Jeremiah: God’s Call to Repentance

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

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We will be covering Jeremiah 1:1-6:30 in today’s lesson. In doing so, we clearly cannot cover every verse or even every aspect of information provided. We will be picking out aspects from the following:

1. Jeremiah’s Call and Commission – 1:1-19
   1. His Call – 1:1-10
   2. The Confirmation of the Call – 1:11-19
2. Prophecies Concerning Judah – 2:1-45:5
   1. Judah’s Willful Sin – 2:1-3:5
   2. Judah’s Chastening – 3:6-6:30
      1. Contrast Between Israel and Judah – 3:6-10
      2. Call to Repentance – 3:11-25
      3. Prediction of Judgment – 4:1-31
      4. Reasons for Judgment – 5:1-31
      5. Certainly of Judgment – 6:1-30

Lest we think that the basic and vital lessons of the Book of Jeremiah are essentially only for Judah and surrounding nations in that part of the world, we need to understand that “…all national deterioration and disaster is due fundamentally to the disregarding and disobeying of God.” (J. Sidlow Baxter from Explore the Book).

This has occurred with every nation or empire that has come and gone. While some remain to some extent, though clearly far less of an luminary than in their golden age (i.e. Egypt), in large measure, all nations have risen to power, plateaued and then vanished from the world’s stage for one reason or another. It has normally been due to the fact that those nations were supremely godless. Many started out godless and yet, God chose to use some of them as His instrument of judgment against Israel/Judah. Babylon is a case in point as God used that empire to judge Judah. Eventually, God judged the Babylonian Empire using the Medo-Persian Empire to do so.

In every case, a nation is either taken down or dissolves under its own weight of immorality usually due to the complete disregard for God and His Law. It often starts with the leaders of a nation. Once they begin to ignore truth in exchange for how they feel about something, the slide begins. This then filters down to society itself.

By way of application, it is clear that this is what is occurring in the United States now. There has been a deliberate and determined breakdown in America over the decades that has resulted in a true godlessness that defiles the entire society overall. This is in spite of possibly many within it who do not go along with the failures and continue to live in ways that bring glory to God.

So once leaders turn their backs on truth, advocating lies, this results in that society exhibiting and experiencing far more wickedness, bitterness and hatred ending in a growing callousness toward one another. Eventually, sin ceases to be called sin. It is embraced as good and that society begins living a  Romans 1 life. Even while doing that, it still often sees itself as “innocent” of being evil in spite of the many examples from that society that exist on a daily basis. These become actually willfully indulged in by many to most within that populace. Once the rejection of God’s morality is complete, there is little left except for God to judge that nation.

If we consider Sodom and Gomorrah, it wasn’t simply the level and amount of sexual deviancy that made those twin cities what they were then. It was the level of disregard for humanity itself. People not only lived for themselves, but they deliberately chose to ignore other people who might need help. In fact, extrabiblical writings more than suggest that the people of those towns took peculiar delight in going out of their way to bring harm to other people either directly or by ignoring them when in dire need. That’s how far down the Sodomites and Gomorrahites were at the time. They received a fiendish delight in watching their peers be neglected or in pain. Is it any wonder why no one other than Lot, his wife and two daughters were the only ones God was initially able to save?

During Jeremiah’s ministry, he addressed many of the sinful issues of Judah. In Jeremiah 2:1-3:5, he chided the nation for their willful sin. In Jeremiah 2, God presents His case against Judah through the prophet Jeremiah. The Judahites had turned their back on God and He took them to task over it.

What injustice have your fathers found in Me,
That they have gone far from Me,
Have followed idols,
And have become idolaters?
Neither did they say, ‘Where is the Lord,
Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt…(Jeremiah 2:4b-6a NKJV)

God and Israel had entered into covenant on Mt. Sinai after He had led that nation by the hand under Moses out of Egypt, through the Wilderness and into the Promised Land. How was God treated? He was essentially ignored with many to most turning to idols and spiritual adultery.

What We Will Learn from Jeremiah:

• God’s righteous judgment deals with persistent disobedience; idolatry, apostasy and moral corruption
• To exhort God’s people to repentance and a life of obedience as we grow to understand the depths of our sinfulness
• The blessings of the New Covenant
• That God is sovereign in judgment against nations and people opposing His kingdom agenda
• The contrast between true and false prophets
• Appreciate the uniquely emotional personality of the prophet Jeremiah himself

Prophecies Concerning Judah

• Judah’s Willful Sin (2:1-3:5)
  • First, God tells Jeremiah to tell the Judahites that He remembers when He first betrothed Israel (vv1-3)
  • God states how He was ready to protect Israel at all costs (v3)
  • God demands to know what “injustice” He had done against Israel to warrant their treatment of Him
    • Idolatry (v5)
    • Turning their backs on God (vv6-8)
  • God then brings charges against Israel (vv9-13)
  • God then warns Israel what He will do

God says the trouble coming on Israel is what Israel has brought on itself (vv14-19). Israel’s wickedness will correct Israel ultimately and their backsliding will rebuke them. The problem was that Israel/Judah ultimately had no fear of God at all. This fear would’ve translated to complete submission to Him and His will, but it remained absent from the hearts of the Judahites.

God had taken the time to remove Israel from bondage in Egypt (v20) and in repayment, Israel became idolators (vv20-22) worse than other nations. They not only participated in idol worship, but continued to “worship” the God of Israel, something  no other nation had done. However, Israel claimed they did not do the things God claimed they did (vv23-25).

Though Israel worshiped other gods, they denied it, so God wanted to know where those gods were now to help them (vv26-28). When God chastised, Israel pleaded to get out from under the chastisement (vv29-30), but Israel had forgotten God, their betrothed (vv31-32). Israel adorned herself for her “lovers” while ignoring God completely (vv33-34) and then denied her infidelity (v35). Israel’s trust in her allies was her undoing (vv36-37).

Israel completely ignored God’s Laws in marriage (3:1), as one other example. Israel trusted in other nations instead of God (3:2) to help and protect them. Because of it, God withheld rain for crops (3:3). God wanted to know when they would return to Him and see Him as Father (3:4). They would ask incredulously why is God angry? When will His anger subside? (3:5).

Judah’s Chastening (3:6-6:30)
God then contrasts Judah with Israel (3:6-10). Judah is held to a higher standard solely because Judah saw what happened to Israel because of their defection from God, yet this did not serve as a warning to Judah and they continued to go down the same path as Israel. In that sense, they were more culpable.

God’s Call to Repentance (3:11-25)
This section looks forward to the Millennial Kingdom, which will secure Israel’s and Judah’s willing submission to the LORD. During that time – the Millennial Kingdom over which Jesus rules – there will be no Ark of the Covenant any longer and it will not even come to mind. Jerusalem will be God’s throne and all nations shall come to Jerusalem to worship the LORD. People, including all Israel, will have a new heart within and Israel and Judah shall be reunited (v18). The remainder of Chapter 3 is God reverting to calling Judah back to Him, giving them another chance to repent and turn from their sin.

Prediction of Judgment (4:1-31)
God continues calling Judah back to Him (vv1-4) and the prophet Jeremiah warns of coming judgment (vv5-18). Jeremiah expresses the emotional pain he feels at the thought that Judah will be judged and destroyed (vv19-26) and he then describes the extent of the judgment (vv27-31).

Reasons for Judgment (5:1-31)
God often repeats Himself in different ways throughout the book of Jeremiah. The people of Judah did not seek the truth and even after God struck Israel, they refused to repent. In fact, Judah further hardened themselves against God.

Because Judah was so stiff-necked, God would send other nations to slay them, but because of His mercy, God promises not to make a complete end of Judah (v10). Both Israel and Judah were treacherous toward God. Their prophets spoke “wind” (false promises) and God said He will send nations to destroy Judah (vv14-17).

God again promises to not make a complete end of Judah (v18) and then details exactly what will happen to Judah for their spiritual adultery (v19). God testifies to five things that will bring judgment:

1. Judahites deliberately refused to hear God (vv20-25)
2. The wicked in Judah prosper and are not stopped (vv26-29)
3. The prophets speak falsely (v31)
4. The priests rule by their own power for themselves (v31)
5. The people of Judah wanted it that way (v31)

Certainty of God’s Judgment (6:1-30)
God was going to bring sudden destruction onto Judah and He warns the Benjamites of the coming attack (vv1-5). Benjamin’s land area was the southern boundary of Jerusalem.

Once the attack begins, it would move quickly. The enemy would build a siege wall around Jerusalem (v3) and they would be so desperate to attack Jerusalem they would attack at night (vv4-5), something rarely done in those days. The city of Jerusalem was to be punished (v6).

God’s “harvest” of Jerusalem would be so complete that even the small remnant left would be taken to Babylon (v9). Jeremiah, speaking for God, outlines the depth of Judah’s sin and His punishment (vv9-15). God complains about Judah’s superficial ritualistic worship (vv16-21). Again, God warns of a northern enemy (Babylon) that will destroy Jerusalem (vv22-26). Jeremiah assesses the spiritual nature of the people of Judah and finds them wanting (vv27-30).

Application
As Christians, what can we learn from this?

• God consistently called Judah to repent – what should that repentance have looked like?
• In spite of God’s blessings for obedience, why is it difficult sometimes to obey God?
• Is what happened to Judah applicable in any way to the USA and other nations?

We will be back next time when we go over Jeremiah 7-8.

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

Source: https://studygrowknowblog.com/2025/09/16/jeremiah-gods-call-to-repentance/