Behold, we come unto thee. How many are there of this description in every place! Now, the Israelites, on the other hand, make this answer, Behold, we shall come to thee Here Jeremiah condemns the obstinacy of his own nation, by saying, that the Israelites, when thus kindly invited by God, would not be perverse, but would, on the contrary, be tractable and obedient. “Hath God been a wilderness to you,” that you are tired of his service [Note: Jeremiah 2:5; Jeremiah 2:31.]? Sure we are, that none can truly affirm this to have been their experience. Having “tasted the gall and wormwood of a backslidden state, our souls will have them still in remembrance.” We shall determine with the Church of old, “I will return unto my first husband, for then it was better with me than now [Note: Hosea 2:7. see Psalm 103:3, this is done by the application of the blood of Christ, the only physician, and whose blood is the balm that heals every wound; and this springs from the love of God, and his free favour to his people, even the riches of his grace and abounding mercy through Christ; and is the great motive and inducement, and what gives the greatest encouragement to return unto the Lord, Hosea 14:1. Alas! O return immediately to God i and he will heal your backslidings and love you freely [Note: Hosea 14:4.]. To those who, having begun to serve God, are drawing back from him—, [“Who hath bewitched,” who hath infatuated, your depraved hearts? ].”, I call then on this whole assembly now to unite as with the voice of one man, saying, “Thou Lord art our God; and we come to thee” according to thy commandment; yea, “behold,” and bear witness to us this day, “We come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God.”], 2. Behold, we come unto thee; the Targum represents this as what the Jews pretended always to say, and did say, in a hypocritical manner, with which they are upbraided, "lo, at all times ye say, we return to thy worship, save us;''. But this view seems to me foreign to the intention of the Prophet. This indeed was not fulfilled, when a liberty to return was given to the people, except in the case of a few, who had a right feeling, and preferred the glory of God to their temporal advantages. Jeremiah 3:22 Context. Well might he threaten us with the dreadful consequences of our transgression, and address himself only to our fears. What wonder, then, that their hard hearts were forthwith melted by it into such a gracious compliance as followeth. I will heal your backslidings, i.e. Let us lie down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us; for we have sinned against Jehovah our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day; and we have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God.". Jeremiah 3:24 Parallel Verses [⇓ See commentary ⇓] Jeremiah 3:24, NIV: "From our youth shameful gods have consumed the fruits of our ancestors' labor-- their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters." Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Return, ye backsliding children This is the call of the Jews to repentance in the latter day; (See Gill on Jeremiah 3:14). In Jeremiah 3:16 and Jeremiah 3:17 also the thought is clothed in a form characteristic of the Old Testament. Jeremiah 3:22. Jeremiah 14:22. It is then a dialogue between God and the Israelites. Jeremiah 3:22. Return, ye backsliding — Or revolted, children — Return to me, and to my worship and service; return to your duty. 24 The LORD [is] my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. Lamentations 3:22(ESV) Verse Thoughts Throughout his life, the truth of God that was faithfully taught by Jeremiah the prophet, was rejected and ridiculed by all and sundry.. but when He saw the destruction and devastation of Jerusalem, he fell into deep depression and wept and mourned over the ruins of the beautiful city of God. Yahweh‘s answer to their prayer in Jeremiah 3:21 is immediately followed by their acceptance of the offer of divine mercy. The benefit of what is here taught might indeed have reached to the miserable captives and exiles; but as Jeremiah was especially the teacher of his own nation, he labored chiefly no doubt for their advantage, as we have before stated. (See 2 Samuel 2:8). But the number was small; nor was it a matter of surprise; for God had not previously said, without reason, that if one came from a city, and two from a tribe, he would be received, though others continued fixed in their perverseness. Behold, we come unto thee, for thou art the Lord our God, "This simple statement was crucial, for the root of past errors lay in their failure to recognize the Lord as their one and true God, and their consequent resort to the false gods of the fertility cults. THOUGH the conversion of men is the result of God’s purpose, and solely the effect of his grace, yet it is wrought by rational means. In the former view, it comprehends all those who in name and profession are his, but in reality are altogether regardless of his will. By these means he convinces their judgment, and makes them willing to comply with his solicitations. Biblical Commentary Lamentations 3:19-33 COMMENTARY: THE BROAD CONTEXT: Assyria and Babylonia were located in Mesopotamia, the area of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers where Iraq is located today—400-500 miles (650-800 km) northeast of Israel. He promises to heal us: to heal the guilt of our sin by the blood of Jesus, and the power of it by his good Spirit! Say, Have ye not already the recompence in your own bosoms? Wouldn’t that raise a huge stink in the land? Jeremiah 33:1-3 - God's Call To Prayer. “They say, ‘If a man divorces his wife, And she goes from him. So, with the timeline of the last five kings of Judah out of the way, let’s get into the introduction to the chapter in Jeremiah 22:1-2. "Yes, we will come to you, for you are the Lord our God. "Return, O faithless sons, I will heal your faithlessness." What Does Lamentations 3:24 Mean? However this may have been, God here intimates that the Israelites would not be so refractory as not to obey his admonition when the hope of pardon and salvation would be presented to them: and this is mentioned, that the perverseness of the Jews might appear more detestable. Give the whole turn, and not the half turn only. "I will love you freely," and cause your broken bones to rejoice. God doesn’t get angry at you for asking him to do the things he’s already determined to do. Lamentations 3:21-23 on God’s mercies “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.” ye are highly favoured of the Lord. The whole description is most graphically conceived. In the preceding context he had determined to effect his purpose by the constraining influence of his grace; nevertheless he does not omit the use of means, but repeats his former invitations with still stronger arguments than before. By Rev Charles Seet. 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