Jer 3:8 | KingComments | STEP | Here begins a new prophecy that continues through Jeremiah 6:30. This one is more comprehensive than the previous one, Jeremiah 2:1-3:5. It is spoken “in the days of Josiah the king” ( ). By then the ten tribes had been scattered for many decades, carried away by the Assyrians. In what period of King Josiah’s reign we are, is not told here. We are told in more detail about forsaking the LORD by both the northern ten tribe realm and the southern two tribe realm. Yet in between we find wonderful promises of restoration and blessing after their repentance and that the goodness of the LORD will still lead them, even if through the deepest tribulation. The LORD asks Jeremiah if he has seen “what faithless Israel did”. A prophet must be a keen observer and see what the LORD sees. The LORD tells him that He has seen what faithless Israel, the ten tribes, have done, how they have committed harlotry everywhere. He also tells Jeremiah what He said to her after all her faithlessness ( ). He called her to return to Him. And did she? No, she didn’t. What Israel has done and what the LORD has therefore done to faithless Israel has been observed by Judah, whom the LORD here calls “her treacherous sister Judah”. Has Israel’s behavior and what the LORD has done to her been a warning to Judah ( )? No, Judah has not been warned by Israel’s example. The LORD has had to conclude that His sending Israel away has made no impression on Judah. Judah was not frightened by it, but on the contrary went and was a harlot also. They are two sisters. With both of them the LORD has been in a marriage relationship. The older sister, Israel, He divorced, with a writ of divorce. Judah should have learned a lesson from that. Judah should have seen and taken to heart what happened to Israel in the judgment God had to bring upon them. It is important that we be warned by what we see in the lives of other believers (cf. ). If we do not learn from the follies of others, we are even greater fools than they are. We are no better and should not imagine that we are not as bad as those others. Let us not think that we do know our limits. We can say in pride that we do know how much we can drink without getting drunk or how fast we can drive without becoming reckless. Then we have made our self-control an idol. It is better to be convinced that we are weak and take to heart the warning: “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall” ( ). Because of Judah’s behavior, the holy land, the land of God, has been polluted. For Judah commits “adultery with stone and trees” ( ). Judah worships matter and puts his trust in it, the making of human hands. What he confesses with his mouth is pretense ( ). His heart is not right before God. That is what the LORD sees. He knows the heart. Nothing is hidden from Him, not even the deepest motives. “All things are open and laid bare” to His eyes ( ). Judah pretends to worship God, but God judges Judah to be even worse than Israel ( ; ). Compared to Judah, Israel even seems more righteous than Judah. Israel is called “faithless Israel” and Judah is called “treacherous Judah”. To become faithless is bad. It is giving up a privileged position. Treacherousness is even worse. It is despising a privileged relationship. When Israel became faithless, they did not yet know what the judgment would be. They had no example of it. Judah does. They have seen with Israel what judgment means, but they nevertheless have not repented. To all the sins of Israel, Judah adds that of hypocrisy. How is the church doing? Has she remained faithful? Paul speaks to the Corinthians about being concerned that the church has been “led astray from the simplicity and purity [of devotion] to Christ” ( ). We see in professing Christianity how much idolatry has entered. Christ has long ceased to be the sole object of faith. Decay and apostasy are taking on ever more gross forms. With an appeal to the Bible, the most horrible sins are justified. Judgment is set far off, if one believes in it at all.

‏ Jeremiah 3:8

Judah Is Worse Than Israel

Here begins a new prophecy that continues through Jeremiah 6:30. This one is more comprehensive than the previous one, Jeremiah 2:1-3:5. It is spoken “in the days of Josiah the king” (Jer 3:6). By then the ten tribes had been scattered for many decades, carried away by the Assyrians. In what period of King Josiah’s reign we are, is not told here. We are told in more detail about forsaking the LORD by both the northern ten tribe realm and the southern two tribe realm. Yet in between we find wonderful promises of restoration and blessing after their repentance and that the goodness of the LORD will still lead them, even if through the deepest tribulation.

The LORD asks Jeremiah if he has seen “what faithless Israel did”. A prophet must be a keen observer and see what the LORD sees. The LORD tells him that He has seen what faithless Israel, the ten tribes, have done, how they have committed harlotry everywhere. He also tells Jeremiah what He said to her after all her faithlessness (Jer 3:7). He called her to return to Him. And did she? No, she didn’t.

What Israel has done and what the LORD has therefore done to faithless Israel has been observed by Judah, whom the LORD here calls “her treacherous sister Judah”. Has Israel’s behavior and what the LORD has done to her been a warning to Judah (Jer 3:8)? No, Judah has not been warned by Israel’s example. The LORD has had to conclude that His sending Israel away has made no impression on Judah. Judah was not frightened by it, but on the contrary went and was a harlot also.

They are two sisters. With both of them the LORD has been in a marriage relationship. The older sister, Israel, He divorced, with a writ of divorce. Judah should have learned a lesson from that. Judah should have seen and taken to heart what happened to Israel in the judgment God had to bring upon them.

It is important that we be warned by what we see in the lives of other believers (cf. 1Cor 10:6 ; 11). If we do not learn from the follies of others, we are even greater fools than they are. We are no better and should not imagine that we are not as bad as those others. Let us not think that we do know our limits.

We can say in pride that we do know how much we can drink without getting drunk or how fast we can drive without becoming reckless. Then we have made our self-control an idol. It is better to be convinced that we are weak and take to heart the warning: “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall” (1Cor 10:12).

Because of Judah’s behavior, the holy land, the land of God, has been polluted. For Judah commits “adultery with stone and trees” (Jer 3:9). Judah worships matter and puts his trust in it, the making of human hands. What he confesses with his mouth is pretense (Jer 3:10). His heart is not right before God. That is what the LORD sees. He knows the heart. Nothing is hidden from Him, not even the deepest motives. “All things are open and laid bare” to His eyes (Heb 4:13).

Judah pretends to worship God, but God judges Judah to be even worse than Israel (Jer 3:11; Eze 23:11). Compared to Judah, Israel even seems more righteous than Judah. Israel is called “faithless Israel” and Judah is called “treacherous Judah”. To become faithless is bad. It is giving up a privileged position. Treacherousness is even worse. It is despising a privileged relationship. When Israel became faithless, they did not yet know what the judgment would be. They had no example of it. Judah does. They have seen with Israel what judgment means, but they nevertheless have not repented. To all the sins of Israel, Judah adds that of hypocrisy.

How is the church doing? Has she remained faithful? Paul speaks to the Corinthians about being concerned that the church has been “led astray from the simplicity and purity [of devotion] to Christ” (2Cor 11:3). We see in professing Christianity how much idolatry has entered. Christ has long ceased to be the sole object of faith. Decay and apostasy are taking on ever more gross forms. With an appeal to the Bible, the most horrible sins are justified. Judgment is set far off, if one believes in it at all.