Jeremiah 2:16 - Prayer Tents

Jeremiah 2

The Lord’s Case against His People

2The Lord gave me another message. He said,H1697H3068H5592“Go and shout this message to Jerusalem. This is what the Lord says: “I remember how eager you were to please me as a young bride long ago, how you loved me and followed me even through the barren wilderness.H1980H7121H241H3389H559H559H3068H2142H2617H5271H160H3623H3212H310H4057H776H22323In those days Israel was holy to the Lord, the first of his children

. All who harmed his people were declared guilty, and disaster fell on them. I, the Lord, have spoken!”H3478H6944H3068H7225H8393H398H816H7451H935H5002H30684Listen to the word of the Lord, people of Jacob—all you families of Israel!H8085H1697H3068H1004H3290H4940H1004H34785This is what the Lord says: “What did your ancestors find wrong with me that led them to stray so far from me? They worshiped worthless idols, only to become worthless themselves.H559H3068H5766H1H4672H7368H3212H310H1892H18916They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord who brought us safely out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness—a land of deserts and pits, a land of drought and death, where no one lives or even travels?’H559H3068H5927H776H4714H3212H4057H776H6160H7745H776H6723H6757H776H376H5674H120H34277“And when I brought you into a fruitful land to enjoy its bounty and goodness, you defiled my land and corrupted the possession I had promised you.H935H3759H776H398H6529H2898H935H2930H776H7760H5159H84418The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who taught my word ignored me, the rulers turned against me, and the prophets spoke in the name of Baal, wasting their time on worthless idols.H3548H559H3068H8610H8451H3045H7462H6586H5030H5012H1168H1980H310H32769Therefore, I will bring my case against you,” says the Lord. “I will even bring charges against your children’s children in the years to come.H7378H5002H3068H1121H1121H737810“Go west and look in the land of Cyprus

; go east and search through the land of Kedar. Has anyone ever heard of anything as strange as this?H5674H339H3794H7200H7971H6938H995H3966H720011Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones, even though they are not gods at all? Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God

for worthless idols!H1471H3235H430H430H5971H4171H3519H327612The heavens are shocked at such a thing and shrink back in horror and dismay,” says the Lord.H8074H8064H8175H3966H2717H5002H306813“For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me—the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!H5971H6213H8147H7451H5800H4726H2416H4325H2672H877H7665H877H3557H4325

The Results of Israel’s Sin

14“Why has Israel become a slave? Why has he been carried away as plunder?H3478H5650H1004H3211H4069H95715Strong lions have roared against him, and the land has been destroyed. The towns are now in ruins, and no one lives in them anymore.H3715H7580H5414H6963H7896H776H8047H5892H3341H342716Egyptians, marching from their cities of Memphis

and Tahpanhes, have destroyed Israel’s glory and power.H1121H5297H8471H7462H693617And you have brought this upon yourselves by rebelling against the Lord your God, even though he was leading you on the way!H6213H5800H3068H430H6256H3212H187018“What have you gained by your alliances with Egypt and your covenants with Assyria? What good to you are the streams of the Nile

or the waters of the Euphrates River?H1870H4714H8354H4325H7883H1870H804H8354H4325H510419Your wickedness will bring its own punishment. Your turning from me will shame you. You will see what an evil, bitter thing it is to abandon the Lord your God and not to fear him. I, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!H7451H3256H4878H3198H3045H7200H7451H4751H5800H3068H430H6345H5002H136H3069H663520“Long ago I broke the yoke that oppressed you and tore away the chains of your slavery, but still you said, ‘I will not serve you.’ On every hill and under every green tree, you have prostituted yourselves by bowing down to idols.H5769H7665H5923H5423H4147H559H5674H5647H1364H1389H7488H6086H6808H218121But I was the one who planted you, choosing a vine of the purest stock—the very best. How did you grow into this corrupt wild vine?H5193H8321H571H2233H2015H5494H5237H161222No amount of soap or lye can make you clean. I still see the stain of your guilt. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!H3526H5427H7235H1287H5771H3799H6440H5002H136H3069

Israel, an Unfaithful Wife

23“You say, ‘That’not true! I haven’t worshiped the images of Baal!’ But how can you say that? Go and look in any valley in the land! Face the awful sins you have done. You are like a restless female camel desperately searching for a mate.H559H2930H1980H310H1168H7200H1870H1516H3045H6213H7031H1072H8308H187024You are like a wild donkey, sniffing the wind at mating time. Who can restrain her lust? Those who desire her don’t need to search, for she goes running to them!H6501H3928H4057H7602H7307H185H5315H8385H7725H1245H3286H2320H467225When will you stop running? When will you stop panting after other gods? But you say, ‘Save your breath. I’m in love with these foreign gods, and I can’t stop loving them now!’H4513H7272H3182H1627H6773H559H2976H157H2114H310H321226“Israel is like a thief who feels shame only when he gets caught. They, their kings, officials, priests, and prophets—all are alike in this.H1590H1322H4672H1004H3478H3001H4428H8269H3548H503027To an image carved from a piece of wood they say, ‘You are my father.’ To an idol chiseled from a block of stone they say, ‘You are my mother.’ They turn their backs on me, but in times of trouble they cry out to me, ‘Come and save us!’H559H6086H1H68H3205H6437H6203H6440H6256H7451H559H6965H346728But why not call on these gods you have made? When trouble comes, let them save you if they can! For you have as many gods as there are towns in Judah.H430H6213H6965H3467H6256H7451H4557H5892H430H306329Why do you accuse me of doing wrong? You are the ones who have rebelled,” says the Lord.H7378H6586H5002H306830“I have punished your children, but they did not respond to my discipline. You yourselves have killed your prophets as a lion kills its prey.H7723H5221H1121H3947H4148H2719H398H5030H7843H73831“O my people, listen to the words of the Lord! Have I been like a desert to Israel? Have I been to them a land of darkness? Why then do my people say, ‘At last we are free from God! We don’t need him anymore!’H1755H7200H1697H3068H4057H3478H776H3991H559H5971H7300H93532Does a young woman forget her jewelry? Does a bride hide her wedding dress? Yet for years on end my people have forgotten me.H1330H7911H5716H3618H7196H5971H7911H3117H455733“How you plot and scheme to win your lovers. Even an experienced prostitute could learn from you!H3190H1870H1245H160H3925H7451H187034Your clothing is stained with the blood of the innocent and the poor, though you didn’t catch them breaking into your houses!H3671H4672H1818H5315H34H5355H4672H429035And yet you say, ‘I have done nothing wrong. Surely God isn’t angry with me!’ But now I will punish you severely because you claim you have not sinned.H559H5352H639H7725H8199H559H239836First here, then there—you flit from one ally to another asking for help. But your new friends in Egypt will let you down, just as Assyria did before.H235H3966H8138H1870H954H4714H954H80437In despair, you will be led into exile with your hands on your heads, for the Lord has rejected the nations you trust. They will not help you at all.H3318H3027H7218H3068H3988H4009H6743