Jeremiah 2:11-13

The Voice

¹¹    Has a nation ever exchanged its gods for some others,
        even if they weren’t really gods in the first place?
    But My beloved people have done just that: they have exchanged their glory
        to pursue worthless idols in their vain attempt for greater prosperity.

Israel’s plan to submit herself to the authority of a stronger pagan nation in return for protection makes no sense to an objective observer, much less to God Himself. During the long history of this nation, her troubles have often resulted from a stubborn refusal to trust God. They have a habit of looking elsewhere—to anywhere or anyone but God—for relief, of turning to nations that are never constant friends. For example, when the Assyrian Empire was conquering the region 100 years earlier, the Northern Kingdom of Israel attempted to ward off the threat by making treaties with other nations. Despite their feeble plans, Israel fell in 722 b.c. to Assyrian might and cruelty. Now God points out to Judah’s leaders in the Southern Kingdom how useless it is to align with either Egypt or Assyria when the punishing Babylonian army is on the horizon. It doesn’t matter how powerful her allies may seem; once the covenant with God is broken, Israel must pay for her infidelity.

¹²    Be horrified, O you heavens, at this appalling betrayal.
        Cringe in horror and be repulsed.
¹³    My people are guilty of two evils:
        They have abandoned Me, the spring of living waters;
    And instead, they have settled for dead and stagnant water
        from cracked, leaky cisterns of their own making.