Jeremiah 3

Verses 1-10, “They say, ‘If a man divorces his wife, And she goes from him And becomes another man’s, May he return to her again?’ Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me,” says the Lord. “Lift up your eyes to the desolate heights and see: Where have you not lain with men? By the road you have sat for them Like an Arabian in the wilderness; And you have polluted the land With your harlotries and your wickedness. Therefore the showers have been withheld, And there has been no latter rain. You have had a harlot’s forehead; You refuse to be ashamed. Will you not from this time cry to Me, ‘My Father, You are the guide of my youth? Will He remain angry forever? Will He keep it to the end?’ Behold, you have spoken and done evil things, As you were able.” The Lord said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot. And I said, after she had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,' says the Lord.”

The law for a divorced wife was that she could not return to her first husband after having been with another man because she has been defiled.  Deuteronomy 24:2‭-‬4, “...when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man’s wife, if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife, then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.”  God is stating that spiritually speaking, Israel has played the harlot and left Him for many lovers. Yet God receives them back by His mercy and grace.

Israel was chastened by God for their error, in that He withheld the rains from them, but they would not humble themselves and repent. They clung to their evil ways instead. In fact, their only turning was for show... not in sincerity of heart, which God can see right through. Then their relatives in Judah, after seeing what happened to them, did not fear God either and chose to do the very same thing. Although sinning can be a very selfish act, it can also impact those around us. Through our wicked deeds we may tempt other believers to sin, or cause unbelievers to blaspheme the name of God because of our gross misinterpretation of what it looks like to be saved. 

Verses 11-25, “Then the Lord said to me, “Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: ‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am  merciful,’ says the Lord ; ‘I will not remain angry forever. Only acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the Lord your God, And have scattered your charms To alien deities under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the Lord. “Return, O backsliding children,” says the Lord ; “for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. “Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days,” says the Lord , “that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore. “At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the Lord , and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts. “In 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 as an inheritance to your fathers. “But I said: ‘How can I put you among the children And give you a pleasant land, A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations?’ “And I said: ‘You shall call Me, “My Father,” And not turn away from Me.’ Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, So have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” says the Lord . A voice was heard on the desolate heights, Weeping and supplications of the children of Israel. For they have perverted their way; They have forgotten the Lord their God. “Return, you backsliding children, And I will heal your backslidings.” “Indeed we do come to You, For You are the Lord our God. Truly, 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. For shame has devoured The labor of our fathers from our youth— Their flocks and their herds, Their sons and their daughters. We lie down in our shame, And our reproach covers us. For we have sinned against the Lord our God, We and our fathers, From our youth even to this day, And have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”

God told Jeremiah to invite backsliding Israel to return to Him, making a distinction between them and Judah. Not only does Judah appear to have a higher degree of accountability for what they were shown, but God saw the fake repentance from a people who were supposed to be closer to Him. Luke 12:47‭-‬48, “And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.  But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.”  Nevertheless, He is willing to take both Israel and Judah back, if their hearts truly return to Him; and promises to heal them and restore their land. The idea that God would forgive them of their harlotries and deep betrayals is very humbling. When we realize all that we have been forgiven of, it should result in great love and gratitude toward God (certainly not a desire to continue down the path of our betrayal).  Luke 7:47, “Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”