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Commentary on Jeremiah 3 verses 1–5
These verses some make to belong to the sermon in the foregoing chapter, and they open a door of hope to those who receive the conviction of the reproofs we had there; God wounds that he may heal. Now observe here,
I. How basely this people had forsaken God and gone a whoring from him. The charge runs very high here. 1. They had multiplied their idols and their idolatries. To have admitted one strange God among them would have been bad enough, but they were insatiable in their lustings after false worships: Thou hast played the harlot with many lovers, Jer 3:1. She had become a common prostitute to idols; not a foolish deity was set up in all the neighbourhood but the Jews would have it quickly. Where was a high place in the country but they had had an idol in it? Jer 3:2. Note, In repentance it is good to make sorrowful reflections upon the particular acts of sin we have been guilty of, and the several places and companies where it has been committed, that we may give glory to God and take shame to ourselves by a particular confession of it. 2. They had sought opportunity for their idolatries, and had sent about to enquire for new gods: In the high - ways hast thou sat for them, as Tamar when she put on the disguise of a harlot (Gen 38:14), and as the foolish woman, that sits to call passengers, who go right on their way, Pro 9:14, Pro 9:15. As the Arabian in the wilderness - the Arabian huckster (so some), that courts customers, or waits for the merchants to get a good bargain and forestal the market - or the Arabian thief (so others), that watches for his prey; so had they waited either to court new gods to come among them (the newer the better, and the more fond they were of them) or to court others to join with them in their idolatries. They were not only sinners, but Satans, not only traitors themselves, but tempters to others. 3. They had grown very impudent in sin. They not only polluted themselves, but their land, with their whoredoms and with their wickedness (Jer 3:2); for it was universal and unpunished, and so became a national sin. And yet (Jer 3:3), "Thou hadst a whore's forehead, a brazen face of thy own. Thou refusedst to be ashamed; thou didst enough to shame thee for ever, and yet wouldst not take shame to thyself." Blushing is the colour of virtue, or at least a relic of it; but those that are past shame (we say) are past hope. Those that have an adulterer's heart, if they indulge that, will come at length to have a whore's forehead, void of all shame and modesty. 4. They abounded in all manner of sin. They polluted the land not only with their whoredoms (that is, their idolatries), but with their wickedness, or malice (Jer 3:2), sins against the second table: for how can we think that those will be true to their neighbour that are false to their God? "Nay (Jer 3:5), thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldst, and wouldst have spoken and done worse if thou hadst known how; thy will was to do it, but thou lackedst opportunity." Note, Those are wicked indeed that sin to the utmost of their power, that never refuse to comply with a temptation because they should not, but because they cannot.
II. How gently God had corrected them for their sins. Instead of raining fire and brimstone upon them, because, like Sodom, they had avowed their sin and had gone after strange gods as Sodom after strange flesh, he only withheld the showers from them, and that only one part of the year: There has been no latter rain, which might serve as an intimation to them of their continual dependence upon God; when they had the former rain, that was no security to them for the latter, but they must still look up to God. But it had not this effect.
III. How justly God might have abandoned them utterly, and refused ever to receive them again, though they should return; this would have been but according to the known rule of divorces, Jer 3:1. They say (it is an adjudged case, nay, it is a case in which the law is very express, and it is what every body knows and speaks of, Deu 24:4), that if a woman be once put away for whoredom, and be joined to another man, her first husband shall never, upon any pretence whatsoever, take her again to be his wife; such playing fast and loose with the marriage-bond would be a horrid profanation of that ordinance and would greatly pollute that land. Observe, What the law says in this case - They say, that is, every one will say, and subscribe to the equity of the law in it; for every man finds something in himself that forbids him to entertain one that is another man's. And in like manner they had reason to expect that God would refuse ever to take them to be his people again, who had not only been joined to one strange god, but had played the harlot with many lovers. If we had to do with a man like ourselves, after such provocations as we have been guilty of, he would be implacable, and we might have despaired of his being reconciled to us.
IV. How graciously he not only invites them, but directs them, to return to him.
1.He encourages them to hope that they shall find favour with him, upon their repentance: "Thou thou hast been bad, yet return again to me," Jer 3:1. This implies a promise that he will receive them: "Return, and thou shalt be welcome." God has not tied himself by the laws which he made for us, nor has he the peevish resentment that men have; he will be more kind to Israel, for the sake of his covenant with them, than ever any injured husband was to an adulterous wife; for in receiving penitents, as much as in any thing, he is God and not man.
2.He therefore kindly expects that they will repent and return to him, and he directs them what to say to him (Jer 3:4): "Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me? Wilt not thou, who hast been in such relation to me, and on whom I have laid such obligations, wilt not thou cry to me? Though thou hast gone a whoring from me, yet, when thou findest the folly of it, surely thou wilt think of returning to me, now at least, now at last, in this thy day. Wilt thou not at this time, nay, wilt thou not from this time and forward, cry unto me? Whatever thou hast said or done hitherto, wilt thou not from this time apply to me? From this time of conviction and correction, now that thou hast been made to see thy sins (Jer 3:2) and to smart for them (Jer 3:3), wilt thou not now forsake them and return to me, saying, I will go and return to my first husband, for then it was better with me than now?" Hos 2:7. Or "from this time that thou hast had so kind an invitation to return, and assurance that thou shalt be well received: will not this grace of God overcome thee? Now that pardon is proclaimed wilt thou not come in and take the benefit of it? Surely thou wilt."
(1.)He expects that they will claim relation to God, as theirs: Wilt thou not cry unto me, My Father, thou art the guide of my youth? [1.] They will surely come towards him as a father, to beg his pardon for their undutiful behaviour to him (Father, I have sinned) and will hope to find in him the tender compassions of a father towards a returning prodigal. They will come to him as a father, to whom they will make their complaints, and in whom they will put their confidence for relief and succour. They will now own him as their father, and themselves fatherless without him; and therefore, hoping to find mercy with him (as those penitents, Hos 14:3), [2.] They will come to him as the guide of their youth, that is, as their husband, for so that relation is described, Mal 2:14. "Though thou hast gone after many lovers, surely thou wilt at length remember the love of thy espousals, and return to the husband of thy youth." Or it may be taken more generally: "As my Father, thou art the guide of my youth." Youth needs a guide. In our return to God we must thankfully remember that he was the guide of our youth in the way of comfort; and we must faithfully covenant that he shall be our guide henceforward in the way of duty, and that we will follow his guidance, and give up ourselves entirely to it, that in all doubtful cases we will be determined by our religion.
(2.)He expects that they will appeal to the mercy of God and crave the benefit of that mercy (Jer 3:5), that they will reason thus with themselves for their encouragement to return to him: "Will he reserve his anger for ever? Surely he will not, for he has proclaimed his name gracious and merciful." Repenting sinners may encourage themselves with this, that, though God chide, he will not always chide, though he be angry, he will not keep his anger to the end, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion, and may thus plead for reconciliation. Some understand this as describing their hypocrisy, and the impudence of it: "Though thou hast a whore's forehead (Jer 3:3) and art still doing evil as thou canst (Jer 3:5), yet art thou not ever and anon crying to me, My Father?" Even when they were most addicted to idols they pretended a regard to God and his service and kept up the forms of godliness and devotion. It is a shameful thing for men thus to call God father, and yet to do the works of the devil (as the Jews, Joh 8:44), to call him the guide of their youth, and yet give up themselves to walk after the flesh, and to flatter themselves with the expectation that his anger shall have an end, while they are continually treasuring up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath.
Accusation is censure of wrongdoers.… Of this help the divine Instructor made use by Jeremiah, saying, “You have a prostitute’s forehead. You were shameless toward all. You did not call me to the house, I who am your father, and Lord of your virginity.” “And a fair and graceful harlot skilled in enchanted potions.” With consummate art, after applying to the virgin the disgraceful name of whoredom, he at once calls her back to an honorable life by filling her with shame.
What then is one to do?… We ought not to apply punishment merely to the scale of the offense. Rather, keep in view the disposition of the sinner so that, while wishing to mend what is torn, you do not make the rent worse. Because you do not wish, in your zealous endeavors to restore what is fallen, to make the ruin greater. Weak and careless characters are addicted for the most part to the pleasures of the world. If they have the opportunity to be proud of their birth and position, they may yet, if gently and gradually brought to repent of their errors, be delivered, partially at least, if not perfectly, from the evils by which they are possessed. But if anyone were to inflict the discipline all at once he would deprive them of this slight chance of amendment. When the soul has been forced to put off shame, it lapses into a callous condition. It neither yields to kindly words, nor bends to threats nor is susceptible of gratitude but becomes far worse than that city that the prophet reproached, saying, “You had the face of a harlot, refusing to be ashamed before all men.”
And this again is the peculiarity of harlots that they are his who gives the gold. Even if he is a slave or a gladiator, or any person whatever, yet if he offers their hire they receive him. But the free, even should they be nobler than all, they do not accept without the money.… For that shamelessness makes harlots, hear the prophet saying, “You were shameless toward all. You had a harlot’s countenance.” This may be said to the covetous also, “You were shameless toward all,” not toward these or those, but “toward all.”
No, a widow must take every precaution not to overstep by an inch the bounds of chastity. For if she once oversteps them and breaks through the modesty that becomes a matron, she will soon riot in every kind of excess. So much so that the prophet’s words shall be true of her, “You have a whore’s forehead, you refuse to be ashamed.”
(Verse 4, 5.) Therefore, at least from now on, call me, my Father, you are the leader of my virginity: will you be angry forever, or will you persist until the end? Let the heretics be ashamed who do not want to convert to better things, nor return to their Father and Creator, and let them hear: At least from now on, call me, my Father, you are the leader of my virginity. He himself embraces your soul with his affection, and teaches how one should pray and repent. However, the more merciful he who shows the way to salvation after fornication, the more wretched the prostitute who does not want to receive health after wounds.
Behold, you have spoken, and you have done evil, and you have been able. For words of repentance, with words of pride you blasphemed: and you fulfilled your evil intention, and you showed your strength against a man, so that you could do what you discussed in speech.
When they go out, they do their best to attract notice and with nods and winks encourage troops of young fellows to follow them. Of each and all of these the prophet’s words are true, “You have a whore’s forehead. You refuse to be ashamed.” Their robes have but a narrow purple stripe, it is true. And their headdress is somewhat loose, so as to leave the hair free.
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SUMMARY
Jeremiah 3:5 encapsulates a profound divine confrontation with Judah's persistent spiritual apostasy and audacious presumption. This verse masterfully juxtaposes God's remarkable, enduring patience—expressed through rhetorical inquiries about the limits of His reserved anger—with Judah's unremitting and deliberate pursuit of evil. It serves as a searing indictment of their comprehensive rebellion, highlighting the intentionality and depth of their sin, while simultaneously underscoring the divine character that, though provoked, longs for genuine repentance before the inevitable manifestation of righteous judgment.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Jeremiah 3:5 is rich with several potent literary devices that amplify its prophetic message. The opening lines, "Will he reserve [his anger] for ever? will he keep [it] to the end?", are a quintessential example of Rhetorical Question. These are not genuine inquiries seeking information, but rather powerful rhetorical tools designed to emphasize a profound point: the astounding patience of God contrasted with the extreme provocation of Judah's sin, and the implicit, yet urgent, warning that such divine patience, while vast, is not infinite. The striking parallelism between the two questions ("reserve...forever" and "keep...to the end") demonstrates Synonymous Parallelism, a common Hebrew poetic device that reinforces the same core idea of God's sustained, yet ultimately bounded, restraint. The entire verse functions as a direct and severe Indictment, where God unequivocally confronts Judah's deep-seated sin and hypocrisy. Finally, the potent phrase "as thou couldest" employs Hyperbole to underscore the extreme, comprehensive, and unreserved nature of Judah's commitment to evil, conveying that they exhausted every possible means and capacity in their relentless pursuit of wickedness.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Jeremiah 3:5 profoundly illustrates the delicate yet powerful tension between God's boundless patience and His unwavering justice. It unveils a divine character that, despite being grievously provoked by His people's persistent, intentional, and comprehensive rebellion, exercises incredible restraint, holding back the full force of His righteous anger. This divine longsuffering is not an endorsement of sin or a sign of indifference, but rather a profound extension of grace, providing ample and repeated opportunities for genuine repentance. However, the verse simultaneously makes it unequivocally clear that this patience is not infinite; there is a definitive "to the end" where divine justice will be served if Judah stubbornly refuses to turn from its pervasive wickedness. It underscores the profound seriousness of sin, particularly when committed with full intent and capability, and highlights God's steadfast commitment to His covenant, which demands both unwavering faithfulness and ultimate accountability from His people.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Jeremiah 3:5 serves as a profound and piercing mirror for contemporary believers, challenging us to honestly and humbly assess the true nature of our relationship with God. Do we, like ancient Judah, inadvertently presume upon God's boundless grace, mistakenly interpreting His patience as indifference or as a tacit approval of our lingering sins and compromises? The verse's stark indictment of Judah's "speaking and doing evil things as thou couldest" compels us to deeply examine the intentionality and depth of our own commitment—not merely to avoiding overt sin, but to actively pursuing righteousness and holiness with the same vigor and totality that Judah pursued wickedness. Are we truly and fully devoted to God in every facet of our lives, or do we subtly hold back, reserving certain areas for self-indulgence, worldly compromise, or unaddressed rebellion? This powerful passage calls us to a genuine, heartfelt, and transformative repentance, recognizing that God's patience, while immense, is profoundly purposeful—designed to lead us to a radical turning, not to enable continued spiritual apathy or rebellion. It serves as a sober reminder that while God delights in mercy and forgiveness, His justice is equally sure and unyielding, and a life lived in persistent, unrepentant sin will inevitably face its just and unavoidable consequences.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does God's anger truly last forever, or is it temporary?
Answer: Jeremiah 3:5 asks whether God will "reserve his anger for ever" or "keep it to the end," which functions as a rhetorical question designed to highlight Judah's profound presumption and God's incredible, yet purposeful, patience. While God's character inherently includes righteous indignation against sin and injustice, the Bible consistently emphasizes His compassion, His slowness to anger, and His abundant mercy (Psalm 103:8). God's anger is never an uncontrolled outburst or an arbitrary emotion, but always a just and holy response to unrepentant rebellion and sin. For those who genuinely turn to Him in heartfelt repentance and faith, His anger is indeed turned away, and He delights in showing mercy and forgiveness (Micah 7:18). However, for those who persistently, defiantly, and unrepentantly reject Him and His gracious overtures, His wrath is indeed reserved and will ultimately be expressed, leading to eternal separation and judgment (Romans 1:18). Therefore, for the unrepentant, the consequences of His righteous anger are eternal, but for those who repent and believe, His anger is temporary and gives way to boundless grace and reconciliation.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Jeremiah 3:5, with its poignant questions about God's reserved anger and Judah's unreserved commitment to evil, finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment and resolution in the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. The "anger" that God had patiently reserved against humanity's persistent rebellion was not simply abolished or ignored, but was fully and justly poured out upon His beloved Son on the cross. Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God, became the perfect propitiation for our sins, bearing the full, crushing weight of divine wrath that humanity, in its comprehensive and intentional wickedness "as thou couldest," justly deserved (Romans 3:25). Through His sacrificial death, Christ absorbed the very "end" of God's righteous judgment, thereby making a glorious way for all humanity to escape the eternal consequences of sin and condemnation. Furthermore, the earnest call for Judah to "return" to God, which they so tragically failed to heed, is perfectly accomplished and made possible in Christ. He is the singular Way, the absolute Truth, and the eternal Life, through whom we can genuinely return to the Father, not by our own insufficient efforts or superficial pleas, but solely by His perfect obedience, atoning sacrifice, and victorious resurrection (John 14:6). In Christ, God's immense patience is revealed not as mere tolerance, but as a saving patience, purposefully leading us to true repentance and offering a forgiveness that truly turns away His righteous anger, transforming those who believe from objects of wrath into beloved children and heirs of His eternal kingdom (Ephesians 2:3-5).