Thomas Aquinas Commentary Jeremiah 3:1-5

"They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man`s, will he return unto her again? will not that land be greatly polluted? But thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith Jehovah. Lift up thine eyes unto the bare heights, and see; where hast thou not been lain with? By the ways hast thou sat for them, as an Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness. Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; yet thou hast a harlot`s forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed. Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My Father, thou art the guide of my youth? Will he retain [his anger] for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and hast done evil things, and hast had thy way." — Jeremiah 3:1-5 (ASV)

Here, the prophet calls them to repentance.

First, he addresses the invitation to return.

Second, he addresses the stubbornness of those who are called back: and you shall say to them (Jeremiah 8:4).

The first point is divided into two parts.

In the first part, he discusses the admonitions to return.

In the second, he gives the reasons for returning: if you return, O Israel, says the LORD, to turn back to me (Jeremiah 4:1).

This first point is also divided into two parts.

In the first part, he calls the people back.

In the second, he mentions the fruit of their rejection, when he says: but as a woman that despises her lover (Jeremiah 3:20).

This first point is again divided into two.

In the first part, he calls them back from the sin of adultery.

In the second, he calls them back from its punishment, where he says: go and shout these words against the north wind (Jeremiah 3:12).

This first part is divided into two sections.

In the first, he calls them back with admonitions.

In the second, he calls them back by using examples, beginning at: and the LORD said to me in the days of Josiah the king (Jeremiah 3:6a).

Regarding the first section on admonitions, the prophet does two things.

First, he calls them back because of God's mercy, which he proves by citing the common proverb: if a man shall send his wife away. This comes from Deuteronomy 24:1: if a man shall send his wife away. He speaks according to the permission given for a bill of divorce because of the hardness of their hearts (Matthew 19:8). He was forbidding a return either to prevent them from being quick to divorce, or so that they would not kill her after taking her back deceitfully.

From this proverb, he draws proof of divine mercy: you have fornicated with your many lovers—the idols. Let him return to the Lord and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, because he will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:7).

Second, he calls them back by confronting them with their guilt.

He does this first by exposing their guilt and indicating the place where it occurred: lift up your eyes on high—that is, with right consideration, or alternatively, “everywhere.” Where have you not lain, as if to say everywhere, like a harlot, for idolatry. You have made a brothel in every street (Ezekiel 16:24). He also exposes their desire for sinning: you would sit by the roads, like a harlot waiting for her lovers, and as a thief waiting for those whom he might rob. And behold, there met him a woman with the attire of a harlot, prepared to deceive souls (Proverbs 7:10). Gilead is a city of those who make idols, supplanted with blood, and like the jaws of highway robbers (Hosea 6:8). He indicates the effect of their sin: you have defiled the land. As we saw above, you polluted my land, and turned my inheritance into an abomination (Jeremiah 2:7).

Then, he establishes the punishment for the sin: therefore, the drops of the rains were held back. These are the drops by which rain and storms are generated. I shall command the clouds that they rain not showers upon my vine (Isaiah 5:6). He also shows the shamelessness of those who sinned: the forehead of a harlot. As it says below, nay; rather, they were not ashamed of shame (Jeremiah 6:15).

Finally, he urges them to repentance.

He does this first by encouraging them to recognize God's benefits: therefore. It is as if he were saying, “The past is enough.” You are my Father, through creation, and the guide of my youth. It is as if he were saying, “When you led me through the desert, I was still a virgin.” Who forsook the guide of her youth (Proverbs 2:17). The Spirit of the Lord was her guide (Isaiah 63:14).

Second, he urges them to seek mercy, saying: will you be angry forever, or will you continue to the end? Will you be angry with us forever, or extend your anger from generation to generation? (Psalms 85:5).