Verses 1-2
Having Given His Glowing Promises YHWH Now Describes The Present Situation Of Israel Which Is In Stark Contrast To The Glowing Picture That He Has Painted (Jeremiah 3:20 to Jeremiah 4:2 ).
The beautiful vision just revealed of YHWH’s intentions for His people is in deliberate and stark contrast to the reality. For far from turning to Him in repentance Israel are seen as set in their evil ways. They are like a wife who has treacherously deserted her husband, and in their perverted way are weeping and praying on the bare heights to gods who will not profit, because they have forgotten YHWH their God. This may refer to the exiles, or to the remnants who had remained in the land, or to both.
Nevertheless unfailingly He still offers them the opportunity of repentance. They are, however depicted as seeing themselves as beyond repentance, superficially recognising that YHWH is indeed the only Saviour, but being filled with deep shame because their penchant for idolatry (‘the shameful thing’) has resulted in the loss of everything that they had previously possessed, with the result that they feel that they can only lie down in shame and allow their confusion to cover them because of the depths of their sin against YHWH. They feel totally lost and without hope.
But YHWH then promises that if only they will truly come to Him in true repentance, putting away their idols, they can be delivered from their helpless state and become established in YHWH in truth and righteousness and a blessing to the nations. God’s mercy is still being offered to smitten Israel. There is in this a wonderful picture of the continuing graciousness of God towards those who have rejected Him, and to those who backslide. And it includes us, for had it not been for His continuing mercy in the face of our sin, where would we have been?
“Surely as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel,” says YHWH.
Israel’s true state is made clear. They have dealt treacherously with God like a wife who has treacherously deserted her husband (which was why they were now in exile). Note therefore that it is not only Judah who are treacherous. It was just that Judah were more treacherous both in their hypocritical double standards and in their ignoring what had happened to Israel.
“A voice is heard on the bare heights, the weeping and the supplications of the children of Israel, because they have perverted their way, they have forgotten YHWH their God.”
In a vivid picture the truth about them is made clear. On the bare heights (compare Jeremiah 3:2) where they had always gone to meet with their idolatrous gods they are still weeping before them and making supplication to them, and this was clear evidence that they had perverted their way and had forgotten YHWH. They were totally taken up with their idols. Or the idea may be that the remnants of Israel still in the land were weeping there in desperation for their stricken land. Not all of Israel had been taken into exile. A remnant still struggled on in the land.
Some see their weeping as directed at YHWH, but that would hardly have been on the bare heights where the false sanctuaries were, and had they so wept they would have been received back and forgiven.
“Return (shubu), you backsliding (shubebim) children, I will heal your backslidings (shubethecem).”
So YHWH calls on Israel (this chapter is all about Northern Israel, being held up as an example to Judah) as His backsliding (turning away) children to return back so that He may ‘heal their backslidings (turnings away)’, by forgiving them and restoring them to the true path, and then restoring to them all that they have lost. The term backsliding (turning) includes the thoughts of falling away, turning away from Him, going far from Him and stubborn resistance to YHWH’s call. To bring out the force of the Hebrew we might translate as, ‘Turn back you turning away people, and I will heal your turnings away’.
-23 “Behold, we are come to you, for you are YHWH our God. Truly in vain is (the help that is looked for) from the hills, the tumult on the mountains. Truly in YHWH our God is the salvation of Israel.”
Israel are then portrayed as ostentatiously and hypocritically acknowledging their folly and coming to Him. In doing so they profess to recognise that YHWH is their true God, and that all their attempts to look for help from the hills and to persuade the gods to act by all their tumultuous rituals and activities had been in vain. They profess to recognise that in truth YHWH alone is their God and is the only One Who can bring about the salvation of Israel. But it was not from the heart. They were simply oscillating in their despair between YHWH and their idols, assuring first one and then the other of their loyalty. (This is paralleled by the way that nations seek God at a time of national crisis with all kinds of expressions of submission, and then subsequently once again forget Him).
The introduction of ‘the help that is looked for’, which is not in the Hebrew, is in order to give the idea behind the literal ‘truly as a lie from the hills is the tumult on the mountains’. This is on the basis of the fact that as they have turned for help to YHWH, it was a recognition that what was from the hills had failed. The omission of words leaving the reader/hearer to fill them in is a feature of ancient Hebrew.
“But the shameful thing has devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.”
But then they have to recognise the realities of the situation. They have lost everything. For ‘the shameful thing’ (their idolatrous behaviour) has devoured everything that their fathers had worked for and had produced from their youth. This may signify the centuries of wasted sacrifices, or that now they had lost their flocks and their herds, and many had lost their sons and their daughters, to the invader. And they were in exile among the nations. It had been a bitter price to pay (but brings out how seriously God treats sin, seeing it as no light matter).
“Let us lie down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us, for we have sinned against YHWH our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of YHWH our God.”
Thus they feel that they can only lie down in their shame and let their confusion cover them. For they recognise that they have sinned against YHWH their God, both them and their fathers, from their youth (just as they had worked from their youth (Jeremiah 3:24) to build up their herds and flocks while ignoring YHWH) and even to this day. And they had not obeyed YHWH their God. It is a true summary of Israel’s state. But their repentance was not deep enough to genuinely bring them back to Him.
“If you will return, O Israel,” says YHWH, “if you will return to me, and if you will put away your abominations out of my sight, then you will not be removed, and you will swear, ‘As YHWH lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, and the nations will bless themselves in him, and in him will they glory.”
But YHWH is ever ready to respond in mercy. He assures them that if they will genuinely turn to Him, and will put away their idols (their ‘abominations’) out of His sight, then once they have returned they will not again be removed. They will then be in a position to swear ‘as YHWH lives’ in truth and justice and righteousness. For having come to Him in repentance they will know Him and His living power, and will know that He is the living God, and will have become established in truth, justice and righteousness as a result of His inworking within them. And the consequence of this will be that the nations will bless themselves in YHWH, and will glory in Him. Israel’s turning to YHWH will result also in the nations coming to Him. This was always the final goal of the prophets. And it found its fulfilment when the remnant from among Israel truly repented and responded to Jesus Christ (Acts 2-12) and as a result proclaimed His truth among the nations.
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