Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 2:27

"who say to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face; but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us." — Jeremiah 2:27 (ASV)

Saying to a stock ... —The “stock” and the “stone” represent, respectively, the images of wood and marble. In Hebrew the latter word is feminine, and thus determines the parts assigned to them in the figurative parentage.

To a stock, You are my father. —Literally, to a tree. The words seem as if they were an actual quotation from the hymns of the idolatrous ritual.

In the time of their trouble. —So in Hosea (Hosea 2:3), it is the discipline of suffering that leads the adulterous wife to repentance. In times of trouble and dismay, those who had previously turned their backs on Jehovah will seek Him with outstretched hands, and the cry for help. The prophet partly implies that then it may be too late until chastisement has done its perfect work.