Do not put your trust in the nations, but in the Lord.
“‘Now why go to Egypt to drink water from the Nile? And why go to Assyria to drink water from the Euphrates? Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realise how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me’, declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.” (Jeremiah 2:18-19)
In order to understand what Jeremiah was saying here, we have to unpack it in its historical setting. Jeremiah began his ministry during the reign of Josiah, whom he very much admired but with whom he never had a close relationship, most likely because Jeremiah was still a very young man, probably in his late teens.1
The Egyptian army was travelling through Judah, along the coast road via Gaza, en route to engage the Assyrians. Josiah - foolishly and needlessly - decided to engage them at Megiddo, where he lost his life. The Egyptians then delayed their intended conflict with Assyria and attacked and plundered villages and towns right across the lowlands of Judah until they reached Jerusalem, where the new young King Jehoahaz surrendered and paid a heavy price in gold and silver. The Egyptians took Jehoahaz captive and replaced him with his brother, whom they re-named Jehoiakim.
It was this humiliation of the nation that Jeremiah was saying that Judah had brought upon themselves by forsaking the Lord God of Israel. There was clear division of opinion among the people - some saying that they should have appealed to the Assyrians for help against Egypt, and others saying that they should come under Egypt’s protection. Jeremiah took a contrary view, saying that it was wrong to put their trust in any of the nations, but that they should put their trust solely in God.
Jeremiah told the people that it was wrong to put their trust in any of the nations, but that they should put their trust solely in God.
Temptations to Idolatry
He went on, “Long ago you broke off your yoke and tore off your bond; you said, ‘I will not serve you!’ Indeed, on every high hill and under every spreading tree you lay down as a prostitute” (Jer 2:20).
There probably never had been a time when the whole nation was faithful to the God of their fathers. As soon as they entered the Promised Land after their 40 years trekking in the wilderness, the Israelites began worshipping at the pagan shrines of the Canaanites.
The pressures upon the Israelites to get into idolatry were immense. For a whole generation under Moses they had been on the move with their sheep and goats and they had no experience of arable farming. They had to learn from their Canaanite neighbours. They even had to go to the Philistines to get metal ploughs made in their forges because “not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel” (1 Sam 13:19). Then the Canaanites would have told them that they could only get good produce by acknowledging the Baal who owned the land hence, as Jeremiah said, they worshipped on “every high hill and under every spreading tree”.
It was not until the 8th Century prophets such as Amos, Hosea and Micah that there were strong calls for national loyalty to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and this would only be possible after David had established Jerusalem as his capital, enabling his son Solomon to build the Temple, symbolising the heart of the national religion.
Of course, it was always difficult for rural people scattered across the countryside and those living in towns and villages a long way from Jerusalem to get to the Temple. Many of them made a practice of going once a year in large groups to ensure safety of travel, hence the ‘Psalms of Ascent’ (120 to 134) which they sang on their way up to Jerusalem. But despite the pilgrimages many still worshipped at the local idol shrines.
The pressures upon the Israelites to get into idolatry were immense.
Forgetting Our History
In Jerusalem the air was full of political intrigue. Among the King’s advisers there were the pro-Egyptian party who advocated a treaty, but there were also others who advised sending emissaries to Assyria asking for help. You have brought all this trouble upon yourselves, was Jeremiah’s message: “Consider then and realise how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord”. When the ‘Book of the Law’ had been found, Josiah had called all the nation together in Jerusalem to re-affirm the Covenant and to renounce idolatry (2 Chron 34:29-33). But they had quickly forsaken their promises.
Jeremiah could never understand why the people turned away so quickly from God when their history was full of incredible miracles with which God had blessed the nation. From the time of Moses, it had been incumbent upon parents to teach their children their history and the terms of the Covenant:
Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children, talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deut 6:4-7)
These basic commandments had been neglected, which resulted in all the trouble that had come upon the nation.
If we find it amazing that the people of Israel could be so foolish, we should think of our situation today, where all the Western nations have turned away from the faith of their fathers. We have forgotten our history. We have a whole generation of young people who know little or nothing of the God of the Bible. We have rejected truth and embraced fake news, lies and deception, and we worship the gods of consumerism and selfish ambition. We are just like those who worshipped wood and stone. Our gods are subtler, but equally deadly in their outcome.
References
1 This is probably the reason why his counsel was not sought when the ‘Book of the Law’ was found during the repairs to the Temple. The Prophetess Huldah was the one who confirmed that the scroll that had been found was indeed genuine (2 Chron 34:22).
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