3:1 “If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife, he may not take her back again. Doing that would utterly defile the land. But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. So what makes you think you can return to me?” says the Lord.
Jeremiah subpoenaed Judah to court and accused her of spiritual adultery. Jeremiah reminded her of the Mosaic Law of Divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1-4). If a husband divorces his wife, then the wife can marry another man. If the second husband dies, then the wife can also marry another man. What the wife cannot do is marry her first husband. Under the Mosaic Law, if a divorced husband and wife have taken a new spouse, then they cannot remarry. This would cause the land to be defiled. However, Israel had given herself up to prostitution. She had never remarried. Therefore, if Israel turns from worshiping the demonic gods, then Jehovah could and would take her back as His wife.
3:2 “Look up at the hilltops and consider this. You have had sex with other gods on every one of them. You waited for those gods like a thief lying in wait in the desert. You defiled the land by your wicked prostitution to other gods.
Jeremiah produced the evidence against adulterous Israel. She was an unfaithful wife who had committed spiritual adultery on every hilltop in Israel. Her worship of demonic gods had defiled the land. God would not allow His wife to live in a defiled land.
3:3 That is why the rains have been withheld, and the spring rains have not come. Yet in spite of this you are obstinate as a prostitute. You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done.
According to Deuteronomy 11, if Israel failed to keep the Mosaic Covenant, then one of the curses was that rain would be withheld from her land. Rain was crucial for the agricultural survival of Israel. Israel had been marked on her head as a prostitute, but she still refused to be ashamed.
3:4 Even now you say to me, ‘You are my father! You have been my faithful companion ever since I was young.
Israel was to return to God just as a rebellious son returns to his father.
3:5 You will not always be angry with me, will you? You will not be mad at me forever, will you?’ That is what you say, but you continually do all the evil that you can.”
Israel was angry at Jehovah, because He judged her sin. Jehovah would not allow His wife to worship demonic gods, because this spiritual adultery was destructive to her.
6 When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done. You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods.
Verses 6-10 compare Israel to Judah. In 627 B.C., King Josiah eliminated the idols in Judah, but Judah only rid of the idols externally. Internally, Israel still craved idol worship. She still worshiped idols in private.
God gave Israel (the Northern Kingdom) a new name. In Hebrew, the name of “wayward Israel” is משבה ישראל(messiah Israel), meaning “apostasy Israel.” Judah saw how Jehovah dealt with Israel’s idolatry. Israel was dragged into the Assyrian Captivity 95 years earlier with hooks in her nose. For 95 years, there was no Northern Kingdom. Judah should have learned these lessons from "wayward Israel’s" example.
3:7 Yet even after she had done all that, I thought that she might come back to me. But she did not. Her sister, unfaithful Judah, saw what she did.
God hoped that sister Israel would return to Him, but she did not. Israel had now been in captivity for 95 years, so Judah should have observed this situation and returned to Jehovah. God gave Judah a new name. She was now called “unfaithful Judah.” In Hebrew, this name is בָּגֹודָ֥ה אֲחֹותָ֖הּ יְהוּדָֽה (begodah achotah yehudah), meaning “treacherous sister Judah.”
3:8 She also saw that I gave wayward Israel her divorce papers and sent her away because of her adulterous worship of other gods. Even after her unfaithful sister Judah had seen this, she still was not afraid, and she too went and gave herself like a prostitute to other gods.
This bill of divorcement was given to Israel in 722 B.C. (when she went into the Assyrian Captivity). Sister Judah learned nothing from this divorce. Judah would later receive her bill of divorcement in 586 B.C. (Babylon Captivity).
3:9 Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she defiled the land through her adulterous worship of gods made of wood and stone.
Israel’s adultery was polluting the land.
3:10 In spite of all this, Israel’s sister, unfaithful Judah, has not turned back to me with any sincerity; she has only pretended to do so,” says the Lord.
Under Josiah’s reforms, Judah had repented externally but not internally. She still craved to return to the demonic gods.
3:11 Then the Lord said to me, “Under the circumstances, wayward Israel could even be considered less guilty than unfaithful Judah.
Unfaithful Judah was more guilty than wayward Israel, because Judah possessed more light. She should had learned from Israel’s example. Sister Judah was given more grace, but she rejected it.
It is important to note that it is more dangerous to attend a church that teaches sound Bible doctrine at the deepest level. Those believers who are given more light are also given more responsibility. If they fail to carry out this responsibility, then their judgment will be more severe.
3:12 “Go and shout this message to my people in the countries in the north. Tell them, ‘Come back to me, wayward Israel,’ says the Lord. ‘I will not continue to look on you with displeasure. For I am merciful,’ says the Lord. ‘I will not be angry with you forever.
Jeremiah command that those living in southern Judah should go back north to Assyria and ask the other ten tribes of Israel to repent and return to God, so that He could end her captivity.
3:13 However, you must confess that you have done wrong, and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God. You must confess that you have given yourself to foreign gods under every green tree, and have not obeyed my commands,’ says the Lord.
If the northern kingdom of Israel would confess her sin, then God would take her back as His wife.
3:14 “Come back to me, my wayward sons,” says the Lord, “for I am your true master. If you do, I will take one of you from each town and two of you from each family group, and I will bring you back to Zion.
If Israel and Judah would return back to God, then God would take them back as prodigal sons. He would bless them by returning then back to the land of Israel. He would regather them and bring them back into the land.
3:15 I will give you leaders who will be faithful to me. They will lead you with knowledge and insight.
If Judah and Israel would return to God, then He would give them shepherds who would feed the flock with knowledge and insight. Knowledge and insight comes from the deep study of bible doctrine from the entire counsel of the Word of God.
3:16 In those days, your population will greatly increase in the land. At that time,” says the Lord, “people will no longer talk about having the ark that contains the Lord’s covenant with us. They will not call it to mind, remember it, or miss it. No, that will not be done any more!
“In those days” refers to the Millennial Kingdom. During the Millennial Kingdom, the population of Israel will greatly increase, because there will be no anti-Semitic enemies who want to exterminate Israel. There will be a Temple, but there will be no Ark of the Covenant. Israel will not call it to mind, remember it, or miss it, because the Messiah will be in their midst. The Ark of the Covenant will not needed since the Messiah will be living on earth among His people.
3:17 At that time the city of Jerusalem will be called the Lord’s throne. All nations will gather there in Jerusalem to honor the Lord’s name. They will no longer follow the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts.
More details of this verse will be explained later in chapter 23. During the Millennial Kingdom, Jerusalem will become the center of Gentile attention. All of the Jews and Gentiles will worship the Lord Jesus Christ in Jerusalem.
3:18 At that time the nation of Judah and the nation of Israel will be reunited. Together they will come back from a land in the north to the land that I gave to your ancestors as a permanent possession.”
During the Millennial Kingdom, there will be no divided kingdom. Israel and Judah will be united. They will both live in the land of Israel for the entire Millennial Kingdom period.
3:19 “I thought to myself, ‘Oh what a joy it would be for me to treat you like a son! What a joy it would be for me to give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful piece of property there is in all the world!’ I thought you would call me, ‘Father’ and would never cease being loyal to me.
It would bring great joy to Jehovah if He could give the most beautiful land in the world to Israel in the hope that she would call Him “Father” and be loyal to Him. Being loyal to God means showing Him obedience. The man who does not study and apply bible doctrine from the entire counsel of the Word of God does not love God. They forsake the study of Scripture, because they love the things of the world more than they do the things of God.
3:20 But, you have been unfaithful to me, nation of Israel, like an unfaithful wife who has left her husband,” says the Lord.
Israel has been an unfaithful wife. She has not shown her love for Jehovah. Those today who place the things of the satanic world system over Jehovah are also unfaithful to Jesus.
3:21 “A noise is heard on the hilltops. It is the sound of the people of Israel crying and pleading to their gods. Indeed they have followed sinful ways; they have forgotten to be true to the Lord their God.
At the end of the Great Tribulation, Israel will cry out for her Messiah with tears in her eyes.
3:22 Come back to me, you wayward people. I want to cure your waywardness. Say, ‘Here we are. We come to you because you are the Lord our God.
God the husband calls Israel his wife to come back to him.
3:23 We know our noisy worship of false gods on the hills and mountains did not help us. We know that the Lord our God is the only one who can deliver Israel.
Israel confesses her sin. Israel made a lot of noise on the hilltops of Israel, but these false gods did not listen to her or help her. Israel’s only hope is in Jehovah.
3:24 From earliest times our worship of that shameful god, Baal, has taken away all that our ancestors worked for. It has taken away our flocks and our herds, and even our sons and daughters.
The worship of Baal was a shameful thing. He placed a heavy economic burden on Israel. Many flocks, herds, sons, and daughters were sacrificed to this demonic idol. These sacrifices drained the economy of Israel.
3:25 Let us acknowledge our shame. Let us bear the disgrace that we deserve. For we have sinned against the Lord our God, both we and our ancestors. From earliest times to this very day we have not obeyed the Lord our God.’
Jeremiah confessed Israel's idolatry. All through history (from Mount Sinai to the end of the Great Tribulation), Israel has been in continuous rebellion against God.