Jeremiah (1-31) 12:7 Commentary and Bible Study

‘I have forsaken mine house.’ God’s house was the Tabernacle in the wilderness, and then the temple in Jerusalem; there he had promised that his presence would dwell among his people (Exodus 25:8). But now God says, that he has forsaken his house. This was what Israel and Judah should have feared most of all. If God was no longer among them, then they were exposed to every evil. ‘I have left mine heritage.’ The people of God were his heritage, and while he continued to treat them as his heritage, they would be preserved. But now he had handed them over to their enemies. It was God who held back enemies that hated them and wanted to destroy them, but now they were placed in the power of those who were cruel and bloodthirsty. God speaks as one who is deeply pained by having to behave in this way, for he calls Judah ‘the dearly beloved of my soul’. All this is spoken of as if it has already happened, but in fact these events are future. These sorrows are spoken of in this way because they are so sure to happen and God has determined them.‘Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it.’ This can be seen as an explanation for God’s apparent change of attitude toward those who were the dearly beloved of his soul. They have become like a lion in the forest which ravages anyone who is unwise enough to go into the forest, and so makes it a no-go area. The threat has got to be removed and the lion destroyed. Using another illustration God says, ‘Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird.’ As Matthew Poole points out, this has been understood in two different ways, depending on whether the colouring is natural to the bird, or is the result of some occurrence. Some see it as natural colouring – the Hebrew is coloured or variegated. Others see it as colouring that has resulted from the splashing of blood onto the feathers because of aggressive behaviour to other creatures, such as when a vulture becomes speckled with the blood of dead carcases. That seems to be reading a lot into the word, and it is simpler to see this illustration as descriptive of the behaviour of other birds to one among them that is coloured differently. They crowd around it and tend to reject it. So Israel has become the target of the surrounding nations, and they are inclined to turn against her. In confirmation of this and with a change of imagery, the Lord summons the beasts of the field to come and devour her. He has not only withdrawn his protection; he has also encouraged her enemies to come against her.