“Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.”
My Notes
What Does Jeremiah 2:27 Mean?
Jeremiah delivers one of God's most scathing indictments, and the absurdity is the sharpest part of the blade. Israel has turned to idols — calling a wooden post "father" and a stone "mother" — while turning their backs on the God who actually made them.
"Saying to a stock, Thou art my father" — a stock is a piece of wood. A tree trunk. A carved log. And Israel addresses it with the most intimate relational term available: father. The being who shaped you, who gave you identity, who defined your origin — they're attributing that to lumber. The absurdity is theological: a piece of dead wood is being credited with fatherhood by people who have a living God.
"And to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth" — a stone is credited with giving birth. The marginal note says "begotten me." A rock — inanimate, unconscious, incapable of thought or action — is addressed as the source of life. The people who were formed by the hands of God are claiming to have been born from mineral.
"For they have turned their back unto me, and not their face" — the posture tells everything. The marginal note says "the hinder part of the neck." They've given God the back of their neck — the most dismissive, contemptuous physical gesture possible. You show your face to the one you engage with. You show your back to the one you're done with. Israel has turned away from the living God and toward dead materials.
"But in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us" — and here's the bitter twist. When trouble comes — when the wood and stone fail to protect them, when the idols they fathered themselves on prove impotent — they'll turn right back to God and say: save us. The back they showed Him becomes the face they turn toward Him, but only because they need something. The wood is father in prosperity. God is savior in crisis.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What have you credited with 'fathering' you — providing your identity, security, or sense of self — that isn't God?
- 2.When do you show God your face versus your back? What determines which posture you take?
- 3.How do you feel about the fact that God responds to crisis prayers from people who ignored Him during the good times? Is that grace or enabling?
- 4.What would it look like to give God your face — your full attention, your engagement — in the ordinary seasons, not just the emergencies?
Devotional
The hypocrisy is breathtaking: they call a piece of wood "father" and then, when the wood can't save them, they cry out to God. They show God their back and then, when their back is against the wall, they show Him their face. The relationship is entirely on their terms. God gets their attention only when nothing else works.
You've done this. Not with carved wood — but with the modern equivalents. The career you called "provider." The relationship you called "security." The identity you built from your achievements and your appearance. You gave the credit for your life to things that can't sustain it. And when those things failed — when the career collapsed, when the relationship ended, when the achievements lost their shine — you turned to God and said: save me.
God's grief in this verse isn't about the idols. It's about the back. They turned their back to Him. The most dismissive posture a human body can take toward another person — they directed it at the God who fathered them, who brought them forth, who actually gave them everything the wood and stone are credited with. The pain in God's voice isn't theological. It's personal. His children called a log "dad" and showed Him the back of their neck.
The astonishing thing is that when they cry "arise and save us" — He does. Not every time on their schedule. Not always in the way they wanted. But He responds to the crisis prayer of people who showed Him their back during the good times. That's either the most foolish or the most loving thing God could do. It's grace. And it's bewildering.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee?.... This is, or would be, the Lord's answer to them, what is become of…
“Stone” being feminine in Hebrew is here represented as the mother. Arise, and save us - Whether it be idolatry or…
In these verses the prophet goes on with his charge against this backsliding people. Observe here,
I. The sin itself…
The "stock" and "stone" symbolize the god worshipped, and doubtless include the wooden poles (Asherahs) and stone…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture