ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Jeremiah 2

2:1–6:30 Israel’s Covenantal Adultery. These five related messages were probably delivered during Josiah’s reign (3:6). Jeremiah declares that God’s chosen people commit spiritual adultery by loving idols more than the living God. Thus, they have broken their covenant vows and made themselves ripe for judgment. Jeremiah says that Israel is a faithless spouse (2:1–3:5); Israel can and should repent (3:6–4:4); disaster is coming (4:5–31); there are consequences for Judah’s unwillingness to repent (ch. 5); and God has rejected his people (ch. 6).

Jer. 2:3 Israel was holy to the Lord, set apart for his purposes, just as Jeremiah was set apart for the Lord’s purposes in his role as a prophet (1:5). Israel was the firstfruits of his (God’s) harvest, his chosen and blessed people. God protected Israel. All who ate of it (that is, all who harmed Israel) faced disaster. Now disaster awaits Israel (1:14).

Jer. 2:5 The Israelites have been faithless to God even though God was faithful to Israel. They sought out lifeless, and therefore “worthless,” idols (Isa. 44:9–20; Jer. 14:22; 51:17–18). As a result they became worthless covenant partners.

Jer. 2:6 The Israelites did not seek the Lord, the one whose sovereign power brought them up from the land of Egypt, the one who led them through a land of deserts, pits, drought, darkness, and desolation. They quickly forgot who had saved and sustained them.

Jer. 2:8 Three groups (priests, shepherds, and prophets) bear heavy responsibility for this unfaithfulness. The priests handle the law but did not know God. Their lack of faith meant they could not teach the people the knowledge of God (Hos. 4:1–3). The shepherds, the nation’s rulers (see note on Jer. 3:15), rebelled against God’s rule. The prophets prophesied by Baal rather than by the Spirit of God, a clear contrast to the task of a true prophet (1:17–19). Baal was a Canaanite storm god. Considered the source of fertility, he was thought to make both the earth and women reproduce. Such power was important in an agricultural economy. Worship practices included sexual activities for men and women at sacred shrines. Thus, people could worship sex and power and be considered righteous for doing so!

Jer. 2:9 Given this situation, God will contend with Israel. This word introduces the idea of a lawsuit (25:31; compare Hos. 4:1–4).

Jer. 2:10–11 God’s people have done worse than idolaters. Most nations are loyal to their lifeless deities, but Israel has forsaken their glory (that is, Yahweh and the covenants) for that which does not profit. Such rebellion simply makes no sense.

Jer. 2:12–13 The heavens, called as witnesses in the lawsuit (see note on v. 9), are shocked by Israel’s abandoning the fountain of living waters for broken cisterns that can hold no water. Palestine has three sources of water. The best is fresh running water, such as flows from a spring or stream, which is called “living water” (see Lev. 14:5, esv footnote; Gen. 26:19; John 4:10–11; Rev. 7:17). Next comes ground water, such as might collect in a well. Last is runoff water collected in a cistern (a pit hewn into the limestone and plastered to prevent seepage; see note on Jer. 38:6). Thus, in Jeremiah’s image, not only have the Israelites traded the best of water supplies for the worst, but also their cistern is broken. All its water has leaked out and nothing but sludge remains. Israel’s covenant infidelity is not just ungrateful and unnatural; it is also foolish. It leaves them without help in the coming difficult days.

Jer. 2:15 The lions are nations like Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon that have made Israel’s cities lie in ruins, without inhabitant (vv. 18, 36).

Jer. 2:20 At the time of the exodus God broke Israel’s bonds. He set the Israelites free, yet they refused to serve him. Indeed, under every green tree, the places where local idols were worshiped, the people bowed down like a whore. This stark language is meant to cause shame.

Jer. 2:21 God planted Israel in the Promised Land (Ex. 15:17) out of pure seed. Yet Israel has become a wild vine that bears bad fruit. For the image of Israel as a vine and vineyard, see notes on Isa. 5:1; Ezek. 15:1–8.

Jer. 2:28–29 Let them arise. God challenges the Israelites to have their helpless, lifeless gods save them. After all, they worship as many gods as they have cities!

Jer. 2:34 Covenant infidelity always leads to ethical infidelity. God has found the lifeblood of the guiltless poor on Israel’s skirts (Amos 4:1–5). Israel has brought false charges against the poor for her own gain.

Jer. 2:36–37 Israel changes her political course of action (v. 18) very easily, but whoever she chooses (whether Egypt or Assyria) will bring her shame. Placing one’s hands on one’s head was a sign of grief brought on by sexual shame. Tamar did so when Amnon raped her (2 Sam. 13:19). But Israel is actually guilty of seeking sexual shame. Her shame will be apparent when Assyria and Egypt fail to defeat Babylon. Israel has trusted allies whom God has rejected. She will chase her lovers, lose her virtue, and forfeit her land.