Jeremiah 12:7

7 The Lord says, "I have abandoned Israel; I have rejected my chosen nation. I have given the people I love into the power of their 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 The Lord said, "Jeremiah, if you get tired racing against people, how can you race against horses? If you can't even stand up in open country, how will you manage in the jungle by the Jordan?
6 Even your relatives, members of your own family, have betrayed you; they join in the attacks against you. Do not trust them, even though they speak friendly words."
7 The Lord says, "I have abandoned Israel; I have rejected my chosen nation. I have given the people I love into the power of their enemies.
8 My chosen people have turned against me; like a lion in the forest they have roared at me, and so I hate them.
9 My chosen people are like a bird attacked from all sides by hawks. Call the wild animals to come and join in the feast!
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.