Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 4:1
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.
1. If thou wilt return, etc.] The best rendering is perhaps as follows: If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, yea, return unto me, continuing (with mg.), and if thou wilt put and wilt not wander, and wilt swear then shall the nations, etc.
abominations ] detestable things, idolatrous worship, mingled, as it often was, with impure rites.
be removed ] wander (from God). By a change of one Hebrew letter we get the word rendered “broken loose” in Jer 2:31. This is to be preferred, as it is doubtful whether the verb in MT. can have a moral connotation.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Jer 4:1-4 . If Israel will sincerely repent and mend her ways, her prosperity will be the ideal for all nations. Let Judah dedicate herself in heart to Jehovah, otherwise heavy judgement shall be her portion.
In Jer 4:1-4 a severer mode of address is used towards Judah (3, 4) than towards Israel (1, 2).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Chs. Jer 3:6 to Jer 4:4. Conditional offers of restoration
We may subdivide thus.
(1) Jer 3:6-18. The ten tribes as less guilty than Judah are invited to repent and return. (2) Jer 3:19 to Jer 4:4. The invitation includes the whole nation, on a like condition.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Chs. Jer 3:19 to Jer 4:4. The invitation includes the whole nation, on a like condition
This section should follow immediately on Jer 3:5. See introd. note on Jer 3:6-18.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Return – The repentance of Israel described in Jer 3:21-25 was a hope, and not a reality. The return, literally, would be their restoration to their land; spiritually, their abandoning their sins.
Jer 4:1-2 should be translated as follows:
If thou wouldst return, O Israel, saith Yahweh.
Unto Me thou shalt return:
And if thou wouldst remove thy abominations from before Me,
And not wander to and fro,
But wouldst swear truly, uprightly; and justly
By the living Yahweh;
Then shall the pagan bless themselves … –
In him – In Yahweh. Two great truths are taught in this verse;
(1) that the Gentiles were to be members of the Church of the Messiah;
(2) that Israels special office was to be Gods mediator in this great work.
Thus, Jeremiah is in exact accord with the evangelical teaching of Isaiah.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Jer 4:1-4
If thou wilt return,. . .and if thou wilt put away thine abominations . . . then shalt thou not remove.
The pleadings of God
A strange ministry is that of Almightiness. It is almightiness–almost. So we come upon a mysterious if in all the history of Gods administration. If thou wilt return–why not make them return? Here man is stronger than God. We have seen in innumerable instances how true it is that God, who can handle universes, can do nothing with the heart He has made except with the hearts consent. Behold God, then, as a pleader. If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return unto Me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of My sight,–if thou wilt swear, The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness,–if thou wilt do these things, the issue will be glorious; it will also be beneficent, it will have an evangelistic effect upon the world. The meaning is, the heathen nations round about shall see thy return, and they will begin to own the power of God. That is the converting force that must be brought to bear upon the whole of the nations. The Church must be so beautiful as to attract attention. When Christians do right, pagans will believe; when Christians claim their uniqueness of quality and exemplify it, the men who get up arguments against Christianity will be ashamed of their own ingenuity, and run away from the things their hands have piled, saying, We cannot build fortresses against such quality of character. This is true missionary work. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Putting away of sin
A great warrior was once persuaded by his enemies to put on a beautiful robe which they presented him. Not suspecting their design, he wrapped himself tightly in it, but in a few moments found that it was coated on the inside with a deadly poison. It stuck to his flesh as if it had been glued. The poison entered into his flesh, so that in trying to throw off the cloak, he was left torn and bleeding. But did he for that reason hesitate about taking it off? Did he stop to think whether it was painful or not? Did he say, Let me wait and think about it awhile? No! he tore it off at once, and threw it from him, and hastened away from it to the physician. This is the way you must treat your sins if you would be saved. They have gone into your soul. If you let them alone you perish. You must not fear the pain of repentance. You must east them from you as poison, and hasten away to Jesus Christ. Do this, or your sins will consume you like fire. (T. Meade.)
And thou shalt swear.
On swearing
I. The command. Did Christ countermand this? (Mat 5:34.) The Son forbid in the Gospel what the Father bids in the law? God bids thee swear, so thy oath be truthful and needful; Christ forbids swearing which is truthless and needless.
II. The form. God bade us swear; now He tells us how. The Lord liveth. It is, then, impiety to swear by creatures. God prevents all evasion by the name He here gives–the Lord; not any god the swearer would substitute, as some swear by angels, called in Scripture Elohim, and superstition worships them as gods.
III. Three particulars.
1. In truth. Perjury is impious–makes that which is the sign and seal of truth, the cloak of falsehood.
2. In judgment. Swear not upon guess only.
3. In righteousness. To any act against right or religion bind not thyself, let not any bind thee. (R. Clerke, D. D.)
Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.–
Soul agriculture
I. Proper attention to the soil.
1. Variety of condition.
2. Capability of improvement.
II. Proper attention to the seed.
1. Care in selection of true spiritual seed. The Gospel–
(1) Perfect in itself.
(2) Fitted to grow in all climates.
(3) It does not sow itself.
(4) It is the support of life.
2. Attention must also be paid to its growth.
III. Proper attention to the season.
1. Youth.
2. The season of moral seriousness, when the heart has been softened. (Homilist.)
The life of the sinner a foolish agriculture
The people referred to as sowing among thorns are those, perhaps, who are endeavouring by religious study and effort to get the seeds of Divine good into them when their hearts remain full of worldly things.
I. A grand evil. Sowing precious seed in bad soil involves three things.
1. Loss of seed. The precious grain has been thrown away.
2. Loss of labour. All the efforts employed go for nothing.
3. Loss of hope. All the bright anticipations of a glorious future frustrated.
II. An urgent duty. Break up your fallow ground. This means in one word evangelical repentance for sin.
1. This in moral, as well as material, agriculture is hard work. A skilful ploughman, a strong plough and a vigorous team are necessary. It is hard work to repent.
2. This in moral, as well as in material, agriculture is indispensable work. (Homilist.)
The fallow ground broken
I. The necessity of fallowing the ground is obvious to all who are practically acquainted with tillage: and such as are experimentally informed on the subject of the evil and barrenness of their own hearts, will admit the absolute requirement of a similar mental process. All your carnal hopes, and criminal opposition to the Divine will, must be completely eradicated.
II. The nature of this part of a farmers business will well Illustrate the correspondent toil of a believer. No attempt to cleanse the heart, however disagreeable, is intentionally neglected by the sincere believer–no effort is relied upon; all is subservient to the expected influences of heaven.
III. The advantages of this procedure. Those who make thorough work with their own hearts, will find that their religious joys and better hopes, though delayed, shall be most vigorous; their subsequent sufferings from the grieving thorn and pricking brier shall be fewer; and a richer harvest shall at length crown their toil.
1. If you desire permanent prosperity and joy in the Holy Ghost, break up the fallow ground–sow not among thorns.
2. Be personal in this labour. Turn your eyes from others to yourself.
3. Remember your own unworthiness, and the poverty of your unassisted endeavours. (W. Clayton.)
Ploughing and sowing
This season of spring, with its ploughing, and sowing, and opening of life, typifies the time which God has given for forming in us enlightened principles and virtuous habits, holy motives and pure desires, and for becoming possessed of the grace and goodness which Jesus has to impart, in order that we may grow up into the Divine life of God, which shall abide with us through old age as the source of true enjoyment, and as the first beginnings of eternal glory. The ploughshare of the Divine Word must pierce into us, and break up our hardness and indifference, and make us impressible and movable, to fit us for bringing forth the fruits of righteousness. For example, the seedtime of life, like that of spring, regulates and determines the moral results which the future shall unfold, whether in time or in eternity. Our life on earth is the scene of moral causes and operations–the sowing time of our spirit–the period for the earnest cultivation of our moral nature; and it is to us all the more important, because it is far-reaching in its effects, stretching beyond the present earthly existence into eternity, bearing the flowers and blossoms of spiritual beauty and grace, a manifestation of Deity in humanity. And if these moral causes do not operate–if the seed time of life be wasted–if the cultivation of the moral nature be neglected, equally true the effects of such a life are eternal, stretching beyond the present earthly existence, and bearing into eternity the fruits of moral depravity and corruption. Now, this cultivation of our moral nature is no easy task. Even in matters connected with this life, if we neglect any duty from time to time, or if we delay entering upon any employment necessary to our material or social well-being, indolence increases, disinclination to perform the duty strengthens, dislike to the employment springs up, until habit entirely unfits us for action. In the same way, to ignore religious truth in its relation to our heart, and to neglect religious duties, is to deepen false impressions, strengthen ignorant prejudices, and confirm evil habits. This also is certain, that if good seed is not germinating in our hearts, thorns of evil are, do what we will. If, for instance, our mind is not exercised with religious truth, and no effort made on our part to understand intelligently the revelation which God has made of human salvation; or if the heart be unopened to the power of the Divine Spirit and the moral impressions of Divine truth; and if we continue to refuse accepting Christ as the Saviour of our soul; then our mental and moral nature will become as hard-baked fallow ground, almost impenetrable to the ploughshare of heaven. The indifference of the mind to religious truth keeps the heart spiritually cold, and the coldness of the heart induces in the mind a distaste for spiritual things. On the other hand, any powerful awakening in connection with religion or religious truth, whether it affect the mind alone, or the heart alone, or both together, is in the highest sense beneficial to our soul. Whatever acts on the mind so as to turn it in upon itself, whatever makes the soul depend upon God, and believe in an invisible spiritual world as a reality, though accompanied with strong excitement or inward conflict, is good, and leads to spiritual power. Besides, the precise form of treatment that does good to one spiritual nature, is not always successful with every other, even in like circumstances, any more than the same culture would be successful with different soils in the same climate. We cannot, therefore, project our own feelings and experience into the mind and soul of others, as if we were examples of the only way in which Divine grace and power plough all human souls for the seed of salvation. This breaking up of our moral nature is nothing else than the softening of our hearts under the influence of Divine truth–a humble, penitent spirit, a constant sense of the evil of sin, a willingness to be reconciled to God, whom our transgressions have offended, and an earnest desire after a holier life in God. It is only in such a heart as this that Divine truth will take root, and grow up and bring forth fruit. As the ground must be broken before the tiny fibrils of the root can descend into the earth, which they do, as by a sensitive instinct, in search of vegetable nourishment and life; so the spiritual nature must be humbled and made penitent–broken under a sense of sin, and under the operation of Divine law–in order that the seed of the Divine Word may hide itself deep down into the subsoil of the soul, until it establishes itself firmly there. While the tangled threads of the root are shooting themselves downwards, and gathering strength and nourishment from the soil, the blade in spiral form shoots itself upwards to the light, and the leaf opens, then comes the ear, and then the full corn in the ear, ripe for the sickle of harvest. In the same way Divine truth and heavenly principles, spiritual thought, emotion, and life descend and ascend, as by an unchangeable law. In every truly spiritual life there is this two-fold operation–a movement upwards and downwards, a working within and without, a meditative disposition expressing itself in active habits, believing prayer, conjoined with earnest effort in doing good. (W. Simpson.)
The duty of moral cultivation
Our nature at its largest is but a small farm, and we had need to get a harvest out of every acre of it, for our needs are great. Have we left any part of our small allotment uncultivated? If so, it is time to look into the matter and see if we cannot improve this wasteful state of things. What part of our small allotment have we left fallow? We should think very poorly of a farmer who for many years allowed the best and richest part of his farm to lie altogether neglected and untilled. An occasional fallow has its benefits in the world of nature; but, if the proprietor of rich and fruitful land allowed the soil to continue fallow, year after year, we should judge him to be out of his wits. The wasted acres ought to be taken from him and given to another husbandman who would worthily cherish the generous fields, and encourage them to yield their harvests. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
A fallow field
Do you know what happens to a fallow field? how it becomes caked and baked hard as though it were a brick? All the friable qualities seem to depart, and it hardens as it lies caked and unbroken; I mean, of course, if year succeed year, and the fallow remains untouched. And then the weeds! If a man will not sow wheat, he shall have a crop for all that, for the weeds will spring up, and they will sow themselves, and in due time the multiplication table will be worked out to a very wonderful extent; for these seeds, multiplying a hundredfold, as evil usually does, will increase and increase again, till the fallow field shall become a wilderness of thorns and briars and a thicket of dock nettle and thistle. If you do not cultivate your heart, Satan will cultivate it for you. If you bring no crop to God, the devil will be sure to reap a harvest. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER IV
Sequel of the exhortations and promises addressed to Israel in
the preceding chapter, 1, 2.
The prophet then addresses the people of Judah and Jerusalem,
exhorting to repentance and reformation, that the dreadful
visitation with which they were threatened might be averted,
3, 4.
He then sounds the alarm of war, 5, 6.
Nebuchadnezzar, like a fierce lion, is, from the certainty of
the prophecy, represented to be on his march; and the
disastrous event to have been already declared, 7-9.
And as the lying prophets had flattered the people with the
hopes of peace and safety, they are now introduced, (when their
predictions are falsified by the event,) excusing themselves;
and, with matchless effrontery, laying the blame of the
deception upon God, (“And they said,” c., so the text is
corrected by Kennicott,) 10.
The prophet immediately resumes his subject and, in the person
of God, denounces again those judgments which were shortly to
be inflicted by Nebuchadnezzar, 11-18.
The approaching desolation of Jerusalem lamented in language
amazingly energetic and exquisitely tender, 19-21.
The incorrigible wickedness of the people the sole cause of
these calamities, 22.
In the remaining verses the prophet describes the sad
catastrophe of Jerusalem by such a beautiful assemblage of the
most striking and afflictive circumstances as form a picture of
a land “swept with the besom of destruction.” The earth seems
ready to return to its original chaos; every ray of light is
extinguished, and succeeded by a frightful gloom; the mountains
tremble, and the hills shake, under the dreadful apprehension
of the wrath of Jehovah; all is one awful solitude, where not a
vestige of the human race is to be seen. Even the fowls of
heaven, finding no longer whereon to subsist, are compelled to
migrate; the most fruitful places are become a dark and dreary
desert, and every city is a ruinous heap. To complete the
whole, the dolorous shrieks of Jerusalem, as of a woman in
peculiar agony, break through the frightful gloom; and the
appalled prophet pauses, leaving the reader to reflect on the
dreadful effects of apostasy and idolatry, 23-31.
NOTES ON CHAP. IV
Verse 1. Shalt thou not remove.] This was spoken before the Babylonish captivity; and here is a promise that if they will return from their idolatry, they shall not be led into captivity. So, even that positively threatened judgment would have been averted had they returned to the Lord.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Return unto me: this seems to be a continuation of the former sermon; so that Israel having promised repentance, they are here directed how it must be qualified, viz. it must not be hypocritical and reigned, but real and hearty, Jer 24:7, as Josiahs was, 2Ki 23:25; and it must be unto the Lord; not to this idol and that idol, hither and thither, shifting their way; but unto me; see Jer 2:36; or to my worship, and as thou hast promised, Jer 3:22. And this sense agrees best with the coherence. Or it maybe all emphatical, short, peremptory expression; If thou wilt return, return; make no longer demur or delay about it; like that Isa 21:12. The Hebrew read the words in the future tense, if thou wilt return, thou shalt return; and so they may be taken partly as a promise, and that with reference either to their returning into their own land; and so they concern Israel; thus Deu 30:2-5; see Jer 3:14. But if the word be taken in the notion of resting, not returning, as some do, and as it is taken Isa 30:15, then it rather concerns Judah: q. d. Thou shalt abide quietly where thou art, and shalt not wander into captivity; and this may agree with the last expression in the verse,
not remove. Or else with reference to the assistance that God would give them to return unto him; partly, and that rather, as a direction (for in the Hebrew, though the word return be in the future tense, yet it is often used imperatively).
Abominations, viz. idols, a metonymy of the adjunct, which are so abominable in Gods sight, Deu 27:15; Eze 20:7,8; called dungy gods, Deu 29:17. See 2Ch 15:8.
Out of my sight; though Gods eye be every where; and hence implieth that idols are no where to be admitted, either in private or public; yet it doth particularly relate to the place of his more immediate presence, as their land and temple, 1Ki 9:3, and spiritually to our hearts, hypocrites thinking it enough if they conceal their wickedness from mans eye.
Then shalt thou not remove: if this be read imperatively, then it is,
remove not, as it may be read; and so it agrees with Israel, Depart not away from me to thy idols upon the mountains and hills: if read in the future tense, then it agrees with Judah, Thou shalt not go out of thine own land into exile. See the first clause of the verse.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1. return . . . returnplay onwords. “If thou wouldest return to thy land (thou mustfirst), return (by conversion and repentance) toMe.”
not removeno longer bean unsettled wanderer in a strange land. So Cain (Gen 4:12;Gen 4:14).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord,…. To which they had been encouraged, and as they had promised they would, and said they did, Jer 3:14:
return unto me; with thy whole heart, and not feignedly and hypocritically, as Judah did, Jer 3:10. Some render the words (and the accents require they should be rendered so) “if thou wilt return to me, O Israel, saith the Lord, thou shalt return” l; that is, to thine own land, being now in captivity; or, “thou shalt rest” m; or “have rest”; so Kimchi interprets the last word; see Jer 30:10, and these words may very well be considered as the words of Christ, and as spoken by him, when he entered upon his ministry, who began it with calling the people of the Jews to repentance, and promising to give them rest; and all such who return to God by repentance, and come to Christ by faith, find spiritual rest for their souls now, and shall have an eternal rest hereafter, Mt 4:17:
and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight; not only their sins, but their self-righteousness, and dependence upon it; the rites and ceremonies of the old law abolished by Christ, together with the traditions of the elders, by which they made void the commandments of God; all which were abominations in the sight of the Lord, Isa 1:13,
then shalt thou not remove; from thine own land again when restored, or further off, into more distant countries, for they were now in captivity; or rather the words may be rendered, not as a promise, but as a continuation of what is before said,
and not move to and fro n; or be unstable and wavering, tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine, and precept of men; but be established in the faith of the Gospel, and steadfast and immovable in every good work. The Targum is:
“if thou wilt return, O Israel, to my worship, saith the Lord, thy return shall be received before thy decree is sealed; and if thou wilt take away thine abominations from before me, thou shalt not be moved;”
or wander about.
l “si reverteris ad me, O Israel, dicit Jehovah, reverteris”, Gataker, m “quiescas”, Vatablus; “quiesce apud me”, Calvin. n “et non vagaberis”, Gatatker; “et non instabilis fueris”, Cocceius,
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The answer of the Lord. – Jer 4:1. “ If thou returnest, Israel, saith Jahveh, returnest to me; and if thou puttest away thine abominations from before my face, and strayest not, Jer 4:2. and swearest, As Jahveh liveth, in truth, with right, and uprightness; then shall the nations bless themselves in Him, and in Him make their boast.” Graf errs in taking these verses as a wish: if thou wouldst but repent…and swear…and if they blessed themselves. His reason is, that the conversion and reconciliation with Jahveh has not yet taken place, and are yet only hoped for; and he cites passages for with the force of a wish, as Gen 13:3; Gen 28:13, where, however, or is joined with it. But if we take all the verbs in the same construction, we get a very cumbrous result; and the reason alleged proceeds upon a prosaic misconception of the dramatic nature of the prophet’s mode of presentation from Jer 3:21 onwards. Just as there the prophet hears in spirit the penitent supplication of the people, so here he hears the Lord’s answer to this supplication, by inward vision seeing the future as already present. The early commentators have followed the example of the lxx and Vulg. in construing the two verses differently, and take and as apodoses: if thou returnest, Israel, then return to me; or, if thou, Israel, returnest to me, then shalt thou return, sc. into thy fatherland; and if thou puttest away thine abominations from before mine eyes, then shalt thou no longer wander; and if thou swearest…then will they bless themselves. But by reason of its position after it is impossible to connect with the protasis. It would be more natural to take as apodosis, the being put first for the sake of emphasis. But if we take it as apodosis at all, the apodosis of the second half of the verse does not rightly correspond to that of the first half. would need to be translated, “then shalt thou no longer wander without fixed habitation,” and so would refer to the condition of the people as exiled. but for this is not a suitable expression. Besides, it is difficult to justify the introduction of before , since an apodosis has already preceded. For these reasons we are bound to prefer the view of Ew. and Hitz., that Jer 4:1 and Jer 4:2 contain nothing but protases. The removal of the abominations from before God’s face is the utter extirpation of idolatry, the negative moment of the return to the Lord; and the swearing by the life of Jahveh is added as a positive expression of their acknowledgment of the true God. is the wandering of the idolatrous people after this and the other false god, Jer 2:23 and Jer 3:13. “And strayest not” serves to strengthen “puttest away thine abominations.” A sincere return to God demanded not only the destruction of images and the suppression of idol-worship, but also the giving up of all wandering after idols, i.e., seeking or longing after other gods. Similarly, swearing by Jahveh is strengthened by the additions: , in truth, not deceptively ( , Jer 5:2), and with right and uprightness, i.e., in a just cause, and with honest intentions. – The promise, “they shall bless themselves,” etc., has in it an allusion to the patriarchal promises in Gen 12:3; Gen 18:18; Gen 22:18; Gen 26:4; Gen 28:14, but it is not, as most commentators, following Jerome, suppose, a direct citation of these, and certainly not “a learned quotation from a book” (Ew.), in which case would be referable, as in those promises, to Israel, the seed of Abraham, and would stand for . This is put out of the question by the parallel , which never occurs but with the sense of glorying in God the Lord; cf. Isa 41:16, Psa 34:3; 64:11; Psa 105:3, and Jer 9:22. Hence it follows that must be referred, as Calv. refers it, to , just as in Isa 65:16: the nations will bless themselves in or with Jahveh, i.e., will desire and appropriate the blessing of Jahveh and glory in the true God. Even under this acceptation, the only one that can be justified from an exegetical point of view, the words stand in manifest relation to the patriarchal blessing. If the heathen peoples bless themselves in the name of Jahveh, then are they become partakers of the salvation that comes from Jahveh; and if this blessing comes to them as a consequence of the true conversion of Israel to the Lord, as a fruit of this, then it has come to them through Israel as the channel, as the patriarchal blessings declare disertis verbis. Jeremiah does not lay stress upon this intermediate agency of Israel, but leaves it to be indirectly understood from the unmistakeable allusion to the older promise. The reason for the application thus given by Jeremiah to the divine promise made to the patriarchs is found in the aim and scope of the present discourse. The appointment of Israel to be the channel of salvation for the nations is an outcome of the calling grace of God, and the fulfilment of this gracious plan on the part of God is an exercise of the same grace – a grace which Israel by its apostasy does not reject, but helps onwards towards its ordained issue. The return of apostate Israel to its God is indeed necessary ere the destined end be attained; it is not, however, the ground of the blessing of the nations, but only one means towards the consummation of the divine plan of redemption, a plan which embraces all mankind. Israel’s apostasy delayed this consummation; the conversion of Israel will have for its issue the blessing of the nations.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Exhortation to Repentance. | B. C. 620. |
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.
When God called to backsliding Israel to return (ch. iii. 22) they immediately answered, Lord, we return; now God here takes notice of their answer, and, by way of reply to it,
I. He directs them how to pursue their good resolutions: “Dost thou say, I will return?” 1. “Then thou must return unto me; make a thorough work of it. Do not only turn from thy idolatries, but return to the instituted worship of the God of Israel.” Or, “Thou must return speedily and not delay (as Isa. xxi. 12, If you will enquire, enquire you); if you will return unto me, return you: do not talk of it, but do it.” 2. “Thou must utterly abandon all sin, and not retain any of the relics of idolatry: Put away thy abominations out of my sight,” that is, out of all places (for every place is under the eye of God), especially out of the temple, the house which he had in a particular manner his eye upon, to see that it was kept clean. It intimates that their idolatries were not only obvious, but offensive, to the eye of God. They were abominations which he could not endure the sight of; therefore they must be put away out of his sight, because they were a provocation to the pure eyes of God’s glory. Sin must be put away out of the heart, else it is not put away out of God’s sight, for the heart and all that is in it lie open before his eye. 3. They must not return to sin again; so some understand that, Thou shalt not remove, reading it, Thou shalt not, or must not, wander. “If thou wilt put away thy abominations, and wilt not wander after them again, as thou hast done, all shall be well.” 4. They must give unto God the glory due unto his name (v. 2): “Thou shalt sear, The Lord liveth. His existence shall be with thee the most sacred fact, than which nothing can be more sure, and his judgment the supreme court to which thou shalt appeal, than which nothing can be more awful.” Swearing is an act of religious worship, in which we are to give honour to God three ways:– (1.) We must swear by the true God only, and not by creatures, or any false gods,–by the God that liveth, not by the gods that are deaf and dumb and dead,–by him only, and not by the Lord and by Malcham, as Zech. i. 5. (2.) We must swear that only which is true, in truth and in righteousness, not daring to assert that which is false, or which we do not know to be true, nor to assert that as certain which is doubtful, nor to promise that which we mean not to perform, nor to violate the promise we have made. To say that which is untrue, or to do that which is unrighteous, is bad, but to back either with an oath is much worse. (3.) We must do it solemnly, swear in judgment, that is, when judicially called to it, and not in common conversation. Rash swearing is as great a profanation of God’s name as solemn swearing is an honour to it. See Deu 10:20; Mat 5:34; Mat 5:37.
II. He encourages them to keep in this good mind and adhere to their resolutions. If the scattered Israelites will thus return to God, 1. They shall be blessed themselves; for to that sense the first words may be read: “If thou wilt return to me, then thou shalt return, that is, thou shalt be brought back out of thy captivity into thy own land again, as was of old promised,” Deu 4:29; Deu 30:2. Or, “Then thou shalt rest in me, shalt return to me as they rest, even while thou art in the land of thy captivity.” 2. They shall be blessings to others; for their returning to God again will be a means of others turning to him who never new him. If thou wilt own the living Lord, thou wilt thereby influence the nations among whom thou art to bless themselves in him, to place their happiness in his favour and to think themselves happy in being brought to the fear of him. See Isa. lxv. 16. They shall bless themselves in the God of truth, and not in false gods, shall do themselves the honour, and give themselves the satisfaction, to join themselves to him; and then in him shall they glory; they shall make him their glory, and shall please, nay, shall pride, themselves in the blessed change they have made. Those that part with their sins to return to God, however they scrupled at the bargain at first, when they go away, then they boast.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
JEREMIAH – CHAPTER 4
JUDGMENT: INVASION FROM THE NORTH
Vs. 1-4: INCENTIVE AND CONDITIONS FOR RETURN
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 (1Ki 11:57) and ceases her wanderings (vs. 1; Jer 7:3; Jer 7:7; Jer 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 truthfullness, (Jer 12:16; Deu 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; Jer 3:17; Jer 12:15-17; Gen 22:18).
3. As in the appeal of Hos 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; Deu 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; Amo 5:6).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
The Prophet no doubt requires here from the people a sincere return to God, inasmuch as they had often pretended to confess their sins, and had given many signs of repentance, while they were acting deceitfully with him. As then they had often dealt falsely with God and with his prophets, Jeremiah bids them to return to God without any disguise and in good faith. With regard to what is here substantially taught, this is the Prophet’s meaning; but there is some ambiguity in the words.
Some read thus, “If thou returnest, Israel, to me, saith Jehovah, “connecting “to me, אלי, “with the first clause, then they read separately “ תשוב, teshub, thou shalt rest;” and so they think that what follows is the repetition of the same thing, “If thou wilt take away thine abominations from before me, thou shalt not migrate;” that is, I will not cast thee out as I have threatened. Others take the verb תשוב, teshub, in the same sense, (for it is the same verb repeated,) “If thou wilt return, Israel, return to me.” The Prophet doubtless bids the Israelites to return to God in sincerity, and without any disguise, and not to act falsely with him, as they had often done.
I have as yet mentioned only what others have thought; but, in my judgment, the most suitable rendering is, “If thou wilt return, Israel, rest in me, “ arrete toi, as we say in French. Rest then in me; and then a definition is given, If thou wilt take away thine abominations (for the copulative is to be taken as expletive or explanatory) from my sight, and wilt not wander What some of those I have referred to have given as their rendering, “If thou wilt return to me, Israel, thou shalt rest,” I wholly reject, as it seems forced: but I allow this reading, “If thou wilt return, Israel, thou shalt rest in me;” or this, “If thou wilt return, Israel, return to me;” for the difference is not great. The Prophet here evidently condemns the hypocrisy which the Israelites had practiced; for they had often professed themselves as ready to render obedience to God, and afterwards proved that they had made a false profession. Since then deceit and emptiness had been so often found in them, the Prophet demands here, in the name and by the command of God, that they should in truth and sincerity return to him.
If this reading be approved, “Israel, return to me,” the intimation is, that they ever took circuitous courses, that they might not return directly to God: for it is usual with hypocrites to make a great show of repentance and at the same time to shun God. If then we follow this reading, the Prophet means this, “Israel, there is no reason for thee hereafter to think that thou gainest anything by boasting with thy mouth of thy repentance; return to me; know that thou hast to do with God, who is not deceived, as he never deceives any: return then faithfully to me, and let thy conversion be sincere and in no way deceptive.”
But if the verb, תשוב, teshub, be taken in the other sense, there would be no great difference in the meaning; “If thou wilt return, Israel, thou shalt rest in me;” that is, thou shalt hereafter have nothing to do with idols and with thy perverted ways. Thus the Prophet briefly shews that the return of Israel would be nothing, except they acquiesced in God alone, and wandered not after vain objects, as they had often done. And with this view corresponds what follows, “Even if thou takest away (for the copulative, as I have said, is to be taken as explanatory) thine abominations from my sight, and wilt wander no more, ולא תנוד, vela tanud. ” For the vice which Jeremiah meant especially to condemn was this, — that Israel, while pretending a great show of religion, yet vacillated and did not devote themselves with all their heart to God, but were changeable in their purpose. This vice then is what Jeremiah justly condemns; and hence I am disposed to embrace this view “Israel, if thou wilt return, rest in me;” that is, continue constantly faithful to me: but how can this be done? “Even if thou wilt take away thy abominations, and if thou wilt not wander;” for thy levity and inconstancy hitherto has been well known. (98)
Whatever view we may take, this passage deserves to be noticed as being against hypocrites, who dare not openly to reject prophetic warnings; but while they shew some tokens of repentance, they still by windings shun the presence of God. They indeed testify by their mouth that they seek God, but yet have recourse to subterfuges: and hence I have said that this passage is remarkably useful, so that we may know that God cannot be pacified by those fallacious trifles which hypocrites bring forward, but that he requires a sincere heart, and that he abominates all dissimulation. It is therefore expressly said, If thou wilt take away thy abominations from my sight For hypocrites ever regard display and seek to be approved by men, and are satisfied with their approbation; but God calls their attention to himself. It must at the same time be observed, that he cannot be deceived; for he is the searcher of hearts. It follows —
(98) The best rendering is that which connects “to me” with the former clause: the end of the verse, as Grotius observes, proves this. If they returned to God, they were to return from captivity; and if they cast away their abominations, they were not to be vagabonds or to wander any more. This seems to be the meaning. The ו before לא in the last clause is left out in ten MSS., and in the Vulgate, Targum, and Syriac. The verse then would be as follows, —
1. If thou wilt return, Israel, saith Jehovah, to me, Thou shalt be restored, (that is, from captivity:) If thou wilt remove thy abominations from my sight, Thou shalt not be a wanderer.
—
Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES.Chronology of the chapter, Contemporary Scriptures, Historic Facts, Contemporary History as in chap. 3. 1. Geographical References. Jer. 4:5. Defenced cities. Some existed in Canaan before Israelites took possession (Num. 13:28). Solomon erected others:Tadmor, Gezer, Hazor, Bethlehem, Megiddo, &c. (1Ki. 9:15-19). But Jerusalem, fortified by David (2Sa. 5:7; 2Sa. 5:9-10), was the chief stronghold of the nation (Jer. 4:6). When Titus, later in history, besieged Jerusalem, he viewed with amazement, and expressed his admiration of, its impregnable strength (see Josephus Wars, Book vi: ch. 9 1). Jer. 4:11. High places in the wilderness: ranges of bare hills by which the sandy deserts to the east of Palestine are intersected (Hend.). Jer. 4:15. Dan and Mount Ephraim. Dan, the most northern landmark of Palestine, the border town, at the foot of Mount Lebanon, near source of Jordan. Its original name, Laish (cf. Jos. 18:7; Jos. 19:47); captured by a detachment of the tribe of Dan, who went thither to colonise, because the limited area assigned to the tribe was too strait for them: these gave the name Dan to the town. Mount Ephraim, a range of high lands, rounded limestone hills, broken up by intersecting luxuriant valleys, running through the territory allotted to the tribe of Ephraim: the name specially denoted the mountainous district ranging from Ebal and Gerizim southward to Bethel, in length about twenty miles. Thus Dan was the northern frontier of Palestine: Mount Ephraim, the northern boundary of Judea. Their connection here denotes that scarcely would news that the enemy had appeared at Dan (where the northern invaders would first show themselves) be published, ere the foe would, in rapid march, have penetrated to the very centre of the Holy Land, and scaled the frontier of Judea. Jer. 4:29. Climb up upon the rocks. The fastnesses of mountainous rocks proved secure asylums from hostile invaders; where also, unable to resist them in the open field, the Israelites made unconquerable resistance (Jdg. 6:2; Jdg. 20:47, 1Sa. 13:6; 1Sa. 14:4 sq., Isa. 2:19; Isa. 33:16).
2. Natural History. Jer. 4:3. Fallow-ground: land left untitled, not touched by plough or sown with seed, for the Sabbatical year; hence hard, needing to be broken up, and overgrown with thorns, which must be cleansed away. Jer. 4:11. Dry wind: the E. wind which was dry or withering (Eze. 19:12), or the Simoom, frequently mentioned in Old Testament, which blew from the Arabian desert, blasting vegetation and human life; not to fan and cleanse the grain, but ravage and destroy. Jer. 4:13. Clouds and whirlwind: the Simoom raises clouds of sand and dust, which whirl up and cover the sky: these are the chariots, and the hurricanes the swift horses suggested by the simile. Horses: the Chaldean cavalry, which were exceeding Swift. Eagles: Xenophon tells us that the Assyrian armies (ergo, the Chaldean) bore the eagle with wings outspread as a military ensign upon their banners (cf. Hab. 1:8; Isa. 8:8; Jer. 48:40; Hos. 8:1). So also the Persians, and the Romans after them. In Lev. 11:13, the eagle is ranked among the unclean birds.
3. Manners and Customs. Jer. 4:6. Set up the standard: to rally the inhabitants of the country around to the defenced cities for refuge from invaders. Not a military standard () but a signal () a flag, some well-understood beacon to warn or summon the people. Jer. 4:13. Chariots: formed a marked feature of Nebuchadnezzars army (Eze. 23:24; Eze. 26:7). Their invention has been attributed to Ericthonius of Athens, B.C. 1486; but Scripture shows that Egyptians used them earlier than that (Exo. 14:7; cf. 2Ki. 18:24). Solomon imported them from Egypt (1Ki. 10:28-29). Jer. 4:16. Give out their voice against, &c.: the war-shout raised by armies when about to give battle. Instance in Jdg. 7:20. This was the custom with Hebrews, who also sometimes sang a war song (2Ch. 20:21) immediately before the attack. Greek armies did the same. Jer. 4:17. Keepers of a field. Watch was kept over pasturing flocks (Luk. 2:8) and over cultivated fields and plantations: these keepers constructed, for shelter from sun by day and security by night, booths (Job. 27:18); probably then, as now, a simple framework covered with branches of trees, and raised on four poles. These fields were surrounded by keepers placed at given distances, one of whom raised the cry on danger appearing, which the others in turn took up, till echoing voices sounded around the whole scene. With these booths are compared the tents of besiegers, and their cry over danger, with the war-shout of the foe. Jer. 4:20. Tents: the ordinary habitations of Israelites (2Sa. 18:17): not only did the nomads like the Rechabites live in them, but the mass of the population engaged in pastoral pursuits (Speakers Com.). Jer. 4:30. Crimson, a rich shade of scarlet, a deeper dye: ornaments of gold, rings in nose and ears, anklets, embroidered girdles, &c. Rentest thy face with painting: face should be eyes. Among Eastern females then, and now, the custom prevailed of using a metallic ore, reduced to an impalpable powder, stibium, cohol, antimony, mixed into a paste with oil or vinegar, for darkening the eyes. A smooth cylindrical piece of silver, ivory, or wood, shaped like a quill, about two inches long, was dipped into the stibium, and drawn horizontally through between the closed eyelids. This increased the lustre of the eyes, imparted a jetty blackness to the edges of the lids, showing off the whiteness of the eyes to great advantage. Frequent use injured the eyes, making them look as if rent. The eyebrows and outer angles of the eyes were by this painting artificially extended across the face, and the eyes apparently enlarged. Large dark eyes are regarded as essential to Oriental beauty.
There with a tiring pin their eyebrows dye,
Till the full arch gives lustre to the eye
That, trembling, darts lascivious glauces.
JUVENALS SATIRE II. 13740.
Xenophon describes it as a custom among the Medes in the time of the elder Cyrus: so great the antiquity and prevalence of this device of vanity. The earliest record of this custom is in 2Ki. 9:30, Jezebel.
4. Literary Criticisms. Jer. 4:1. Not remove: Hend. Noyes and De Wette, not be a fugitive, Lange, then waver not. But Keil, Ewald, Hitzig, and Speakers Com. regard the words as a second condition, and strayest, or wanderest not: i.e., if thou put away abominations, and wanderest not, and swearest by Jehovah, then shall the nations, &c. It requires abandonment of idols, the end of wanderings, the oath of fidelity. Jer. 4:5. Cry, gather together: rather, make full, meaning cry with full voice, aloud. Jer. 4:6. Retire, stay not. Hend. flee for refuge, stand not still Speakers Com. gather your goods together, linger not: the same verb in Exo. 9:19 used for removing property to a safe place. Keil, save yourselves by flight. Sharpe, flee in haste, stay not. I will bring. I am bringing. Jer. 4:12. A full wind: i.e., a stronger wind than that which comes to winnow: shall come unto me: rather for me, as my instrument, to effect my purpose. Jer. 4:14. Vain thoughts; i.e., idolatrous, iniquitous thoughts. = sin of idolatry: cf. Hos. 4:15; Hos. 5:8, and the Heb. of Amo. 5:5, where Beth-el (the house of Jehovah) is called Beth-aven (the house of idolatry). Jer. 4:15. Publish affliction: the same word as in Jer. 4:14. here meaning calamity: this use of the same word links together iniquity and calamity. Jer. 4:19. At my very heart: translated as if the Hebrew words were idiomatic: but literally, at the walls of my heart. Jer. 4:23. Without form and void: the same phrase as in Gen. 1:2. ; the primeval chaos reproduced. Jer. 4:24. Hills moved lightly: rather, vehement motion. , the violent agitations of mountains during earthquake. Jer. 4:29. The whole city: should read, either the whole land (Targum and Lxx), or every city (Keil, Speakers Com., &c). Jer. 4:30. And when thou art spoiled, &c. Omit italics in A.V. And thou spoiled, i.e., And thou, O spoiled one: viz. Jerusalem: addressed as a woman who decks herself in her best attire to attract lovers; although the masculine form is used: but Keil suggests, it is to be regarded as adverbial, and so is without inflection; Hend. suggests that , people, denoting the inhabitants, is to be understood. Jer. 4:31. My soul is wearied because of murderers: Keil, sinketh powerless beneath murderers. Speakers Com., sinks exhausted before them. Noyes, I am dying of murderers.
HOMILIES AND OUTLINES ON SECTIONS OF CHAPTER 4
Section
Jer. 4:1-4.
Return to God would recover favours for Israel, and avert doom from Judah.
Section
Jer. 4:5-18.
Judah refusing to return, her doom is graphically portrayed.
Section
Jer. 4:19-26.
Jeremiah beholds the beautiful land utterly devastated.
Section
Jer. 4:27-31.
Abandoned to judgment, yet not consigned to destruction.
Jer. 4:1-4. RETURN TO GOD RECOVERS FAVOURS, AND AVERTS DOOM
Jehovah requires of the sinful more than return to good habits, or to religious observances: they must obey the call Return to ME! Man must come back to God Himself. It is possible: God desires it: and the Way we know.
I. Securing Gods acceptance must precede possession of Gods inheritance. If thou wilt return [to thy inheritance in Canaan], O Israel, return unto Me, saith the Lord. Enemies cannot occupy Gods cherished possession. It is a gift of grace, dependent on mans loyalty and love. Sin forfeits all right to it; surrenders even the occupancy (as Israel). 1. Reconciliation is the pathway to privileges. 2. Repentance is the door to reconciliation. 3. Gods favour is the qualification for Canaan.
II. Surrounding nations won to God by the event of Israels conversion. This is portrayed in Scripture as1. A great prophetic fact. Israels return will inaugurate the millennial glory, the ingathering of the nations to Christ. The world cannot become the Lords until this event is realised. All nations shall be blessed in Him: when He the God of Israel doth wondrous things (cf. Psa. 72:17-19; Rom. 11:12-15). 2. A grand perennial principle. The same truth is constantly working itself out in present experience: society is awakened to seek Christ in seasons of revival of the Church; circles of acquaintance are impressed religiously by the conversion of one of their company; homes are won to Jesus by the return of a single member to the Lord. If true that one sinner destroyeth much good; equally true that one conversion effects wide and salutary results.
III. Gathering fury against sin may be arrested by true Repentance (Jer. 4:3-4). Clearly it is affirmed that1. Divine anger accumulates as human sin grows. Thus prolonged guilt and excessive guilt heaps up wrath against the day of wrath. Man feeds the fire, and heats its fury, by every act of sin. 2. Divine anger may be appeased by sincere human contrition. God is angry with the wicked, but only as long as they persist in wickedness. That ended, anger ceases. It is not anger with the man apart from this evil quality; it is the man plus his sin who entails the displeasure. Sorrow in mans heart at once quenches the fire of Gods displeasure. Horrifying as had been Judahs criminality, contrition would avert its just retribution. Hence, the sinners escape is conditional upon himself. Will he deplore and desert his sin? God may desire to save; may provide salvation; but nothing avails until sorrow awakes in the soul of man. The yearning father forbears to embrace his boy until he comes to himself and returns.
IV. Impenitence will eventually be punished with woful destruction. There are three aspects of Gods anger denoted: 1. It is fiery; like fire, held in restraint now, but to come forth, and burn with fury (Heb. 12:29). 2. It is unquenchable: i.e., when once God lets it loose; it will burn that none can quench it (Mat. 3:12). 3. It is merited; because of the evil of your doings. This will create in the sufferers heart the worm that dieth not, and occasion the wailing and guashing of teeth. Comp. Eze. 33:17-20.
Jer. 4:5-18. JUDAH IMPENITENT: HER DOOM PORTRAYED
Lange points out Three Emblems under which the coming disasters are here represented: First Emblem, the Lion (Jer. 4:5-10): Second Emblem, the Tempest (Jer. 4:11-13): Third Emblem, the Keepers (Jer. 4:14-18). Modern German criticism has attempted to fix this prophecy on a Scythian, not Chaldean, invasion; which is affirmed, but wholly without historic proof, to have occurred in the 7th or 8th year of Josiah. It is the outcome of a rationalistic dislike of the supernatural element in prophecy: hence these critics first fix on an imaginary event, and then proceed to show that the prophets words are mere disguised descriptions of historical events already past, or menaces of events clearly within the sight of a sagacious observer. [See Eichhorn, Ewald, Hitzig, Dahler, &c.] There is no historical evidence of a Scythian invasion of Judea. Heroditus (i. 103105) records that the Scythians invaded Media, and dominated for 28 years over Asia: that they came to Syrian Palestine, on their way against Egypt, and that Psammeticus, king of Egypt, induced their withdrawal by giving them presents; and that they committed no violence beyond plundering the temple of Ascalon. There is abundant proof against even this having occurred in Josiahs reign. All the description is minutely suggestive of the Chaldean invasion; this was the Divinely-employed agent of Judahs overthrow. Her doom
i. Solemnly forewarned (Jer. 4:5-6) throughout the whole land; loudly and clearly; measures of defence counselled; haste and precautions advised.
ii. Appallingly real (Jer. 4:7-8; Jer. 4:13; Jer. 4:15-16), whence (the north;) savage (Jer. 4:7); swift (13); approaching (15); for war (16 give out their voice).
iii. Paralysing all resources of help and counsel (Jer. 4:9-10); surpassing all expectation; rendering powerless all opposition; refuting all false promises.
iv. Effecting Gods purposes (Jer. 4:11-12). It would be in effect Gods sentence; righteous therefore and irrevocable.
v. Bitterly retributive (Jer. 4:17-18), the fruit of her severing herself from Gods favour and protection; the penalty of her sin; bitter as death.
vi. Salvation yet possible (Jer. 4:14). Out of the heart are the issues of life. A cleansed heart would ensure salvation.
Jer. 4:19-26. A MOURNFUL VISION: THE HOLY LAND UTTERLY DEVASTATED
The insensate nation foresaw no calamity, feared no foe. Vivid as all was to the prophets perception they dreamed on heedlessly; sleeping amid iniquity while sudden destruction sped towards them. He saw the sword, they mocked at his warnings. So Noah in his generation: so every prophet: so our Divine Lord: so the preacher of God to-day. His eye is open to nearing woe: but the people mock, despise and reject, repudiate warning, and betake themselves, besotted and blinded, to iniquity.
I. The Seers anguish constrains him to speak (Jer. 4:19). This throws light on
i. The Seers sufferings. He feels what he foresees: his whole nature is wrong with grief at the vision which none but himself can perceive. The finer the mans nature, the keener his anguish. The clearer his penetrations, the more intense his sufferings. The nobler his patriotism, the heavier lies the burden of his nations woe upon his heart. The higher his piety, the more bitter his grief over all.
ii. The Seers mission. Inwardly constrained, he speaks out of a full and an agonising heart: I cannot hold my peace. Divinely enlightened, he sees what is hid from the people, and cannot but speak the things he has seen and heard. Loving his people, he would fain shield them from the woe he forecasts, and snatch them as brands out of the burning.
II. The miseries of the perishing become the prophets own (Jer. 4:20-21). My tents spoiled! &c. This suggests the true attitude of Gods messenger.
1. Identification of interests (Rom. 11:1): himself bound up with them: suffering what they suffer. This is the real shepherding of the flock.
2. Intense sympathy of soul. He hears and sees all as if he were involved. There is no proud distinguishing and justifying of himself. He and his people are one. [Addenda Jer. 4:19. Prophets distress.]
III. Rejection of Gods messenger, the act of madness (Jer. 4:22). No uncommon incident. Every age rejects and ignores its benefactors, teachers, and saviours. The more evidently these bear the seal and dignity of Gods messengers, the more the world hates them. If it hated Me, says Jesus, it will you.
1. Suicidal folly: My people is foolish, they have not known Me: they frivolously ignored this man whom God had sent to speak to them.
2. Besotted blindness: they are sottish children, &c. Their intelligence, discernment, and religious education, all were darkened by sin (2Co. 4:3-4).
3. Spiritual perversity: wise to do evil, not naturally witless; but to do good they have no knowledge, their religious nature brutalised.
IV. The horrifying vision of gathering calamity described (Jer. 4:23-26). 1. Appalling disorder and gloom (Jer. 4:23); i.e., the withdrawal of all peace and privilege in which God has established Judah. 2. Terrifying overthrow (Jer. 4:24); i.e., the casting down utterly and hopelessly of every natural stronghold in which Judah had been wont to trust, and thought to flee. 3. All life perished (Jer. 4:25); i.e., none should escape; calamity would fall on every one. 4. Sacrilege and ruin (Jer. 4:26); nothing, however beautiful, cultured or revered, spared: lovely gardens, noble and wealthy cities, all gone. Nothing left of all human trusts and treasures: if, therefore, without God, total loss (see Rev. 6:12-17).
Jer. 4:27-31. ABANDONED TO JUDGMENT, YET NOT CONSIGNED TO DESTRUCTION
There is a reserve of mercy in all Gods strokes; He softens the severity, keeps open the door of hope, makes a way of escape. Stars shine, though obscured, through the stormiest night: and a promise may be heard even amid Gods heaviest denunciations (Gen. 3:14-15).
I. Merciless forces are under the Divine restraint (Jer. 4:27). Though the land should be desolated, yet I will not make a full end. The overthrow of Judah by the Chaldeans was Gods work: and the limitation of the Chaldean policy of extermination was equally of the Lord.
1. Their reckless implacability. Look at the Chaldean army, it promised little restraint: it menaced with heedless, merciless destruction. Nebuchadnezzar seems to have organised into a consolidated army wild hordes of freebooters, mere relics of those nations Assyria had overthrown and absorbed. These he gathered together, and with them swept the lands (2Ki. 24:1-2, cf. Hab. 1:5-12). Little consideration or mercy from them!
2. There it use even for them in Gods Providence. They are His scourge of rebellious Judah. So Habakkuk avers (Jer. 1:12); these very Chaldeans God ordained them for judgment, &c. He maketh the wrath of man to praise Him.
3. There is a limit to their power and fury. Yet will I not make a full end (Comp. Jer. 3:14). The ten tribes are lost, without national existence; greater nations than Judah disappear for everNineveh, Babylon (Jer. 51:64), the Assyrians, Greeks, Romans. But the Jews are not annihilated. Hitherto shalt thou come and no further, &c. God is mightier than mightiest forces; merciful even when using merciless agencies; while the end of the Lord is very pitiful (Jas. 5:11).
II. Divine plans lie behind all great events. The rise and fall of empires, the downfall and enthronement of kings; all are according to the mind of Him who is King of kings, and doeth according to His will among the inhabitants of the earth. Here is shown that God regulates1. Even disasters: such as to make heaven and earth mourn (Jer. 4:28). 2. Even victories of the wicked: He permits these to triumph over the people whom God had once chosen; as Chaldeans over Judah the house of David. 3. Even the punishment of Gods people: sore afflictions, humiliations, and disasters which overtake us (Jer. 4:29). 4. Even the ruin of sinners: God allows it; purposes it; and will not repent: so Judah was ruined!
III. Rebellion reduced to ultimate defeat and despair (Jer. 4:30-31). Slow indeed to yield to God, yet yield it shall.
1. Even in her overthrow Judah sought other helpers, not God (Jer. 4:30). She sought by skilful and foolish appliances to win favour, to gain lovers, and so do without God, and avoid submission and repentance. Sinners will hold out against God to the last. Yes, even in the hour of affliction, of disaster and death, the rebellious will refuse to seek the Lord, or cry to the Crucified One to save.
2. She realised at length her absolute and completed misery (Jer. 4:31). The daughter of Zion bewaileth herself, &c. Observe: her grief and anguish is not for her sin, but for herselfwoe is me now! for her misery; and also her helpless, hopeless ruin: my soul wearied because of murderers. Such are the issues of rebellion: such the shame and woe to which the guilty are abandoned. God has reserved to Judah a last hope (Jer. 4:27); just so, He calls to us after so long a time. Heed Jer. 4:14. [Addenda Jer. 4:31. Woe-stricken.]
HOMILIES AND COMMENTS ON VERSES OF CHAPTER 4
Jer. 4:1. Theme: GOD GAINED OR HEAVEN LOST. If thou wouldst return [to thine inheritance, thou must first] return unto Me.
I. The alien outcast may return to God. By conversion; renewal of heart; prayer for pardon and acceptance; humble faith.
II. The far-off banished one may find God. None too distant from Him to pray, to be heard, to be assured of acceptance, to be restored to the long lost love and peace and bliss. Israel in a strange country, removed from her land and altars and temple, could nevertheless seek Him in spirit.
III. The returning soul shall be brought home. When God is found, the soul back again in His love, heaven is sure to follow. God kept Canaan for Israel, keeps it still empty awaiting her return. Seek Him, not heaven; He will give that. Our sole concern is to find the Father. It is His good pleasure to give us the kingdom. Jesus said, I am the way, &c.: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.
Theme: SIN BANISHED, OR THE SOUL BANISHED. If put away abominations, thou shalt not remove; i.e. (as some render it), no longer be a wanderer, an outcast in a far-off land. (Addenda Jer. 4:1. Banished recalled.)
I. Sin cannot dwell where God is. And God dwelt amid Israel when she was holiness (Jer. 2:3). Becoming guilty she was banished; remaining guilty she must keep afar from God. Our guilt separates us necessarily from Him (Isa. 59:2). See instances of conscious unworthiness (Isa. 6:5; Luk. 5:8).
II. Sinners cannot possess Gods heritage (cf. 1Co. 6:9, sq. Rev. 21:27). Retaining sin in the heart ensures exclusion: for it creates unfitness, and would incur the frown of God and the horror of the holy onesthus depriving heaven of all heavenliness to the condemned soul. Any defilement, even hidden, would destroy in the soul the sense of fitness for Gods glorious heritage, and make his existence self-condemned; this would desolate heaven of joy. Only the pure in heart can see God.
III. Sin may be separated from the soul. Put away abomination (cf. Isa. 1:18; Zec. 3:4; Zec. 13:1-2; Mat. 1:21; 1Co. 6:11). Other methods have been tried: but who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Jesus only. (Addenda Jer. 4:1. Sin banished, or no heaven.)
IV. Sinners may then have a right to the Divine presence.
1. A right to enter through the gates (comp. Rev. 22:14), where the proper reading is, Blessed are they that have washed their robes, that, they may have right, &c.
2. Fitness to abide in Gods sight (Rev. 14:4-5).
3. Assured of endless rest therein. To go no more out. Thou shalt not remove. And so shall they be for ever with the Lord.
NOTE. If the words thou shalt not remove be rendered as with Henderson, not be a fugitive, (comp. Gen. 4:12-14). i. The horrors of banishment; ii. The conditions on which that state may be reversed. Put away, &c.
Or if rendered, then waver not (Lange & Wordsworth) i.e., be steadfast in thy repentance, or be prompt and firm and thorough in thy conversion. i. Sin cannot be put away partially: it is dishonest, revolting to God. ii. Only resolute and entire repentance will avail before God. He will accept us only then.
Observe how God views idols: abominations. He would have everything which interposes between the soul and Himself put out of His sight. His love of man is such that He cannot consent to divided allegiance. His loathing of sin is so intense that He cannot allow it to remain under His eye.
Comments: Jer. 4:2. Concerning SWEARING BY OATH. And thou shalt swear, the Lord liveth, &c.
The A.V. makes this verse unintelligible. The phrase, The Lord liveth, is the regular form of the Jewish oath, and means, not the thing sworn to, but the thing sworn byBy the life of Jehovah. But every nation swears by the highest object of its worship (Deu. 10:20, &c.), and the prophecy that Egyptians should swear to Jehovah (Isa. 19:18), implied their conversion to the true faith. Here, similarly, the oath is a confession of faith in Jehovah, as the true God. (Speakers Com.)
To swear by Jehovah, means to bind ones self by a solemn profession to adhere to His worship and service (comp. Deu. 6:13; Deu. 10:20; Isa. 19:18; Amo. 8:14). And the profession should be not alone, or merely that of the lips, but accompanied with uprightness of heart and strictest rectitude of conduct.Henderson.
Thou shalt swear, not by thine idols (Amo. 8:14; Zep. 1:5), but by the Lord; not with vain oaths, but for such causes, and with such conditions, as constitute a righteous oath (Wordsworth). A good oath has always these three concomitantstruth, judgment, and justice. If these are wanting, an oath becomes a perjury (Jerome). [Addenda Jer. 4:2. Thou shalt swear.]
That we may not take Gods name in vain, we must swear in:
1. Truth: commanded Lev. 19:12 : we must not swear falsely to perjure ourselves, in assertion, either in cognito, when we know, or in dubio, when we know not, nor in promission, when either we resolve not to perform, or do not perform.
2. Justice; which requires that we only swear in honestis et possibilibus, in things honest and possible; for that which is dishonest is not just, and an impossible matter is not at all to be sworn to. A thing impossible or dishonest is so, either from the very beginning, or cometh to be so afterwards. Thus Herods oath was unlawful both in the making and the keeping of it; for in keeping it he added two other sins to that of rash swearing: manslaughter and foolish superstition. When an evil thing is promised, cut the thread: as David did (1Sa. 25:22; 1Sa. 25:32).
3. Judgment: which requireth three things of us. (.) That we take an oath reverently, not rashly, Ecc. 5:2. (.) To take it as a holy thing, and therefore not make it common. (.) We must account it a matter spiritual, and not say, juravi lingua, mentem injuratam gero, I swore with my tongue, my mind and intention were not sworn; for God will take that sense which the words carry. God so understands an oath as he who propounds it.Bishop Andrewes.
Swearing by Jehovah involves the acknowledgment of His deity. For no one would swear by Him who was not convinced that He is the witness of truth and the avenger of falsehood. But to swear by others robs God of His glory and gives it to idols (Isa. 42:8).Lange.
Theme: ISRAELS RETURN SHALL ALLURE THE GENTILES TO THE LORD. If Israel repents, it will become the means of making the Gentiles partakers of the patriarchal promise (Gen. 22:18). Two great truths taught: i. That the Gentiles were to be members of the Church of the Messiah; ii. That Israels peculiar office was to be Gods mediator in this great work.Speakers Com.
i. If the heathen bless themselves in Jehovah, they are become partakers of the salvation which comes from Him. ii. If this blessing comes to them in consequence of Israels conversion, then Israel is the channel of their salvation. Israels apostasy has delayed this: Israels conversion is necessary to the completion of the Divine plan of universal redemption.Comp. Keil.
When the long-deluded and spiritually-oppressed heathen come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent, they will indeed bless themselves, for Christianity blesses its possessor; but they will glory in Him, for it is a worthy fact for glorying that not vain idols are our gods, but that Jehovah is ours,ours to trust, and claim, and love: that Jesus has redeemed, loved, and acknowledged us as His!
M. Henry says, If the scattered Israelites will thus return to God,i. They shall be blessed themselves, for so ver. i. may readbrought back out of captivity to their own land (Deu. 4:29; Deu. 30:2), or, shall return to Me as their rest even while in exile. ii. They shall be blessings to others; for their return shall be a means of others turning to Him who never knew Him; Israel would influence the nations, among whom scattered, to bless themselves in Him, i.e., shall find their blessedness in Him, shall join themselves to Him, and shall glory in the blessed change they have made.
Jer. 4:3. Theme: SOUL AGRICULTURE. Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
Frequent Scripture use of imagery of tillage as illustrative of soul-training. Agriculture, perhaps the oldest, most necessary, and best understood of all the arts: also, most suggestive of the moral culture of the human soul.
Three things essential to successful agriculture:
I. Proper attention to the SOIL. Analogy between the material soil and the human soul in two respects: there is
1. Variety of condition. Christ speaks of the wayside soil, stony places, thorny ground, and good ground. Their counterpart in men.
2. Capability of improvement. Farmer changes the character of the soil, bad into good: pulverises stones, mollifies the hard clay, burns weeds, &c. So hardened heart must be broken, thorny cleansed. Unless hearts thus prepared for truth, precious grain is wasted on them. But can men alter soil of their hearts? Yes: Commanded in text, Break up, &c.
II. Proper attention to the SEED. In its selection and its growth. Soil might be good, yet if seed bad, harvest bad.
1. Care in selection of true spiritual seed. It is the Gospel: (a.) perfect in itself; (b.) fitted to grow in all climates; (c.) but it does not sow itself; (d.) it is the support of life.
2. Attention must be also paid to its growth. Carefully the farmer watches, specially the first stages; uproots weeds, scares off fowls of heaven. (Compare Mat. 13:25; Hos. 8:7.)
III. Proper attention to the SEASON. There is a time to sow; a season when the earth has its fecund power, and a time when it departs. And there are seasons for spiritual culture: 1. Youth. 2. The season of moral seriousness, when the heart has been softened. Many try when faculties are shattered, in old age, on dying beds. The time comes when the heart cannot grow Christianity.
Con.: Earnest in work of soul-tillage. Why? (a.) The field is in a deplorable condition (Pro. 24:31). (b.) No work will prove so remunerative, (c) There is no time to lose: Go, work to-day in my vineyard.Condensed from Homilist.
Comments:
To the men of Judah; the word is sing., to each man. Every one is called to personal contrition. Repentance, reformation, religion, is imperative with each man singly: every one must prepare his heart and come back himself to God.
Break up fallow. The seeds of contrition must not be sown yet. Preparation is essential; it must engage anxious and watchful concern: not be done offhand; let it be attempted with utmost painstaking and seriousness. There must not be left one foul and thorny sin in the heart; it must be cleaused thoroughly. Only then will the repentance be real and permanent, and accepted by God.
Jer. 4:4. Theme: THE FIRE OF GODS WRATH. Lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn, &c.
Sin ignites the unquenchable fire. Impenitence invites it.
I. Gods fury is a terrible and a consuming reality. Not a shadowy menace, not a mere figure of speech, not an extravagance of fancy, but an appalling fact. The necessary counterpart and consequence of insulted and incensed love. It is a fire; it is a burning fire; it is a furious fire. It must be a fearful thing to encounter and endure!
II. Gods fury is restrained that men may avert and escape it. Lest my fury come forth. 1. God Himself is slow to let loose the terrors of His anger against sin. 2. Man has it in his own power to prevent its direful ravages. 3. Solemn forewarnings and appeals are Divinely sent that the wicked may escape. Compare text and Ninevehs conduct (Jon. 3:5-10).
III. Gods fury will eventually overtake the defiant transgressors. Disobey Gods call to repent, abuse the opportunity of escape, and the fury will come forth like fire. 1. Historic occurrences show this to be true (Gen. 19:24-25; Lev. 10:2; Num. 16:31-35). 2. Prophetic warnings point to the same issues of sin (Mat. 11:21-24; Mat. 25:41; Heb. 10:26-27).
IV. Gods fury once kindled can never more be quenched. Fire is the symbol of destruction. The declaration that none can quench it, implies hope gone for ever,ameliorations and escape utterly lost,irretrievably past. From that burning there will be no Saviour to snatch us as brands. Nothing can assuage its terrors,none can quench its flames. Christs redeeming work avails now, not then.
V. Gods fury is the inevitable consequence of mans iniquity. God is love; and loves the world (1Jn. 4:16). The Divine displeasure is created by man. Gods fury is the necessary indignation caused by sin. And it must fall on the resolute sinner; for his sin has reversed the love, and left only this just anger. Alienated love means incurred wrath. Not that God wills it so (2Pe. 3:9); it is the issue of an inevitable law,Gods love estranged by guilt (for He cannot love where guilt is cherished), leaves nothing but the indignation against sin in the Divine heart towards the relentless sinner.
When, therefore, at the last, the sinner meets God, he calls forth, not lovehe has estranged thatbut the wrath he has kindled: because of the evil of his doings. Flee from the wrath to come. (Addenda, Jer. 4:4, Unquenchable fire.)
Jer. 4:5-8. ALARM SOUNDED: FLEE TO THE STRONGHOLDS. (Addenda, Jer. 4:7, The lion.)
i. The enemy advances (Jer. 4:7). The lion is rousing himself; already he has left his lair. He is a destroyer. He comes to desolate and to devour (1Pe. 5:8).
ii. Strongholds are accessible (Jer. 4:5). Leave the open country. Do not expose yourselves to the spiritual foe. Fortify yourselves in Divine securities. Mount the watch-tower; strengthen the things that remain; pray always; have faith in God; resist the devil.
iii. Zion the refuge from danger (Jer. 4:6). It was the strongest and best fortified of all the cities. Fugitives from the world, from sin, from pursuing foes, may hide themselves in Zion. The Church is a place of defence, of security, of peace: for God guards the walls, and the King reigns within. (Addenda, Jer. 4:6, Zion a refuge.)
iv. The summons to safety (Jer. 4:5-6). This the preachers work. And let him that heareth say, Come! Everywhere perils menace the souls of men. 1. The importunity of the call (Jer. 4:5). 2. The inclusiveness of the summons,none excluded. All may hear and hide themselves from evil. 3. The way of safety clearly pointed out. Set up standard towards Zion; visible, unmistakable, direct. 4. Urgent haste. Retire, stay not. Now is the day of salvation. Escape for thy life; tarry not in all the plain, flee to the mountains, lest thou be consumed.
v. Bitter wailing over ruin (Jer. 4:8). Their fortresses are useless if God be not propitiated. In vain to hide from peril if God be ignored. 1. Defences are delusions unless Christ is our Saviour. 2. Salvation is impossible unless Divine anger is averted by repentance. 3. Woful the overthrow of the spoiler. 4. We may turn back the Lords anger by fleeing to Christ (Isaiah 12).
Comments.
Jer. 4:9. i. Ruin surpasses all anticipation. The terror of the event paralyses all with amaze and dismay. Is there no forewarning in this? Will the future overthrow of transgressors be less appalling?
ii. Helpers are found helpless in the day of calamity. The rulers and leaders to whom the people looked prove their impotency when their aid is most needed, and their perplexity when their devices and resources should have been most ready. Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, &c.
iii. Religious advisers whom God does not warrant and ordain are seen to be mockers and delusions in the judgment,priests and prophets. The people despised the true prophet, Gods messenger, and preferred their own idolatrous priests and temporising teachers. They believed a lie, and the storm shall sweep away the refuges of lies. Alas! this is still done (2Ti. 4:3-4); and the dire result is ever the same (2Th. 2:10-12).
Jer. 4:10. Theme: GOD REPROACHED AS THE AUTHOR OF MANS DELUSIONS. Ah, Lord God! surely Thou hast greatly deceived this people, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.
Frequently in Scripture the immediate cause and occasions of events are overlooked, and occurrences are unhesitatingly traced to the Divine First Cause. This is only in keeping with bold Oriental modes of expression. Thus God is said to have hardened Pharaohs heart (Exo. 4:21; Exo. 7:3; Exo. 7:13; Exo. 9:12); yet it is as emphatically recorded that Pharaoh himself hardened his own heart (Exo. 8:15; Exo. 8:32; Exo. 9:34). So concerning Christs crucifixion (cf. Rom. 8:32; Act. 2:23), and equally concerning the delusions of Antichrist (cf. Jer. 4:11 with Jer. 4:12 of 2 Thessalonians 2; their own hostile minds predisposed them to entertain delusions).
Inquire: By whom had God said, Ye shall have peace? Henderson suggests, by the false prophets who had prophesied, Peace, peace, when there was no peace. Supporting this view, Keil appeals to the striking passages, chap. Jer. 14:13, Jer. 23:17, and explains that God not only permitted these lying spirits to appear and work, but ordained and brought them forth for the hardening of the peoples hearts; as in Ahabs case, that he might perish for his ungodliness (1Ki. 22:20-23). Most commentators prefer this view.
Dr. Payne Smith (Speakers Commentary) prefers to refer the words of peace to real prophecies of future blessedness promised to the Jews, and suggests that Jeremiah was perplexed with the twofold (and seemingly contradictory) aspects of prophecy, at times bright with promises of glory and power, at others dark with threatenings of national humiliation; and could not now reconcile the doom he now pronounced with his own previous prophecy, or with the predictions of his inspired predecessors. Prophets did not understand their own messages (1Pe. 1:10-11).
Lange remarks, this is only the opinion of the prophet (that God had deceived the people), who here interrupts the discourse revealed to him by the expression of his own subjective view.
Theme: WARNING AGAINST FALSE PEACE.
It is(i.) A lie, for men say there is peace when the sword reaches even to the soul. (ii.) A misfortune, for it will disappoint the heart of those who cherish it.Naeg. in Lange.
Theme: SORROW AND SURPRISE AT THE OUTBREAK OF WAR.
These words express deep disappointment at the frustration of a nations hopes of peace, and at the mysteriousness of the Divine purposes. God cannot lie nor deceive, but His purposes go forward with a vastness of design and comprehension as to surpass the grasp of human calculation, thus deceiving those who had prejudged them. We find our wisdom to have been a phantom, our prophetic discernment a delusion.
I. Sadly, but truly, these words point out the real nature of war.
The sword reacheth, &c. So it is wherever the consequences of war are felt. 1. It sweeps away the young and promising, cuts down the nations bravest sons. 2. It discourages enterprise, and increases penury and want. 3. It blunts the moral feelings, deadens the conscience, and does violence to the gentlest and noblest inspirations of Christianity. 4. It depopulates and desolates the scenes over which it sweeps; as Nineveh, Babylon, Carthage.
II. How should we as Christians and patriots meet a time of war?
1. Implore Gods blessings on our armies and our fleets, that they may be instruments in His hands for His ends. 2. Let prayer be accompanied by deep humiliation before God; for our sins, and the sins of our age, bring war. 3. Active and special benevolence should awake; for the calamities of the time will call for special succour. 4. Let us be found waiting Gods will, not depressed by reverses, nor unduly elated by victory; but humbling ourselves under His mighty hand, that He may exalt us in due time.Part of Quebec Sermon, by Henry Alford, B.D., A.D. 1854.
i. The delusive prophecy. Guilesome voices speak flattery to sinners.
ii. The agonising discovery. Sword pierceth, &c. Experience at length disperses delusions.
iii. The reproach against God. Unfounded; for He has clearly menaced evil with punishment. (Comp. Jer. 4:18.)
Jer. 4:11-13. Theme: THE BLAST OF THE ALMIGHTY.
Winds, God created (Amo. 4:13), holds in His fist (Pro. 30:4), rideth upon them (Psa. 104:3), lets loose (Jer. 10:13), Christ can quell (Mat. 8:26; Mat. 14:32). (Addenda, Jer. 4:11, Blast of the Almighty.)
I. Winds can fulfil Divine behests. Stormy winds fulfilling His word (Psa. 148:8).
1. They travel where He directs. Towards the daughter of My people (Jer. 4:11).
2. They awake to serve Gods designs. Shall come unto, i.e., for Me (Jer. 4:12).
3. They carry out His sentence upon man. Now, I will give sentence, &c. (Jer. 4:12). Winds are Gods judicial agents.
II. Winds are typical of human agencies.
The simoom was a figure of the mighty Babylonian conqueror. The clouds (Jer. 4:13), were His armies; the whirlwind His cavalry; suggesting that the Chaldean forces would be numerous (as clouds), invincible (as whirlwind), swift to overtake and seize the prey (as eagles).
Winds typify human agencies, in that they are:
1. Variable; some to fan and cleanse, others work woe and spoil.
2. Wilful, yet controlled; blowing where it listeth, as men obey their own impulses; as Nebuchadnezzar did in rising against Judea; yet obeying a Higher law and will.
3. Powerful, yet easily restrained by God. Mighty was this full wind, yet Nebuchadnezzar (like Pilate) could have no power at all, except it were given him from above. (Comp. 2Ki. 19:7; 2Ki. 19:35.)
Stand in awe of Him whom even the winds obey Rejoice that all power is intrusted to Jesus, over nature, over men. Safe from harm, even amid mightiest agencies, are those He keeps. He is a refuge from wind, and all hostile powers. Not befriended by Him, woe unto us (Jer. 4:13).
Jer. 4:14. Theme: PURITY NECESSARY TO SALVATION.
Wash heart, &c. Apply primarily to Jews, but equally to mankind universally.
I. The natural depravity of the human heart. Wash thine heart from wickedness, suggests the total corruption of human nature.
1. This doctrine requires definition. Depravity of the heart includes(a.) The entire absence of the Divine image. (b.) A natural aversion to God and godliness, (c.) A universal propensity or disposition to evil.
2. This doctrine demands evidence. Cannot be denied without violation of conscience, contempt of reason, rejection of Scripture, (a.) It is divinely revealed. (b.) Practically exemplified. (c.) Deeply lamented.
II. The spiritual purity which the Lord requires. O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness; how long vain thoughts, &c.? Implies
I. The possibility of obtaining purity of heart. This appears(a.) From the design of redemption (Heb. 9:13-14). (b.) The ability of the Saviour (Joh. 1:16; 1Co. 1:30). (c.) The promises of Scripture (Eze. 36:26-27; 1Pe. 1:3-4). (d.) The experience of believers (Rom. 6:22; 1Jn. 1:7).
2. The important duty of seeking purity of heart. This exhortation simply inculcates an immediate and diligent use of the means of grace necessary to salvation (Eze. 18:31). (a.) We must repent of our sins (Isa. 55:7; Act. 3:19). (b.) Believe in Jesus Christ (Act. 26:18; Heb. 12:24). (c.) Give ourselves unto prayer (Psa. 51:10; 1Th. 5:23). (d.) Seek the Lord without delay. For how long, saith God, shall thy vain, wicked, unbelieving, impenitent thoughts lodge within thee? (Isa. 55:6; 2Co. 6:2).
III. The absolute necessity of personal holiness. That thou mayest be saved. If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me: purity and salvation go together.
1. Personal holiness is a necessary property of religion. Not consist of(a.) Ceremonial observances (Gal. 6:15). (b.) But dwells in the heart, sanctifying every power (1Co. 6:19-20; 1Pe. 1:15-16). (c.) Without internal piety and purity, profession of religion is empty parade and profitless (Rom. 14:7).
2. Personal holiness is a necessary meetness for heaven. (a.) Reason assures us that there must be agreement between the faculty of enjoyment and the object enjoyed. God is holy; we must be to enjoy His presence. (b.) Scripture assures us that without holiness no man can see the Lord (Mat. 5:8; 1Co. 4:9-10).
These reflections should, (i.) excite deep humility and self-abasement in us as fallen sinners; (ii.) promote an earnest application to Jesus, whose blood cleanseth from all sin.From Sketclies of Four Hundred Sermons.
Theme: CHARACTERISTICS AND CORRECTIVES OF VAIN THOUGHTS.
Vanity of thoughts may prevail in persons who would be appalled at one great substantial sin. Yet a month, year, a life of vain thoughts! in a being preparing for an eternity of seriousness and thought! it is truly an awful account! yet with many, this stands for little in comparison with some one or two very wrong external actions.
Observe: What a mighty amount of thinking there is in human spirits that does not come under the censure of the text. Vain, implies something trifling, insignificant, empty. 1. It does not include wicked thoughts; impious, malignant, evil schemings, &c., these are not trivial; yet how much of this order of thinking! A mans thoughts are within his own jurisdiction, and may be concealed; he need not be exposed to censure and shame for them; unless, therefore, he govern himself in the fear of God, they will, in their mere animal play, run to vanity, if not worse. 2. If the thoughts are left unrestrained to commit folly, they will commit an immensity of it. The thinking power is never tired or exhausted in this frivolity. Never stagnant pool was more prolific of flies, nor the swarm about it more wild and worthless.
I. Characteristics of vain thoughts.
i. Those thoughts are vain from which we do not and cannot reap any good. Survey thoughtsexcluding the noxiousand ask, Have they given me anything worth having; made me wiser; cleared away any previous ignorance; rectified any judgment; fixed or forwarded any purpose; or while ten thousand ideas have passed through my mind, might I as well have had none? These passing visitants have occupied his faculties and consumed his time; gone away and paid him nothing!
ii. Thoughts are vain which cannot associate in any agreement with useful and valuable ones. If serious and useful thoughts be admitted into a mind filled with frivolities, they are resisted and resented as intruders.
iii. Thoughts are vain which have to be kept out in order for the mind to attend to any serious or good purpose. Experienced this necessity and its difficulty. Like a man sitting down to study in a room filled with a moving, talking crowd. This mental mob has forced its way in, baffled and mocked you!
iv. Thoughts are vain which dwell largely and habitually on trifling things. Sad propensity to allow mind to waste itself on trifles; on personal display, fashion and routine, amusements, bubbling incidents on the stream of society. Would that some stern, alarming voice might break in upon such thoughts with, What is all this to thee? hast thou nothing else to think of before thou die and appear before God?
v. Thoughts are vain which trifle with important ones. Great things may be thought of idly as mere matters of curiosity and speculation, or to throw them into ludicrous and fanciful forms.
vi. Thoughts are vain which are fickle, not remaining with any continuance on a subject. In this ungoverned state, anything can divert thoughts: without regulated connection, no rational links, no leading to any ultimate object. Nothing is avoided, repelled, or selected.
vii. Thoughts are vain when the mind has some specially favourite trifle, some cherished idolised toy. Trifling in all but its power to fascinate and fasten itself upon a human soul! What shall we call this enslavement of the whole mind to some essentially worthless object of attention, but the magnetism of Satan!
viii. Thoughts are vain which continually return to things justly claiming a measure of attention when the thinking of them can be of no advantage. The mind wanders uselessly over the same enumeration, comparison, calculation; when nothing can be more useless.
ix. Thoughts are vain when the mind dwells on fancies of how things might be or might have been, when the reality of how they are is before us.
x. Thoughts are vain which men indulge concerning notions and schemings of worldly felicity.
Need of a corrective discipline; that we be earnest to have so pernicious an evil rectified, that our thinking and immortal spirits, which should be temples of the Most High, may not be the degraded recesses of every vanity with which the Spirit cannot dwell.
II. Correctives of vain thoughts. Evidently they1. Waste the activity of the thinking principle; 2. They put us out of the relation we are placed in to the highest objects and intereststo God, Christ, eternity. 3. They unfit us for matters of practical duty, making lifes true work irksome.
Observe: The evil habits of vain thinking is utterly unsuited to the condition of an immortal spirit on earth, and fatally at variance with its high destiny. It might suit a creature whose utmost scope is to amuse away a few years on earth, and then sink in the dust wholly and for ever!
Conscious that this vanity of thought is a besetting evil, we should earnestly desire any corrective remedy. But this vice of the mind is but a symptom of general degeneracy, and cannot be remedied without the grand sources of our thoughtsthe passions and affectionsbe in a rectified state. There are no expedients which can avail independently of resolute exertion,no dexterous device can cure this habitual propensity,no wand of enchantment can wave off the infesting swarm. But, as parts of a persevering discipline
i. Have specified subjects of serious interest to turn to when thought reverts to these vanities: recollections of a perilous situation, a dying scene, providential interpositions. These memory will furnish. Conscience offers subjects; what a man regards as his greatest sin, &c.
ii. Make a sudden charge of guilt on your mind when vain thoughts prevail. Enforce the thought God sees. This will act as a lightning flash which arrests levity.
iii. Have recourse to the direct act of devotion. How will they appear when we confess and deplore them before God?
iv. Interrupt and stop them by the question, What is just now my most pressing duty? Judgment and conscience will then speak and chide for neglecting it.
v. Have recourse to some practical occupation, matter of business, or a visit to some house of mourning.
vi. Constrain our habitual thinking to go along with the thoughts of those who have thought the best, by reading the most valuable books. How lamentable the light reading of the age! Study the Bible.
vii. Think to a certain purpose,towards a purposed end. What a number of things we need to aim at by a course of thought!
viii. Reflect on how many things we have to do with which vain thoughts interfere; and also, what would have been the result of good thoughts instead of so many vain?
ix. Discipline of the thoughts greatly depends on the company a man keeps (Pro. 13:20). Society can be found or avoided in which every vanity of the soul may be indulged or confirmed.
x. If the complaint be urged that this discipline involves much that is hard and difficult, we answer, It is just as hard as to do justice to a rational and immortal spirit placed here a little while by God for its improvement, and then to go where God appoints. Hard, yet so indispensable. How welcome, then, the promises of the Spirits help,the invitations to pray! We shall eagerly act on them if we care for our spiritual progress through this world, and our appointment and employments in the world to come.Lectures by John Foster, A.D. 1822. (Addenda, Jer. 4:14, Vain thoughts.)
Comments:
Jer. 4:15. A voice declareth from Dan, &c. It is high time to set about personal cleansing, and for abandoning delusive thoughts, for already the calamity is announced,it swiftly approaches,it scales the heights which shelter Judah. (See Geographical References.) The messenger comes from each successive place towards which the foe approaches.Hitzig. (Addenda, Jer. 4:15, Dan.)
Jer. 4:16. The words should probably read thus: Proclaim ye to the heathen, Behold! (Saint Jerome points out that the heathen are hereby summoned to witness the chastisement of Jerusalem.) Thus they would learn that the God of the Jews had ordained the overthrow of His people; that it was not the triumph of impious and idolatrous forces against God and His people, but that He had consigned Judah to spoliation on account of her treachery and neglect of Him. This would prove a solemn warning to the nations around (Jer. 4:17), giving clearly the explanation why God permitted Judahs foes to triumph.
Jer. 4:18. The address reverts to Jerusalem: against her Jeremiah had to publish (Jer. 4:16) that watchers, besiegers, were advancing; it throws on Jerusalem the whole blame of the calamities. Here consider:
I. That sinners have the power of awakening terrible forces of judgment. Thy way and doings have procured these things; brought mighty armies,devastating powers! Truly sin is a dreadful and prodigious factor in human history.
II. That sinners inevitably entail retributive miseries. Unto thee. Sin awakes mighty forcesit can do that; but sinners bring those forces of misery against themselves, and they cannot evade them. The eagles will sweep down on the carcass they scent. (Addenda, Jer. 4:18, Bitter at last.)
III. That the penalties of sin are unutterably distressing. It is bitter (comp. Jer. 2:19). The wages of sin is death. The miseries of the siege and captivity were but faint foreshadowings of the woes consequent on rejecting Christ and losing heaven.
IV. That the wound and woe of sin reach to the very heart. Neither is superficial nor evanescent, but the rottenness and also the wretchedness goes to the very core (Jer. 4:10).
Jer. 4:19-21. Theme: A SEERS ANGUISH OVER THE SINNERS DOOM.
Henderson and Dr. Payne Smith, opposing all other commentators, regard these words as the outcry of the anguishstricken nation. And truly the lost soul may utter such an exclamation of terror and grief in the hour of his judgment. Yet the words are more naturally the lament of the prophet.
I. The occasion of these impassioned outcries.
1. His grief was patriotic; distressed over the national calamities which were coming upon his people and his land.
2. His grief was personal, for he felt individually the shame and woe which the peoples disloyalty to their God and their faith were entailing. By identification of interest he felt himself inculpated by their idolatries and vice; and by intensity of sympathy he felt the throes of anguish and ruin which ensued.
3. His grief was pious; the religious disasters looming over Zion filled him with amaze and sorrow. Temple defamed and razed; Judah reduced to captivity, land laid waste, sanctities of his nation profaned; and more, Jehovah contemned by the victorious heathen, who would scorn the God of the land they subdued, and of the people they oppressed.
II. The lessons of the prophets distress. Mosess distress over sinning Israel as he descended Sinai, the Psalmists deeply troubled state over transgressors (Psa. 119:136; Psa. 119:158), our Lords pitying tears at the sight of doomed Jerusalem, Pauls great heaviness and continual sorrow of heart for his kinsmen (Rom. 9:2-3), and Jeremiahs pathos of lamentation, encourage and summon us to godly sorrow over the guilty and the perishing.
1. There is enough of wrong around us to evoke saddest emotions.
2. Philanthropy and compassion for humanity should move us to deepest sorrow.
3. Fellowship with Christ will make us deplore the devastations of sin.
4. The keener our sense of right and our love of God, the more intense will be our repugnance towards, and our distress over, scenes of iniquity.
5. Memory of our own redemption will awake in us bitter regrets that others remain sunken in wrong and the woes of wrong.
6. Perception of the foul agency which triumphs in human overthrow will deepen our revulsion and horror. It was the king of Babylon in Judahs caseimperious, blasphemous, implacable; it is the adversary the devil in our case now.
Hence: 1. The shamefulness of indifference towards others in peril. 2. The inarticulate call to our commiseration which comes from souls despoiled. 3. The urgency of faithful warning and friendly help, though it cost us suffering and sacrifices, as with Jeremiah 4. The grandeur of Christs mission; His love and redemption. 5. The inspiration which lies in the fact that there is hope of our doing good even to those who hate us while we seek their welfare.
They who feel for the woes of others, and seek to redress them, cannot fail to fulfil a ministry of amelioration, and shall not miss the reward of loving service and patient suffering (Mat. 5:12).
Jer. 4:22. Theme: JUDAHS DIVINELYSENT TEACHER IGNORED.
I. Teachers are valueless unless men will be listeners. But my people are foolish. Indifference to the teachings of Jeremiah was suicidal, wilful, shameful. So is the disregard of the world.
II. Mans heedless attitude frustrates Gods messengers. They would arouse men to their peril and point them to escape and redemption, but they put life and salvation from them.
III. The insensate spiritual condition of transgressors. (a.) Blindednot known me, whom God in mercy sent. Have no understanding of their peril, value of Divine messages, urgency of seeking salvation. (b.) Debasedmentally, foolish; morally, sottish; foolish heart darkened (Rom. 1:21-22). (c.) Pervertedtheir spiritual nature distorted, thrown into calamitous confusion and contrariety; wise in evil, witless respecting good.
Hence easily deluded, wilfully ignorant, lamentably degenerate. (Comp. Joh. 3:21.)
Jer. 4:23-26. A SOLEMNLY-SUGGESTIVE VISION.
The prophet sees bursting over Judah a visitation which convulses the whole world. In the vivid poetic language of this picture, the mind is led back to what earth was before creation, and led forward to what earth will become at the judgment. It suggests that sin gathers into the present the dreary desolations of the past and the terrible devastations of the future.
I. Chaos reproduced. (Comp. Jer. 4:23 with Gen. 1:2.) Thus1. Sin defaces scenes of beauty (comp. Gen. 1:31); alas! all again in chaos. 2. Sin despoils the Spirits work; He brooded over and beautified earth (Gen. 1:2). 3. Sin enwraps the world in gloomshuts out light, God, hope, and happiness.
II. Judgment depicted. (Comp. Jer. 4:24-26 with Rev. 6:12-17.)
Jeremiah glances again into the awful future, and1. He beholds the material world in wild convulsion (Jer. 4:24, comp. Rev. 6:14). 2. Scenes of the living changed into sepulchral solitude (Jer. 4:25, comp. Eze. 38:20). 3. The works and memorials of man swept away: plantations and cities (Jer. 4:26, comp. 2Pe. 3:10). 4. Gods presence awakens a panic of terror (Jer. 4:26, at the presence, lit. from the face of Jehovah, from the face of the heat of His nostril; comp. Rev. 20:11; Rev. 6:16-17).
It is as if the final judgment of the world had already arrived. Infer1. Retribution must not necessarily be deferred till the distant judgment-day. 2. In a sinners downfall, the horrors of the final judgment are all realised. 3. If God be not propitiated, His presence will terrify us whenever it appearsin temporal calamities, hour of death, or day of retribution. 4. Flee now to God; not then from God. (Addenda, Jer. 4:26, Broken down at the presence of God.) Lowth remarks: These particular judgments are an earnest of the general judgment.
Jer. 4:27-29. Lest it should be thought the prophet has spoken only under strong poetic feeling, an extravagant imagination, there comes the emphatic, Thus hath the Lord said. It is not fancy, but solemn fact.
I. Gods irrevocable purpose (Jer. 4:28). I have spoken; not turn back. The day of redemption past,probation terminated,escape impossible,repentance no avail.
II. Gods avenging decision limited by His mercy (Jer. 4:27). Yet not make full end. This always attested of Judah: the sword should not wholly destroy. (Comp. Lev. 26:44; Amo. 9:8.)
III. Earth clad in woful mourning (Jer. 4:28). The heavens shrouded in sombre clouds in sympathy with earths misery. (Comp. Rev. 6:12; Rev. 1:7.)
IV. Hiding-places sought: strongholds abandoned in despair. Their refuges prove insufficient, insecure, as will all human strongholds. When these defenced cities fail, the recesses of forests and mountains will be sought. Implies: (a.) Great terror of the foe. (b.) Deliverance will then be craved, redemption sought too late. (c.) No evading the judgment; flight will not ensure escape.
V. Melancholy desertion of happy scenes (Jer. 4:29). Every city forsaken, &c. Homes gone for ever. Scenes of plenty and pleasure abandoned perforce. Families driven from earths fond scenes into exile. So at the judgmentbut worse.
Jer. 4:30. SPOILED YET ADORNED. Jerusalem simulates the beauty which has been spoiled in the vain hope of attracting to her side the succour of Egypt against Chaldea. (Addenda, Jer. 4:30. Finery, Flattery.)
i. Vain devices for covering misery. Clothest with crimson, deckest with ornaments of gold, paintest thine eyes. Real wealth never feels the necessity of gaudy parade. True beauty never resorts to artificial decorations. Implies conscious deformity and penury.
ii. Adversity transforms flatterers into foes. Lovers seek thy life. This shows the character, the worth, the treachery of ungodly confidences. Turn from God to them in prosperity, they will turn from or turn upon their dupes in their evil day.
iii. Forlorn attempts to regain love win loathing. Despise thee. Their love was only for self-aggrandisement; it was sordid and selfish; now nothing can accrue to them from Jerusalem she is contemned. Yes; and her despicable efforts hypocritically to hide her miserable plight create nausea and revulsion. Even the ungodly hate deceit, loathe decorated deformity.
Jer. 4:31. The LXX., Syriac, Vulgate, &c., take the participle as passive, and render, My soul faints because of the slain. Better as in A. V.; or, My soul is overpowered before murderers.
Spreadeth her hands. A pleading gesture, expressing a prayer for protection: as she falls before assassins she beseeches help.
Woe is me now! Her full and irremediable wretchedness is at last realised by her; she cries out terrified by her perils and pains. Yet not to God. Therefore none befriends her. (Addenda to chap. 4 Jer. 4:31, Woe-stricken.)
NOTICEABLE TOPICS IN CHAPTER 4
Jer. 4:2. Topic: AN ANCIENT HOMILY ON SWEARING. Text: Thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth, &c.
I. The command. Did Christ countermand this? (Mat. 5:34). The Son forbid in the Gospel what the Father bids in the law? Jerome says, Oaths were permitted the Jews of policy, because they heard heathen swear by their gods. But the explanation which accords both commands is: God bids thee swear, so thy oath be truthful and needful; Christ forbids swearing which is truthless and needless. Christ came not to destroy the law; He but forbids the gloss of the Pharisees, who taught oaths were not perjury though false, so that they swore not by Gods self directly. Yet, also, Christ would have His followers tongues so true as they shall not need to swear. Holy mens words are oaths. The abuse of swearing God abominates, man abhors. But not everything that is abused by wicked men must therefore not be used by sober men. Schismatics are they who have refused oaths; Essenes among Jews, Anabaptists among Christians. Bullinger saith, He is not worthy the name of Christian who refuseth to swear by the name of Christ. For, what do I when I swear, but call on God to be either witness to my truth or avenger of my falsehood? I therein confess the Lord to be my God,I acknowledge His truth, justice, and omniscience.
Precedents from Scripture:Moses swore (Jos. 14:5). David oftento Saul, to Jonathan. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob didpatriarchs before the law; and Paul, after the law and under the Gospel, swore. Christ used His Amen, amen; and God swore by His own self. What He bid, He did.
Oaths, public, as between princes and before magistrates, and private, as between man and man, are lawful, so the swearer take them with religious heart and in cause important. He takes Gods name in vain that swears when he needs not, and God will not hold him guiltless.
II. The form. God bade us swear; now He tells us how: The Lord liveth! It is, then, impiety to swear by creatures; grand sacrilege to swear by anything but God. The name of a strange god was not to be heard in the mouth of Gods people (Exo. 23:13). Saith the old man in Aristophanes, He but jests that swears by Jupiter. To swear by anything but God lessens the religion of an oath. When the Jews swore by Baal, and the Gentiles by Jupiter, they thought them gods, for they prayed and sacrificed to them; yet Baal was but a beast, Jupiter but a man. God prevents all evasion by the name He here gives, the Lord; not any god the swearer would substitute,as Papists swear by angels, called in Scripture, Elohim, and superstition worships them as gods. Many forms are used by men of Scripture variable from this form, but in all the meaning is, The Lord liveth.
III. Three particulars. In truth. Perjury is impious,makes that which is the sign, ensign, and seal of truth, the cloak of falsehood. It was death with the Egyptians; St. Augustine would have it so with Christians too. God will destroy, saith David, all that speak lies. What will He do to them that swear lies? The Pope, Christs vicar, panders perjury! Swear promissorily fealty to thy sovereign, the Pope will assoil thee; forswear assertorily anything to the magistrate, the Pope will pardon thee. Faith is not to be kept with heretics. Equivocation is even commended. How dare thou dally with God before whom thou swearest? He is not mocked! An oath is a hedge to fence thy faith: break it not; thou betrayest thy truth: leap not over it; there is a pit behind it, without bottom,it is hell.
In judgment. Swear not upon guess only,oaths must not be adventured Some swear where no cause is, no gain is, no gainsayer is, but only of bad use. Augustine saith, The world hath many evil customs, but this of swearing is bad above all that is bad. It makes Gods holy name vile, and engenders perjury. Philo saith, Oaths are no tenise balls to toss upon the tongue.
In righteousness. To any act against right or religion bind not thyself, let not any bind thee. Oaths must not cross either piety towards God or charity towards men. Such an oath was Herods: much better had he broken his oath than slain a prophet. Bind not two sins together. It is sin to make it, not to break it. Saint Jerome saith of unlawful oaths, It is condemnation if thou break them; it is damnation if thou keep them.Condensed from Sermons by Rev. Richard Clerke, D.D., one of the translators of the English Bible, preacher in Canterbury Cathedral. Dated A.D. 1637.
Jer. 4:3. Topic: UNFIT SOIL PREPARED FOR THE BLESSING. Text: Break up your fallow ground.
A call to vigorous preparation for spiritual blessing. Many are conscious of earnest longing for salvation, more grace, spiritual renewal and revival; but the desire of the slothful killeth him, for his hands refuse to labour. A delusion to rest with desire.
I. Hardening forces have been acting on the soil. Break up: hard, therefore. Your fallow ground; seriously inquire to what this applies in you.
1. What is the fallow ground within man? 1. The heedless mind. 2. The callous heart. 3. The seared conscience. 4. The irreverent soul. 5. The formal Church: first love dead, flame extinct, sanctuary a garnished sepulchre. (Addenda, Jer. 4:3. Fallow ground.)
2. How has your ground become fallow? 1. By neglect: becomes hard itself; need do nothing. 2. Action of time: years find you harder. 3. The cold of indifference. 4. Rains and sun cake the soil; the Saviours action, the Spirits influence make the unyielding soul more alien.
II. Sowers can only work on lands which are prepared. They are forced into inactivity by the ground being fallow.
1. The sowers are Christ, the Spirit, the preacher, the worker for human salvation. They can only sow the Gospel where they find the soil clean and ready. This is the husbandmans command (Luk. 10:10-12). Your stolid unconcern is an effectual obstacle.
2. All spiritual agencies are thwarted by unpreparedness. Seed may be the best, but useless on hard soil. Sun may shine, but not germinate. Rains fall, only to wash the seed off. Best Christian appliances, services, sermons, &c., no avail.
3. Therefore, where there is no readiness, the sacred blessings are withheld. Christ did no mighty works because of unbelief.
III. Sowing time is the season for gathering in the living seed. Do nothing to anticipate the auspicious hour of grace, and it will come and find you unfit to receive the Gospel, the salvation God would willingly give. Make ready for the Lord.
1. There is a special time of grace. 2. The season quickly passes by. 3. It may come to us in vain. It was now with Jerusalem; she was not ready to benefit by it. Later on, when Jesus wept over the city, she knew not the day of her visitation. We may awake to righteousness too late; the sowing-time past, the convenient season gone.
IV. The plough must be driven through the sterile soil. Sowers are waiting, seed is ready, season is here and passing (text). 1. Put the plough through your indifference; rouse yourself into attention. 2. Through your indecision; How long halt ye? 3. Through your inaction; bestir yourself; read, pray, repent, reform. 4. Through your habits of sin; weep for them, desert them; listen to chidings of conscience; open heart to the Saviour who knocks. Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while near, &c.
All this will not make you spiritually renewed. Ploughing does not ensure the harvest, yet it is preparation for it. It is your part; and God requires that part of you. He hath commanded all men everywhere to repent; Break up, &c. It will not be done for you; it must be done by you. Prove me now herewith, and see if I will not open the windows of heaven, &c.
Jer. 4:14. Topic: THE VANITY OF THOUGHTS. (Ancient Homily.) Text: How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?
Heart compared to house, to entertain and lodge guests; into which, before conversion, all the light, wanton thoughts that post up and down in the world have open accesslodgeth them; while they, like unruly gallants, revel day and night, and defile those rooms they lodge in. How long? whilst I, with my Spirit, and Son, and train of graces, stand and knock, and cannot find admittance? Those vain guests must be turned out or doors without warning; the time past must suffice. Kept out they cannot always be; yet if they enter, lodge they must not. Let not the sun go down on your wrath, or a worse guest may enter; neither give place to the devil. Bad thoughts may pass as strangers through a believers heart, making a thoroughfare of it, but not a lodging-place.
I. What is meant by thoughts.
i. The internal acts of the mind; reasonings, resolutions, consultations, desires, cares, &c. 1. The thinking, meditating, musing power in man, which enables him to conceive, apprehend, fancy. 2. Thoughts which the mind frames within itself (Pro. 6:14; Jas. 1:15; Isa. 59:4-7). These differ from thoughts injected and cast in, which are children of anothers begetting, and which do not become ours unless we lodge them. 3. Thoughts which the mind in and by itself begets and entertains.
ii. Let us see what vanity is. 1. Unprofitableness (Ecc. 1:2-3). 2. Lightness (Psa. 62:9). 3. Folly (Pro. 12:11). 4. Inconstancy (Psa. 144:4; Psa. 146:4). 5. Wicked and sinful (2Ch. 13:7; Pro. 24:9). Such qualities are linked to the word vanity. Vain thoughts are sins. 1. The law judgeth them (Heb. 4:12; 1Co. 14:25), and Christ rebukes them (Mat. 9:4). 2. They are capable of pardon, and unless pardoned we cannot be saved (Act. 8:22). 3. They are to be repented of (Isa. 55:7; 2Co. 10:4-5). 4. They defile a man (Mat. 15:15-17). 5. They are abominable to the Lord (Pro. 15:26). 6. They hinder and spoil all the good we should do (Isa. 29:16). Our thoughts are the first motioners of all the evil in us.
II. The particulars wherein this vanity of the thinking, meditating power of man consists.
i. In regard to thinking what is good. 1. A want of ability to raise and extract holy and useful considerations and thoughts from the occurrences and occasions which surround us. (Comp. Psa. 107:43 with Psa. 92:4-6.) 2. A loathness to entertain holy thoughts. (Comp. Psa. 119:59 with Rom. 1:28.) 3. The mind will not long be intent on good thoughts. 4. If the mind doth think of good things, it doth so unseasonably; intrudes on prayer and interrupts it (Pro. 16:3).
ii. The readiness of the mind to think on evil and vain things. 1. This vanity shows itself in foolishness (Mar. 7:22), which proves itself in the unsettledness and independence of our thoughts. 2. On the other hand, if any strong lust or passion be up, our thoughts are too fixed and intent. 3. A restless curiosity concerning things not affecting us (1Ti. 6:4; 1Ti. 6:20; 1Ti. 4:7; Pro. 15:14). 4. Taking thought to fulfil the lusts of our flesh (Rom. 13:14). 5. Representing, or acting over, sins in our imagination (Jud. 1:8).
Having discovered the vanity of your thoughts and estate thereby1. Be humbled for them (Isa. 55:7). 2. Let us make conscience of them for ever (Pro. 4:23), dreading the revelations of the judgment (1Co. 4:5). After the judgment mens thoughts will prove their greatest executioners.
III. Remedies against vain thoughts. (Addenda, Jer. 4:2, Thou shalt swear,&c.)
1. Get the heart furnished and enriched with a good stock of sanctified and heavenly knowledge in spiritual truths (Mat. 13:35; Pro. 6:22; Deu. 6:6-7).
2. Endeavour to preserve and keep up lively, holy, and spiritual affections in the heart (Mal. 3:16; Psa. 119:97).
3. Of all apprehensions else, get the heart possessed with deep and powerful apprehensions of Gods holiness, majesty, omniscience, and omnipresence (Psa. 139:1-12).
4. In the morning when thou awakest, as did David (Psa. 119:18), prevent the vain thoughts the heart naturally engenders by filling it with thoughts of God.
5. Have a watchful eye upon thy heart all day; though vain thoughts crowd in, let them know that they pass not unseen. Vagrant thoughts will not make their rendezvous where strict watch is kept. Complain of them; whip them if they will pass in.
6. Please not thy fancy too much with vanities and curious flights (Job. 31:1; Pro. 4:25).
7. Be diligent in thy calling (2Th. 3:11; 1Ti. 5:13); only encumber not the mind too much (Luk. 10:41).
8. In thy calling and all thy ways commit thy goings to the Lord (Pro. 16:3). A few thoughts of faith would keep us from many thoughts of cares and fears. When such waves toss and turmoil the heart, thoughts of faith bring calm and rest.Condensation of a Homily by Rev. Thomas Goodwin, B.D. Dated A.D. 1638.
Jer. 4:19. Topic: THE PROPHETS LAMENTATIONS OVER HIS PEOPLES DOOM. (Ancient Homily.)
Jeremiah travails with the miseries and calamities of his people, and bemoans them, to draw his people to the same affections and dispositions with himself.
I. The complaint or lamentation itself. We have three particularsi. The parts affected. Signify the soul and inward man. Gregory Myssen regards them as the intellectual and discursive faculty of the soul. Because of: 1. The secrecy of it, the mind and soul being inward and hidden. 2. Because the mind receives and digests the thoughts. 3. The mind is the mother of thoughts, conceiving and generating them. ii. The grief of those parts. Heart is pained, &c., both as to the kind (pained) and the effect of the grief (heart maketh noise in me). From which infer: 1. God need not go far for the punishment of wicked men; He can do it from within themselves; punish a man with his own affections and thoughts. 2. What good cause we have to regulate and control our affections, avoid passion and excess of emotion, take care to be pacific, and enjoy a sabbatic tranquillity in our spirits. iii. The passage or vent. I cannot hold my peace. Passion will make way, and force itself forth. It did here in: 1. The speech of discovery; for he cannot help revealing these workings of his own spirit. Gods ministers find a necessity in themselves to discover their thoughts to their people (Jer. 20:9; Job. 33:18-20). Moreover, love constrains him hereunto (Act. 20:20), that his weeping and mourning might be a forerunner of theirs: also the consideration of his calling, as watchman and guide, urged him to give warnings of sin and judgment. 2. The speech of lamentation: he must bewail and utter complaint, his anguish was so great (as Job. 7:11).
II. The ground or occasion of his lamentation. Because, &c. i. The tidings or report itself. Sound of trumpet, alarm of war. This not literally in a military case. 1. The trumpet of Providence. 2. The trumpet of the Word (Isa. 58:1). 3. The trumpet of vision, or extraordinary prophetical revelation, ii. The conveyance of it to the prophet. Thou hast heard, O my soul. 1. The soul through the corporeal organ of hearing. 2. The soul immediately, as being that which had communion with God. 3. The soul emphatically; that is heard indeed which is heard by the soul. Hence (a.) Gods excellency: He speaks. (b.) Mans duty: he hears. iii. The improvement or use he makes of it. 1. His meditations aroused his affections. (a.) This is the aim of a revelation. (b.) We should endeavour to bring revelations for others to our own spiritual advancement and profit. 2. What these affections were which the tidings aroused. (a.) Anger at his peoples obstinacy. (b.) Fear of the coming judgment. (c.) Grief at his peoples state and doom. Yet there was no such thing yet as war among them, nevertheless the certainty of it pained him. To shut up all: 1. We see how prophets and ministers should be affected in themselves by the threatenings and denunciations of judgment. 2. We learn how all should be affected by Divine warnings. If so dreadful in apprehension, what will it be in the infliction? 3. Let us endeavour to meet God by speedy and unfeigned repentance (Amo. 4:12).Abstract of Sermon by Rev. Thomas Horton, D.D. Dated A.D. 1679.
ADDENDA TO CHAPTER 4 ILLUSTRATIONS AND SUGGESTIVE EXTRACTS
Jer. 4:1. Sin banished, or no heaven. The first physic to recover our souls is not cordials, but corrosives; not an immediate stepping into heaven by a present assurance, but mourning, lamentation, and a bitter bewailing of our former transgressions. With Mary Magdalene, we must wash Christs feet with our tears of sorrow before we may anoint His head with the oil of gladness.Browning.
A poor man told Rowland Hill that the way to heaven comprised three steps: Out of self, unto Christ, into heaven.
When Bens master died, they told him he had gone to heaven. Ben shook his head. I fraid massa no gone there. But why, Ben? Cos when massa go North, or go journey to the Springs, he talk about it long time, and get ready. I never hear him talk about going to heaven, never see him get ready to go there.
I know the way to heaven, said a little girl to her brother. Do tell me, the boy answered. Well, just commence going up, and keep on going up all the time, and youll get there. But, Johnny, you must not turn back.
The banished recalled:
Driven from their home, their pathway lost,
Mid clouds that came upon the worlds fair morn,
By gloom and shadows crossd,
Wandered a race forlorn.
There sat One oer heavens highest hall,
Who, in strange charity, to exile went
These exiles to recall
To that, His heavenly tent.
He gave Himself, their staff and stay,
To feeble knees, strength to the sinking soul;
He was Himself the Way,
He was Himself the Goal.
FROM THE LATIN.
Jer. 4:2. Thou shalt swear, &c. Every time, whenever thou shalt find thyself to have let slip an oath, punish thyself for it by missing the next meal.Chrysostom.
It is great sin to swear unto a sin,
But greater sin to keep a sinful oath.
Who can be bound by any solemn vow
To do a murderous deed, to rob a man,
To reave the orphan of his patrimony,
To wring the widow from her customd right;
And have no other reason for this wrong,
But that he was bound by solemn oath?
SHAKESPEARE, 2 Henry VI. Jer. 4:1.
Jer. 4:3. Fallow ground. Illustrates: 1. Culture of the Church (1Co. 3:9). 2. Of the heart. The longer we leave the heart uncultivated the harder to break up. If we do the tilling, God will rain righteousness (Hos. 10:12). Break it up with thought, soften it with repentance, plant it with truth.Topics for Teachers.
Have you ever read the Ancient Mariner? I dare say you thought it one of the strangest imaginations ever put together, especially that part where the old mariner represents the corpses of all the dead men rising up to man the ship,dead men pulling the ropes, dead men steering, dead men spreading sails. But I have lived to see that time: have seen it done. I have gone into churches and have seen a dead man in the pulpit, a dead man as a deacon, a dead man holding the plate, and dead men sitting to hear.Spurgeon.
Jer. 4:4. Unquenchable fire. A finger of lightning will write on the sky, For ever! and the thunder-peal echo among the crags of death, For ever! O those fire-bells will never stop ringing, because the conflagration will never be done! (2Th. 1:9.) It is not I, but God says it.
Sir Francis Newport, in his last moments, caught a glimpse of the eternal world; he looked into it before he entered it. The last words he uttered were, Oh, the insufferable pangs of hell! The lost soul will cry, I cannot stand this; is there no way out? And the echo will answer, No way out for ever!De Witt Talmage.
Jer. 4:6. Zion a refuge. I wish they were within the enclosure where the boar out of the wood could not waste them nor the wild beast of the field devour them.H. Ward Beecher.
Jer. 4:7. The lion. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, whose monarchy is represented by a lion (Dan. 7:4). He is called the destroyer of the Gentiles, or rather nations; Judea and all the neighbouring countries being given up into his hands by Gods decree (Jer. 25:9; Jer. 27:6).W. Lowth.
Jer. 4:11. Blast of the Almighty. Thevenot mentions the death of 20,000 men who perished in one night by one of those burning winds. Sir J. Chardin describes this wind as making a great hissing noise; that it appears red and fiery, and kills those it strikes by stifling them. Maillet mentions its being felt in the desert between Egypt and Mecca, in part of which Israel wandered forty years.
A party of travellers in the desert were overtaken by the fierce simoom. Like blinding snow driven by the winds of March came the hot sand. Before the simoom had reached its height, they came suddenly upon a rude building of stone, well protected with roof and doors, which the hand of charity had erected there for shelter. With joy they rushed into it, closed the doors, and were safe. (Comp. Isa. 26:20-21.)
Jer. 4:14. Vain thoughts. If the flow of a days mind-and-heart experiences were written, it would be a volume, and ones life a Bodleian Library; but the book of remembrance is yonder, and the life is daguerreotyped on the sensitive pages of the future.Beecher.
In hotter climates, the locusts swarm so thickly in the air as sometimes to hide from the traveller the light of the sun, and cast a cold, dark shadow on his pathway. So it is in the world of mind: swarms of vain thoughts are ever floating over some minds, intercepting the beams of truth from falling on the heart, and thus keeping that heart barren of all virtue and goodness.Rev. R. Roberts.
Tis not in things oer thought to domineer:
Guard well thy thought; our thoughts are heard in heaven.
YOUNG.
Jer. 4:15. Dan. In consequence of a large portion of the canton of Dan continuing in the possession of the Philistines, it was found too small for its population, and 600 Danites, with their families, emigrated to the northern extremity of Palestine, attacked Laish, a Zidonian city near Lebanon, took possession of it, and changed its name to Dan. This place is notorious in sacred history as the spot where Jeroboam established his golden calves (1Ki. 12:29), and as the place which Nebuchadnezzar first seized on his invasion of Canaan.Paxtons Sacred Geography.
Jer. 4:18. Bitter at heart. On the walls of one of the Egyptian temples is said to be the inscription, The impious shall commit iniquity without recompense, but not without remorse.
Through many a clime tis mine to go,
With many a retrospection curst;
And all my solace is to know,
Whateer betides, Ive known the worst.
What is that worst? Nay! do not ask;
In pity from the search forbear.
Smile on: nor venture to unmask
Mans heart, and view the hells that there.
BYRON.
Tis very true, my grief lies all within;
And these external manners of lament
Are merely shadows of the unseen grief
That swells with silence in the tortured soul:
There lies the substance.
SHAKESPEARE.
Jer. 4:19. Prophets distress. Gods ministers must have their hearts fired, not with passion, but with love. The thunderbolt may crash, but the sun melts. It is better to love as a pastor than speak as an angel.Watson, A.D. 1649.
Jer. 4:26. Broken down at the presence of the Lord.Oh, that you might all be stirred by a dread of the Almighty! I announce to you the judgment to come; it shall break upon the earth, that day of wonder and of terror, when from the sea, and the mountain, and the desert shall swarm the buried families of the human kind, and the dead shall stand before their God: no shelter for the proud, no mask for the hypocrite, no standing-place for the presumptuous.Melvill.
Jer. 4:30. Finery: Flattery.
Ah! when the means are gone that buy this praise,
The breath is gone whereof this praise is made.
Feast-won, fast-lost; one cloud of winter showers,
These flies are couchd.SHAKESPEARE.
All that glitters is not gold;
Gilded tombs do worms unfold.Idem.
Jer. 4:31. Woe-stricken. The world affords not a sadder sight than a poor Christless soul shivering upon the brink of eternity. To see the poor soul that now begins to wake out of its long dream, at its entrance into the world of realities, shrinking back into the body and crying, O I cannot, I dare not die!Flavel.
Come home, wandering, tired, grieved soul! Love where thy love shall not be lost. Love Him that will not reject thee, nor deceive thee, nor requite thee with injuries as the world doth. God will receive thee when the world doth cast thee off, if thou cast off the world for Him!Baxter.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
F. The Rewards of Repentance Jer. 4:1-4
TRANSLATION
(1) If you return, O Israel, (oracle of the LORD) unto Me return; and if you will remove your abominations from before Me, and never waver (2) and you sware, As the LORD lives, in truth, in justice and in righteousness then 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: Plow up your unplowed ground! Do not sow among the thorns! (4) Circumcise yourselves to the LORD. Remove the foreskins of your heart, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest like a fire My wrath goes out and burns and there be no one to quench it because of the evil of your deeds.
COMMENTS
If she was to reap the rewards of repentance Israel must make sure that she turns unto the Lord. The pronoun Me is in an emphatic position in the Hebrew sentence structure of Jer. 4:1. Israel had turned to other gods and to other nations. She was constantly turning in one direction or the other. Now she must make sure she returns to Me. A genuine return to the Lord will involve three distinct actions on the part of the nation. (1) They must remove all their abominations, i.e., their idols and the rites conducted in their worship, from before the face of the Lord. (2) From that point on they must never waver, i.e., run to and from other gods, but rather remain steadfastly faithful to the Lord. (3) They must swear by the life of the Lord. As the Lord lives was the common form of the Jewish oath. The men of Israel must swear to the Lord and by the Lord. They must renew their covenant to the Lord by swearing allegiance to Him.[156] To swear by the Lord means to call Him to witness to the truth of a statement. Lest one take this matter of swearing lightly three qualifications are placed upon the act. The oath must be made (a) in truth, i.e., in sincerity; (b) in justice, i.e., in keeping with that which is right; and (c) in righteousness, i.e., in accordance with the commandments of the law of God (Deu. 6:24-25). Following this lengthy statement of the stipulations concerning repentance, the Lord adds a beautiful promise. If Israel truly repents then the Lord will make them a blessing to the whole world and the promise of Jer. 3:17 will be fulfilled. The heathen will come to bless and glorify the Lord when they see the way in which He will bless penitent Israel (Jer. 4:2).
[156] Cf. Deu. 26:17 f.; 2Ki. 23:3; Neh. 9:1 to Neh. 10:39.
From the explicit promise of reward in Jer. 4:2 the prophet develops two metaphors which contain implicit promises to penitent sinners. In the first metaphor, which Jeremiah has borrowed from Hosea (Hos. 10:12), the heart of the men of Judah is like a field which has never been cleared of dense brush and plowed for planting. (Jer. 4:3). It is no easy task to clear that land of thorn and thistle and plow that virgin soil. Superficial plowing will not do for the roots of the weeds can only be destroyed as the ground is worked again and again. But no harvest of any consequence can be reaped from a field which has not thoroughly been prepared. So must the sinner laboriously work to root up and kill the thorns of wickedness and idolatry. The seed of the word of God does not stand a chance in a heart which harbors the roots of sin. But the more thorough the plowing, the richer the harvest.
In Jer. 4:4 the metaphor changes as Jeremiah calls upon the men of Judah to circumcise themselves to the Lord. Here the prophet is taking a slap at the mere formal, ritualistic notions of circumcision. All Jews were circumcised; but not all were circumcised to the Lord. Jeremiah is certainly not advocating that the outward act of circumcision be abandoned. God Himself had commanded His people to perform this act. But the prophet is demanding that circumcision be carried out in the right spirit. Israel must not only circumcise the foreskin of their flesh but also of their hearts (Deu. 10:16). While the outward act of circumcision made a man a member of the commonwealth of Israel, it was the circumcision of the heart that made a man part of the true Israel of God. The outward act was of no consequence if the heart was unchanged. The earnest entreaty of the Lord closes with an ultimatum. If these men fail to live up to their circumcision then the consuming fire of Gods wrath will break forth against them and no one will be able to extinguish that fire (Jer. 4:4).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
IV.
(1) If thou wilt return.The if implies a return from the hopes with which Jeremiah 3 ended to the language of misgiving, and so, inferentially, of earnest exhortation.
Abominations.Literally, things of shame, as in Jer. 3:24; the idols which Israel had worshipped.
Then shalt thou not remove.Better, as continuing the conditions of forgiveness, if thou wilt not wander.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
THE CALL TO RETURN, Jer 4:1-18.
The chapter-division here, as in the last instance, is peculiarly unfortunate. There is the closest relation between the concluding verses of the preceding chapter and the beginning of this. The words contained in the first two verses of the present chapter are Jehovah’s answer to the words of shame and penitence in the last verse of the preceding, and cannot be fully appreciated except this relation is kept in mind.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1, 2. Return unto me This second “return” is a mere repetition of the former, and falls into the same relation. The protasis extends so as to include the word righteousness, making the reading of the first two verses as follows: If thou wilt return, O Israel, wilt return unto me; saith Jehovah, and if thou wilt put away abominations from before me, and shalt not wander to and fro, and shall swear, as Jehovah liveth, in truth, and right, and uprightness: then shall the nations bless themselves in him, and in him shall they make their boast.
SECTION 1. An Overall Description Of Jeremiah’s Teaching Given In A Series Of Accumulated, Mainly Undated, Prophecies, Concluding With Jeremiah’s Own Summary Of His Ministry ( Jer 2:4 to Jer 25:38 ).
From this point onwards up to chapter 25 we have a new major section (a section in which MT and LXX are mainly similar) which records the overall teaching of Jeremiah, probably given mainly during the reigns of Josiah (Jer 3:6) and Jehoiakim, although leading up to the days of Zedekiah (Jer 21:1). While there are good reasons for not seeing these chapters as containing a series of specific discourses as some have suggested, nevertheless they can safely be seen as giving a general overall view of Jeremiah’s teaching over that period, and as having on the whole been put together earlier rather than later. The whole commences with the statement, ‘Hear you the word of YHWH O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel, thus says YHWH —.’ It is therefore directed to Israel as a whole, mainly as now contained in the land of Judah to which many northerners had fled for refuge. We may divide up the main subsections as follows, based partly on content, and partly on the opening introductory phrases:
1. ‘Hear you the word of YHWH, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel —’ (Jer 2:4). YHWH commences by presenting His complaint against Israel/Judah because they have failed to continue to respond to the love and faithfulness that He had demonstrated to them in the wilderness and in the years that followed, resulting by their fervent addiction to idolatry in their losing the water of life in exchange for empty cisterns. It ends with a plea for them to turn back to Him like an unfaithful wife returning to her husband. This would appear to be mainly his initial teaching in his earliest days, indicating even at that stage how far, in spite of Josiah’s reformation, the people as a whole were from truly obeying the covenant, but it also appears to contain teaching given in the days of Jehoiakim, for which see commentary (Jer 2:4 to Jer 3:5).
2. ‘Moreover YHWH said to me in the days of King Josiah –’ (Jer 3:6). This section follows up on section 1 with later teaching given in the days of Josiah, and some apparently in the days of Jehoiakim. He gives a solemn warning to Judah based on what had happened to the northern tribes (‘the ten tribes’) as a result of their behaviour towards YHWH, facing Judah up to the certainty of similar coming judgment if they do not amend their ways, a judgment that would come in the form of a ravaged land and exile for its people. This is, however, intermingled with a promise of final blessing and further pleas for them to return to YHWH, for that in the end is YHWH’s overall purpose. But the subsection at this time ends under a threat of soon coming judgment (Jer 3:6 to Jer 6:30).
3. ‘The word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH –’ (Jer 7:1). In this subsection Jeremiah admonishes the people about the false confidence that they have in the inviolability of the Temple, and in their sacrificial ritual, and warned that like Shiloh they could be destroyed. He accompanies his words with warnings that if they continued in their present disobedience, Judah would be dispersed and the country would be despoiled (Jer 7:1 to Jer 8:3). He therefore chides the people for their obstinacy in the face of all attempts at reformation (Jer 8:4 to Jer 9:21), and seeks to demonstrate to them what the path of true wisdom is, that they understand and know YHWH in His covenant love, justice and righteousness. In a fourfold comparison he then vividly brings out the folly of idolatry when contrasted with the greatness of YHWH. The section ends with the people knowing that they must be chastised, but hoping that YHWH’s full wrath will rather be poured out on their oppressors (Jer 9:22 to Jer 10:25).
4. ‘The word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH –’ (Jer 11:1). He now deprecates their disloyalty to the covenant, and demonstrates from examples the total corruption of the people, revealing that as a consequence their doom is irrevocably determined (Jer 11:1 to Jer 12:17). The section closes with a symbolic action which reveals the certainty of their expulsion from the land (13).
5. ‘The word that came from YHWH to Jeremiah –’ (Jer 14:1). “The word concerning the drought,” gives illustrative evidence confirming that the impending judgment of Judah cannot be turned aside by any prayers or entreaties, and that because of their sins Judah will be driven into exile. A promise of hope for the future when they will be restored to the land is, however, once more incorporated (Jer 16:14-15) although only with a view to stressing the general judgment (Jer 14:1 to Jer 17:4). The passage then closes with general explanations of what is at the root of the problem, and lays out cursings and blessings and demonstrates the way by which punishment might be avoided by a full response to the covenant as evidenced by observing the Sabbath (Jer 17:5-27).
6. ‘The word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH –’ (Jer 18:1). Chapters 18-19 then contain two oracles from God illustrated in terms of the Potter and his handiwork, which bring out on the one hand God’s willingness to offer mercy, and on the other the judgment that is about to come on Judah because of their continuance in sin and their refusal to respond to that offer. The consequence of this for Jeremiah, in chapter 20, is severe persecution, including physical blows and harsh imprisonment. This results in him complaining to YHWH in his distress, and cursing the day of his birth.
7. ‘The word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH –’ (Jer 21:1). This subsection, which is a kind of appendix to what has gone before, finally confirming the hopelessness of Jerusalem’s situation under Zedekiah. In response to an appeal from King Zedekiah concerning Judah’s hopes for the future Jeremiah warns that it is YHWH’s purpose that Judah be subject to Babylon (Jer 21:1-10). Meanwhile, having sent out a general call to the house of David to rule righteously and deal with oppression, he has stressed that no hope was to be nurtured of the restoration of either Shallum, the son of Josiah who had been carried off to Egypt, nor of Jehoiachin (Coniah), the son of Jehoiakim who had been carried off to Babylon. In fact no direct heir of Jehoiachin would sit upon the throne. And the reason that this was so was because all the current sons of David had refused to respond to his call to rule with justice and to stamp down on oppression. What had been required was to put right what was wrong in Judah, and reign in accordance with the requirements of the covenant. In this had lain any hope for the continuation of the Davidic monarchy. But because they had refused to do so only judgment could await them. Note in all this the emphasis on the monarchy as ‘sons of David’ (Jer 21:12; Jer 22:2-3). This is preparatory to the mention of the coming glorious son of David Who would one day come and reign in righteousness (Jer 23:3-8).
Jeremiah then heartily castigates the false shepherds of Judah who have brought Judah to the position that they are in and explains that for the present Judah’s sinful condition is such that all that they can expect is everlasting reproach and shame (Jer 23:9 ff). The subsection then closes (chapter 24) with the parable of the good and bad figs, the good representing the righteous remnant in exile who will one day return, the bad the people who have been left in Judah to await sword, pestilence, famine and exile.
8. ‘The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah –’ (Jer 25:1). This subsection contains Jeremiah’s own summary, given to the people in a sermon, describing what has gone before during the previous twenty three years of his ministry. It is also in preparation for what is to follow. He warns them that because they have not listened to YHWH’s voice the land must suffer for ‘seventy years’ in subjection to Babylon, and goes on to bring out that YHWH’s wrath will subsequently be visited on Babylon, and not only on them, but on ‘the whole world’. For YHWH will be dealing with the nations in judgment, something which will be expanded on in chapters 46-51. There is at this stage no mention of restoration, (except as hinted at in the seventy year limit to Babylon’s supremacy), and the chapter closes with a picture of the final desolation which is to come on Judah as a consequence of YHWH’s anger.
While the opening phrase ‘the word that came from YHWH to Jeremiah’ will appear again in Jer 30:1; Jer 32:1; Jer 34:8; Jer 35:1; Jer 40:1 it will only be after the sequence has been broken by other introductory phrases which link the word of YHWH with the activities of a particular king (e.g. Jer 25:1; Jer 26:1; Jer 27:1; Jer 28:1) where in each case the message that follows is limited in length. See also Jer 29:1 which introduces a letter from Jeremiah to the early exiles in Babylon. Looking at chapter 25 as the concluding chapter to the first part, this confirms a new approach from Jer 26:1 onwards, (apparent also in its content), while at the same time demonstrating that the prophecy must be seen as an overall unity.
Israel Is Held Up As An Example To Judah, Both Of Faithlessness And Of Hope For The Future ( Jer 3:6 to Jer 4:2 ).
Because of what they had done Israel were in exile, and were ashamed of their ways, but if only they would turn to Him in their exile they would be restored. For them there was hope. It was very different with ‘treacherous Judah’. They were without shame and without repentance.
Subsection 2). YHWH’s Solemn Warning To Judah In The Days Of Josiah ( Jer 3:6 to Jer 6:30 ).
This section can be divided into four parts:
Jer 3:6 to Jer 4:2. Israel is held up as an example to Judah, both of faithlessness and of hope for the future. For because of what they had done Israel were in exile, and were ashamed of their ways, but if only they would turn to Him in their exile they would be restored. For them there was hope. It was very different with ‘treacherous Judah’. They were without shame and without repentance.
Jer 4:3-31. YHWH warns Judah that if they will not repent invasion by a fierce adversary is threatening and will undoubtedly come because of their sins, something which calls to mind the vision of a world returned to its original unformed condition, and a nation in anguish.
Jer 5:1-31. YHWH presents the reasons why the invasion is necessary. It is because there are no righteous people in Jerusalem, and they are full of adultery (both spiritual and physical), and have grown fat and sleek, whilst they also appear to be unaware of Who He is, and their prophets and priests are untrustworthy.
Jer 6:1-30. YHWH stresses the imminence of the invasion which will be violent and complete, because He has rejected His people.
YHWH now gives a solemn warning to Judah based on what had happened to the northern tribes (‘the ten tribes’) as a result of their behaviour towards YHWH, thereby facing Judah up to the certainty of coming judgment if they do not amend their ways, a judgment that would come in the form of a ravaged land and exile for its people (Jer 3:6 to Jer 6:30). Included, however, within this warning, almost as an appetiser, is a brief glimpse of the everlasting kingdom, which was being offered to Israel, when YHWH will be seated on His throne, and all His people will look to Him as Father (Jer 3:12-18). Like Hosea, Isaiah, and other prophets before him Jeremiah balances his message of doom with promises of future blessing. Whatever Israel and Judah did, he knew that God’s purposes would not fail in the end.
In the words found in Jer 3:6 to Jer 6:30 we have now come to the only passage in chapters 1-20 which is specifically said to have been a revelation given, at least in part, during the days of a particular king, and in this case it is in the days of King Josiah. This is probably intended to underline the fact that Jeremiah’s early teaching, while giving an overall coverage, includes words spoken during that reign, and it is thus of prime importance as continually stressing that even during Josiah’s reign things were not well in Judah.
Having Given His Glowing Promises YHWH Now Describes The Present Situation Of Israel Which Is In Stark Contrast To The Glowing Picture That He Has Painted ( Jer 3:20 to Jer 4:2 ).
The beautiful vision just revealed of YHWH’s intentions for His people is in deliberate and stark contrast to the reality. For far from turning to Him in repentance Israel are seen as set in their evil ways. They are like a wife who has treacherously deserted her husband, and in their perverted way are weeping and praying on the bare heights to gods who will not profit, because they have forgotten YHWH their God. This may refer to the exiles, or to the remnants who had remained in the land, or to both.
Nevertheless unfailingly He still offers them the opportunity of repentance. They are, however depicted as seeing themselves as beyond repentance, superficially recognising that YHWH is indeed the only Saviour, but being filled with deep shame because their penchant for idolatry (‘the shameful thing’) has resulted in the loss of everything that they had previously possessed, with the result that they feel that they can only lie down in shame and allow their confusion to cover them because of the depths of their sin against YHWH. They feel totally lost and without hope.
But YHWH then promises that if only they will truly come to Him in true repentance, putting away their idols, they can be delivered from their helpless state and become established in YHWH in truth and righteousness and a blessing to the nations. God’s mercy is still being offered to smitten Israel. There is in this a wonderful picture of the continuing graciousness of God towards those who have rejected Him, and to those who backslide. And it includes us, for had it not been for His continuing mercy in the face of our sin, where would we have been?
Jer 3:20
“Surely as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel,” says YHWH.
Israel’s true state is made clear. They have dealt treacherously with God like a wife who has treacherously deserted her husband (which was why they were now in exile). Note therefore that it is not only Judah who are treacherous. It was just that Judah were more treacherous both in their hypocritical double standards and in their ignoring what had happened to Israel.
Jer 3:21
“A voice is heard on the bare heights, the weeping and the supplications of the children of Israel, because they have perverted their way, they have forgotten YHWH their God.”
In a vivid picture the truth about them is made clear. On the bare heights (compare Jer 3:2) where they had always gone to meet with their idolatrous gods they are still weeping before them and making supplication to them, and this was clear evidence that they had perverted their way and had forgotten YHWH. They were totally taken up with their idols. Or the idea may be that the remnants of Israel still in the land were weeping there in desperation for their stricken land. Not all of Israel had been taken into exile. A remnant still struggled on in the land.
Some see their weeping as directed at YHWH, but that would hardly have been on the bare heights where the false sanctuaries were, and had they so wept they would have been received back and forgiven.
Jer 3:22
“Return (shubu), you backsliding (shubebim) children, I will heal your backslidings (shubethecem).”
So YHWH calls on Israel (this chapter is all about Northern Israel, being held up as an example to Judah) as His backsliding (turning away) children to return back so that He may ‘heal their backslidings (turnings away)’, by forgiving them and restoring them to the true path, and then restoring to them all that they have lost. The term backsliding (turning) includes the thoughts of falling away, turning away from Him, going far from Him and stubborn resistance to YHWH’s call. To bring out the force of the Hebrew we might translate as, ‘Turn back you turning away people, and I will heal your turnings away’.
Jer 3:22
-23 “Behold, we are come to you, for you are YHWH our God. Truly in vain is (the help that is looked for) from the hills, the tumult on the mountains. Truly in YHWH our God is the salvation of Israel.”
Israel are then portrayed as ostentatiously and hypocritically acknowledging their folly and coming to Him. In doing so they profess to recognise that YHWH is their true God, and that all their attempts to look for help from the hills and to persuade the gods to act by all their tumultuous rituals and activities had been in vain. They profess to recognise that in truth YHWH alone is their God and is the only One Who can bring about the salvation of Israel. But it was not from the heart. They were simply oscillating in their despair between YHWH and their idols, assuring first one and then the other of their loyalty. (This is paralleled by the way that nations seek God at a time of national crisis with all kinds of expressions of submission, and then subsequently once again forget Him).
The introduction of ‘the help that is looked for’, which is not in the Hebrew, is in order to give the idea behind the literal ‘truly as a lie from the hills is the tumult on the mountains’. This is on the basis of the fact that as they have turned for help to YHWH, it was a recognition that what was from the hills had failed. The omission of words leaving the reader/hearer to fill them in is a feature of ancient Hebrew.
Jer 3:24
“But the shameful thing has devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.”
But then they have to recognise the realities of the situation. They have lost everything. For ‘the shameful thing’ (their idolatrous behaviour) has devoured everything that their fathers had worked for and had produced from their youth. This may signify the centuries of wasted sacrifices, or that now they had lost their flocks and their herds, and many had lost their sons and their daughters, to the invader. And they were in exile among the nations. It had been a bitter price to pay (but brings out how seriously God treats sin, seeing it as no light matter).
Jer 3:25
“Let us lie down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us, for we have sinned against YHWH our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of YHWH our God.”
Thus they feel that they can only lie down in their shame and let their confusion cover them. For they recognise that they have sinned against YHWH their God, both them and their fathers, from their youth (just as they had worked from their youth (Jer 3:24) to build up their herds and flocks while ignoring YHWH) and even to this day. And they had not obeyed YHWH their God. It is a true summary of Israel’s state. But their repentance was not deep enough to genuinely bring them back to Him.
Jer 4:1-2
“If you will return, O Israel,” says YHWH, “if you will return to me, and if you will put away your abominations out of my sight, then you will not be removed, and you will swear, ‘As YHWH lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, and the nations will bless themselves in him, and in him will they glory.”
But YHWH is ever ready to respond in mercy. He assures them that if they will genuinely turn to Him, and will put away their idols (their ‘abominations’) out of His sight, then once they have returned they will not again be removed. They will then be in a position to swear ‘as YHWH lives’ in truth and justice and righteousness. For having come to Him in repentance they will know Him and His living power, and will know that He is the living God, and will have become established in truth, justice and righteousness as a result of His inworking within them. And the consequence of this will be that the nations will bless themselves in YHWH, and will glory in Him. Israel’s turning to YHWH will result also in the nations coming to Him. This was always the final goal of the prophets. And it found its fulfilment when the remnant from among Israel truly repented and responded to Jesus Christ (Acts 2-12) and as a result proclaimed His truth among the nations.
Jer 4:3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
Jer 4:3 Jer 4:3 Comments – In the early spring of 1994 Bob Seymour received a vision from God while in Ireland regarding the coming of revival that helped him to understand why laughter had become so much a part of revivals that was taking place during the 1990’s. In this vision he say what looked like a children’s storybook entitled “Pre-revival”. The book contained a picture of a woman’s womb with twins in her womb. The Lord spoke to him and said that the son of the left was the son of tears with its four accompanying characteristics of crying, weeping groaning and mourning. The son of the right was the son of laughter with its four accompanying characteristics of joy, gladness, hilarity and exuberance. When he turned the page he saw these two sons of tears and laughter in their adolescence moving through crowds of saints in church services touching them by laying hands upon them many times as well as alternately. When Pastor Seymour asked the Lord why tears and laughter were prerequisites to revival, the Lord showed him this vision. He saw a well-worn pathway upon which the rain simply ran off without soaking into its soil because it was too compact for the water to penetrate so that the soil could not receive the rain. The rain simply flowed over its surface. Then at the end of the pathway he saw these two boys plowing up the compacted path. At first it came up in huge lumps, but was soon broken up into smaller pieces. Then the Lord’s hand came down and ground up the soil into a fine texture. The Lord then said, “The seeds of revival have landed on the path for many years, but the soil was not ready to receive them. Now the seeds will be planted and the plants will grow and be harvested with much fruit. For I will pour my rain on a thirsty soil and the seed will germinate.” While he saw this vision, there rang in his ears two verses of Scripture, Jer 4:3 and Hos 10:12 about the fallow ground. Then he understood why laughter was a part of tears in bringing revival since these characteristics prepare our hearts to receive from God. [13]
[13] Bob Seymour, “Sermon on Relationships,” Calvary Cathedral International, Fort Worth, Texas, 28 September 1995.
As a seminary student I once heard a seasoned professor say that if you can get your class to laugh, then they would believe anything you said to them. In other words, laughter as well as tears opens our hearts.
Jer 4:22 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.
Jer 4:22 Jer 4:23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
Jer 4:23
A Last Call to Return
v. 1. If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return unto Me, v. 2. And thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth, in truth, v. 3. For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, v. 4. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord and take away the foreskins of your heart, EXPOSITION
Jer 4:1, Jer 4:2
The form and structure of the translation require a change. Render, If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith Jehovah, wilt return unto me; and if thou wilt put away, etc; and not wander; and wilt swear, As Jehovah liveth, with good faith, with justice, and with righteousness; then shall the nations bless themselves by him, and in him shall they glory. The clause, “and not wander,” seems too short; the Septuagint had a choicer reading, “and put away, etc; from his [thy] mouth, and not wander from before me.” It is the close of the prophecy which we have here. The prophet subjoins a promise which he has heard from Jehovah. True, it does not appeal to Israel’s self-love (as Isa 48:18, Isa 48:19; Psa 81:13-16), but to a nobler feeling of responsibility for the world’s welfare. Israel has been entrusted with a mission, and on the due performance of this mission hangs the weal or woe of humanity. Hence Jehovah’s longing for Israel’s repentance. If Israel will but “return,” and obey God’s commandments, all nations will be attracted to the true religion. The form of expression used for the latter statement is borrowed probably from Gen 22:18; Gen 26:4 (it is less closely parallel with Gen 12:3; Gen 18:18). To “bless by“ any one is to use his name in the benediction formula. Seeing Israel so blessed through his allegiance to Jehovah, all nations shall wish themselves a similar blessing (the reverse of the process in Jer 29:22; comp. Isa 65:16). To “swear, As Jehovah liveth,” means to call Jehovah to witness to the truth of a statement. This is to be done “with good faith,” etc; i.e. the object of the oath must be consistent with honesty and probity. Abominations; i.e. idols, as often (see 2Ki 23:24).
Jer 4:3
There is no occasion to separate Jer 4:3, Jer 4:4, from the preceding prophecy. We have other instances of as sudden a transition from the Israelites (in the narrower sense) to the men of Judah (see Isa 8:6-14; Isa 10:1-4; Isa 28:1-6; in the writer’s commentary). For thus, etc. “For” is here not causal, but explanatory: “I say this not only to the men of Israel, but to you, O men of Judah, who need the admonition to repentance, how deeply!” (see Jer 5:2). Break up your fallow ground; the same figure as in Hos 10:12. To understand it we must read the clause in connection with the following one. Sow not among thorns. The prophet means, though he does not say so, the roots which will spring up into thorns. “Do not plant your good resolutions in a heart filled up with the roots of thorns, but first rake up the soil, and clear it of noxious germs, and then sow the seed which will grow up in a holy life” (comp. Mat 13:7).
Jer 4:4
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord. A significant passage. All the Jews were circumcised, but not all were “circumcised to the Lord.” There were but too many who were “circumcised in uncircumcision” (Jer 9:25), and the prophet sternly reduces ouch circumcision to the level of the heathenish rite of cutting off the hair (Jer 9:26; comp. Herod. 3.8). Jeremiah seems to have been specially anxious to counteract a merely formal, ritualistic notion of circumcision, sharing in this, as in other points, the influence of the Book of Deuteronomy, so lately found in the temple (comp. Deu 10:16). To him the venerable rite of circumcision (older, certainly, than Abraham) is a symbol of the devotion of the heart to its rightful Lord (comp. St. Paul in Rom 2:28, Rom 2:29; Col 2:11; Php 3:3).
Jer 4:5-31
A revelation of grievous purport has suddenly reached the prophet. See how the foe draws nearer and nearer, and how alarm drives the scattered population to seek for refuge in the fortified cities. Can such be the issue of the promises of peace with which Jehovah has encouraged his people? Such are the contents of the first paragraph (Jer 4:5-10). Next,-in short, detached figures the prophet sets forth the sin of the people and its punishment. Like a scorching simoom is the former; like swift clouds, and like a whirlwind, is the onward march of the instruments of the latter. Swift, indeed, must repentance be, if it is to outrun punishment. For the northern peoples are already here (Jer 4:11-18). The impression is so strong on the mind of the prophet that he vents himself in language such as the last man might employ on the morrow of the final judgment day (Jer 4:19-26). And now, “lest what precedes might seem only poetry” (Payne Smith), the Divine decree is solemnly announced. The judgment is irrevocable; but there is a gleam of hope: “I will not make a full end.” On the question whether the Scythians or the Baby-Ionians are mainly alluded to, see Introduction.)
Jer 4:5
Cry, gather together; rather, cry aloud.
Jer 4:6
Set up the standard. The “standard” was a tall pole with a flag, pointing in the direction of Zion, for the guidance of fugitives. Retire, stay not; rather, save your goods by flight; linger not. The former verb occurs again in the same sense in Exo 9:19; Isa 10:31. From the north. The expression suits either the Scythians or the Chaldeans (see on Jer 1:14).
Jer 4:7
The lion; the symbol of irresistible might and royalty (Gen 49:7; Rev 5:5). Of the Gentiles; rather, of the nations. There is no reference to the distinction between Jews and Gentiles; the Jews themselves are not allowed to escape. An ordinary lion attacks individual men; this lion destroys nations. Is on his way; literally, has broken up his encampmenta phrase perhaps suggested by the nomad Scythiaus.
Jer 4:8
Is not turned back from us. As we in our folly believed (Jer 2:35).
Jer 4:9
The heart shall perish; i.e. they shall lose their reason. The same verb in Ethiopic means “to be mad.” The “heart” in Old Testament language is the center of the intellectual as well as of the moral life (comp. Hos 4:11; Job 12:24; Pro 15:28). So St. Ephrem the Syrian says (‘Works,’ in Syriac, 2.316, quoted by Delitzsch), “The reason expatiates in the heart as in a palace.”
Jer 4:10
Ah, Lord God! rather, Alas! O Lord Jehovah (see on Jer 1:6). Thou hast greatly deceived this people, etc. Much difficulty has been felt in interpreting this verse, partly because it seems directly to charge Jehovah with “deceit,” and partly because the prophecy, Ye shall have peace, on which this charge is founded, accords exactly with the strain of the “false prophets” (see Jer 6:14; Jer 14:13; Jer 23:17). Hence some (e.g. Ewald) have altered the points of the verb at the beginning of the verse; so as] to enable them to render. “And one shall say,” the subject understood being either a “false prophet” or one of the people. This view is not in itself impossible (Keil’s objection will not bear examination), but is not absolutely necessary, for the present is not the only passage in which Jeremiah, under the influence of strong emotion, charges Jehovah with “deceit”, and the words, “Ye shall have peace, may be meant to summarize the cheering promises in Jer 3:14-18. Jeremiah may (it is not incorrect to conjecture) have supposed the fulfillment of his prophecy to be nearer than it really was; hence his disappointment, and hence his strong language. So St. Jerome, “Quia supra dixerat, In illo tempore vocabunt Jerusalem solium Dei, etc.. et nunc dicit, Peribit cor regis, turbatur propheta et in se Deum putat esse meutitum; nec intelligit, illud multa post tempera repromissum, hoc autem vicino futurum tempore.” To suppose, with Keil, that Jeremiah refers the prophecies of the “false prophets” to God as their ultimate Author, seems inconsistent with Jeremiah’s own statements in Jer 14:14 (comp. Jer 5:13). Moreover, we have parallels elsewhere in the prophets, as well as in the Book of Job, for the use of language with regard to Providence which a calmer judgment would condemn. A notable instance is Isa 63:17, where the Jewish Church, through its mouthpiece the prophet, throws the responsibility of its errors upon Jehovah. Depressed by melancholy, they give way for the moment to those human “thoughts” which are not as “My thoughts.” They felt the “burden of the mystery.” Unto the soul; i.e. unto the life.
Jer 4:11
Shall it be said to this people; i.e. words like these may be used with reference to this people. A dry wind, etc.; literally, a clear wind (but the notions of dryness and heat are closely connected with that of heat; comp. Isa 18:4). The prophet doubtless means the east wind, which is very violent in Palestine, and, of course, quite unsuitable for the winnowing process. High places should rather be bare hills. Toward; or (is) the way of. So Hitzig, supposing the conduct of the Jews to be likened to a wind which brings no blessing, but only drought and desolation.
Jer 4:12
Even a full wind from those places. The passage is obscure, but this is a very possible rendering. “Full,” equivalent to “violent;” “those (places),” equivalent to the bare hills spoken of in Jer 4:11. Keil and Payne Smith, however, render, “a fuller wind than those,” i.e. a more violent wind than those which serve for winnowing the corn; while Hitzig (see on Jer 4:11) supposes “from those” to mean the persons described in Jer 4:11 as “the daughter of my people.” Unto me; or perhaps for me, at my beck and call. Now also will I, etc. We must supply the other term of the antithesis from the context: “As they have sinned against me, so will I also now hold a court of justice upon them” (see on Jer 1:16).
Jer 4:13
He shall come up as clouds, etc. It is needless to name the subject; who can it be but the host of Jehovah’s warlike instruments? (For the first figure, comp. Eze 38:16; for the second, Isa 5:28; Isa 66:15; and for the third, Hab 1:8; Deu 28:49.) Woe unto us! etc. The cry of lamentation of the Jews (comp. Jer 4:20; Jer 9:18).
Jer 4:14
Thy vain thoughts. The phrase specially belongs to sins against one’s neighborsuch sins as are described in Jer 7:5-9 (Keil). “Vain” should rather be “wicked” (immoral); the root-meaning of the noun is “a breath” (the symbol of material or moral emptiness).
Jer 4:15
For a voice declareth, etc. There is no time to lose, for already news of the foe has arrived. He is now at Dan, the northern frontier-town, and is heard of almost as soon in the hill-country of Ephraim.
Jer 4:16
Make ye mention, etc. This verse contains a call to the neighboring nations to take notice of an event which nearly concerns them all. True, it is only the investment of Jerusalem which can as yet be reported, but there can hardly be a doubt of the issue, and the capture of the principal fortress will at once be followed by that of the other fortified “cities of Judah.” Against in the second clause should rather be concerning. (For the use of “behold” before an imperative, comp. Psa 134:1.) Watchers; i.e. besiegers (comp. Jer 4:17), who like the panther lie in wait for every one who comes out of the city, to kill him (Jer 5:6; comp. Jer 6:25).
Jer 4:17
As keepers of a field. The prophet compares the tents, or perhaps the booths (1Ki 20:12, 1Ki 20:16), of the besieging army to the booths of the guardians of the crepe (Isa 1:8; Job 27:18).
Jer 4:18
This is thy wickedness; i.e. the effect of thy wickedness. (For the following words, comp. Jer 2:19; Jer 4:10.) Because; rather, truly.
Jer 4:19
My bowels. It is doubted whether the speaker in Jer 4:19-21 is the prophet or the whole nation. Jer 4:19 reminds us of Isa 15:5; Isa 16:11 and Isa 21:3, Isa 21:4, and would be quite in harmony with the elegiac tone of our prophet elsewhere; the Targum too already regards the passage as an exclamation of the prophet. On the other hand, the phrase “my tents” (verse 20) certainly implies that the people, or the pious section of the people, is the speaker. Both views may perhaps be united. The prophet may be the speaker in verse 19, but simply (as is the case with so many of the psalmists) as the representative of his fellow-believers, whom in verse 20 he brings on the stage more directly. Verse 19 is best rendered as a series of exclamations
“My bowels! my bowels! I must writhe in pain! Observe, the “soul” hears; the “heart” is pained. So generally the one is more active, the other more passive. The Hebrew margin gives, for “I must writhe,” “I must wait” (comp. Mic 7:7); but this rendering does not suit the context. The walls of my heart. A poetical way of saying, “My heart beats.”
Jer 4:20
My tents. Jeremiah uses a similar phrase in Jer 30:18 (comp. also 2Sa 20:1; 1Ki 8:66; 1Ki 12:16; Psa 132:3; also Isa 29:1, “city where David encamped, i.e. dwelt”). The expression is evidently a “survival” of the nomadic, tent-dwelling age. (Comp. the parallel phrase, “my curtains,” i.e. my tent-curtains; comp. Jer 10:20; Isa 54:2; Son 1:5.)
Jer 4:21
Shall I see the standard. (See on Jer 4:6.)
Jer 4:22
For my people is foolish. The Lord gives no direct answer to the complaining question in Jer 4:21. He simply states the moral ground for Judah’s calamity, and implies that this will last so long as the people continue to be “foolish,” i.e. virtual deniers of the true God.
Jer 4:23
I beheld. The prophet is again the speaker, but in a calmer mood. God’s judgment has been pronounced, and it is not for him to rebel. He has now simply to record the vision of woe which has been granted him. He foresees the utter desolation into which not only the land of Judah, but the earth in general, will be brought, and which reminds him of nothing so much as the “waste and wild” condition of the earth previous to the first creative word. But why is “the earth” mentioned in this connection? Because the judgment upon Judah is but one act in the great general judgment which, when completed, will issue in a fresh order of things (comp. Isa 3:14, Isa 3:15, where side by side are mentioned Jehovah’s judgment of “the peoples” and of “his people,” and Isa 24:1-23; where the judgment upon the enemies of Israel is interwoven with the judgment upon “the earth”). Without form, and void; rather, waste and wild (to represent in some degree the characteristic assonance of the originaltohu va-bohu); more literally, immovable and lifeless. It is the phrase used in Genesis L 2 for primeval chaos. Tohu and bohu occur in parallel lines in Isa 34:11, to express utter desolation; tohu alone five times in the Book of Isaiah, and once in Job. They had no light. The heavens were in the same condition as on the third day, subsequently to the creation of the heavens, but prior to that of the luminaries.
Jer 4:24
Moved lightly; rather, moved to and fro.
Jer 4:26
The fruitful place; rather, the garden-land (see on Jer 2:7). Not “the Carmel” (Keil, Payne Smith) for the context refers to the whole of the country, not to any single tract. The article before the two appellatives is the generic. At the presence of; rather, by reason of.
Jer 4:27
The vision breaks off, and the prophet emphasizes its truthfulness by the announcement of the Divine decree. “Desolation, and yet not a full end,” is its burden. This is the same doctrine of the” remnant” which formed so important a part of the prophetic message of Isaiah and his contemporaries. However severe the punishment of Judah may be, there will be a “remnant” which shall escape, and become the seed of a holier nation (Amo 9:8; Isa 4:2; Isa 6:13; Isa 10:20; Isa 11:11; Hos 6:1,Hos 6:2).
Jer 4:28
For this; i.e. because of the impending judgment. Be black. “To be black” is equivalent to “to put on mourning” (comp. Jer 8:21; Jer 14:2).
Jer 4:29
The whole city. The reading of which this is a version can hardly be the right one; for “the whole city” can only be Jerusalem, and in Jer 4:6 the people outside are bidden to take refuge in the capital. Hence Ewald, Hitzig, and Payne Smith would slightly amend the word rendered “city,” so as to translate “the whole land” (of Judah). Shall flee; literally, fleeth. So afterwards render, “have gone is forsaken,” “dwelleth.” It is a vivid dramatic representation of the effects of the invasion. Bowmen. It is singular that Herodotus should say nothing about the use of the bow by the Chaldeans. But the monuments give ample evidence that they were a people of archers. So of course were the Scythians, as Herodotus testifies. The rooks; i.e. the limestone caverns which abound in Palestine, and which were frequently used as strongholds and hiding-places (see Jdg 6:2; Jdg 15:8; 1Sa 13:6; 1Sa 14:11; 1Sa 24:3 (especially); 1Ki 18:13).
Jer 4:30
And when thou art spoiled, etc. It is Jerusalem who is addressedJerusalem, personified as a woman, who decks herself out finely to please her admirers. All these arts are in vain, for a violent repulsion has converted her lovers into her deadly enemies. And when Jerusalem is “spoiled,” or taken by storm, what device will there be left to attempt? The “lovers” are the foreign powers to whom the Jews paid court (Jer 2:18, Jer 2:36, 87). Though thou rentest thy face, etc; alluding to the custom of Eastern women, who try to make their eyes seem larger by putting powdered antimony (the Arabic kohl) upon their eyelids. So, for instance, did Jezebel (see 2Ki 11:1-21 :30); and one of Job’s daughters received the name Keren-happuch, “box of antimony,” i.e. one who sets off the company in which she is, as antimony does the eye. An old author, Dr. Shaw, writes thus: “None of these ladies take themselves to be completely dressed till they have tinged the hair and edges of their eyelids with the powder of lead ore. And as this operation is performed by dipping first into this powder a small wooden bodkin of the thickness of a quill, and then drawing it afterwards through the eyelids over the ball of the eye, we have a lively image of what the prophet (Jer 4:30) may be supposed to mean”.
Jer 4:31
For I have heard a voice, etc. This explains the preceding statement, “They will seek thy life.” It is this murderous plot which calls forth the “cry as of a woman in pangs.” Bewaileth herself; rather, sigheth deeply. Her hands; literally, her palms. Is wearied because of murderers; rather, fainteth into the hands of (literally, is treaty unto) the murderers.
HOMILETICS
Jer 4:3
Fallow ground.
Fallow ground is land that has fallen out of cultivation, or that has never been cultivated, and this has its counterpart in the broad fields of humanity, in the nations or individual men who are not under the influence of spiritual cultivation.
I. FALLOW GROUND IS COMPARATIVELY FRUITLESS. It may not be utterly fruitless. Even the bramble bears its wholesome fruit, and good thoughts and good deeds spring up in the midst of heathen nations and irreligious people. God’s Spirit has not wholly deserted any. But such fruit is poor compared with the fruit of cultivation, and the crop of it is thin. The good which still pertains to a neglected soul is imperfect, and small in the extreme compared with the good which would spring up in that soul under proper spiritual influences. The highest thought, the purest morality, the noblest effort, the largest charity, are only to be found where the spiritual life is cultivated by worship, instruction, and discipline.
II. FALLOW GROUND BEARS WEEDS. If there are no flowers in a neglected garden, the soil will not be unoccupied. Dropped by birds in their flight, borne on the wings of the wind, in some way, myriads of seeds will find entrance into that garden and spring up in luxuriant growth. The neglected garden is not a barren desert; it is a wilderness. The neglected soul will not be merely deficient of good; it will bear a crop of evil. The heart cannot endure a void. If it is not filled with pure thoughts, it will indulge in unholy imaginations; if it has no object of worthy love, its affections will descend and twine about some debased object; if it is not active in doing good, it will be diligent in doing harm. In proportion to the gifts and powers of the soul will be the evil that will come out of it when neglected; the more fertile the soft, the more abundant the crop of weeds.
III. FALLOW GROUND IS SUSCEPTIBLE OF CULTIVATION. It is not rock, but good soil. The most brutalized man is not yet a brute. Conscience slumbers, is not killed. The Divine image in the soul is worn in the traffic of worldliness and fouled in the mire of sin, but it is not effaced. The disobedient son is still a son. Hence there is hope for the most neglected heathen, the worst sinner, the oldest enemy of Christ.
IV. FALLOW GROUND MUST BE BROKEN UP. Throw bushels of wheat among the thorns, and the thorns will only “choke” it (Mat 13:7). Till the old evil is torn from the heart, the new truth cannot grow and bear fruit there. Men must repent of sin before they can receive the seed of eternal life to profit. John the Baptist must precede Christ. So long as we are cherishing any sin we are preventing the growth of fruitful graces. The mere hearing of the truth is not enough. If the heart is hard, it will not receive it (Isa 6:10). If the heart is preoccupied, the truth will be soon forgotten, or as best will be crushed out of all living energy. Hence the heart must not only be cleared of weeds, it must be softened. The plough must break up the fallow ground.
V. IT IS OUR DUTY TO BREAK UP THE FALLOW GROUND. Men must be prepared for receiving the gospel of Christ. We are too eager to sow the seed. Hence the slight returns we have for so much effort and expenditure. People are called to “accept Christ” who do not know Christ, and would have no room in their hearts to receive him if they did know him. Much So-called “gospel preaching” thus meets with ridicule, or indifference, or bewildered surprise. If we were less hasty in seeking brilliant results we should see more true, fruitful returns for our work. Christ was not always and only crying, “Come unto me!” “Follow me!” Less pleasing, and in some eyes less important, words were often seen by him to be necessary. Men need instructing as well as inviting, rebuking as well as exhorting.
VI. THE DUTY OF BREAKING UP THE FALLOW GROUND IS GREAT AND PRESSING. How much fallow ground there is
(1) in the world!think of India, China, Africa, the godless of Europe;
(2) in the Church!how many enjoy its privileges! How few maintain its work! and
(3) in our own hearts!what faculties are wasted! What opportunities for good neglected!
Jer 4:10
Divine illusions.
I. GOOD MEN MAY MISJUDGE GOD‘S ACTIONS. The words of the text are not spoken with Divine authority; on the contrary, they are given in historical narrative as a record of the personal utterance of the prophet. He does not preface them with the august claim of authority, “Thus saith the Lord;” he distinctly says, “Then said I.” Without needing to look for any other rendering of the text, we may consider it as throwing light on the condition of the prophet’s mind, rather than as a difficult scriptural declaration of God’s character and mode of acting. Thus we may see in it an expression of hasty judgment, misunderstanding, irritable impatience, complaint. If so, it warns us to beware of the prejudiced or impassioned utterances of the best and wisest men (Psa 116:11), and to be more cautious in forming judgments on difficult aspects of providence and religion, since even prophets err.
II. IT IS DIFFICULT TO JUDGE RIGHTLY OF GOD‘S ACTIONS WHILE WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF THEM. We are too near to have the right perspective. The character of an action cannot be judged till its ultimate design is revealed. Many things look wrong because they are parts of a whole the remainder of which is unseen. Pride, passion, self-interest, and prejudice pervert our judgment. We must wait for time to clear up many dark passages in earthly providence (Joh 13:7). The inconsistency which seemed palpable to Jeremiah is less felt by us.
III. GOD‘S ACTIONS ARE SOMETIMES ILLUSORY TO US. There was a measure of truth in the rash cry of the prophet. God never deceives. Yet his utterance may be misunderstood by us. God is said to harden the heart when his action results in this evil condition through the misconduct of men, and not at all through his wish to bring that evil about. So God might almost be said to deceive (though the expression is misleading) when his Word is such that we fall into a misconception in hearing it.
IV. THE ILLUSORY CHARACTER OF SOME OF GOD‘S ACTIONS IS DETERMINED BY COMMON LIMITATIONS AND IMPERFECTIONS. Some truths are revealed, while qualifying truths are necessarily hidden because we could not understand them. No mention is made of the time of the fulfillment of a promise; hence we think it will be immediate, and are disappointed when we see delay and find unexpected troubles coming first. One part of God’s Word may seem to contradict another when they refer to different conditions, but conditions not yet revealed to us.
V. TRUTH AND HUMAN WELFARE ARE BETTER SERVED BY THESE ILLUSIONS THAN BY REVELATIONS WHICH ADMIT OF NO MISCONSTRUCTION. If the child were never allowed to stumble, he would never learn to walk. We are educated by temporary illusions for higher truths than could be attained by plainer paths. Thus we know more of God and of heaven through the anthropomorphic and materialistic language of much of Scripture, which has resulted in gross misconceptions at times, than we should have learnt from language made bare enough to be unmistakable.
Jer 4:14
The cleansing of the heart a necessary condition of salvation.
I. SALVATION IS PROMISED ON THE SIMPLEST POSSIBLE CONDITIONS. The very mention of conditions suggests difficulties, delays, barriers. But the only conditions required are in our own power, are simply such as are necessary to make the reception of the salvation of God possible to us, and do not refer to the source of it. We are not to save ourselves, not to purchase nor to merit salvation, but only to be in a right condition to receive it.
II. SALVATION IS ONLY POSSIBLE WHERE THERE IS A CLEANSING FROM WICKEDNESS. The soul that clings to sin cannot also grasp the Savior. If it would be right to deliver men from the painful consequences of wickedness while they remained under the power of it, it must have been wrong ever to have permitted those consequences. If it is not unjust to forgive the impenitent, it is unjust to punish them, which is absurd.
III. THE CLEANSING FROM WICKEDNESS MUST BE IN THE HEART. There all sin has its origin. Clean hands are vain without a pure heart. Reformation must not simply be moral, it must be spiritualnot a change of habits, but a purification of thought, affection, and desire.
IV. THE DUTY OF CLEANSING OUR HEARTS FROM WICKEDNESS RESTS UPON OURSELVES The text is not a promise, but an exhortation. True, no one can purify himself by hit own efforts alone (Jer 2:22). God has provided the fountain for uncleanness, and only they who wash in this are clean. But men must plunge into the purifying flood, must make the effort of repentance, must seek the cleansing which is promised through Christ, must submit to the baptism of the Holy Ghost, must actively apply themselves to the execution of good deeds in the power given by God. Compare the words of Isaiah (Isa 1:16).
V. THERE IS NO REASON TO DELAY THE CLEANSING OF OUR HEARTS. “How long shall thoughts of wickedness lodge within thee?” The longer repentance is postponed, the more difficult does it become; the more numerous are the stains of sin, the nearer is the approach of doom. Since it is for men to seek the cleansing of their souls, any delay must be attributed to their negligence, not to God’s unwillingness to help them.
Jer 4:22
The folly of misdirected wisdom.
I. WICKEDNESS IS FOLLY. The “fool,” according to Scripture, is both morally corrupt and intellectually imbecile (e g. Psa 107:17). There is a truth underlying the saying of Socrates, that “Virtue is knowledge, and vice is ignorance.” It is apparent, indeed, that men may have an intellectual conception of the right while they do wrong, as also that good men may fall into error. But, on the other hand:
1. We cannot progress in goodness till we discern the way; we must know God to love him, recognize the good to choose it.
2. Immorality deadens the faculty of spiritual intuition; purity purges the vision of the soul.
3. Wisdom is not mere intelligence, but applied intelligence, practical intelligence. It is not perfected till it is practiced. He who knows the good is not wise until he does it; and he who does right from instinct, habit, or mere inclination is not really performing a moral action. An action is moral when it is performed with an intelligent regard to principle, i.e. when it is under the direction of spiritual wisdom.
II. THE FOLLY OF WICKEDNESS MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH MISDIRECTED WISDOM. The “fool” in spiritual things may be a worldly wise man and clever in the execution of wickedness. Ironical as is the language of the text, it may often find a literal application. Shrewd business men may be spiritually blind. Men who are wakeful and eager in material concerns become dull and listless when they touch higher interests. This may be explained by two considerations.
1. We develop most wisdom in regard to those things which interest us most. Interest rouses attention, quickens perception, excites inquiry, stimulates intellectual activity; while lack of interest leaves the mind in a slumberous condition, working at half-power. If we feel no interest in goodness, we shall be dull and foolish in regard to it.
2. Spiritual wisdom depends upon a spiritual tone of mind. The greatest intelligence is not capable of detecting subtle harmonies and discords if it is not accompanied by “an ear for music.” The cold intellect, which is but a huge calculating-machine, has not the fitting powers of perception for discerning spiritual truth. This requires a spiritual sympathy (1Co 2:14). Therefore
(1) let the man of conscious intellectual power beware of the danger of assuming to judge spiritual questions before he has acquired the requisite spiritual qualification; and
(2) let us all beware of attaching too much weight to the religious motives of people who may be able business men, clever literary critics, and even profound students of science, and yet in moral regions “blind leaders of the blind.”
III. MISDIRECTED WISDOM IS THE HEIGHT OF FOLLY. The very ability, misapplied, witnesses for the foolishness which permitted so gross a mistake. These people who are “wise to do evil’ are on the whole “foolish,” “sottish,” and “have no understanding.” The man who is prudent enough to exercise forethought for this life only enhances his folly in having none for the future life (Luk 12:16-21). He who knows much of worldly things is convicted of grossest darkness in not knowing God. The born fool is excused by his misfortune of nature. But how foolish for the man who shows himself capable of wisdom to neglect the highest wisdom! Note, in conclusion,
(1) the common mistake of honoring men for their intellectual ability rather than for their moral character;
(2) the error of those who pride themselves in “knowing the world,’* while they are ignorant of God (Rom 16:19); and
(3) the need to turn from intellectual pride to childlike trust for the source of true wisdom (Mat 11:25).
Jer 4:23-26
Chaos the result of sin.
I. SIN HAS A RETROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT. In his vision of the earth desolated by a Divine judgment on sin, Jeremiah sees a relapse to the primeval condition before the dawn of creation, and in his graphic description uses the very words of the narrative in Genesis. He describes the earth as “waste and wild.” Every step in sin is a step downward, backward. It is backsliding. How rapid this is! One generation sees the fall back to the condition from which it had taken ages to build up the order of the world. One day’s sin may undo the work of years in a soul’s progress. One age of misrule may throw a nation back for centuries.
II. SIN HAS A DISINTEGRATING INFLUENCE. It breaks up the fair order of the world and tends to reduce it to chaos. Religion and morality are the chief securities for order, the strongest bands of social unity. Vice is a social solvent, destroying ties of trust and affection, undermining the foundations of industrial co-operation. It is corruption, and corruption means decomposition. This may be applied
(1) politically,
(2) socially,
(3) personally.
III. SIN HAS A DESOLATING EFFECT. The earth is seen as not only wild; it is “waste,” i.e. fruitless, solitary, desolate. The fruitful place becomes a wilderness, and the whole land desolate, the result of the retrogressive and disintegrating influences of sin is not to reduce the world to a state of elementary simplicity. It introduces confusion, turmoil, disaster, death. The loss of goodness involves the admission of evil passions, and the advent of these is followed by the irruption of misery with no prospect of peace but in death and destruction (Jas 1:15).
Jer 4:30
The abject helplessness which resorts to false pretensions and its failure.
I. ABJECT HELPLESSNESS. This follows the discovery or punishment of sin. It is when Israel “is spoiled.” Israel is boastful and self-confident before the disaster comes; the prophet advises him to consider what he will do after it has fallen on him. What can be done in such a case? The sin cannot be undone; once revealed it cannot be hidden again; punishment from God cannot be successfully resisted by man. It is vain, then, to call on the mountains to fall and cover us (Luk 23:30). How dreadful to be thus confounded! Left without excuse, without refuge, without remedy! How much better to anticipate this conclusion and prevent it!
II. FALSE PRETENSIONS. There are the refuges now resorted to and trusted in for the future, but in vain.
1. Outward glory is a mockery when once internal wretchedness is discovered. What use are purple and fine linen to the leper?
2. When character is revealed, profession counts for nothing.
3. When true worth is destroyed, the most frantic attempts to recover it at the last moment will prove fruitless. The character once lost is hard to retrieve. Consider, then, the common mistake of living for appearances, making the outside of life respectable while the heart is corrupt, and, in the event of discovery, not repenting and amending, but simply excusing one’s self, “making the best of the matter, trying still to put on a fair show. This is common at all times. So many people are more anxious to seem good than to be good. All the petty contrivances and miserable deceptions of such lives will be one day disclosed.
III. ULTIMATE FAILURE. “Thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.”
1. Once discovered, the attempt to win favor by false appearances will not only defeat its own object; it will aggravate the evil it is intended to avoid. It aims at securing honor; but when detected it is the butt of ridicule, the deserved occasion of contempt.
2. The friends of sinful days become foes in the time of trouble. The lovers of the daughter of Zion are the first to despise her and seek her life. The ties of friendship in wickedness are brittle. This is based on selfishness. No high constancy can be expected from people of bad character. The only friend who will be a refuge in the shame and ruin which follow sin, is not the partner in guilt, but the very God against whom the sin is committed.
HOMILIES BY A.F. MUIR
Jer 4:1-4
The duty of reality in religious profession.
The reformations of Jehu and Josiah were superficial and short-lived. Something more thorough was required. A real, immediate return to Jehovah was demanded.
I. THE SIGNS OF UNREALITY.
1. Retention of the memories and symbols of the guilty past. They may not be used, but they are there. There has not been strength of will to remove them, or the fear of man has produced vacillation. Externally the heathen temple stands side by side with the house of God, and may claim equal respect with it.
2. An uncertain and wavering attitude. Blowing hot and blowing cold. Compromising with existent evils. Postponing needed reforms.
3. Unrighteousness of life. This is one of the gravest evils. A creed which does not affect conduct must be either untrue or not heartily believed. An enigma of the anti-slavery times was the fact that amongst the pro-slavery advocates were many of the most orthodox clergy, whereas the leaders of the agitation for freedom were secularists, Unitarians, and men of vague or heterodox religious opinions.
II. EVILS ATTENDANT UPON UNREALITY.
1. Confusion is created between the true and the false religions.
2. A constant temptation exists in the relics and practices of evil that are retained.
3. Moral influence upon unbelievers is lost, and unrighteousness encouraged.
4. Spiritual growth is seriously impeded. It is a “sowing among thorns, or upon the exhausted and unfruitful soil of superficial emotion and fancy.” As Wild land can be cleansed from weeds only by deep and repeated plowing, so the spiritual nature must be thoroughly moved by penitence and steadfast resolution.
III. GOD‘S FEELING TOWARDS UNREAL WORSHIPPERS. He cannot accept their penitence. Their services are an abomination to him. His anger is represented as a smoldering fire ready to break forth in destruction.M.
Jer 4:10
Human uncertainty coexisting with Divine illumination.
The prophecy now uttered does not harmonize with that of Jer 3:12-25. The times of fulfillment are unknown to the prophet. This element of uncertainty in all prophecies, even those of Christ (“for of the times and the seasons knoweth no man,” etc.) is noteworthy. This outburst of annoyance and misconception illustrates
I. THE TEMPTATION LATENT IN SUPERIOR DIVINE KNOWLEDGE. The moral balance and perspective are threatened with disturbance. Hence the impulse to expostulate with Godto speak as if from a superior standpoint of morality. Seeming contradictions are encountered which would have no existence to a simpler or less illuminated spirit. It is as if the moral nature of man were only practically sufficient for what is revealed to him by the ordinary faculties and means of knowledge.
II. THE SORROW ACCOMPANYING EXCEPTIONAL GIFTS. The prophet, no more than the poet or man of genius, is to be envied. How hard to be the custodian of a truth men will not receive! To be conscious of evils impending which one cannot avert! The intentional sensitiveness of the prophetic temperament, and the keener vision of the seer, are the occasions of an incommunicable sadness, and even, at times, of overwhelming concern. Especially is this the case where patriotic feeling identifies the prophet on the one side with his people, and devout spirituality leads him nevertheless to acknowledge the righteousness of God. There was no more human or loving heart in Israel than Jeremiah’s, and if they would not heed his counsels, he was helpless. To be “before the age” in such a sense is not so enviable as we might imagine.
III. THE RESERVE THAT MARKS THE COMMUNICATION OF TRUTH. Partly necessitated by limitation of human nature; partly due to the subordination of the prophet, teacher, etc; to the special task before him. We should lose more than we should gain if, constituted as we are, we were to receive unlimited revelations of the future. The practical and immediate import of Divine revelation is therefore our first concern. Today is a little space cleared for duty. Opportunities of well-doing occur in constant succession. “What is that to thee?” might well be asked of many a one that concerns himself with things beyond his ken: “follow thou me.”M.
Jer 4:22
The wisdom of this world.
That there is such a thing we may well believe, for Christ himself noticed and commended it: “The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.” Within a certain range it is often seen to the disadvantage of the “wisdom that is from above.”
I. IT IS GREAT IN QUESTIONS OF MEANS, METHODS, AND POLICY. Attention is directed to these continually. A certain pride is exhibited in skill and power of manipulation. There is something very attractive to a certain order of mind in the opportunities the world affords for maneuver, dexterity, intrigue. The world prizes and encourages cleverness in practical, external matters. It can even appreciate the business qualities and the reliable character of Christians, when their inspiring principle is utterly ignored or intensely disliked. How much has the Church of today to learn of the world in merely practical concerns, knowledge of human nature, and adaptation of herself to her surroundings!
II. IT IS MARKED BY:
1. Dislike to what is worthy and good. Disillusion from worldly dreams may coexist with this. But men without lofty ideals cannot be happy or satisfied.
2. Heedlessness as to the impending judgments of God and the eternal future.
3. Consciousness of worthlessness and uselessness of its own efforts.M.
HOMILIES BY J. WAITE
Jer 4:3
Fallow ground.
Such an analogy as this reminds us that the materials of the highest wisdom are always lying close within our reach, sometimes in very unlikely places. The world without is a mirror in which we see our own moral life and the laws that govern it reflected. Air, earth, and sea are full of teachers whom God has sent to rebuke in us all that is false and evil, and lead us into all that is true and good. The prophet, in the text, does but give an articulate voice to the silent eloquence of one of these. Apply personally some of the lessons taught.
I. THE LIFE OF EVERY MAN IS A PROCESS OF SPIRITUAL HUSBANDRY. There is a true analogy between the soul of a man and the field in which a farmer sows his seed. In each case there are latent productive elements that may be turned either to good or evil according to the conditions of their developmentcapacities of indefinite improvement or of indefinite deterioration, of boundless fruitfulness or of boundless waste. The prolific virtue of the soil will nourish alike the germs of precious corn or of noisome weeds; and, whichever it be, the heavens above, by all the influences they shed down upon it, will promote the process. Thus will the faculties of our spiritual nature foster either the seeds of Divine excellence or of satanic corruption, and then all the laws to which our nature is subject, and all the associations of our life, will help to elaborate the issue, until we reap either a glad harvest of fruits that will endure forever, or one of shame and sorrowthorns and weeds and briars fit only for the flames. “He that soweth to his flesh,” etc. (Gal 6:8). Hence the solemn necessity for some Divine power so to control and govern the secret dispositions and tendencies of our nature as that in our case the law shall be fulfilled in the nobler and better way. “Make the tree good,” etc. (Mat 12:33).
II. In this husbandry of the soul, NEGLECT LEADS TO LOSS AND WASTE AND RUIN. “Fallow ground” is land untilled, uncultivated, which no plough turns up and into which no seed is cast. It may be purposely left to rest, that it may not exhaust itself, and that its internal resources may be all the richer afterwards. But the point of the analogy is thisthat it naturally becomes encumbered with “thorns.” In the spiritual husbandry, while fruitfulness is the result only of diligent labor, ruin follows from simple neglect. The land of the slothful husbandman will soon present the picture of weedy, thorny desolation. To be ruined, to sink into a state of utter poverty and barrenness and destitution of all satisfying good, the souls of men only need to be left alone. “While men sleep the enemy sows tares.” “What shall it profit a man,” etc.? (Mar 8:36). Our Lord speaks of the soul as being “lost” simply through being forgotten in the eager pursuit of a kind of good which can never of itself enrich and satisfy it. This implies that its native propensities are for the most part of a downward tendency. It bears within it the seeds of moral decay. The “fallow ground” spontaneously produces “thorns.”
III. IT IS VAIN TO SOW SEEDS OF TRUTH AND GOODNESS IN HEARTS PREOCCUPIED WITH OTHER AND INCONGRUOUS THINGS. How many there are whose religious career may well be described as a “sowing among thorns!” They have religious susceptibilities; they are familiar with religious influences; but their secret hearts are the home of mean ambitions, tainted with the “lust of the eye and the pride of life,” or they are entangled with a network of worldly associations or bound by the chains of some bad habit, from which they have not the courage or the strength to set themselves free. And so their spiritual condition is a strange medley of good and evil. Every better affection and impulse within them has some form of moral weakness by its side that nullifies it. Strong as their heavenward aspirations may sometimes be, there is nothing like whole-heartedness in their pursuit of the nobler good. No wonder they are “barren and unfruitful in the knowledge of Christ.” The ground must be cleared before a better result can be expected. How many a sower, going forth in the name of the Great Husbandman, is oppressed in spirit with the thought that much of the seed that he scatters falls “among thorns!” He has to contend with a thousand obstructive forces in men’s hearts, and knows well that, unless some mightier force goes with his message to overbear all these, they will “choke the Word.” Let the young especially watch and pray against the encroachment upon them of influences fatal to their higher life. It is a comparatively easy thing to overmaster the sins and follies of youth. Far otherwise when they have become the confirmed and cherished habits of the man. “Break up your fallow ground l” It is hard to do this. It involves much self-crucifixion. We all like to live at easeto yield to the strongest influences of the passing hour, as the sluggard does, who allows himself to be overcome by the spell of sleep, and to dream away the hours and moments that ought to be spent in the wakeful activities of life. But this is not the way to reach the heights of heavenly glory and blessedness. It is the certain road to poverty and ruin, to despair and death. Not on grounds of self-interest alone is the appeal of the text to be urged. Consider what a loss to the world is involved in every barren, undeveloped human soul and life. It is a great calamity to a country to have large tracts of its territory lying waste and desolate, while many of its people, perhaps, are perishing for lack of bread, or compelled to flee to other lands to find a field and reward for their labor. How sad that, in a world of such overwhelming spiritual need and destitution as this, the powers of any human soul, that might exercise a redeeming influence upon it, should be left idle or allowed to run to waste!W.
Jer 4:14
Vain thoughts.
I. THE LIFE OF EVERY MAN IS GOVERENED BY HIS THOUGHTS. “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Pro 23:7). True as it is that the essential moral quality of the man will always determine the order of his thinking, the converse also is equally true. Thought is the formative principle of all personal lifekindles feeling, touches the springs of purpose, guides the course of moral action. What are character and conduct but the definite expression of secret thought?
“That subtle husbandman, II. EVERY MAN IS RESPONSIBLE FOB THE TENOR OF HIS THOUGHTS. If not, there could be no room in this matter for remonstrance or appeal. The law of the association of ideas may be such that it is as impossible to prevent some particular thought from recurring to the mind as to stay the tide of the ocean; but it is certainly possible for us to regulate our habitual mental conditions. It is given to us by watchful, prayerful self-discipline, especially by occupying the mind with higher and nobler things, to secure that the main drift of our thinking shall be in the right direction. We can choose our own fields of daily contemplation. Those thoughts will “lodge“ in us which we most encourage and cherish, and for this we are accountable.
III. THE CHERISHING OF VAIN THOUGHTS IS NECESSARILY DEGRADING IN ITS EFFECT. “Vain thoughts” are iniquitous thoughts, sinful thoughts. “The thought of foolishness is sin” (Pro 24:9). It is impossible to measure the corrupting power of such thoughts.’ No evil imagination or purpose can enter the mind, and be allowed for a moment to dwell there, without leaving some moral stain behind it. Accustom yourself to any extent to the play of such influences, your whole being becomes contaminated by them, and
“The baseness of their nature Our minds cannot be in frequent contact with mean or groveling objects of contemplation without finding that they poison all the streams of moral life within us. “To be carnally minded is death” (Rom 8:6).
IV. THE ONLY CURE FOR THIS EVIL TENDENCY IS THE DIVINE RENEWAL OF OUR SPIRITUAL NATURE. “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts” (Mat 15:19). Let that be sanctified, and their power over us shall cease. Superficial expedients, mere external restraints and corrections, are of little use. We need something that shall go to the root of the disease. The fountain of life within must be cleansed if the streams that flow from it are to be pure. The temple at Jerusalem was externally beautiful, its roof so bright with burnished gold that nothing less pure than the glorious sunbeams could rest upon it; but that did not prevent it from being internally the haunt of many a form of hollow hypocrisy, and the scene of a base, worldly traffic”a den of thieves.” Let the Spirit of God make our souls his temple, and that holy Presence shall effectually scatter all vain and corrupt imaginations. They cannot” lodge” where the heavenly glory dwells. Every thought of our hearts shall then be “brought into captivity to Christ.”W.
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY
Jer 4:3, Jer 4:4
The peril of profession without possession of real religion.
This will be shown if we consider
I. THE SCENE HERE PRESENTED TO US.
1. The fallow ground; that is, ground unoccupied, free. Not hardened, as the wayside (cf. Mat 13:1-58.); not shallow-soiled, as the stony ground; not poor and barren, but capable of yielding rich return.
2. Sowers about to cast in seedgood seed.
3. A stern prohibition of their work. They are commanded to “sow not.” A reason is giventhe fallow ground that looks so fair is full of thorns. They are bidden “break up,” i.e. purge, cleanse, this ground. And all this on penalty of God’s sore displeasure (Jer 4:4, etc.).
II. ITS SIGNIFICANCE.
1. For those to whom Jeremiah wrote.
(1) They were as the fallow ground, at this time free from open visible idolatry which had been their disgrace and ruin. All that King Josiah had put a stop to. So now they were free to begin afresh, to take a new departure, to turn over a new leaf, as fallow ground is ready for a new sowing (cf. the history of the times).
(2) And they were about to sow the seed; i.e. they were about to adopt the outward forms of the divinely appointed Jewish worship. Externally they would conform to the ancient faith, and in large measure they did so.
(3) But now there comes the strange, stern prohibition of the text, and in so much that follows. They are bidden to refrain from this external religion, these outward rites. And the reason is giventheir hearts were yet unchanged, full of the seeds of all their former wickedness, and until these “thorns” were purged out no good, but only evil, could come of any mere external conformity. It had no value in the eyes of God, it only aroused his sore wrath. But let them “break up the fallow ground“ (cf. verses 4, 14). Let there be a true inward repentance before they approach God with the visible signs and forms of his worship. Let them not think that by any such mere formal service they could turn aside the anger of God. Such the significance of this scene in regard to Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Jeremiah. But note:
2. Its significance for ourselves.
(1) There are many whose character corresponds to the “fallow ground.” Free from gross external fault, morally fair, decent, and reputable. Not thoughtless and trifling, as the wayside hearers (cf. Mat 13:1-58.). Not obstinately self-willed, as the stony-ground hearers, who are represented by the emblem of a superficial soil having stretched beneath it a hard, pavement-like rock, through which the rootlets of the sown seed cannot thrust themselves to reach the nourishment of the soil beneath. Nor are they incapable of yielding good service to God; on the contrary, they have, like the fallow ground, all capacities for yielding a rich return.
(2) And such persons often sow the seed of religious profession and observance, and assume the varied external signs of true religion. It is not necessary to inquire their motives, but they do this. And when we see them we are all well pleased. We hope very much from them, as no doubt Josiah hoped much from the external religiousness of the people with whom he had to do. But God sees not as man seeth. His eye penetrates beneath the surface. And the fallow ground may be full of thorns; that is, the heart of him who makes all this external professioncomes to the Lord’s table, teaches in a Sunday school, leads in prayer, perhaps enters the ministry of the Church,his heart may all the while be uurenewed, impure, filled with the seeds of thorns, which wait only their opportunity to bear their baneful harvest.
(3) Hence God forbids such sowing amongst thorns. How stern his denunciations, how awful his threatenings, to those who are guilty of this sin! Do any inquire, Wherefore this severity? The reply is
(a) Hypocrisy is hateful to him. See our Savior’s denunciations of hypocrisy (cf. Mat 23:1-39.). He who was gentle and full of grace to all others, had no words too scathing for this sin. No doubt his stern words were designed also to open the eyes of the people who were deceived by the false professions of those to whom our Lord spoke so severely. And we can hardly doubt, either, that there was a gracious purpose in regard to the men themselves, to awaken and alarm them, if by any means it might be possible. But still, he who to us is the Manifestation of God, makes evident how hateful in his sight is all religious profession that rests on no reality within.
(b) A further reason for the severity which is so marked here is the extreme peril of such sowing amongst thorns to the sowers themselves. Few things are more deceiving to a man’s soul than to be professing religion, and to be accounted by others as truly religious, when he is not so. It is bad to be an unregenerate man; it is worse to be such and not to know it; but the worst condition of all is to be such, and to be believing all the while that you are the reverse, and. that for you salvation is sure. But this dread self-deception is fearfully fostered by this sin, which God here so severely condemns.
(c) And yet another reason for this Divine condemnation is that by this sin the Name of God is blasphemed. The world is keen-eyed, and soon detects the mere outside religion of those whom this word contemplates. And because of the base coin the genuine is suspected, and the way of godliness despised. Therefore note
III. THE SOLEMN SUGGESTIONS OF THIS SUBJECT TO OURSELVES.
1. To those who have been guilty of this sin. You have been, you are now, it may be, making loud religious profession, and yet your heart is not right in the sight of God. We do say, “Throw up your profession, abandon all religious ways;” but we do say, “Have done with insincerity.” Resolve that the fallow ground shall be broken up, the heart truly yielded to God. Implore him to give you the reality, that your profession may be a lie no more.
2. Let all remember that this purging of our hearts, this cleansing of our souls, needs to be continually done. The thorn seeds float continually over the fallow ground, and, if it be not continually cleansed, they will take root, and the good seed will be choked.
3. The Divine condemnation of sowing amongst thorns is not designed to deter our sowing where the grace of God has cleansed us from such thorns. Many read these terrible threatenings, and fear to take upon them a religious profession, lest they should be found unworthy and untrue. But if God has given you to repent of sin, to long after holiness, to look daily to your Lord for grace and help, then he has washed your heart from wickedness (verse 14), and you may, you ought, openly to avow his name, observe his appointed ordinances, and engage in any way his providence may invite you in his direct and recognized service.
4. And let not those who neither possess nor profess religion deem themselves better off because those who profess without possessing are so severely dealt with. Let them remember that if the righteousand to the outward eye these are righteousscarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?C.
Jer 4:5-31
The proclamation of woe.
Such is the character of this entire section, and we observe upon this proclamation
I. THAT, LIKE ALL SUCH, IT IS PROMPTED BY DIVINE LOVE. The most fearful judgments contained in the whole Bible are those denounced by our Lord Jesus Christ. The most awful words ever spoken are those which proceeded out of the mouth of him at whose graciousness all-men wondered. It is evident, therefore, that they were the utterances, as is this one here, of Divine love. They are beacon-lights set up as a warning, that men may not suffer their vessels to run on those rocks against which they warn, and of whose peril they are the evidence and sign. There was time for those to whom Jeremiah spoke to turn unto the Lord and find salvation, though indeed it was the eleventh hour. And that they might be driven to this, morally compelled to come in to the mercy of God, is the object of these terrible threatenings, these blasts of the alarm-trumpet of God’s love. And in keeping with this intent, this proclamation
II. SETS FORTH IN A VIVID, STRIKING FORM THE JUDGMENTS THAT IT DENOUNCES.
1. Under the emblem of a lion bursting forth from its thicket upon its defenseless prey (verses 7, 8).
2. Under that of a terrible tempest (verses 11-13).
3. Under that of a cordon of “watchers,” who guard every corner and the entire circumference of a field in which the game they are hunting for has taken refuge. So should Judah and Jerusalem Be beleaguered and hemmed in until captured and destroyed (verses 16, 17). They who would lead men away from sin to God must not shun to set forth in the most impressive way possible to them the dread evil of that which they would have them forsake. Hence the lurid pictures of the unquenchable flame and the undying worm which our Savior presents to us, and hence these vivid representations of the prophet Jeremiah.
III. IS INTERMINGLED, AS IT HAS BEEN PRECEDED, WITH EXHORTATIONS TO THAT REPENTANCE BY WHICH THE THREATENED JUDGMENTS WOULD BE TURNED ASIDE: (Verses 8, 14.) So in declaring the judgments of God against sin, we should never let it be forgotten how God hath said, “As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but rather,” etc. This section is a model of the method in which the more awful portions of our message to men should be declared. Hence note how it
IV. IS A BURDEN OF THE LORD ON THOSE WHO ARE CHARGED WITH IT. (Verses 19-31.) Jeremiah could not refrain from delivering his message, and could not but know that to many it would be delivered in vain; but it was with grief and pain of heart he foretold what he knew must come. See our Savior’s tears over Jerusalem. Listen to St. Paul, “Of whom I tell you even weeping.” Would that we all knew how to combine this faithfulness and this yearning tenderness in the delivery of this message! Then would men be aroused, as too often they are not now, to “flee from the wrath to come.”
V. IS CERTAIN TO BE FULFILLED IF THE SIN WHICH IS THE CAUSE OF IT RE NOT FORSAKEN. Few things are more solemnizing to the careless soul than to have plainly brought before him the sure fact that God has never gone from his word, awful though that word might have been. He did not here. All that Jeremiah foretold came to pass. The anguish of his heart was not caused, any more than were the Redeemer’s tears, by a merely fancied calamity. We are not able to tell what will be all the characteristics and elements of the Divine retribution on sin, but of its reality none who read the book of God’s written records, or the book of his providence as seen in historic facts, can for one moment doubt. Oh for a far deeper conviction of these soul-subduing truths on the part of all who preach and all who hear God’s holy Word!C.
Jer 4:10
“Ah, Lord God! surely thou,” etc.
Inflicted infatuation, or the deceived of God.
I. THERE ARE SUCH. How else can they be described who, in spite of the plainest declarations of God against their wickedness, persist therein, persuading themselves that they have no cause to fear? Such was the way of these to whom Jeremiah spoke. They and their false prophets were continually saying, “We shall have peace” (cf. Jer 5:12, Jer 5:31). And there have been other instances (cf. Pharaoh, hardening his heart against God). And there are many now. The Bible speaks, providence speaks, conscience speaks, Christ’s ministers speak, the Holy Spirit speaks pleading with them; but they heed not, they turn a deaf ear to every voice. What can this be called but infatuation? And it can only be explained as Jeremiah here explains it, as a Divine judgment. “Ah, Lord God! surely thou hast deceived them.” The evidence that their course was one that must bring punishment was so glaring, so strong, so irresistible, that none but the infatuated could possibly disregard it. Now, it is the testimony the Word of God that such blindness is judicial, is from God. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Our Lord refers more often than to any other Old Testament Scripture, to that word of Isaiah’s which tells of the Divine will, that “seeing, they [his enemies] may see and not perceive, and hearing, they may hear and not understand.” Men who will not hear come at length to find they cannot. So with Judah and Jerusalem; they were at this time “given up to a strong delusion, that they should believe the lie”that peace could be their lot in spite of what they were. We speak of gospel-hardened men, and, alas! we too often see such. And this is in keeping with God’s law of habita law most beneficent to those who obey him, but terrible in its effects on the disobedient. For separate actions crystallize into habits, whereby such actions, no matter what their character, become easy to us, and at last can be performed without any effort of our will. So that separate acts of obedience to God will at length become a blessed and holy habit of obedience, and separate acts of sin repeated again and again will become a direful habit of sin, from which we cannot break away. And because all this is in accordance with a Divine law, therefore God is said to harden men’s hearts, to hinder their understanding of his Word, to give them over to strong delusions and, as here, to “deceive the people.”
II. THE CAUSE IS CLEAR. Verse 18, “Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee.” It is from no decree of reprobation, from no predestination to sin, but from the inevitable action of the law of God which ordains that “ways” and “doings” such as Judah’s were shall at length so utterly deceive those who are guilty of them that the most glaring falsehood is not too glaring for them to believe.
III. ITS DOOM IS JUST. Is it unjust that a man shall be filled with the fruit of his own ways? that what a man soweth that he shall also reap? Holiness must become impossible if its opposite be not possible too. The same law necessitates both. It is no arbitrary infliction, but the natural outcome of what a man has been and of what he has persistently done. It is as natural as that the harvest should follow the sowing of its own seed. The most dreadful element in the sinner’s doomthe worm that dieth notwill be the ever-present reflection that he has brought it all upon himself. He himself made the bed on which he has to lie. And if still the doom of these wicked men be objected to, as it is, we reply, remembering how it is ever the necessity of any moral condition to be seeking to assimilate its surroundings to itself, so that goodness seeks to make others good, and evil seeks to make others evilremembering this we say, with the late Dr. Arnold, “It is better that the wicked should be destroyed a hundred times over than that they should tempt those who are yet innocent to join their company.” And this is what they would be sure, from the very necessity which arises from what they are, to be ever seeking to accomplish. Therefore we say their doom is just.
IV. THE AWAKENING AWFUL. (Verse 9.) See the picture of dismay and despair which the prophet draws (cf. Rev 6:17). Self-deception, however hardened into habit by long years’ use, cannot endure forever. There will be an awakening.
V. THE LESSON PLAIN. Break away at once from sin lest it coil round thee like a serpent, lest repeated transgression become links, and the links a chain which will bind thee so fast that thou canst not escape. Therefore break away now, turn to the Lord Jesus, invoke his aid, day by day look to him, and thou art saved.C.
Jer 4:14
“O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved.”
The loving charge of the Great Searcher of hearts.
The text shows us
I. GOD INTENSELY DESIRING MAN‘S SALVATION. This is evident from the pleading tone of the text. It is like the pathetic cry of the Savior over the same Jerusalem, when her people rejected him. And this Divine distress over the sinner’s rejection of salvation, or in any wise missing of it, is attested not by any one Scripture alone, but by many, and by a multitude of other witnesses beside. How many Divine utterances there are which breathe the like loving concern to that well-known one which says, “As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Eze 33:11)! And the Divine words of love are confirmed by the supreme deed of love. “God so loved the world.” Surely the remembrance of this Divine yearning for our eternal salvation should touch and subdue our hearts. If we knew of one who, when we were prostrate with disease, out of love came despising all risk of contagion, and watched over us night and day, on the alert turn and stage of the dread foe that was threatening our life, who in every way showed himself heedless of his own comfort or safety, so only as he might win us back to health; how in after years should we regard such a one? Would not even the most selfish cherish a warm regard, a grateful recollection? And most men would take care to let it be known what was their estimate of such self-sacrificing love. “But,” saith God, “Israel doth not know; my people doth not consider.”
II. GOD DECLARING THAT MAN MUST DO HIS PART IF THAT SALVATION IS TO BE WON. If the whole matter rested with God, such language as our text, in which man is charged, importuned to bestir himself, would have no meaning, would he what we will not even suggest. And our text but embodies the same truth as to the need of man’s cooperation with God which lies upon the surface of every “Come unto me” uttered by our Lord or by his apostles and ministers in his Name. Our salvation is not a case in which God but speaks and all is done, and commands and all stands fast. The work of grace is not accomplished as one tree is made an oak, the other an elm. We look with delight and wonder at the manifold triumphs of mind over matter which the varied discoveries of science have in this century achieved. But the salvation of a soul has the higher glory of the triumph of mind over mindthat in strict harmony with the laws and liberties of mind, and in spite of inherent and inveterate opposition, the love of God shall conquer and subdue, and the “unruly wills of sinful men” shall cheerfully own and yield to the Divine sway. But in such a salvation man must do his part; he is not left out in the scheme, and here, as in so many other Scriptures, he is called upon to be a worker together with God that he “may be saved.” How this truth shatters the delusion and the fatal self-deception of those who comfort themselves in their disregard of God by a wresting of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit’s work, as if it were one which absolved them from all endeavor, instead of prompting them thereto and aiding them therein. And some Christian workers need also to be reminded of this same truth; for they are tempted at times to excuse and account for their want of success on the ground of the sovereignty of the Divine workingthe Spirit, like the wind, blowing where it listethrather than on the ground of their own laggard following of the Divine leading and their failure to co-operate with God. Man must do his partthis is the law writ large over all God’s Word and works and ways.
III. GOD SHOWING TO MAN WHAT HIS PART IS. “Wash thine heart,” etc. Then:
1. Wickedness is a defiling thing. It is to the soul what the mud and mire of the street, what all material foulness, are to the body. Sometimes this is made manifest’ even now. On a man’s face may be read the moral defilement of his soul. But generally men are too cautious for that, and in this world men take care not to let the inward defilement appear. We are formed to love what is fair-looking and pure and wholesome, and we turn away from its opposite. And wicked men know this, and are careful to maintain appearances. But if hereafter, as now, God “gives to every seed its own body,” he shall then, as is plainly taught, give to every soul its own bodya body that will take its nature, shape, and form from the moral characteristics of the soul. Oh, what transformations there may be then! The character of the soul determining what the body shall be. Some then, who here have had no form nor comeliness, shall be seen then as the angels of God; and others who here have lacked no natural beauty, shall be shunned as were those who in our Lord’s days on earth were possessed with an unclean spirit. Oh for the purged vision, that we might see our souls as God always sees them! Then surely we, seeing how wickedness ever pollutes and defiles, should turn from it with loathing, as now we too seldom do.
2. And the defilement is such as cleats to the soul. “Wash thine heart,” etc. The abode from which the evil spirit went forth for a while, but then in his lordly manner declared he would return to it, as he didthat abode was only “swept,” not washed; that defilement which lay loose and light about the house could be thus got rid of, but that which cleaved to it continued there still. He who would be saved must deal thoroughly with his soul. No light, easy, partial amendment will do. This God teaches us by this earnest word, “Wash thine heart,” etc.
3. And this cleansing must be of the heart. The whole chapter is a protest against the mere external purifying which the sinful people were seeking to palm off upon God instead of the tree inward cleansing which he demanded, and with which alone he would or ever will be content.
4. And this must do. Had we been told that the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ can alone do or had we been bidden pray like David, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin;”such declarations and counsels we could readily have understood, but for us to be told to do ourselves what so many Scriptures repeatedly declare God alone can dohow is this? Well, let the story of the blind man whom our Lord bade go and wash in the pool of Siloam, and who because he obeyed won back his sight,let his story answer the question. It was the grace of the Lord Jesus restored him, but yet this much that he could do he had to do. But never, never on the ground of that washing in Siloam would the restored man claim for himself the credit of his own restoration, and so, although we be bidden wash our hearts from wickedness, yet who does not know that there lies behind these words the promise of the cleansing fountain, in which alone we can wash and be clean? And every one who seeks to obey this word will soon find his own utter powerlessness to rid himself of the clinging, cleaving wickedness of his heart, and the necessity he is under to answer back to this word of the Lord’s, “Lead me, then, Lord, to that cleansing stream, where only it is of any avail that I seek to wash my heart from wickedness.”
IV. GOD ENCOURAGING MAN TO DO HIS PART BY THE PROMISE OF SALVATION. “Wash thine heart that thou mayest be saved.” The promise is contained in the command. We can appeal to experience to verify this implied promise. In the hour when sin would assert its mastery, let the soul turn in instant trust and prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ, and he shall find that he is saved. Sin will slink away, like Satan did at the word of the Lord, and in such experience of Christ’s saving power we have the pledge and earnest of the full salvation which shall be ours when he who has begum the work in us has perfected it according to his word.C.
Jer 4:14
Fain thoughts.
“How long shall,” etc.?
I. THEY ARE THE PROLIFIC SOURCE AND CAUSE OF ALL WICKEDNESS. “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” St. Paul, desiring all things lovely and of good report, all that has praise and virtue, to abound in the disciples of Christ, bids them “think on these things” (Php 4:1-23.). Therefore vain thoughts must lead to and produce wickedness. “They are the spawn of the evil heart, from which all other wickedness is produced.” They are not to be here understood as merely trifling, foolish, empty thoughts, but thoughts that are evil, impious, sinful, wicked. They are the thoughts which bring forth sin, which in its turn brings forth death. “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it,” etc.
II. THEY RENDER SALVATION IMPOSSIBLE. The cleansing of the heart from them, their dislodgement therefore, is set forth as indispensable to Jerusalem being saveda condition that must be fulfilled. “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” The converse of this is true also and equally, “Without holiness,” that is, without this pureness of heart, “no man shall see the Lord.” How manifestly true this is! What would a man whose heart is full of these thoughts do in the “Father’s house?” It would be hell to him. He would be anywhere rather ‘than there.
III. THEY ARE VOLUNTARILY ENTERTAINED. They have come to the door and have sought and obtained entrance. They have been bidden “come in,” and the heart has consented to “lodge” them. The protest that the prophet utters against them, were they not voluntarily admitted and retained, would be unmeaning. There would be occasion for profound pity, but none for blame. But conscience owns the truth that the prophet’s word implies.
IV. THEY CAN BE GOTTEN RID OF. Men are called upon to “wash their hearts” from them and to expel them. It is, therefore, plainly within men’s power to do this. The words of these exhortations suggest the method.
1. Turn to Christ, in trust and prayer, especially to him as your crucified Lord. Behold the fountain of his blood. Such turning to Christ for pardon and for purity will “wash thine heart from wickedness.”
2. By a vigorous act of the will, like as when our Messed Lord found the evil one lodging wrong thoughts in his mind, he gave him no place, but sternly bade him and his be gone. And this was ever his way. It must be ours.
3. But leave not the heart empty. Bring in at once other thoughts, holy, Christ-like, that demand prompt, vigorous and continuous work for Christ; so shall vain thoughts quit their hold and home in thy heart, and lodge there no more.
V. THEY ARE GRIEVOUS IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. Note the pathos and pleading of the appeal, “O Jerusalem How long?” Men take cognizance only of words and deeds and are content if these be in keeping with the laws society has laid down. But God notes the thoughts of the heart, and grieves when they are “vain.” What fervor this fact should lend to our prayers for purity of heart, that its thoughts may be cleansed by the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit!
VI. THEY ARE RUINOUS IN THEIR EFFECTS. (Cf. Jer 4:15-17.) They lead to sin and that to death. Are we conscious that such thoughts have lodged or are lodging within us? Listen to the Divine appeal, and implore his grace that you may respond thereto as he would desire.C.
Jer 4:27
“Yet will I not make a full end”
God’s reserve of mercy.
This Divine resolve regarding the reserved remnant of the people of Judah and Jerusalem, who should be excepted from the desolation that was coming, is declared several times. Here in the text, then again in Jer 5:10; Jer 30:11, and once again in Jer 46:28. And these are but the echo of what God said to Israel long ages before in the desert of Sinai, as we read in Le 26:44. And in other parts of Jeremiah’s prophecies, and in the writings of all the prophets, this Divine resolve to mercifully reserve from destruction a portion of Israel is more or less plainly declared. Thus, then, God does not conceal that the end he makes will not be a full end. And there were many reasons why this fact should be declared.
1. It would show that God was mindful of his covenant with their fathers; that their “unfaithfulness could not make the faithfulness of God of none effect.” The scoff of the unbeliever, the dismay of the true-hearted, would be alike prevented, for, by God’s not making a full end, the way was yet plain for the accomplishment of all that he had spoken.
2. Moreover, such declaration would sustain the faith of the faithful. They would see how they were not forgotten, that God’s watchful care was over them, and that amid the coming desolations he would find means to deliver those who put their trust in him.
3. And the keeping open of this door of hope was calculated to persuade some to enter through that door and so be saved. This is why, even when a man has sinned away well-nigh all his life, when he has made an end of nearly every opportunity of return to God, we go and stand by his bedside, dying sinner as he is, and tell him that “a full end” is not yet made; even now Christ waits to be gracious, and will in no wise cast out. We toll of this hope in the trust that now, even at the last, the guilty one may turn to Christ and live. But we know that an “end” was indeed made to the national life of Israel. The terrific judgments which came upon them, and which the prophet in this chapter so vividly describes and so bitterly bewails, did make an end to all their national glory. Their land became desolate, their cities were destroyed, the holy and beautiful house of God was burnt with fire, their kings were slain, the throne overturned, the whole people carried into captivity; their cup of national sorrow was full to overflowing. But God did not suffer the agents of his righteous judgment to make a full end. Accordingly, in the days of Cyrus and his successors there came a restoration, although partial, poor, and incomplete, and under Ezra and Nehemiah Jerusalem and the house of the Lord were raised from their ruins and rebuilt. A remnant of the people was saved, the full end was not allowed to come, has never been allowed to come, though Israel’s national glory, yea, their very existence as a nation, has long since passed away. But whilst the oft-repeated words of the text refer mainly to Judah and Jerusalem, they really declare a principle of the Divine procedure, a continual law of his government and rule. God’s way is, when making an end, not to make a full end. He has ever a reserve of mercy. Now, concerning this principle, we observe
I. IT IS IN PERPETUAL OPERATION.
1. It finds illustration, yea, may be said to be ever ruthlessly at work, in the kingdom of nature. Look at the story of oration. Whatever may have been the material condition of our globe prior to the period told of in the sacred record, we cannot conceive of it as having been eternally “without form and void.” The researches of science seem to give a very different account from that. But whatever may have been its condition, and we can hardly doubt that it had an order and beauty of its own, an end was made to all that ere the last creation era dawned. But yet not a full end. The material for the new creation was there and it took new form and order according to the creative word. All had become desolate, but out of that God brought forth a new condition of things, which he himself declared to be “very good.” And what is this doctrine of evolution, concerning which in these days we hear so muchwhat is it but a further illustration in the kingdom of nature of the law of the text? “The survival of the fittest”what does that imply but that there has been an end made of all the unfit and the less fit. But the whole order has not perished; there has been an end, but not a full end, and the fittest have been reserved.
2. And how frequent in the pages of history are the illustrations and examples of this principle of the Divine procedure! The destruction of the world by the Flood,that was an end, but not a full end, for Noah and his house were saved Earlier still, when God drove out from Eden the parents of our race,what an end was then made of all that was bright and blessed in their lives! but still not a full end. For, as St. Paul tells us, “the creature was made subject to vanity, in hope.” Hope, the hope, of redemption and restoration through the promised Seed of the woman, was God’s illustration of this law then. The destruction of the generation of Israel that came up out of Egypt with Moses, and whose carcasses fell in the wilderness; but their children were God’s reserve of mercy in their case. And outside the pages of the Bible, thoughtful students of history, who love to trace the hand of God therein, are able to point to many an illustration of this law. Take the story of one manAlfred the Great: he and the little Saxon band that clave to him were God’s reserve of mercy for our land in those dark days, and saved us from coming to a full end, though we had come so near to it. And there are many, many more to which we cannot now allude. And in the history of the Church also how often has this been seen! Take the call of Abraham, for example. The religion of the ancient patriarchs had all but died out, an end had nearly come. But by the Divine call of Abraham it was prevented from being a full end; a new era was introduced when he became “the father of the faithful and the friend of God.” And to pass over all intermediate illustrations of this same law, though they be many, and some of them most notable, we may refer to the revival of evangelical religion in the last century. An end had come to well nigh all earnest religion; the land was desolate with more than a material desolation. There was “a famine, not of bread, but of the hearing of the Word of the Lord.” But God suffered it not to be a full end. Wesley and his trusty band, Whitefield and those who labored with him, became, under God, the means of a new departure, the introducers of a better order of things, which has continued to this day. And it has been the same in families. Take the prophetic family in the days of Samuel. But for him it would have come to a full end. Take the most illustrious instance of all,the house and lineage of David. To what nearness to extinction it had come when the Savior, the predicted Stem who should grow out of the root of Jesse, was born at Bethlehem, and that course of events began which have made the name of David, great before, yet infinitely and eternally great now by means of him of whom it was foretold by the angel to his mother, that he should” sit upon the throne of his father David,” and of whose kingdom David himself sang that it “should have no end.”
3. And what are many of God’s providential dealings with men, his afflictive dispensations especially, but further illustrations of this same law? “Ye have heard of the patience of Job.” The lives of Joseph, of David, of Elijah, of Daniel, of Paul, and, above all, of our Lord,what are they but instances in which “it pleased the Lord to bruise them, and to put them to grief?” He saw fit to make an end to much of that which naturally they loved, and for a weary while to cloud over and conceal well-nigh all the brightness of their lives. But in no ease was there a full end made, nor ever will there be. To many of us the Lord God comes and makes an end of what we would so much like to guard and keephealth, wealth, friends, prosperity, our inward joys, our outward gladness; God sends his angel of discipline and bids him make an endthough not a full endof these things. Yes, it is oftentimes God’s way.
4. And what are his spiritual disciplines but the carrying out of the same principle? Do we not read, “Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God?” of the prodigal, that “he came to himself,” and said, “I will arise and go to my father, and say unto him, Father, I have sinned?” of Peter, “he went out and wept bitterly?” Yes, often does he bring down our hearts so that we cry out, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” But he never makes a full end. False hope and trust have to go, but trust that is, real, hope that is of God, come under the law of his reserve of mercythey are the pared remnant, and whilst an end is made of all the rest, these survive.
5. And what will death itself be but our last experience of this law? Heart and flesh shall fail, the outward man shall perish, there shall be an end made of all that belongs to this world so far as we are concerned, and the place that has known us here shall know us no more forever. But whilst it will be an end, so much so that our bodies shall return, “earth to earth, dust to dust, ashes to ashes,” still it will not be “a full end.” Wethe true selfshall still remain; though the body go back to its earth, “the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Yes, the law of the text is seen everywhere. It is a principle of the Divine procedure that is in perpetual operation; it was brought to bear upon Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Jeremiah, and it bears upon nations, Churches, families, individuals, men, whenever God sees that the time has come for its application. But
II. IT IS A PRINCIPLE THAT PROMPTS INQUIRY AS TO ITS REASON AND INTENT. This making an end, even though it be not a full end, has much about it that may well, if not perplex, yet give rise to earnest, thoughtful inquiry on the part of him who observes it. Without question, it is often a severe law, a principle prolific in pain. It was so in the case of those to whom Jeremiah wrote. “The righteous scarcely were saved,” but “the ungodly and the sinners,” who formed the vast majority, were not saved at all. Yes, though God made not a full end, the end he did make was terrible indeed. Now, we know it is not possible for us so to understand all the ways of God that we may fully rise to
“The height of this high argument, But this much we may say: the surgeon’s knife that cuts away the poisoned flesh in order to save life is a severe operation, yet one that even he who writhes beneath it will consent to and be thankful for. The burning houses that cannot be saved are allowed to burn on, and men’s efforts are all turned towards the saving of those that are yet untouched. If Israel was to be preserved faithful as the keeper of the oracles of Godand, humanly speaking, the welfare of the whole world depended upon her fidelity in this matterthen the cankered portion of her people must be cut off, that the rest, yet in health, might continue so. “Our God is a consuming fire.” His judgments will, must, burn on until all that is rotten and unsound has perished from the way. The dread doom of the world to come is described by a word that tells of the action of the surgeon’s knife, or of the vine-dresser’s pruning implements, which are used to cut away that which is evil or worthless, that that which is healthful may be preserved, strengthened, and developed according to the will of God. Yes, it is dreadful when God comes forth to make an end of wickedness and the wicked; but it would be more dreadful stillthe whole history of mankind attests itif he did not. But it is a work from which he shrinks. “As I live, saith the Lord”and can we dare, or would we wish, to disbelieve him?“I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live.” “Why will ye die, O ye house of Israel?” And we may say more than this. In the repetition of our text, which we have in the tenth verse of the next chapter, we see another purpose designed by these terrible dealings of God with his people. They were getting behind “battlements,” trusting in defenses and safeguards which were of no avail; withdrawing their confidence from God, who had never failed them, to place it in those professed protectors who would always fail them, even as they had ever done. Hence one purpose of the stern process through which Judah and Jerusalem bad to pass was the taking away of those “battlements” which were “not the Lord’s.” Their looking to the rulers of other nations, the gods of other nations, or to such poor material resources as they could themselves supply, was fatal to that reliance on the Lord God, which had been their distinguishing feature in their happiest and most glorious days. But it was essential to the fulfillment of God’s purposes in regard to them that this reliance upon God should by any means be restored. Therefore it was necessary that God should make an end of and destroy these “battlements,” taking them utterly away. And in pursuance of this same main design, God would set the faithful amongst them free to live a new, a happier, holier, and every way better life. For they were hampered, entangled, ensnared, thwarted, and hindered at every turn by the hideous mass of moral wreckage by which they were surrounded. They could hardly move for it. There must, therefore, be a clearance made if God’s people were to enter upon, as he was determined that they should, that new that better life, to which he recommended them, and after which they yearned. “Now all these things happened unto them for an ensample,” and we may see in them, we will, the motive and intent of the like dealings of God with men in our day. Thou troubled child of God, afflicted very much, of whose earthly comforts, enjoyments, and possessions God has been pleased to make so large an end, thou seest the reason why. And thou whose soul he has brought very low, taking from thee all thy trust and confidence, so that now he has made “thy very spirit poor,” canst thou not understand wherefore he hath so dealt with thee? And our death, which makes an end of all that in this world we have called our own, it too finds its explanation in what was the evident purpose of God’s dealing with his ancient people. It was and it is, either for the putting awayif even by a terrible processof the evil and wrong that are yet in men; or for the destruction of every false confidence, or for the setting the soul freeas his disciplines do, and as at last his messenger, Death, will doto serve him in newness of life to his honor and glory, and to our own eternal joy. But in what has now been advanced we have only spoken of the reason wherefore God makes an end of so much, why he comes in these often terrible ways. We have yet to ask,” Why are we spared? Why is there this reserve of mercy. Why is not a full end made?” And looking at the history of God’s ancient people, answers to these questions also may readily be found. To have made a full end would have given occasion to the enemies of God to blaspheme. We remember how Moses pleaded this argument when sore wrath had gone out against Israel, and it seemed as if a full end was to be made. And the promise of God to Abraham would have been set aside, the covenant which he made with their fathers in the days of old. And the language which we find in the Scriptures, the language of intense tenderness and love towards his people, proves that to have made a full end would have broken the heart of God. “How shall I give thee up?” “I have written thee on the palms of my hands.” “Can a mother forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, she may forget; yet will not I forget thee.” In view of such love, how could there be a full end? And the Lord Jesus Christ has rendered such condemnation needless. For they who are spared when God judges the world, are spared not for any inherent intrinsic excellency in themselves, but they are they who have believed on the Name of God’s dear Son. Hence they have the righteousness of faith, the germ, the guarantee, the generator of all righteousness; and they have the indwelling of the Holy Ghost by whom they shall be strengthened to live in newness of life. All the possibilities to secure which God makes an end of so much in those who have not come to faith, they already have, and hence God is able, even as he is willing, to except them from the destruction that comes on all beside. And to mention but one other reason for this reserve of mercyfor God not making a full end; he sees in these spared ones those by whom his “way shall be made known upon earth, and his saving health among all nations.” They are to be the instruments of his grace, his channel of untold blessing to all mankind. Therefore doth God care for and guard them, and amid all destruction no evil is suffered to befall them, nor any plague to come nigh their dwelling.
III. And now, lastly, we note that this principle of the Divine procedure which we have been considering. Is ONE WHICH WE MUST ALL OF US BE PREPARED TO HAVE APPLIED TO OURSELVES. Yes, God will look down upon us all, as Churches, families, individuals, and will mark What in us and who of us will be found worthy to stand in the great day when he separates the chaff from the wheat. Ah! this is the great question which concerns us. “Where, then, shall I myself be? Shall it be amongst those whom God must put away, or amongst those whom he shall delightedly spare?” What question can compare with this? But the material for its answer may be found by askingWhere are we now? The destroying powers of the world, the flesh, and the devil are abroad; they are slaying their thousands and their tens of thousands. But are they destroying us? Or are weas God grant it may beamongst his “reserve of mercy ?” Are we living unto God? Can we look up to our Lord and Savior and appeal to him who knoweth all things, to attest the love and trust towards him that abide in our heart? Oh, if it be so, and the life of prayer, of obedience, of self-surrender, be ours now, then we can, with humble but strong confidence, predict that when the last destroyer comes, even Death, whilst he will be permitted to make an end of much that here we rejoice in, yet he shall by no means make “a full end” of us. No, his coming, which is so terrible to the unbeliever, shall for us be but a setting us free, a delivering us from the bondage of corruption” into the glorious liberty of the children of God,” so that our soul shall escape as a bird from out the snare of the fowler, and we henceforth shall “live unto God.”
“Then shall the day, dear Lord, appear
That we shall mount and dwell above,
And stand and how amongst them there,
And see thy face and sing thy love.”
An end, a full end, will have been made of all that is corruptible, all that distresses, all that defiles, all that death can in any way touch; but it shall not be a full end of us, rather shall it be the beginning of a life so holy, so blessed, that all the past shall seem to have been no life at all. Look, then, at the two companies which have been brought before us. There are those whom God’s judgments are making an end of, and there are those whom those judgments cannot touchGod’s reserve of mercy. Look at these latter again; they are clothed in white robes, and they have palms in their hands. For they have come “out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple They hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither doth the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and, God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” Therefore, O Lord, make us to be numbered with thy saints now and in glory everlasting.C.
Jer 4:20, Jer 4:30
“Suddenly are my tents spoiled.” “When thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do?”
A surely coming confession compelling a present serious question.
Note the historic reference of the words to the people to whom the prophet spoke. Applying them in more general sense, let us observe
I. THE CONFESSION. “Suddenly,” etc. This confession.
1. Not that of the child of God, for his tents cannot be spoiled.
(1) The peace of mind which he enjoys. That rests on the sure basis of what Christ has done for him. The varied disturbing powers of this world cannot touch that. Nothing can separate him from the love of God (Rom 8:1-39. at end).
(2) The righteousness which God has given him. That springs from a source, and is sustained by a power, that is supernatural and therefore beyond the power of this world to give or take away.
(3) His most cherished possessions. True, the child of God is subject, like other men, and at times it seems more than other men, to sudden reverses of fortune, to loss, bereavement, and the other manifold sorrows of this life. But though he cannot but lose his earthly treasures, and deeply feel their loss, yet all the while his true treasure remains intact, for it is not here, but yonder. And even when with one hand God takes away his earthly treasures, with the other he so graciously ministers support and consolation that, in the might of a Divine faith and love, he is able to say, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the Name of the Lord.”
(4) His life. That is not capable of being spoiled. If he is called upon suddenly to lay it down, or to give it up amid much pain and distress, he is able to say, as dear old Richard Baxter did when he lay a-dying, and when asked by a friend how he was, “Almost well.” Yes, the nearer death, the nearer life to the child of God. It is a blessed exchange for him, come how, come when, come where it will Therefore this confession cannot be his. But, as it was in the days of Jeremiah, it is:
2. The confession of the worldling and all those who are living without God. For their tents are suddenly spoiled.
(1) The peace of mind in which they often seem so established. To our eyes they appear not to be troubled, neither to be plagued as other men are (cf. Psa 37:1-40.). How easy and unconcerned they are! but the text comes true to them. Remorse may suddenly spoil their tents. Like “Esau, who found no place of repentance, though,” etc. The events of God‘s providence may be the spoiler; carrying off their riches, striking down their wealth, turning away their friends. Everything may seem to be slipping away from them. And then, oh how true our text is of them then! And the approach of death, with the “fearful looking for of judgment.” And should none of these have succeeded in this life to shatter their false trust, how will the dread solemnities of God‘s judgment day certainly do this! See the consternation of those on the left-hand side of the Judge, who asked, “When saw we thee,” etc.?
(2) The moral rectitude, the credit for righteous character, on which they have stayed their souls. This too may be, will be, suddenly spoiled. Sometimes sudden temptation will do this. Unguarded by any Divine power, the man’s weak resolves give way under unusual pressure, and character is blasted and the good name gone, as m a moment. Transient visions of the Divine holiness, the claims and requirements of God’s Law flashing upon him as did the lightnings from Mount Sinai,such manifestations will reveal the man to himself, and “spoil“ his self-complacency forever. The light of eternity must do this. Tried by the standard God has given, self-righteousness must give way.
(3) His external prosperity on which his heart was fixed. To have nothing but what this world can give, and to have that suddenly taken away, as it often is, as at death it all must be,whose should this confession be if not his of whom we are speaking?
(4) His life itself, to which he clung so tenaciously, oh, what a wrench that will be when the man to whom this life was all is by the hand of death ruthlessly torn away from it! And oftentimes this is sudden, unlooked for, at such an hour as he thinks not, as he has made up his mind that it will not come. Like him to whom God said, “Thou fool!” These, then, are they from whom this confessionbitter lamentation and wail of woe rather should it be calledis heard. What agony of heart can be conceived more awful than that of the worldling and the godless, when “suddenly their tents are spoiled?” God grant it may not be ours. Note
II. THE QUESTION, “What wilt thou do,” etc.? Who can tell what the delirium of dismay and despair will drive a man to under such circumstances? See Judas the traitor. Suddenly his tentthe hope of his gainswas “spoiled,” and we know what, in the remorse and despair which fastened upon him, he did. But some will harden themselves still more. Others will plunge into business, pleasure, sin, and there seek to drown the tortures of the mind. It is impossible to forecast what one and another will do, and least of all can they tell themselves. But it is God who asks this question, and that with the gracious intent that we should turn to him for the answer. Let us do so. Perhaps your tents are spoiled already. Before, therefore, you say what you will do, ask of God what thou shouldest do.
1. Is it thy inward peace, the calm and unconcern of thy life, that is spoiled? Then “acquaint thyself with God, and be at peace.”
2. Is it thine estimate of thine own righteousness? Do not seek to mend or patch it up in any way (cf. Php 3:1-21). Seek from Christ the righteousness that is of faith.
3. Is it thine earthly prosperity that is shattered? “Set your affections on things above, and not on things on the earth.” Have your treasure for the future in heaven. There, “where neither moth nor rust,” etc.
4. Is it thy very life that is being taken from thee? Oh, wait not until this tent is actually spoiled.
“To Jesus do thou fly,
Swift as the morning light,
Lest life’s young golden beams should die,
In sudden endless night.”
III. THE ORDER IN WHICH THIS CONFESSION AND QUESTION ARE PLACED. The question is asked before the spoiling takes place. Like as it is asked, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?’ The intent is that we should, by turning to God and coming within his sure defense, escape that spoiling of our tents which must come on all not within that defense. And so in the other question, which is like unto it, the intent manifestly is that we should not neglect so great salvation. Then let this good will of the Lord be done. Come over amongst those whose tents cannot be spoiled, and away from those upon whom the spoilers shall fall certainly, suddenly, and soon.C.
Jer 4:19-30
The fellowship of Christ’s sufferings.
The extreme anguish of the prophet which is revealed in these verses justifies the affirmation that, like St. Paul, Jeremiah also knew “the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings.” Consider
I. THEIR NATURE.
1. The sight of the constant dishonor done to God. This was part of our Lord’s suffering. Living amongst men at all involved it. It has been said truly that, if the Son of God became incarnate, he must be a “man of sorrows.” But if it be a pain and outrage to an affectionate son to hear his father, whom he knows to be worthy of all honor, yet nevertheless insulted, and to see him daily dishonored, what must have been the sufferings of our Lord at what he daily had to see and hear! And to Jeremiah this was one chief part of his sorrow. To him the Name of God was dear; his honor and glory precious; but let these chapters tell what scenes continually came before him. “Rivers of water run down mine eyes because men keep not thy Law.” Dishonor done to God has ever been distress and pain to his servants.
2. The endurance of the scorn and hate of men. To some men this is nothing. They answer scorn by scorn and hate by hate. They choose war rather than peace. But in proportion as a man is of a loving disposition, and has lavished his love upon any, he will desire, yea, yearn for, a response. Do not parents desire it in their children? Would they not be distressed indeed if they did not receive it? And so with our Lord. He had no armor of indifference, or contempt, or hate against men. But he opened his heart to them. There was no stint in the love he lavished upon them. Hence he could not but long to receive a response to that love. The cross itself was wreathed with attractiveness for him, because it, though nothing else would, would draw all men unto him. And in the fellowship of this suffering Jeremiah shared. He, though deeply loving his people and faithfully serving them, yet was denied the response of trust and love which he would fain have gained. He, too, “was despised and rejected of men.”
3. The realizing, by the power of affectionate sympathy, the awful consequences of his countrymen’s sin. It is the effect of such sympathy to cause the sufferings of those we love to come before us in such terrible vividness that they fill the soul with an anguish that is almost intolerable. Hence our Lord’s deep distress (cf. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem!” etc. and his lament over the doomed city and people). But in this suffering of our Lord Jeremiah had indeed fellowship (cf. verses 23-30.) He saw the destruction that was coming on Judah and Jerusalem in its entireness. “The whole land is spoiled;” “The whole land shall be desolate.” In its suddenness. “Suddenly are,” etc. (verse 20). In its duration. Verse 21, “How long shall I see the standard?” etc. It could not be a passing storm, but an abiding wrath. And mere still, he sees how deserved it all was (verses 18, 22). And then how awful! It was as if original chaos had come again (verse 23; cf. Gen 1:1-31.). It was as the dread and never-to-be-forgotten manifestation of God at Sinai, when the mountains trembled and all who beheld were stricken with fear (verse 24). For the devastation caused by the “spoilers” had been so thorough, they had done their work in such fearful fashion, that districts heretofore teeming with population were now solitary and lone as the desert; and so stripped were they of all that could minister to life, that the very birds had fled away (verses 25, 26). The awful spectacle was clearly visible to the prophet’s eye, and, as he looked upon it all and knew how certain was its advent, he cries out as in the agony of dread bodily pain (verse 19).
4. The witnessing day by day the decay of all goodness and the firmer hold of sin. Our blessed Lord’s tears over Jerusalem, his oft “sighing,” his agony, his long lament over the guilty people, were not caused only, nor chiefly, by the mere fact of their sufferings, but it was because of the increasing alienation from God, the ever-hardening heart, the mighty power of sin upon them, that his bitterest tears were shed and his deepest agony endured. And so with Jeremiah. Pain and distress were evils undoubtedly, but they were as naught compared with the moral degradation, the spiritual wickedness, which he saw around him and increasing every day.
5. The being compelled to utter the “amen” of his soul to the judgment of God as “true and righteous altogether.” With what agony would a father witness the accumulation of proof upon proof that his son whom he loved had been guilty of crime that deserved and must receive condign punishment! To be obliged to own to himself that his beloved son is righteously condemnedwhat sorrow that! And this confession our Lord made. His death meant thishis assent to the judgment of God against sin that that judgment was just. Death was the penalty, and he submitted to it. And never has death been, nor can it be to any child of God, what it was to our Lord. The realization of sin, the consciousness that on him was the iniquity of us all, and how awful but how just was the wrath of God against it,this explains that exceeding bitter cry from out the darkness, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” And, in his measure and degree, Jeremiah had the fellowship of this suffering also. It is the sorrow of sorrows to him that there was no alternative; God must punish sin like that of his countrymen. How glad would he have been could he have seen anyhowever littlelight in the darkness! But it was all dark; there-was not a solitary redeeming ray. The condemnation was awful, but God was just who judged so.
II. THE UNIVERSALITY OF THIS FELLOWSHIP. Like as in every leaf of the tree the whole fabric of the tree is portrayed, root and trunk, branch and foliage, so in the experience of every member of Christ’s mystical body, however humble that member may be, there is shown the resemblance of Christ himself. See Abraham interceding for Sodom, Moses for Israel, Samuel mourning for Saul; Elijah’s ministry and that of all the prophets, Paul’s and that of all the apostles, and where there are any who have “the mind that was in Christ Jesus,” who are filled with love to God and love to man, to whom sin is hateful and holiness dear. It will be a measure and a test of our own possession of the mind of Christ if those sad facts, which were the source to him and to all his truehearted servants of such great sorrow, are likewise sources of sorrow to us and make us know the fellowship of his sufferings.
III. ITS EXCEEDING BLESSEDNESS, It may seem an anomaly and contradiction to speak of “blessedness” as appertaining to “suffering,” but it is nevertheless true that exceeding blessedness does belong to the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings. For:
1. It wins for us the ministries that sustained our Lord. These were such as the full enjoyment of the love of God, uninterrupted communion and intercourse with him, the open vision of the “joy set before him” in the winning back of the world to God, such were the supports of Christ’s ministry, and the like has been given to all who have entered into his sufferings. See the bright onlook of Jeremiah (cf. Jer 3:15-18 and Jer 3:11) and of all the prophets; of St. Paul and all the apostles. And see, too, their joy in God, the rest of their hearts in his love. Such have been and such will be the supports of such souls.
2. It fortifies us impregnably against all the power of the wicked one. Satan will not waste his time and energy on those who are within the sure defense of this holy fellowship. His darts cannot reach where they stand, or, if they reach and strike, they cannot penetrate the “armor of God” in which they are clad. Sin has no charm, but repels: holiness attracts with a magnetic might. “They are born of God, and the wicked one toucheth them not.”
3. It gives tremendous power over the hearts of men. What is the great need of our day but this, a ministry that has entered into this fellowship? one penetrated with the love of God and the love of men, to whom the favor of God is life, and the judgments of God the un-unspeakable woe of the soul? How would such men speak and pray and plead? It was the secret of St. Paul’s power, and of the great ministers for Christ in all ages. It won all the triumphs of the early Church, it was manifest in Bernard, Francis, Wesley, Whitefield, and many more. Men cannot resist the power with which such speak. It constitutes those who have entered into it God’s true priests. They have power when they plead with God for men, and when they plead with men for God. Such is another element of the exceeding blessedness of this fellowship of Christ’s sufferings.
IV. ITS ALONE ENTRANCE. This entrance is by fellowship with Christ in our daily life. Let us look much upon him as he is shown to us in his gospel and in the Scriptures generally, and as we see his likeness reproduced in the lives of the truest of his people. Let there be much looking to him in the exercise of daily trust, committing and commending our whole interests to his care. Let there be much converse with him in devout meditation, worship, and prayer. Let there be much service done for him in all such ways as he points out for us, and the result will be that we shall come so to see, hear, touch him, so to realize his living presence, and then so to love him, that all that affects him will affect us. We shall have fellowship in it all, and, therefore, in this fellowship of his sufferings in which all his chosen have shared.C.
Jer 4:30, Jer 4:31
Broken reeds,
concerning which note
I. WHAT THEY ARE. They are the friends that are kept simply by either:
1.Wealth. “Though thou clothest thyself with crimson” (Jer 4:30). The garb of the rich, telling how Jerusalem had won some of her professed friends.
2. Splendor. “Deckest thee with ornaments of gold.” Jerusalem could make a grand show, put on much pomp by which the eyes of men were dazzled and deceived. And outward show will deceive many men. But those thus attracted know how, when the splendor pales and the outward show can no more be kept up, to fall away and show what “broken reeds” they are.
3. Eternal beauty. The “painting” spoken of was an Oriental device to increase the beauty of the countenance. But weak indeed is the hold which mere outward beauty can have on any who have been attracted by it. It fades, and they along with it.
II. THEIR APPARENT TRUSTWORTHINESS. Had there never been anything at all like helpfulness in them, no reliance could have been placed upon them. But the lures which drew them had power enough to make them profess much and then to practice somewhat. Hence they seemed to be real friends.
III. THEIR TRUE CHARACTER. When they can no longer gain aught by her who believed in them, they turn round upon her and “seek her life” (Jer 4:30). It was so with Jerusalem, it will be so with such as are like her. And yet men go on seeking after these outward things which can win for them only friends of this wretched sort, whilst those inward qualities which have no charm for such, but have all charm for the worthy and the good, are little valued and therefore little cultivated.
IV. THE DREAD INCREASE OF SORROW THEY ARE THE CAUSE OF. A more appalling picture of utter agony and distress of soul cannot be imagined than that given in Jer 4:31. It is said that when Caesar saw Brutus amid his assassins, he covered his face with his mantle and let his murderers do their worst. No stab could be so deadly as the discovery that his trusted friend had become his murderer. “Et tu, Brute!” And part of the deep sorrow of our Lord was that Judas, “his own familiar friend,” should betray him. If, then, to the stainless soul the discovery of such treachery can cause such sorrow, how must the sorrow of those who, in addition to this, have the memory of their own sin, be deeper and more dreadful still?
V. THE WAY OF WISDOM, WHICH KNOWLEDGE OF THEM POINTS TO. Surely it is thisto turn from all such “broken reeds” to “the rod and the staff” which Christ furnishes for all his pilgrims.
“One there is above all others, C.
Jer 4:31
There shall be weeping.
The text is a solemn and awful declaration of the retribution of God upon impenitent men.
I. NO TRUTH MORE DOUBTED OR DENIED THAN THIS. Lot was “to his sons in law as one that mocked.” And so it is still; this truth scarce gains any hearing and yet less belief. Reasons of this are: the prevalent skepticism as to all religious belief; the special dislike to such a subject as this; false views as to the love of God; the busy energy of the evil one, who will not suffer men to consider and ponder this truth.
II. BUT IT IS NEVERTHELESS THE TRUTH OF GOD. Scripture is full, plain, and earnest in the matter. The premonitions of conscience endorse the Word of God. The course of observed events lends its strong testimony. The common consent of the wisest and best of men confirms it. The analogy of all human government supports it.
III. AND DEMANDS THEREFORE TO BE MADE KNOWN. Compassion would prompt to its proclamation. The severe displeasure of God against the watchman who neglects to warn the people urges this. The example of our Lord, who ever insisted on it. Its manifest fitness to arouse and arrest the sinner. Beware, therefore, of yielding to the temptation to be silent on this theme.
IV. BUT TO BE PREACHED ONLY BY SUCH AS BELIEVE AND FEEL ITS TRUTH. Unbelieving or unfeeling setting forth of these awful verities will but steel the heart of the ungodly against them. But in the spirit of Jeremiah, and yet more in the spirit of our Lord, let men be warned that for the impenitent there remaineth the dread retribution of God.
HOMILIES BY D. YOUNG
Jer 4:1
The kind of return which Jehovah requires,
In Jer 3:1-25. there has been much spoken concerning return. There is the impossibility pointed out of a divorced wife returning to her husband; yet Jehovah’s own people, whose conduct has been even worse, he presses to return. The fact is mentioned that Israel had been told to turn, yet had not turned. There is also the fact that Judah had made a feigned turning. A true return is seen to be the prime condition of all the glorious future which God bad. shadowed forth, first for Israel, and then for all nations. And then the chapter concludes with a touching outburst of penitential emotion. From all which it will be clearly seen how timely and needful is the exhortation which introduces Jer 4:1-31. Return of a certain kind is, after all, not so difficult, if only there be certain conspiring circumstances. The most undemonstrative and unlikely man may have his feelings roused up, and then comes decided utterance. Right words are spoken, right purposes declared. But what of the carrying of them out? What about the difficulties in the futurethe fightings without and the fears within? The return which God desires is a permanent return, just as when, after a long frost, there comes a complete thaw, and, with genial warmth following, renewed life, growth, and fruitfulness.
I. OBSERVE HOW GOD RECOGNIZES THE INSTABILITY OF THE APOSTATE PEOPLE. It is not simply that he apprehends instability in their resolutions towards himself. Their very apostasy is itself an unstable thing. With all the hold which idolatry seems to have upon them, they are not thoroughly fixed in it. Evidently there are ways of appealing to them which draw forth a resolve to make some sort of turning. Never should we forget that sinners, even the most persistent of them, are unstable in their ways. Instability there of course is from the common fluctuations of life; but, more than that, the very purposes of the sinner are more unstable than he thinks. A thick-skinned conscience is often more in appearance than in reality; the penetrable point has not been discoveredthat is all. Even when to all outward appearance a man seems quite contented with the life which others condemn, he may have very trying within him. Hence the strange anomaly sometimes presented of wicked men doing deeds of helpfulness to others. Gamblers, out of their unrighteous gains, are known to indulge in most eccentric acts of beneficence. After all, the powers of evil have a most uncertain tenure over those who may seem most their slaves.
II. THE ONLY TURNING FROM EVIL WHICH CAN BE COMPLETE AND PROFITABLE IS THE TURNING TOWARDS GOD. Not only from sin, but towards God. That is the only way of keeping clear both of Scylla and Charybdis. To turn from a life that is self-condemned, by trying to make another path of one’s own, may seem to be successful for a while, but in truth it is only travelling in a circle. The man whose springs of knowledge and strength are in himself, or in the counsels of men, will come back to where he started. Think, for instance, of those drunkards who have taken pledges of total abstinence, and set their feet towards a manlier and purer life, only to find very soon that appetite and habit are not so easily mastered. At last, after many failures, a permanent keeping comes. There is a struggle, crowned with Victory, because the soul, having lost all its self-confidence, has really turned to God. The departure into sin is from God, and to him must be the only satisfactory return.
III. THE FORSAKING OF SIN MUST BE A COMPLETE FORSAKING. Into this demand for completeness there must be put the utmost significance of the word. God’s people might visit all the high places in turn, and laboriously erase every outward vestige of idolatry. On everything like an approach to idolatry the most rigorous penalties might be imposed. There might be a domiciliary visitation, and a ransacking of every house from garret to basement, lest there should be anything hidden away, such as Laban’s seraphim which Rachel stole. But what of all such exertions? They could only end in the taking of abominations out of the sight of man. The essential thing was to take them out of the sight of God. The high places and groves in every heart must be purged of their idolatries. Here the edicts of a king and the vigilance of reforming enthusiasts were of no avail. By the very necessity of the case, the putting away must be an individual act. Forth from the heart proceed the outward visible abominations, and the only way of stopping the procession was by a thorough cleansing of the source whence it came. Such prayers are wanted as for the creating of a clean heart, and the setting of one’s secret sins in the light of God’s countenance. The heart, deceitful and desperately wicked, only God can know, and only God can cleanse. He himself must be besought to direct affections, purposes, iron, nations, towards things pure, holy, and Divine. Remember, then, that a thing may be out of man’s sight and yet right over against the eyes of God. Even that which may not at present disturb your conscience may yet be very offensive to him. Thus it will be seen that a real turning to God is very difficult, and needs much submission and humility. One has to walk very circumspectly. Wavering is one of the greatest perils, and may very soon be fatal. He who wavers, vacillates, and turns to look round to the things that are left, loses the direction; and that direction, once lost, who knows how much else may be lost before it can be recovered?Y.
Jer 4:2
Jehovah’s requirement with respect to the oath.
Jehovah has just told his people that, with unwavering resolve, they must put their abominations out of his Sight. This exhortation, general as it is, is very emphatic; but it chiefly serves to lead on to something more explicit. Jehovah singles out one peculiar abomination, and fixes the attention of his people on that. The truth is, if they sweep this abomination away, all is done that needs to be done. These abominations, so odious to the pure eyes of Jehovah, were bound together in a kind of organic unity. The infliction of a fatal blow on any one of them inevitably brought death and withering on the others. Just as he who stops the action of one of the vital organs of the body stops the action of them all. Look, then
I. AT WHAT JEHOVAH REQUIRES WITH REGARD TO THE OATH. There were many solemn appeals that had in them the nature of an oath. God at once directs attention to the most solemn of all, the appeal to himself by his own peculiar Name and his own enduring existence. The passages are too numerous to mention in which there is record of people saying, “As Jehovah liveth.” Now and then, no doubt, the words were spoken with solemnity and sincerity, and also with a steady remembrance afterwards of the holy Name, which had thus come to the lips. But in the great bulk of instances it was only an idle word. A man gets excited, and then the most solemn words rush from his mouth, with no thought of the meaning they express. Or, worse still, there may be the deliberate attempt to consecrate a falsity, and get it received for undoubted truth, so that others may act from it and rest upon it with the utmost confidence. Now, to the removal of all this false swearing, God would have his people earnestly to apply themselves. Note that God does not say here what Jesus afterwards said, “Swear not at all.” The time was not ripe for such an exhortation. The words of Jesus aim directly at that ideal state when every man shall speak truth as naturally as he breathes pure air; when it shall be as impossible for him to speak or even think the false as to live amid carbonic acid gas. One may say that even here, in this word through Jeremiah, there is nothing to bind the hearer to an oath. The injunction has a permissive element. A man needs not to say, “Jehovah liveth;” but if he does say so, let him bear in mind all that the expression involves. It is the most solemn way of securing that all speaking and acting shall be true and sincere; that all judgments shall be according to proven facts and Jehovah’s declared principles of justice; and that all life, in short, should be pervaded and filled with energy by a spirit of righteousness. To begin with, what an abomination it was to say, “As Jehovah liveth,” when the practice showed that whatever true recognition of Deity obtained among these people was on the high places and towards the heathen idols! Then from this it was only too easy to bring forward Jehovah’s Name in connection with all sorts of falsehood, cruelty, and oppression. The change is to come by bringing truth into the oath. There must ever live in the mind of the oath-taker a distinct apprehension and conviction as to Jehovah’s real, enduring existence. It must be remembered how he said to Moses, “I am that I am.” And, following the history of Israel onward, there must be an ever-clearer perception of his character, of his power, of his constant observation of individual life, and his fiery, consuming anger against all iniquity. Then, if all this truth, justice, and righteousness appear where before there was such a loathsome sink of deception and corruption, what will be the result?
II. THE NATIONS WILL ENTER INTO AN INEXPRESSIBLY SATISFACTORY RELATION TOWARDS JEHOVAH. His aspect, in their eyes, altogether alters. A step is takena great step, and one that makes all others easytowards that gathering of the nations to Jehovah’s throne which is mentioned in Jer 3:17. There is now something to awe and to attract the hitherto worshippers of idols. They say that a man is known by his friends. If the man be one not yet seen, living at a distance, he can only be judged of by those professing to be his friends, with whom we come into actual intercourse. If those whom we see be upright, generous, magnanimous, loving, we shall have no difficulty in crediting that the unseen one is the same. Israel having been what it had been, it was little wonder if the heathen came to have a very poor opinion of Jehovah. But Israel is now called to a very different life, and, in particular, to make such a use of the oath as that the nations shall not merely have their opinion of Jehovah altered, but shall find in him a source of blessing to themselves and one in whom, without risk of shame and confusion, they can continually glory. Jehovah, God of Israel, whom Israel at last has truly honored, obtains then more than a bare acknowledgment. He is exulted in as Lord and Benefactor to all the nations of the earth. “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” (Rev 19:6). This is the consummation of creation’s choral song, and it comes from practicing truth, justice, and righteousness in such a way as will fully please Jehovah.Y.
Jer 4:3
Thoroughness in spiritual culture.
There is put before us here an agricultural figure, which our observation of fallow ground in England, at present, fails to give us the power of understanding. When we look at an English ploughman turning a piece of meadowland into arable, there does not seem anything very difficult about his work. Why, then, should breaking up the fallow ground be so hard? Why should this be reckoned an appropriate figure for something evidently difficult, something, it would seem, habitually shirked and the necessity of attending to which the men of Judah and Jerusalem did not sufficiently recognize? The answer is to be found in a state of things which, after all our efforts, will probably present itself imperfectly to the mind. By many of the Hebrew husbandmen the cultivation of their land seems to have been managed in a very imperfect, careless, happy-go-lucky sort of way. In the moveless East, what things are today tell us pretty well what they were two thousand years ago. Dr. Thomson, speaking of the plain of Gennesareta district which Josephus describes as extremely fruitfulsays, “Gennesaret is now pre-eminently fruitful, in thorns. They grow, up among the grain, or the gram’ among them.” And again on the same page, “These farmers all need the exhortation of Jeremiah, ‘Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.’ They are too slot to neglect this; and the thorns, springing up, choke the seed, so that it cannot come to maturity”. The truth, then, was that the land was but half reclaimed from the wilderness. To have properly reclaimed it, and then kept it in a satisfactory state, would have required a great deal of trouble. And since from such fertile land the husbandman, with but little effort, could get enough to serve the passing day, he did not concern himself to make the land do its best.
Hence we see that this admonition, whatever its first aspect of obscurity, is really a most important one for all of us. The exhortation is to nothing less than thoroughness in spiritual culture. Thoroughness in the cultivation of the heart, as a soil wherein the seeds of Divine truth are sown, pays in the highest sense of the word. Look at what science, skill, and the bold investment of capital for the enrichment of the soil and for machinery to save labor, have done for modern farming. The full productiveness of God’s earth seems to be apprehended by comparatively few. And if this is so in things natural, there is no wonder at all that we should be so little conscious of this thoroughness required in cultivating our spiritual nature. There are many human hearts where subsoil plowing is as yet unknown. There is g soil that grows an abundant crop from plants of human origin, but the seed that God sows either falls dead or dies after a brief struggle to find hold and sustenance in the heart. The word through Jeremiah here is but the germ from which our Lord expounded his parable of the four kinds of soil. There is laid on each one of us a heavy burdenthe stewardship of a human heart. And yet it is a precious and honorable burden. Far beyond the ripest, sweetest, and most copious fruits of the soil beneath our feet, is the fruit that may come from within us. But the culture must be thorough. True, that means toil, patience, watchfulness, discrimination; but what great work was ever done without them?Y.
Jer 4:9
Despair among the leaders in Israel.
Let us consider how Jehovah leads the prophet up to the emphatic, and what we may call consummating, announcement of this verse. One severe sentence comes on another, until at last the prophet himself, crushed and overwhelmed, gives utterance to the sense he feels of contradiction to former gracious words. This cheerless outlook to Israel, he says, is as a sword piercing to the soul. Looking back, then, through the previous eight verses, we find a spirit of thoroughness running through the whole. Jehovah has asked for thoroughness, and seems to intimate that the-demand will be practically neglected. Thoroughness in turning to him; thoroughness in the putting away of all abominations; thoroughness in observing the sanctity and obligation of the oath; thoroughness in the culture of spiritual life; thoroughness in circumcision of heart; thoroughness everywhere, is the order of the day. Then on the other handbecause, in spite of all remonstrances, there is a clinging to the superficial modes in which all merely human reformations are managedwe are confronted with the thoroughness of God’s work. If men will not be thorough, at all events God will be so. His fury will come forth like the unquenchable flame; his agents, in the shape of invincible armies, will bear down resistlessly on his unfaithful people; and, as a sort of climax, the very heads and guides will acknowledge themselves utterly overcome. Such is the scene presented in Jer 4:9. Consider
I. HOW THE CONSTERNATION AND HUMILIATION OF THESE MEN NOW IS IN CONTRAST TO THEIR PREVIOUS CONDUCT. We do not stay here to make discriminations among the four classes of prominent men here indicated. The general truth underlying the conduct of all of them is that the leading persons in the State would assuredly lose their self-confidence. Brazen and complacent as that self-confidence is, Jehovah is undermining it in secret, and it wilt come down with a crash. These men were associated in deception; each one deceived, first of all, himself; and then by a continuous mutual action and reaction, the power both of deceiving and of being deceived became very great indeed. The king, upon giving the slightest encouragement, would become a center for all sorts of flatteries and arrogant assurances; and indeed, as long as it was a matter of keeping their own people in subjection, these leaders might have comparatively little difficulty. They knew what they were dealing with, and could keep it in bounds by virtue of long practice and cleverly transmitted tricks of management. There was a certain ground of experience which they went upon in all their contemptuous refusals to listen to God’s prophet. But now there comes up, all at once, a danger outside their experience, and not only defying their resources, but coming down on those resources like a deluge, and utterly sweeping them away. When the downtrodden and aggrieved in their own borders begin to mutter sedition and meditate conspiracy, they may, perhaps, stop this peril in its beginning; but when the majestic destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way, how shall he be met? The lion out of the thicket is manageable enough if the man against whom he advances happens to have a loaded rifle in his hand, and the power of using it with unerring aim; but what if he has nothing more than a cudgel? Kings and princes, priests and prophets, might successfully join in counsel to mislead and keep down their own people; but a strong and proud army, that has come forth like a mighty wild beast intent on prey, is not to be turned back by mere counsels. In the last resort strength must be opposed to strength. The sole virtue of skill lies in this, that it can make the most of strength. But where the strength is lacking, skill can do nothing. No amount of skill can wake a walking-stick do the work of a rifle, and the great peril of most human lives lies just in this, that they go on in the contented use of ordinary resources for ordinary needs. Practically speaking, extraordinary needs are not thought of till they come. There are voices to us, even as to these kings, princes, priests, and prophets of old; but we do not heed them, and meanwhile the lion out of the thicket, all unsuspected, is coming nearer and nearer to us.
II. NOTE THE FORCIBLE EXPRESSION WITH REGARD TO THE KINGS AND PRINCES. Their hearts are to perish, not but what priests and prophets may have the same experience. Hebrew parallelism is to be borne in mind. The description of king and princes applies also to priest and prophet, and vice versa. They were overwhelmed in a common catastrophe. It is the heart-perishing itself we would call attention to, whoever the subject of it might he. One is reminded of the similar expression, tolerably frequent in the Old Testament, of the heart melting. With regard to the king, there would be an utter collapse of all kingly dignity and pretension. It is not the mere conquest of territory and the desolation of it that can turn the supreme master into a complete slave. Complete subjection is only achieved when body and mind are alike in bondage. Many a captive has shown himself nobler than his captor; his heart being swelled out with even an increase of vitality, courage, and resource in the very hour-when the ungodly seem to have triumphed. Discrowned kings have sometimes been more regal than on the coronation-day itself. The thing to be marked here is that these leaders being cast down outwardly were equally cast down inwardly. The whole nature crashes down in ruins. The dispossessed leader becomes as dejected in soul as he is in station. What a warning for us, then, is this melancholy prediction! It is very certain that to us the outward casting down, at all events, must come. Natural resources, limited and temporary at the best, are always showing weak points, always needing patching up, and the most that can be done is to postpone the evil day. And then what is the end to be? Are our hearts also to perish? Is there to come on us utter despair and brokenness of spirit? It need not be so. Look on the courage of genuine Christians in captivity, in martyrdom, in poverty, amid the attacks of slander, in the midst of spiritual non-success. If the heart perish, it will be for want of believing resort to the succors which come down from the heavenly places. God can so unite, inspire, instruct, and gladden the heart of every believer, as effectually to deliver At from perishing. And remember, we are every one called to be, if not kings, at all events viceroys in our own life. There must be no yielding to presumptuous and audacious dictation of men. He who leans upon the mere assertions of others, because he is himself indisposed to make the necessary effort for finding out truth, must be prepared at last to get into that state which is described as one in which the heart perishes.Y.
Jer 4:11-13
The uses of the wind.
Not all the uses of the wind are set forth here, but enough is mentioned to remind us how God can turn a beneficial agent into a destructive one very rapidly and decisively. The force Of the unquenchable fire has already been spoken of (Jer 4:4); and it is a sufficiently dreadful thought that fire, so genial, so useful, with such a place in the house, andso far as Israel was concernedsuch a place in the service of God, should thus have become, in the thoughts to be associated with it, dreadful as sword, famine, or pestilence. The man who has had his house burned down, to the utter loss of all his goods, will henceforth be apt to make grim comments in his own heart when he hears men extolling the benefactor fire. And now God comes to another great force in the material world, and shows how it can be the symbol of the workings out of his holy wrath.
1. Observe how he calls attention to the beneficial working of the wind. Frequently the force of the wind is of such a moderated, yet effectual kind, that it is used to fan and to cleanse. These invading hosts, it was to be remembered, were not essentially destructive. They were made up of human individuals, each of whom had measureless capabilities of benefiting his fellow men. Possibly from these very northern lands there had come buyers and sellers, bringing commercial prosperity to Israel. Is it not plain that we should always consider, when one approaches us in a hostile and threatening way, that it may be possible by a certain course of conduct to have him come in a very different way? Many enemies have been friends, and after their enmity has come to a head and done much damage, it is possible for them to become friends again. This destroying wind, fierce and dreadful as it was for a time, would yet subside, and fanning and cleansing work be done again.
2. It is worth noticing that the Spirit of God which has such large power to bless has also power to destroy. The Spirit of God is, on the highest authority, compared to the wind. Indeed, that is what the name signifiesthe breath or wind from God. Working through Peter in the glorious apostolic days, we see that Spirit healing the lame man; we hear him speaking mighty, convincing, renewing words to thousands hitherto indifferent; bringing men into correct and firm apprehensions of truth that had been misunderstood or not understood at all; and filling their minds with such a light of promise as gave reality and indescribable charm to the future. But that same Spirit struck down Ananias and Sapphira with an appalling and fatal blow, and made Elymas the sorcerer suddenly blind. Only a turn is needed, and the open hand which God extends, the hollow of it filled with the gifts of his grace, can be closed so as to smite in wrath. God does not need to go far afield for the instruments of his chastisement. The energy of his Holy Spirit can destroy as well as make alive; and Jesus, who is Savior, is also appointed to judge and condemn.Y.
Jer 4:14
The unwashed heart and the vain purposes cherished in it.
There are here an exhortation and a question which, taken together, pierce very deep, and suggest once more the true cause of all the terrible calamities which are to befall Israel; for though Jerusalem is addressed, the repentance and remedy for all the evils in question must come from the action of a united people. Jeremiah’s words in verse 10 are in a measure representative words; they indicate the way in which the nation would conclude that Jehovah had promised one thing; whereas unite another thing had happened, and that evidently by his disposition. And so Jehovah meets Jeremiah with this word, so that he shall not persist in a mistaken attempt to harmonize Jehovah’s predictions. Further, he is to declare the same thing to Jerusalem, that being the great center where kings and princes, priests and prophets are gathered together. Instead of looking outward and ignorantly complaining of God, let them look inward, with practical intent, and see what they can do by way of heart-reformation. These stupendous perils can all be removed, but Jehovah by himself cannot remove them. In one sense, of course, he could do so. The wind might be made to subside, the lion be driven back to his thicket, the destroyer of the Gentiles annihilated. But there would be no permanent putting right in this if Israel remained the same. Israel indeed might think that, if only the enemies vanished, then the sword would indeed be withdrawn from the soul. The hearts of the king and princes did not perish simply because of the hosts that were gathered against them. This was a reason so far; but in another sense no reason at all, seeing it did not go to the root of the matter. But now Jehovah does go to the root of the matter; his Word is indeed a sword reaching deeper than the superficial thoughts of the people.
I. THE EXHORTATION.
1. The heart is to be cleansed. The heart. Persistently does God drag these people to look within. Either they were not willing to do so; or not able to do so, or, what is perhaps a more correct way of putting it, they lacked both willingness and ability. They would look anywhere but to the true cause of all their ills and to the true sphere where redemption and security were to be worked out. If they would only attend to their hearts and see in their hearts what God saw in them, all the seeds of peril, corruption, and everlasting shame, then they would get on to the right way, and being delivered from fundamental errors in their thoughts, they would come to the apprehension and practice of fundamental truths. They had already been told of the mockery of a mere outward circumcision, and enjoined to circumcise their hearts. Now the figure is varied, and they are told to cleanse their hearts. It is because the heart of the king and the prince is so polluted that it perishes. If it were a clean heart it would be a strong heart, invincible against panic and despair.
2. The filth that is to be taken out of the heart is wickedness. It takes a long time to work the conviction into the minds of many people that wickedness is as filth. These very people loathe the waifs and strays who think nothing of being constantly begrimed with dirt. To such the impurity of the great unwashed is a loathsome thing; it nauseates them to come within sight or scent of it. But let such recollect that even if, as far as their bodies are concerned, they have daily changes of fine linen, white and clean, that is a mere trifle if the consciousness within be habitually defiled by inhuman and degrading thoughts. There is, of course, a very practical truth in the common saying that “Cleanliness is next to godliness;” but cleanliness of the conscience, removal of every slimy stain of self, is but one of the aspects, of perfect godliness. If only we are laboring to cleanse our hearts from wickedness, all other cleanliness will assuredly follow. In proportion as wickedness is cleansed out, there will follow all outward decencies, courtesy of manner and refinement of tastes. The right inwardly grows to the comely outwardly; but if that inward right be lacked, then all apparent comeliness is but the whited sepulcher.
3. The mode of cleansing. The word chosen to indicate this is a very significant one. The mere general term for cleansing is not sufficient; nor even the more restricted but still general term for cleansing with water. The washing to be done is that sort which in the literal instance is to be done by a vigorous trampling of the feet. The Hebrew word is the same one in which the profoundly penitent David prays that God would wash him from his iniquity, and again to wash him so that he should be whiter than snow (Psa 51:1-19.). And so here we have another instance of the unremitting thoroughness which marks this chapter. It is the heart that is to be cleansed, and that by the most vigorous kind of washing. The accumulated filth of years has entered into the very texture of the fabric. The truth is that the only way of carrying out the exhortation is to submit the heart to him in exactly the same spirit as David did. God is the Cleanser, and only when our nature has passed through all his purifying agencies shall we really know what perfect human nature is. We do indeed see that perfection in Jesus, but with such distorted vision that the seeing cannot be called seeing as we ought to see.
II. THE QUESTION. The thoughts with respect to which the question is asked are really purposes. This will come out more clearly on considering some of the expressions in which the same Hebrew word is used; e.g. when the woman of Tekcah spoke to David of God devising means to bring back his banished (2Sa 14:14); so Eliphaz tells Job that God disappoints the devices of the crafty (Job 5:12). Several of the Proverbs contain the word. The thoughts, i.e. counsels, of the righteous are just (Pro 12:5). Where there is no deliberation, purposes are disappointed (Pro 15:22). There are many devices in a man s heart, but the counsel of God shall stand (Pro 19:21). Purposes are established by counsel, i.e. there must be wisdom in forming them, and prudence in carrying them out. A comparison of these selected passages will amply suffice to show what God means by vain thoughts, and what sort of practical thoughts he would wish us to put in their place. Man is meant to live wish definite ends in view, on which he may expend his strength and faculties. But when these ends are his ownself-originated and self-gratifyingthen they are emphatically vain. They can only continue by deceiving the mind that proposes them and holds to them. The question therefore is as to when our eyes shall be opened to perceive the right purposes of life, the solid and attainable ones, the purposes that are not vain, because they are God’s purposes and because he provides all resources needed for carrying them out. Jerusalem wished these terrible troubles from outside to be at an end, just that it might resume its own projects. On the other hand, God wished it from the very heart to adopt his projects in order that then he might take all obstacles and enemies completely out of the way.Y.
Jer 4:22
Those who are wise to do evil.
This description of “my people” has a curious resemblance to the exhortation of our Lord when he told his friends to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. These people, according to Jeremiah’s observation, had all the wisdom of the serpent, but it was for serpentine purposes. And the worst of it was that they hurt themselves the most. Note
I. THE REFERENCE TO MAN‘S GREAT POWERS. Even in his headlong, infatuated descent to ruin, the great powers are manifest. It is the very perversion and ruin of what is so noble in its original constitution that helps to give one an insight, deep even though melancholy, into all that makes up the nobility. A temple in ruins fills one with thoughts which could never be excited by looking at a dilapidated shed. Jeremiah looks upon Jerusalem and the men who are leaders there (verse 9), and their great human faculties cannot he concealed from him. When man sinks into sin, this does not destroy the great human powers; it simply distorts their operation. We look at men as they are, and whatever the sad reflections coming into our minds, we still see the supremacy in terrestrial creation, the power to adapt means to ends, and all that strength and suppleness of intellect which are so much more than the greatest strength of a brute.
II. THESE GREAT POWERS MUST BE USED. The human intellect cannot be left to lie like a dead sword in the scabbard. In one sense the intellect is but an instrument. having in itself no character either for good or evil, any more than a piece of machinery. Everything depends on the disposition and intents of the man using it. But then the intellect, instrumental as it is, is not a mere instrument, but has a living connection with the rest of human nature. It must act, with more or less energy, according to the individuality of its possessor. These faculties must be used, if not for good, then for evil. History abounds in instances of wicked and selfish men who have achieved their mischievous ends by that very intellectual force which was given for something very different. Hence the importance of early training and direction, so far as one will can alter the course of another. Every individual whose faculties are diverted from good purposes is so much gain to the powers of evil. There is no neutral ground to which to retire. To go out of the one path is to go into the other. This was the sad thought that, even while Jerusalem was going down, lower, lower, towards the hour of its capture and desolation, there were yet in it many men who had the power, if only their hearts had been fight, to do much towards saving and blessing their country. But all their thoughts, their utmost acuteness of mind, were given to build and enrich self.Y.
Jer 4:23-27
A threatened return from cosmos to chaos.
It is impossible to read this passage without having the first chapter of Genesis brought to mind. Moreover, it was intended that it should be brought to mind. In Gen 1:1-31. we have the brief, sublime description, impossible to forget, of the advance from chaos to cosmos. Here in Jeremiah we have a very sad and suggestive indication of possible return from cosmos to chaos. These two words, it will be admitted, are often used very loosely. Particularly is this true of the latter. We talk of things having got into a chaotic condition, when if such really were so, it would be a very terrible condition indeed. For what is chaos? It is the state indicated at the very beginning of the Scriptures, the state out of which God fashioned what we call the cosmos or the world. Bear in mind that the creation described in Genesis is not the making of something out of nothing, but the fashioning of formless, empty matter into an orderly collection of appropriate parts and beyond that an innumerable array of living, active organisms. “The earth was without form and void.” Strictly speaking, the earth spoken of in Genesis was as yet an ideal thing. “And darkness was on the face of the abyss.” As the writer of the narrative conceived it, there stretched out from the formless, empty earth an impenetrable, rayless depth of space. This is chaos, where there is no ray of light, not even the slightest beginning of order, not even the smallest seed of life. But with the moving of God’s breath upon the face of the water cosmos begins. Light comes; and then day and night are defined, and heaven and earth, and so on through the familiar procession of God’s wonderful works, till cosmos gets its terrestrial crown in the fashioning of man. It is worth while for all who would rejoice in the works and ways of God to get a clear notion of the difference between chaos and cosmos.
Then bearing this difference in mind, WHAT A TERRIBLE PROSPECT JEREMIAH HINTS AT IN THIS PASSAGE! Just by the profit and glory of the ascent from chaos to cosmos in Genesis do we measure the loss and shame of the descent from cosmos to chaos in Jeremiah. It is earth we see, with the men and women, the domestic and social bends, city and country, all occupations of mankind, all that is highest in human attainments; and this aggregation, which comes from man’s toiling development of the cosmical elements presented to him, is seen sliding back to chaos again. There can be no mistake about it. Mark, it is not what the prophet hears, but what he sees. “I beheld’ is repeated. And looking out he sees not the accustomed scene of life and activity, but the earth without form and void. He looks for the heavens where dwell the sun by day and moon and stars by night, but there is no light of any sort. The mountains and hills, which always were so significant of strength and grandeur to the Hebrew imagination, show signs of being moved away. No man could be seen. There are several words in Hebrew all rendered by the English word “man,” but Jeremiah’s word here is the same with that in Gen 1:26. Then, moreover, all the birds of the heaven fly away. Other inhabited and cultivated places have become as the wilderness, but not as an uninhabited wilderness. Note Isa 14:23 : Babylon is there described as being made a possession for the bittern. Thus it is indeed desolated, but evidently the birds do not fly away from it. Here, however, even the birds, which so easily flit from place to place, disappear as if they had no hope of making in this place their nests and finding in it their sustenance. Thus every detail points to the chance, the possibility, of Chaos resuming his ancient reign. But now observe
THERE IS AN ARREST BEFORE SUCH A DEPLORABLE CONSUMMATION. “I will not make a full end.” Man the individual and men the social community may slide a long way towards destruction, may be as it were on the brink, without a remedy; and yet God can so act as to arrest, restore, and consolidate anew, with such internal purity and coherency as will defy further lapse. Note the full significance of the use of the word in the Greek Testament. It was into the that the true Light came. John’s great directing word to his disciples as he saw Jesus coming to him was, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the .” Where all should be perfect order, vigorous life, and exuberant fruitfulness, there is discord, contradiction; everything jars, and there is a never-intermitting groan of pain. All this Jesus can take away, and must take away. It is through him that whatever promises and hopes lie in verse 27 are to be carried into effect. This whole passage, therefore, suggests an aspect in which the need of Christ’s work and the reality of it may be very profitably considered.Y.
Jer 4:30
Departed charms that cannot be restored.
The figure here is of a woman, once beautiful and attractive. There is thus a return to the theme of Jer 2:1-37; where the idolatrous land is set forth as a wife departing from her husband. In the days of her beauty she has fascinated many lovers; but now the beauty is gone, and she makes desperate attempts to compensate for vanished charms by external adornments; only to find her efforts cause for deeper humiliation. Consider
I. THE CHARM OF NATURAL ATTRACTIONS. There is a time when youth and beauty are comparatively independent of external aids. So there was a time in Israel when no special devices were needed to keep the admiration and envy of the world. David and Solomon made the kingdom great, not by a dexterous concealment of poverty and hollowness under external magnificence, but by a simple and scarcely avoidable exhibition of the greatness of real resources. The kingdom was one of strong men, valiant warriors, and overflowing material wealth. So it is with individuals still. They attract and influence, not by vain pretensions, but by what they really are. The attractive element in them may be overvalued, but at all events it is not a mere appearance. Nothing is gained by refusing to admit the success and charm of natural resources. Confidence in them is justified by the way in which the world receives and encourages those who possess them.
II. THE FOLLY OF FORGETTING THAT NATURAL ATTRACTIONS MUST FADE AND DISAPPEAR. Probably they are but comparatively fewthose vain men and women who use dyes, cosmetics, and paints, under the notion that thereby they conceal the ravages of time. Nevertheless, ludicrous as such devices are, there are only too many who do the same thing, so far as the essential principle is concerned. They cannot be got to admit the failure of power and faculty. Habit is too strong to enable them rightly to apprehend their diminished resources. Hosea said of Ephraim, “Gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not” (Hos 7:9). There may even be a nobler side to such a spirit, viz. the resolution not to give way before difficulties. But we must take care that an admirable element in conduct does not blind us to what may be disadvantageous or even perilous in it; e.g. one hears sometimes of judges afflicted with deafnessa most dangerous infirmity in the administration of justice, and at least a most discommoding one to all who have to address the judge. What is needed is that, even in the days of youth and strength, of unimpaired faculties of sense and intellect, one should remember that far other days are coming. Consider in connection with this the last eighteen verses of Ecclesiastes. The spectacles and the speaking-trumpet are all very well in their way, so far as they make an easier, smoother slope to the grave; but what folly it is to be assiduous about these things, and utterly careless about that new, Divine, and eternal life which shows itself in all the grandeur of its peculiar principle and strength, precisely amid the decays of the natural man! What sadder sight can there be than an old man, clinging to the worn, torn, weather-beaten, age-marked sides of his earthly tabernacle, and doing his best to resist every incursion from the forerunners of death; simply because he knows of no better mansion, because he is utterly ignorant of the “house of God not made with hands, eternal in the heavens!”Y.
Jer 4:1. If thou wilt returnreturn unto me If thou wilt returnthou shalt return. [Thou shalt dwell with me. Houb.] If thou wilt remove thy idols, thou shalt not be removed. In the former part, says Houbigant, the conversion of their [hearts and] morals is spoken of; in the latter, the stability of their government. These words are evidently a continuation of the discourse beginning at the 6th verse of the preceding chapter, and of the prophet’s address to the Israelitish captives in the 20th verse of the same chapter.
4. THE CALL TO RETURN IN THE PRESENT
Jer 4:1-4
1If thou returnest, O Israel, saith Jehovah,
Return unto Me. 2But swear As Jehovah liveth!
In truth and justice and righteousness, And boast of him.
3For thus saith Jehovah to the men of Judah and Jerusalem,
Break up your fallow-ground3
And sow not among thorns.
4Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
And take away the foreskin of your heart, EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
The fundamental thought of the whole discourse (Return) is distinctly stamped on the head of this section. True and honest conversion is the indispensable condition of present life. All that the prophet has previously said, partly in severe rebuke, partly in friendly invitation, was to serve as an exhortation to procure an entrance into this life. If the people do not heed this exhortation, they fall inevitably under the just judgment of God.
Jer 4:1. If thou returnest waver not. These words point back to Jer 3:7; Jer 3:10. The call Return to me according to Jer 3:7, had been addressed to Israel in vain. Judah on the other hand, according to Jer 3:10, had been obedient to the call Return, but not to the to me, for their return was not hearty but hypocritical. We have shown above that by this is meant the reform of Josiah. A hypocritical return is the same as one which is not to the Lord, for the hypocrite avoids indeed the forms in which his sins have hitherto been manifested, but he does not turn positively with his heart to the Lord. The Lord does not therefore allow the conversion occasioned by the reformation under Josiah to be regarded as unto Him. And hence the prophet thus addresses the people: if you would answer the call Return to me (Jer 3:7), it must not be done by a return with falsehood which is no return to me at all, but by such a conversion as may be truly thus designated.Comp. Hos. 6:14. An example of such a conversion, not unto the Lord is also the reformation of Jehu, 2Ki 9:10 Comp. especially 2Ki 10:31. In the reformation of Josiah, Judah did outwardly put away their abominations out of Gods sight (2Ki 23:4 sqq.) but they were far from directing their hearts fixedly and alone to God. Instead of this they wavered, wishing partly to serve the Lord and partly also their idols. Comp. Zep 1:5. How ambiguous the conduct of the people must then have been is clear from 2Ki 22:14 sqq.; Jer 23:25-27; 2Ch 34:22-28. Comp. Herzog, Real-Enc. VII. 36.In translating by waver I appeal to the radical signification of the word, to oscillate, by virtue of which it is used of the waving of a reed (2Ki 14:15), the flapping of wings (Psa 11:1; Pro 26:2), of the wandering of a fugitive (Gen 4:12) and of the shaking of the head, (Jer 18:16; Psa 44:15). From the meaning of commiserari which it has in several places (Jer 16:5; Jer 48:17, etc.) it is evident that the word is also capable of being transferred to the sphere of spiritual relations.
Jer 4:2. But swear and boast of him. In swearing by Jehovah in truth, justice and righteousness is included not only that they swear the truth (Lev 19:12; Num 30:3; Jer 5:2 coll. Mat 5:33) but also that they swear by Jehovah alone and not also by idols, as according to Zep 1:5. they then did. To refer to Israel, and then to assume either a change of person or a quotation from Gen 18:18, (coll. Jer 12:3; Jer 22:18; Jer 26:4; Jer 28:14) or to read (as ex. gr.E. Meier) is arbitrary. The reference to God is perfectly justified by the connection. The moral course of Israel is to win over the heathen to God, who is the source of that power by which they pursue this course (1Pe 3:1-2), as on the other hand the sin of Israel is designated as causing the heathen to blaspheme (Rom 2:24, coll. Eze 36:20; Eze 36:23). As in Isa 65:16, so also here signifies to recognize God as the source of all blessing, and therefore to seek all blessing only through him. And boast of him, refers to the possession of the desired blessing. For they justly boast in a dispenser of blessing, who causes those who bless themselves in his name to appear really blessed. Comp. Isa 41:16; Jer 9:22-23; Psa 34:3; Psa 105:3.
Jer 4:3. For thus saith Jehovah sow not among thorns. here is not causative but explicative. The words return unto Me, waver not and swear by Jehovah in truth are so explained in what follows as to show plainly that the prophet has in view the hypocritical half-heartedness with which the people submitted to the reformation of Josiah. Break up your fallow-ground is from Hos 10:12. Israel is not to sow on the unemployed field of his heart, but to break it up, as is done with wild land, which is cleansed from weeds only by deep and repeated ploughing. It was just in this that the people failed in Josiahs reformation. It was a sowing among thorns. Comp. Luk 8:7.
Jer 4:4. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord your doings. Circumcision to the Lord is opposed to that which is done only in accordance with outward ordinance or custom. The latter is done merely on the body, the former on the heart also, of which sin is the real defiling foreskin. Comp. Lev 26:41; Jer 9:25, coll. Exo 6:12 (Jer 4:10); Jer 6:13. The expression take away the foreskin of your heart is a reminiscence from Deu 10:16; Deu 30:6. Comp. Kueper, S. 10.Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, a frequent formula in Jeremiah (Comp. Jer 11:2; Jer 11:12; Jer 17:20; Jer 18:11; Jer 25:2; Jer 35:17, etc.) in which a certain prerogative of the citizens of Jerusalem is recognizable. Comp. Jer 8:1; Jer 13:13; Jer 19:3.My fury, etc. Comp. Amo 5:6; Jer 7:20.The words on account of the wickedness, etc. (coll. 21:22; Jer 23:2; Jer 26:3; Jer 44:22) are from Deu 28:20. The prophet in these words prepares the way for the transition to the second main division. Israel obeys not the call, the fury of the Lord must therefore break forth. The manner in which this will take place is described in section second.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. On Jer 4:1. Mere turning from earthly things without positive returning to God, the pole of the soul, is not true repentance. So long as the prodigal son, after the loss of all earthly goods, had not formed the resolution of returning to his father, he was not yet in a penitent condition. A man, who should denounce this or that sin, but yet not devote himself wholly and decidedly to God, would thus give no guarantee of the genuineness or permanence of his conversion. Comp. what is said of following Jesus, Mat 19:16; Luk 9:59 sqq. For repentance to be honest, it must have the right object, i. e. it must be towards God.Cramer.
2. On Jer 4:2. Swearing by Jehovah involves the acknowledgment of His deity. For no one would swear by Him who was not convinced that He is the witness of truth and the avenger of false-hood. But when one swears by others he robs God of His glory and gives it to idols; Isa 42:8.
3. On Jer 4:3. Rooting out weeds from the field of the heart is the most difficult part of repentance. Many would receive the gospel gladly if they were permitted to leave the thorns and sow the seed of the gospel among them. Comp. Mat 6:24; 1Ki 18:21.
4. On Jer 4:4. We Christians also know of a double circumcision, a bodily and a spiritual, which however are not related to each other, as the bodily and spiritual circumcision of Judaism. For according to Col 2:11 baptism corresponds to conversion as the , as the . Thus the sacrament of baptism is the spiritual and bodily basis of the , which is spoken of in Php 3:3, coll. Rom 2:29; Rom 6:1 sqq.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
1. Origen treats this passage in his peculiar style in his fifth homily on Jeremiah. Vide S. 149 and 164 sqq., ed. Lommatzsch.
2. On Jer 4:3. We Christians also, like the Jews, love to sow under the hedges. We allow the divine word to be strewn on the field of our heart, we hear and read Gods word on week-days and Sundays, but we also allow the thickets of evil passions and sinful habits to grow on.Hochstetter, 12 Parables (12 Gleichnisse, etc., S. 10).
3. True repentance consists (a) in decided turning away from evil (not sowing among the thorns but breaking up new ground); (b) in decided turning to God (positive devotion to God alone, Jer 4:1, so that He alone is served and worshipped, Jer 4:2).
Footnotes:
[1]Jer 4:1.[Blayney renders thou shalt not be removed from before me. Movers and Hitzig also connect the words out of my sight with what follows: neque a facie mea oberraveris. Henderson and Noyes following De Wette, have Thou shalt not be a fugitive (wanderer). Umbreit renders as in the text.S. R. A].
[2]Jer 4:2. The Perfect with Vau consec., expresses intended result. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr. 84, h. sqq. [The usual rendering is the simple future].
[3]Jer 4:3.[Blayney renders well Break up your ground in tillage. The German Commentators have Brechet euch Neubruch for which we have no exact equivalent.S. R. A].
SECOND DIVISION
Jer 4:5 to Jer 6:26
Threatening of punishment for neglecting to return
The call, return was unheeded. The prophet therefore now proceeds to announce the punishment. He does this in three sections: in the first (chap. 4) he announces the approaching calamity; in the second (chap. 5) he shows particularly its causes in the moral corruption of the people; in the third (Jer 6:1-26) he recapitulates the main thought of the discourse, adding to the repeated proof of the incorrigibility of the people, a repeated admonition and a threatening of still severer judgments
Description of the expected judgment (Jer 4:5-31)
1. This is described as future under a triple emblem (Jer 4:5-18)
a. The first emblem: the Lion.
Jer 4:5-10
5Declare it in Judah and publish it in Jerusalem,
And speakand blow the trumpet in the land, 6Raise banners towards Zion,
Flee! stand not! 7A lion cometh up from his thicket,4
And a destroyer of nations hath broken up. 8For this gird on sackcloth, lament and howl!
For the heat of Jehovahs anger hath not turned from us.
9And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah,
The heart of the king shall fail and the heart of the princes, 10And I said: Ah Lord Jehovah,
Surely thou hast prepared6 deception for this people and Jerusalem,
Saying: ye shall have peace, EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Jer 4:5. Declare it in Judah fortified cities. The prophet speaks, and indeed as the mouth of God. This is seen from the , I, Jer 4:6. The persons addressed are primarily those who dwell on the border, who are to inform those in the interior, even as far as the capital, of the invasion of the enemy. That which is declared is not the command to blow the trumpet, and to cry assemble, etc. For why should not those first addressed themselves at once cry to their next neighbors, assemble. etc.? Accordingly all that comes after the general sentence, declareJerusalem, is only introductory to assemble. Thus it is evident that the Chethib is not incorrect, and the Keri, which is followed by the ancient commentators and many MSS. is therefore unnecessary. Assemble, etc., should have come after the first . But the prophet (1) according to well-known linguistic usage adds an accompanying circumstance paratactically, (2) he distributes the command to cry into three parts, of which the two first refer to the form, the last to the contents.On the construction comp. Jer 13:18; 1Sa 2:3; Naegelsb.Gr. 95, g. Anm.
Jer 4:6. Raise banners towards Zion great destruction. The signal is to be so arranged that it will indicate to the inhabitants the direction of flight. only in the Hiphil =to fly to (Exo 9:19), and to make flight, i.e. to flee (thus only besides here in Jer 6:1; Isa 10:31).From the north points back to Jer 1:13-14. Compare the remarks there made.
Jer 4:7. A lion cometh up without inhabitants. The enemy is here represented by the emblem of a lion as in Jer 49:19; Jer 50:44; Jer 50:17.Without inhabitant. Comp. Jer 2:15, and the remarks thereon.
Jer 4:8. For this gird on turned from us. This last sentence points back to Jer 2:35. The people had expected a return of God to graciousness on the ground of their hypocritical return under Josiah.
Jer 4:9. And it shall come to pass full of horror. After the prophet in Jer 4:8 has summoned them to general lamentation, he describes the effect of the calamity on those who are called by their position to provide means and ways of defence; they are helpless, and lose their presence of mind. in the sense of understanding, ex. gr.Pro 28:26; Pro 15:32; Hos 4:11; Hos 7:11; Jer 5:21. Comp. Delitzsch, Psychol. IV., 12.Shall be amazed. Comp. Eze 4:17; Job 17:9; Job 18:20.
Jer 4:10. And I said even to the soul. The prophet here declares what impression was made by the denunciatory prophecy upon himself, after he had previously in Jer 4:9 described the impression which its fulfilment will make on the chiefs of the people. This denunciatory prophecy does not at all harmonize with that earlier and exceedingly glorious one in Jer 3:12-25. This was correctly perceived by Jerome, who says: Quia supra dixerat: in illo tempore vocabunt Jerusalem solium Dei, etc. (Jer 3:17), et nunc dicit: peribit cor regis (Jer 4:9), turbatur propheta et in se Deum putat esse mentitum; nec intelligit, illud multa post tempora repromissum, hoc autem vicino futurum tempore.Following the example of Theodoret very many commentators refer prepared deception to the false prophets, coll. 1Ki 22:22. But is it conceivable that a true prophet like Jeremiah would have traced back false prophecy so directly to the Lord? Comparison with 1Pe 1:11 renders it conceivable that Jeremiah may himself have been deceived as to the difference of the times.
Footnotes:
[4]Jer 4:7. with Dag. forte, to emphasize the sharpening from (Ewald, 255, d.) or (Olshausen, 155, b.) The word is . Comp. the related forms from Isa 9:17; Isa 10:31; Gen 22:13; Psa 74:5.
[5]Jer 4:7. is certainly Kal from , which must here be taken in an intransitive sense. Comp. Jer 9:11; Isa 37:26; 2Ki 19:25.
[6]Jer 4:10. with as in Jer 29:8; 2Ki 18:29.
[7]Jer 4:10.[Or even to the life, as Henderson, etc.S. R. A.]
B. THE SECOND EMBLEM: THE TEMPEST
Jer 4:11-13
11About this time it will be said to this people and Jerusalem,
A hot wind of the bare heights in the deserts 12With full cheeks comes a wind to me from those.
Now will I also contend with them.
13Behold, as clouds he ascends,
And as the stormwinds his chariots, EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Jer 4:11. About this time not to cleanse. As the invasion of the lion-like enemy, so also the approach of the destructive desert-wind is to be announced in Jerusalem. The prophet alludes to the custom of signalizing those who are threatened by a hurricane or flood. (Acc. loci. xxxix. 4) seems also to point to this. (besides here also in Isa 18:4; Isa 32:4; Son 5:10) if we compare the words radically related to it (Isa 5:13; Psa 68:7; Neh 4:7; Isa 58:11), appears to unite the meanings calidus, candidus, aridus, and to designate the brilliant clearness of the air heated by the hot-wind. So also Jerome (ventus urens), Aquila (ventus fulgoris), Symmachus (v. stus). On the position of between the nomen regens and rectum, comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 63, 4 f.Bareheights. Comp. Jer 3:2; Jer 3:21. The bare rocky mountains of the eastern desert are meant, over which the dry, hot east wind blows ( the wind of the wilderness, Jer 13:24). Comp. Winer, R-B-W., s. v. Winde. The expression is found also in Jer 12:12.Not to winnow, etc. It is not one of the winds, which is favorable to human industry, but a hostile, destructive wind.
Jer 4:12. With full cheeks contend with them. here is fundamentally the same as in Jer 4:5; Jer 12:6. The idea of full we are accustomed to apply to wind only as expressed in the translation. As hot wind denotes the quality so full denotes the quantityfrom those refers to bare heights. The Lord says, the wind comes to me, because it is in His service. is Dat. commodi.I also refers to Jer 2:5; Jer 2:29. The prophet of Israel according to these passages really contended with the Lord. Comp. the remarks on Jer 2:29. The sense is this: after they have presumed to contend with the Lord (or, to use His pretended fault as a pretext of revolt, comp. Jer 44:18), He contends with them, i.e. He punishes them, and His instrument is he, who is understood by the wind. Comp. Jer 1:16.
Jer 4:13. Behold as clouds we are destroyed. The prophet still retains his emblem in the region of the air, but he modifies it. The total impression of the hostile masses is now compared with threatening storm-clouds, the chariots in the rapidity of their motion and power of their impetus are like the storm-blast, the riders are like swift eagles. The prophet seems to have had Hab 1:8 generally in mind. Comp. Kueper, S. 76.
C. THE THIRD EMBLEM: THE KEEPERS
Jer 4:14-18
14Wash thy heart from wickedness, Jerusalem,
In order that thou mayest be delivered. 15For a loud call sounds from Dan,
A message of misfortune from Mount Ephraim.
16Announce it to the nations!
Behold, call it out over Jerusalem: 17For like keepers of a field are they over her from all sides,
For against me hath she rebelled, saith Jehovah.
18Thy walk and thy works bring this upon thee;
This is thy wickedness, that a bitter thing (comes upon thee), EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
The first emblem was from the animal kingdom, the second from the region of the air, the third is taken from the sphere of human life. The third appeals most strongly to the moral consciousness of the people; this calamity is held up before them as the punishment of their sin, and acknowledgment and renunciation of this as the only means of escape.
Jer 4:14. Wash thy heart tarry within thee?Wash [Cleanse]. Comp. Jer 2:22.Comp. the beginning and end of the strophe: the idea of wickedness forms the frame-work. It is quite unnecessary to take , with Vatable and others, as causative. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr. 105, 4 b. from in the sense of sin, while , Jer 4:15, means calamity. Comp. Gen 35:18; Deu 26:14; Psa 55:4.
Jer 4:15. For a loud call Ephraim. It is high time to comply with the admonition contained in Jer 4:14 (comp. how long, etc.), for the news is already received of the approach of the avenger. The prophets mention of Dan and Mount Ephraim is a confirmation of the view expressed concerning from the north in Jer 1:14. Comp. the remarks there made.
Jer 4:16-17. Announce it to the nations saith Jehovah. verbally: cause to the nations, that is, cause that these reflecting upon it are deeply impressed by the significance of the fact. From the meaning, to penetrate, to bore in (comp. Fuerst, Handwb.), is developed the meaning of to remember, which is the common one, to consider, to reflect (Lam 1:9; Psa 103:14; Job 7:7). This call to the nations is made only incidentally, not with a friendly purpose, but only to denote the greatness and importance of the event. The invasion of this enemy is something so great that it cannot be cried out loud enough, and this the rather since the nations round about Israel are implicated with them. Comp. Jeremiah 25.It is therefore unnecessary to follow Hitzig as he follows the LXX. Kimchi and others, in taking =from or E. Meier and others in rendering =tribes (of Israel).The business of watchmen, keepers of a field, is usually to protect from robbery and violence. But the prophet has such keepers in mind who do not remove their gaze from him to whom it is directed, as, ex. gr., those who beset a fox, a weasel or a polecat, so that the animal may either perish in his hole or be killed when he comes out. In short the prophet here means the same thing as he expressed in Jer 1:15 by setting seats before the gates. Comp. 2Sa 11:16, ; Jer 5:6; Jer 6:25.These raised their cry, etc. It is announced to Jerusalem, that the cry of these keepers has already sounded over the other cities of Judah. Jerusalem alone is still in the power of the enemy. Hence it is also said in Jer 4:17 that they are over her from all sides.As in the beginning of the strophe, Jer 4:14, the exhortation to repentance as the only means of escape is prominent, so in Jer 4:17 b and Jer 4:18 is ungodliness as the self inflicted cause of the punitive judgments.
Jer 4:18. Thy walk and thy works reaches even to thy heart. Comp. Jer 2:19.Both this parallel passage and the parallelism in the verse itself prove that hemistich 2 is a subjective sentence (comp. Naegelsb. Gr. 109, 1). The two sentences with for represent the subject, this thy wickedness is the predicate. The bitter thing which comes upon thee is nothing more than thine own wickedness, here developing its own true nature.The conclusion of the strophe reminds us of Jer 4:10, and in such a way as to show that the prophet intended a similarity in diversity.
2. THE PROPHET HEARS AND SEES THE ENEMY PRESENT
Jer 4:19-26
19My bowels, my bowels! Cramp8 in the chambers9 of the heart!
My heart palpitates! I cannot be silent, The cry of battle.
20Blow upon blow is reported,
For desolated is the whole land; 21How long shall I see the banner,
Hear the sound of the trumpet?
22For my people are foolish, they know me not;
Silly children are they and undiscerning: 23I look at the earth and beholddesolation and emptiness!
And up towards heaven, and its light is gone.
24I look at the mountains and behold they quake,11
And all the hills are shaken.
25I look and behold, man is gone,
And all the birds of heaven are fled.
26I look and behold, the fertile field has become a waste,
And all its cities are desolated12
Before Jehovah, before the fury of his anger.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
This entire strophe describes the desolation of the country from the standpoint of the present. The prophet places himself in spirit in that mournful future, and describes in the liveliest colors what he hears, sees and feels, as one who is present.
Jer 4:19. My bowels cry of battle. LXX.: . So also the authors of the Syro-Hexapla. Hitzig has my belly. The prophet in these and the following verses describes in a most drastic style the physical sensation which is produced by the immediate perception of the calamity.Passages related in subject are Isa 16:11; Isa 21:2-4; Jer 48:36.I cannot be silent (comp. Hab 1:13; Job 41:4) expresses that the prophet would relieve the inward pain, which he has just described, by speech. He does this by enumerating the occurrences which have so excited him.The expression: hearest thou, my soul, seems to intimate that the prophet heard it not with the outward but the inward ear.
Jer 4:20. Blow upon blow is reported my tents. The exposition, which, following the Chaldee and Syriac, takes for (destruction meets destruction) is not correct, because the prophet in Jer 4:20-21 mentions what he hears, while in Jer 4:23 sqq. he relates what he sees. If, moreover, we consider that the prophet is here speaking of messages or signals, which report disasters, we see that the existence of a middle point is presupposed, to which these reports of misfortune proceed. We shall not then err, if we refer Jer 4:20 to the laying waste of the country surrounding the capital.
Jer 4:21. How long shall I trumpet. the signal, Jer 4:6. Although this is seen it is mentioned among the things which the prophet hears because it also brings news, or a message.
Jer 4:22. For my people are foolish they understand not. This verse contains the answer to the question of the prophet, how long? Still long, is the answer of course, for the people are still as they were. So Kimchi.With Hemist. 2 comp. Jer 2:8; Mic 7:3.
Jer 4:23-26. I look at the earth fury of his anger. four times repeated shows plainly that the prophet would here render expressly prominent what he has seen, in antithesis to Jer 4:19-20, where he narrates what he has heard. But there is also a climax in the progress from the one to the other. While that which the prophet hears is only the herald and preliminary stage of the main catastrophe, in Jer 4:23-26 he portrays the condition of the country after the occurrence of this catastrophe. In spirit he beholds in the place of the once so fruitful land a dismal waste, over which the heavens veil themselves in mourning, and with which even lifeless and unintelligent creatures sympathize.
Jer 4:23, reminds us of Gen 1:2; Gen 1:14, and therefore presupposes the existence of this passage. The land has, as it were, returned to chaos. Comp. Isa 34:11.The fruitful field a waste [lit., the Carmel the desert], a free reminiscence from Isa 32:15; Isa 29:17. That Carmel here denotes not the mountain, but the fruitful field (comp. Jer 2:7), follows (a) from the connection, which declares the desolation not of a small strip, but of the whole country, (b) from all its cities, which evidently cannot be referred to that single mountain but only to the whole land. The article before Carmel and waste has a general significance, not a waste, but the waste had the fruitful field become, that is, the genus Carmel had passed over into the genus desert. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr. 71, 4.Before, etc. Comp. Jer 23:9; Jer 25:37.On the general subject compare Joel 2:10; 4:15; Nah 1:5; Isa 13:10; Isa 13:13; Psa 18:8.
Footnotes:
[8]Jer 4:19.. The form of the Chethibh is a grammatical anomaly and therefore certainly incorrect. The Keri reads . This however would mean: I wait, expect (2Sa 18:14; Mic 7:7), which does not well suit the connection. The reading or which is expressed in the LXX, and is found in very many MSS. and editions (Steph., Jos. Athias., Bibl. Mant.) should therefore be preferred. (or , comp. Fuerst, s. v.) is to twist ones self, to, quiver with pain, grief or terror. Comp. Jer 5:3; Eze 30:16.As to the construction we may (a) divide after , , ,, (so Graf), or (b) after , , , (see Hitzig, E. Meier), (c) , , , . I would give the preference to the last division, since declared of (the expression here only) designates very appropriately the cramp of the heart, while evidently denotes the palpitation of the heart. The cohortative form in as in , Jer 4:21, is not to be insisted on. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr. 89, 3 a.
[9]Jer 4:19. is the accusative of more exact definition. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr. 70 f.
[10]Jer 4:19., 2 Pers. fem. Comp. Jer 2:20; Jer 2:33; Jer 3:4-5. Ewald, Hitzig, E. Meier, read with the Cod. Regiomont. 1. , which is unnecessary. [Comp. Greens Heb. Gr. 86, b.]
[11]Jer 4:24.. On the absence of the subject comp. Naegelsb. Gr. 97, 1, a Anm.
[12]Jer 4:26. Niph. from . Comp. Nah 1:6. LXX,: , confounded with , Jer 9:9.
3. THE JUDGMENT IS IRREVOCABLY DETERMINED, BUT IT AIMS NOT AT ABSOLUTE DESTRUCTION
Jer 4:27-31.
27For thus hath Jehovah spoken:
The whole land shall be waste, 28For this the whole land keeps lamenting,
And the heaven above wears the garment of mourning; And I repent not, nor draw back from it.
29Before the tumult of the horsemen and archers
The whole city is fled, 30But thou, destroyed one,14 what art thou doing?
That thou clothest thyself in purple, 31For I hear a cry like that of a parturient,15
The call of anguish, like one who bears for the first time: EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
The theme of this strophe is contained in Jer 4:27. This has two parts: 1. The destruction is founded in an irrevocable divine decree. This is the main point which is expressed still more emphatically, Jer 4:28-29, and in Jer 4:30, etc., placed in the light of a contrast (what can Israels feeble attempts effect in opposition to the divine counsel?). 2. The second point, but I will not utterly make an end, is briefly stated and not further discussed, but is for this purpose twice repeated in the course of the prophecy, Jer 5:10; Jer 5:18.
Jer 4:27. For thus hath Jehovah spoken make an end of it. The certainty of the statement in the previous strophe is found in the fact that Jehovah has thus spoken.I will not utterly, etc., is, as we have said, a briefly stated parenthetical thought, which is only to give a correct limitation to the declaration of the first clause. Comp. Lev 26:44.
Jer 4:28. For this the whole land keeps lamenting draw back from it. Comp. Hos 4:3, whence the words are taken.This refers to the following I have spoken. The mourning posture of the earth and heavens mentioned in Jer 4:23 sqq. is here designated as the result of a divine decree. Not by chance, nor by the power of idols, did it take place, but by the power of the Lord. It should moreover be remarked that this strophe forms the transition to the following section, in which also the cause of the judgment is spoken of, but in another sense. While here only the immediate cause, the causa efficiens, of the calamity is mentioned, the prophet in what follows goes more deeply into the matter and designates the corruption of the people as the immediate, deepest provocative cause.That is a repetition of for this. LXX., , . We must first take spoken independently. Then the external, announcement which is made to men through the prophet, is set over against the inner cause, which has a positive (determined) and a negative side (repent not). The last point is designated also by nor draw back from it, in order that the prophet may connect this declaration of God with the same made by Israel (Jer 3:7 sqq.; Jer 4:1).
Jer 4:29. Before the tumult not an inhabitant therein. This verse seems to interrupt the connection. Yet it may be justified as a brief and condensed description of the calamity which has been described at length in the previous strophes, and only hinted at in Jer 4:28. We might regard it as the explanation of from it, with which Jer 4:28 closes. On the neutral rendering of this VideNaegelsb. Gr., 60, 6 b.It is not necessary to render (with Graf and others) =every city. It is, as the rule requires, the whole city. But the prophet understands the whole city, supposing this to be the general fate of all the cities. This collective rendering explains also therein in the plural. are obscure hiding-places. comp. Job 30:6.
Jer 4:30. But thou, destroyed one seek thy soul. (comp. , Psa 73:2, inclinatum aliquid pedes mei) is to be rendered as neuter: Thou, as good as destroyed, a thing devoted to destruction. The expression is contemptuous. VideNaegelsb. Gr., 60, 4. [GreensGr., 275, 5].It can neither mean: if thou art destroyed, for then Israel can no more paint; nor: if thou shalt be attacked, for the word does not mean to attack. (Comp. , Psa 137:8). The prophet has in view the present attempts of Israel to procure assistance by coquetting with foreign nations (comp. Jer 2:18; Jer 2:36-37), which are foolish in opposition to the decree of Jehovah, solemnly announced in Jer 4:28, according to which Israel is already destroyed.Thine eyes with paint. The effect of paint is to make the eyes look not only more fiery, but larger. Comp. HerzogsReal Enc., Art. Schminke. XIII. S. 607 [Smith, Dict. II., 657].2Ki 9:30; Eze 23:40.
Jer 4:31. For I hear a cry my soul succumbs to the murderers.For refers to seek thy soul. On this account Israel cries: Wo is me, I succumb to the murderers. 31b. constr. prgnans; my soul is weary, i.e. as one who succumbs to murderers. Comp. Naegelsb.Gr., 112, 7. [Green, 156, 1].
Footnotes:
[13]Jer 4:28.E. Meier reads instead of . But the Masoretic reading being the more difficult has the presumption of genuineness.
[14]Jer 4:30.[Noyes translates correctly ad sensum, destined to perish.S. R. A.]
[15]Jer 4:31., Part. like in Zec 10:5, in 2Ki 16:7, etc. Fuerst s. v. ; Ewald, 151, 6.
[16]Jer 4:31.[Henderson: My soul fainteth because of murderers; Noyes, more freely: I am dying of murderers.S. R. A.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. On Jer 4:10. It is not here a matter for consideration, how God may be said to deceive men (comp. 1Ki 22:20; Job 12:24; 2Th 2:11), for it was only the opinion of the prophet, who here interrupts the discourse revealed to him by the expression of a subjective view, just as Paul in 1Co 7:10; 1Co 7:12; 1Co 7:25; 1Co 7:40, inserts his view of the .
2. On Jer 4:14. Aristotle (De partibus animal. II. 4) and Pliny (Hist. nat. XI. 37) remark that the heart alone of all the internal organs will not bear any injury. The latter says solum cor viscerum vitiis non maceratur, nee supplicia vit trahit; lsumque mortem illico affert. The heart also in a spiritual sense will not bear the least injury, as the fall shows. Yet though every sin is a death-germ, a poison, yet all poison is not equally rapid in its effects. Bernhard of Clairvaux says in his Sermo de triplici genere cogitationum nostrarum (sub fin.) as follows: Et primum quidem genus cogitationum otiosarum scil. ad rem non pertinentium lutum est, sed lutum simplex, id est non inhrens, nec ftens, nisi forte diutius immoretur in nobis, et per incuriam ac negligentiam nostram in alterum genus cogitationum vertatur, quod quotidie experimur. Dum enim otiosa tamquam minima spernimus, ad turpia atque inhonesta dilabimur. Secundum vero cogitationum genus non lutum simplex, sed viscosum ac limosum est. Nam tertium quidem sic cavendum est, non tamquam lutum aut limus, sed tamquam immundissimum ac ftidissimum cnum. He explains what he understands by this tertium genus in the words: Dico autem cogitationes illas immundas penitus et ftidas, qu ad luxuriam, ad invidiam et vanam gloriam pertinent, cteraque vitia detestanda.He further says of the conflicts with sinful thoughts: Quid ergo agendum, cum limosa cogitatio mentem subierit? Plane exclamandum nobis est cum sancto Jacobo: Ruben, primogenito meus, non crescas, ascendisti enim cubile patris tui (Gen 49:3). Ruben enim carnalis atque sanguinea hujus modi concupiscentia est, qu tunc cubile nostrum ascendit, cum non solum memoriam tangit cogitatione, sed et ipsum voluntatis stratum ingreditur et polluit prava cogitatione. Ghisler.
3. On Jer 4:22. (They are wise to do evil, but do not understand well-doing.) The Israelites are here designated as children of the world, for it is the manner of the world to be wise in worldly matters, but foolish in spiritual, as our Lord says (Luk 16:8) the children of this world are wiser in their own generation than the children of light in theirs, and Paul (1Co 2:14) says the natural man perceiveth nothing of the Spirit of God, for it is foolishness to him, and he cannot know it, for it must be spiritually discerned.The blind man understands nothing about color. Every one is at home in his own element. But this is the greatest misery that the world knows, that man, the image of God, is not at home in His house, but in the Devils, and that the greatest labor the world knows, scarcely suffices to bring him back into his Fathers house.
4. On Jer 4:27. How wonderfully do the anger and love of God here touch! How proportionate appear both! How is one the limit of the other! God does not so love that He cannot be angry; and He is not so angry that He cannot love. He leaves room for His anger in order that justice may be preserved and the sinner reformed. Thus His anger is also guided by love, yea, in a certain sense it is a manifestation of love. Comp. Schberlein, Grundlehren des Heils, S. 50, 51. Anger is the energy of love towards the sinner, the expression, namely, of its pain, that he himself has become untrue to his better self, and he who cannot be angry has no hearty love for this true I of another. For the very reason that God in holy self-preservation places Himself in opposition to him, man is not really forsaken of God, but love is still with him in the might of its anger. Jer 10:24; Jer 30:11; Jer 46:28; Isa 27:8.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
1.The first eight verses of this chapter are part of the text of the fifth homily of Origen (the whole text is Jer 3:21 to Jer 4:8).
2. Frster remarks: ex versu 31 haberi potest concio in funere mulieris, qu in partu, vel post partum obiit.
3. True repentance Isaiah 1. a true return from evil (not a sowing among remaining thorns, not a merely external circumcision, but a circumcision of the heart and removal of abominations); 2. a true return to God (right and holy swearing, as a symptom of right and holy disposition); 3. a source of blessing for ourselves and others (thou shalt not be exiledthe heathen shall be blessed in thee).
4. On Jer 4:10. Warning against false peace. This Isaiah 1. a lie, for men say there is peace when the sword reaches even to the soul; 2. a misfortune, for it will disappoint the heart of those who cherish it.
5. On Jer 4:22. Since Scripture distinguishes a wisdom that is from above from a wisdom that is from below (Jam 3:13-18), the question arises, wherein consists the difference between the two? 1. The wisdom from below is a wisdom in evil doing (a. unbelief, b. destruction, . of self, . of othersconsequently absolute folly); Wisdom from above is wisdom in well-doing (a. faith, b. observing Gods word in loveconsequently blessing).
CONTENTS
This Chapter, in the opening, is an address to Israel. The subject then relates to Judah and Jerusalem. Both are to one and the same amount; namely, God’s gracious call to his people, to return to him, from all their backslidings.
Is there not here a sweet breaking out, in pointing to Him who is the Lord our righteousness? For in whom are the nations to be blessed, but in Jesus; or in whom can they glory? I pray the Reader to compare the passage with those scriptures, and then judge for himself. Psa 72:17 ; Isa 65:16 ; Jer 23:1 .
Plural, Yet Singular
Jer 4:2
I want to speak about the plural that runs itself up into the singular. ‘Truth, judgment, righteousness.’ We cannot get rid of the three; when we sometimes think we are farthest from it we are closest upon it. It is a mystery that is to be reckoned with. Indifference, worldliness, folly, may avoid all these subjects, and thus run a downward and self-extinguishing course. There remains the idea of the three. We cannot, let us say again and again to ourselves, get away from that idea; it is in us, it is part of us, it is the mystery of our own being. We deny the three-one, but denial is no argument. We have to account for the triune.
I. You will find instances of this three-one in many places. For example, in the very words of the text ‘Truth, judgment, righteousness.’ These are not three things differing from one another in quality and opposing one another in policy and in aim; the three are one, and that one is the first ‘truth’. How then do the others apply themselves? Adjectivally as qualifying the great and inclusive word truth. Truth yes, truth that stands in judgment, truth that stands in righteousness, truth that runs out in these threefold expressions and yet returns upon itself and stands forth as it were a diamond or a star.
II. In Dan 3:7 ‘all the people, the nations, and the languages fell down ‘. Can languages fall down? Is there not something here highly rhetorical and figurative? Certainly; that is the very subject. The reading, therefore, would be, All the people yes, even nations and languages fell down before the image. The great noun is ‘the people’; ‘nations and languages’ are little aspects of the great substantive, ‘the people’. So we do not read, ‘All the people and the nations and the languages’ as if they were three different things; the great central thought is the people, the incidentals are the nations and the languages, and yet quite essential to the completeness of the figure. How easy it would be to run off on either of these nouns, ‘nations,’ and ‘languages,’ and deliver a useless ethnic discourse upon these motto words. These words must be put in their right place, and that place is subsidiary and collateral; the great outstanding noun is ‘the people ‘.
III. Take another instance with which we are very familiar, so familiar indeed that many of us know nothing about it. Mat 6:13 , ‘Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory,’ as if they were three different things. When will we remember that there is a leading noun, and the two other nouns shade away and subside into rhetorical assistances and phases of the thought? The subject is one; the writer is not talking about three different attributes; he is talking about one thing, but he needs the rhetorical three members in order to fill out the expression of his thought. Here also we cannot get rid of the three-one.
IV. Take a wonderful instance from the lips of Christ Himself; you will find that instance in the fourteenth chapter of John and the sixth and contextual verses. ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’. Three things? No, one thing. Jesus Christ is talking about the way and about nothing else. How then does He describe it? ‘I am the way, the true way’ you see how ‘truth’ drops into ‘true,’ the noun into the adjective ‘and the living way’. But it is way, way, and only way that forms the subject of the Master’s thought. Always get into the one thing that makes the other things possible. Do not waste your very souls on the details. Your first business is to get hold of the central truth, the one thing meant, and then to get hold of what is illustrative, external, and auxiliary.
V. You have the same thing in your own personal constitution. The Apostle describes us as ‘body, soul, and spirit’. Three things? Certainly not. One thing? Yes, one thing. What is that one thing? Man; and man is a trinity, and a tri-unity, a three-one and a one-three; and as he studies himself in these aspects there will come upon him great religious moods, visions, and dreamings, and he will find that grass and flesh and air and many things have been made specially for the growth and culture of the body. Then he will ask himself, Is there anything in higher fields growing for the soul? And the answer will be a gracious Yes whispered from the secret places of eternity. There is a spirit, there is a revelation, there is a holy doctrine, there is an altar, and as he watches the fields and the rivers and the seas for the food which he needs for the body, so he will search these greater waters and greater spaces for the nurture of the soul. But is there nothing for the spirit, which seems to be, according to our poor crude thinking, a kind of higher quality, a more spiritualized and etherealized soul, even the spirit? God is a Spirit. God is not what we call a soul, a psyche; God is a pneuma, a spirit, a Spirit of the soul. The soul is but a kind of clothing for the spirit, but body, soul, spirit belong to one another, and constitute what but an ineffable unity?
Joseph Parker, City Temple Pulpit, vol. Iv. p. 214.
References. IV. 3. C. Perren, Revival Sermons in Outline, p. 284. G. W. Herbert, Notes of Sermons, p. 50. J. Parker, Studies in Texts, vol. i. p. 180. IV. 10. Henry Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. i. p. 267. IV. 14. H. Harris, Short Sermons, p. 170. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxvi. No. 1573. IV. 19. J. Marshall Lang, Christian World Pulpit, vol. liii. 1898, p. 356. IV. 20. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. vii. No. 349; vol. xxiii. No. 1363. IV. 30. Ibid vol. xxiii. No. 1363.
A Man
The Pleadings of God
Jer 4
The people had just said they would return, for they were tired of their evil ways. They had been looking to the hills for salvation, and no salvation came; they had turned their eyes to the multitude of mountains, and found them to be utterly barren of hope. The Lord had told them this, and they had confirmed it by much experience of a painful kind. The people said: “We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God” ( Jer 3:25 ). Men can say that as if they could not help doing the wickedness they complain of. This matter of confession needs analysis. We should look into it very penetratingly, for there may be irreligion in religion, impiety in piety. Why do men do the things that they are ashamed of, knowing that they will have to repent of them? And yet with all this staring them in the face with appalling vividness, they put out both hands to do evil, and they drink deeply at the streams of wickedness. They will repent tomorrow, and repeat the evil on the third day; they rest that they may get energy to serve the devil more faithfully; they retire to pray that they may come back with a keener appetite to the devil’s banquet. This is the mystery of human nature; this is the insoluble point in the study of the soul. Yet the Lord allows himself (we speak reverently) to be mocked and deceived for a time. The moment he sees a tear he says, If you will return, I will dry that tear away. Whenever he hears a returning one crying out in the bitterness of his soul, he seems to say, The past is now forgotten; come in, and feast upon the true bread; come and be shielded by my omnipotence.
A strange ministry is that of Almightiness. It is almightiness almost. Men who are critics only have found out that God cannot be almighty, or things would be different; and this they have held up as a revelation: whereas, it is no revelation, but the veriest commonplace of the Bible. It is God who “repents” that he made man in some sense we cannot understand; but there is no other word which could convey even a hint of his meaning to our obtuse minds. It is God who says, I cannot do it: I have failed. I have planted a vineyard and looked for grapes, and behold it has brought forth wild grapes; the vineyard has been ungrateful. I might have been the most unskilled husbandman, nay, I might have been a niggard in the vineyard, sparing everything that tended to nurture and develop; for here holding up the wild grapes is the result of all my toil and love and care. So we come upon a mysterious if in all the history of God’s administration. “If thou wilt return” why not make them return? Here man is stronger than God. We have seen in innumerable instances how true it is that God, who can handle universes, can do nothing with the heart he has made except with the heart’s consent. He made man in his own image and likeness: it is dangerous to give your personality to another. What is there to be had without danger, without an infinite risk? It were better to be a man with the pain of manhood as a daily portion, than to be the proudest beast that shakes the earth with his great hoofs. It is better that the child should live to smite you in the face, than that it should be a child made of marble which has been carved, and which can neither speak nor pray nor sin nor laugh nor die. There is a grim comfort even in gravedigging under the hearthstone: when it is all over the afflicted one says: I had the child awhile, and during his sojourn with me he doubled my life and made every day a Sabbath; even now I would not give up the experience of the joy because of this rain of bitterest tears. It may be that God has some comfort in this old earth yet. We are not children that cannot lie. If we could not lie, we could not pray. It is because we can distress God that we can please him. Displeasure is a multiple; it is a complex term; it involves much; it is full of giving and taking and exchanging and transforming, so that heart passes into heart, life into life, and love doubles love, and prayer ennobles life into immortality. Behold God, then, as a pleader. “If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight,” if thou wilt swear, “The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness,” if thou wilt do these things, the issue will be glorious; it will also be beneficent, it will have an evangelistic effect upon the world. The reason seems to be curious, but it allows itself to be examined with the assurance that when it is really understood it will cast light upon many a mystery.
How does the reasoning culminate? Thus: If thou wilt return if thou wilt put away the things of thy shame if thou wilt wander no more if thou wilt swear, “The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness,” then “nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.” The meaning is, the heathen nations round about shall see thy return, and they will begin to own the power of God. That is the converting force that must be brought to bear upon the whole of the nations. The Church must be so beautiful as to attract attention. There must be something in prayer that there is in nothing else. Heathen nations may answer arguments: they cannot answer character. When Christians do right, pagans will believe; when Christians claim their uniqueness of quality and exemplify it, the men who get up arguments against Christianity will be ashamed of their own ingenuity, and run away from the things their hands have piled, saying, We cannot build fortresses against such quality of character. This is true missionary work. An honest England means a converted India. A drinking England means a sneering China. When we take our evil customs to other shores as well as our missionaries, what wonder if the natives should follow the customs and allow the missionaries to do what they please, and all their work to come to an impotent issue? We do the same thing: we copy the bad, we mimic the evil in all our mimetics, we reproduce defects; being skilled reproducers of feature and tone. It is the defect we reproduce, and not the sterling excellence The Lord here lays down the sublime doctrine that if his Church would be right the world would soon be converted.
The chapter proceeds “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.” There is a negative work to be done. The ground wants cutting up, exposing to the light and the rain. “Sow not among thorns.” Here is the hint of a great parable already. When Jesus Christ borrowed he borrowed from himself. He was never indebted to any man for a thought. He quoted no parables, he made them for the occasion; and how exquisitely they fitted the opportunity! How upon all human life he laid the line of his imagination, and caused that imagination to take its mould from the immediate circumstances, and gathered from those circumstances his most solemn expositions and appeals. “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart” ( Jer 4:4 ). Already the book begins to be spiritual. For a long time we have been with the symbols and types and hints of things, and we could not understand them; we said, Thank God we are not Jews! we never could go through all this dreary curriculum: surely the Lord was taunting the people and mocking them, and loading them with grievous burdens, in all this fire-lighting, and all this blood-shedding, and all this continual ritual, always ending where it began, and. in its ending but creating a new beginning: we became weary of the infinite monotony. Here and there the book has revealed the true spiritual element. The commandments at the very first, as we have seen, put out tentacles that meant a kingdom invisible, for the commandments ended with “Thou shalt not covet.” What a rise in the education of Israel! “Thou shalt not steal” a vulgar exhortation: who wants to steal? But at the end, having got through the nine well, we come to “Thou shalt not covet.” Already the kingdom of the spiritual is setting in; and now the prophet says, speaking in the name of God, “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart:” “rend your heart, and not your garments.” This was the meaning of all the education. It was very irksome, most tedious, the people were groaning under it; but it was all required in order that the spiritual revelation might be made complete and vivid; the meaning was, It is the heart that must be circumcised; it is the spirit that must be cleansed; it is the soul that must be attuned to heaven’s music. Be real, not ceremonial. Do not only be in the open church, into which every man may go, but find your reverent way into the inner sanctuary, and have an interview with God, face to face, when no one else is present Do not have a set of dogmas, all trimmed and dressed, and marked in plain figures, to which you pay a moment’s court once a week; but have living principles active doctrines, penetrating beliefs, convictions that seize the whole nature, and conduct it through a purifying and ennobling process. The Lord will have no ritual that is not significant of an inward ministry. He will have no cleanliness of the body, unless it mean that the soul has undergone divine catharism, and is spiritually cleansed, as a vessel may be chemically purified. This is a sublime issue; this explains everything. It is so with our intellectual education. Who likes to learn alphabets? What do they all amount to, when the five- or six-and-twenty letters are all learned, in this shape and that, curious as if the genius of learning had determined to puzzle the intellect of the world? What are they? They say nothing; they do not know one another; they have to be introduced to one another, and combined, and related, and interrelated, and run into one another; they have to undergo a process of tessellation: but when the child first sees the living meaning of a sentence, and that sentence is full of light and poetry and music, he says, This is worth all the toil. To have been studying a foreign tongue, and then to be able to pass into the nation where it is spoken, and to hold intercourse with the inhabitants easy, confident, ample intercourse then the student says, It was worth all the long nights I spent upon the acquisition of this language: it has given me a new world, it has enlarged the horizon of my outlook, I am thankful for all the pains I underwent. So it is with Christian education. There are rituals, observances, penances, ceremonies, and they become irksome, until they yield up their meaning; and the moment a soul can out of its own self pray, shoot out one living sentence, it beholds new heavens and a new earth, and says, This is the meaning of all the discipline; blessed be God, I am a free man of the heavens; I can in my own name for my very self pray through Christ and receive blessings direct from God. If we have not circumcised our hearts, if we have not taken away the foreskins of our hearts and souls, we know nothing about the Christian religion and ought not to profess it.
In the twenty-second verse we have a remarkable charge:
“For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding.” ( Jer 4:22 )
Here is inverted genius; here is abused faculty. Here is a man who is in the high pay of the devil. For the devil could hardly do without him, so inventive is he in all evil; he has coined a new language, minted a new currency of evil; he has achieved the right to share the throne of blackness with Beelzebub. The Lord has determined that all falsehood shall come to an unholy end.
“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” ( Jer 4:30 ).
This renting of the face is, literally, enlarging of the eyes, through kohl or antimony a trick of artificial beauty. And the poor creature has taken out her best clothes, painted herself with the fairest colours, done all she could from the outside, and behold the issue is: “Thy lovers will despise thee” they will see through thee. The knave shall know that he is more seen through than he supposes. He is very skilful up to a given point. The accusation relates both to men and women; charges can easily be made; but it is the whole human nature that is involved in this impeachment. There is clothing, and there is painting, and there is decoration with gold, and there is renting of the face; but after all is over men feel that this is unreal, untrue, utterly rotten at the core; they say this is “a goodly apple rotten at the heart.” Let us understand this, that whether we be discovered now or then, we shall be discovered. The hollow man shall be sounded, and shall be pronounced void. Thou art weighed in the balances, and found wanting; and thou, poor fool, hast covered up the hectic flush of consumption with indigo that will wash off, or with some other colour that can be cleansed away; thou hast made thyself look otherwise than as thou art: but all that is external shall be taken from thee, and thou shalt be seen in thy naked hideousness and ghastliness. This is right! The revelation will be awful; but it ought to be made, or heaven itself will be insecure. Oh what disclosures then! The canting hypocrite without his cloak; the skilful mocker who has lost his power of jesting; the knave who always said a grace he had committed to memory before he cut the bread he had stolen; the preacher who knew the right, and yet the wrong pursued; the fair speaker, who knew the very subtlety of music as to persuasion, and yet decoyed souls down the way at the end of which is hell. Then the other revelation will also be made. There may be men of rough manners who shall prove to have been all the while animated by a gentle spirit; there may be those who have been regarded as Philistines who are God’s gentlemen; there may be those who have been thought as unworthy of courtesy who shall be set high among the angels. “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” To be seen through, that is an awful thought. To have it made plain that the smile was only on the lips and not in the soul, who could bear the disclosure? To have the royal purple taken away and the lurch of the cripple revealed, who could bear it? Who can stand before the judgment of God? When the day burneth like an oven, who can bear the ardour? Unless we face these solemn and fundamental questions we never can understand what is meant by God’s great offer, by Christ’s redeeming Cross, by the ministry of the Holy Ghost. If we tell lies to ourselves, we disqualify ourselves for hearing the music of the gospel. If we live a frivolous surface-life, eating, drinking, talking, sleeping, buying, selling, getting gain, moving to and fro like a weaver’s shuttle, then we shall know nothing about the agony of Golgotha, and the meaning of the shed blood of the Son of God: it will be mockery to us; the Sabbath will be a burden, the church will be a nuisance, the grand appeal will be wasted eloquence. But let a man come to feel that he is really a soul, in very deed, made in the image and likeness of God; let him feel one sting of conscience; let him know that he can do nothing towards obliterating the past, even if he could live a beautiful life from this day forth evermore; then he will begin to ask, Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Has no provision been made in this great medical universe for the healing of wounds such as gape in my soul? Does the world grow herbs for the healing of the body, and is there no garden where things are grown for the healing of the soul? It is in that hour that the Christian evangelist has his glorious opportunity; it is then he can say, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved; the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost; thy shame is thy introduction to the Father; thy penitence shall open the door of the sanctuary in which he dwells; he needs no introduction to a broken heart, a contrite spirit, a soul that afflicts itself because of its self-helplessness. Thus from the Old Testament, as from the New, there comes up a gospel in the one case, the necessity for deliverance; in the other, the living Deliverer the tender, sympathetic, all-understanding, mighty, infinite Son of God.
Prayer
Almighty God, withhold not thy showers from us, even though we sin against thee; still plead with us by the goodness of thy providence. We know thou canst afflict us and crush us and fret us beyond endurance. Spare the rod! But why do we plead with thee when thou hast said, I am merciful? Thy mercy endureth for ever. We cry out, because the rod makes us smart under its stroke, and not always because we know the criminality of the sin; we are selfish, we mourn consequences when we ought to lament causes. Enable us to see this, and to act accordingly, that so we may search our own hearts, and hold over the secret places of our life the candle of God. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. The heart will tell lies to heaven. We have a cloak called hypocrisy, which we wear, and which covers us well; sometimes the wind blows it aside, or some rough hand shakes it, and somewhat of our moral ghastliness is revealed. We dare not always look at ourselves, for we are often cowards. Search us, and try us, and see if there be in us any wicked way, and lead us in the way everlasting. We are ashamed of ourselves; we have great ability in falsehood, we smile with the face and frown with the heart; we promise much, and do nothing; we say we will pray unto the Lord, and we forget our heart’s desire. Yet thou dost not cut us down; truly, when thou dost say, I am merciful, we can answer, This is even so: his mercy endureth for ever. While we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Herein is love! This is the mystery of grace, the mystery of godliness, how great it is in love, and light, and hope! We come to the Lord Jesus Christ, the wounded man; our faith lays its trembling hand upon him, our self-accusing, misgiving heart says, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. Lord, hear us, and let thine answer surprise even us, who are accustomed to the miracles of thy goodness. Amen.
V
THE IMPEACHMENT, CALL, AND JUDGMENT
Jeremiah 2-6
This chapter is a discussion of the prophecies of Jeremiah during the reign of Josiah, chapters 2-6. They are abstracts from Jeremiah’s sermons, preached sometime between 626 B.C. and 608 B.C., eighteen years of his public ministry. Here we have the essential points of his discourses for that time, the best parts of the prophecies which he had uttered during that long period. Josiah was one of the best kings that Israel ever had. There are no sins recorded against him. The most complete reformation ever enacted in the nation was wrought under his direction. But it was an external reformation. It is true that he destroyed all the idols, all the high places and stopped the idolatrous worship throughout the entire realm, but he did not change the hearts of the people. “The serpent of idolatry was scorched but not killed.” The renovation was not deep enough; it was a reformation only. We cannot enforce religion by statutory law, legal authority, or royal mandate. It is a matter of the heart. During those years and following, the prophet Jeremiah was at work. His keen prophetic and penetrating mind was able to see deeper than Josiah. He perceived that the reformation and the revolution were external. He knew that many of the people, in fact, most of them, had never really repented. He knew that the nation was still inclined to idolatry, and ready to lapse into heathen worship; yea, he knew that as soon as the pressure was removed, the nation would fall back into the old life of wickedness and idol worship.
Now, the subject matter of these five chapters is this: Israel’s history one long apostasy which would bring on her inevitable destruction. For eighteen years Jeremiah sought to drill that into the people’s minds and hearts and produce the needed reformation which alone could save. Let us see how he went to work; how he brought this truth before them; how he appealed to them; what arguments he used; what threats he uttered against them, if possible to turn them from idolatry and bring them back to the true worship of Jehovah.
The subject of Jer 2 is this: Israel’s history a continual defection to idolatry. He is dealing with all Israel. He makes no distinction between Northern and Southern Israel. He is talking here to the whole race. He reviews their history, that is, their religious history and their present condition.
He has a very beautiful statement here in Jer 2:1-3 , picturing the former fulness of Israel. He says, “The word of Jehovah came unto me saying, Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, I remember for thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals; how thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto Jehovah.” Thus he introduces his arraignment with this reference to their former fidelity. Israel started out faithful and true. Hosea pictures her as a faithful bride. She was faithful and true at first. Israel was true to God, and God was true to Israel. Now that is the same picture here and it may be that he got it from Hosea. The relation between the nation and God was fidelity and love. It was the “honeymoon” of the nation’s life. That is how she started.
Since then Israel’s history has been one of repeated acts of unfaithfulness to her God. The prophet seeks to drive it home to their very hearts by a series of questions. We have this question in Jer 2:4-8 : “What unrighteousness have your fathers found in me, that they have gone from me?” Was it because they had found unrighteousness in God? Had they found Jehovah untrue? Had they discovered unfaithfulness in him? We might ask the backslider today, “Is it because there is something wrong with God that you turn from him?” There is a great sermon in that. He shows next that the leaders turned from him: “I brought you up into a plentiful land, to eat the fruit thereof.” I was kind to you; I gave you no occasion to turn from me; I never forsook you and left you in need; I cared for you. Still you and your leaders turned from me. “I brought you up into a land of plenty, to eat the fruit thereof; but when ye entered ye defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination. . . . They that handle the law knew me not; the rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.”
A serious question is raised in Jer 2:9-13 : Has any other nation changed gods but you? “Pass over to the isles of Kittim and see; send unto Kedar, and consider diligently; and see if there hath been found such a thing.” Kittim here refers to the island of Cyprus and the isles of Greece. Go there and see if they have ever changed their gods. Has it ever been done in the world except as you have done it? Hath a nation changed its gods? “But my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.” Do you know of any nation in history that has ever done such a thing? These Hebrews had changed their God? Why had they done so? What reason could they give? Jeremiah says, You Israelites have changed to other gods, and in that you are an exception to the nations of the earth. The strange thing about it, too, is that you have changed from your true God to those that are not gods. “My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” Here we have for the first time in the history of religion, a statement that the idols of the nations are not gods. Verse 13 is one of the most beautiful passages in all the Bible. God is a fountain of living waters. That sounds like the words of Jesus to the woman of Samaria at Jacob’s well. Idolatry is pictured as cisterns that are broken; that cannot hold water. He means to say that every other form of religion but the worship of Jehovah is a false religion; there is no saving truth in it; it is dry; it will not hold water; it is man made. That is a true description of all false religions. Some scientists and men who study religions deny this; they say that there is a certain amount of truth in other religions as well as in Christianity. Well, so there is some truth in every one, but not saving truth. All other religions are man-made cisterns that will not hold water. This is one of the most suggestive texts in all the Bible, as to the comparative value of the religion of Jehovah and other religions; as to the value of Christianity as compared with heathen religions.
He says, in Jer 2:14-17 : “Is Israel a servant? is he a home-born slave?” Is he such that he must become a prey? “The young lions have roared upon him, and yelled.” Now it is only the slave in the household that is whipped to make him do his duty. Is that the case with Israel? Must he be whipped like a slave to compel him to do his duty? to obey Jehovah? Other nations have whipped him, they have chastised him, “They have broken the crown of his head.” Was Israel but a slave to be thus whipped and beaten? Is there no manhood in the nation? What a powerful appeal to national pride and honor is this? He raises another question in verses Jeremiah 18-19: “Now what hast thou to do in the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Shihor? or what hast thou to do in the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River?” What business have you turning from Jehovah to make alliances and seek help from Egypt? What business have you to be turning to Assyria for aid? We have seen that one of the causes of the destruction of both the Northern and the Southern Kingdoms was that they made alliances with Egypt rather than trust in Jehovah. It was an evil thing that they should turn from Jehovah to seek aid from human strength.
Other questions are raised in Jer 2:20-25 . He says, Jer 2:21-22 : “I planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate branches of a foreign vine?” That reminds one of Isa 5 . Here he is saying that they were bad to the heart: “Though thou wash thee with soap, with lye, yet is thine iniquity marked,” or ingrained, “before me.” In Jer 2:23-25 we see Israel trying to condone her sin. She has tried to make out that she has not done wickedly. Now can you say you have not been faithless? You are like the wild ass in the wilderness, snuffing up the wind in her desire who can turn her away? They, like an animal, were running hither and thither, wild with passion, raving with desire for other gods, crazed with eagerness for idolatry. It is not a very elegant figure, but a highly suggestive one.
Then the question of Jer 2:26-28 is, Why don’t you go to your idols in the time of trouble? As a thief is ashamed when found out, so is the house of Israel; priests, princes, and king, that say to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou art my mother. Now why do you come to me in trouble? Why don’t you let your gods help you? This passage tingles with sarcasm. It is a very striking arraignment, showing the helplessness of heathenism.
In Jer 2:22 he presents the impossibility of improving the internal nature by external applications. This is true because:
1. Of the nature of the operation. Wash and paint are applied only to the external.
2. They do not affect the diseased will.
3. They do not free one from fascinating and enslaving pleasure.
4. They do not affect a morbid appetite which increases with indulgence.
5. They have no power to break habit.
6. They cannot remove the blindness of the understanding.
7. They cannot purify a drugged conscience.
If this be true then why should we preach? Because:
1. There is a law that condemns and a gospel that liberates from the bondage of the law;
2. The only hope of a change lies in driving one from the conviction that he can change himself.
The following poem contains the whole story: O Endless Misery I labor still, but still in vain; The stains of sin I see Are woaded all, or dyed in grain, There’s not a blot will stir a jot, For all that I can do; There is no hope in fuller’s soap Though I add nitre, too. I many ways have tried; Have often soaked it in cold fears; And when a time I spied, Poured upon it scalding tears; Have rinsed and rubbed and scraped and scrubbed And turned it up and down; Yet can I not wash out one spot; It’s rather fouler grown. Can there no help be had? Lord, thou art holy, thou art pure: Mine heart is not so bad, So foul, but thou canst cleanse it sure; Speak, blessed Lord; wilt thou afford Me means to make it clean? I know thou wilt; thy blood was spilt; Should it run still in vain?
A sinner released from hell would repeat his sins.
There are yet other questions propounded in Jer 2:29-37 : Why do you plead with me when all the while you transgress against me? I have smitten you; I have smitten your children but they are incorrigible; they will not be corrected. You have killed the prophets that were sent unto you. Why then will you still plead with me? Why do you have anything to do with me? Go after those gods that you have made for yourselves.
Jer 2:31 : “O generation . . . have I been a wilderness unto Israel, or a land of thick darkness?” Now that is a question full of suggestion. You have turned away from me. Is it because my religion and my services have been like living in a wilderness where there is no light, no love, no joy, no food? Have I never been a blessing? Is that the reason you have left me? How suggestive! Many people think the services of God are like a wilderness. O Backslider, have God and his services been as a wilderness to you, that you have strayed away? You have not been a faithful bride. “Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number. How trimmest thou thy way to seek love!” Just like a married woman fixing up to make love to a man that is not her husband. See her as she adorns herself to look attractive that she may win favor of strange men. Now that is the picture here. “Why gaddest thou about?” This is the only place in the Bible where that word, “gad,” occurs.
Jehovah shows his love and faithfulness to Israel in spite of her sins (Jer 3:1-5 ). Though Judah has been faithless, there is a prospect of a better future for her: If a man put away his wife, can she return to him? No, “Yet return again to me, saith Jehovah.” I will take you back in spite of all. See what you have been doing; you have been like a watcher in the wilderness, watching for false gods and religions to come along that you might adopt them. They have betrayed you. “Wilt thou not now cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?”
A special lesson by Jehovah is given to Judah (Jer 3:6-18 ). This is a contrast, unfavorable to Judah (Jer 3:6-10 ). Judah had taken no warning from the downfall of the Northern Kingdom. Notice especially Jer 3:10 : “And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not returned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith Jehovah.” Now that gives us some idea of the opinion of Jeremiah in relation to Josiah, the great king, in his work of reform. Josiah had touched only the outside of the matter. Judah was no better than Northern Israel, but rather worse. Her improvement was only feigned.
Note the comparison in Jer 3:11-13 . The promise was to Northern Israel first. In that promise was blessing on condition of return. Jer 3:12 : “Go, and proclaim these words toward the north. . . . I will not look in anger upon you; for I am merciful, saith Jehovah.” These blessings are going to come when Judah repents, Jer 3:18 : “In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I gave for an inheritance unto your fathers.” Observe that the blessing is to come when Judah and Israel walk together; when they are united again. By that statement he shows that Northern Israel was not more steeped in iniquity than Southern Israel. The Messiah’s advent is coming and Judah will come in with Israel.
Jehovah holds out hope of Judah in Jer 3:19-22 : “But I said, How I will put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land. . . . Ye shall call me My Father, and shall not turn away from following me. Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, saith the Lord. . . . Return, ye backsliding children, I will heal your backslidings.”
The prophet bases his hope for Israel on the fact that the perverted nation shall confess its sin Jer 3:23-25 , especially Jer 3:24 : “The shameful thing [the thing ye have been worshiping, Baal] hath devoured the labor of our fathers. . . . for we have sinned against Jehovah our God, we and our fathers.” Now that is a great confession. The prophet presumes to speak for the people by way of prediction that they will do this someday. He still has hope for Israel.
Jehovah makes a proposition to Israel in Jer 4:1-4 , that he will bless them if they will return: “If thou wilt return to me, and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight; then shalt thou not be removed.” But the change must be thorough (Jer 4:3-4 ) a very suggestive passage: “Thus saith Jehovah to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground.” Finney, in his great book on revivals, has several sermons on this text. He says that every revival of religion ought to begin with preaching on this text. The fallow ground must be broken up. “Fallow ground” stands for two things: First, undeveloped possibilities; and, second, unused powers. The ground must be both broken up and sown with right kind of seed. “Sow not among thorns.” Every revival of religion has that object in view. Put the weeds and briers out and put the unused talents and powers to work. Sow the seed of righteousness and benevolence where the weeds of sin and waywardness have been. If we are going to be Christians, let us be wholehearted ones. Break up the fallow ground by putting sin out and service in. All this means that the change must be complete.
The following is a digest of the coming judgment of Jer 4:5-6:30 . In this description of the coming judgment he pictures it as advancing from the North. He had in mind the coming Babylonian invasion. Note these items:
1. They are told to get themselves to the fortified cities, Jer 4:5-10 : “Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry aloud and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities. . . . flee for safety, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north.”
2. It is coming even to Jerusalem herself (Jer 4:11-18 ). Jeremiah now speaks of the invasion as a hot, withering blast from the desert. He sees the foe coming as a swift cloud; the watchers are at hand; he hears the snorting of their horses; he sees them enclose the cities.
3. The anguish of the prophet. Here we have the suffering of this magnificent patriot, Jer 4:19 : “My vitals, my vitals!”
4. The devastation is pictured Jer 4:23-26 : “The earth was waste and void.” The same expression is used in Genesis (Jer 1:2 ). The heavens had no light. The mountains trembled, the cities were broken down. The whole land was devastated. All this is a vision of the destruction to come.
5. The destruction is almost complete (Jer 4:27-31 ). Notice verse Jer 4:27 : “I will not make a full end.” There is a remnant to be left, the root, the stock, not the entire people. It is not to be utter destruction.
6. This is merited, for all are corrupt (Jer 5:1-9 ). Here is a striking statement: “Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see if you can find a man, if there be any that doeth justly.” He means to say, You cannot find a true man in the whole city. There was not one manly man in Jerusalem. This reminds us of Diogenes, going through the streets of Athens with a lantern looking for a man. In Sodom there were not to be found ten righteous men, only one, and he was a poor specimen. So it is here in Jerusalem. All are corrupt. Verse Jer 4:5 : “I will get me unto the great men,” the leaders. But he finds that they were corrupt, too.
7. Jer 4:10-19 is a picture of the disaster. They are not to make a full end, but disaster is to come, Jer 5:16-17 : “Their quiver is an open sepulchre, . . . they shall eat up thy harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat; . . . they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig-trees; they shall beat down thy city.” But remember they shall not make a full end. There shall be a remnant. The cause of all this is the corruption of the people (Jer 4:20-29 ). Both people and prophets are evil. He repeats these warnings and messages over and over again. He describes the moral condition of the people. A wonderful and horrible thing is come to pass in the land, Jer 5:30-31 : “The prophets prophesy falsely.” The preachers are deceiving the people. And the worst thing about it is that the people like to have it so.
8. The foe is still nearer. The capital is invested and must be prepared, for the enemy plans to storm it; another vivid picture, Jer 6:1-8 : “Flee for safety, ye men of Jerusalem.” Flee to Tekoa, flee to the wilderness, for evil is coming from the north. A great destruction is coming. Thus he goes on with his awful picture of the destruction hastening upon the city. The enemy says, We will take it by storm, at full noon; no, it is past noon; the shadows begin to decline; let us go up at night; let us take it by a night attack.
9. The doom is certain and fixed (Jer 4:9-21 ). Note Jer 4:14 : “They have slightly healed the hurt of my people, saying, Peace, peace; where there is no peace.” We are indebted to Jeremiah for that oft-quoted sentence. It is classic. Spurgeon preached a great sermon on that passage. His theme was a blast against false peace. Jer 4:16 : “Stand ye in the way and see, and ask for the old paths.” There has been many a sermon preached from that text, on the subject, “The Old Paths.”
10. In Jer 4:22-26 is a full description of the enemy. Note the minuteness of it, Jer 4:23 : “They have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; they ride upon horses; they are against the daughter of Zion.”
11. There is another picture of the nation. In Jer 6:28-30 : “They are as grievous revolters.” “Going about with slanders, they are brass and iron. . . . They are refuse silver, fit only to be thrown out in the street. As silver amalgamates with other metals and loses its value, so these people by amalgamated religion become refuse to be tossed aside into the dump pile of rubbish. This is a magnificent passage. It sums up what Jeremiah preached and taught for eighteen years.
QUESTIONS
1. When were these prophecies uttered and what the conditions under which they were spoken?
2. What is the subject matter of these chapters and what the general content?
3. What is the subject of Jer 2 and to whom addressed?
4. What is the picture of Jer 2:1-3 ?
5. What, in general, Israel’s history after the first love, what question raised in Jer 2:4-8 , and what the charge here brought against the leaders?
6. What question is raised in Jer 2:9-13 , what two sins charged against Israel and how illustrated?
7. What are the questions of Jer 2:14-19 and what their application?
8. What tare he other questions raised in Jer 2:20-25 , and what the application of each, respectively?
9. What is the question of Jer 2:26-28 and what its application?
10. What is the import of Jer 2:22 ?
11. If this be true, then why should we preach?
12. Can you recite from memory the poem based on Jer 2:22 ?
13. What are the questions propounded in Jer 2:29-37 and what are their application?
14. How does Jehovah show his love and faithfulness to Israel in spite of her sins (Jer 3:1-5 )?
15. What special lesson by Jehovah is given to Judah and what the result?
16. What hope does Jehovah hold out to Judah in Jer 3:19-22 ?
17. On what does the prophet base his hope for Israel and how is it signified?
18. What proposition does Jehovah make to Israel in Jer 4:1-4 and of what homiletic value is this section?
19. Give a digest of the coming judgment of Jer 4:5-6:30 .
Jer 4:1 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.
Ver. 1. If thou wilt return, O Israel. ] As thou seemest willing to do, and for very good reason. Jer 2:22-24 Thou art but a beaten rebel, and to stand it out with me is to no purpose; thou must either turn or burn. Neither will it help thee to return fainly, for I love truth in the inward parts, and hate hypocrisy, halting, and tepidity. If therefore thou wilt return,
Return unto me.
And if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight,
Then shalt thou not remove. Jeremiah Chapter 4
Jer 4 NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 4:1-2
1If you will return, O Israel, declares the LORD,
Then you should return to Me.
And if you will put away your detested things from My presence,
And will not waver,
2And you will swear, ‘As the LORD lives,’
In truth, in justice and in righteousness;
Then the nations will bless themselves in Him,
And in Him they will glory.
Jer 4:1 If Grammatically there seem to be four ifs or conditions in Jer 4:1-2. This shows the conditional nature of the covenant (i.e., if. . .then. . ., cf. Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 27-28).
return. . .return to Me The Hebrew root, (BDB 996-1000, see Special Topic: Repentance in the Old Testament ), is used in several words, in several lines in chapters Jer 3:1 to Jer 4:2.
1. – return, Jer 3:1 (twice), 7 (twice), 10,12,14,19,22; Jer 4:1 (twice)
– turn away, Jer 4:8
– turn back, Jer 4:28
2. (BDB 1000) – faithless, Jer 3:14; Jer 3:22
3. , (BDB 1000) – faithless, Jer 3:6; Jer 3:8; Jer 3:11-12
– backsliding, Jer 3:22
Notice the personal emphasis (cf. Jer 3:1; Jer 3:4; Jer 3:7; Jer 3:10; Jer 3:19-20). Sin is more than a violation of a law code. It is a personal affront to a personal God!
Israel See Special Topic: Israel (the name) . This title (BDB 975) can mean
1. a new name given to Jacob
2. a collective term for all the children of Jacob
3. the northern ten tribes after the split of the United Monarchy in 922 B.C. They were later taken captive by Assyria at the fall of the capital, Samaria in 722 B.C.
Context must determine which meaning. This is especially hard in Jeremiah when #2 and #3 are used in isolated poems without their historical setting specified.
detested things This is literally abominations (BDB 1055) and refers to idols. See Special Topic: Abomination .
and will not waver This VERB (BDB 626, KB 678, Qal IMPERFECT, lit. wander, cf. Gen 4:12; Gen 4:14) refers to wholehearted daily activities (i.e., lifestyle).
Jer 4:2 you will swear This VERB (BDB 989, KB 1396, Niphal PERFECT) refers to a verbal act of worship, much like our modern liturgies (cf. Jer 12:16; Deu 6:13; Deu 10:20; Isa 65:16). Idolaters swear by Ba’al, but YHWH’s people swear allegiance only to Him! This is theologically parallel to Rom 10:9-13, which is a quote from Joe 2:32 (cf. Act 2:21).
In truth, in justice and in righteousness This is the content of swear. It refers to a lifestyle response, not ritual or periodic emotional experiences. This would describe true repentance. Each of these three words carries theological meaning.
1. in truth (BDB 54, see Special Topic below)
2. in justice (BDB 1048, see Special Topic below)
3. in righteousness (BDB 842, see Special Topic below)
SPECIAL TOPIC: AMEN
SPECIAL TOPIC: JUDGE, JUDGMENT, AND JUSTICE (?) IN ISAIAH
SPECIAL TOPIC: RIGHTEOUSNESS
the nations will bless themselves in Him This is a recurrent theme in Genesis (BDB 138, KB 159, Hithpael PERFECT, cf. Gen 12:3; Gen 18:18; Gen 22:18; Gen. 26:41; Gen 28:14). God’s promises to the Patriarchs show Israel’s purpose as an instrument of reaching the whole world (cf. Exo 19:5-6; Isa 42:6; Isa 49:6, see Special Topic: YHWH’s Eternal Redemptive Plan ).
This is such an important theological concept that I have included my notes from Gen 12:3.
NASB, NKJV,
NRSV,
PESHITTAand in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed
NRSV
footnote,
JPSOAby you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves
TEVand through you I will bless all the nations
TEVfootnoteAll the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed you
NJBand all clans on earth will bless themselves by you
LXXand in you shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed
REBAll the peoples on earth will wish to be blessed as you are blessed
REBfootnoteAll the peoples on earth will be blessed because of you
The Niphal PERFECT (BDB 138, KB 159) stem is usually PASSIVE (LXX, NASB, shall be blessed, cf. Jer 18:18; Jer 28:14), but in Jer 22:18; Jer 26:4 the Hithpael PERFECT stem is used, which is REFLEXIVE (bless themselves). It is possible that the Hithpael denotes a continuing action through time. It is significant that God includes all nations in His promise to Abram in light of the universal rebellion of chapter 11. God chose Abraham to choose all humans made in His image (cf. Psa 22:27; Psa 66:4; Psa 86:9; Isa 66:23; Isa 49:6; Act 3:25; Gal 3:8)! Also see note at Gen 22:18.
This is really an important passage. It shows clearly God’s purpose of using Abram to reach all the world. The universal promise of Gen 3:15 is being implemented, even amidst the purposeful rebellion of Noah’s children (i.e., Genesis 10, 11). It s not only to those who show favor to Abram, but to those who will show favor to Abram’s seed (i.e., the Messiah). There was/is a universal purpose in YHWH’s choice of one to bring prophesied redemption through the special One of his descendants. In the big picture, this is not a text about an attitude toward Jews, but a faith response to the Jewish promised One. See Special Topic: OT Titles of the Special Coming One .
in Him they will glory The VERB (BDB 237, KB 248) is Hithpael IMPERFECT, denoting ongoing action. Followers of YHWH glory/boast in knowing Him and Him alone (cf. Jer 9:23-24). Notice the wonderful, universal implications of Isa 45:20-25, especially Jer 4:25 b! Biblical faith is a personal relationship with the one true God!
return. Note the Figure of speech Cycloides. App-6.
Israel. Now referring to the northern kingdom.
saith the LORD = [is] Jehovah’s oracle.
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.
then shalt thou not remove = and stray not [from Jehovah]. Compare Jer 2:22-26; Jer 3:2.
Chapter 4
But if you will return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if you will put away thine abominations out of my sight, then you will no longer be [moved or] removed. And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth ( Jer 4:1-2 ),
It won’t just be saying it as a phrase. And the people were still saying, “Oh, the Lord lives. Praise the Lord, the Lord lives!” But it was meaningless. Just like a lot of people today who go around saying, “Praise the Lord, praise the Lord!” It’s meaningless. It’s just mouthing words. But you’ll say in truth; it will be from your heart.
in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory. For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns ( Jer 4:2-3 ).
That fallow ground, break it up in order that God might bring His reign and plant it and bring forth fruit.
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and cut away the foreskins of your heart ( Jer 4:4 ),
The fleshly heart, the heart that is after the flesh. Paul refers to this in Romans. The true circumcision is of the heart, not of the flesh.
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 ( Jer 4:4 ).
Cut away a heart that is after your flesh and after things of the flesh. Cut that away that you might be dedicated totally to God and the things of the Spirit.
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 defensed cities. Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and great destruction. The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way [Babylon is moving toward you]; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant. For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us. 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. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! ( Jer 4:5-10 )
Jeremiah’s responding when God said all these things. The judgment is coming. These men are all going to be silent. Then I said, Oh, Lord God!
surely you have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword is reaching to their soul ( Jer 4:10 ).
Because the prophets were going around saying, “Peace, peace, peace and safety. Babylon shall not come to this place. Babylon shall never cast a trench around this place.”
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, even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them. Behold, he shall come up as the clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we have been spoiled [destroyed]. O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you mayest be saved. How long shall your vain thoughts remain in your minds? For a voice declares from Dan, and publish affliction from mount Ephraim. 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. As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD. Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee ( Jer 4:11-18 );
You’ve brought it upon yourself.
this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reaches into your hearts. My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at 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. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have no understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge ( Jer 4:18-22 ).
Paul said we ought to be simple concerning evil things. A lot of people like to dabble into the evil things. “Oh, I just want to understand about the evil. Let’s go down to the nude shows so that we’ll know what to preach against.” The Bible says be simple concerning evil. Better that you be dumb about evil things. Of course, it’s good that you pick up the lingo so that you won’t be using some of the corrupted words that they use. But it’s good to just be simple about evil. And Jeremiah says much the same thing here. The people were wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
Now the Lord speaks. There are some who think that Jeremiah is here going back. But contextually it’s hard to really see it that way. But he uses the same phraseology that is used in Gen 1:1-31 . And therefore, those who adhere to the Gap Theory, and that is, that between verses Jer 4:1 , and Jer 4:2 of Genesis there is a gap of indeterminate time. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” ( Gen 1:1 ). When that was, we don’t know. Billions, trillions of years ago, we don’t know. Verse Jer 4:2 , “And the earth was without form and void,” can also be translated, “but the earth became wasted and desolate.” So they see the possibility of a great gap of time, indeterminate, existing between verses Jer 4:1 , and Jer 4:2 of Genesis. And they see the earth that was originally created by God as being destroyed by God’s fierce anger in a rebellion that preceded man’s existence upon this planet. And one of the scriptures that they use as a proof for the Gap Theory is this particular passage that we come to here in Jeremiah where he makes a reference.
I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void ( Jer 4:23 );
The same terminology that you find in verse Jer 4:2 of Gen 1:1-31 .
and the heavens, they had no light ( Jer 4:23 ).
You remember the first thing God said was, “Let there be light” ( Gen 1:3 ).
I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all of the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was as a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger. For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end ( Jer 4:24-27 ).
And so those who subscribe to the Gap Theory see this as a proof of the Gap Theory, as Jeremiah, they say, is looking back and he sees the earth prior to God’s reconstruction of the earth for placing man upon it, and sees earth in perhaps the state it was before God began to reconstruct the earth, to put man upon it. Sees it in the last ice age when there was no light shining down upon the earth. When the earth was enshrouded in darkness and the birds, the life that had existed was gone. The cities that were once here were destroyed. And so they explain the fossils, prehistoric man, and so forth through this Gap Theory. There is much that can be said for the Gap Theory. There are problems also with the Gap Theory, but it is one of the common theories of creation and especially of Genesis, that Gap Theory. And as I say, there is merit to it. There are problems, but there is merit to it. “For thus hath the Lord said, ‘The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.'”
For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken, I have purposed, and will not change, neither will I turn back from it. 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. And when thou art spoiled, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself with crimson, though you deck yourself with ornaments of gold, though you rentest your face with painting, in vain you will make yourself beautiful; for your lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life. For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that is bringing forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that is wailing, she is spreading forth her hands, she is saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers ( Jer 4:28-31 ).
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Jer 4:1-2. 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. 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.
So he sets before them life and death. First, he begins with these words of encouragement. He begs them to come, for God is willing to receive them notwithstanding all.
Jer 4:3-4 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. 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.
They had the outward religion, but the Lords servant bids them know that they must have heart religion. The heart must be purged: the inward must be cleansed. This they had no mind to. They would multiply their sacrifices and their outward performances, but as to cleanliness of heart, this they cared not for.
Jer 4:5-7. 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 defensed cities. Set up the standard towards Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. 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 he laid waste, without an inhabitant.
This was a terrible prophecy. The Chaldeans, who had broken to pieces so many other kingdoms and powers, were on their way. The lion enraged, had leaped from his thicket and was about to tear, and rend, and do universal havoc; and if they did not turn to God, their whole land would be laid waste. One would think that such a heavy blow should have awakened them to a sense of their danger and their sin, but, alas! it was not so.
Jer 4:8-9. For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of LORD is not turned back from us. 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.
Universal fear would take hold upon them. If they would not rightly fear the Lord and turn to him; the time would come when, without exception, the greatest and the wisest of them, should be taken with a sudden panic.
Jer 4:10. 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.
God promises them peace, but it was upon a condition which they did not fulfill. There was peace while they gave up their sin, but There is no peace, With God, unto the wicked: and so they missed it.
Jer 4:11-12. 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, Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them.
What an awful line that is. Now also will I give sentence against them. They had been on their trial. They are found guilty. They will not repent. Now will I proceed to pronounce their doom and give sentence against them.
Jer 4:13. 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.
They began to cry out when they began to smart, and the prophet comes in again.
Jer 4:14. O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved.
There is ever that silver bell of mercy ringing out the note of invitation. O Jerusalem, thy sorrows, thy destruction may yet be averted if thou wilt turn from thy darkness, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved.
Jer 4:14-18. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim. 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. As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD, 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.
When great judgments are abroad, it always is on account of great sin. It was so in the case of Israel. Thy doings have procured these things unto thee. Oh! when the ungodly man begins to reap the result of his life when, in his own body and in his own home, he begins to see what sin will often bring the drunkard to, let him hear these words: This is thy wickedness. Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee. Now follows the lament of Jeremiah one at the most wonderful pieces of sorrowful writing that will ever be read in your hearing.
Jer 4:19-21. 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 has heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?
The dreadful blast of war, the blood-red flag of murder, flying through the land, while the Chaldeans slew right and left, young and old we want to put ourselves into Jeremiahs position to be able to realize the horror of this case.
Jer 4:22-23. 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. I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void: and the heavens, and they had no light.
As if they had gone back to chaos to the primeval darkness to the fist disorder ere God began to create.
Jer 4:24-29. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. 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, For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and I will not repent, neither will I turn back from it. The whole city shall flee from 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.
Now all this did happen. It all came to pass. Palestine, the glorious garden of God, was made as dreary as a wilderness. It is not much better now. It has scarced recovered. God will re-gather them to the land one day, but oh! what a sight it was when God at last had ended his patience poured out the vials of his wrath upon his once favored land.
This exposition consisted of readings from Jer 3:6-25; Jer 4:1-29.
Jer 4:1-4
Jer 4:1-2
THE IMPENDING DESTRUCTION OF JUDAH
The chapter begins with a conclusion of the prophet’s address to the Northern Israel (Jer 4:1-2); then there is a call for Judah’s repentance and return to duty as the very last hope of her averting destruction (Jer 4:3-4); next, the Babylonian invasion is prophesied (Jer 4:5-9); there follows the most difficult verse in the chapter (Jer 4:10); a continued description of the forthcoming invasion is given (Jer 4:11-18); personified Judah bewails her fate (Jer 4:19-21); God’s answer and the cause of their misery are related (Jer 4:22); a prophecy of the awful extent of the destruction is announced (Jer 4:23-26); and, notwithstanding God’s promise not to make a “full end” of Judah (Jer 4:27); there follows the magnificent prophecy of the Judgment of Judah in terminology that suggests also the final destruction of Adam’s rebellious race in the Day of Judgment (Jer 4:16-31).
Jer 4:1-2
“If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith Jehovah, if thou wilt return unto me, and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight; then shalt thou not be removed; and thou shalt swear, as Jehovah liveth, in truth, in justice, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.”
What marvelous things could have happened if only Israel had repented and returned to God. This promise came a hundred years after their going captive into Assyria; but even then God could have achieved wonders through them IF, only IF, they had repented. Of course, it proved a vain hope. There is no evidence whatever of any slightest intention upon their part of returning to God.
Note especially that “the nations,” that is, the Gentiles would have been converted, and that Israel would have been the means of God’s reaching them! Gentiles and nations are alternate renditions of the same Hebrew noun.
As Cook stated it:
“Two great truths are taught in this verse: (1) that the Gentiles were to be members of the Church of the Messiah, and (2) that Israel’s peculiar office was to be God’s instrument in that great work. Thus Jeremiah is in exact accord with the evangelical teaching of Isaiah.
It should not be overlooked that, “The situation envisaged here was a prospect, rather than a reality. There could be neither a return of Israel to their homeland nor the conversion of the nations without a genuine abandonment of their apostasy, which never happened.
These verses appear to be God’s answer to Israel’s response to the invitation of Jer 3:22. “When God called Israel to repent, they immediately answered, Lord, we return; now God takes notice of it in this reply.” “If you have it in mind to return to me, return; but come all the way back to me”! Of course, there are three things involved in such a return: (1) the immediate and total abandonment of their idolatry, (2) a return to the sincere and wholehearted worship and service of the true God, and (3) a radical revision and restructuring of their lives in a pattern of obedience, justice, and faithfulness. These remain still, in all ages, the basics of true repentance.
Jer 4:3-4
“For thus saith Jehovah to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to Jehovah, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.”
Here God’s Word is directed to Judah, the Southern Israel, with a call for their true repentance and conversion, coupled with a threat of drastic punishment.
“Break up your fallow ground …” (Jer 4:3). `Fallow ground’ refers to land that had not been recently cultivated, indicating that conditions in Judah were not at all favorable for the planting of God’s Word; and the practical import of the admonition is that they should get rid of all their idols, no longer visit the shrines of the fertility gods, and produce the kind of environment that would encourage godly living. It appears to this writer that McGee’s comment about our own country’s needing this same kind of advice is appropriate:
The fallow ground needs to be broken up. We are a nation in danger. We say we are one of the greatest nations in the world, but we could fall overnight. Babylon the great fell in one night. Rome fell from within … Our nation is decaying from within. Morality is deteriorating. Someone needs to say something about it. We are still preaching, but we are sowing the seed among the thorns.
“Circumcise yourselves to Jehovah … take away the foreskins of your heart …” (Jer 4:4). The second clause here explains the first. Circumcision was observed for all Jewish males; but the kind of circumcision they needed was not physical but spiritual. Cutting off the foreskins of their hearts meant removing from their thoughts and affections all of the sinful indulgences to which they were so addicted. As Harrison commented, “Inner cleansing of the heart is the only alternative to destruction by fire, a theme prominent also in the New Testament (Mat 25:41, etc.)
Some have difficulty understanding the part that man must play in his own conversion, repentance, and regeneration. The passage before us declares that the men of Judah and Jerusalem were to “circumcise their hearts”; but Deu 30:6 declares that, “The Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart!” Is this a contradiction? Certainly not.
The simple fact is that man is both active and passive in regeneration. The text here (Jer 4:4) stresses his activity, and the passage in Deuteronomy stresses his passivity.
This is the way it is in the New Birth. The sinner must “Arise and be baptized and wash away his sins” (Act 22:16); but the actual cleansing and the convert’s reception of the Holy Spirit are from above, the convert being passive in their reception. It is for this truth that Paul could say, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Php 2:12). Yes indeed, there are things for the sinner to do if he is ever going to be saved.
The Rewards of Repentance Jer 4:1-4
If she was to reap the rewards of repentance Israel must make sure that she turns unto the Lord. The pronoun Me is in an emphatic position in the Hebrew sentence structure of Jer 4:1. Israel had turned to other gods and to other nations. She was constantly turning in one direction or the other. Now she must make sure she returns to Me. A genuine return to the Lord will involve three distinct actions on the part of the nation. (1) They must remove all their abominations, i.e., their idols and the rites conducted in their worship, from before the face of the Lord. (2) From that point on they must never waver, i.e., run to and from other gods, but rather remain steadfastly faithful to the Lord. (3) They must swear by the life of the Lord. As the Lord lives was the common form of the Jewish oath. The men of Israel must swear to the Lord and by the Lord. They must renew their covenant to the Lord by swearing allegiance to Him. Cf. Deu 26:17 f.; 2Ki 23:3; Neh 9:1 to Neh 10:39. To swear by the Lord means to call Him to witness to the truth of a statement. Lest one take this matter of swearing lightly three qualifications are placed upon the act. The oath must be made (a) in truth, i.e., in sincerity; (b) in justice, i.e., in keeping with that which is right; and (c) in righteousness, i.e., in accordance with the commandments of the law of God (Deu 6:24-25). Following this lengthy statement of the stipulations concerning repentance, the Lord adds a beautiful promise. If Israel truly repents then the Lord will make them a blessing to the whole world and the promise of Jer 3:17 will be fulfilled. The heathen will come to bless and glorify the Lord when they see the way in which He will bless penitent Israel (Jer 4:2).
From the explicit promise of reward in Jer 4:2 the prophet develops two metaphors which contain implicit promises to penitent sinners. In the first metaphor, which Jeremiah has borrowed from Hosea (Hos 10:12), the heart of the men of Judah is like a field which has never been cleared of dense brush and plowed for planting. (Jer 4:3). It is no easy task to clear that land of thorn and thistle and plow that virgin soil. Superficial plowing will not do for the roots of the weeds can only be destroyed as the ground is worked again and again. But no harvest of any consequence can be reaped from a field which has not thoroughly been prepared. So must the sinner laboriously work to root up and kill the thorns of wickedness and idolatry. The seed of the word of God does not stand a chance in a heart which harbors the roots of sin. But the more thorough the plowing, the richer the harvest.
In Jer 4:4 the metaphor changes as Jeremiah calls upon the men of Judah to circumcise themselves to the Lord. Here the prophet is taking a slap at the mere formal, ritualistic notions of circumcision. All Jews were circumcised; but not all were circumcised to the Lord. Jeremiah is certainly not advocating that the outward act of circumcision be abandoned. God Himself had commanded His people to perform this act. But the prophet is demanding that circumcision be carried out in the right spirit. Israel must not only circumcise the foreskin of their flesh but also of their hearts (Deu 10:16). While the outward act of circumcision made a man a member of the commonwealth of Israel, it was the circumcision of the heart that made a man part of the true Israel of God. The outward act was of no consequence if the heart was unchanged. The earnest entreaty of the Lord closes with an ultimatum. If these men fail to live up to their circumcision then the consuming fire of Gods wrath will break forth against them and no one will be able to extinguish that fire (Jer 4:4).
Jehovah immediately promised that if Israel would return, she would be established. Then the prophet declared that judgment was determined on. He appealed to the people to repent, and that not in external manifestation, but actually and in heart. The people are described as panic-stricken because of the imminent peril.
In a parenthesis (verse Jer 4:1 o), the prophet’s anguish is revealed as he sees the judgment falling. Nevertheless he continued his message, and described the swift attack of the foe, again earnestly appealing to Jerusalem to turn from wickedness.
After this description his anguish again is manifest in a lament (verses Jer 4:19-26). He was pained at his very heart as he saw the destruction coming, and the more so as he recognized that it was the result of their own sin. The picture which spread itself before his vision was of widespread devastation. Notwithstanding his sorrow, he declared that the judgment was inevitable, because the word of the Lord had been uttered, and warned the people of the anguish which must be their portion in the day of visitation.
Pleading with Faithless Children
Jer 3:11-25; Jer 4:1-2
The people of the northern kingdom, to whom this appeal is especially addressed, were more excusable than Judah, because their privileges had been less. God judges us according to our opportunities. How precious the invitation and promise of Jer 3:12! Confession is an essential condition that must be fulfilled by us. See 1Jn 1:7. Zion shall yet be the center of a restored Israel, Jer 3:14; Jer 3:18. In Jer 3:21-25 the voices of the people in confession and prayer mingle with Jehovahs encouraging their return. When we lie down in broken-hearted shame and penitence, we are very near to being lifted to the bosom of God. Compare Jer 3:25 with Jer 4:1. The return of the Chosen People to the God of their fathers will be the cause of revival and quickening throughout the earth. Compare Jer 4:2 with Rom 11:12.
Jer 4:1-2 give us His response to their cry of anguish, and the promised blessing when in reality they return to GOD.
From this point the message is to Judah, and is a call for more than mere surface work, such as was then going on. No real fruit for GOD could be expected where they were sowing on unbroken and thorn-choked ground (Jer 4:3). The plowshare of conviction must overturn the hardened soil of the heart.
Not the natural flesh alone, but the heart must be circumcised (Jer 4:4). “For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly; . . . but he is a Jew which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter” (Rom 2:28-29). And the same apostle declares the true circumcision is to have “no confidence in the flesh” (Php 3:3). If the message was unheeded, then judgment must take its course; and already the Gentile destroyer was on his way.
Jer 4:5-13 furnish us a vivid picture of the coming fall of Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. So astounding is this announcement that the prophet is himself astonished (Jer 4:10), and can scarcely credit that the Lord will so deal with His people.
There is but one door of escape, which he points out in Jer 4:14 – Wash thine heart.” This can only be by reception of the Word, and allowing it to work in the conscience. He immediately goes on to enlarge on the surely coming overthrow of the city, in most awe-inspiring language (Jer 4:15-21). But the people of Judah were the very opposite to what the apostle desired for the Roman saints (Rom 16:19) – they were “wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge” (Jer 4:22).
The coming desolation of the land is graphically depicted in Jer 4:23-31. It is not the earth, but the land of Palestine, that is before him, as the companion scripture, Isaiah 24, clearly shows. The language is doubtless highly poetical, yet fully to be relied on, – perhaps one should say rather figurative, than poetical, as the latter expression has been much abused of late.
Jer 4:3
I. There is a special lesson in our text, because the facts of which it warns us are specially common. Hard and trodden soils, dull and heavy as the fool’s heart, there are; thin and shallow soils, on which only hunger-bitten and blighted harvests grow, there are; and thank God there are also soils rich and good and deep, which bring forth fruit to perfection; but commoner than any of these are those soils in which the tares and wheat grow side by side, and the crisis of time and of eternity depends on this-whether we suffer the tares or the wheat to prevail. The thorns of the parable, and of the prophet’s metaphor, are our evil nature; our evil impulses; the wrong which struggles within us, and which, if not suppressed, if not to the utmost of our power eradicated, will render it impossible for the good to grow.
II. Break up your fallow ground. (1) Make your choice now and for ever. In the field of your life, which shall grow-wheat or tares? that is, shall it be life or death? shall it be good or evil? shall it be light or darkness? shall it be shame or peace? (2) Let the choice be absolute. No tampering with the accursed thing; no truce with Canaan; no weak attempts to serve two masters; no wretched and wavering wish to grow both tares and wheat.
F. W. Farrar, In the Days of Thy Youth, p. 169.
References: Jer 4:3.-W. Simpson, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xi., p. 284; G. Litting, Thirty Children’s Sermons, p. 141. Jer 4:10.-H. Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. i., p. 267. Jer 4:14.-J. Foster, Lectures, 1st series, pp. 71, 85; Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxvi., No. 1573. Jer 4:20.-Ibid., vol. vii., No. 349, and vol. xxiii., No. 1363. Jer 4:30.-Ibid., vol. xxiii., No. 1363.
CHAPTER 4
1. True repentance and what it means (Jer 4:1-4)
2. The alarm sounded: judgment comes (Jer 4:5-13)
3. The doom of the rebellious people (Jer 4:14-22)
4. The desolation of Israels land through judgment (Jer 4:23-31)
Jer 4:1-4. A return must be a return unto Him, Jehovah; anything less is insufficient. Their abominations must be judged and put away. Every return of backsliders must be in the same way–a true return to the Lord with confession of sin, self-judgment, and abandonment of evil. The circumcision of the heart means regeneration. (See Jer 31:31-34, and Eze 36:26.)
Jer 4:5-13. This is the first definite announcement of the coming judgment from the north, which Jeremiah had seen in the vision of the boiling pot toward the north (chapter 1). The lion who comes, the destroyer of the Gentiles, who makes the land desolate, is Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. It is a very vivid description of the approaching judgment. Jer 4:10 means not that Jeremiah is reproaching the Lord for having deceived the people. Jeremiah did not preach peace, but the false prophets did. They came and spoke in the name of Jehovah, that there should be peace; and Jehovah permitted as a judgment these prophets, and the message of these prophets. And thus they were deceived.
Jer 4:14-22. The doom of Jerusalem and Judah is sealed; there can be no escape. Their ways and their doings brought all upon them. And when Jeremiah hears it from the lips of the Lord, he breaks out in a lament: 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.
Jer 4:23-31. Then the prophet has a vision of what will happen to the land of Israel, when the judgment threatened above has passed over it. The unscriptural invention and wicked teachings of Seventh Day Adventism applies this passage to the whole earth and teaches that when the Lord comes the whole earth will be laid waste. Like Isa 24:1-23, only Israels land is in view. It must be not overlooked that the Lord said: The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. This is Israels hope.
wilt return: Jer 4:4, Jer 3:12, Jer 3:22
return: Jer 3:1, Jer 3:14, Isa 31:6, Hos 7:16, Hos 14:1, Joe 2:12
put away: Gen 35:2, Deu 27:15, Jos 24:14, Jdg 10:16, 1Sa 7:3, 2Ki 23:13, 2Ki 23:24, 2Ch 15:8, Eze 11:18, Eze 18:13, Eze 20:7, Eze 20:8, Eze 43:9, Hos 2:2, Eph 4:22-31
then shalt: Jer 15:4, Jer 22:3-5, Jer 24:9, Jer 25:5, Jer 36:3, 2Ch 33:8
Reciprocal: 2Ch 30:6 – turn again Jer 7:5 – For if Jer 8:4 – turn Eze 33:14 – if he Zep 2:3 – Seek ye Zec 1:3 – Turn
Jer 4:1. Jeremiah began to write in the days of Josiah and God had told that righteous reformer that nothing he could do would prevent the captivity Hence we should understand the exhortations of this and several verses that follow in the light of advice to Individuals to reform their lives. The reader is requested to see the note in connection with 2Ki 22:17 in Vol. 2 of this Commentary.
Jer 4:1. If thou wilt return, O Israel, return unto me Israel having promised repentance in the latter part of the preceding chapter, they are here directed what sort of a repentance it must be; that it must not be hypocritical and feigned, but real and hearty; not deferred to another time, but immediate, without any delay; the words being not improperly interpreted, as they are by many, If thou wilt return, return now. Repentance, if it be delayed from time to time, is seldom ever put in execution; and therefore there cannot be a more useful admonition than to put our good resolutions immediately in practice. Blaney, who considers the clause as being principally intended to assure them that upon their conversion they should be accepted and received again into the bosom of Gods church, from which they had before apostatized, translates it very literally, thus, If thou wilt turn again, O Israel, saith Jehovah, unto me shalt thou return. And if thou wilt put away thine abominations Thine evil practices, and especially thine idolatries, as the word commonly signifies: out of my sight Hebrew, , from before me: though Gods eye be everywhere, and therefore, as is implied, idols are nowhere to be admitted, either in public or private, yet the expression particularly relates to the place of his more immediate presence, as their land and the place of his solemn worship. Then shalt thou not remove Thou shalt be restored to thine ancient inheritance, and shalt be established in the peaceable possession of it. As if he had said, If thou wilt remove thy idols, thou shalt not be removed. The Hebrew, , may be properly rendered, Then thou shalt not wander, that is, be an unsettled, fugitive, and vagabond people. In the former part, says Houbigant, the conversion of their morals is spoken of; in the latter, the stability of their republic.
Jer 4:3. Break up your fallow ground. Hebrews nir, novale; make new land, eradicate the thorns. Hos 10:12. Our old phrase, the fallow deer, seems to give the exact import of the word. The deer that strays in the wilds and wastes of the forest, is an emblem of the unregenerate state of man. The old rabbins used to say, that the Spirit of prophecy was a rough spirit. Truly, soft words will not break up the heart where self-love has ever slumbered, and bitter weeds have ever grown.
Jer 4:7. The lion is come up from his thicket. Nebuchadnezzar, whose generals at the head of divisions are like wild beasts let loose on the country, and like wolves and leopards devouring the land: Jer 5:6.
Jer 4:11. A dry wind, which bishop Heber calls the hotwind; if it blow long it destroys all the vegetation for that season. See on Psa 48:7. Job 27:21.
Jer 4:15-16. Watchers, the scouts of the Chaldeans, are come from a far country. They enter at Dan Laish, the first northern town of Israel, and thence traverse the mountains of Ephraim! The voice of alarm, the cry of Dan, makes the land tremble. How grateful should England be that she does not hear this cry, and see her beacons burn.
Jer 4:23. I beheld the earth, the land of Israel, and lo, it was without form and void. Hebrews tohu ve-bohu. The prophet uses here the words of Moses, Gen 1:2. When the primitive mountains first rose by crystalization, they resembled naked islands of mud. So now, before this invasion the people fled; the birds also, finding no food in harvest, sought their meat in other places. All the vines and trees were stripped of their glory.
Jer 4:31. I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail. This figure is repeatedly used by the prophets; but never except when visitations come to extremity. Chastity in the use of figures was required of the sacred writers, as much as Quintilian, in the eighth book of his Institutes, required it of the gentile poets. The paucity of words in the Hebrew language was amply supplied by the eloquence of nature. The prophets, were great masters of rhetoric, a study worthy of the christian sanctuary. Those figures however were more impressive to the Jews than to us, because they knew better than we, the cosmography and the geology of their country.
REFLECTIONS.
This chapter opens with a clear view of the Assyrian invasion. But the effects were all frustrated by a spirit of atheism and stupor. Judah, and the remnant of the ten tribes, are here called Israel; for on their conversion, we have a promise that they should not be removed into captivity. Hence the Lord, ever piteous of the calamities of man, takes a new occasion to call his people to repentance from the alarming situation of the country. There was yet a remedy, if the nation would turn to God by a genuine reformation. Let all ministers learn from this and similar calls to national repentance, that they must enforce those duties on a wicked age, by adducing the recent motives which the visitations of providence may offer for their aid. In particular, the wicked must be exhorted to that circumcision of heart, which abhors a relapse into former sins.
To succeed in drawing the nation to repentance, he describes the terrors of the invaders approach. The lion is gone up from his thicket; (so Daniel calls the king of Babylon, Dan 7:4.) The destroyer of all gentile nations is in full route to Jerusalem. He makes the whole land desolate, and every city without an inhabitant. He enters at Dan, and spreads his myriads on mount Ephraim. The fugitives are covered with sackcloth, and they lament and howl under the fierce anger of the Lord. The heart of the king is appalled, the priests and princes are astonished, the false prophets are all confounded. A dry wind makes the land as in the droughty time of Ahab; for God has given sentence against the country. Lo, yonder he comes. The vast line of his chariots, and of his cavalry swifter than eagles, cover the mountains with a cloud of dust. Woe unto us, for his scouts, and advanced guards are just at hand.
The prophet, still in vision of the enemys approach, avails himself of the voice of justice to redouble the strength of his warning voice. Oh Jerusalem, wash thy heart from wickedness, that thou mayest yet be saved, as when the Assyrians were slain in the time of Hezekiah. How long shall vain thoughts lodge within thee? How long wilt thou rely on Egypt for help? How long wilt thou palliate crimes, and practise superstition? How long wilt thou indulge in mental wickedness, and the idle reveries of concupiscence which engender every vice? Here we see that vain thoughts and a fallacious dependence on human hopes, are subversive of repentance, and highly provoking to God. Let us therefore pray that he would graciously cleanse our hearts, and so purify them by his grace, that no thought inconsistent with holiness and love may lodge a moment there.
While Jeremiah was endeavouring to make Israel feel, he felt himself. My bowelsmy bowels. I am pained at the heart. Oh how tenderly he sympathized with his country when he saw it destitute of men, and even forsaken of the birds. And it was this sympathy and love which gave him courage to speak these hard words in the ears of the people.
Jer 3:19 to Jer 4:4. A Dialogue of Yahwehs Grace.This directly continues Jer 3:5, the I of Jer 3:19 being emphatically contrasted with the thou of Jer 3:5. Yahweh expresses His desire (Jer 3:19 mg.) to give Judah, though a daughter, a sons portion in the best of lands (mg.2), but Judah (here called Israel in narrower sense, Jer 3:20) has left Him. When, speechless, she weeps in penitence (Jer 3:21) on the bare heights, the place of her former sin, Yahweh will bid her return to Him; she comes making confession that Baal (Jer 3:24 mg.) has not profited her. Yahweh assures Judah (Jer 4:1) that true penitence will be followed by the conversion of the heathen, who will use Yahwehs name in blessings (Isa 65:16). Let Judah, then, reform in earnest (Jer 4:3; cf. Hos 10:12), with an inner consecration, before Yahweh punishes (Jer 4:4).
Jer 3:19. children: sons; (cf. Hos 11:1 ff.)
Jer 3:23. Some word parallel to tumult (better throng with mg.) has fallen out (RV italics); the cult of Baal is meant by both; cf. 1Ki 18:26 ff.
Jer 4:1. Read mg.1; for the first shalt render if.abominations denote such heathen emblems as are named in Jer 2:27, etc.
4:1 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, {a} return to me: and if thou wilt put away thy abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not be removed.
(a) That is, wholly and without hypocrisy, not dissembling to turn and serve God as they do who serve him by halves, Hos 7:16 .
Gentile blessing through Israelite repentance 4:1-4
These verses provide the answer to God’s question in Jer 3:1. This is the repentance that was necessary for Yahweh to return to His "wife."
If they would put away their idolatry consistently and would swear by Him, rather than by the idols, then Israel would become responsible for the nations blessing themselves (cf. Gen 12:3; Gen 18:18; Gen 22:18; Gen 26:4; Isa 2:3; Isa 65:16; Isa 65:18). That is, the Gentile nations would come to the Lord and so experience His blessing and would glorify Him.
". . . they will discern in the example of Israel that the source of true blessing lies in Yahweh and that he dispenses his blessings to those who are obedient to his covenant . . ." [Note: Thompson, p. 213.]
"Swearing by the Lord" means acknowledging Him as master in contrast to Lord Baal (lit. master) and other lords.
The Lord clarified that for His people to return to a blessed condition they must return to Him.
"A sincere return to God demanded not only the destruction of images and the suppression of idol-worship, but also the giving up of all wandering after idols, i.e. seeking or longing after other gods." [Note: Keil, 1:102.]
5
CHAPTER III
ISRAEL AND JUDAH: A CONTRAST
Jer 3:6-25; Jer 4:1-2
THE first address of our prophet was throughout of a sombre cast, and the darkness of its close was not relieved by a single ray of hope. It was essentially a comminatory discourse, the purpose of it being to rouse a sinful nation to the sense of its peril, by a faithful picture of its actual condition, which was so different from what it was popularly supposed to be. The veil is torn aside; the real relations between Israel and his God are exposed to view; and it is seen that the inevitable goal of persistence in the course which has brought partial disasters in the past, is certain destruction in the imminent future. It is implied, but not said, that the only thing that can save the nation is a complete reversal of policies hitherto pursued, in Church and State and private life; and it is apparently taken for granted that the thing implied is no longer possible. The last word of the discourse was: “Thou hast purposed and performed the evils, and thou hast conquered.” {Jer 3:5} The address before us forms a striking contrast to this dark picture. It opens a door of hope for the penitent. The heart of the prophet cannot rest in the thought of the utter rejection of his people; the harsh and dreary announcement that his peoples woes are self-caused cannot be his last word. “His anger was only love provoked to distraction; here it has come to itself again,” and holds out an offer of grace first to that part of the whole nation which needs it most, the fallen kingdom of Ephraim, and then to the entire people. The all Israel of the former discourse is here divided into its two sections, which are contrasted with each other, and then again considered as a united nation. This feature distinguishes the piece from that which begins Jer 4:3, and which is addressed to Judah and Jerusalem rather than to Israel and Judah, like the one before us. An outline of the discourse may be given thus. It is shown that Judah has not taken warning by Iahvahs rejection of the sister kingdom (Jer 3:6-10); and that Ephraim may be pronounced less guilty than Judah, seeing that she had witnessed no such signal example of the Divine vengeance on hardened apostasy. She is, therefore, invited to repent and return to her alienated God, which will involve a return from exile to her own land; and the promise is given of the reunion of the two peoples in a restored theocracy, having its centre in Mount Zion (Jer 3:11-19). All Israel has rebelled against God; but the prophet hears the cry of universal penitence and supplication ascending to heaven; and Iahvahs gracious answer of acceptance. {Jer 3:20-25; Jer 4:1-2}
The opening section depicts the sin which had brought ruin on Israel, and Judahs readiness in following her example, and refusal to take warning by her fate. This twofold sin is aggravated by an insincere repentance. “And Iahvah said unto me, in the days of Josiah the king, Sawest thou what the Turncoat or Recreant Israel did? she would go up every high hill, and under every evergreen tree, and play the harlot there. And me thought that after doing all this she would return to Me; but she returned not; and the Traitress, her sister Judah saw it.” And I saw that when for the very reason that she, the Turncoat Israel, had committed adultery, I had put her away, and given her her bill of divorce, the Traitress Judah, her sister, was not afraid, but she too went off and played the harlot. And so, through the cry {cf. Gen 4:10; Gen 18:20 sq.} of her harlotry (or defect through her manifold or abounding harlotry) she polluted the land (Jer 3:2), in that she committed adultery with the Stone and with the Stock. And yet though she was involved in all this guilt (lit. and even in all this.) Perhaps the sin and the penalties of it are identified; and the meaning is: “And yet for all this liability,” cf. {Isa 5:25} the Traitress Judah returned not unto Me with all her heart (with a whole or undivided heart, with entire sincerity) but in falsehood, saith Iahvah. “The example of the northern kingdom is represented as a powerful influence for evil upon Judah. This was only natural; for although from the point of view of religious development Judah is incomparably the more important of the sister kingdoms; the exact contrary is the case as regards political power and predominance. Under strong kings like Omri and Ahab, or again, Jeroboam II, Ephraim was able to assert itself as a first-rate power among the surrounding principalities; and in the case of Athaliah, we have a conspicuous instance of the manner in which Canaanite idolatry might be propagated from Israel to Judah. The prophet declares that the sin of Judah was aggravated by the fact that she had witnessed the ruin of Israel, and yet persisted in the same evil courses of which that ruin was the result. She sinned against light. The fall of Ephraim had verified the predictions of her prophets; yet she was not afraid,” but went on adding to the score of her own offences, and polluting the land with her unfaithfulness to her Divine Spouse. The idea that the very soil of her country was defiled by Judahs idolatry may be illustrated by reference to the well known words of Psa 106:38 : “They shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and their daughters whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan; and the land was defiled with the bloodshed.” We may also remember Elohims words to Cain: “The voice of thy brothers blood is crying unto Me from the ground!” {Gen 4:10} As Iahvahs special dwelling place, moreover, the land of Israel was holy; and foreign rites desecrated and profaned it. and made it offensive in His sight. The pollution of it cried to heaven for vengeance on those who had caused it. To such a state had Judah brought her own land, and the very city of the sanctuary; and yet in all this amid this accumulation of sins and liabilities she turned not to her Lord with her whole heart. The reforms set on foot in the twelfth year of Josiah were but superficial and halfhearted; the people merely acquiesced in them, at the dictation of the court, and gave no sign of any inward change or deep-wrought repentance. The semblance without the reality of sorrow for sin is but a mockery of heaven, and a heinous aggravation of guilt. Hence the sin of Judah was of a deeper dye than that which had destroyed Israel. And Iahvah said unto me, The Turncoat or Recreant Israel hath proven herself more righteous than the Traitress Judah. Who could doubt it, considering that almost all the prophets had borne their witness in Judah; and that, in imitating her sisters idolatry, she had resolutely closed her eyes to the light of truth and reason? On this ground, that Israel has sinned less and suffered more, the prophet is bidden to hold out to her the hope of Divine mercy. The greatness of her ruin, as well as the lapse of years since the fatal catastrophe, might tend to diminish in the prophets mind the impression of her guilt; and his patriotic yearning for the restoration of the banished Ten Tribes, who, after all, were the near kindred of Judah, as well as the thought that they had borne their punishment, and thus atoned for their sin, {Isa 11:2} might cooperate with the desire of kindling in his own countrymen a noble rivalry of repentance, in moving the prophet to obey the impulse which urged him to address himself to Israel. Go thou, and cry these words northward (toward the desolate land of Ephraim), and say: Return, Turncoat or Recreant Israel, saith Iahvah; I will not let My countenance fall at the sight of you; {lit. against you, cf. Gen 4:5} for I am loving, saith Iahvah, I keep not anger forever. Only recognise thy guilt, that thou hast rebelled against Iahvah thy God, and hast scattered {or lavished: Psa 112:9} thy ways to the strangers hast gone now in this direction, now in that, worshipping first one idol and then another; cf. Jer 2:23; and so, as it were, dividing up and dispersing thy devotion under every evergreen tree; “but My voice ye have not obeyed, saith Iahvah.” The invitation, “Return Apostate Israel!”-contains a play of words which seems to suggest that the exile of the Ten Tribes was voluntary, or self-imposed; as if, when they turned their backs upon their true God, they had deliberately made choice of the inevitable consequence of that rebellion, and made up their minds to abandon their native land. So close is the connection, in the prophets view, between the misfortunes of his people and their sins.
“Return, ye apostate children” (again there is a play on words-“Turn back, ye back-turning sons,” or “ye sons that turn the back to Me) saith Iahvah; for it was I that wedded you” (Jer 3:14), and am, therefore, your proper lord. The expression is not stranger than that which the great prophet of the Return addresses to Zion: “Thy sons shall marry thee.” But perhaps we should rather compare another passage of the Book of Isaiah, where it is said: “Iahvah, our God! other lords beside Thee have had dominion over us,” {Isa 26:13} and render: “For it is I that will be your lord”; or perhaps, “For it is I that have mastered you,” and put down your rebellion by chastisements; “and I will take you, one of a city and two of a clan, and will bring you to Zion.” As a “city” is elsewhere spoken of as a “thousand,” {Mic 5:1} and a “thousand” is synonymous with a “clan,” as providing a thousand warriors in the national militia, it is clear that the promise is that one or two representatives of each township in Israel shall be restored from exile to the land of their fathers. In other words, we have here Isaiahs doctrine of the remnant, which he calls a “tenth,” {Isa 6:13} and of which he declared that “the survivors of the house of Judah that remain, shall again take root downwards, and bear fruit upwards.” {Isa 37:31} And as Zion is the goal of the returning exiles, we may see, as doubtless the prophets saw, a kind of anticipation and foreshadowing of the future in the few scattered members of the northern tribes of Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun, who “humbled themselves,” and accepted Hezekiahs invitation to the passover; {2Ch 30:11; 2Ch 30:18} and, again, in the authority which Josiah is said to have exercised in the land of the Ten Tribes (2Ch 34:6; 2Ch 34:9). We must bear in mind that the prophets do not contemplate the restoration of every individual of the entire nation; but rather the return of a chosen few, a kind of “firstfruits” of Israel, who are to be a “holy seed,” {Isa 6:13} from which the power of the Supreme will again build up the entire people according to its ancient divisions. So the holy Apostle in the Revelation hears that twelve thousand of each tribe are sealed as servants of God. {Rev 7:1-17}
The happy time of restoration will also be a time of reunion. The estranged tribes will return to their old allegiance. This is implied by the promise, “I will bring you to Zion,” and by that of the next verse: “And I will give you shepherds after My own heart; and they shall shepherd you with knowledge and wisdom.” Obviously, kings of the house of David are meant; the good shepherds of the future are contrasted with the “rebellious” ones of the Jer 2:8. It is the promise of Isaiah: {Isa 1:26} “And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning.” In this connection, we may recall the fact that the original schism in Israel was brought about by the folly of evil shepherds. The coming King will resemble not Rehoboam but David. Nor is this all; for “It shall come to pass, when ye multiply and become fruitful in the land, in those days, saith Iahvah, men shall not say any more, The ark of the covenant of Iahvah,” or, as LXX, “of the Holy One of Israel; nor shall it” (the ark) “come to mind; nor shall men remember it, nor miss it; nor shall it be made any more” (although the verb may be impersonal.) I do not understand why Hitzig asserts “Man wird keine andere machen” (Movers) oder; “sic wird nicht wieder gemacht” (Ew., Graf) “als ware nicht von der geschichtlichen Lade die Rede, sondern von ihr begrifflich, konnen die Worte nicht bedeuten.” But cf. Exo 25:10; Gen 6:14; where the same verb is used. Perhaps, however, the rendering of C.B. Michaelis, which he prefers, is more in accordance with what precedes: “nor shall all that be done any more,” Gen 29:26; Gen 41:34. But it does not mean “nachforschen.” {cf. 1Sa 20:6; 1Sa 25:15} “In that time men will call Jerusalem the throne of Iahvah; and all the nations will gather into it,” {Gen 1:9} “for the name of Iahvah” (at Jerusalem: LXX om.); “and they” (the heathen) “will no longer follow the stubbornness of their evil heart.” {Jer 7:24; Deu 29:19}
In the new Theocracy, the true kingdom of God, the ancient symbol of the Divine presence will be forgotten in the realisation of that presence. The institution of the New Covenant will be characterised by an immediate and personal knowledge of Iahvah in the hearts of all His people. {Jer 31:31 sq.} The small object in which past generations had loved to recognise the earthly throne of the God of Israel, will be replaced by Jerusalem itself, the Holy City, not merely of Judah, nor of Judah and Israel, but of the world. Thither will all the nations resort “to the name of Iahvah”; ceasing henceforth “to follow the hardness (or callousness) of their own evil heart.” That the more degraded kinds of heathenism have a hardening effect upon the heart; and that the cruel and impure worships of Canaan especially tended to blunt the finer sensibilities, to enfeeble the natural instincts of humanity and justice, and to confuse the sense of right and wrong, is beyond question. Only a heart rendered callous by custom, and stubbornly deaf to the pleadings of natural pity, could find genuine pleasures in the merciless rites of the Molech worship; and they who ceased to follow these inhuman superstitions, and sought light and guidance from the God of Israel, might well be said to have ceased “to walk after the hardness of their own evil heart.” The more repulsive features of heathenism chime in too well with the worst and most savage impulses of our nature; they exhibit too close a conformity with the suggestions and demands of selfish appetite; they humour and encourage the darkest passions far too directly and decidedly, to allow us to regard as plausible any theory of their origin and permanence which does not recognise in them at once a cause and an effect of human depravity. {cf. Rom 1:1-32}
The repulsiveness of much that was associated with the heathenism with which they were best acquainted, did not hinder the prophets of Israel from taking a deep spiritual interest in those who practised and were enslaved by it. Indeed, what has been called the universalism of the Hebrew seers-their emancipation in this respect from all local and national limits and prejudices-is one of the clearest proofs of their divine mission. Jeremiah only reiterates what Micah and Isaiah had preached before him; that “in the latter days the mountain of Iahvahs House shall be established as the chief of mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all the nations will flow unto it”. {Isa 2:2} In Jer 16:19 sq. our prophet thus expresses himself upon the same topic. “Iahvah, my strength and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of distress! unto Thee shall nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say: Our forefathers inherited naught but a lie, vanity, and things among which is no helper. Shall a man make him gods, when they are no gods?” How largely this particular aspiration of the prophets of the seventh and eighth centuries B.C. has since been fulfilled in the course of the ages is a matter of history. The religion which was theirs has, in the new shape given it by our Lord and His Apostles, become the religion of one heathen people after another, until at this day it is the faith professed, not only in the land of its origin, but by the leading nations of the world. So mighty a fulfilment of hopes, which at the time of their first conception and utterance could only be regarded as the dreams of enthusiastic visionaries, justifies those who behold and realise it in the joyful belief that the progress of true religion has not been maintained for six and twenty centuries to be arrested now; and that these old world aspirations are destined to receive a fulness of illustration in the triumphs of the future, in the light of which the brightest glories of the past will pale and fade away.
The prophet does not say, with a prophet of the New Covenant, that “all Israel shall be saved”. {Rom 11:26} We may, however, fairly interpret the latter of the true Israel, “the remnant according to the election of grace,” rather than of “Israel according to the flesh,” and so both will be at one, and both at variance with the unspiritual doctrine of the Talmud, that “All Israel,” irrespective of moral qualifications, will have “a portion in the world to come,” on account of the surpassing merits of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and even of Abraham alone. {cf. St. Mat 3:9; St. Joh 8:33}
The reference to the ark of the covenant in the sixteenth verse is remarkable upon several grounds. This sacred symbol is not mentioned among the spoils which Nebuzaradan (Nabuziriddin) took from the temple; {Jer 52:17 sqq.} nor is it specified among the treasures appropriated by Nebuchadrezzar at the surrender of Jehoiachin. The words of Jeremiah prove that it cannot be included among “the vessels of gold” which the Babylonian conqueror “cut in pieces”. {2Ki 24:13} We learn two facts about the ark from the present passage: (1) that it no longer existed in the days of the prophet; (2) that people remembered it with regret, though they did not venture to replace the lost original by a new substitute. It may well have been destroyed by Manasseh, the king who did his utmost to abolish the religion of Iahvah. However that may be, the point of the prophets allusion consists in the thought that in the glorious times of Messianic rule the idea of holiness will cease to be attached to things, for it will be realised in persons; the symbol will become obsolete, and its name and memory will disappear from the minds and affections of men, because the fact symbolised will be universally felt and perceived to be a present and self-evident truth. In that great epoch of Israels reconciliation, all nations will recognise in Jerusalem “the throne of Iahvah,” the centre of light and source of spiritual truth; the Holy City of the world. Is it the earthly or the heavenly Jerusalem that is meant? It would seem, the former only was present to the consciousness of the prophet, for he concludes his beautiful interlude of promise with the words: “In those days will the house of Judah walk beside the house of Israel; and they will come together from the land of the North” (“and from all the lands”: LXX add. cf. Jer 16:15) “unto the land that I caused your fathers to possess.” Like Isaiah {Isa 11:12 sqq.} and other prophets his predecessors, Jeremiah forecasts for the whole repentant and united nation a reinstatement in their ancient temporal rights, in the pleasant land from which they had been so cruelly banished for so many weary years.
“The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” If, when we look at the whole course of subsequent events, when we review the history of the Return and of the narrow religious commonwealth which was at last, after many bitter struggles, established on mount Sion; when we consider the form which the religion of Iahvah assumed in the hands of the priestly caste, and the half-religious, half-political sects, whose intrigues and conflicts for power constitute almost all we know of their period; when we reflect upon the character of the entire post-exilic age down to the time of the birth of Christ, with its worldly ideals, its fierce fanaticisms, its superstitious trust in rites and ceremonies; if, when we look at all this, we hesitate to claim that the prophetic visions of a great restoration found fulfilment in the erection of this petty state, this paltry edifice, upon the ruins of Davids capital; shall we lay ourselves open to the accusation that we recognise no element of truth in the glorious aspirations of the prophets? I think not.
After all, it is clear from the entire context that these hopes of a golden time to come are not independent of the attitude of the people towards Iahvah. They will only be realised, if the nation shall truly repent of the past, and turn to Him with the whole heart. The expressions “at that time,” “in those days” (Jer 3:17-18), are only conditionally determinate; they mean the happy time of Israels repentance, “if such a time should ever come.” From this glimpse of glorious possibilities, the prophet turns abruptly to the dark page of Israels actual history. He has, so to speak, portrayed in characters of light the development as it might have been; he now depicts the course it actually followed. He restates Iahvahs original claim upon Israels grateful devotion, {Jer 2:2} putting these words into the mouth of the Divine Speaker: “And I indeed thought, How will I set thee among the sons” (of the Divine household), “and give thee a lovely land, a heritage the fairest among the nations! And me thought, thou wouldst call Me My Father, and wouldst not turn back from following Me.” Iahvah had at the outset adopted Israel, and called him from the status of a groaning bondsman to the dignity of a son and heir. When Israel was a child, He had loved him, and called His son out of Egypt, {Hos 11:1} to give him a place and a heritage among nations. It was Iahvah, indeed, who originally assigned their holdings to all the nations, and separated the various tribes of mankind, “fixing the territories of peoples, according to the number of the sons of God”. {Deu 32:8 Sept.} If He had brought up Israel from Egypt, He had also brought up the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Arameans from Kir. {Amo 9:7} But He had adopted Israel in a more special sense, which may be expressed in St. Pauls words, who makes it the chief advantage of Israel above the nations that “unto them were committed the oracles of God”. {Rom 3:2} What nobler distinction could have been conferred upon any race of men than that they should have been thus chosen, as Israel actually was chosen, not merely in the aspirations of prophets, but as a matter of fact in the divinely directed evolution of human history, to become the heralds of a higher truth, the hierophants of spiritual knowledge, the universally recognised interpreters of God? Such a calling might have been expected to elicit a response of the warmest gratitude, the most enthusiastic loyalty and unswerving devotion. But Israel as a nation did not rise to the level of these lofty prophetic views of its vocation; it knew itself to be the people of Iahvah, but it failed to realise the moral significance of that privilege, and the moral and spiritual responsibilities which it involved. It failed to adore Iahvah as the Father, in the only proper and acceptable sense of that honourable name, the sense which restricts its application to one sole Being. Heathenism is blind and irrational as well as profane and sinful; and so it does not scruple to confer such absolutely individual titles as “God” and “Father” upon a multitude of imaginary powers.
“Methought thou wouldst call Me My Father, and wouldst not turn back from following Me. But” {Zep 3:7} “a woman is false to her fere; so were ye false to Me, O house of Israel, saith Iahvah.” The Divine intention toward Israel, Gods gracious design for her everlasting good, Gods expectation of a return for His favour, and how that design was thwarted so far as man could thwart it, and that expectation disappointed hitherto; such is the import of the last two verses (Jer 3:19-20). Speaking in the name of God, Jeremiah represents Israels past as it appears to God. He now proceeds to show dramatically, or as in a picture, how the expectation may yet be fulfilled, and the design realised. Having exposed the national guilt, he supposes his remonstrance to have done its work, and he overhears the penitent people pouring out its heart before God. Then a kind of dialogue ensues between the Deity and His suppliants. “Hark! upon the bare hills is heard the weeping of the supplications of the sons of Israel, that they perverted their way, forgot Iahvah their God.” The treeless hill tops had been the scene of heathen orgies miscalled worship. There the rites of Canaan performed by Israelites had insulted the God of heaven (Jer 3:2 and Jer 3:6). Now the very places which witnessed the sin, witness the national remorse and confession. The high places are not condemned even by Jeremiah as places of worship, but only as places of heathen and illicit worships. The solitude and quiet and purer air of the hill tops, their unobstructed view of heaven and suggestive nearness thereto, have always made them natural sanctuaries both for public rites and private prayer and meditation: cf. 2Sa 15:32; and especially St. Luk 6:12.
In this closing section of the piece {Jer 3:19-25; Jer 4:1-2} “Israel” means not the entire people, but the northern kingdom only, which is spoken of separately also in Jer 3:6-18, with the object of throwing into higher relief the heinousness of Judahs guilt. Israel-the northern kingdom-was less guilty than Judah, for she had no warning example, no beacon light upon her path, such as her own fall afforded to the southern kingdom; and therefore the Divine compassion is more likely to be extended to her, even after a century of ruin and banishment, than to her callous, impenitent sister. Whether at the time Jeremiah was in communication with survivors of the northern Exile, who were faithful to the God of their fathers, and looked wistfully toward Jerusalem as the centre of the best traditions and the sole hope of Israelite nationality, cannot now be determined. The thing is not unlikely, considering the interest which the prophet afterwards took in the Judean exiles who were taken to Babylon with Jehoiachin (chapter 29) and his active correspondence with their leaders. We may also remember that “divers of Asher and Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves” and came to keep passover with king Hezekiah at Jerusalem. It cannot, certainly, be supposed, with any show of reason, that the Assyrians either carried away the entire population of the northern kingdom, or exterminated all whom they did not carry away. The words of the Chronicler who speaks of “a remnant escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria,” are themselves perfectly agreeable to reason and the nature of the case, apart from the consideration that he had special historical sources at his command. {2Ch 30:6; 2Ch 30:11} We know that in the Maccabean and Roman wars the rocky fastnesses of the country were a refuge to numbers of the people, and the history of David shows that this had been the case from time immemorial. {cf. Jdg 6:2} Doubtless in this way not a few survived the Assyrian invasions and the destruction of Samaria (B.C. 721). But to return to the text. After the confession of the nation that they have “perverted their way” (that is, their mode of worship, by adoring visible symbols of Iahvah, and associating with Him as His compeers a multitude of imaginary gods, especially the local Baalim, Jer 2:23, and Ashtaroth), the prophet hears another voice, a voice of Divine invitation and gracious promise, responsive to penitence and prayer: “Return, ye apostate sons, let Me heal your apostasies!” or “If ye return, ye apostate sons, I will heal your apostasies!” It is an echo of the tenderness of an older prophet. {Hos 14:1; Hos 14:4} And the answer of the penitents quickly follows: “Behold us, we are come unto Thee, for Thou art Iahvah our God.” The voice that now calls us, we know by its tender tones of entreaty, compassion, and love to be the voice of Iahvah our own God; not the voice of sensual Chemosh, tempting to guilty pleasures and foul impurities, not the harsh cry of a cruel Molech, calling for savage rites of pitiless bloodshed. Thou, Iahvah-not these nor their fellows-art our true and only God.
“Surely, in vain” (for naught, bootlessly, 1Sa 25:21; Jer 5:2; Jer 16:19) “on the hills did we raise a din” (lit. “hath one raised”;) surely in Iahvah our God is the safety of Israel! The Hebrew cannot be original as it now stands in the Masoretic text, for it is ungrammatical. The changes I have made will be seen to be very slight, and the sense obtained is much the same as Ewalds “Surely in vain from the hills is the noise, from the mountains” (where every reader must feel that “from the mountains” is a forcible feeble addition which adds nothing to the sense). We might also perhaps detach the mem from the term for “hills,” and connect it with the preceding word, thus getting the meaning: “Surely, for Lies are the hills, the uproar of the mountains!” that is to say, the high places are devoted to delusive nonentities, who can do nothing in return for the wild orgiastic worship bestowed on them; a thought which contrasts very well with the second half of the verse: “Surely, in Iahvah our God is the safety of Israel!”
The confession continues: “And as for the Shame”-the shameful idol, the Baal whose worship involved shameful rites, {Jer 11:13; Hos 9:10} and who put his worshippers to shame, by disappointing them of help in the hour of their need {Jer 2:8; Jer 2:26-27} -“as for the Shame”-in contrast with Iahvah, the Safety of Israel, who gives all, and requires little or nothing of this kind in return-“it devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.” The allusion is to the insatiable greed of the idol priests, and the lavish expense of perpetually recurring feasts and sacrifices, which constituted a serious drain upon the resources of a pastoral and agricultural community; and to the bloody rites which, not content with animal offerings, demanded human victims for the altars of an appalling superstition. “Let us lie down in our shame, and let our infamy cover us! for toward Iahvah our God we trespassed, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and obeyed not the voice of Iahvah our God.” A more complete acknowledgment of sin could hardly be conceived; no palliating circumstances are alleged, no excuses devised, of the kind with which men usually seek to soothe a disturbed conscience. The strong seductions of Canaanite worship, the temptation to join in the joyful merriment of idol festivals, the invitation of friends and neighbours, the contagion of example, -all these extenuating facts must have been at least as well known to the prophet as to modern critics, but he is expressively silent on the point of mitigating circumstances in the case of a nation to whom such light and guidance had come as came to Israel. No, he could discern no ground of hope for his people except in a full and unreserved admission of guilt, an agony of shame and contrition before God, a heartfelt recognition of the truth that from the outset of their national existence to the passing day they had continually sinned against Iahvah their God and resisted His holy Will.
Finally, to this cry of penitents humbled in the dust, and owning that they have no refuge from the consequences of their sin but in the Divine Mercy, comes the firm yet loving answer: “If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith Iahvah, unto Me wilt return, and if thou wilt put away thine Abominations” (“out of thy mouth and,” LXX) “out of My Presence, and sway not to” and 1Ki 14:15, “but wilt swear By the Life of Iahvah! in good faith, justice, and righteousness; then shall the nations bless themselves by Him, and in Him shall they glory.” {Jer 4:1-2} Such is the close of this ideal dialogue between God and man. It is promised that if the nations repentance be sincere-not half-hearted like that of Judah {Jer 3:10; 2Ch 34:33} -and if the fact be demonstrated by a resolute and unwavering rejection of idol worship, evinced by the disuse of their names in oaths, and the expulsion of their symbols “from the Presence,” that is, out of the sanctuaries and domain of Iahvah, and by adhering to the Name of the God of Israel in oaths and compacts of all kinds, and by a scrupulous loyalty to such engagements; {Psa 15:4′ Isa 48:1} then the ancient oracle of blessing will be fulfilled, and Israel will become a proverb of felicity, the pride and boast of mankind, the glorious ideal of perfect virtue and perfect happiness. {Gen 12:3; Isa 65:16} Then, “all the nations will gather together unto Jerusalem for the Name of Iahvah”; {Jer 3:17} they will recognise in the religion of Iahvah the answer to their highest longings and spiritual necessities, and will take Israel for what Iahvah intended him to be, their example and priest and prophet.
Jeremiah could hardly have chosen a more extreme instance for pointing the lesson he had to teach than the long since ruined and depopulated kingdom of the Ten Tribes. Hopeless as their actual condition must have seemed at the time, he assures his own countrymen in Judah and Jerusalem that even yet, if only the moral requirements of the case were fulfilled, and the heart of the poor remnant and of the survivors in banishment aroused to a genuine and permanent repentance, the Divine promises would be accomplished in a people whose sun had apparently set in darkness forever. And so he passes on to address his own people directly in tones of warning, reproof, and menace of approaching wrath. {Jer 4:3 – Jer 6:30}
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
The walls of my heart! My heart moaneth unto me!
I cannot hold my peace!
For thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war!”
That sows its little seed of good or ill
In the moist, unsunned surface of the heart.
And what it there in secrecy cloth plant,
Stands with its ripe fruit at the judgment day.”
Shall have power to drag you down.”
And justify the ways of God to me.”
Well deserves the name of Friend,” etc.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
And if thou puttest away thine abominations out of my sight,
Then waver not,1
So that the nations bless themselves in him,2
Ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem;
Lest my fury break forth like fire,
And burn, and there be no quencher,
On account of the wickedness of your doings.
Cry with a loud voice and say:
Assemble yourselves, that we may go into the fortified cities.
For I am bringing calamity from the North,
And great destruction.
He is come forth from his place
To make thy land a desert:
Thy cities shall be desolate,5without inhabitant.
The priests shall be amazed and the prophets full of horror.
And yet the sword reacheth even to the soul.7
Comes thence against the daughters of my people
Not to winnow and not to cleanse.
Swifter than eagles are his horses.
Woe to us, for we are destroyed!
How long do thy sinful thoughts tarry within thee?
Watchmen [Besiegers] are coming from a distant land,
They raised their cry over the cities of Judah.
That it reaches even to thine heart.
For the trumpets sound thou hearest,10 ray soul,
Suddenly my huts are desolated,
In a twinkling my tents.
They are wise to do evil,
But doing good they understand not.
But I will not utterly make an end of it.
For this namely, that I have spoken and determined,13
They are in their hiding-places, up on the rocks;
The whole city is abandoned, not an inhabitant therein.
That thou puttest on cloth of gold,
That thou rendest thine eyes with paint?
In vain dost thou beautify thyself;
Thy lovers despise thee, they seek thy soul.
The voice of the daughter of Zion,
Who panteth and spreadeth forth her hands:
Woe is me, for my soul succumbs16 to the murderers!
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary