Jeremiah 2 -3

Whoa! Jeremiah launches straight into it with a veritable tirade against "unfaithful Israel". Even in all this fire and brimstone there is some comfort. I remember a pastor we had once always said look for the hope in any prophesy. If there is no hope it's not from God. God never totally and utterly condemns you he always provides you with a means of salvation. There are some who would of course never take the proffered olive branch - but it is their choice! God treats us like adults:

"Have you not brought this upon yourselves by forsaking the Lord your God ..." (2:17)

In other words you chose the way you would go you can choose another way.

The imagery is strongly of unfaithfulness in the marital sense; the prophet talks about prostitutes and divorce (eg 2:20 & 3:1) more than once. I don't believe that Debs has ever been unfaithful to me so I don't know how it feels - I can only imagine. I do know what it feels like when a friend betrays your trust - very painful. [Those reading this article perhaps you can add a comments?] Jeremiah is saying that this is what it is like for God when we turn our backs on Him.

We are so accustomed to seeing things from our point of view that we forget that God has feelings too - that when we turn our backs and abandon Him it hurts Him right to the core.

The real message here though is that we hurt ourselves by our own choices:

"My people have committed two sins: they have forsaken me, the spring of living water and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water" 2:13

I'm painfully aware that choices I have made recently have cost me and if I examine them carefully I realise I have wandered from the path - time to snap back and get with the program!