Is God’s love conditional? (Jer 11:1-17)

At first glance, this chapter reads as if the relationship with God were conditional on obedience. Do as I say and then you will be my people (Jer 11:4). Christians raised on the doctrine of salvation by grace alone may feel uncomfortable. Does the Old Testament teach that we must earn God’s favour? Is God’s love conditional? There are many who assume so and ignore the Old Testament as contrary to the gospel. This, however, will not do. All scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16),[1] and driving a wedge between the testaments is problematic because of the tension that it creates in God’s character. Surely, the God who calls us to Himself by grace today did not sacrifice this important principle in earlier times.

The context of God’s message

Understanding the emphasis here requires us to consider the context of the message. Israel, like many Christians today, were convinced of their status as loved and chosen by God not for any merit of their own, but simply because of God’s grace. In fact, they boasted in the amazing love of God who would stand by them no matter what! That was the problem, however. As we have seen, they abused God’s grace by living as they jolly well pleased, then ran to God and revelled in their security (see Jer 7:8-10). When Jeremiah preached against such an attitude, they were appalled by the blasphemy – surely the prophet was maligning God’s gracious character and the certain protection He promised to His city (e.g. Ps 46:1-7; Jer 26:8-9)! It is in this context that God reminds them that the relationship with Him, as any relationship, carries certain responsibilities.

God’s grace and mutuality in relationship

It is clear from the passage that God’s commitment goes back far beyond the exodus when the covenant mentioned here was established. God had already promised the land to Abraham centuries earlier (Gen 15:18-21; Jer 11:5).[2] He had also brought them out of Egypt (Jer 11:4, 7) and called Israel ‘My people’ (e.g. Exod 5:1). God’s grace then always comes first. Yet in any good relationship, mutuality is important even when the connection is not of equals. Here, the language of covenant echoes concepts from Deuteronomy, very likely ‘the book of the law’ re-discovered during Josiah’s reign (2 Kings 22:8). Jeremiah’s audience had no excuse since they had re-affirmed their commitment to God at that time (2 Kings 23:3).

The covenant in Deuteronomy carries political overtones of a treaty between a vassal and a suzerain/overlord.[3] Typically, in such agreements the stronger party promised protection and help to the vassal in return for allegiance. Such a contract was ratified with ‘curses’ highlighting breaches of the covenant and the consequences to follow (see e.g. Deut 27:15-26; 28:15-68). It is ultimately Israel’s loyalty that is at issue: they conspired (again language from the political world) against their suzerain to serve other gods (i.e. overlords; Jer 11:9-10).

Probing our heart

Yet even now, Israel is called ‘My beloved’ (Jer 11:15) revealing the ache in God’s heart both over His people’s abuse of the relationship and the necessity of judgment (Jer 11:16-17). The issue is that Israel had exploited the relationship using God to their own ends for hundreds of years (Jer 11:8).[4] When the inevitable disaster came, they still tried to have it both ways crying out to God and, when that did not help, to their idols – no wonder the Lord refused to listen (Jer 11:11-12). In such a situation, true love does not indulge destructive patterns of behaviour but sets limits and creates an environment where genuine change can happen. As we ponder whether God’s love is conditional here, Scripture turns our question around and asks: is our love conditional on God’s gifts, blessings, protection? Are we tempted to fob Him off with perfunctory worship like Israel offered sacrifices to avert disaster (Jer 11:15)? Do we pray mostly when we need Him? May the Lord help us grow in our relationship to seek Him as our highest good.

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[1] In fact, when the apostle Paul wrote this, the New Testament writings have not come together in their fullness, nor were they necessarily recognised as scripture, so his reference to ‘scripture’ is primarily about the Old Testament.

[2] Jer 11:5 sounds like possessing the land is contingent on obedience and to some extent it is. This is because resting in the land is a picture of God’s blessing, of enjoying the benefits and the fullness of the relationship with God, which is only possible when there is faithful commitment to Him. However, even here, God’s grace is operative because Israel’s obedience was sporadic at best, yet God gave them the land and bore with them for centuries before banishing them from the land.

[3] Jeremiah elsewhere is strong on the marriage metaphor, but here the switch to the political sphere seems deliberate to emphasise Israel’s obligations.

[4] Depending on the date of the exodus (ca. 1440 or 1250 BC), the time of God’s patience to the exile (587 BC) was over 600-800 years, hardly the picture of a short-tempered God.

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