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Jeremiah 4 Commentary

Humanity Buys Trouble

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KEY THOUGHT: They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.” [Jeremiah 4:22b NKJV]

Kindly read your Bible before going through the commentary!

Jeremiah 4 NKJV
Jeremiah Laments over Judah

4 “If you will return, O Israel,” says the Lord,
“Return to Me;
And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight,
Then you shall not be moved.
2 And you shall swear, ‘The Lord lives,’
In truth, in [a]judgment, and in righteousness;
The nations shall bless themselves in Him,
And in Him they shall glory.”

3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

“Break up your [b]fallow ground,
And do not sow among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
And take away the foreskins of your hearts,
You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Lest My fury come forth like fire,
And burn so that no one can quench it,
Because of the evil of your doings.”

An Imminent Invasion

5 Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say:

“Blow the trumpet in the land;
Cry, ‘Gather together,’
And say, ‘Assemble yourselves,
And let us go into the fortified cities.’
6 Set up the [c]standard toward Zion.
Take refuge! Do not delay!
For I will bring disaster from the north,
And great destruction.”

7 The lion has come up from his thicket,
And the destroyer of nations is on his way.
He has gone forth from his place
To make your land desolate.
Your cities will be laid waste,
Without inhabitant.
8 For this, clothe yourself with sackcloth,
Lament and wail.
For the fierce anger of the Lord
Has not turned back from us.

9 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord,
“That the heart of the king shall perish,
And the heart of the princes;
The priests shall be astonished,
And the prophets shall wonder.”

10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God!
Surely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem,
Saying, ‘You shall have peace,’
Whereas the sword reaches to the [d]heart.”

11 At that time it will be said
To this people and to Jerusalem,
“A dry wind of the desolate heights blows in the wilderness
Toward the daughter of My people—
Not to fan or to cleanse—
12 A wind too strong for these will come for Me;
Now I will also speak judgment against them.”

13 “Behold, he shall come up like clouds,
And his chariots like a whirlwind.
His horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for we are plundered!”

14 O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness,
That you may be saved.
How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?
15 For a voice declares from Dan
And proclaims [e]affliction from Mount Ephraim:
16 “Make mention to the nations,
Yes, proclaim against Jerusalem,
That watchers come from a far country
And raise their voice against the cities of Judah.
17 Like keepers of a field they are against her all around,
Because she has been rebellious against Me,” says the Lord.
18 “Your ways and your doings
Have procured these things for you.
This is your wickedness,
Because it is bitter,
Because it reaches to your heart.”

Sorrow for the Doomed Nation

19 O my soul, my soul!
I am pained in my very heart!
My heart makes a noise in me;
I cannot hold my peace,
Because you have heard, O my soul,
The sound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.
20 Destruction upon destruction is cried,
For the whole land is plundered.
Suddenly my tents are plundered,
And my curtains in a moment.
21 How long will I see the [f]standard,
And hear the sound of the trumpet?

22 “For My people are foolish,
They have not known Me.
They are [g]silly children,
And they have no understanding.
They are wise to do evil,
But to do good they have no knowledge.”

23 I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void;
And the heavens, they had no light.
24 I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled,
And all the hills moved back and forth.
25 I beheld, and indeed there was no man,
And all the birds of the heavens had fled.
26 I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness,
And all its cities were broken down
At the presence of the Lord,
By His fierce anger.

27 For thus says the Lord:

“The whole land shall be desolate;
Yet I will not make a full end.
28 For this shall the earth mourn,
And the heavens above be black,
Because I have spoken.
I have purposed and will not relent,
Nor will I turn back from it.
29 The whole city shall flee from the noise of the horsemen and bowmen.
They shall go into thickets and climb up on the rocks.
Every city shall be forsaken,
And not a man shall dwell in it.

30 “And when you are plundered,
What will you do?
Though you clothe yourself with crimson,
Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
Though you enlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you will make yourself fair;
Your lovers will despise you;
They will seek your life.

31 “For I have heard a voice as of a woman in [h]labor,
The anguish as of her who brings forth her first child,
The voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself;
She spreads her hands, saying,
‘Woe is me now, for my soul is [i]weary
Because of murderers!’

Footnotes

a. Jeremiah 4:2 justice
b. Jeremiah 4:3 untilled
c. Jeremiah 4:6 banner
d. Jeremiah 4:10 Lit. soul
e. Jeremiah 4:15 Or wickedness
f. Jeremiah 4:21 banner
g. Jeremiah 4:22 foolish
h. Jeremiah 4:31 childbirth
i. Jeremiah 4:31 faint

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Jeremiah 4 Commentary

The LORD God has decided and won’t change His mind; Jerusalem will be destroyed. Jerusalem’s wicked ways are the reason for the destruction. But who cares? The city is peaceful and goes about life as always.

Who wouldn’t think of our own times! People eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage – who knows it until the Son of Man shows up as the Judge of the universe!

The prophet throws in a light complaint. Why has the LORD deceived the people? Why this false peace – the thought of false security. All is normal out there.

But not so with the saint. Even a small lie yet to be said sends the saint into earnest repentance. And which saint truly feels secure against the holy standards of the Sovereign LORD!

Yet it is so peaceful out there – with danger in the blink. We can wonder as the prophet did.

Return to the LORD in truth, not just in empty words of reverence. Let the good words you say about God come from your hearts and not just from your lips.

Don’t mix good and evil in one act. Be one thing; confess it and act it; otherwise, the LORD’s anger will burn like a fire.

As we all know, this fire did come, and Jerusalem was destroyed in 587 B.C. The Book of Lamentations describes for us the horror of God’s anger against Jerusalem. History isn’t static!

Is our world safe today? The LORD Jesus Christ, says no. “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.”

“They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.” Verse 22b. Then you know evil, and its author is real! Individuals who decide to live without the power of God within themselves are slaves. They cannot do anything about it. They sin by default.

Then the scripture digs deep into history and comments on the state of humanity. “Without form, and void; and the heavens, they had no light.” Verse 23.

Your mind quickly takes you to the beginning. Yes, a trip to an eternal problem. Let there be light… It’s humanity’s greatest need. And why not? Indeed, why not? Who wouldn’t think of Jesus as the light of this world!

Then you know the LORD has done something about humanity’s darkness! Look to it. Find it. Then walk straight into it.

Loving Scripture….

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25 thoughts on “Home”

  1. It has been exciting learning how God can make things happen to his choosen one, God workout something wonderful and fulfils the promises he made to the father of Joseph.

    God’s words remains true so are his promises and indeed it has been God working out the salvation of man Kind by Grace through Faith alone.

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  11. Profound. My life needs a new introduction to God. Not that I have been right, but because God desires to help me… I see an amazing Grace here. Having broken the first commandment, still God looks for me and helps me to build up with him… And live for him. A littles knowledge of the Lord will ignite my passion and desire to serve him. This morning I pledge to seek, live and serve the Lord Jesus Christ and His purposes everyday of my life.
    Beautiful lesson

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  12. The Lord reintroduces himself and shows Israel, He is all they need. Some boast in horses and others in chariots but we’ll boast in the Lord. He is able and the only one worthy of our trust. Lord teach me how to always look up to you at all times and not focus on my strength or capabilities. This is my prayer

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  14. This far too common today. Just do something that seems like true worship yet it’s intent and actual practice is not even close to the set standard by the Lord. I personally feel challenged of some things we do in our personal lives, the focus of many churches and ministries today. We’ll need to realize the Lord must be worship as he has personally guided. Provides a good start of my reflection today

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  15. In those days when there was no King everyone did as they pleased. This is a good reminder to us that we are on own when the King of Kings isn’t leading our lives we’ll be doing what is not right and the results will show clearly how life without Christ looks like. We thank God that even when it looks like he’s not there, he’s behind the scenes working. I have learnt to trust in the Lord always.

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  16. Iam seeing this being stressed… There was no King in Israel… So lawlessness is the order of the day. This shows how heartless and wicked man can be with out the right King in his life. He can do anything. May the Lord help us to allow Christ in our lives that every aspect of our lives is changed and we yield ourselves to him alone.

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  17. I’m sure as the two daughters in-law stayed in Naomi’s home they learned about the God of Israel and appreciated His works among his people. Ruth’s determination and what she says moves my heart. She’s convinced she must go with Naomi and wants to spend her life with her, this relationship was strong especially between a mother inlaw and a daughter in-law. Yet Ruth stays and how she puts it shows the depth of her heart, I’ll go with with you, your people will be my people, your God will be my God…

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