14 “Is Israel a slave? Or is he a homeborn servant?
Why has he become a prey?
15 “The young lions have roared at him,
They have [e]roared loudly.
And they have made his land a waste;
His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.
16 “Also the [f]men of Memphis and Tahpanhes
Have [g]shaved the crown of your head.
17 “Have you not done this to yourself
By your forsaking the Lord your God
When He led you in the way?
18 “But now what are you doing on the road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of the [h]Nile?
Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria,
To drink the waters of the [i]Euphrates?
19 “Your own wickedness will correct you,
And your apostasies will reprove you;
Know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter
For you to forsake the Lord your God,
And the dread of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord [j]God of hosts.20 “For long ago [k]I broke your yoke
And tore off your bonds;
But you said, ‘I will not serve!’
For on every high hill
And under every green tree
You have lain down as a harlot.
21 “Yet I planted you a choice vine,
A completely faithful seed.
How then have you turned yourself before Me
Into the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?
22 “Although you wash yourself with lye
And [l]use much soap,
The stain of your iniquity is before Me,” declares the Lord [m]God.
23 “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
Look at your way in the valley!
Know what you have done!
You are a swift young camel entangling her ways,
24 A wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,
That sniffs the wind in her passion.
In the time of her [n]heat who can turn her away?
All who seek her will not become weary;
In her month they will find her.
25 “Keep your feet from being unshod
And your throat from thirst;
But you said, ‘It is [o]hopeless!
No! For I have loved strangers,
And after them I will walk.’
As God continues to speak through Jeremiah, He asks a pivotal question, “Is Israel a slave?” Naturally, they would have said, “What? No way!” How could anyone ask such a silly question when they were doggedly going their own way, doing whatever they wanted. Or were they?
God continues the train of thought with another question, “Whey has he (Israel) become a prey?” In other words, why are others preying upon Israel, taking advantage of them, and oppressing them, if they are not slaves? God reminds them in v. 20, “I broke your yoke and tore off your bonds…” Yet they would not submit to God’s instructions, when all His commands were for their benefit.
Instead, they chose to follow in the ways of the very land from which they escaped (vv. 16-18), and were being tossed back and forth as a boat in a storm, from Egypt to Assyria. They didn’t think they were slaves, but the reality of their situation was about to become very, well… real (v. 19).
As God continues to describe their apostasy, there is something in v. 25 that reminds me of the time when Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well. Here God tells them, to avoid the call of the flesh, to “keep your throat from thirst”. Yet they thought it was hopeless, much like the woman at the well. She clung to old traditions, yet knew the Messiah would rescue them.
Though she was an adulterous woman, on her sixth attempt at love, not even bothering to get married this time, she still had a sliver of hunger for more than what this life could offer. After all, she had tried plenty, and found it lacking, just like the Israelites in Jeremiah’s day. They had gotten hung up on the sacrifices and the rituals, thinking it was all for God.
But how could God possibly benefit from them killing animals, and burning grain, and all the other rituals of their worship? He desired something different, their faithfulness, or as Jesus told the woman, “true worshipers (who) will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Samuel once asked Saul, “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice…” God doesn’t need your offerings and sacrifices, much (if not all) of what He asks of us is for our gain, for our betterment.
One thing He desires, your heart, and your soul’s devotion. Not as a slave, for God has broken your yoke, and given you the free choice, but your love and faithfulness–in return for His love, already poured out and freely given. “Keep your feet from being unshod, and your throat from thirst;” for His love is better than life, His water that which gives eternal life, and fulfillment like nothing this world can offer.