Jeremiah, chapter 4
interpretation - meaning - commentary - explanation
(1) 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.
These words were written before Babylon invaded the land of Judea. God in His love gives another chance to the inhabitants to abandon the path of evil they had taken. The words "then shalt thou not remove" signify the empty spiritual life of the Israelites, they wandered spiritually, exalted idols created with their own hands, and forgot the miracles their ancestors had seen. God's wrath boils down to the fact that God will withdraw from the chosen people, expose them to their own forces. God's protective shield will be withdrawn, the Jews will be doomed, surrounded by enemies without God's help they will inevitably fall.
(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.
"Evil from the north, and a great destruction" was Babylon, which destroyed Judah and took their inhabitants as slaves to itself. These are prophetic words, written before the events. Did they help? To a few they probably did, to the general public unfortunately not. The same is true today. God calls out to us to come to our senses, and we disregard Him. How many people really believe strongly in God among those who claim to be Christians?
The Lord is calling to conversion
(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.
God is once again calling people to conversion. Priests in those days held their offices out of routine and for profit, and their hearts lacked love for their neighbor. Is it not the same today? The indicated prophets are false prophets, they were not chosen by God, but by Satan. God's prophets, seeing the nation perish, may also have been terrified, but the text depicts false prophets. This is stated in verse 10, where we read that these prophets in their insolence will accuse God of lying. There are many words in the Bible in which God announces a glorious future for the chosen people, but he sets a condition: you must be faithful, of good heart otherwise you will be deprived of protection, that is, exposed to God's wrath. Note that the false prophets utter the words: "Ah, Lord GOD" which should be a warning to you that not everyone who praises the Lord is a true Christian, but can be a deceiver. Does this remind you of anything? The best way to defend against false Christians is to read the Scriptures to see if they speak and act truthfully. The Pharisees generally spoke the truth, but their hearts and actions were hypocritical.
(14) O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?
Another call from God to convert the hearts of the people of Judea. They even get a promise that when they repent, God will not withdraw His protection. This call was ignored.
(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.
Prophetic words written before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. The reason for their defeat is given: evil. Anyone who is guided by evil in life will sooner or later suffer defeat. Even when he dies in old age he will still lose, because he will lose eternal life.
(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.
Some of the saddest words in Scripture. They were written by Jeremiah, but in prophetic words, they simultaneously point to God's hurting heart. In other translations of the Bible they sound like this:
My soul, my soul! I am in anguish! Oh, my heart! My heart is pounding in me; I cannot keep silent, Because, my soul, you have heard The sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war.
Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry.
My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh the walls of my heart! My heart is beating wildly; I cannot keep silent, for I hear the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
It is terrible foolishness to accuse God of not loving people and murdering entire nations because there is no love in Him. God, seeing how His chosen people rejected love, wept in His heart. He saw a terrible future for Jerusalem. He had no joy in it. So why did He allow its destruction? Because He is just! Love does not exclude justice. Although it is difficult to comprehend, but the death of an entire city has the effect of stopping further depravity and the further spread of evil.
(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?
God, despite being betrayed by Israel, recognizes their dwellings as if they were His. God's love for people is immense!
(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.
The picture of a fallen Judea is no different from today's world.
Announcement of the destruction of Jerusalem
(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. (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.
Prophetic words. A tragic foreshadowing of what will happen to the rest of Israel. Even nature grieves over the calamity that will befall the country. The creatures in heaven cover themselves in mourning. Is this not a sign of love? However, God gives the assurance that the entire population will not be completely destroyed. After 70 years of captivity, the Jews began to repopulate the abandoned Jerusalem. After Babylon invaded, a small part of the population also remained in Judean areas, mainly to cultivate fields.
"Will not repent, neither will I turn back from it" seem to collide with the aforementioned sorrow and love. God doesn't regret his decision and won't go back on it, because he knows that if he doesn't, the people may forever forsake the Creator and the chance for eternal life. If he didn't, he would lose the entire nation, and the people would still not receive the grace of salvation. The Babylonian invasion would cause at least some of the empty hearts of the Judeans to long for the Lord and be saved. In other words, God cut off the dead branch so that a new, life-giving branch would grow in its place. Can we go and murder fallen nations because of this? No! God allowed the Jews to remain without His protection, and thus as they chose for themselves. Having enemies on every side, it was extreme foolishness to abandon their Only Defender, besides, Revelation announces that the sin-scarred inhabitants of the earth will be destroyed anyway.
(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.
Mighty Babylon is coming, little Judea doesn't stand a chance against the invader, and it would have if only it had been faithful to its Lord. God saved Israel from defeat many times, such as during the invasion of Assyria and the siege of Jerusalem. It is shown what will befall those who rely on their own strength rather than on the Creator.
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