Jeremiah 3:12
Go, proclaim this message toward the north: 'Return, O faithless Israel,' declares the LORD. 'I will no longer look on you with anger, for I am merciful,' declares the LORD. 'I will not be angry forever.
Go, proclaim this message toward the north
The directive "Go, proclaim" indicates a divine commission given to Jeremiah, emphasizing the urgency and importance of the message. The Hebrew root for "proclaim" is קָרָא (qara), which means to call out or announce publicly. This highlights the prophetic role of Jeremiah as a herald of God's word. The phrase "toward the north" refers to the northern kingdom of Israel, which had been taken into captivity by Assyria. Historically, this is significant as it shows God's continued concern and willingness to reach out to His people, even after their judgment and exile.

‘Return, O faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD
The word "Return" is from the Hebrew שׁוּב (shuv), which means to turn back or repent. This is a call for repentance, a central theme in the prophetic literature, emphasizing God's desire for His people to come back to Him. "O faithless Israel" uses the term מְשׁוּבָה (meshuvah), meaning backsliding or apostasy. This highlights Israel's unfaithfulness and spiritual adultery, yet it is met with a compassionate plea from God, showing His enduring love and mercy. The phrase "declares the LORD" underscores the authority and certainty of the message, as it comes directly from Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God.

‘I will not look on you in anger,’
This promise, "I will not look on you in anger," reveals God's willingness to forgive and restore. The Hebrew word for "anger" is אַף (aph), often associated with the flaring of nostrils, symbolizing intense wrath. However, God assures that His anger will be withheld if Israel returns. This reflects the character of God as slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, as seen throughout the Scriptures.

for I am merciful,’ declares the LORD
The word "merciful" is from the Hebrew חָסִיד (chasid), which conveys kindness, loyalty, and grace. This attribute of God is central to His dealings with humanity, offering hope and redemption. The repetition of "declares the LORD" reinforces the divine origin and reliability of this promise, inviting trust and faith in God's unchanging nature.

‘I will not be angry forever
The assurance "I will not be angry forever" speaks to the temporary nature of God's disciplinary actions compared to His eternal mercy. This is a profound encouragement for repentance, as it highlights the possibility of reconciliation and restoration. It reflects the biblical theme that while God's justice is real, His mercy triumphs over judgment, offering a future and a hope for those who turn back to Him.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jeremiah
A prophet called by God to deliver His messages to the people of Judah and Israel. He is known for his messages of repentance and warnings of impending judgment.

2. Israel
Refers to the Northern Kingdom, which had turned away from God and was often characterized by idolatry and unfaithfulness.

3. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant-keeping God of Israel, who is both just and merciful. He calls His people to repentance and offers forgiveness.

4. The North
Symbolically refers to the direction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which had been taken into captivity by the Assyrians.

5. Message of Return
A call from God for Israel to repent and return to Him, emphasizing His willingness to forgive and restore.
Teaching Points
God's Call to Repentance
God actively calls His people to return to Him, showing that He desires a restored relationship with them despite their unfaithfulness.

The Nature of God's Mercy
God's mercy is highlighted as He declares that He will not remain angry forever. This underscores His compassionate and forgiving nature.

The Importance of Returning to God
The call to "return" implies a change of heart and direction, emphasizing the need for genuine repentance in the believer's life.

God's Unchanging Character
Despite Israel's faithlessness, God's character remains consistent. He is always ready to forgive and restore those who turn back to Him.

Hope for Restoration
This passage offers hope that no matter how far one has strayed, God is willing to forgive and restore those who repent.
Bible Study Questions
1. What does the call to "return" in Jeremiah 3:12 reveal about God's priorities for His people?

2. How does understanding God's mercy in this passage affect your view of repentance and forgiveness in your own life?

3. In what ways can the message of Jeremiah 3:12 be applied to the modern church's call to repentance and restoration?

4. How does the concept of God's anger being temporary, as mentioned in this verse, align with other biblical teachings on God's justice and mercy?

5. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's mercy and forgiveness. How can this passage encourage you to extend the same grace to others?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Hosea 14:1-4
This passage also calls Israel to return to the LORD, promising healing and restoration. It highlights God's desire for repentance and His readiness to forgive.

Isaiah 55:7
Encourages the wicked to forsake their ways and return to the LORD, who will have mercy and abundantly pardon.

Luke 15:11-32
The Parable of the Prodigal Son illustrates God's readiness to forgive and restore those who return to Him, similar to His call to Israel in Jeremiah 3:12.
A Proclamation from the King of KingsJeremiah 3:12-15
BackslidingC. Locke, D. D.Jeremiah 3:12-15
Israel Invited to Renew Her Marriage by RepentanceC. Simeon, M. A.Jeremiah 3:12-15
Love of the WorldW. P. Lockhart.Jeremiah 3:12-15
One by OneLyman Abbott, D. D.Jeremiah 3:12-15
Return! Return!Jeremiah 3:12-15
The Backslider's ReturnH. A. Hall, B. D.Jeremiah 3:12-15
The Mercifulness of the Divine NatureJeremiah 3:12-15
The Relationship of MarriageJeremiah 3:12-15
To BackslidersJeremiah 3:12-15
Confession of Sin the Indispensable Prerequisite for its PardonS. Conway Jeremiah 3:12-19
People
Jeremiah, Josiah
Places
Assyria, Jerusalem, Zion
Topics
Affirmation, Age, Anger, Angry, Backsliding, Bear, Cause, Dark, Declares, Face, Faithless, Fall, Forever, Frown, Full, Gracious, Grudge, Hast, Kind, Longer, Merciful, Mercy, Message, North, O, Proclaim, Proclaimed, Return, Says, Though, Towards, Turn, Watch, Wrath
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Jeremiah 3:12

     1055   God, grace and mercy
     6687   mercy, God's
     8306   mercifulness
     8710   atheism

Jeremiah 3:1-25

     8705   apostasy, in OT

Jeremiah 3:12-13

     2425   gospel, requirements
     6175   guilt, removal of
     6627   conversion, nature of
     7773   prophets, role

Jeremiah 3:12-14

     5712   marriage, God and his people
     6730   reinstatement
     8401   challenges
     8840   unfaithfulness, to God

Library
Gregory the Patriarch and the Society at Kunwald, 1457-1473.
A brilliant idea is an excellent thing. A man to work it out is still better. At the very time when Peter's followers were marshalling their forces, John Rockycana,5 Archbishop-elect of Prague (since 1448), was making a mighty stir in that drunken city. What Peter had done with his pen, Rockycana was doing with his tongue. He preached Peter's doctrines in the great Thein Church; he corresponded with him on the burning topics of the day; he went to see him at his estate; he recommended his works
J. E. Hutton—History of the Moravian Church

Stanzas by the Warden
The following stanzas, written by the Warden on the occasion of the baptism, will be read with pleasure, especially by those who are aware how faithfully the amiable writer of them fulfilled his part in preparing Kallihirua, not only for the right performance of such duties as seemed to await him in life, but (what was far more important) for an early death. THE BAPTISM OF KALLIHIRUA "I WILL TAKE YOU ONE OF A CITY, AND TWO OF A FAMILY, AND I WILL BRING YOU TO ZION."--Jer. iii. 14. Far through the
Thomas Boyles Murray—Kalli, the Esquimaux Christian,

Concerning the Ministry.
Concerning the Ministry. As by the light or gift of God all true knowledge in things spiritual is received and revealed, so by the same, as it is manifested and received in the heart, by the strength and power thereof, every true minister of the gospel is ordained, prepared, and supplied in the work of the ministry; and by the leading, moving, and drawing hereof ought every evangelist and Christian pastor to be led and ordered in his labour and work of the gospel, both as to the place where, as to
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity

"The Heritage of the Heathen"
AND the Master said further, "We read in the lesson to-day a verse which tells us that the Lord has a pleasant land to give us, a goodly heritage of the hosts of the heathen' (Jer. iii. 19). And He has also said that He hath shewed His people the power of His works, that He may give them the heritage of the heathen.' "What, dear children, is this pleasant land? and what is the heritage of the heathen the Lord has promised you? The pleasant land is none other than the heritage of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Frances Bevan—Three Friends of God

How the Impudent and Bashful are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 8). Differently to be admonished are the impudent and the bashful. For those nothing but hard rebuke restrains from the vice of impudence; while these for the most part a modest exhortation disposes to amendment. Those do not know that they are in fault, unless they be rebuked even by many; to these it usually suffices for their conversion that the teacher at least gently reminds them of their evil deeds. For those one best corrects who reprehends them by direct invective; but to
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

How those are to be Admonished who have had Experience of the Sins of the Flesh, and those who have Not.
(Admonition 29.) Differently to be admonished are those who are conscious of sins of the flesh, and those who know them not. For those who have had experience of the sins of the flesh are to be admonished that, at any rate after shipwreck, they should fear the sea, and feel horror at their risk of perdition at least when it has become known to them; lest, having been mercifully preserved after evil deeds committed, by wickedly repeating the same they die. Whence to the soul that sins and never
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Conversion of all that Come.
"Turn Thou me and I shall be turned." --Jer. xxxi. 18. The elect, born again and effectually called, converts himself. To remain unconverted is impossible; but he inclines his ear, he turns his face to the blessed God, he is converted in the fullest sense of the word. In conversion the fact of cooperation on the part of the saved sinner assumes a clearly defined and perceptible character. In regeneration there was none; in the calling there was a beginning of it; in conversion proper it became a
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Saints' Privilege and Profit;
OR, THE THRONE OF GRACE ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. The churches of Christ are very much indebted to the Rev. Charles Doe, for the preservation and publishing of this treatise. It formed one of the ten excellent manuscripts left by Bunyan at his decease, prepared for the press. Having treated on the nature of prayer in his searching work on 'praying with the spirit and with the understanding also,' in which he proves from the sacred scriptures that prayer cannot be merely read or said, but must
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Assurance
Q-xxxvi: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS WHICH FLOW FROM SANCTIFICATION? A: Assurance of God's love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end. The first benefit flowing from sanctification is assurance of God's love. 'Give diligence to make your calling and election sure.' 2 Pet 1:10. Sanctification is the seed, assurance is the flower which grows out of it: assurance is a consequent of sanctification. The saints of old had it. We know that we know
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Sign Seekers, and the Enthusiast Reproved.
(Galilee on the Same Day as the Last Section.) ^A Matt. XII. 38-45; ^C Luke XI. 24-36. ^c 29 And when the multitudes were gathering together unto him, ^a 38 Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, Teacher, we would see a sign from thee. [Having been severely rebuked by Jesus, it is likely that the scribes and Pharisees asked for a sign that they might appear to the multitude more fair-minded and open to conviction than Jesus had represented them to be. Jesus had just wrought
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Call of Matthew - the Saviour's Welcome to Sinners - Rabbinic Theology as Regards the Doctrine of Forgiveness in Contrast to the Gospel of Christ
In two things chiefly does the fundamental difference appear between Christianity and all other religious systems, notably Rabbinism. And in these two things, therefore, lies the main characteristic of Christ's work; or, taking a wider view, the fundamental idea of all religions. Subjectively, they concern sin and the sinner; or, to put it objectively, the forgiveness of sin and the welcome to the sinner. But Rabbinism, and every other system down to modern humanitarianism - if it rises so high in
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

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 Covenant of Grace
Q-20: DID GOD LEAVE ALL MANKIND TO PERISH 1N THE ESTATE OF SIN AND MISERY? A: No! He entered into a covenant of grace to deliver the elect out of that state, and to bring them into a state of grace by a Redeemer. 'I will make an everlasting covenant with you.' Isa 55:5. Man being by his fall plunged into a labyrinth of misery, and having no way left to recover himself, God was pleased to enter into a new covenant with him, and to restore him to life by a Redeemer. The great proposition I shall go
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Bunyan's Last Sermon --Preached July 1688.
"Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God;" John i. 13. The words have a dependence on what goes before, and therefore I must direct you to them for the right understanding of it. You have it thus,--"He came to his own, but his own received him not; but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them which believe on his name; which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God." In
by John Bunyan—Miscellaneous Pieces

Mr. Bunyan's Last Sermon:
Preached August 19TH, 1688 [ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR] This sermon, although very short, is peculiarly interesting: how it was preserved we are not told; but it bears strong marks of having been published from notes taken by one of the hearers. There is no proof that any memorandum or notes of this sermon was found in the autograph of the preacher. In the list of Bunyan's works published by Chas. Doe, at the end of the 'Heavenly Footman,' March 1690, it stands No. 44. He professes to give the title-page,
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Concerning Justification.
Concerning Justification. As many as resist not this light, but receive the same, it becomes in them an holy, pure, and spiritual birth, bringing forth holiness, righteousness, purity, and all those other blessed fruits which are acceptable to God: by which holy birth, to wit, Jesus Christ formed within us, and working his works in us, as we are sanctified, so are we justified in the sight of God, according to the apostle's words; But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity

Messiah's Easy Yoke
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. T hough the influence of education and example, may dispose us to acknowledge the Gospel to be a revelation from God; it can only be rightly understood, or duly prized, by those persons who feel themselves in the circumstances of distress, which it is designed to relieve. No Israelite would think of fleeing to a city of refuge (Joshua 20:2.
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

"They have Corrupted Themselves; their Spot is not the Spot of his Children; they are a Perverse and Crooked Generation. "
Deut. xxxii. 5.--"They have corrupted themselves; their spot is not the spot of his children; they are a perverse and crooked generation." We doubt this people would take well with such a description of themselves as Moses gives. It might seem strange to us, that God should have chosen such a people out of all the nations of the earth, and they to be so rebellious and perverse, if our own experience did not teach us how free his choice is, and how long-suffering he is, and constant in his choice.
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Divine Jesus.
Jehovah-Jesus: John 1:1-18. the intimacy of John, John 13:23. 19:26. 20:2. 21:7, 20. "with Jesus," John 18:15.--John writes of Jesus--- when he wrote--getting the range--his literary style--the beginning--the Word--this was Jesus--the tragic tone. God's Spokesman: the Creator was Jehovah--- Jehovah is Jesus--the Spokesman--Old Testament revelations, Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, the elders of Israel, Isaiah, Ezekiel,--Whom these saw--various ways of speaking--John's Gospel
S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks about Jesus

Jeremiah
The interest of the book of Jeremiah is unique. On the one hand, it is our most reliable and elaborate source for the long period of history which it covers; on the other, it presents us with prophecy in its most intensely human phase, manifesting itself through a strangely attractive personality that was subject to like doubts and passions with ourselves. At his call, in 626 B.C., he was young and inexperienced, i. 6, so that he cannot have been born earlier than 650. The political and religious
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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