Jeremiah 3:13

Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD. ONLY ACKNOWLEDGE - (; ; , "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy"). SCATTERED THY WAYS ... - (). Not merely the calves at Bethel, but the idols in every direction, were the objects of their worship (;...

God lays down here a condition, lest hypocrites, relying on his goodness, should become more and more hardened, and yet think that he is bound as it were to them; for they usually reason thus, — “God is so kind that he recalls us to himself, and of his own free will invites even sinners; we may therefore easily settle matters with him.” Thus hypocrites by false thoughts’ delude themselves, thinking that they can elude God, since he seeks nothing else but to restore sinners to himself. Hence with the promise of favor there ought ever to be connected an exhortation to repentance. God then reminds here the Israelites, that they were greatly deceived, if they thought they could without any difficulty obtain pardon. Hence he says, _know thine iniquity _The particle אך, _ak_, may be rendered only, or but, or yet. I prefer the second meaning, _but; _for an exception, as I have said, is here add...

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...

ACKNOWLEDGE - literally, “know thy iniquity;” know that thy doings are iniquitous. SCATTERED THY WAYS - Wandered in search of those idolatries which foreign nations practice....

EXPOSITION That this chapter (to which the first four verses of Jeremiah 4:1. ought to have been attached) belongs to the time of Josiah seems to be proved by Jeremiah 3:6, and the years immediately following the reformation are not obscurely referred to in Jeremiah 3:4, Jeremiah 3:10. Naegelsbach gives a striking distribution of its contents. The general subject is a call to "return." First, the prophet shows that, in spite of Deuteronomy 24:1, etc; a return is possible ...

ONLY ACKNOWLEDGE THINE INIQUITY,.... Or, "know" e it; unless a man knows his sin, and is convicted of it, he will never repent of it, or turn from it; and when he is made sensible of it, and sorry for it, he ought to acknowledge and confess it before God, against whom he has sinned; this is what is insisted upon, and all that is insisted upon; and it is the least that can be done, and is what every sensible sinner will do, who upon it may expect the discovery of pardoning grace and mercy, Psalms 32:5: THAT THOU HAST TRANSGRESSED AGAINST THE LORD THY GOD; against his law, his declared mind and will, and notwithstanding he is the Lord thy God; against a God of love, grace, and mercy, who had loaded them with his benefits, and followed them with his goodness; all which aggravates the sin they had been guilty of: and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under

In this chapter, the sin of God's people is put in the strongest possible light. The figure used may be even said to be a coarse one, but man's sin is itself a coarse thing. The thoughts suggested in this chapter are not what the delicate might desire; but then there is no delicacy in sin. Jeremiah 3:1. _They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted?_ God himself seems here to be at a non plus. His people had gone away from him, they had acted unfaithfully to him, they had joined themselves unto other gods. The case was a very difficult one. If the Lord takes these people back again, will it not look like putting a premium upon sin? That is just the question that is constantly being raised. If God freely forgives great sinners, will it not look as if he treated

THE CALL TO REPENTANCE AND JUDGMENT ANNOUNCED (3:6-6:30) CHAPTER 3 _ 1. The contrast between backslidden Israel and treacherous Judah (Jeremiah 3:6) _ 2. The call to return and the promised glory (Jeremiah 3:12) 3. The future true repentance predicted and anticipated (Jeremiah 3:19) Jeremiah 3:6. The message which begins with the sixth verse was given to Jeremiah during the reign of Josiah. There is then, first of all, a contrast between Israel (the ten tribes) and her sister Judah. (Compare with Ezekiel 23:

ISRAEL'S SIN LESS THAN JUDAH'S. This passage interrupts the continuity of Jeremiah 3:19 with Jeremiah 3:5 (note also the interruptive introductory formula, Jeremiah 3:6), and seems to be a separate prophecy, though it employs the predominant figure of this section, _i.e._ the marriage of Yahweh and His people, and is probably by Jeremiah (to Jeremiah 3:16). The northern kingdom was faithless to this marriage, through the Baal-cult; Yahweh waited for her return in vain (Jeremiah 3:7 _mg.),_ and at length divorced her ...

ONLY ACKNOWLEDGE, &C. This from the first was, and still is, the one condition of national blessing for Israel. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:40; Leviticus 26:42). TRANSGRESSED. rebelled. SCATTERED THY WAYS. gone hither and thither. STRANGERS. foreigners. EVERY GREEN TREE. Referring to the worship of the Asherah (App-42)....