Jeremiah 2:21-27 - I had planted you like a choice vine

2:21,22

They had been planted like a “choice vine”. They could have been good, if only the heart of man was not deceitful and corrupt. But they did turn against God and in rejecting God they became a corrupt wild vine. Denying God has dire consequences. They tried to do something about the sins, but to no avail. Our society tries to solve the problems that sin inevitably brings, but to no avail. Most of all our guilt lies before the Lord.

2:23,24

“How can you say ‘I am not defiled’?” We are often blind to our defilement, vehemently denying it. They quite clearly had run after the Baals (false gods). And God is not afraid to use very clear and graphic language to describe Judah’s running after idols. She is like a camel on heat! Not a pretty picture. When we chase after idols it demeans us.

2:25-27

Israel was desperate to chase after these idols. Sin gets a hold of us and makes us utterly irrational. “As a thief is disgraced ..” Sin, rebellion, trusting false gods, all these things demean us. “So the house of Israel is disgraced”. The whole nation was disgraced, all their various leaders.

The extent of their disgrace is shown up by their saying to wood “you are my father” and to the stone “you gave me birth”. Idols were generally made of wood or stone. How stupid of them! Especially when they could call on the living God! Yet in difficult times we can all find it so hard to trust God. We need to remind ourselves who God is.