Commentary - Jeremiah 2:36-37

Bird's-eye view

In this pointed conclusion to a chapter-long indictment, the prophet Jeremiah, speaking for Yahweh, confronts Judah's feckless and adulterous foreign policy. Having forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters, they have hewn out for themselves broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jer. 2:13). These broken cisterns are their political alliances, first with Assyria and now, giddily, with Egypt. The Lord exposes the folly of this behavior. Their frantic running back and forth between superpowers is not shrewd statecraft but spiritual promiscuity. It is a "gadding about" that cheapens them and reveals their contempt for their true Husband and King. Consequently, God announces the verdict: this new alliance, like the last one, will end in public shame. The very power they are trusting in will fail them, because Yahweh Himself has rejected their chosen saviors. The passage is a stark illustration of the principle that whoever you trust in, apart from God, will ultimately become the instrument of your humiliation.

The imagery is potent. Judah will go into exile "with your hands on your head," a classic posture of grief, defeat, and utter disgrace. This is not just a political miscalculation; it is a covenantal judgment. They have broken faith with their covenant Lord, and the result is not blessing and security, but shame and failure. This is a permanent lesson for the people of God: worldly alliances, sought as a substitute for radical trust in God, are always a path to ruin. The Church, like ancient Judah, is often tempted to trust in political horses and chariots, but our help comes from the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Outline

Context In Jeremiah

Jeremiah chapter 2 functions as a grand, sweeping covenant lawsuit. God, through His prophet, lays out the case against His bride, Judah. He begins by reminding them of their "honeymoon" devotion in the wilderness (2:2-3), only to contrast it with their current, inexplicable apostasy. The central charge is idolatry, which the prophet describes in multiple ways: forsaking the fountain of living water for broken cisterns (2:13), playing the harlot with other gods (2:20), and forgetting their Maker (2:32). This spiritual adultery has a direct political corollary, which is the focus of these closing verses. Judah's idolatry is not just a private, religious matter; it manifests in their foreign policy. Instead of trusting in Yahweh for their national security, they run after pagan superpowers. This passage directly follows a section where Judah, like a common prostitute, denies her guilt (2:35). The Lord's response in verses 36-37 is to declare that her guilt will be made plain for all to see through the public humiliation of her failed political schemes. This sets the stage for the rest of the book, which will detail the outworking of this judgment, culminating in the Babylonian exile.

Key Issues

Gadding About

The language God uses here is intentionally demeaning. The phrase translated "despise Him so much" or in other versions "make so light of" carries the idea of being cheap or worthless. Their constant changing of allegiances, their "gadding about," was not a sign of political savvy but of spiritual cheapness. They were like a faithless spouse, always looking for a better deal, always chasing a new thrill, treating their covenant vows with contempt. When Israel was faithful to Yahweh, she was a glorious and protected bride. When she ran after other lovers, whether the Baals of Canaan or the Pharaohs of Egypt, she made herself vile.

This is a foundational principle. When the church seeks its security, its influence, or its identity from worldly sources, it cheapens itself. When we adopt the world's marketing techniques, its therapeutic language, its political pragmatism, or its standards of success, we are gadding about. We are communicating to the world, and to our Lord, that He is not enough. We are making light of the covenant. And the result is always the same: we become contemptible in the eyes of the very world we are trying to impress, and we invite the discipline of a jealous God.

Verse by Verse Commentary

36 Why do you despise Him so much In changing your way? Also, you will be put to shame by Egypt As you were put to shame by Assyria.

The Lord begins with a piercing question: "Why do you make yourself so cheap?" The Hebrew word for "despise" or "make light of" has the sense of being frivolous or valueless. Their constant "changing of your way," running from one political savior to another, was not a mark of shrewdness but of spiritual harlotry. They had an alliance with Assyria, and when that went sour, they ran straight to Egypt for help. God sees this not as a political maneuver but as a deep-seated contempt for Him. They are treating their covenant relationship with Yahweh as a trivial thing, easily set aside for a more promising affair. The verdict is therefore delivered with a sharp parallelism. Just as your trust in Assyria ended in humiliation and shame, so will this new fling with Egypt. The names of the lovers change, but the outcome for the adulterer is always the same. Public disgrace is the built-in consequence of covenant unfaithfulness.

37 From this place also you will go out With your hands on your head; For Yahweh has rejected those in whom you trust, And you will not succeed with them.”

This verse paints a vivid picture of the coming judgment. "From this place" refers to Egypt, the source of their false hope. They will come away from that alliance not with victory and security, but in a posture of utter defeat and lamentation. Placing one's hands on the head was a universal sign of profound grief, shame, and catastrophe, like Tamar after she was violated by Amnon (2 Sam. 13:19). It is the walk of shame for a nation. And why will this happen? The ultimate reason is not found in the geopolitical calculus of the ancient Near East. The reason is theological. It will happen because Yahweh has rejected those in whom you trust. God is sovereign over the nations. Egypt cannot save Judah because the God of Judah has already passed sentence on that particular arrangement. He has rejected their chosen objects of trust. Therefore, the conclusion is inescapable: you will not succeed with them. The word "succeed" here means to prosper or to have a profitable outcome. God is telling them plainly that their entire enterprise is doomed from the start. Trusting in man is a bad investment, and God Himself guarantees that it will never pay a dividend.

Application

The temptation to gad about is a perennial one for God's people. We are covenantally married to Christ, and yet the allure of other saviors is constant. We are tempted to place our ultimate trust for security, for prosperity, for cultural influence, in political parties, in economic systems, in educational philosophies, or in charismatic leaders. We shuttle back and forth between the "Egypt" of state power and the "Assyria" of cultural accommodation, thinking we are being pragmatic and strategic.

But God's question to us is the same as it was to Judah: "Why do you make yourself so cheap?" Every time we look to a human institution to do what only God can do, we are despising our covenant Lord. We are signaling that His promises are not sufficient, His power is not adequate, and His wisdom is not enough for the challenges we face. And the result is always, always shame. The political candidate fails us. The economic boom goes bust. The cultural trend turns against us. And we are left with our hands on our heads, wondering what went wrong.

What went wrong is that Yahweh has rejected those in whom we trust. The only security for the Church is to be found in radical, exclusive, and joyful trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our King, our Protector, and our Deliverer. Any success we have in this world will not come from clever alliances with Egypt, but from simple faithfulness to Him. The path of faith is the path of honor. The path of worldly trust is the path of shame. We must choose whom we will trust. Will we trust in the broken cisterns of human power, or in the Fountain of Living Waters?