Charles Spurgeon Commentary Jeremiah 3:20-21

"Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah. A voice is heard upon the bare heights, the weeping [and] the supplications of the children of Israel; because they have perverted their way, they have forgotten Jehovah their God." — Jeremiah 3:20-21 (ASV)

Surely as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, says the LORD. A voice was heard upon the high place, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God.

The worst of crimes is for a wife to be false to her marriage vows and turn aside from her husband, whom she is bound to love. Very seldom does a husband call a treacherous wife back again.

But God, in infinite mercy, hates divorce. He cannot bear it. He still holds to the object of His love and therefore complains, with a sweet fidelity of affection, about the treachery of Israel.

And while He is doing this, a voice is heard upon the high places—weeping and supplications of the children of Israel—for they have perverted their way and have forgotten Jehovah their God. Therefore, what was there for them but sorrow?

They were on their high places offering sacrifice and incense to their new gods. Instead of joy and holy psalms and hymns of delight, they were crying like the priests of Baal, cutting themselves, and torturing themselves. God heard it—weeping and supplications—not to Him, for they had perverted their way. Their sorrow did not come from Him, for they had forgotten the Lord their God. But that sorrow had something hopeful about it: they found no joy in their new gods and derived no comfort from their backslidings.