If I had to summarize these two chapters in 5 words… “Baby, won’t you come back?”

Judah (and Israel) is compared to a woman who left her husband to become a prostitute. The language is uncomfortable, but then again, so is sin.

Judah SAW what happened to the northern kingdom of Israel:

And the astonishing thing is…

“Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the Lord.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭3‬:‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This word was given some time during Josiah’s reign. My guess is that it is after Josiah’s reforms had begun.

Josiah had to outlaw idol worship and pry the gods out of the pagan priests’ cold dead hands. There was an appearance of revival (and no doubt there were some who truly repented), but God is saying that the vast majority only made a “pretense” of returning to Him. Once sin has become a habit – a pattern, an addiction – it’s very hard to break. It requires God’s help.

It’s as if Josiah was the fitness influencer trying to get the nation to start exercising and stop drinking sugary drinks. Everyone made grand New Year’s Resolutions and started out strong going to the gym, but it was only on the surface. By the middle of February everyone is hitting snooze on the alarm clock and that one “cheat day” turned into a cheat week. Or fifty-two.

Remember how Jesus said…

“But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭48‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Much had been given to Judah:

• Good kings
• The Temple where YHWH dwelt
• The book of the Law (in the Temple)
• Prophets

Judah KNEW idolatry was wrong; even more so than Israel.

“Then the Lord said to me, ‘Even faithless Israel is less guilty than treacherous Judah! Therefore, go and give this message to Israel. This is what the Lord says: “O Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever. Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God and committed adultery against him by worshiping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to listen to my voice. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬-‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

All God was asking for was a confession; an admission of the truth.

Repentance is agreeing with God about sin and then turning away from it.

What God says about sin is the truth. What humans say about sin is… less reliable. Making excuses will not lead to freedom. Humbly admitting that God was right and I was wrong is the first step in restoring relationship with Him. That’s how we return.

The LORD promises to bless them if they will just return to Him. And in that blessing, there is this rather surprising passage:

“And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the Lord, they shall no more say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord.” It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

You may recall that Josiah told the Levites to bring the Ark of the Covenant and put it into the refurbished Temple. That would’ve caused quite the stir. I’m sure it was grandly paraded back into the Holy of Holies with songs of praise and curious onlookers. It was, after all, a legendary, 700-year-old object that was rarely seen. It would be like someone carrying the sword of Excalibur in a parade…

😲 Oh my gosh! It’s REAL!

😧 I thought it was a myth!

😐 I dunno… Maybe it’s a fake.

🤔 Doesn’t it have special powers?

To understand the significance of this verse, however, we need to read the next one and remember that the Ark of the Covenant was God’s earthly throne…

“At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

God gets a throne upgrade; from a 3 foot box to a whole city. The city will be to the whole world what the Ark of the Covenant was to the Holy Land. I think this is probably referring to the time when Christ sits enthroned in Jerusalem and it’s a way of saying that Jerusalem is Yahweh’s capital.

And note the change in the heart.

The change of heart is coming. Some day. But the immediate future is more bleak.

“I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬ ‭ESV‬‬

🤔 Huh- That sounds like “In the beginning…”

Yes it does. And I’m not sure what to make of it. Perhaps it’s suggesting that God is kinda starting from scratch with Israel. Perhaps it’s a hint at the future day of Judgement. Maybe both. If you read down through verse 28 it’s very “Day of the LORD.”

And, unfortunately, that level of destruction is what it’s going to take to correct God’s hard-headed people. The tendency towards idolatry and wickedness will have to be purged out of them. It’s not pleasant but neither is allowing wickedness to continue unchecked.