Jeremiah 2:24
a wild donkey at home in the wilderness, sniffing the wind in the heat of her desire. Who can restrain her passion? All who seek her need not weary themselves; in mating season they will find her.
a wild donkey
The Hebrew term for "wild donkey" is "פֶּרֶא" (pere'), which refers to a creature known for its untamed and independent nature. In the ancient Near Eastern context, the wild donkey was a symbol of freedom and unbridled behavior, often living in desolate areas away from human habitation. This imagery is used to depict Israel's rebellious and unrestrained pursuit of idolatry, highlighting their departure from God's covenant and their inclination towards spiritual adultery.

accustomed to the wilderness
The phrase "accustomed to the wilderness" suggests a creature that is at home in desolation and isolation. The wilderness, or "מִדְבָּר" (midbar) in Hebrew, often symbolizes a place of testing and wandering in the Bible. Israel's comfort in the wilderness reflects their spiritual state of being lost and estranged from God, choosing paths that lead away from His presence and guidance.

sniffing the wind
"Sniffing the wind" conveys an image of a creature driven by instinct and desire, seeking fulfillment without discernment. The Hebrew word "רֵיחַ" (reach) for "sniffing" implies a searching or longing. This metaphor illustrates Israel's restless pursuit of foreign gods and alliances, driven by their desires rather than faithfulness to Yahweh.

in the heat of her desire
The phrase "in the heat of her desire" uses the Hebrew word "תַּאֲוָה" (ta'avah), meaning intense longing or craving. This expression captures the fervent and uncontrolled passion that Israel exhibits in their idolatrous practices. It serves as a warning against allowing desires to override devotion to God, leading to spiritual infidelity.

Who can restrain her lust?
This rhetorical question emphasizes the futility of trying to control or redirect Israel's wayward passions. The Hebrew word for "restrain" is "כָּלָא" (kala'), meaning to hold back or confine. The question underscores the depth of Israel's spiritual rebellion, suggesting that their lust for idols is beyond human intervention, requiring divine intervention for restoration.

None who seek her need weary themselves
The phrase "None who seek her need weary themselves" indicates that those pursuing Israel, whether foreign nations or false gods, find her easily accessible due to her willingness to engage in idolatry. The Hebrew word "יָגַע" (yaga') for "weary" implies labor or effort. This highlights Israel's eagerness to abandon their covenant with God, making themselves readily available to spiritual corruption.

in her mating season they will find her
The imagery of "mating season" suggests a time of heightened vulnerability and openness to external influences. The Hebrew term "חֹדֶשׁ" (chodesh) for "season" can also mean "new moon," a time often associated with pagan rituals. This metaphor illustrates Israel's susceptibility to idolatry during times when they should be renewing their commitment to God, emphasizing the need for spiritual vigilance and fidelity.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jeremiah
The prophet who conveyed God's messages to the people of Judah, warning them of their idolatry and calling them to repentance.

2. Judah
The southern kingdom of Israel, which had turned away from God and was engaging in idolatrous practices.

3. Wild Donkey
A metaphor used to describe the unrestrained and rebellious nature of Judah's pursuit of idolatry.

4. Wilderness
Symbolic of the spiritual barrenness and desolation resulting from Judah's departure from God.

5. Idolatry
The act of worshiping false gods, which was prevalent in Judah and led to their spiritual downfall.
Teaching Points
The Danger of Unrestrained Desires
Just as the wild donkey is driven by its desires, we must be cautious of allowing our own desires to lead us away from God.

The Consequences of Idolatry
Judah's pursuit of false gods led to spiritual desolation. We must guard against modern forms of idolatry that can take God's place in our lives.

The Call to Repentance
Jeremiah's message was a call to return to God. We are reminded of the importance of repentance and turning back to God when we stray.

The Futility of Seeking Fulfillment Outside of God
The wild donkey's pursuit is ultimately unfulfilling. True satisfaction and peace are found only in a relationship with God.

God's Patience and Justice
While God is patient, there is a time when He allows people to face the consequences of their choices. We must not take His patience for granted.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the metaphor of the wild donkey in Jeremiah 2:24 illustrate the spiritual state of Judah, and how can this apply to our lives today?

2. In what ways do modern forms of idolatry manifest in our culture, and how can we guard against them?

3. Reflect on a time when you allowed your desires to lead you away from God. What steps did you take to return to Him?

4. How do the consequences of Judah's idolatry in Jeremiah 2:24 compare to the warnings found in Romans 1:24-25?

5. What practical steps can we take to ensure that our desires align with God's will, and how can we help others do the same?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Hosea 8:9
This verse also uses the imagery of a wild donkey to describe Israel's stubbornness and pursuit of foreign alliances instead of relying on God.

Isaiah 57:5-8
These verses highlight the idolatrous practices of Israel, similar to the imagery in Jeremiah, where the people are depicted as being unfaithful to God.

Romans 1:24-25
Paul speaks of God giving people over to their sinful desires when they exchange the truth of God for a lie, paralleling Judah's idolatry.

Proverbs 5:3-6
The allure of sin and its destructive consequences are likened to an adulterous woman, similar to the metaphor of the wild donkey.

James 1:14-15
James describes how desire leads to sin, which ultimately results in death, echoing the consequences of Judah's unrestrained desires.
Jehovah's Indictment Against IsraelS. Conway Jeremiah 2:20-37
Self-Vindicating Sinners ReprovedC. Simeon, M. A.Jeremiah 2:23-30
What Hast Thou Done?W. H. M. H. Aitken, M. A.Jeremiah 2:23-30
People
Gad, Jacob, Jeremiah, Kedar, Kittim, Kittites
Places
Assyria, Cyprus, Egypt, Euphrates River, Jerusalem, Kedar, Memphis, Nile River, Tahpanhes
Topics
Able, Accustomed, Ardour, Ass, Breathing, Craving, Desert, Desire, Donkey, Heat, Hinder, Lust, Males, Mating, Meeting, Month, None, Occasion, Passion, Pleasure, Pursue, Restrain, Seek, Seeking, Sniffing, Sniffs, Snuffeth, Snuffs, Soul, Swallowed, Themselves, Tire, Tired, Turn, Untrained, Waste, Weary, Wild, Wilderness, Wind
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Jeremiah 2:24

     4633   donkey
     4829   heat
     5171   nose

Jeremiah 2:19-25

     8705   apostasy, in OT

Jeremiah 2:23-25

     4290   valleys
     8703   antinomianism

Library
Stiff-Necked Idolaters and Pliable Christians
'Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but My people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.'--JER. ii. 11. The obstinacy of the adherents of idolatry is in striking contrast with Israel's continual tendency to forsake Jehovah. It reads a scarcely less forcible lesson to many nominal and even to some real Christians. I. That contrast carries with it a disclosure of the respective origins of the two kinds of Religion. The strangeness of the contrasted conduct is
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Forsaking Jehovah
'Know therefore, and see, that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that My fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.'--JER. ii. 19. Of course the original reference is to national apostasy, which was aggravated by the national covenant, and avenged by national disasters, which are interpreted and urged by the prophet as God's merciful pleading with men. But the text is true in reference to individuals. I. The universal indictment. This is not so
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Balak's Inquiries Relative to the Service of God, and Balaam's Answer, Briefly Considered.
"Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with, thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first born for my transgression; the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?--He hath shewed thee, 0 man, what is good: And what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" As mankind are
Andrew Lee et al—Sermons on Various Important Subjects

"He is the Rock, his Work is Perfect, for all his Ways are Judgment, a God of Truth, and Without Iniquity, Just and Right is He.
Deut. xxxii. 4, 5.--"He is the Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are judgment, a God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is he. They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children," &c. There are none can behold their own vileness as it is, but in the sight of God's glorious holiness. Sin is darkness, and neither sees itself, nor any thing else, therefore must his light shine to discover this darkness. If we abide within ourselves, and men like ourselves,
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

That it is not Lawful for the Well Affected Subjects to Concur in Such an Engagement in War, and Associate with the Malignant Party.
That It Is Not Lawful For The Well Affected Subjects To Concur In Such An Engagement In War, And Associate With The Malignant Party. Some convinced of the unlawfulness of the public resolutions and proceedings, in reference to the employing of the malignant party, yet do not find such clearness and satisfaction in their own consciences as to forbid the subjects to concur in this war, and associate with the army so constituted. Therefore it is needful to speak something to this point, That it is
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

A Book for Boys and Girls Or, Temporal Things Spritualized.
by John Bunyan, Licensed and entered according to order. London: Printed for, and sold by, R. Tookey, at his Printing House in St. Christopher's Court, in Threadneedle Street, behind the Royal Exchange, 1701. Advertisement by the Editor. Some degree of mystery hangs over these Divine Emblems for children, and many years' diligent researches have not enabled me completely to solve it. That they were written by Bunyan, there cannot be the slightest doubt. 'Manner and matter, too, are all his own.'[1]
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

'The God of the Amen'
'He who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth.'--ISAIAH lxv. 16. The full beauty and significance of these remarkable words are only reached when we attend to the literal rendering of a part of them which is obscured in our version. As they stand in the original they have, in both cases, instead of the vague expression, 'The God of truth,' the singularly picturesque one, 'The God of the Amen.' I. Note
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Harbinger
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD , make straight in the desert a high-way for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. T he general style of the prophecies is poetical. The inimitable simplicity which characterizes every
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

"All Our Righteousnesses are as Filthy Rags, and we all do Fade as a Leaf, and Our Iniquities, Like the Wind, have Taken us Away. "
Isaiah lxiv. 6, 7.--"All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." Not only are the direct breaches of the command uncleanness, and men originally and actually unclean, but even our holy actions, our commanded duties. Take a man's civility, religion, and all his universal inherent righteousness,--all are filthy rags. And here the church confesseth nothing but what God accuseth her of, Isa. lxvi. 8, and chap. i. ver.
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

How Christ is the Way in General, "I am the Way. "
We come now to speak more particularly to the words; and, first, Of his being a way. Our design being to point at the way of use-making of Christ in all our necessities, straits, and difficulties which are in our way to heaven; and particularly to point out the way how believers should make use of Christ in all their particular exigencies; and so live by faith in him, walk in him, grow up in him, advance and march forward toward glory in him. It will not be amiss to speak of this fulness of Christ
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

All Mankind Guilty; Or, Every Man Knows More than He Practises.
ROMANS i. 24.--"When they knew God, they glorified him not as God." The idea of God is the most important and comprehensive of all the ideas of which the human mind is possessed. It is the foundation of religion; of all right doctrine, and all right conduct. A correct intuition of it leads to correct religious theories and practice; while any erroneous or defective view of the Supreme Being will pervade the whole province of religion, and exert a most pernicious influence upon the entire character
William G.T. Shedd—Sermons to the Natural Man

A Short and Easy Method of Prayer
CHAPTER I The Universal Call to Prayer What a dreadful delusion hath prevailed over the greater part of mankind, in supposing that they are not called to a state of prayer! whereas all are capable of prayer, and are called thereto, as all are called to and are capable of salvation. Prayer is the application of the heart to God, and the internal exercise of love. S. Paul hath enjoined us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. v 17), and our Lord saith, "I say unto you all, watch and pray" (Mark xiii.
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

All are Commanded to Pray --Prayer the Great Means of Salvation
CHAPTER I. ALL ARE COMMANDED TO PRAY--PRAYER THE GREAT MEANS OF SALVATION, AND POSSIBLE AT ALL TIMES BY THE MOST SIMPLE. Prayer is nothing else but the application of the heart to God, and the interior exercise of love. St Paul commands us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. v. 17). Our Lord says: "Take ye heed, watch and pray." "And what I say unto you, I say unto all" (Mark xiii. 33, 37). All, then, are capable of prayer, and it is the duty of all to engage in it. But I do not think that all are
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

What are Consequences of Backsliding in Heart.
The text says, that "the backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways." 1. He shall be filled with his own works. But these are dead works, they are not works of faith and love, which are acceptable to God, but are the filthy rags of his own righteousness. If they are performed as religious services, they are but loathsome hypocrisy, and an abomination to God; there is no heart in them. To such a person God says: "Who hath required this at your hand?" (Isaiah 1:12). "Ye are they which justify
Charles G. Finney—The Backslider in Heart

Backsliding.
"I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely: for Mine anger is turned away."--Hosea xiv. 4. There are two kinds of backsliders. Some have never been converted: they have gone through the form of joining a Christian community and claim to be backsliders; but they never have, if I may use the expression, "slid forward." They may talk of backsliding; but they have never really been born again. They need to be treated differently from real back-sliders--those who have been born of the incorruptible
Dwight L. Moody—The Way to God and How to Find It

The Medes and the Second Chaldaean Empire
THE FALL OF NINEVEH AND THE RISE OF THE CHALDAEAN AND MEDIAN EMPIRES--THE XXVIth EGYPTIAN DYNASTY: CYAXARES, ALYATTES, AND NEBUCHADREZZAR. The legendary history of the kings of Media and the first contact of the Medes with the Assyrians: the alleged Iranian migrations of the Avesta--Media-proper, its fauna and flora; Phraortes and the beginning of the Median empire--Persia proper and the Persians; conquest of Persia by the Medes--The last monuments of Assur-bani-pal: the library of Kouyunjik--Phraortes
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 8

That the Unskilful Venture not to Approach an Office of Authority.
No one presumes to teach an art till he has first, with intent meditation, learnt it. What rashness is it, then, for the unskilful to assume pastoral authority, since the government of souls is the art of arts! For who can be ignorant that the sores of the thoughts of men are more occult than the sores of the bowels? And yet how often do men who have no knowledge whatever of spiritual precepts fearlessly profess themselves physicians of the heart, though those who are ignorant of the effect of
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

"So Then they that are in the Flesh Cannot Please God. "
Rom. viii. 8.--"So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." It is a kind of happiness to men, to please them upon whom they depend, and upon whose favour their well-being hangs. It is the servant's happiness to please his master, the courtier's to please his prince; and so generally, whosoever they be that are joined in mutual relations, and depend one upon another; that which makes all pleasant, is this, to please one another. Now, certainly, all the dependencies of creatures one upon
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Section Chap. I. -iii.
The question which here above all engages our attention, and requires to be answered, is this: Whether that which is reported in these chapters did, or did not, actually and outwardly take place. The history of the inquiries connected with this question is found most fully in Marckius's "Diatribe de uxore fornicationum," Leyden, 1696, reprinted in the Commentary on the Minor Prophets by the same author. The various views may be divided into three classes. 1. It is maintained by very many interpreters,
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners Or, a Brief Relation of the Exceeding Mercy of God in Christ, to his Poor Servant, John Bunyan
In this my relation of the merciful working of God upon my soul, it will not be amiss, if in the first place, I do in a few words give you a hint of my pedigree, and manner of bringing up; that thereby the goodness and bounty of God towards me, may be the more advanced and magnified before the sons of men. 2. For my descent then, it was, as is well known by many, of a low and inconsiderable generation; my father's house being of that rank that is meanest, and most despised of all the families in
John Bunyan—Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners

"He is the Rock, his Work is Perfect. For all his Ways are Judgment. A God of Truth, and Without Iniquity, Just and Right is He.
Deut. xxxii. 4, 5.--"He is the rock, his work is perfect. For all his ways are judgment. A God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is he. They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children. They are a perverse and crooked generation." "All his ways are judgment," both the ways of his commandments and the ways of his providence, both his word which he hath given as a lantern to men's paths, and his works among men. And this were the blessedness of men, to be found
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

1 to Pray Does not Imply that Without Prayer God Would not Give us Anything...
1. To pray does not imply that without prayer God would not give us anything or that He would be unaware of our needs, but it has this great advantage, that in the attitude of prayer the soul is best fitted to receive the Giver of blessing as well as those blessings He desires to bestow. Thus it was that the fullness of the Spirit was not poured out upon the Apostles on the first day, but after ten days of special preparation. If a blessing were conferred upon one without a special readiness for
Sadhu Sundar Singh—At The Master's Feet

John Bunyan on the Terms of Communion and Fellowship of Christians at the Table of the Lord;
COMPRISING I. HIS CONFESSION OF FAITH, AND REASON OF HIS PRACTICE; II. DIFFERENCES ABOUT WATER BAPTISM NO BAR TO COMMUNION; AND III. PEACEABLE PRINCIPLES AND TRUE[1] ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Reader, these are extraordinary productions that will well repay an attentive perusal. It is the confession of faith of a Christian who had suffered nearly twelve years' imprisonment, under persecution for conscience sake. Shut up with his Bible, you have here the result of a prayerful study of those holy
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The River of Egypt, Rhinocorura. The Lake of Sirbon.
Pliny writes, "From Pelusium are the intrenchments of Chabrias: mount Casius: the temple of Jupiter Casius: the tomb of Pompey the Great: Ostracine: Arabia is bounded sixty-five miles from Pelusium: soon after begins Idumea and Palestine from the rising up of the Sirbon lake." Either my eyes deceive me, while I read these things,--or mount Casius lies nearer Pelusium, than the lake of Sirbon. The maps have ill placed the Sirbon between mount Casius and Pelusium. Sirbon implies burning; the name of
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

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