Jeremiah 2:20-28

D. Pointed Accusation Jeremiah 2:20-28

TRANSLATION

(20) For from of old you have broken your yoke, you have burst your bands and you said, I will not serve. For upon every high hill and under every green tree you reclined, committing harlotry. (21) But as for Me, I planted you a choice vine of wholly reliable stock. How sad it is that you have become a degenerate, strange vine unto Me! (22) But if you scrub with lye and multiply to yourself soap your iniquity is a permanent stain before Me (oracle of the lord GOD). (23) How sad it is that you say, I have not defiled myself; after the Baalim I have not gone. Look at your conduct in the Valley! Understand what you have done! A swift camel running hither and yon! (24) A wild ass accustomed to the wilderness, in her desire, snuffs at the wind; in her occasion who can restrain her; all who seek her will not become weary; in her month they shall find her. (25) Withhold your foot from bareness and your throat from thirst. But you say, It is no use! No! for I love strangers and after them I will continue to go. (26) As the shame of a thief that is found thus the house of Israel shall be put to shamethey, their kings, their primes, their priests and their prophets(27) who say to a tree, You are my father, and to a stone, you brought me forth! For they turn unto Me the back and not the face; but in the time of their calamity they shall say, Rise up, Save us! (28) But where are your gods which you have made for yourself? Let them arise if they can save you in the time of your calamity; for according to the number of your cities are your gods O Judah.

COMMENTS

In a series of brilliant metaphors Jeremiah sharpens his accusation against Judah. The nation is compared to (I) an ox that breaks his yoke (Jeremiah 2:20); (2) a vine that bears strange fruit (Jeremiah 2:21); (3) a stain that will wash off (Jeremiah 2:22); (4) a roving dromedary (Jeremiah 2:23); (5) a wild ass in heat (Jeremiah 2:24); (6) a persistent paramour (Jeremiah 2:25); and (7) a thief caught in the act (Jeremiah 2:26-28).

1. An ox that breaks his yoke (Jeremiah 2:20)

Jeremiah 2:20 presents some difficult textual problems and consequently the differences between English translations of the verse are considerable. The Hebrew permits and the ancient Greek and Latin versions support the reading you have broken. you have burst. This is also the marginal reading in the American Standard Version. Like a stubborn ox Israel refused to submit to the yoke of divine restraint and the bands of ethical obligation. Israel categorically declared, I will not serve. The Greek and Syriac versions support the reading serve rather than the alternate translation transgress. Having demanded freedom from the Lord, Israel became the slave to the passion and lust of idolatrous worship. On the bare treeless heights Israel offered sacrifices to the Baalim. The groves and leafy trees provided the necessary privacy for the lewd rites of Asherah and Ashtoreth. Sacred prostitution was part of the rites of these fertility cults and thus Jeremiah likens the national apostasy to harlotry and adultery.

2. A vine that bears strange fruit (Jeremiah 2:21)

To produce choice grapes takes many years of patient and tender care of the vines. The divine Horticulturist had planted a choice[141] seed in the soil of human history. Over the years He had trained the temperamental vine, pruned it, and had given it the tender and loving care it required. But when the vine reached the age of productivity it bore strange fruit of inferior quality. The vintage was not commensurate with the time and effort and care expended by the One who had planted the vine. It was a degenerate plant worthy only of destruction. In this brief but brilliant metaphor Jeremiah surveys God's dealings with Israel. Abraham, the father of the faithful, was the choice seed. During the years of the Patriarchal journeying, the Egyptian bondage and the wilderness wandering God had patiently and lovingly watched over the tender young plant. When the people reached Canaan they refused to yield the fruit of service and obedience to the Lord but on the contrary rendered their allegiance to other gods. How sad it is,[142] says the prophet, as he shakes his head in amazement at what has become of that noble vine.

[141] The Hebrew says God planted a Sorek vine, the choicest kind of Oriental vine. The word Sorek refers to the deep-red color of the grapes which this type of vine produced.

[142] The Hebrew interjection used here is one of the distinctive words in the vocabulary of lamentation as can be seen in Ezekiel 26:17; Jeremiah 48:39; 2 Samuel 1:19; 2 Samuel 1:26-27. English translations have failed to capture the spirit of the word by rendering it how. The translation how sad it is better conveys the melancholy force of the word.

3. A stain that will not wash off (Jeremiah 2:22)

The iniquity of Israel is clearly visible to the Holy One of Israel. It is an indelible stain which cannot be removed through human effort. The best cleansing agents of the day are not sufficient to eliminate that blot. Lye (Hebrew, neter) is a mineral alkali deposited on the shores and on the bed of certain lakes in Egypt. This substance was collected for making lye for washing purposes (see Proverbs 25:20). Soap (Hebrew, borit) is the corresponding vegetable alkali (m Isaiah 1:25). Though the outward man may be scrubbed clean yet the ugly-' blot of iniquity remains upon the heart and the soul. Only God can wipe it away. What joy it is for the Christian to know that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin (1 John 1:7).

4. A roving dromedary (Jeremiah 2:23)

The people who were secretly worshiping Baal apparently did not regard this as apostasy as long as they went through the formal acts of worshiping the Lord. Perhaps they even went so far as to claim that the rites of Baal were performed in the service of God. Jeremiah calls their attention to what was taking place in the Valley of Hinnom. From the days of Ahaz this valley had been used for the rites of Molech, a god who demanded human sacrifice. The prophet compares their conduct to that of a swift young camel running hither and yen. Most commentators have interpreted this figure to be that of a female camel in heat, driven by lust, pacing to and fro. Kenneth Bailey, who spent seventeen years in the Middle East, argues that this is not the point of comparison in Jeremiah 2:23. As a matter of fact, says Bailey, the female camel does not come into heat; rather it is the male camel that experiences rut. It is true that the word camel in this verse is feminine, but all references since Jeremiah 2:16 have been feminine singular. It is not the femaleness that is being stressed in this verse, but rather the youthfulness of the camel. On the basis of his personal observation Bailey writes:

The young camel is the perfect illustration for all that is -skittery-' and unreliable. It is ungainly in the extreme and runs off in any direction at the slightest provocation, much to the fury of the cameldriver.[143]

[143] Kenneth E. Bailey and William L. Holladay, The -Young Camel-' and -Wild Ass-' in Jer. II. 23-25, Vetus Testamentum XVIII (April, 19681, 256-260.

5. A wild ass in heat (Jeremiah 2:24)

In Jeremiah 2:24 the prophet compares the apostasy of Israel to the dramatic and vulgar actions of a female ass in heat. In the month of mating, sires need not weary themselves in seeking out the female ass; on the contrary she will eagerly seek them out. So Israel eagerly turns to the lewd rites of Baalism. The impact of this metaphor becomes even more forceful when one studies it in detail. Bailey from his own personal observation has thrown considerable light on the phrase in her desire, (she) snuffs at the wind.

She sniffs the path in front of her trying to pick up the scent of a male (from his urine). When she finds it, she rubs her nose in the dust and then straightens her neck and, with head high, closes her nostrils and sniffs the wind. What she really is doing is snuffing the dust which is soaked with the urine of the male ass. With her neck stretched to the utmost she slowly draws in a long, deep breath, then lets out an earthshaking bray and doubles her pace, racing down the road in search of the male.[144]

[144] Ibid.

6. A persistent paramour (Jeremiah 2:25)

In Jeremiah 2:25 the divine Husband pleads with his adulterous wife, Israel, to cease from her wild pursuit of illicit lovers. The difficult first part of the verse might allude to the fatiguing practices of the Baal cultthe barefoot dances and endless repetition of the name Baal (see 1 Kings 18:26). In a more general sense the admonition might be taken to be: Do not run till your sandals wear out and you faint with thirst chasing your gods. In any case Israel rejects this earnest appeal. She cannot be turned from the paths of apostasy. The lure of false worship was too great to be resisted. It is no use, she cries, I love the strange gods and I will continue to go after them.

7. A thief caught in the act (Jeremiah 2:26-28)

A thief caught in the act is embarrassed and ashamed. Under the Mosaic law a thief if apprehended in the act had to restore what he had stolen and pay a stiff fine (Exodus 22:1; Exodus 22:4). In addition to the shame of public exposure he would then experience the shame of disappointment in having his anticipated gain result in a substantial loss. All segments of the Israelite population would experience the shame of embarrassment and the shame of disappointment when the folly of their ways became manifest (Jeremiah 2:26). In times of peace and prosperity the Israelites turned their back upon God to experiment with idolatry. They bowed down before a tree, a sacred pole or idol made of wood and piously confessed, You are my father, i.e., my guardian, my protector. Before the cold and lifeless stone pillar or idol made of stone they bowed and said, You brought me forth, i.e., you are my mother, my creator. But in the hour of national or personal calamity when their idols of wood and stone proved utterly worthless they would cry out to the living God in their desperation (Jeremiah 2:27). With Elijah-like sarcasm Jeremiah taunts the idolaters in Jeremiah 2:28: Your gods are as numerous as the cities of your land![145] Surely among the multiplicity of the gods you have made for yourselves there is one deity who can aid you in the day of your calamity!

[145] The famous Ras Shamra texts indicate that the Canaanites venerated fifty gods and half as many goddesses. No doubt many if not most of these native gods were adopted by the Israelites during the wicked reign of Manasseh.