Jerusalem Will Be Destroyed Because Of The People's Gross Sinfulness (Jeremiah 32:28-35).
“Therefore thus says YHWH, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it,”
And it is on this basis that He intends to give the city into the hands of the Chaldeans (another name for the Babylonians, or possibly in this case Nebuchadrezzar's choice troops) and into the hands of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, who will consequently take it. Note that it is because YHWH so chooses that it will happen. It will happen just as He has determined.
“And the Chaldeans, who fight against this city, will come and set this city on fire, and burn it, with the houses, on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal, and poured out drink-offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger.”
YHWH then deigns to explain why He has made this choice. It is because the flat roofs of the houses had become mini-sanctuaries to Baal and to other gods, with incense being offered there to Baal, and drink offerings poured out to other gods. It was because it had become a hive of idolatry, provoking Him to anger. That was why He had brought in the Chaldeans, in order that they might purge the city with fire. The smoke of burning buildings would replace that of incense. The next few verses will expand on YHWH's grievances in detail.
“For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only what was evil in my sight from their youth, for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, the word of YHWH.”
He accuses the people of both Israel and Judah of having done ‘only what was evil in my sight from their youth'. The idea is not that none ever performed a good action, but that even in their good actions their motives were wrong. Their whole attitudes and trends of life had been contrary to His will. Note how ‘the children of Israel and the children of Judah' are summarised as ‘the children of Israel' in the one sentence. ‘The work of their hands' includes their overall disobedience and evil activity, but may well partly have in mind the idols that they had made for themselves with their own hands. And this was the sure word of YHWH.
‘From their youth' probably indicates that they had done it from the earliest days in the wilderness (compare Jeremiah 2:2), although alternatively it may indicate that they had sinned grievously even before they were adults.
“For this city has been to me a provocation of my anger and of my wrath from the day that they built it even to this day, that I should remove it from before my face, because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”
What is more the whole city of Jerusalem had provoked Him to anger constantly from its very beginnings, both from when it was a Jebusite city, combined with suburbs built by Benjamin and Judah, and from when David and Solomon had rebuilt and extended it. (Even David had brought YHWH's wrath on it through his behaviour with Bathsheba, and by his later arrogance and dilatoriness, combined with the misbehaviour of the people (2 Samuel 11:24)). They had done it to so severely that it was beyond redemption to such an extent that He was now determined to remove it from before His face. Furthermore the blame was to be shared by all, for it fell on the people of both Israel and Judah, their kings, their princes, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. None were exempt from blame (compare Jeremiah 5:1-9). All had provoked His anger.
“And they have turned to me the back, and not the face, and though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction.”
Indeed they had rudely turned their backs on Him rather than looking Him in the face (i.e. had given Him perfunctory recognition while at the same time treating Him for all intents and purposes as though He was not there by worshipping idols). Compare Jeremiah 2:27; Jeremiah 7:24. And they had done this despite His great efforts to bring them back to Himself, and His efforts to instruct them. Once again we have the Jeremaic expression, ‘rising up early and teaching them' signifying great effort. God had done all that He could but they had not listened.
“But they set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it.”
And to cap it all they had even set up idols in YHWH's own house, the house which was called by His Name, thus defiling it. Compare the similar statement in Jeremiah 7:30. This included an alter to the hosts of heaven, and certainly an Asherah image. It also included vessels for Baal which suggest that a pillar to Baal was also set up. See 2 Kings 16:10-12; 2 Kings 21:5; 2Ki 21:7; 2 Kings 23:4; 2 Kings 23:6.
“And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech; which I did not command them, nor did it come into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.”
But even possibly worse than that was that they had committed a sin so horrible that YHWH did not even want to bring it to mind, in that they had set up high places of Baal in the Valley of Hinnom and had caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech. In Jeremiah 19:5 this is described as ‘burning their sons as burnt offerings to Baal', so that there is no doubt that child sacrifice was involved. Molech was the fiery god of the only half-civilised Ammonites, and had clearly been conjoined with Baal in this form of worship (Baal means ‘Lord', Molech means ‘King). And not only had YHWH not commanded it, but He could not even bear to think of it.