Jeremiah 12:7

God’s lament over Judah’s destruction

7 I have abandoned my house; I have deserted my inheritance. I have given the one I love into the power of her enemies.

Jeremiah 12:7 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 12:7

I have forsaken my house
The temple, where the Lord took up his residence, and vouchsafed his presence to his people; this was fulfilled in the first temple, when it was destroyed by the Chaldeans; and more fully in the second, when Christ took his leave of it, ( Matthew 23:38 ) and when that voice was heard in it, a little before the destruction of Jerusalem, as Josephus F1 relates,

``let us go hence.''
So the Targum,
``I have forsaken the house of my sanctuary.''
I have left mine heritage:
the people whom he had chosen for his inheritance, whom he prized and valued, took care of, and protected as such; see ( Deuteronomy 32:9 ) . I have given the dearly beloved of my soul;
whom he heartily loved and delighted in, and who were as dear to him as the apple of his eye: into the hands of her enemies;
the Chaldeans. This prophecy represents the thing as if it was already done, because of the certainty of it, and to awaken the Jews out of their lethargy and stupidity; and by the characters which the Lord gives of them it appears what ingratitude they had been guilty of, and that their ruin was owing to themselves and their sins.
FOOTNOTES:

F1 De Bello Jud. l. 6. c. 5. sect. 3.

Jeremiah 12:7 In-Context

5 If you have raced with people and are worn out, how will you compete with horses? If you fall down in an open field, how will you survive in the forest along the Jordan?
6 Even your relatives, your very family, are planning to trap you. They are out to get you. So don't trust them, even if they appear to be on your side.
7 I have abandoned my house; I have deserted my inheritance. I have given the one I love into the power of her enemies.
8 My inheritance has turned against me like a lion in the forest; she growls at me; therefore, I have rejected her.
9 My inheritance has become like a bird of prey, surrounded and attacked. Go, gather all the wild animals for the feast.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible