Jeremiah 2:1- 3:5 - Outline of Jeremiah (Book Notes menu page)

The LORD's first message through Jeremiah:
  The Word of the LORD came unto me... (2:1)-
  - This is the way all of Jeremiah's messages begin. (eg., see Jer 1:11,13; 3:6; 7:1; 11:1; etc.)
  This, or similar, wording marks the divisions between messages. Note that these divisions do not correspond with chapter divisions. One message may end, and another begin, mid-chapter (as with this first message). Other messages may span several chapters. For the major divisions and organization of the book, see the Introduction and Outline.
  [Note: While the overall outline of the book of Jeremiah identifies each of his messages, each message is outlined independently in the notes.]
- Jeremiah had no innate authority to speak, nor did he have a message of his own.
    He would not have spoken, except the LORD {Jehovah, the true and living God} had sent him with His Word. 1:6-7,9
- Jeremiah's first two messages were delivered between Josiah's twelfth and eighteenth year of reign,
    during the early reforms which he initiated prior to the discovery of the Book of the Law. 2Chr 34:1-7
  The LORD pleads with Israel-
  1. His Unfaithful Wife- 2:1-8
     1. The tenderness of first love remembered, 2:1-3 (cp. Eze 16:8-15)
        "I remember thee... in the wilderness..."-
        - the LORD nourished and led His people (cp. Deu 2:7)
        - Israel was holiness unto the LORD - Ex 19:5,6
     2. Their turning away from Him, 2:4-8
        "What iniquity have you found in Me?" cp. Isa 5:4; Mic 6:3
        - You have forgotten Me, though I have blessed and established you in this land.
          (a plentiful land, cp. Num 14:7,8; Deu 8:7-10)
        - Your priests have forgotten Me, though they held my Word in their hand.
  2. The Unreasonableness of their Departure, 2:9-25
     1. They Exchanged... (2:9-13)
        - their Glory (the living God) for false gods which were of no benefit (cp. Rom 1:21-24)
        - the Fountain of Living Waters for broken cisterns (cp. Psa 36:7-9, 1)
     2. They Enslaved themselves (2:14-20) in turning...
        1. to other nations and their gods.
           - You are oppressed by Assyria and Egypt. (Noph & Tahpanhes are cities of Egypt.)
           - You will drink from their rivers (as captives in those lands).
           - Sihor= a small river on the way to Egypt (Josh 13:3)
           - The river= the Euphrates, relating to both Assyria and Babylon.
           - Haven't you brought this upon yourselves? cp. Deu 32:10-12, 15-20
        2. from the LORD who had set them free from slavery (2:20)
           - Your own wickedness shall correct {admonish} you.
           - Your own backslidings shall reprove {judge} you.
           - You will understand the consequences of forsaking the LORD thy God.
           - of old time thou hast said, I will not transgress (cp. Ex 19:8; 20:1-6)
           - yet, you waste no opportunity to prostrate yourselves to other gods.
  3. Their Evil Nature described (2:21-25):
     1. A degenerate vine (2:21) -
    Planted as a "choice vine of impeccable stock." cp. Isa 5:1-7
    Now, an alien vine (cp. Isa 1:21; 5:4; Deu 32:32,33)
- An unwashable stain (2:22,23) -
  - Though thou wash {by treading}... with nitre {soda, a foaming agent}... with much soap {lye},
      thine iniquity is marked {deeply stained} before Me. cp. Deu 32:34
  - How can you protest "I am not polluted."?
      The evidence is openly displayed in the valley. Jer 7:31,32
- A wild animal in heat (2:23-25) - without hope of self-restraint.
  - They could live well (shod and watered in the LORD's house),
      but in their hot pursuit of other lovers, they have forsaken the LORD (the Fountain of Living Waters, who had placed them in the place of prosperity).
- Their Unrepentant Pursuit of their own way (2:26-37)...
  1. Like a Thief (2:26-30) -
     1. caught, but denying the consequences of their ways.
        - robbing themselves of the wisdom and knowlege of God,
            they attribute blessings (received from the Lord GOD {Adonai Jehovah, the everliving God who is Lord of all} to gods of their own making (a 'stock' is a block of wood).
            Idols are gods created in man's image. They depict the exaltation of the fleshly nature, and require only what the flesh desires (eg., sensual pleasures). Idols are as foolish and unthinking as their worshippers. Psa 115:4-8
        - defrauding themselves of the LORD's help and salvation,
            they will be disappointed in time of trouble. The false gods cannot save.
            Should they expect the true God, whom they have rejected, to deliver them? Deu 32:37
     2. uncorrected by the LORD's chastening (2:30),
          and slaying the prophets that He sent to explain the cause of their troubles (cp. 2Chr 36:16).
  2. Like an unfaithful Bride (2:31-37) -
     - spurning the love of the Husband who has covered her and provided for her,
         and yearning instead for other lovers... cp. Eze 16:9-22
         "We are lords..." ie., we are self-sufficient, without need of the LORD.
     - denying any wrong doing...- Yet, her sin is obvious, and cannot be hidden (2:34):
         "The blood of... the poor innocents" (ie., the children sacrificed to idols, in the valley of Tophet, 2:23)
     - She will soon be ashamed of the lovers in whom she placed her confidence.
         (ie., The surrounding nations will turn against Judah.)
         The northern kingdom of Israel had been carried into captivity by their former ally, Assyria.
         Likewise, Judah's present trust in Egypt was misplaced and would be a disappointment.
         Soon, Judah would 'go forth' in captivity and affliction, at the hand of her former lovers.
- Their Unheeding Response to God's Gracious Invitation 3:1-5 --
  - Though you have played the harlot, pursuing many lovers, polluting the land (3:1)...
      Yet return again to Me, saith the LORD.
  - Acknowledge your sin (3:2,3) -
    - its evidence is all around you.
        'The high places,' the worship centers, holy to man's religion, were polluted by the lusts of the flesh, in moral and spiritual adultery.
        You have sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness... (ie., as a harlot in the desert, waiting for her clients., eg., Gen 38:14,15)
    - its consequences are already afflicting you (3:3): no rain, cp. Lev 26:18-20
    - yet, in stubbornness (like a whore's forehead: hard and stubborn), you refuse correction and know no shame.
  - Cry unto Me (3:4-5)... - - The LORD even supplies them with words to pray!
      Yet, in stubbornness, they prefer their own words and ways.

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