Jeremiah 17

Jerusalem’s altar is where people of Israel found forgiveness—sins erased. But here the sins are chiseled into the altar, and not erasable. Archaeologists have uncovered many “horned altars” in Israel and Palestinian Territories. Bible writers never explained why altars were built with the corners turned up like animal horns. Perhaps the horns were a tribute to the livestock sacrificed on the altar. One more common guess is that the horns gave priests something to which they could tie the dead animal. This could help keep the sacrificed animal from rolling off the fire before it was burned. Psalm 118:27 seems to add credibility to that theory: “Go ahead and tie the festival sacrifice to the four corners of the altar.” Consider how it might feel for a worshiper to watch the sacrificed animal roll off the flaming altar before the animal had even caught fire. We might understand that the animal fell off because the burning wood pile shifted as wood disintegrated in the fire. But someone offering a sacrifice to seek forgiveness for sin might think God had just rejected the offering.

Known also as Asherah poles. These may have been trees or poles meant to represent trees, as symbols of a Canaanite fertility goddess known as Asherah, goddess of motherhood. She was the love interest of Baal, chief god of the people who lived in Canaan, now known as Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

The metaphor may imply that trusting in the strength of an army of allies, which is what Judah’s kings did, is like trusting a withered shrub to tell you when it’s going to rain. More literally, what’s coming is “something good.” For a shrub, that would be rain.

A partridge can fly short distances, but not long like other birds. When they sense trouble, they often prefer to run.

The people envisioned God’s throne in heaven (Psalm 11:4). But there was also a throne on earth inside the Jerusalem Temple sanctuary, above Israel’s most sacred relic, a gold-plated chest called the Ark of the Covenant, or the Box of the Law. It held the stone tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments God gave Moses on Mount Sinai. The top of the chest was the footrest of God as he sat on heaven’s throne. The footrest was sometimes called the mercy seat. (Isaiah 66:1).

Living water was water from a flowing source, such as a stream or a well, which tapped into underground rivers and lakes. A pond wouldn’t work because the water sat still. This is the kind of water required for ritual washings and baths, which cleanse spiritual impurities. Women bathed in living water after menstruation, before they could encounter others or worship at the Temple.

Jewish people observe the Sabbath as a “sacred day of rest” and worship from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday (Exodus 16:23, 29). They aren’t allowed to work. They can’t even cook on the Sabbath. Instead, they eat meals prepared ahead of time. Beyond that, the Old Testament writers didn’t define what was or wasn’t work. But the law-loving Pharisee branch of Jews in New Testament times produced a list of hundreds of activities forbidden on the Sabbath, including providing medical care for people who weren’t in immediate danger of dying.

Frankincense was one of the most exotic and expensive fragrances available, along with myrrh. Both come from sap of small trees and shrubs growing in what are now Saudi Arabia, northern Africa, and India. People would grind up the dried sap and put it in perfumes. They also burned it as a woody fragrance, and a sweet-smelling incense. They burned the incense in religious services. They also burned incense in homes as air fresheners in the days before soap and deodorants.