Tuesday 4th August
Read Jeremiah 2:9-12
“‘Therefore I bring charges against you again,’
declares the Lord.
‘And I will bring charges against your children’s children.
10 Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus and look,
send to Kedar and observe closely;
see if there has ever been anything like this:
11 has a nation ever changed its gods?
(Yet they are not gods at all.)
But my people have exchanged their glorious God
for worthless idols.
12 Be appalled at this, you heavens,
and shudder with great horror,’
declares the Lord.” (NIVUK)
Divorce has become systematically easier with time in most Western countries. The troubles of Henry the Eighth would be considered laughable today. No-fault divorce is freely available in many countries. Irreconcilable differences is frequently cited in legal papers. In ancient times divorce was more challenging, particularly for women. Men held more rights. Yet Jeremiah argues that it is the bride who has simply walked out.
What Jeremiah outlines are a series of examples, or exhibits, explaining the grounds for the divorce proceedings. This is not undertaken on a whim. It reflects a longstanding state of affairs – so longstanding that the case can even be made against future generations (v10).
The first line of argument is based on history. From the west (Cyprus) to the east (Kedar) there is no nation on earth that has simply swapped gods. Even when things are going poorly, nations remained loyal to their gods. When in doubt, sacrifice harder! A nation’s gods often gave the people their name, their identity. It was unthinkable that they be abandoned.
Yet Israel has abandoned the living God to chase after worthless idols. They have exchanged the living for the dead (v11). The whole world has never seen this before. Nothing under heaven compares (v12). The immense stupidity of the exchange is spelled out plainly by Jeremiah – and it makes it difficult therefore for us to see what risk lies before us.
We would be wise to reflect on why the nations don’t change. Their gods are created by them, crafted to reflect their own image. They are in essence identical. Our glorious Lord is uncontainable in every way, and our constant temptation is to reduce Him to a god like all the other nations…
