Jeremiah 3:12

3:12-20 See God's readiness to pardon sin, and the blessings reserved for gospel times. These words were proclaimed toward the north; to Israel, the ten tribes, captive in Assyria. They are directed how to return. If we confess our sins, the Lord is faithful and just to forgive them. These promises are fully to come to pass in the bringing back the Jews in after-ages. God will graciously receive those that return to him; and by his grace, he takes them out from among the rest. The ark of the covenant was not found after the captivity. The whole of that dispensation was to be done away, which took place after the multitude of believers had been greatly increased by the conversion of the Gentiles, and of the Israelites scattered among them. A happy state of the church is foretold. He can teach all to call him Father; but without thorough change of heart and life, no man can be a child of God, and we have no security for not departing from Him.

Jeremiah 3:12-13 . Go, and proclaim these words toward the north — “The sin of the ten tribes being attended with more favourable circumstances than that of Judah, the prophet is commanded to call them to repentance with promises of pardon. In order to this he is bid to direct his speech northward, that is, toward Assyria and Media, whither the ten tribes had been carried away captive, which countries lay north of Judea.” And say: Return, thou backsliding Israel — Repent of thy backslidings, return to thy allegiance; come back to that good way out of which thou hast turned aside. And I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you — Namely, more grievously than it has already fallen, or for ever; for otherwise his anger lay heavy upon them at this time. Observe, reader, God’s anger is ready to fall on sinners, as a lion falls on his prey, and there is none to deliver. But if they repent, it shall be turned away, for he is merciful, and will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity — Own thyself in a fault, and thereby take shame to thyself, and give glory to God. Confess and forsake thy sins; for he that confesseth and forsaketh shall find mercy. This will aggravate the condemnation of sinners, that the terms of pardon and peace were brought so low, and yet they would not come up to them. Sinner, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? How much more when he saith, Only acknowledge thine iniquity.

The Hebrew, דעי עונן , is properly, Know thine iniquity, that is, in order to thy acknowledging and forsaking it. We must call our sins to mind, consider the number, greatness, and inexcusableness of them, that we may conceive a proper hatred to them, and sorrow for them, and thereby, and through faith in the divine mercy and grace in Christ, may obtain pardon and deliverance from them. That thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God — Against the infinite and eternal Jehovah, who had taken thee to be his peculiar people, and was in covenant with thee as thy God. And hast scattered thy ways to the strangers — To other gods, to idols, running hither and thither to worship them. The phrase is taken from the lewdness of common harlots, who promiscuously prostitute themselves to all comers: see Proverbs 30:20 . The clause may be rendered, Thou hast wandered among strangers, or strange gods; that is, thou hast not repaired, or had recourse, to one strange god, but many; under every green tree — Alluding to the heathen performing the ceremonies of their idolatrous worship in groves, or under large spreading trees. And ye have not obeyed my voice — So that your sin is not a sin of ignorance, but of obstinacy, for you shut your ears against my counsels, sent by my prophets for reclaiming you.

Verse 12. - Israel, therefore, shall be recalled from exile. Her sins are less than those of Judah, and how long and bitterly has she suffered for them! Toward the north . For Israel had been carried captive into the regions to the north of the Assyrian empire ( 2 Kings 17:6 ; 2 Kings 18:11 ). Comp. the pro-raise in Jeremiah 31:8 . I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you ; rather, my face to fall towards you (i.e. upon your return). Jeremiah 3:12

Go and proclaim these words toward {o} the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause my anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. (o) While the Israelites were now kept in captivity by the Assyrians, to whom he promises mercy, if they will repent.

(12) Toward the north. —The prophet utters his message as towards the far land of Assyria and the cities of the Medes to which the ten tribes of Israel had been carried away captive ( 2Kings 17:6 ; 2Kings 17:23 ). He had a word of glad tidings for the far-off exiles. Return, thou backsliding Israel.—It is hard to reproduce the pathetic assonance of the original, “Shubah, mashubah,”—turn back, thou that hast turned away; return, thou renegade. I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you.—Literally, my face; the face so awful in its wrath. I will not keep anger for ever.—With perhaps a latent reference to the hope held out in Hosea 3:5, and to the words which Judah had uttered in her hypocrisy (Jeremiah 3:5), but which were truer of Israel.

The north - The ten tribes, settled by Salmanezer in the north of Assyria. I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you - literally, I will not cause my face "to fall upon you:" i. e., "I will not receive you with averted looks." The "and" before this clause should be omitted, as also before the next clause, "I will not keep ..." I will not keep - All God's promises and threats are conditional upon man's conduct.

Go: it may possibly be used here as an adverb of exciting, namely, to go, as is usual; or it notes speed, Go quickly, out of hand; not locally, but set thy face, Jeremiah 2:2 , or feet, that way, or by thy office address thyself to them, viz. by way of proclamation, crying aloud; possibly implying the distance of place: this voice may in time reach them, though a great way off. Or rather the deafness of Israel, or the obdurateness of Judah, that they might hear what God saith to Israel, conceive hope, and be reclaimed by their example, and be excited to emulation. Toward the north, i.e. to Assyria and Media, and the regions thereabouts, that lay northward from Judea, whither the ten tribes were carried by Tiglath-pileser and Shulmaneser, 2 Kings 15:29 17:6 . And I will not cause mine anger; upon condition of returning to their former true worship of God, that thereby Judah might be awakened, he promiseth that he will not let his anger, or his face , as in the Hebrew, (because anger principally appears in the face,) his angry face , or countenance, to be upon them; so it is used Leviticus 17:10 Psalm 34:16 ; and not be inexorable, viz. for ever, which is to be supplied from the next words; for otherwise his anger lay heavy upon them at this time. To fall a metaphor from things on high that drop down to the hurt of whatever is under them, and so Jeremiah 23:34 : compare Genesis 19:24 .

12. Go—not actually; but turn and proclaim towards the north (Media and Assyria, where the ten tribes were located by Tiglath-pileser and Shalmaneser, 2Ki 15:29; 17:6; 18:9, 11). Return … backsliding—Hebrew, Shubah, Meshubah, a play on sounds. In order to excite Judah to godly jealousy (Ro 11:14), Jehovah addresses the exiled ten tribes of Israel with a loving invitation. cause … anger to fall—literally, "I will not let fall My countenance" (compare Ge 4:5, 6; Job 29:3), that is, I will not continue to frown on you. keep—"anger" is to be supplied (see on [896]Jer 3:5).