1 “If you, Israel, will return, then return to me,” declares the LORD.
“If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray,
2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’
then the nations will invoke blessings by him and in him they will boast.”
“If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray,
2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’
then the nations will invoke blessings by him and in him they will boast.”
3 This is what the LORD says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:
“Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, circumcise your hearts,
you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done - burn with no one to quench it.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, circumcise your hearts,
you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done - burn with no one to quench it.
5 “Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say:
‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’
Cry aloud and say:
‘Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities!’
6 Raise the signal to go to Zion! Flee for safety without delay!
For I am bringing disaster from the north, even terrible destruction.”
‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’
Cry aloud and say:
‘Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities!’
6 Raise the signal to go to Zion! Flee for safety without delay!
For I am bringing disaster from the north, even terrible destruction.”
7 A lion has come out of his lair; a destroyer of nations has set out.
He has left his place to lay waste your land.
Your towns will lie in ruins without inhabitant.
8 So put on sackcloth, lament and wail,
for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.
He has left his place to lay waste your land.
Your towns will lie in ruins without inhabitant.
8 So put on sackcloth, lament and wail,
for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.
9 “In that day,” declares the LORD, “the king and the officials will lose heart,
the priests will be horrified, and the prophets will be appalled.”
the priests will be horrified, and the prophets will be appalled.”
10 Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign LORD! How completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ when the sword is at our throats!”
11 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; 12 a wind too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments against them.”
13 Look! He advances like the clouds, his chariots come like a whirlwind, his horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us! We are ruined!
14 Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?
15 A voice is announcing from Dan, proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.
16 “Tell this to the nations, proclaim concerning Jerusalem:
‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land, raising a war cry against the cities of Judah.
17 They surround her like men guarding a field, because she has rebelled against me,’” declares the LORD.
18 “Your own conduct and actions have brought this on you.
This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart!”
14 Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?
15 A voice is announcing from Dan, proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.
16 “Tell this to the nations, proclaim concerning Jerusalem:
‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land, raising a war cry against the cities of Judah.
17 They surround her like men guarding a field, because she has rebelled against me,’” declares the LORD.
18 “Your own conduct and actions have brought this on you.
This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart!”
19 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.
20 Disaster follows disaster; the whole land lies in ruins.
In an instant my tents are destroyed, my shelter in a moment.
21 How long must I see the battle standard and hear the sound of the trumpet?
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.
20 Disaster follows disaster; the whole land lies in ruins.
In an instant my tents are destroyed, my shelter in a moment.
21 How long must I see the battle standard and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 “My people are fools; they do not know me.
They are senseless children; they have no understanding.
They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.”
They are senseless children; they have no understanding.
They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.”
23 I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty;
and at the heavens, and their light was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away.
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger.
and at the heavens, and their light was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away.
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger.
27 This is what the LORD says:
“The whole land will be ruined, though I will not destroy it completely.
28 Therefore the earth will mourn and the heavens above grow dark,
because I have spoken and will not relent, I have decided and will not turn back.”
28 Therefore the earth will mourn and the heavens above grow dark,
because I have spoken and will not relent, I have decided and will not turn back.”
29 At the sound of horsemen and archers every town takes to flight.
Some go into the thickets; some climb up among the rocks.
All the towns are deserted; no one lives in them.
Some go into the thickets; some climb up among the rocks.
All the towns are deserted; no one lives in them.
30 What are you doing, you devastated one?
Why dress yourself in scarlet and put on jewels of gold?
Why highlight your eyes with makeup? You adorn yourself in vain.
Your lovers despise you; they want to kill you.
Why dress yourself in scarlet and put on jewels of gold?
Why highlight your eyes with makeup? You adorn yourself in vain.
Your lovers despise you; they want to kill you.
31 I hear a cry as of a woman in labour, a groan as of one bearing her first child -
the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands and saying,
“Alas! I am fainting; my life is given over to murderers.”
the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands and saying,
“Alas! I am fainting; my life is given over to murderers.”
TODAY IN THE WORDDoctors are increasingly aware that prolonged exposure to psychological strain, such as fear or anxiety, can lead to a host of psychosomatic illnesses. This “discovery” would have been nothing new for Jeremiah. Living under the shadow of impending invasion, the pit of Jeremiah’s stomach ached. Yesterday we looked at the warning to repent. Today we’ll see the serious consequences when such warnings are ignored.
Today’s passage opens with the cry to flee to fortified cities. The coming invasion was inevitable. Like a devouring lion, the Babylonians would destroy everything in sight. Lions were
a serious threat in this area during Jeremiah’s time, so this imagery would have put real fear in people’s hearts. Given the severity of this attack, the only possible response was to wail and lament (v. 8).
It’s not clear in the original Hebrew whether verse 10 reflects Jeremiah’s thinking or the conventional wisdom of his time. If these are Jeremiah’s thoughts, they show us how deeply troubled he was – it seemed as if God Himself had deceived him! It’s likely, however, that false prophets had been crying, “Peace! Peace!” When disaster loomed, these false prophets then claimed that God had deceived them, when in reality they hadn’t been listening to Him to begin with. The truth was that the winds of destruction were beginning to blow on Jerusalem (v 11). These hot winds would scorch, making normal activities, such as winnowing grain, impossible.
The impending calamity caused Jeremiah to writhe in pain. Other Hebrew prophets had also suffered because of impending judgment, but Jeremiah’s anguish gives us a look into his sensitive heart.
APPLY THE WORD
Like Jeremiah, Jesus also warned people to repent and trust in the Lord before it was too late. In the parable of the wedding banquet (Matt 22:1–14), Jesus urged His listeners to respond to the gospel. In the warning that might remind us of Jeremiah 4, Jesus said that those who rejected this invitation would be thrown “outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt 22:13). Have you accepted this invitation? If not, think about these terrible consequences and accept God’s offer of salvation through Jesus.
Like Jeremiah, Jesus also warned people to repent and trust in the Lord before it was too late. In the parable of the wedding banquet (Matt 22:1–14), Jesus urged His listeners to respond to the gospel. In the warning that might remind us of Jeremiah 4, Jesus said that those who rejected this invitation would be thrown “outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt 22:13). Have you accepted this invitation? If not, think about these terrible consequences and accept God’s offer of salvation through Jesus.
