CHAPTER 3

(629 B.C.)

THE PEOPLE REFUSE TO REPENT

¹They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another mans, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but you have played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to Me, says the LORD. (The question, ... and become another mans, shall he return unto her again?, refers to the Command in Deut. 24:1-4. The Holy Spirit is likening Judah to a harlot who has gone to many lovers, i.e., idols, and puts her in the same class as the forbidden one of Deut. 24:1-4. Yet Judah was invited to return! Did God then propose to violate His Own Law?

The answer is found in Rom. 7:1-4. This Passage reveals the Divine method of Sanctification, and sets out its impossibility under the bondage of Law and its certainty under the freedom of Grace.

The argument here is: just as the death of the Saviour is the only force that can liberate from the claims of sin, so is it the only force that can liberate from the claims of the Law.

Paul, in Rom. 7:1-4, illustrates two husbands the Law and Christ. Union with the Law is bondage and brings forth fruit unto death, while union with Christ is freedom and brings forth Fruit unto God.

The Law does not die, neither is its Divine authority affected. On the contrary, its righteous requirements are satisfied by the Fruit brought forth under the Grace of God, made possible by the death of Christ, and the Believers death in Christ [Rom. 6:3-5].

The old Israel was to die, and a new Israel to be created; and thus, the foul harlot of this Chapter shall become the spotless Bride of Rev. 19:7-8.

Jesus satisfied the demands of the Law in that He died, suffering its judgment for our transgression and, therefore, satisfied its penalty. Now, in Christ, I am free, and so can Israel be free. On the basis of the price that Christ paid, the Lord can now say to Israel, and by faith then could say, yet return again to Me, says the LORD.)

²Lift up your eyes unto the high places, and see where you have not been lien with. In the ways have you sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and you have polluted the land with your whoredoms and with your wickedness. (As the Arabian in the wilderness, refers to their thirst for plunder, and is likened to Israels thirst for idolatry.)

³Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no latter rain; and you had a whores forehead, you refused to be ashamed. (The Lord withheld the rains, thereby stunting the crops, trying to get Judah to repent, but to no avail! In effect, the Holy Spirit is saying that Judah is so far gone that they now have a whores forehead, meaning that they were so spiritually obstinate and stubborn that they had no inclination to turn to the Lord.)

⁴Will you not from this time cry unto Me, My Father, You are the guide of my youth? (The language, My Father, was insincere.)

⁵Will He reserve His Anger forever? Will He keep it to the end? Behold, you have spoken and done evil things as you could. (These Passages probe deep into the heart of wayward Judah, revealing not only her actions, but her thoughts, and even the intent of her thoughts. The power of such preaching was enough to turn anyone to God, but Judah still would not heed the admonition of the Lord to return.)

JUDAHS SIN AND BACKSLIDING

⁶The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Have you seen that which backsliding Israel has done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there has played the harlot. (In Verses 6 through 11, the Northern Kingdom is contrasted with the Southern, and the latter is charged with deeper guilt than the former because she added treachery to apostasy.

The warning is: Judah sits in the same seat of judgment as her wayward sister of years past!)

⁷And I said after she had done all these things, Turn you unto Me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. (Judah had been an observer to all that had happened in the Northern Kingdom. She heard, saw, witnessed, and experienced the appeal made to Ephraim. She saw her destruction, and knew the reason why! Therefore, her sin was against light, which is the greatest sin of all!)

⁸And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. (The adultery named here is spiritual adultery, i.e., in this case, consorting with idols. As stated, in Rom. 7:1-4, the Apostle Paul likens the Believer who makes the object of his faith something other than Christ as a spiritual adulterer.

And given her a bill of divorce, refers to the fact that the Northern Kingdom of Israel forsook the Lord, and not that the Lord forsook them.)

⁹And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. (Committed adultery with stones and with stocks, refers to the worship of idols, some of which were made of stone. The word stocks refers to the manner in which the idols were worshipped.

Is the Lord presently accusing the modern Church of committing spiritual adultery? To be sure, if the object of faith for the Believer is anything other than Christ and Him Crucified, then spiritual adultery is definitely being committed [Rom. 7:1-4].)

¹⁰And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned unto Me with her whole heart, but feignedly, says the LORD. (Judah professed attachment to the Law, but it was a feigned loyalty; and, untaught by the judgment that had fallen upon the Ten Tribes, she secretly and even openly practiced idolatry.

Whole heart, gives us the manner and, in fact, the only manner, which God will accept! He will not accept a repentance that continues sinning with impunity!)

¹¹And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel has justified herself more than treacherous Judah. (The reason for Judahs treacherous condition was because of the great light that had been given to her by the advent of at least some Godly kings, when, in fact, Israel did not have a single Godly king! To whom much is given, much is required.)

REPENTANCE WILL RELEASE GODS MERCY

¹²Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, you backsliding Israel, says the LORD; and I will not cause My Anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, says the LORD, and I will not keep anger forever. (This second prophetic Message was sent by the Holy Spirit through Jeremiah to the Ten Tribes, then and now, in captivity. It assured them that the proclamation of Cyrus, which would be given about 100 years later, would embrace them as well as the exiles of Judah. It must have nourished the faith of those in that dispersion who feared God and loved His Word. The amazing love, pity, and Grace of God for those captives appear in every sentence of this Message.)

¹³Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against the LORD your God, and have scattered your ways to the strangers under every green tree, and you have not obeyed My Voice, says the LORD. (The one condition of acceptance is the acknowledgment of ones guilt and a sincere desire to break with sin, which is repeated in each Verse [Vss. 13, 21, 4:1]. This is, in all dispensations, the one fundamental condition accompanying true Repentance.)

¹⁴Turn, O backsliding children, sa ys the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion (this thrice repeated invitation has never yet been fully responded to by the Ten Tribes, but will be in the future, and then God will bring to Zion all who accept it.

The statement, I am married to the backslider, is derived from this Verse. Here, Jehovah repeats His invitation, assuring Israel that He does not consider the marriage bonds broken. But yet, every indication is that unless they return, they will be eternally lost! This Passage, therefore, destroys the erroneous idea of unconditional eternal security):

¹⁵And I will give you Pastors according to My Heart, who shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. (This will take place in the coming Kingdom Age, but not before.)

¹⁶And it shall come to pass, when you be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, sa ys the LORD, they shall say no more, The Ark of the Covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. (In those days, refers to the future time of Restoration. The Ark, which was a symbol, will be replaced by Christ Himself, i.e., the Throne, which will be the reality. The Ark and the Glory which shone above it characterize the First Covenant; the Throne, with the Messiah sitting on it, will characterize the Second.

Neither shall they visit it, should have been translated miss it. The Ark will no longer be needed as a symbol of Gods Personal Presence, for the Lord Himself will be Personally present [Ezek. 34:7; Zech. 14:9; Rev. 11:15; 21:3-6; 22:4-5]. This will take place in the coming Kingdom Age.)

¹⁷At that time they shall call Jerusalem the Throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the Name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. (The words, At that time, refer to the coming Kingdom Age, when Christ will reign supreme from Jerusalem. Actually, this city will serve as His Throne.)

¹⁸In those days the House of Judah shall walk with the House of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers. (In the coming Kingdom Age, Israel will be no more divided as it was in the days of Jeremiah, but will again become one nation.)

¹⁹But I said, How shall I put you among the children, and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, You shall call Me, my Father; and shall not turn away from Me. (The question, How shall I put you among the children, and give you a pleasant land?, refers to Gods great question in bringing Israel to a place of Repentance in order that He can fulfill the Everlasting Covenants with them, and give them the land as originally promised!

This will be accomplished, but not without great tribulation, suffering, and sorrow, which will take place in the coming Great Tribulation [Mat. 24:21].)

A CALL FOR CONFESSION OF SIN

²⁰Surely as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously with Me, O House of Israel, says the LORD. (In this Passage, the Lord bluntly reminds Israel of her former treachery. He uses as an example the unfaithful wife. He likens Himself to Israels Husband.)

²¹A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the Children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God. (Verses 12 through 20 are spoken by the Messiah; Verse 21, by the returning supplicants; the first part of Verse 22, by the Messiah again; and the rest of the Chapter, by the returning exiles.

They have forgotten the LORD their God, refers now to some 2,600 years. It is a long time to forget the Lord; during this time, Israel has suffered as few have suffered!)

²²Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto You; for You are the LORD our God. (This will be the call of the Messiah to wayward Israel, immediately after His Second Coming. Finally, their response will be positive.)

²³Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the Salvation of Israel. (The argument of this Verse is that as surely as deliverance is vainly hoped for from the multitude of idols placed on the hills and mountains, so surely is Salvation a certitude when sought from Jehovah.

Hence, the Psalmist said he would not lift up his eyes to the hills, that is, to the idols on the hills, for no Salvation was to be obtained from them, but he would lift up his eyes to Jehovah [Ps. 121:1].)

²⁴For shame has devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. (Serving God enriches and ennobles; serving idols degrades and impoverishes. The flocks and herds refer to animals being offered in sacrifice to idols. As well, sons and daughters, during the time of these backslidings, were offered as human sacrifice to idols [Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5; II Ki. 23:10; Jer. 32:35].)

²⁵We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covers us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the Voice of the LORD our God. (In the Fall, man took control of his life out of the Hands of God, placing it into his own domain, i.e., Satan. Shame and confusion are the result! Now Israel confesses her sin and rebellion, even from the beginning. Now there is no hedging or efforts at self-justification. A free and open admission of sin and failure is tendered: and have not obeyed the Voice of the LORD our God.

This prayer and action of Repentance will take place immediately after the Second Coming of the Lord.)