Jeremiah The Crisis (Within and Without)

Lesson #2 for October 10, 2015

Scriptures: [Judges 2:1-15; 1 Kings 12:26-31; 2 Chronicles 33:9-10; Jeremiah 2:1-28; 5:2-3[i]].

1.    The history of ancient Israel from the exodus to the exile is a very sad one. They seemed to go from one crisis to another, starting almost at Mount Sinai. And the general trend was downward-separating themselves further and further from God. In our lesson for today, Jeremiah was at the bitter end of that story. Babylon was about to conquer Jerusalem for the first time. But, none of that would have happened if Israel/Judah had remained faithful to God. By what mechanism could Israel/Judah have avoided the flood of invading troops from Babylon-and Assyria earlier? Would Israel/Judah have been a major war power, able to resist those forces? Or, would the “hornets” and angels have kept the other nations away? Or, would Israel/Judah have converted the world to follow God and there would have been no war? So, what was it that led Judah down that terrible path of sin and degradation? No doubt, there were several factors; but, even at the end, they were not willing to admit that they had any problems at all!

2.    Read Judges 2:1-15ii. If they had remained faithful to God after leaving Egypt, they could have entered the land of Canaan in a little more than one year, soon after building the sanctuary at the foot of Mount Sinai. But, as a result of their terrible rebellion, they ended up wandering 40 years in the wilderness until one complete generation had died. And in the book of Judges, we see that the process of rebellion continued even after they were in the land of Canaan. A careful reading of Judges 2 & 3 is one of the best descriptions in the entire Bible of how God responded to Satan-sometimes called God’s wrath. For a more detailed discussion of God’s wrath and its consequences-separation from God and the ultimate death-see “The Final End of Sin and Sinners,” pp. 31-40 on our website: www.theox.org. Go to “New & Resources” then “Sources / Authors” then “Ellen White” and look for “The Final End of Sin and Sinners.”

3.    After the children of Israel had rebelliously demanded a king, God appointed for them the kind of king they wanted-Saul. He deteriorated from the time of becoming king until in a desperate state of depression, he consulted the Devil, masquerading as Samuel the night before his death on Mount Gilboa. Then, God placed David on the throne, and there was a period of relative prosperity. Solomon began his reign on a glorious note, building the beautiful temple in Jerusalem. But, with his demand for more and more money, gold, and silver, and his hundreds of wives and concubines, things deteriorated once again. When Solomon died, the northern tribes refused to remain loyal to his son, Rehoboam.

The tribes had long suffered grievous wrongs under the oppressive measures of their former ruler. The extravagance of Solomon’s reign during his apostasy had led him to tax the people heavily and to require of them much menial service.—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, pp. 88.3-89.0.

4.    From that point on, it seems that they could only rebel against the Lord. What was going on in that history? Rehoboam lost most of his kingdom to Jeroboam. Was the Devil really just incredibly more persuasive with his false religions than God was with the truth? Were the Israelites just incredibly unsuccessful at convincing their children to be faithful to God? How successful have we been at convincing our children to remain faithful to the Seventh-day Adventist Church? Why are we still here more than 170 years after the Great Disappointment of 1844? The Israelites whom we criticize so much were in the wilderness for “only” 40 years. Is that a fair comparison/contrast? How committed are our children to the truths that started our church and especially to the teachings of Ellen G. White?

5.    As we know, King Jeroboam the new king of the northern kingdom of Israel was afraid that if his citizens continued to worship at the temple in Jerusalem, they might return their loyalty to the descendants of David. So, he decided to build two places of worship: one in Dan and one in Bethel where he set up golden bull calves, telling his people that those were the gods that had brought them out of Egypt! (1 Kings 12:28) Isn’t that what Aaron said about the golden calves he made? All Jeroboam cared about was his own reputation.

The apostasy introduced during Jeroboam’s reign became more and more marked, until finally it resulted in the utter ruin of the kingdom of Israel.—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 107.3.

6.    Finally, in 722 B.C., Shalmaneser and Sargon II, kings of Assyria, put an end to the country of Israel and scattered its inhabitants throughout their empire. And what problems led to that result? Read 2 Kings 17:7-23iii. It is hard to image such corruption!

7.    Did the southern kingdom of Judah learn anything from the demise of the northern kingdom of Israel? Read [2 Chronicles 33:9-10,21-23; 2 Kings 24:8-9,18-19]iv. During the times of those kings in both the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom, God sent multiple prophets to try to warn them of what was coming. That was especially true just before they were conquered-the northern kingdom by Assyria and the southern kingdom by Babylon. As we mentioned in our last lesson, seven different prophets were trying to convince the people of Judah not to rebel against God and go into Babylonian exile.

8.    Why is it that as one reads the stories of those two nations, people never seemed to think for themselves? The king would be evil, and all the people followed his example. Of course, we know that there were a few who remained faithful.

9.    Read Jeremiah 2:1-28[v], especially verses 4-5, and 8. What do these verses tell us about this sad history? At the beginning, God treated them like His very own bride. He gave them every possible religious advantage when bringing them out of Egypt-teaching them how to worship Him faithfully at Mount Sinai; but, then the rebellion began. And the results are summarized in verse 5: “They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves.” Even the priests who were supposed to be the spiritual leaders and the “prophets,” as well, turned to the worship of Baal. What did they think Baal would do for them? What did Baal do for them?

10.    The nations are pictured as hopelessly attracted to foreign leaders and foreign gods. In the southern kingdom of Judah, the situation improved temporarily under Hezekiah and later under Josiah. But, very quickly, the people reverted to even worse apostasy.

11.    Read Jeremiah 2:13vi. What is implied by this metaphor of broken cisterns? God has always tried to provide His people with plenteous supplies of “living water”; but, so often, they have made for themselves “broken cisterns” that could not hold any water at all.

12.    What actually happens when people worship worthless things? The word translated worthlessness in Jeremiah 2:5vii is also translated as vanity, a vapor, or even breath-things which have very temporary existence and fade into nothingness. So, what was really happening in this process?

It is a law both of the intellectual and the spiritual nature that by beholding we become changed. The mind gradually adapts itself to the subjects upon which it is allowed to dwell. It becomes assimilated to that which it is accustomed to love and reverence. Man will never rise higher than his standard of purity or goodness or truth. If self is his loftiest ideal, he will never attain to anything more exalted. Rather, he will constantly sink lower and lower. The grace of God alone has power to exalt man. Left to himself, his course must inevitably be downward.—Ellen G. White, Great Controversy, p. 555.1. [Bold type is added.]

13.    We do not have very much detail about what was going on in those nations just before their demise. But, with the help of archaeology, we can put together a general picture.

14.    Read Jeremiah 27:6viii. Why would God call Nebuchadnezzar, His servant? Was it that Nebuchadnezzar and his nation were more faithful to God than Judah? Or, Israel? Not at all! But, God could no longer protect Israel, and later Judah, because of their sins against Him. Earlier in history, Egypt had been the predominant power. As Egypt’s power was waning, Assyria rose to be the dominant power. Then, as Assyria was waning, Egypt sought to regain its dominance. However, at the famous Battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C., Egypt was crushed, and Babylon became the new world power. Almost immediately after the Carchemish battle, Nebuchadnezzar and his troops marched down into Judah and conquered it, carrying off Daniel and his friends. Nebuchadnezzar told Jehoiakim, then king of Judah (609-598 B.C.), that if he would remain faithful and pay tribute, things would go well. But, the citizens of Judah were not only rebellious against God who told them to remain faithful to Babylon, but also they were rebellious against Babylon.

15.    Read Jeremiah 25:8-12; 29:10ix. The country of Judah was given those two clear prophecies that they would be servants to the Babylonians for 70 years. But, that, of course, was a very unpopular message. Other people arose, pretending to be prophets, saying that Judah would regain its freedom in as little as two years. (Jeremiah 28:3)

16.    In light of what we know so far, what do you think was the response of the people to those two different messages? Of course, they chose to believe what they wanted to believe. Why do people choose to believe what they want to believe, sometimes despite mounting evidence against it? How should we decide who to believe? And why?

17.    How often do we choose to believe something that we want to believe, even something that is contrary to the teachings of the Bible and has been proven to be false? Read Jeremiah 5:1-3[x]. Had things really deteriorated to the point where God could not find a single person in Jerusalem who wanted to do what was right? Even a priest? Or, prophet? That might remind us of the story of Diogenes who in the 4th century walked around the marketplace in Greece, looking for an honest man! It should also remind us of Abraham negotiating with God over Sodom and Gomorrah as recorded in Genesis 18. Try to imagine what kind of thinking was going on in Jerusalem in Jeremiah’s day.

18.    Read Jeremiah 7:1-4,19xi. The people of Judah were very proud of their beautiful Temple of Solomon. They believed that since God had helped and guided in the construction of that beautiful building, God would never allow it to be destroyed. So, they believed that if they remained close to that temple and at least pretended to worship there, they would be safe!

19.    We as the Seventh-day Adventist Church have been enormously blessed by God. We not only had pioneers who carefully and prayerfully studied the Bible with the one goal of making sure they were following the truths in the Bible as they established their new church, but we also have the wonderful advice and counsel of Ellen White to guide us. But, are we making the same mistake that the ancient Israelites did?

20.    Read Judges 17:6 and 21:25xii. Are we doing what is right in our own eyes? Contrast Deuteronomy 13:18. Are we willing to give up our selfish ways and not only admit but also actually live according to God’s plan for our lives? As we are beginning to study the story of Jeremiah, do you think the people of Judah in his day actually thought they were doing what was right?

21.    As you review the history from the exodus to the exile, what do you think about God’s gracious and repeated forgiveness of His children? Is God having to do that today as well? Review the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church as you know it. Review your personal history and the history of your local church. What can we learn from doing that? How do you think God felt after the people of Israel and Judah disappointed Him time and again? What do you think God would say about the Seventh-day Adventist Church today if we had a Jeremiah in our midst? How did we treat the prophet we did have?

We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.—Ellen G. White, General Conference Bulletin, January 29, 1893 par. 5; General Conference Bulletin, February 20, 1899 par. 16; Life Sketches, p. 196; RH, October 12, 1905 par. 22; TM 31.1; Selected Messages, book 3, p. 162.3; LDE 72.1;YRP 229.4.

22.    The problem with this passage is that it is not the leading of God that has caused us problems, but rather, our failure to follow God’s leading! Sometimes, it is useful to contrast how God views things with the way the world views them. The history of King Omri (885874 B.C.) is a useful example. It is told in the Bible in a few short verses (1 Kings 16:21-28xiii) and clearly points out how evil he was. But, by contrast, if you look at the history of Omri as reconstructed from archaeology and extra-biblical literature, the name of Omri was associated with the northern kingdom of Israel for 150 years. Omri was still recognized as the ancestral and spiritual leader of the nation of Israel by the nations around Israel as documented in: 1) the Mesha Stele also known as the Moabite Stone (840 B.C.) which was reassembled and is on display in the Louvre Museum in Paris; 2) the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III (827 B.C.) found in northern Iraq and on display in the British Museum in London; and 3) even later in two other inscriptions from Assyrian kings.

23.    We sometimes suggest that Ellen White is our spiritual leader. Is that still true? Or, are we following a different group of leaders just as the children of Israel did? If you have not had a chance to do so yet, review the story of Israel’s demise as recorded in 2 Kings 17:7-23xiv. How could people with all the guidance God had given them end up sacrificing their own children to pagan idols? Why did the sins of Jeroboam in establishing those two worship sites with golden bull calves have such a lasting effect on the northern tribes of Israel? Remember that Jeroboam was rebuked by God and that Judean prophet at the establishment of those worship sites. See 1 Kings 13xv.

24.    Finally, in the days of Isaiah and Jeremiah, the rebellion of God’s people was described as if they were “playing the harlot” and becoming prostitutes. They were acting very shamefully, even described as going around naked.

25.    Read Jeremiah 2:26-27xvi. How could they have reached the place where they would say to a tree, “You are my father”? Or, to a stone, “You gave birth to me”?

26.    Did any of those false gods help them at all in times of crisis? Where will our help come from as we face our future impending crisis?

i-Judges 2:The Angel of the Lord at Bochim

2 The angel of the LORD went from Gilgal to Bochim and said to the Israelites, “I took you out of Egypt and brought you to the land that I promised to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you. 2 You must not make any covenant with the people who live in this land. You must tear down their altars.’ But you have not done what I told you. You have done just the opposite! 3 So I tell you now that I will not drive these people out as you advance. They will be your enemies,[a] and you will be trapped by the worship of their gods.” 4 When the angel had said this, all the people of Israel began to cry, 5 and that is why the place is called Bochim.[b] There they offered sacrifices to the LORD.

The Death of Joshua

6 Joshua sent the people of Israel on their way, and each man went to take possession of his own share of the land. 7 As long as Joshua lived, the people of Israel served the LORD, and even after his death they continued to do so as long as the leaders were alive who had seen for themselves all the great things that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 The LORD's servant Joshua son of Nun died at the age of a hundred and ten. 9 He was buried in his own part of the land at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash. 10 That whole generation also died, and the next generation forgot the LORD and what he had done for Israel.

Israel Stops Worshiping the LORD

11 Then the people of Israel sinned against the LORD and began to serve the Baals. 12 They stopped worshiping the LORD, the God of their ancestors, the God who had brought them out of Egypt, and they began to worship other gods, the gods of the peoples around them. They bowed down to them and made the LORD angry. 13 They stopped worshiping the LORD and served the Baals and the Astartes. 14 And so the LORD became furious with Israel and let raiders attack and rob them. He let the enemies all around overpower them, and the Israelites could no longer protect themselves. 15 Every time they would go into battle, the LORD was against them, just as he had said he would be. They were in great distress.

1 Kings 12:26-27 He said to himself, “As things are now, if my people go to Jerusalem and offer sacrifices to the LORD in the Temple there, they will transfer their allegiance to King Rehoboam of Judah and will kill me.”

28 After thinking it over, he made two bull-calves of gold and said to his people, “You have been going long enough to Jerusalem to worship. People of Israel, here are your gods who brought you out of Egypt!” 29 He placed one of the gold bull-calves in Bethel and the other in Dan. 30 And so the people sinned, going to worship in Bethel and in Dan.[a] 31 Jeroboam also built places of worship on hilltops, and he chose priests from families who were not of the tribe of Levi.

2 Chronicles 33:9 Manasseh led the people of Judah to commit even greater sins than those committed by the nations whom the LORD had driven out of the land as his people advanced.

Manasseh Repents

10 Although the LORD warned Manasseh and his people, they refused to listen.

Jeremiah 2:God's Care for Israel

2 The LORD told me 2 to proclaim this message to everyone in Jerusalem.

“I remember how faithful you were when you were young,

how you loved me when we were first married;

you followed me through the desert,

through a land that had not been planted.

3 Israel, you belonged to me alone;

you were my sacred possession.

I sent suffering and disaster

on everyone who hurt you.

I, the LORD, have spoken.”

The Sin of Israel's Ancestors

4 Listen to the LORD's message, you descendants of Jacob, you tribes of Israel. 5 The LORD says:

“What accusation did your ancestors bring against me?

What made them turn away from me?

They worshiped worthless idols

and became worthless themselves.

6 They did not care about me,

even though I rescued them from Egypt

and led them through the wilderness:

a land of deserts and sand pits,

a dry and dangerous land

where no one lives

and no one will even travel.

7 I brought them into a fertile land,

to enjoy its harvests and its other good things.

But instead they ruined my land;

they defiled the country I had given them.

8 The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’

My own priests did not know me.

The rulers rebelled against me;

the prophets spoke in the name of Baal

and worshiped useless idols.

The LORD's Case against His People

2“And so I, the LORD, will state my case against my people again.

I will bring charges against their descendants.

10 Go west to the island of Cyprus,

and send someone eastward to the land of Kedar.

You will see that nothing like this has ever happened before.

11 No other nation has ever changed its gods,

even though they were not real.

But my people have exchanged me,

the God who has brought them honor,

for gods that can do nothing for them.

12 And so I command the sky to shake with horror,

to be amazed and astonished,

13     for my people have committed two sins:

they have turned away from me,

the spring of fresh water,

and they have dug cisterns,

cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all.

The Results of Israel's Unfaithfulness

14 “Israel is not a slave;

he was not born into slavery.

Why then do his enemies hunt him down?

15 They have roared at him like lions;

they have made his land a desert,

and his towns lie in ruins, completely abandoned.

16 Yes, the people of Memphis and Tahpanhes

have cracked his skull.

17 Israel, you brought this on yourself

You deserted me, the LORD your God,

while I was leading you along the way.

18 What do you think you will gain by going to Egypt

to drink water from the Nile?

What do you think you will gain by going to Assyria

to drink water from the Euphrates?

19 Your own evil will punish you,

and your turning from me will condemn you.

You will learn how bitter and wrong it is

to abandon me, the LORD your God,

and no longer to remain faithful to me.

I, the Sovereign LORD Almighty, have spoken.”

Israel Refuses to Worship the LORD

20 The Sovereign LORD says,

“Israel, long ago you rejected my authority;

you refused to obey me and worship me.

On every high hill

and under every green tree

you worshiped fertility gods.

21 I planted you like a choice vine

from the very best seed.

But look what you have become!

You are like a rotten, worthless vine.

22 Even if you washed with the strongest soap,

I would still see the stain of your guilt.

23 How can you say you have not defiled yourself,

that you have never worshiped Baal?

Look how you sinned in the valley;

see what you have done.

You are like a wild camel in heat,

running around loose,

24     rushing into the desert.[a]

When she is in heat, who can control her?

No male that wants her has to trouble himself;

she is always available in mating season.

25 Israel, don't wear your feet out,

or let your throat become dry

from chasing after other gods.

But you say, ‘No! I can't turn back.

I have loved foreign gods

and will go after them.’”

Israel Deserves to Be Punished

26 The LORD says, “Just as a thief is disgraced when caught, so all you people of Israel will be disgraced—your kings and officials, your priests and prophets. 27 You will all be disgraced—you that say that a tree is your father and that a rock is your mother. This will happen because you turned away from me instead of turning to me. But when you are in trouble, you ask me to come and save you.

28 “Where are the gods that you made for yourselves? When you are in trouble, let them save you—if they can! Judah, you have as many gods as you have cities.

5:2Even though you claim to worship the LORD,

you do not mean what you say.

3 Surely the LORD looks for faithfulness.

He struck you, but you paid no attention;

he crushed you, but you refused to learn.

You were stubborn and would not turn from your sins.

ii-Judges 2:The Angel of the Lord at Bochim

2 The angel of the LORD went from Gilgal to Bochim and said to the Israelites, “I took you out of Egypt and brought you to the land that I promised to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you. 2 You must not make any covenant with the people who live in this land. You must tear down their altars.’ But you have not done what I told you. You have done just the opposite! 3 So I tell you now that I will not drive these people out as you advance. They will be your enemies,[a] and you will be trapped by the worship of their gods.” 4 When the angel had said this, all the people of Israel began to cry, 5 and that is why the place is called Bochim.[b] There they offered sacrifices to the LORD.

The Death of Joshua

6 Joshua sent the people of Israel on their way, and each man went to take possession of his own share of the land. 7 As long as Joshua lived, the people of Israel served the LORD, and even after his death they continued to do so as long as the leaders were alive who had seen for themselves all the great things that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 The LORD's servant Joshua son of Nun died at the age of a hundred and ten. 9 He was buried in his own part of the land at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash. 10 That whole generation also died, and the next generation forgot the LORD and what he had done for Israel.

Israel Stops Worshiping the LORD

11 Then the people of Israel sinned against the LORD and began to serve the Baals. 12 They stopped worshiping the LORD, the God of their ancestors, the God who had brought them out of Egypt, and they began to worship other gods, the gods of the peoples around them. They bowed down to them and made the LORD angry. 13 They stopped worshiping the LORD and served the Baals and the Astartes. 14 And so the LORD became furious with Israel and let raiders attack and rob them. He let the enemies all around overpower them, and the Israelites could no longer protect themselves. 15 Every time they would go into battle, the LORD was against them, just as he had said he would be. They were in great distress.

iii-2 Kings 17:7 Samaria fell because the Israelites sinned against the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the king of Egypt and had led them out of Egypt. They worshiped other gods, 8 followed the customs of the people whom the LORD had driven out as his people advanced, and adopted customs introduced by the kings of Israel.[a] 9 The Israelites did[b] things that the LORD their God disapproved of. They built pagan places of worship in all their towns, from the smallest village to the largest city. 10 On all the hills and under every shady tree they put up stone pillars and images of the goddess Asherah, 11 and they burned incense on all the pagan altars, following the practice of the people whom the LORD had driven out of the land. They aroused the LORD's anger with all their wicked deeds 12 and disobeyed the LORD's command not to worship idols.

13 The LORD had sent his messengers and prophets to warn Israel and Judah: “Abandon your evil ways and obey my commands, which are contained in the Law I gave to your ancestors and which I handed on to you through my servants the prophets.” 14 But they would not obey; they were stubborn like their ancestors, who had not trusted in the LORD their God. 15 They refused to obey his instructions, they did not keep the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they disregarded his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves, and they followed the customs of the surrounding nations, disobeying the LORD's command not to imitate them. 16 They broke all the laws of the LORD their God and made two metal bull-calves to worship; they also made an image of the goddess Asherah, worshiped the stars, and served the god Baal. 17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters as burnt offerings to pagan gods; they consulted mediums and fortunetellers, and they devoted themselves completely to doing what is wrong in the LORD's sight, and so aroused his anger. 18 The LORD was angry with the Israelites and banished them from his sight, leaving only the kingdom of Judah.

19 But even the people of Judah did not obey the laws of the LORD their God; they imitated the customs adopted by the people of Israel. 20 The LORD rejected all the Israelites, punishing them and handing them over to cruel enemies until at last he had banished them from his sight.

21 After the LORD had separated Israel from Judah, the Israelites made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam caused them to abandon the LORD and led them into terrible sins. 22 They followed Jeroboam and continued to practice all the sins he had committed, 23 until at last the LORD banished them from his sight, as he had warned through his servants the prophets that he would do. So the people of Israel were taken into exile to Assyria, where they still live.

iv-2 Chronicles 33:9 Manasseh led the people of Judah to commit even greater sins than those committed by the nations whom the LORD had driven out of the land as his people advanced.

21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for two years. 22 Like his father Manasseh, he sinned against the LORD, and he worshiped the idols that his father had worshiped. 23 But unlike his father, he did not become humble and turn to the LORD; he was even more sinful than his father had been.

2 Kings 24:8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for three months. His mother was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan from Jerusalem. 9 Following the example of his father, Jehoiachin sinned against the LORD.

18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from the city of Libnah. 19 King Zedekiah sinned against the LORD, just as King Jehoiakim had done.

v-Jeremiah 2:1 The LORD told me 2 to proclaim this message to everyone in Jerusalem.

“I remember how faithful you were when you were young,

how you loved me when we were first married;

you followed me through the desert,

through a land that had not been planted.

3 Israel, you belonged to me alone;

you were my sacred possession.

I sent suffering and disaster

on everyone who hurt you.

I, the LORD, have spoken.”

The Sin of Israel's Ancestors

4 Listen to the LORD's message, you descendants of Jacob, you tribes of Israel. 5 The LORD says:

“What accusation did your ancestors bring against me?

What made them turn away from me?

They worshiped worthless idols

and became worthless themselves.

6 They did not care about me,

even though I rescued them from Egypt

and led them through the wilderness:

a land of deserts and sand pits,

a dry and dangerous land

where no one lives

and no one will even travel.

7 I brought them into a fertile land,

to enjoy its harvests and its other good things.

But instead they ruined my land;

they defiled the country I had given them.

8 The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’

My own priests did not know me.

The rulers rebelled against me;

the prophets spoke in the name of Baal

and worshiped useless idols.

The LORD's Case against His People

9 “And so I, the LORD, will state my case against my people again.

I will bring charges against their descendants.

10 Go west to the island of Cyprus,

and send someone eastward to the land of Kedar.

You will see that nothing like this has ever happened before.

11 No other nation has ever changed its gods,

even though they were not real.

But my people have exchanged me,

the God who has brought them honor,

for gods that can do nothing for them.

12 And so I command the sky to shake with horror,

to be amazed and astonished,

13     for my people have committed two sins:

they have turned away from me,

the spring of fresh water,

and they have dug cisterns,

cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all.

The Results of Israel's Unfaithfulness

14 “Israel is not a slave;

he was not born into slavery.

Why then do his enemies hunt him down?

15 They have roared at him like lions;

they have made his land a desert,

and his towns lie in ruins, completely abandoned.

16 Yes, the people of Memphis and Tahpanhes

have cracked his skull.

17 Israel, you brought this on yourself

You deserted me, the LORD your God,

while I was leading you along the way.

18 What do you think you will gain by going to Egypt

to drink water from the Nile?

What do you think you will gain by going to Assyria

to drink water from the Euphrates?

19 Your own evil will punish you,

and your turning from me will condemn you.

You will learn how bitter and wrong it is

to abandon me, the LORD your God,

and no longer to remain faithful to me.

I, the Sovereign LORD Almighty, have spoken.”

Israel Refuses to Worship the LORD

20 The Sovereign LORD says,

“Israel, long ago you rejected my authority;

you refused to obey me and worship me.

On every high hill

and under every green tree

you worshiped fertility gods.

21 I planted you like a choice vine

from the very best seed.

But look what you have become!

You are like a rotten, worthless vine.

22 Even if you washed with the strongest soap,

I would still see the stain of your guilt.

23 How can you say you have not defiled yourself,

that you have never worshiped Baal?

Look how you sinned in the valley;

see what you have done.

You are like a wild camel in heat,

running around loose,

24     rushing into the desert.[a]

When she is in heat, who can control her?

No male that wants her has to trouble himself;

she is always available in mating season.

25 Israel, don't wear your feet out,

or let your throat become dry

from chasing after other gods.

But you say, ‘No! I can't turn back.

I have loved foreign gods

and will go after them.’”

Israel Deserves to Be Punished

26 The LORD says, “Just as a thief is disgraced when caught, so all you people of Israel will be disgraced—your kings and officials, your priests and prophets. 27 You will all be disgraced—you that say that a tree is your father and that a rock is your mother. This will happen because you turned away from me instead of turning to me. But when you are in trouble, you ask me to come and save you.

28 “Where are the gods that you made for yourselves? When you are in trouble, let them save you—if they can! Judah, you have as many gods as you have cities.

vi-Jeremiah 2:

13     for my people have committed two sins:

they have turned away from me,

the spring of fresh water,

and they have dug cisterns,

cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all.

vii-Jeremiah 2:5(GNT)

5 The LORD says:

“What accusation did your ancestors bring against me?

What made them turn away from me?

They worshiped worthless idols

and became worthless themselves.

viii-Jeremiah 27:6 I am the one who has placed all these nations under the power of my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, and I have made even the wild animals serve him.

ix-Jeremiah 25:8 “So then, because you would not listen to him, the LORD Almighty says, 9 ‘I am going to send for all the peoples from the north and for my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia. I am going to bring them to fight against Judah and its inhabitants and against all the neighboring nations. I am going to destroy this nation and its neighbors and leave them in ruins forever, a terrible and shocking sight. I, the LORD, have spoken. 10 I will silence their shouts of joy and gladness and the happy sounds of wedding feasts. They will have no oil for their lamps, and there will be no more grain. 11 This whole land will be left in ruins and will be a shocking sight, and the neighboring nations will serve the king of Babylonia for seventy years. 12 After that I will punish Babylonia and its king for their sin. I will destroy that country and leave it in ruins forever.

29:10 “The LORD says, ‘When Babylonia's seventy years are over, I will show my concern for you and keep my promise to bring you back home.

x-Jeremiah 5:(GNT)

The Sin of Jerusalem

5 People of Jerusalem, run through your streets!

Look around! See for yourselves!

Search the marketplaces!

Can you find one person

who does what is right

and tries to be faithful to God?

If you can, the LORD will forgive Jerusalem.

2 Even though you claim to worship the LORD,

you do not mean what you say.

3 Surely the LORD looks for faithfulness.

He struck you, but you paid no attention;

he crushed you, but you refused to learn.

You were stubborn and would not turn from your sins.

xi-Jeremiah 7:Jeremiah Preaches in the Temple

7 1-3 The LORD sent me to the gate of the Temple where the people of Judah went in to worship. He told me to stand there and announce what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, had to say to them: “Change the way you are living and the things you are doing, and I will let you go on living here. 4 Stop believing those deceitful words, ‘We are safe! This is the LORD's Temple, this is the LORD's Temple, this is the LORD's Temple!’

19 But am I really the one they are hurting? No, they are hurting themselves and bringing shame on themselves.

xii-Judges 17:6 There was no king in Israel at that time; everyone did whatever they wanted.

21:25 There was no king in Israel at that time. Everyone did whatever they pleased.

xiii-1 Kings 16:King Omri of Israel

21 The people of Israel were divided: some of them wanted to make Tibni son of Ginath king, and the others were in favor of Omri. 22 In the end, those in favor of Omri won out; Tibni died and Omri became king. 23 So in the thirty-first year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he ruled for twelve years. The first six years he ruled in Tirzah, 24 and then he bought the hill of Samaria for six thousand pieces of silver from a man named Shemer. Omri fortified the hill, built a town there, and named it Samaria, after Shemer, the former owner of the hill.

25 Omri sinned against the LORD more than any of his predecessors. 26 Like Jeroboam before him, he aroused the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, by his sins and by leading the people into sin and idolatry. 27 Everything else that Omri did and all his accomplishments are recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel. 28 Omri died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab succeeded him as king.

xiv-2 Kings 17:7 Samaria fell because the Israelites sinned against the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the king of Egypt and had led them out of Egypt. They worshiped other gods, 8 followed the customs of the people whom the LORD had driven out as his people advanced, and adopted customs introduced by the kings of Israel.[a] 9 The Israelites did[b] things that the LORD their God disapproved of. They built pagan places of worship in all their towns, from the smallest village to the largest city. 10 On all the hills and under every shady tree they put up stone pillars and images of the goddess Asherah, 11 and they burned incense on all the pagan altars, following the practice of the people whom the LORD had driven out of the land. They aroused the LORD's anger with all their wicked deeds 12 and disobeyed the LORD's command not to worship idols.

13 The LORD had sent his messengers and prophets to warn Israel and Judah: “Abandon your evil ways and obey my commands, which are contained in the Law I gave to your ancestors and which I handed on to you through my servants the prophets.” 14 But they would not obey; they were stubborn like their ancestors, who had not trusted in the LORD their God. 15 They refused to obey his instructions, they did not keep the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they disregarded his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves, and they followed the customs of the surrounding nations, disobeying the LORD's command not to imitate them. 16 They broke all the laws of the LORD their God and made two metal bull-calves to worship; they also made an image of the goddess Asherah, worshiped the stars, and served the god Baal. 17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters as burnt offerings to pagan gods; they consulted mediums and fortunetellers, and they devoted themselves completely to doing what is wrong in the LORD's sight, and so aroused his anger. 18 The LORD was angry with the Israelites and banished them from his sight, leaving only the kingdom of Judah.

19 But even the people of Judah did not obey the laws of the LORD their God; they imitated the customs adopted by the people of Israel. 20 The LORD rejected all the Israelites, punishing them and handing them over to cruel enemies until at last he had banished them from his sight.

21 After the LORD had separated Israel from Judah, the Israelites made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam caused them to abandon the LORD and led them into terrible sins. 22 They followed Jeroboam and continued to practice all the sins he had committed, 23 until at last the LORD banished them from his sight, as he had warned through his servants the prophets that he would do. So the people of Israel were taken into exile to Assyria, where they still live.

xv-1 Kings 13:1 At the LORD's command a prophet from Judah went to Bethel and arrived there as Jeroboam stood at the altar to offer the sacrifice. 2 Following the LORD's command, the prophet denounced the altar: “O altar, altar, this is what the LORD says: A child, whose name will be Josiah, will be born to the family of David. He will slaughter on you the priests serving at the pagan altars who offer sacrifices on you, and he will burn human bones on you.” 3 And the prophet went on to say, “This altar will fall apart, and the ashes on it will be scattered. Then you will know that the LORD has spoken through me.”

4 When King Jeroboam heard this, he pointed at him and ordered, “Seize that man!” At once the king's arm became paralyzed so that he couldn't pull it back. 5 The altar suddenly fell apart and the ashes spilled to the ground, as the prophet had predicted in the name of the LORD. 6 King Jeroboam said to the prophet, “Please pray for me to the LORD your God, and ask him to heal my arm!”

The prophet prayed to the LORD, and the king's arm was healed. 7 Then the king said to the prophet, “Come home with me and have something to eat. I will reward you for what you have done.”

8 The prophet answered, “Even if you gave me half of your wealth, I would not go with you or eat or drink anything with you. 9 The LORD has commanded me not to eat or drink a thing, and not to return home the same way I came.” 10 So he did not go back the same way he had come, but by another road.

The Old Prophet of Bethel

11 At that time there was an old prophet living in Bethel. His sons[a] came and told him what the prophet from Judah had done in Bethel that day and what he had said to King Jeroboam. 12 “Which way did he go when he left?” the old prophet asked them. They showed him[b] the road 13 and he told them to saddle his donkey for him. They did so, and he rode off 14 down the road after the prophet from Judah and found him sitting under an oak tree. “Are you the prophet from Judah?” he asked.

“I am,” the man answered.

15 “Come home and have a meal with me,” he said.

16 But the prophet from Judah answered, “I can't go home with you or accept your hospitality. And I won't eat or drink anything with you here, 17 because the LORD has commanded me not to eat or drink a thing, and not to return home the same way I came.”

18 Then the old prophet from Bethel said to him, “I, too, am a prophet just like you, and at the LORD's command an angel told me to take you home with me and offer you my hospitality.” But the old prophet was lying.

19 So the prophet from Judah went home with the old prophet and had a meal with him. 20 As they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the old prophet, 21 and he cried out to the prophet from Judah, “The LORD says that you disobeyed him and did not do what he commanded. 22 Instead, you returned and ate a meal in a place he had ordered you not to eat in. Because of this you will be killed, and your body will not be buried in your family grave.”

23 After they had finished eating, the old prophet saddled the donkey for the prophet from Judah, 24 who rode off. On the way a lion met him and killed him. His body lay on the road, and the donkey and the lion stood beside it. 25 Some men passed by and saw the body on the road, with the lion standing near by. They went on into Bethel and reported what they had seen.

26 When the old prophet heard about it, he said, “That is the prophet who disobeyed the LORD's command! And so the LORD sent the lion to attack and kill him, just as the LORD said he would.” 27 Then he said to his sons, “Saddle my donkey for me.” They did so, 28 and he rode off and found the prophet's body lying on the road, with the donkey and the lion still standing by it. The lion had not eaten the body or attacked the donkey. 29 The old prophet picked up the body, put it on the donkey, and brought it back to Bethel to mourn over it and bury it. 30 He buried it in his own family grave, and he and his sons mourned over it, saying, “Oh my brother, my brother!” 31 After the burial the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in this grave and lay my body next to his. 32 The words that he spoke at the LORD's command against the altar in Bethel and against all the places of worship in the towns of Samaria will surely come true.”

Jeroboam's Fatal Sin

33 King Jeroboam of Israel still did not turn from his evil ways but continued to choose priests from ordinary families to serve at the altars he had built. He ordained as priest anyone who wanted to be one. 34 This sin on his part brought about the ruin and total destruction of his dynasty.

xvi-Jeremiah 2:Israel Deserves to Be Punished

26 The LORD says, “Just as a thief is disgraced when caught, so all you people of Israel will be disgraced—your kings and officials, your priests and prophets. 27 You will all be disgraced—you that say that a tree is your father and that a rock is your mother. This will happen because you turned away from me instead of turning to me. But when you are in trouble, you ask me to come and save you.

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