The Lord chose Israel to be his own. He carried her own eagle’s wings and flew her to Mount Sinai, where he promised to love and cherish her forever. In their relationship, there was a “honeymoon phase” and a “forgotten goodness phase.” Then, she packed her bags, left, and got hooked up with a slim ball named Baal. It went from holy matrimony to holy macaroni. Jeremiah finally calls him by name.
Unfaithful Spouse
Jeremiah 2:8 – The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols.
Maybe you’ve heard that saying, “As the leader goes, so goes the people.” Sure, the people were to blame, but it started with the priests, the teachers of God’s Word. They lost their love for the Lord, switched horses midstream, and started prophesying in the name of Baal. Baal was a big deal back then, but he got what he wanted and left. No one’s heard of him in a long time. Jeremiah said he was worthless.
Jeremiah 2:13 – “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
I love coffee. It makes me happy in the morning. But nothing beats a pure glass of cold water. It hydrates, energizes, and cleanses. A personal relationship with Jesus the Savior is like having a fountain of water springing up in your heart (John 7:38).
But they forsook the spring and settled for a broken cistern. Cisterns were the water coolers, the Yeti’s of the ancient world. But they didn’t have lids, so there was always dirt, bugs, and bacteria in the water. They were also prone to cracking. In a desert climate, nothing was more disappointing than a dirty, useless cistern to a dehydrated traveler.
Now, Jeremiah was a poet, a bonafide wordsmith. He sanded off all the rough edges before he showed anyone the finished product. With the skill of a gifted rapper, he fashioned each phrase to cut through the noise in the hope that someone would stop and pay attention as he preached on the busy streets of Jerusalem.
In this next section, he strings together several metaphors to describe the spiritual state of God’s people, from wayward wife, prostitute, unruly child, wild vine, and even a wild donkey in heat.
Jeremiah 2:20 – Long ago you broke off your yoke and tore off your bonds; you said, “I will not serve you!” Indeed, on every high hill and under every spreading tree you lay down as a prostitute.
Not just a wayward wife but prostitute selling her body to strangers to make a living. Has Jeremiah gone off the rails? There was a more profound reality behind this shocking image.
Who was Baal?
Baal was a Canaanite deity whose name means “Lord” or “Owner.” They said he was the son of the creator god El, the offspring of his relations with his mistress, the fertility goddess Asherah. Over time, as the worship of El faded, Baal took the place of prominence, and his mother became his sexual partner. The unearthed figurines from this time picture her naked with enlarged breasts.
In an agrarian society, everything in life hinged on the harvest. The highest hope was a bumper crop. To coerce Baal and Asherah to send the rain certain rituals were performed, most important being ritual sex with sacred prostitutes, sometimes one on one, but most of the time in orgies. All this took place under trees, or around Asherah poles which were large phallic representations.
Jeremiah 3:23 – Truly the hills are a delusion, the orgies on the mountains…
It was a belief in a kind of sympathetic magic. As they engaged in ritual sex, they enticed Baal to have sex with Asherah in the heavenly world, and from their union, the rain would come. In desperate situations, facing prolonged drought and famine, worshippers would take it up a notch and sacrifice their children.
Jeremiah 3:24 – From our youth shameful gods have consumed the fruits of our ancestors’ labor— their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters.
How degrading for God’s people. They brought their treasures to Baal, believing he would pay up and send the harvest. But all Baal did was take. Israel ended up trapped in a dark bondage that distorted God’s beautiful gift, an expression of love to be celebrated between husband and wife. It became a strong, generational addiction that she could not break free from.
This god of lust, power, harvest, prominence, and pleasure is still around today. Baal, whose name means “Lord”, still contends for our affections. It wants to thrust out Jesus Christ the Lord, and assume the place of supremacy in our heart. We are still engaged in a spiritual battle. But let’s remember, idols can not satisfy the longing of our hearts. Instead of blessing us, they leave us dry and broken. More to come in the next post. Stay tuned.
In Matthew 22:37, Jesus said…”Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”