Listen to the word of the Lord, people of Jacob, families of Israel, one and all.

Jeremiah emphasises that what he has to say is from the Lord. It's not just Jeremiah on his 'soap box'. In the previous few verses, he has reminded the people that God had set them apart for a special purpose and had cared for them in the wilderness in the days of Moses when they had to trust God completely because they had no resources of their own. Through Jeremiah, God calls his people to be accountable to him - to listen to his word.

Often we take God for granted.  We ask him for all kinds of things (not always things for ourselves) and we get very busy about his work (or what we assume is his work) but we forget just to listen for what he wants to tell us.

V 5.

These are the words of the Lord:

What fault did your forefathers find in me,
That they wandered far from me,
Pursuing empty phantoms and themselves becoming empty;

NIV.  What fault did your fathers find in me,
That they strayed so far from me?
They followed worthless idols
and became worthless themselves.

NLT:  ...They worshipped foolish idols, only to become foolish themselves.

Here is God asking, 'What's wrong with me that people look elsewhere for something to worship?'  Why are we never satisfied with what we have - even when it's the best?  When we put our faith in other 'gods' or 'idols' - money, our own resources, nature 'gods', even our families and friends, or the church - we'll be let down.  None of these things can provide what God can provide for us.

V 6.

that they did not ask, 'Where is the Lord,
who brought us up from Egypt
and led us through the wilderness,
through a country of deserts and shifting sands,
A country barren and ill-omened, where no man ever trod,
no man made his home?

The Israelites, wandering in the wilderness, complained and looked for other gods to worship, even though God had cared for them, saved them from slavery in Egypt, provided manna for food and shown that he was always with them..  They made a golden calf when Moses was away receiving the Ten Commandments.

When we become caught up with other things in our lives, we even forget to ask where God is - we forget all about him.  We forget what he has done for us in the past and overlook his love and care for us.

V 7.

I brought you into a fruitful land
to enjoy its fruit and the goodness of it;
but when you entered upon it you defiled it
and made the home I gave you loathsome.

When the Israelites reached the 'promised land' they adopted the Canaanite gods.  God had given them a wonderful land to be their home and they forgot about him - left him for other false gods.

How often do we call on God when we're in trouble, and then forget about him when things are going well?

V 8.

The priests no longer asked, 'Where is the Lord?'
Those who handled the law had no thought of me,
the shepherds of the people rebelled against me;
the prophets prophesied in the name of Baal
and followed Gods powerless to help.

Even the Israelite priests forgot about their duty to God and began to promote the pagan god, Baal.

V 9.

Therefore I will bring a charge against you once more, says the Lord,
against you and against your descendants.

It is impossible for God to ignore such sin by his people.  The consequences of their sin would go on for generations.  That is the natural consequence of forgetting about God.  Children are not taught to honour him and the sin is compounded through the generations, with the consequences of living lives not in accordance with the will of God.

It is important that we not only remember to honour God ourselves, but that we teach our children and grandchildren to honour him too.

V 10 - 12.

Cross to the coasts and islands of Kittim and see,
Send to Kedar and consider well,
see whether there has been anything like this:
has a nation ever changed its gods,
although they were no gods?
But my people have exchanged their Glory
for a god altogether powerless.
Stand aghast at this, you heavens,
tremble in utter despair,
says the Lord.

Jeremiah expresses God's bewilderment and hurt at his people's faithlessness and their stupidity in choosing false gods rather than himself.

V 13.

Two sins my people have committed:
they have forsaken me,
a spring of living water,
and they have hewn out for themselves cisterns,
cracked cisterns that can hold no water.

The people had made a foolish choice that just made no sense.

Quest Study Bible. p 1040.  In parched Palestine, cool spring water was extremely rare and highly valued. Most people had to use cisterns, hewed out of rock, to store water.  No-one would deliberately choose a cistern if a clean spring were available.  Yet Judah, in deserting God, had abandoned a gushing spring for a leaking cistern.

People in this day and age still make the same choice! Many choose material things in which to place their trust, or choose to follow other pagan religions and earth 'gods' which lead to nothing but disappointment.  God offers a wonderful relationship based on love and forgiveness, power through the Holy Spirit and a continued renewal of our spirit in partnership with his, and a full and satisfying life which will never end. why would we choose anything else?