# Jeremiah 03 š: Return, Faithless Israel
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#š Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#š Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#š¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#š§ Chapter Summary]]
> [[#āļø Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#š Key Principles / š Life Application]]
> [[#š¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#āļø Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#š Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#š Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#š Internal Notes]]
## š Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
[[#Verse 01.]] āIf a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and becomes another manās wife, he may not take her back again.
Doing that would utterly defile the land.
But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods.
So what makes you think you can return to me?ā
says theĀ Lord.
[[#Verse 02.]]Ā āLook up at the hilltops and consider this.
Where have you not been ravished?
You waited for those gods like a thief lying in wait in the wilderness.
You defiled the land by your wicked prostitution to other gods.
[[#Verse 03.]]Ā That is why the rains have been withheld
and the spring rains have not come.
Yet in spite of this you are obstinate as a prostitute.
You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done.
[[#Verse 04.]]Ā Even now you say to me, āYou are my father!
You have been my faithful companion ever since I was young.
[[#Verse 05.]]Ā You will not always be angry with me, will you?
You will not be mad at me forever, will you?ā
That is what you say,
but you continually do all the evil that you can.ā
[[#Verse 06.]]Ā When Josiah was king of Judah, theĀ LordĀ said to me, āJeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done.Ā You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods.Ā
[[#Verse 07.]]Ā Yet even after she had done all that, I thought that she might come back to me.Ā But she did not. Her sister, unfaithful Judah, saw what she did.Ā
[[#Verse 08.]]Ā She also sawĀ that, because of wayward Israelās adulterous worship of other gods,Ā I sent her away and gave her divorce papers. But still her unfaithful sister Judah was not afraid, and she too went and gave herself like a prostitute to other gods.Ā
[[#Verse 09.]]Ā Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she defiled the landĀ through her adulterous worship of gods made of wood and stone.Ā
[[#Verse 10.]]Ā In spite of all this,Ā Israelās sister, unfaithful Judah, has not turned back to me with any sincerity; she has only pretended to do so,āĀ says theĀ Lord.Ā
[[#Verse 11.]]Ā Then theĀ LordĀ said to me, āUnder the circumstances, wayward Israel could even be considered less guilty than unfaithful Judah.
### The Lord Calls on Israel and Judah to Repent
[[#Verse 12.]]Ā āGo and shout this message to my people in the countries in the north.Ā Tell them: āCome back to me, wayward Israel,ā says theĀ Lord.
āI will not continue to look on you with displeasure.
For I am merciful,ā says theĀ Lord.
āI will not be angry with you forever.
[[#Verse 13.]]Ā However, you must confess that you have done wrong
and that you have rebelled against theĀ LordĀ your God.
You must confessĀ that you have given yourself toĀ foreign gods under every green tree
and have not obeyed my commands,ā says theĀ Lord.
[[#Verse 14.]]Ā āCome back to me, my wayward sons,ā says theĀ Lord, āfor I am your true master.Ā If you do,Ā I will take one of you from each town and two of you from each family group, and I will bring you back to Zion.Ā
[[#Verse 15.]]Ā I will give you leadersĀ who will be faithful to me.Ā They will lead you with knowledge and insight.Ā
[[#Verse 16.]]Ā In those days, your population will greatly increaseĀ in the land. At that time,ā says theĀ Lord, āpeople will no longer talk about having the arkĀ that contains theĀ Lordās covenant with us.Ā They will not call it to mind, remember it, or miss it. No, that will not be done anymore!Ā
[[#Verse 17.]]Ā At that time the city of Jerusalem will be called theĀ Lordās throne. All nations will gather there in Jerusalem to honor theĀ Lordās name.Ā They will no longer follow the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts.Ā
[[#Verse 18.]]Ā At that timeĀ the nation of Judah and the nation of Israel will be reunited.Ā Together they will come back from a land in the north to the land that I gave to your ancestors as a permanent possession.
[[#Verse 19.]]Ā āI thought to myself,
āOh what a joy it would be for me to treat you like a son!
What a joy it would be for me to giveĀ you a pleasant land,
the most beautiful piece of property there is in all the world!ā
I thought you would call me āFatherā
and would never cease being loyal to me.
[[#Verse 20.]]Ā But, you have been unfaithful to me, nation of Israel,
like an unfaithful wife who has left her husband,ā
says theĀ Lord.
[[#Verse 21.]]Ā āA noise is heard on the hilltops.
It is the sound of the people of Israel crying and pleading to their gods.
Indeed they have followed sinful ways;
they have forgotten to be true to theĀ LordĀ their God.
[[#Verse 22.]]Ā Come back to me, you wayward people.
I want to cure your waywardness.
Say,Ā āHere we are. We come to you
because you are theĀ LordĀ our God.
[[#Verse 23.]]Ā We know our noisy worship of false gods
on the hills and mountains did not help us.
We know that theĀ LordĀ our God
is the only one who can deliver Israel.
[[#Verse 24.]]Ā From earliest times our worship of that shameful god, Baal,
has taken awayĀ all that our ancestorsĀ worked for.
It has taken away our flocks and our herds
and even our sons and daughters.
[[#Verse 25.]]Ā Let us acknowledgeĀ our shame.
Let us bear the disgrace that we deserve.
For we have sinned against theĀ LordĀ our God,
both we and our ancestors.
From earliest times to this very day
we have not obeyed theĀ LordĀ our God.ā
## š Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
###### Verse 24.
###### Verse 25.
## š¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Jeremiah 3:1 alludes to the law in Deuteronomy 24:1-4, which said a divorced wife who married another man could not return to her first husband. God goes beyond that law in calling His people back.
2. This message is dated to the days of King Josiah (3:6).
3. The northern kingdom of Israel had already fallen to Assyria in 722 BC, about a century before this message.
4. God calls Judah more guilty than Israel because she saw Israel's judgment and still only pretended to return (3:10-11).
5. The Hebrew word *shuv* ("return" or "turn") appears again and again in this chapter, building the call to repentance.
6. Josiah's reforms (2 Kings 23) removed many idols, but 3:10 suggests many people's hearts had not changed.
7. God says a day is coming when people will no longer talk about the ark of the covenant, miss it, or make another one (3:16), because God's presence will fill His city.
8. Jerusalem will be called "the Throne of the Lord" (3:17), and the nations will gather there.
9. Idolatry on the "hills" (3:2, 23) refers to the high places where pagan worship took place.
10. Israel and Judah are pictured as two sisters (3:6-11), an image Ezekiel later develops (Ezekiel 23).
## š§ Chapter Summary
> [!note] š± Still growing. This section is on its way.
## āļø Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the Shepherd after God's own heart (3:15) who calls wandering people home. Like the father in Jesus' parable, God runs to meet the one who returns (Luke 15:20).
## š Key Principles / š Life Application
> [!note] š± Still growing. This section is on its way.
## š¬ Discussion Questions
1. Judah watched Israel's judgment and still did not return to God (3:7-8). Why do we sometimes fail to learn from the consequences others face?
2. God calls, "Return, O faithless children... I will heal your unfaithfulness" (3:22). What does true repentance look like according to this chapter (3:13, 22-25)?
3. God promised shepherds after His own heart who would feed His people with knowledge and understanding (3:15). What makes a leader a shepherd after God's heart?
## āļø Key Verses to Remember
- š verse 12: Return, faithless Israel, for the Lord is merciful and will not stay angry forever.
- š verse 15: God promises shepherds after His own heart who will lead with knowledge and understanding.
- š verse 22: Return, faithless children, and God will heal your unfaithfulness.
## š Related Passages/Cross Reference
- š [[Luke 15#Verse 20.|Luke 15:20-24]] - The father runs to welcome his son home.
- š [[Hosea 14#Verse 01.|Hosea 14:1-4]] - Return to the Lord, and He will heal your waywardness.
- š [[John 10#Verse 11.|John 10:11]] - Jesus is the good shepherd.
- š [[Ezekiel 34#Verse 23.|Ezekiel 34:23]] - God will set one shepherd, His servant David, over His people.
- š [[1 John 01#Verse 09.|1 John 1:9]] - If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive.
## š Devotional Reflection
š SOAP: [[Jeremiah 03 - SOAP|Come On Home]]
## š Internal Notes