Jeremiah 2

II. PROPHECIES ABOUT JUDAH CHS. 2-45

The first series of prophetic announcements, reflections, and incidents that comprise this part of the book deals with Jeremiah’s ministry to his own people. Though Jeremiah ministered to the surviving Southern Kingdom of Judah (after the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel to the Assyrians), he frequently referred to his nation as Israel, as did other prophets. This reflects the fact that the Southern Kingdom, under Davidic kings, was the true Israel and that the Northern Kingdom was an apostate offshoot. The second main division of the book contains oracles against foreign nations (chs. 46-51).

A. Warnings of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem chs. 2-25

Chapters 2-25 contain warnings and appeals to the Judahites in view of their sins and the inevitable consequences of those sins.

1. Warnings of coming punishment because of Judah’s guilt chs. 2-6

Most of the material in this section consists of prophetic oracles that are poetic in form: so-called "type A" material. There are three messages: the first indicting Judah for her evil (ch. 2), the second pleading for repentance (Jeremiah 3:1 to Jeremiah 4:4), and the third declaring divine judgment (Jeremiah 4:5 to Jeremiah 6:30).

". . . it is possible that at an early stage in the development of the book, this collection of prophetic oracles was brought together as a kind of summary of the prophet’s early ministry." [Note: Craigie, p. 19. Compare chapters 1-5 of Isaiah, which serve a similar function.]

"The major themes in these five chapters are (1) God’s indignation against moral and social sin, (2) his love for his people and land, (3) the certainty of doom on the unrepentant nation, and (4) salvation for the believing." [Note: Feinberg, p. 386.]

Yahweh’s indictment of His people for their sins ch. 2

"The whole chapter has strong reminiscences of a legal form which was well known in the secular world, the so-called rib pattern. When lesser kings offended their overlords in some act of rebellion, the overlord sent a written message by the hands of a messenger. Several of these documents are extant today. It seems clear that there was a proper legal form in which to lay a charge against a rebel. The shape was as follows: (i) an appeal to the vassal to pay heed, and a summons to the earth and the sky to act as witnesses; (ii) a series of questions each of which carried an implied accusation; (iii) a recollection of past benefits bestowed on the vassal with some statement of the offenses by which he had broken his treaty (covenant); (iv) a reference to the futility of ritual compensations, recourse to foreign cults, or other kinds of aid; (v) a declaration of culpability and a threat of judgment." [Note: Thompson, pp. 159-60. Micah 6:1-8 is a very clear biblical example of a rib oracle.]

Chapter 2 reads like one of these documents in that it contains the basic elements. However, this was not a formal legal document that Yahweh sent to His people but a spoken message through His prophet. The form of the message undoubtedly reminded the original hearers of these rib (lawsuit) documents and highlighted the position of the people as Yahweh’s unfaithful vassals who had broken His covenant and were, therefore, in trouble with Him.

"This chapter is a powerful sermon dealing with apostasy, and was delivered with all the zeal of an evangelist, as is evident from the power and vitality of the language." [Note: Harrison, Jeremiah and . . ., pp. 53-54.]