had before him the Book of Deuteronomy, in which this pattern appears; but by no means does this mean that he did not have also the entire Book of the Law. It is unfair the way some scholars neglect to stress this. For example, Cheyne cited a dozen references from Deuteronomy which are reflected in this chapter[3]; but he failed to notice that there are far more passages from the other portions of the Pentateuch that should also be cited. A careful study will reveal that Jeremiah used material or made references more frequently from the books other than Deuteronomy in the Pentateuch than he did from Deuteronomy alone.

The Cross-Reference Bible, which we have as our text in this study, has the following references to that Book of the Law that Hilkiah found in the temple. This 2chapter has twenty-two references to Genesis, eighteen to Exodus, ten to Leviticus, five to Numbers, and seventeen to Deuteronomy![4] This is a fair sample of the way it is throughout this prophecy of Jeremiah. This is the only proof that is needed to demonstrate that it was not merely the Book of Deuteronomy that was found in the temple by Hilkiah, but that it was, as the Bible flatly declares, "The Book of Law" namely, those first five books of the Bible usually called the Pentateuch. This cannot mean Deuteronomy only!

Jeremiah 2:1-3

"And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying Thus saith Jehovah, I remember thee for the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals; how thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto Jehovah, the first-fruits of his increase: all that devour him shall be found guilty; evil shall come upon them, saith Jehovah."

"The word of the Lord ..." (Jeremiah 2:1,2,3). Notice the triple declaration that the words of this chapter came from Jehovah. This truth is reiterated no less than a dozen times in this chapter.

"The love of thine espousals ..." (Jeremiah 2:2). "The word `love' in this passage is a reference to Israel's love as a bride for God her husband."[5] The NIV renders this, "your love as a bride;" and Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition) translated it, "your bridal love."

Such expressions of Israel's devotion to the Lord are quite generous on the part of Jehovah, because the record reveals their countless murmurings and rebellions against God's will. Still, in a relative sense, compared with the gross idolatries which later corrupted the Chosen People, the words are appropriate.

The period when Israel loved God was in that era when he sent the plagues upon Egypt, delivered Israel from slavery, and ratified the covenant with them at Sinai.

The very next passage begins the recitation of Israel's apostasy; and despite this chapter's being usually assigned to the earliest years of Jeremiah's ministry, we do not believe that it is necessary to suppose that it was necessarily delivered before the great reforms of Josiah that followed the discovery of the Book of the Law. Many respected scholars, Ash, for example, so understand it;[6] but we believe it probably came concurrently with Josiah's reforms. Why?

As this chapter surely reveals, Judah's reforms under Josiah were external only and did not at all touch the heart of the people who went right on delighting in the sexual orgies of their shameless love of the old Canaan fertility gods. "The valley" mentioned later in the chapter (v. 23) indicates the sacrifice of their children to Molech at the very time of their brazen claim of innocence. If the reform under Josiah had truly resulted in the repentance of Israel and their return to the God of their fathers, the Lord would most certainly have postponed their terminal judgment in the captivity.

One of the great benefits bestowed upon Israel by their great Benefactor God was that he made them secure against all foreign enemies (Jeremiah 2:3).