Jeremiah 3:3-13

3 So the rain has not come, and there have not been any spring rains. But your face still looks like the face of a prostitute. You refuse even to be ashamed of what you did.

4 Now you are calling to me, 'My father, you have been my friend since I was young.

5 Will you always be angry at me? Will your anger last forever?' Judah, you said this, but you did as much evil as you could!"

6 When King Josiah was ruling Judah, the Lord said to me, "Did you see what unfaithful Israel did? She was like a prostitute with her idols on every hill and under every green tree.

7 I said to myself, 'Israel will come back to me after she does this evil,' but she didn't come back. And Israel's wicked sister Judah saw what she did.

8 Judah saw that I divorced unfaithful Israel because of her adultery, but that didn't make Israel's wicked sister Judah afraid. She also went out and acted like a prostitute!

9 And she didn't care that she was acting like a prostitute. So she made her country unclean and was guilty of adultery, because she worshiped idols made of stone and wood.

10 Israel's wicked sister didn't even come back to me with her whole heart, but only pretended," says the Lord.

11 The Lord said to me, "Unfaithful Israel had a better excuse than wicked Judah.

12 Go and speak this message toward the north: 'Come back, unfaithful people of Israel,' says the Lord. 'I will stop being angry at you, because I am full of mercy,' says the Lord. 'I will not be angry with you forever.

13 All you have to do is admit your sin -- that you turned against the Lord your God and worshiped gods under every green tree and didn't obey me,'" says the Lord.

Jeremiah 3:3-13 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 3

In this chapter the sins of the people of Israel and Judah are exposed; particularly their idolatry, signified by playing the harlot; which is aggravated by the number of lovers or idols they had worshipped; by the many places where they had committed it; by their impudence in doing it; and by the bad consequence of it, showers of rain being withheld from them on that account, Jer 3:1-3 and the grace of God towards them is abundantly declared by frequent calls unto them to repent and turn to him, and this after putting them away, which is not usual, Jer 3:1,8, the Lord expostulates with them, and puts words into their mouths, what they should say to him, even after they had spoken and done as evil things as they could, Jer 3:4,5 the sin of Judah is particularly aggravated, by having seen what Israel, or the ten tribes, had done; their impenitence, notwithstanding the divine call; their going into captivity for their sin; and yet all this had no effect on Judah, to restrain them from the like sins, and to engage them to repentance; so that, of the two, the men of Judah were most to blame, Jer 3:6-11, wherefore the prophet is bid to go towards the north, where Babylon lay, and Israel were carried captive, and call upon them to return to the Lord, and proclaim his grace and mercy to them, only insisting upon an acknowledgment of their sins, their idolatry and disobedience, Jer 3:12,13 and next the call to them to return is repeated; to which they are encouraged by observing the relations, they stood in to him, which continued, by promising to bring a remnant of them to Zion, and give them pastors approved of by him, and profitable to them, Jer 3:14,15 which respect Gospel times, and the latter day, when the ceremonial law would be abrogated, Jer 3:16, the Gentiles called, Jer 3:17 and an entire agreement between Judah and Israel, Jer 3:18 and yet the Lord expresses a concern how he should reckon them as his children, and treat them as such, who had behaved so ill towards him; but his grace gets over the difficulties; finds out a way, by putting it into their mouths to call him their Father, and not turn away from him, Jer 3:19 and this, notwithstanding their great treachery to him, perversion of their ways, and forgetfulness of the Lord, Jer 3:20,21, and they are again exhorted to repent and turn, with a promise of healing their backslidings, which has such an effect upon them, as to engage them to come to him, Jer 3:22 acknowledging their salvation is only in him, and not in their idols; and that sin was the cause of all their calamities; and that shame and confusion of face belonged unto them on that account, Jer 3:23-25.