Cult of Baal
Copied from the sermon notes of Pastor Don Elmore
August 1, 2021
Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 2:21-25
What do these verses mean? What is Jeremiah saying to the kingdom of Judah? Is it important to know today?
God often pictures Israel as being planted as a noble vine or a goodly tree; a right seed. Jeremiah then asks a disturbing question. How did Israel change from a noble vine into a degenerate plant of a strange [or alien, or foreigner or adulterous] vine?
Could Jeremiah, if he were alive today, ask the same question? Is the House of Judah and the House of Israel turned into a degenerate plant of a strange vine or is it still a noble vine? Is the kingdom likened to a well cultivated vine that has grown into a wild plant? Is the kingdom likened to a filthy object that no amount of washing with soap can cleanse? Is the kingdom likened to a woman who has left her husband for other men? Is the kingdom likened to a person who has lusted after other strange women, like a camel in heat lusts for a mate? Is the kingdom likened to the eagerness of a thirsty traveler who walks the desert searching for water till the sandals drop off his feet? Could the same thing be said of the Israelite nations of today? Are they being turned into a degenerate vine?