Jeremiah 12:7

7 "I will turn my back on my people. I will desert my land. I love the people of Judah. In spite of that, I will hand them over to 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 says, "Suppose you have run in a race with other men. And suppose they have worn you out. Then how would you be able to race against horses? Suppose you feel safe only in open country. Then how would you get along in the bushes near the Jordan River?
6 Even your own family has turned against you. They have shouted loudly at you. They might say nice things about you. But do not trust them.
7 "I will turn my back on my people. I will desert my land. I love the people of Judah. In spite of that, I will hand them over to their enemies.
8 My land has become to me like a lion in the forest. It roars at me. So I hate it.
9 My own land has become like a spotted hawk. And other hawks surround it and attack it. Come, all of you wild animals! Gather together! Come together to eat up my land.
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