“Thus says the Lord,
‘I remember the devotion of your youth,
your love as a bride,
how you followed me in the wilderness,
in a land not sown.
Israel was holy to the Lord,
the firstfruits of his harvest.
All who ate of it incurred guilt;
disaster came upon them…
‘What wrong did your fathers find in me
that they went far from me,
and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?
They did not say, “Where is the Lord
who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us in the wilderness,
in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness..?”
And I brought you into a plentiful land
to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in, you defiled my land
and made my heritage an abomination.
The priests did not say, “Where is the Lord?”
Those who handle the law did not know me;
the shepherds transgressed against me;
the prophets… went after things that do not profit.
‘Therefore I still contend with you,..
and with your children’s children I will contend.
For… examine with care;
see if there has been such a thing.
Has a nation changed its gods,
even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
for that which does not profit.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the Lord,
for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water…
‘Have you not brought this upon yourself
by forsaking the Lord your God,
when he led you in the way?
And now what do you gain by going to Egypt
to drink the waters of the Nile?
Or what do you gain by going to Assyria
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?
Your evil will chastise you,
and your apostasy will reprove you.
Know and see that it is evil and bitter
for you to forsake the Lord your God;
the fear of me is not in you,
declares the Lord God of hosts…
‘I planted you a choice vine,
wholly of pure seed.
How then have you turned degenerate
and become a wild vine?'” Jeremiah 2:2-3,5-13,17-19,21a
The heavenly Bridegroom recounts His bride Israel’s early loyalty and love, then uncovers their curious betrayal. He’d brought them into a land plentiful with good things, yet their senses grew perverse, their devotion turned to defilement, their adoration to abomination. They failed to remember His miraculous deliverance from slavery and continual care through the wilderness. They neglected to inquire of Him. They had exchanged the true God for changing gods, and the glory of their inheritance for what did not profit. They had deserted their sacred union and would reap the fallout.
How true this still is today! Oh beloved, have we turned our backs on the true God? How have we failed to revere Him by independence and self-righteousness, careless language and casual choices of entertainment? When did we get smug about grace and forget its cost? What strange lovers have captured our devotion and need be eradicated? (Jeremiah 3:12-15,22-23; Romans 6:1-2; Revelation 2:4-5)
In mercy, the Lord will never stop contending to turn back His bride. Intimacy with Him is ours for the yielding- yielding up of idols, and to His loving proposal.
Lord, revive pure devotion as Your betrothed to reflect Your love and faithfulness.
As the rain and snow 