“And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction.”
My Notes
What Does Jeremiah 32:33 Mean?
God describes the posture of rejection: "they have turned unto me the back, and not the face." The people literally turned their backs on God — the physical metaphor of someone walking away from you mid-conversation. Not facing God means not being in relationship, not making eye contact, not being open to communication.
The phrase "rising up early and teaching them" repeats the persistent-morning-sender language from Jeremiah 25:4. God was the early riser, the persistent teacher, the one who showed up first and stayed longest. And the response was backs, not faces.
The final assessment — "they have not hearkened to receive instruction" — specifies the failure as refusal to learn. Not inability — refusal. They could have received instruction. They chose not to. The teaching was available; the student turned their back. The classroom was open; the seats were empty.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Are you currently giving God your face or your back — and how can you tell?
- 2.What does God's persistent early-morning teaching despite their turned backs reveal about his character?
- 3.Where has the daily, subtle turning away from God happened in your life without you noticing?
- 4.What would it look like to physically and spiritually 'face' God again after a season of turning away?
Devotional
They gave God their backs. Not their faces, not their attention, not their hearts — their backs. The posture of someone walking away from someone who's talking to them.
God was teaching. Rising early, showing up first, persistent and present. And the people turned around. Faced the other direction. Chose to look at anything other than the one who was speaking. The teaching continued; the audience departed.
The combination of God's early-morning persistence and the people's turned backs creates one of the most painful images in Jeremiah. Imagine a teacher who arrives before dawn, every single day, and finds the classroom empty. Not empty because the students are sick — empty because they turned and walked out. The backs are visible through the window. They're right there. They just won't face you.
The back-turning is worse than absence. Absence might be accidental. A turned back is deliberate. It says: I know you're there. I know you're speaking. I'm choosing to face the other way. The rejection isn't ignorance — it's decision.
Are you giving God your face or your back? Not in a dramatic, intentional act of rejection, but in the daily, subtle turning that happens when other things get your attention? The teacher is still rising early. The instruction is still available. The question is whether you've turned to face it or turned to walk away.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
But they set their abominations,.... Their idols, which were abominable to the Lord, and ought to have been so to them:…
The answer is divided into two parts; (a) Jer 32:26-35, the sins of Judah are shown to be the cause of her punishment:…
We have here God's answer to Jeremiah's prayer, designed to quiet his mind and make him easy; and it is a full discovery…
though I taught them, etc.] This verb and the two participles following are infinitives in the Heb. (as in ch. Jer 7:9,…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture