Keep in mind that Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel are all working as prophets at the same time. While Daniel is proclaiming visions of the future for generations reaching beyond the exile, Ezekiel is speaking directly to the exiles in Babylon. Jeremiah, however, is speaking to the remnants of Israel left until Jerusalem is finally destroyed.
God’s complaints are listed in poetic detail in chapter two.
God has loved Judah and blessed her beyond measure. And yet, against universal precedent, Judah has inexplicably changed her gods. Keeping in mind our recent reading in Ezekiel forty-seven, she has exchanged the life-giving water of God for streams in other countries, fresh flowing water for that in wells she has dug herself. Despite the discipline of God, she has, like an addict, returned constantly to a lifestyle that can only her destroy her. Rather than seek the protection of God, she has sought alliances with the nations around her, snubbing the superior protection of God for that which offers no protection.
Israel is, in our words, “nuts.”
But before we com down on her too harshly, we should consider our own ways. Have we not been, do we not continue to be, just like her?