Jeremiah 3

" 'Return, faithless Israel,' declares the Lord

'I will frown on you no longer,

for I am a merciful,' declares the Lord,

'I will not be angry forever.' "

Jeremiah 3:12

In verses 1-11 God says through Jeremiah that He has divorced Israel; the people He loved and rescued. Yet they had committed adultery by worshiping other gods, and being the jealous God that our Lord is He decided to depart from them. Verses 6-10 show God comparing Israel to their sister Judah who apparently was much worse than Israel. They too worshiped other gods, but never felt any remorse about it (v. 8). He then declares that Israel is more faithful than Judah, and this leads us to verse 12 where God asks for Israel to come back to Him.

First, I want to focus on what it meant for God to divorce Israel. He describes Israel as His wife, because that is a passionate love that humans can understand. When a person begins to love another friend their previous friends don't get so jealous that they leave them (at least I hope not). And within the past few decades some parents have been learning to share the love of their children with step-parents. There might be jealousy there, but never enough for a parent to want to leave their child. The love of a spouse is very different. Through marriage a man and woman promise to give their love to one another "until death do [they] part." It is meant to be shared between the two of them; no one else. It is the only kind of love that people will leave each other for when it is shared with another person. When someone learns that a spouse has loved another they feel betrayed, hurt, and might question whether or not their spouse loved them to begin with.

These are the feelings God had. He delivered them from Egypt, brought them to the Holy Land, and Israel still turned to a god named Baal. A god that did/does not exist. Deuteronomy 6:15 says that God is jealous God which further explains His anger. He felt betrayed and hurt by His own people. It's not wonder that He wanted a divorce. But the second thing I want to point out is that He began comparing Israel to Judah. God pointed out through Jeremiah that Judah never had any fear when worshiping another god (v. 8). They never cared. If we look back at Jeremiah 2:27 God said that Israel would always return to Him when they were in trouble. They asked Him to "come and save [them]." I'm not saying this was a good thing. Israel should have turned to God at all times. But in my opinion when God saw this while comparing Israel to Judah He saw a glimmer of hope. A possibility that He hadn't completely lost his bride. So what does He do? He begs. He proclaims that He is merciful, and will not remain angry (v. 12). He wanted them back. He couldn't bare to be away from them. He wanted to save them

In Jeremiah 3:14 God says, "Return, faithless people...For I am your husband. I will choose you..." That is such a wonderful proclamation to hear from our Creator. "I will choose you." That is was what all of us want to hear when Christ returns, and here the Israelites are hearing it from Jeremiah...The man whose lips were touched by God, and was filled with His word. God wanted His people back. He didn't want to leave them. This can be applied to the modern day. He didn't deliver us from Egypt, but His Son delivered us from sin. We don't have to walk through a desert for years to reach the Holy Land, but we do have to live on this earth until we can reach Heaven. Throughout our time on earth some of us will fall or stray away, and it makes God angry and jealous. But he doesn't want to leave us. He wants to save us. Let Him save you so when judgement day comes you can hear His glorious words: "I choose you."