By Eugene Garner

JEREMIAH - CHAPTER 4

JUDGMENT: INVASION FROM THE NORTH

    If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove. 2 And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory. 3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. 4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

    1. If she is willing, Israel may return unto the Lord; but there will be no peace or stability for her until she abandons her idols (I Kings 11:5-7) and ceases her wanderings (vs. 1; 7:3, 7; 35:15).
    2. The promise of God to Abraham is reflected in the plea of Jeremiah set forth in verse 2, (Gen. 12:1-3).
      a. To swear by Jehovah is to acknowledge His lordship - the oath (seen at least 66 times in the Old Testament) being an expression of deep sincerity and truthfulness, (12:16; Deut. 12:20; Isa. 65:16).
      b. If she would turn to the Lord, in righteousness, other nations would also turn to Him, and be blessed, (vs. 2; 3:17; 12:15-17; Gen. 22:18).
    3. As in the appeal of Hosea 10:12, Judah is urged to "break up" her fallow (unplowed) ground; her heart must be broken - her repentance genuine and deep, (vs. 3).
    4. Outward rituals, empty of any real devotion to Jehovah, is unpardonable; there must be an inward heart-commitment to her true Saviour and Lord, (vs. 4a; comp. Gen. 17:11; Deut. 10:16; Rom. 2:28-29, Jer. 9:26).
    5. Let there be no misunderstanding: unless Judah repents, God's righteous indignation is about to break forth as a devouring fire that none can quench, (vs. 4b: Isa. 30:27; Amos 5:6).

    5 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities. 6 Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. 7 The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant. 8 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us. 9 And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder. 10 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul. 11 At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse, 12 Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them. 13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.

    1. Here begins a series of prophecies concerning judgment upon Judah, that continue to the end of chapter 6.
    2. First, the command is given to sound the trumpet throughout the land - calling the people of Judah to their fortified cities, (vs. 5; comp. 6:1; Hos. 8:1); there they are to flee for refuge, (vs. 6a).
    3. From the North God is raising up an instrument of judgment against His erring people.
      a. This "destroyer of nations" (evidently Babylon) is likened unto a Lion emerging from his lair to seek prey, (vs. 7a; 5:6; 25:38; 50:17).
      b. It is his intention to make Judah desolate; to destroy her cities without inhabitant, (vs. 7b; 2:15; comp. Isa. 1:7; 6:11).
    4. Thus, Jeremiah calls upon Judah to repent; the fierce anger of the Lord is still not turned away from her abominations, (vs. 8; 30:24; Isa. 5:25; 10:4).
    5. The leaders of Judah are pictured as totally confounded, (vs. 9).
      a. King and princes are so stricken with fear as to be without understanding - their intellects utterly paralyzed! (vs. 9a; comp. Isa. 22:3-5).
      b. So with the religious leaders; the priests are stunned - the prophets utterly dumbfounded! (vs. 9b; comp. Isa. 29:9-10; Ezek. 13:9-16).
    6. Scholars have long argued over whether verse 10 is the complaint of Jeremiah himself, or that of the mercenary priests and prophets who have persistently told the sinning nation what it wanted to hear.
      a. It is the tendency of rebellious men to claim God's blessings without heeding His warnings, or being too greatly concerned to meet His conditions.
      b. Lying prophets (and preachers) often charge God with duplicity rather than acknowledge their own sin and accept the blame for its consequences.
      c. There is no reason to believe (in view of his persistent warnings to Judah) that Jeremiah ever believed that his unrepentant people could escape the consequence of their stubborn rebellion and indescribable abominations!
    7. Two figures are used here to describe the invader, and the nature of the discipline that God Himself is bringing upon Judah, (vs. 11-13).
      a. First, his coming is likened unto a scorching sirocco that blows across the land when there is no cloud in the sky, (vs. 11; 13:24; comp. 51:1).
        1) This wind is not for winnowing, or for cleansing; it is too strong for that.
        2) It is a wind that moves under God's own command - a wind of burning judgment, (1:16).
      b. Again, he is pictured as hovering over the land "as clouds." (comp. Isa. 19:1; Ezek. 38:16); his chariots are as destructive as a tornado (Isa. 5:28-29) - his horses being more swift than eagles, (Lam. 4:19).
      c. Jeremiah can already hear the cry of anguish that will go up from Judah when it is TOO LATE TO REPENT: "Woe unto us! for we are spoiled!" (comp. Isa. 3:8).

    14 O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? 15 For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim. 16 Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah. 17 As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD. 18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.

    1. Jeremiah urges Jerusalem to cast out all vain thoughts (vs. 14b; 6:19; 13:27), and to thoroughly purify her heart from wickedness (vs. 14a; Isa. 1:16; Jas. 4:8); only in this way might she be saved from the calamity that fast approaches.

    2. From the broken-down altar of Dan, and from the hills of Ephraim - their people already passed into captivity - Jerusalem may hear the bad news concerning the end, (vs. 15).

    3. The nations are alerted to observe what happens to a people who forsake and rebel against their God, (vs. 16-17; 5:15; Ezek. 21:22).

    4. Her ways and works of wickedness have brought this bitterness of heart upon the people whom Jehovah called to walk with Him in holiness, (vs. 18; 2:17, 19; Psa. 107:17; Isa. 50:51).

    19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. 20 Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. 21 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? 22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

    1. Here appears to be a mingling of the heartache of the prophet with that of his God.
    2. First, one hears the anguished cry of the prophet - the very well-springs of his emotions ("My bowels!") so stirred that he cannot be silent, (vs. 19; comp. S. of S. 5:4; Isa. 16:11; 63:15; Jer. 31:20); his soul can already hear the sound of the trumpet and the shout of battle, (vs. 20).
    3. He views the whole land as devastated and laid waste - the tents of Judah destroyed with one swift stroke.
    4. How much longer must the signals of warfare and the blast of the trumpet be heard in the land?
    5. It is Jehovah Himself who describes His people as foolish, stupid and without knowledge of Him who is their only Saviour; skilled in wickedness, they do not know how to do good!

    23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. 24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. 25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. 26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger. 27 For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. 28 For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.

    1. Let it, first, be recognized that this prophecy - though announcing imminent judgment upon Judah - reaches far beyond Judah, to describe (in symbolic form) the ultimate judgment of Jehovah upon a political universe.

      a. The "heavens" (sun, moon, stars, etc.) symbolizes heights of political power and glory (kings, queens, princes, etc.; comp. Isa. 13:10-13; 14:12-15; 34:4-5; Ezek. 32:7; Joel 2:10; Hag. 2:6-7); yet, it also includes in some contexts, wicked spiritual powers in the heavenlies, (Eph. 6:11-12; comp. Matt. 24:29; Heb. 12:26).

      b. "Earth" denotes the multitudes of people under the rule of the heavens - the strength and power whereby they are supported, (Gen. 6:11; Rev. 12:16; etc.).

      c. Political unrest, commotion and revolution are, figuratively represented by a shaking of the earth, or an earthquake, (Hab. 2:6; Rev. 11:13).

    2. The language used by the prophet (vs. 23a) is identical to that found in Genesis 1-2 and Isaiah 34:11 - suggesting the dissolution of "order" and return to utter "chaos"!

    3. Here is a powerful portrayal of the instability of civil authority, (vs. 24); the dissolution of civil order, (vs. 25); and the desolation of the land under the fierce anger of the Lord, who is as faithful to His warnings of judgment as to His promises of blessing, (vs. 27-28).

    4. Yet, a ray of hope is held out to Judah: "Yet will I NOT make a full end," (vs. 27b) - suggesting the idea of a "remnant," as set forth by other prophets, (6:9; comp. 23:3; 42:19; Amos 5:15; Mic. 2:12; Zeph. 2:9; Hag. 1:12).

    29 The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein. 30 And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life. 31 For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.

    1. Before the noise of an approaching army the inhabitants of Jerusalem are thrown into panic; verse 19 vividly pictures the helplessness and hopelessness of a people who have abandoned and forgotten their God!

    2. What will the daughter of Zion do when she is left desolate? (vs. 30a; 13:21; Isa. 10:3; 20:6).

    3. She may garb herself as a prostitute (Isa. 57:9; Ezek. 23:40-41), and, widening her eyes with cosmetics (comp. Ezek. 23:40; 2 Kings 9:30), in an attempt to gain the favor of her former lovers - the allies in whom she has put her trust; but, they will despise her, (vs. 30b); it is her LIFE that they seek!

    4. Finally, one hears the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, (vs. 31) - her hands spread out in appeal (Isa. 1:15) - and crying out as a woman who is in the travail of labor with her first born, (13:21; 22:23; 30:6); "WOE IS ME!" she cries - her soul fainting because of the slain.