Jeremiah 3:9,10 - Her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me

3:9

Israel’s immorality did not matter to her, she considered it to be of no consequence. What actually happened was that she defiled the land. All nations should be aware of this, because the immorality of our societies defiles our land as well. When Israel was driving out nations from the Promised Land it says that part of the reason for this was that the sin of the current occupants had reached such a height (or depth, I suppose). This concept of defiling the land applies to all nations, not just Israel. The “adultery with wood and stone” is another reference to idol worship.

3:10

Judah learnt nothing from her sister (Israel). She should have seen that worshipping idols was wrong and that God judged her for it. Instead any “return to God” was only done in pretense (Is 29:13), there was no change in their hearts. We need to get a hold of the concept of God’s judgement if we are to learn anything in life. The lens through which so many people view the world is “God does not judge”, this is utterly stupid. If you read virtually any page in the Bible God’s judgement is a key element of what is going on, and it is a key element of what was going on at the cross.