4:1 “If you, Israel, want to come back,” says the Lord, “if you want to come back to me you must get those disgusting idols out of my sight and must no longer go astray.
If Judah really desired to repent, then they should have remove the disgusting idols out of their land. Their faith must be evidenced by works. Since Judah did not remove the idols, then Jehovah would remove the worshipers from the land of Israel.
4:2 You must be truthful, honest and upright when you take an oath saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ If you do, the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are and will make him the object of their boasting.”
If Judah really desired to repent, then they would be truthful and honest when they swore in Jehovah’s name. When Israel rebelled, then the Gentiles were blessed. Gentiles were called to salvation to make Israel jealous. If Israel repents, then the Gentile nations will be blessed even more. The repentance of Israel will bring the Messiah into the Millennial Kingdom. When the Jews cry out, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord,” then Jesus will return and establish His Millennial Kingdom. Gentile blessing was one of the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant.
4:3 Yes, the Lord has this to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: “Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground, you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning; just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted, you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives.
Just as a farmer breaks up hard unplowed ground so that he can plant good seed, so Israel must be broken up their for rebellious will against Jehovah. Israel must make a new beginning. Just as a farmer must clear away thorns before he plants his seed, so Judah must get rid of the sin that is ruining her life.
4:4 Just as ritual circumcision cuts away the foreskin as an external symbol of dedicated covenant commitment, you must genuinely dedicate yourselves to the Lord and get rid of everything that hinders your commitment to me, people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. If you do not, my anger will blaze up like a flaming fire against you that no one will be able to extinguish. That will happen because of the evil you have done.”
Just as ritual circumcision cuts away the foreskin of the male anatomy, so Judah must cut off her own sin. When the fire of Jehovah burns on Judah, then it will completely burn until justice is completed.
4:5 The Lord said, “Announce this in Judah and proclaim it in Jerusalem: ‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’ Shout out loudly, ‘Gather together! Let us flee into the fortified cities!’
Whenever a trumpet is blown throughout the land, then the shofar is announcing an emergency. Judah was to hear the trumpet and gather in her fortified cities.
4:6 Raise a signal flag that tells people to go to Zion. Run for safety! Do not delay! For I am about to bring disaster out of the north. It will bring great destruction.
The armies who would come against Judah would place signal flags so that they would know in which direction to attack. The army from the north had not been named yet, but it would be Babylon.
4:7 Like a lion that has come up from its lair the one who destroys nations has set out from his home base. He is coming out to lay your land waste. Your cities will become ruins and lie uninhabited.
Daniel and many other ancient artifacts have identified the lion as a major symbol of Babylon. Babylon would leave its jungle lair like a lion and destroy its surrounding nations. The lion would walk towards Jerusalem to seek its next prey.
4:8 So put on sackcloth! Mourn and wail, saying, ‘The fierce anger of the Lord has not turned away from us!’ ”
It was time for Judah to lament or sing a funeral song about her approaching death. She was about to be devoured by a hungry Babylonian lion.
4:9 “When this happens,” says the Lord, “the king and his officials will lose their courage. The priests will be struck with horror, and the prophets will be speechless in astonishment.”
When the lion of Babylon leaves his lair, then all four classes of leaders would be effected. The king, his officials, the priests, and the false prophets of Israel would all become fearful. They would have nothing to say to their people.
4:10 In response to all this I said, “Ah, Lord God, you have surely allowed the people of Judah and Jerusalem to be deceived by those who say, ‘You will be safe!’ But in fact a sword is already at our throats.”
Jeremiah complained that God was being deceptive, because He had allowed other prophets to predict peace for Jerusalem. However, these messengers were false prophets. Jeremiah had been predicting the destruction of Jerusalem for ten years and it had not happened yet. The people were listening to the false prophets, but not to Jeremiah. Jeremiah would prophesy for a total of 40 years before Jerusalem was totally destroyed.
4:11 “At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be told, ‘A scorching wind will sweep down from the hilltops in the desert on my dear people. It will not be a gentle breeze for winnowing the grain and blowing away the chaff.
In verses 11-18, Jeremiah described the invasion of Babylon. Babylon would come down upon Judah like a scorching hot wind from the hilltops. It would not be like the wind which separates the wheat from the chaff.
4:12 No, a wind too strong for that will come at my bidding. Yes, even now I, myself, am calling down judgment on them.’
The wind from the hilltops would be a destructive wind which blows both wheat and chaff away.
4:13 Look! The enemy is approaching like gathering clouds. The roar of his chariots is like that of a whirlwind. His horses move more swiftly than eagles.” I cry out, “We are doomed, for we will be destroyed!”
The Babylonian army would approach Jerusalem like a swift wind.
4:14 “Oh people of Jerusalem, purify your hearts from evil so that you may yet be delivered. How long will you continue to harbor up wicked schemes within you?
King Josiah delayed judgment by his idol-removing reforms. Jehovah gave Judah one last opportunity to avoid judgment.
4:15 For messengers are coming, heralding disaster, from the city of Dan and from the hills of Ephraim.
Dan and Ephraim were north of Judah. Messengers would approach Jerusalem with terrible news.
4:16 They are saying, ‘Announce to the surrounding nations, “The enemy is coming!” Proclaim this message to Jerusalem: “Those who besiege cities are coming from a distant land. They are ready to raise the battle cry against the towns in Judah.” ’
The messengers from these border tribes would report that the enemy was approaching Judah from the north.
4:17 They will surround Jerusalem like men guarding a field because they have rebelled against me,” says the Lord.
The reason for this invasion was Judah’s rebellion against Jehovah.
4:18 “The way you have lived and the things you have done will bring this on you. This is the punishment you deserve, and it will be painful indeed. The pain will be so bad it will pierce your heart.”
The wickedness of Judah would bring this Babylonian invasion.
4:19 I said, “Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach! I writhe in anguish. Oh, the pain in my heart! My heart pounds within me. I cannot keep silent. For I hear the sound of the trumpet; the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul!
Verses 19-22 recorded Jeremiah’s personal feelings. Jeremiah was so anguished, that he could not keep silent.
4:20 I see one destruction after another taking place, so that the whole land lies in ruins. I see our tents suddenly destroyed, their curtains torn down in a mere instant.
Jeremiah saw the destruction of Jerusalem thirty years in advance.
4:21 “How long must I see the enemy’s battle flags and hear the military signals of their bugles?”
Jeremiah asked God how much longer he would have to see these prophetic visions of the destruction of Jerusalem. Jeremiah had been prophesying about this same event for the last 10 years, but everyone was laughing at him. He would prophesy for another 30 years about this event. God gave Jerusalem 40 years of warnings before He judged them.
4:22 The Lord answered, “This will happen because my people are foolish. They do not know me. They are like children who have no sense. They have no understanding. They are skilled at doing evil. They do not know how to do good.”
Israel was foolish, because she had not mastered and applied bible doctrine. The Levites were no longer teaching the Word of God. The kings were no longer enforcing the Word of God. The Israelites had no understanding of the Word of God. They were very skilled in doing evil. They did not know how to do good, because they were no longer instructed in biblical doctrine. The people quit supporting the Levitical priests, so the priests had to earn their livings. They no longer had time to study the Word of God.
4:23 “I looked at the land and saw that it was an empty wasteland. I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.
In verses 23-26, Jeremiah saw another vision of total chaos. The Hebrew word for “empty wasteland” is תֹ֖הוּ וָבֹ֑הוּ (tohu wa-voh), meaning that Israel became waste and empty. This is the same Hebrew combination of words which were used in Genesis 1:2. The original heavens and earth became תֹ֖הוּ וָבֹ֑הוּ (tohu wa-voh), or waste and empty. The vav disjunctive between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 was an interruption between the creation of the heavens and earth and the re-creation of the first six days. According to Ezekiel, Satan ruled over the earth, probably during this gap. See Genesis 1:2 for more detailed information.
4:24 I looked at the mountains and saw that they were shaking. All the hills were swaying back and forth!
When Babylon attacks Israel, then supernatural earthquakes and storms would accompany their invasion. God wanted to make sure that Israel knew that He was in control of this attack.
4:25 I looked and saw that there were no more people, and that all the birds in the sky had flown away.
After Babylon attacks and deports Judah, there would be no more animals or humans in Jerusalem. God’s chosen city would become a ghost town.
4:26 I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert and that all of the cities had been laid in ruins. The Lord had brought this all about because of his blazing anger.
The Babylon invasion would not be a partial destruction of Judah, but a total devastation. Jehovah brought this destruction upon Israel, because He possessed a fiery anger against her. A fiery anger is a righteous anger which will burn away the evil of Israel until it is completely consumed.
4:27 All this will happen because the Lord said, “The whole land will be desolate; however, I will not completely destroy it.
God will devastate the land, but He would not completely destroy it because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
4:28 Because of this the land will mourn and the sky above will grow black. For I have made my purpose known and I will not relent or turn back from carrying it out.”
The heavens and the earth were present as witnesses when Jehovah made the Mosaic Covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai. The heavens and earth would mourn when Israel would be attacked by the Babylonians. If this verse is taken literally, then the sky would turn supernaturally black as a witness of their mourning. When Israel was attacked by Babylon, many supernatural occurrences would be witnessed by Israel. God wanted Israel to know that He was the one who called and led this attack.
4:29 At the sound of the approaching horsemen and archers the people of every town will flee. Some of them will hide in the thickets. Others will climb up among the rocks. All the cities will be deserted. No one will remain in them.
When Babylon attacks, many of the people would leave their surrounding towns and go hide in the forest thickets and the rocks in the mountains. All of the cities of Judah would be deserted, like ghost towns. No one would remain in these surrounding cities of Jerusalem.
4:30 And you, Zion, city doomed to destruction, you accomplish nothing by wearing a beautiful dress, decking yourself out in jewels of gold, and putting on eye shadow! You are making yourself beautiful for nothing. Your lovers spurn you. They want to kill you.
Jeremiah gave Israel the picture of an adulteress. As Babylon the lover would come to kill Israel the prostitute, then she would attempt to make herself beautiful. However, her pretty dresses and jewelry would no longer seduce her lovers. They would spurn her and attempt to kill her.
4:31 In fact, I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby. It is the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, reaching out for help, saying, “I am done in! My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”
Jeremiah gave Israel two figures of death. Judah would die like a mother in childbirth. Judah would die like a lover who murders his mistress.