Mazmur 50:15

50:15 Pray to me when you are in trouble! ¹ 

I will deliver you, and you will honor me!” ² 

Yeremia 2:27

2:27 They say to a wooden idol, ³  ‘You are my father.’

They say to a stone image, ‘You gave birth to me.’ ⁴ 

Yes, they have turned away from me instead of turning to me. ⁵ 

Yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’

[50:15]  ¹ tn Heb “call [to] me in a day of trouble.”

[50:15]  ² sn In vv. 7-15 the Lord makes it clear that he was not rebuking Israel because they had failed to offer sacrifices (v. 8a). On the contrary, they had been faithful in doing so (v. 8b). However, their understanding of the essence of their relationship with God was confused. Apparently they believed that he needed/desired such sacrifices and that offering them would ensure their prosperity. But the Lord owns all the animals of the world and did not need Israel’s meager sacrifices (vv. 9-13). Other aspects of the relationship were more important to the Lord. He desired Israel to be thankful for his blessings (v. 14a), to demonstrate gratitude for his intervention by repaying the vows they made to him (v. 14b), and to acknowledge their absolute dependence on him (v. 15a). Rather than viewing their sacrifices as somehow essential to God’s well-being, they needed to understand their dependence on him.

[2:27]  ³ tn Heb “wood…stone…”

[2:27]  ⁴ sn The reference to wood and stone is, of course, a pejorative reference to idols made by human hands. See the next verse where reference is made to “the gods you have made.”

[2:27]  ⁵ tn Heb “they have turned [their] backs to me, not [their] faces.”