Jeremiah 4

Jeremiah 4:1

Here we have a future dialogue between Jehovah and His people. He covets the very best for them but their sins have cut them off from blessing. They respond with contrite weeping. Once more He calls them to return. They confess that idols are a deception, that God is the only salvation, that their apostasy has cost them dearly, and that they are now covered by shame and reproach.

Jeremiah 4:5

3. Woes of the Judgment from the North (4:5-31)4:5-13 To those who would return to the LORD, the Messiah would come, and the nations would bless themselves in Him. The Lord now warns the men of Judah and Jerusalem, again exhorting them to be contrite and to throw away their idols. Otherwise God will send the invader (Babylon) as a lion, a hot dry wind, clouds, a whirlwind, and eagles. Verse 10 expresses Jeremiah’s inability to reconcile God’s former promises of peace with His present threats of judgment. The prophet knew that God is faithful, but he was making the mistake of doubting in the darkness what he knew in the light.

In times of trouble and discouragement, there is a tendency to question our certainties. A better policy for Christians is to believe our beliefs and doubt our doubts, rather than doubting our beliefs and believing our doubts. 4:14-18 Judah should hasten to turn from its wickedness because warnings of affliction are already coming from Dan and Mount Ephraim in the north. Besiegers are ready to descend on Jerusalem because of Judah’s bitter sin and rebellion. 4:19-22 The prophet’s affection for his people is expressed in verses 19-21: “O my soul, my soul!” means “My anguish, my anguish.” He is overwhelmed when he thinks of the approaching war, destruction upon destruction, and devastation. The question in verse 21, “How long will I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?” is answered by the Lord in verse 22, where He says in effect, “Until the people turn from their foolishness and sin.” 4:23-31 Jeremiah describes a vision he beheld of the coming all-inclusive catastrophe on Judah. The LORD warns that the desolation will be thorough, yet it will not be complete and final. God’s unalterable purpose to chasten will not be deterred by Jerusalem’s cosmetic beauty or by her cry of anguish as of a woman who brings forth her first child.