Prepare
Opening Prayer
Father, thank you for the blessing of reading your Word and spending time together. Help us read and understand. In Jesus' name, amen.
Read
Scripture Passage
God’s Case Against Israel
2 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord:
“I remember you,
The kindness of your youth,
The love of your betrothal,
When you went after Me in the wilderness,
In a land not sown.
3 Israel was holiness to the Lord,
The firstfruits of His increase.
All that devour him will offend;
Disaster will come upon them,” says the Lord.’ ”
4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the Lord:
“What injustice have your fathers found in Me,
That they have gone far from Me,
Have followed idols,
And have become idolaters?
6 Neither did they say, ‘Where is the Lord,
Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who led us through the wilderness,
Through a land of deserts and pits,
Through a land of drought and the shadow of death,
Through a land that no one crossed
And where no one dwelt?’
7 I brought you into a bountiful country,
To eat its fruit and its goodness.
But when you entered, you defiled My land
And made My heritage an abomination.
8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who handle the law did not know Me;
The rulers also transgressed against Me;
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
And walked after things that do not profit.
9 “Therefore I will yet bring charges against you,” says the Lord,
“And against your children’s children I will bring charges.
10 For pass beyond the coasts of Cyprus and see,
Send to Kedar and consider diligently,
And see if there has been such a thing.
11 Has a nation changed its gods,
Which are not gods?
But My people have changed their Glory
For what does not profit.
12 Be astonished, O heavens, at this,
And be horribly afraid;
Be very desolate,” says the Lord.
13 “For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.
14 “Is Israel a servant?
Is he a homeborn slave?
Why is he plundered?
15 The young lions roared at him, and growled;
They made his land waste;
His cities are burned, without inhabitant.
16 Also the people of Noph and Tahpanhes
Have broken the crown of your head.
17 Have you not brought this on yourself,
In that you have forsaken the Lord your God
When He led you in the way?
18 And now why take the road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of Sihor?
Or why take the road to Assyria,
To drink the waters of the River?
19 Your own wickedness will correct you,
And your backslidings will rebuke you.
Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing
That you have forsaken the Lord your God,
And the fear of Me is not in you,”
Says the Lord God of hosts.
20 “For of old I have broken your yoke and burst your bonds;
And you said, ‘I will not transgress,’
When on every high hill and under every green tree
You lay down, playing the harlot.
21 Yet I had planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality.
How then have you turned before Me
Into the degenerate plant of an alien vine?
22 For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap,
Yet your iniquity is marked before Me,” says the Lord God.
23 “How can you say, ‘I am not polluted,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
See your way in the valley;
Know what you have done:
You are a swift dromedary breaking loose in her ways,
24 A wild donkey used to the wilderness,
That sniffs at the wind in her desire;
In her time of mating, who can turn her away?
All those who seek her will not weary themselves;
In her month they will find her.
25 Withhold your foot from being unshod, and your throat from thirst.
But you said, ‘There is no hope.
No! For I have loved aliens, and after them I will go.’
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Jeremiah 2:1-25.
A — About
What Is This Passage About?
The Lord remembers Israel's early covenant love and recounts his faithful redemption, but priests, rulers, prophets, and people exchange their glory for useless idols, abandon the fountain of living waters, and pursue leaking cisterns.
B — Best Verse
Which Verse Best Summarizes the Passage?
Jeremiah 2:11
Bryan explicitly says verse 11 is underlined because it summarizes Israel's astonishing exchange of covenant glory for what cannot profit.
C — Called or Christ
C — Christ Connection
Do not follow your own runaway desires or commit spiritual adultery. Remain grafted into Christ, abide in him as the living source, and bear good fruit through faithful love for the Lord alone.
Additional Notes
Devotional Study
Transcript of the devotion. Minor transcription errors may remain.
Where is Jeremiah? Jeremiah is in the uh classic prophets. So Isaia or Yeah. So there's Isaiah, Jeremiah, then Ezekiel. There you go. Jeremiah chapter 2. You're very helpful, Dad. Yeah. Jeremiah chapter 2. Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to coffee and devotions. Uh this morning we're going to be talking about the first words of Jeremiah as a prophet. So, why don't we have some coffee? We'll pray and we'll find out what Jeremiah's got to say. No, thank you. Okay, that's fine. All right, so let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for the blessing it is to get to read your word and spend time together. Lord, we pray that you would please help us to read and understand in Jesus's name. Amen. Jeremiah chapter 2. Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, Thus says the Lord, I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your betroal, when you went after me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holiness to the Lord, the first fruits of his increase. All that devour him will offend. Disaster will come upon them, says the Lord. What do you think? How's that sound to you? Wonderful. Yeah. Right. Yeah. The Lord thinks wonderful about his people, doesn't he? Yeah. He He remembers how they first were. You want to start reading at verse four and then maybe you can read four through like 13. Okay. Hear the word of the Lord, oh house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord, "What injustice have your fathers found in me, that they have gone far from me, have followed idols, and have become idol idolers?" idoltors. H neither did they say, "Where is the Lord who brought us up out of the land of Egypt? Who led us through the wilderness, through the land through a land of deserts and pits, through a land of drought and the shadow of death, through a land that no one crossed and where none and where no one dwelt. I brought you into a beautiful country to eat its fruit and and its goodness. But when you entered, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination. The priests did not say, "Where is the Lord?" And those who handled the law did not know me. The rulers also transgressed against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and walked after things that they do not profit. Therefore, I will yet bring charges against you, says the Lord. And against your children's children, I will bring charges. For pass beyond the coast of Cyprus and sea, send to Khadar, and consider diligently, and see if there has been such a thing. Has a nation changed its God, which are not gods, but my people have changed their glory, for what does not profit? Be astonished, O heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid. Be very desolate, says the Lord, for my people have committed two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and have heed themsself, um, broken sistns that can hold no water. All right. So, he starts off in that section, right? What did he do wrong? And he he tells them all the good things he did for them. He he did all these wonderful things, but did they ever call out to him? No. Says no. So he brings a charge against them. And what's their charge? They um turned away from the fountain of living waters and made like our sistns like almost like wells or something. Yeah. Yeah. They would hold the water, right? But their the sistns leak. Mhm. They have all the promise of holding water and refreshment in life. But if a sister leaks, can it is it of any good? Nope. No. He says, "If you went to Cyprus in the ocean, if you went as far as Keer, right, who changes their God and yet I was this good to you and you've left me." Yeah. All right. So, I'm going to read 14 through 19. Is Israel a servant? Is he a homeborn slave? Why is he plundered? The young lions roared at him and growled. They made his land waste. His cities are burned without inhabitant. Also, the people of Noff and Tapanes have broken the crown of your head. Have you not brought this on yourself? In that you have forsaken the Lord your God when he led you away. And now you have And now why take the road to Egypt to drink the waters of Sihore? Or why take the road to Assyria to drink the waters of the you of the river? Your own wickedness will correct you and your blacksidings will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have forsaken the Lord your God and the fear of me is not in you says the Lord God of host. What's he saying in that section? Um you're you've fallen very far from your former glory. Yeah. Ry saying right why go down to Egypt. Right. So when he's talking about uh Noff and Taffan, right? This is down to Egypt, right? The crown on your head's been broken. Mhm. And they did it, right? You you lusted after the Assyrians and they've they've destroyed you. Why go to the river? Why go to Assyria? Why go to uh to the Euphrates? You want to read 20 through uh 25? were of old, I have broken your yoke and burst your bonds. And you said, "I will not transgress." When on every high hill, and and under every green tree you lay down, playing the harlot. Yet I have had planted you of noble vine, a seed of highest quality. How then have you turned from me into the great plan, degenerate plant, degenerate plant of an alien vine? Uh for though for though you wash yourself with lie and use much soap yet your iniquity is marked before me says the Lord dear God. All right so let's stop there. What what is he saying in that section? You went from high to low. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Like so they they're they're acting like they're worshiping God, but what are they actually doing? They're going to all the high places and they're committing spiritual adultery. They're they're it's like uh if somebody had a wife and or a husband and they go off and they go sleep with other people. Mhm. How can you say I am not polluted? I have not gone after the bales. See your own way. See your way in the valley. Know that what you have done. You are a swift dumadary breaking loose in her ways. A wild donkey used to the wilderness that sniffs at the wind in her desire. In her time of mating, who can turn her away? All those who seek her will not weary themselves. In her mouth they will find her. Withhold your foot from being unshaw and your throat from thirst. But you said there is no hope. No, for I have loved aliens and after them I will go. What's he saying there? Um that they that they're just um doing their own thing. Yeah, they're just doing their own thing. Well, why don't we go ahead and stop there and we'll pick up next time. Right. So, uh I have in my Bible verse 11 underlined. My people have changed their glory for what does it for what does not profit. That sounds good. Yeah. So, what do you think your C calling is? Um to not go your own way and be stupid like the Israelites. Oh, we might judge them as stupid, but my heart could want to do the same thing. Yeah. And so follow after the Lord. You ready to pray? Yep. God, we thank you so much for the grace you have shown us in Jesus Christ. And Lord, we pray that we would not be like a wild vine going after others. But Lord, we pray that we would be engrafted into Christ and grow in him, abiding in him, and bearing much good fruit. God, please do not let us commit spiritual adultery, but keep us faithful to you in Jesus's name. Amen. Well, may God bless you and keep you. May you love the Lord your God alone with all your heart. We'll see you next time. Bye bye.