The Lord continues in this chapter to describe how his people have been unfaithful to him, comparing them to a prostitute going after other lovers (other gods), which is reminiscent of the book of Hosea, where God commands the prophet to marry a prostitute as a demonstration. In both cases, while God is heartbroken by his bride’s unfaithfulness, he nevertheless calls them back to repentance. Think about it: he wants them back! Despite their betrayal, he continues to give them a chance to turn back to him until the very end. The Hebrew is שׁ֣וּבוּ (shuvu – a plural imperative, […]

This is what the Lord says: “What fault did your ancestors find in me,    that they strayed so far from me?They followed worthless idols    and became worthless themselves. Jeremiah 2:5 I imagine God saying in exasperation, “What did I do to deserve this?” God had been faithful to his people over and over and yet they continued to slide further away from him. The word “worthless” (idols isn’t in the original) is the Hebrew word hevel (הֶ֖בֶל). Other translations include “vain”, “deluded”, or “empty”. The same root is used as a noun and verb in Hebrew. More literally: “They went/walked after the vain, and they […]

Welcome to the first installment of the Bible study! Over the next year we will be exploring the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was given a difficult task as a prophet to the people of Israel just before, during, and after the exile to Babylon. He had an unpopular message to deliver to people who didn’t want to listen. From the opening verses, we learn that Jeremiah prophesied from about 629 BC until his death in Egypt around perhaps 580 BC (hard to say). Jeremiah means “the LORD throws/hurls”. The verb is first used in Exodus 15:1: “Both horse and driver […]