What is the meaning of Jeremiah 2:27?

They say to a tree, ‘You are my father’

• The people credit lifeless wood with the role of origin and authority, replacing the living Creator (Isaiah 44:14-17; Romans 1:22-23).

• By calling an idol “father,” they reject God’s revealed paternity over Israel (Deuteronomy 32:6; Malachi 2:10).

• This is not mere poetic language; it exposes literal idol worship infiltrating homes and national worship (2 Kings 17:15-16).

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and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’

• Stone images, carved or natural, are treated as life-givers, inverting the true order of creation (Psalm 115:4-7).

• The phrase “You gave me birth” mocks the covenant language where God birthed Israel as a nation (Exodus 4:22; Isaiah 63:16).

• Idolatry always devalues human dignity, because people become like what they worship—mute, blind, and powerless (Psalm 135:15-18).

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They have turned their backs to Me and not their faces.

• Turning the back signals intentional rejection of God’s presence (2 Chronicles 29:6).

• Instead of seeking His face in humility (2 Chronicles 7:14; Psalm 27:8), the nation prefers gods they can control.

• The abandonment is relational, not accidental: they choose estrangement over fellowship (Jeremiah 18:15-17).

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Yet in the time of trouble, they say, ‘Rise up and save us!’

• Crisis restores a sense of need, but their cry is transactional, not repentant (Judges 10:11-14).

• God exposes the hypocrisy: idols get credit in peace, but He is summoned only in distress (Hosea 5:15).

• The pattern warns that delayed repentance risks divine silence when deliverance is most needed (Proverbs 1:24-28; Jeremiah 11:11-14).

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summary

Jeremiah 2:27 confronts Israel’s idolatry with vivid irony: they ascribe fatherhood and birth to wood and stone, then spurn the true Father by turning their backs on Him. When calamity strikes, they discover their idols are useless and run back to God for rescue. The verse calls believers to consistent, exclusive devotion—seeking God’s face at all times rather than treating Him as a last-minute rescue option.