Jeremiah 1-3

Chapter 1

-Jeremiah's hometown of Anathoth was located about 3 miles north of Jerusalem in Palestine.
-Josiah, Jehoiakim, & Zedekiah all reigned as King of Judah at one time or another during the book's writing.
-It led up to the people of Jerusalem's exile.

Chapter 1, verse 5: Before I formed you in the wombe I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.

• A conversation between Jeremiah & the LORD begins here with Jeremiah stating that he's only a child, & the LORD stating he need not talk like that, not to be afraid, and the LORD's appointment of Jeremiah as a prophet & one who is to deliver His words as he is instructed.
• The LORD then tells Jeremiah about the judgment Judah is about to face from foreign kings & nations, and that these judgments are being carried out due to Judah's idolotry.
• The LORD then informs Jeremiah that he shouldn't be terrified by the prospect of warning God's people. The LORD promises to remain with Jeremiah & to rescue him from harm.

Chapter 2

Verses 2-3: I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert, through a land not sown. Israel was holy to the LORD the firstfruits of his harvest; all who devoured her were held guilty and disaster overtook them, declares the LORD.

• The words of the LORD were a look back at the faithfulness Judah had shown to God & how He protected them from foreign enemies.
• The LORD uses the illustration of marriage to describe this faithfulness.

Verse 6: They did not ask, "Where is the LORD who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and rifts, a land of drought and darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?

• Here God is dismayed by Judah's newly found self-sufficiency. He speaks of where He has had such a huge hand in delivering them from difficult trials.

Verse 8: The priests did not ask, "Where is the LORD?" Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols.

• Here, even those who were supposed to be Spiritual Leaders among the community are exposed for their failings & decision not to call on God.
• The leaders appear to have gotten what they wanted from God: recongnition, power, & prestige from their God-ordained titles.

Verse 19: Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the LORD you God and have no awe of me, declares the LORD.

• God lets His people know that their abandonment of Him will result in punishment.
• It's also interesting that He remarks that they "have no awe" of Him. I'm afraid we fall into this quite often. The lack of reverence I sometimes display would be stunning if I were to look back at some of my interactions with God. He's the Creator of the universe & our LORD & SAVIOR, but sometimes it almost seems like we who purport to believe this really don't. Father God, please forgive me for my disrespect of You.

Verse 20: Long ago you broke off your yoke and tore off your bonds; you said, "I will not serve you!" Indeed, on every high hill and under every spreading tree you lay down as a prostitute.

• Just a quick note about this: What does the yoke mean in this regard given the context of Jesus' words that His yoke is easy?

Verse 27: They say to wood, "You are my father," and to stone, "You gave me birth." They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say, "Come and save us!"

• Undoubtedly, we are all guilty of this. It's amazing how reluctant I am to think of God, much less pray to Him when things are going well. Then upon the first inkling of trouble where it involves personal agony (usually due to embarrassment), I call on Him to keep my actions hidden.
• I believe also that a distinction must be made between calling on the LORD when the trouble that prompts the prayer is related to temptation vs. when it is related to prideful deception.

Chapter 3:

Verse 3: Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame.

• Entanglement in sin causes the sinner to rationalize or even to put off the behavior so that any guilt might not take hold during the act.
• I believe these entanglements, especially for believers, can be looked at as Satanic attacks. We must pray continually in order to combat these attacks, and we must recognize that these attacks exist.

Verse 11: The LORD said to me, "Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah."

• I need to do a word study on faithless vs. faithful. Interesting too that in 2 Timothy 2:13, I believe, God says He will remain faithful to the faithless.

Verse 14: "Return faithless people," declares the LORD, "for I am your husband. I will choose you-one from a town and two from a clan-and bring you to Zion."

• Again, a reference to the LORD as Israel's husband.
• He's now decided to bring them back if they would only repent of their wrongdoing.
• He goes on to promise them leaders who will lead with knowledge & understaning.