Jeremiah 4 Why wait?

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
Jeremiah 4:1 “If you, Israel, will return,
then return to me,”

declares the Lord.
“If you put your detestable idols out of my sight
and no longer go astray,
2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’
then the nations will invoke blessings by him
and in him they will boast.”
3 This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:
“Break up your unplowed ground
and do not sow among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
circumcise your hearts,
you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire
because of the evil you have done—
burn with no one to quench it.
5 “Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say:
‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’
Cry aloud and say:
‘Gather together!
Let us flee to the fortified cities!’
6 Raise the signal to go to Zion!
Flee for safety without delay!
For I am bringing disaster from the north,
even terrible destruction.”
7 A lion has come out of his lair;
a destroyer of nations has set out.
He has left his place
to lay waste your land.
Your towns will lie in ruins
without inhabitant.
8 So put on sackcloth,
lament and wail,
for the fierce anger of the Lord
has not turned away from us.
9 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“the king and the officials will lose heart,
the priests will be horrified,
and the prophets will be appalled.”
10 Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! How completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ when the sword is at our throats!”
11 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; 12 a wind too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments against them.”
13 Look! He advances like the clouds,
his chariots come like a whirlwind,
his horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us! We are ruined!
14 Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved.
How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?

15 A voice is announcing from Dan,
proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.
16 “Tell this to the nations,
proclaim concerning Jerusalem:
‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,
raising a war cry against the cities of Judah.

17 They surround her like men guarding a field,
because she has rebelled against me,’”
declares the Lord.
18 “Your own conduct and actions
have brought this on you.

This is your punishment.
How bitter it is!
How it pierces to the heart!”
19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish!
I writhe in pain.
Oh, the agony of my heart!
My heart pounds within me,
I cannot keep silent.
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;
I have heard the battle cry.
20 Disaster follows disaster;
the whole land lies in ruins.
In an instant my tents are destroyed,
my shelter in a moment.
21 How long must I see the battle standard
and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 “My people are fools;
they do not know me.
They are senseless children;
they have no understanding.
They are skilled in doing evil;
they know not how to do good.”
23 I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty;
and at the heavens,
and their light was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking;
all the hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and there were no people;
every bird in the sky had flown away.
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;
all its towns lay in ruins
before the Lord, before his fierce anger.
27 This is what the Lord says:
“The whole land will be ruined,
though I will not destroy it completely.
28 Therefore the earth will mourn
and the heavens above grow dark,
because I have spoken and will not relent,
I have decided and will not turn back.”
29 At the sound of horsemen and archers
every town takes to flight.
Some go into the thickets;
some climb up among the rocks.
All the towns are deserted;
no one lives in them.
30 What are you doing, you devastated one?
Why dress yourself in scarlet
and put on jewels of gold?
Why highlight your eyes with makeup?
You adorn yourself in vain.
Your lovers despise you;
they want to kill you.
31 I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,
a groan as of one bearing her first child—
the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath,
stretching out her hands and saying,
“Alas! I am fainting;
my life is given over to murderers.

I think.... God is saying.... through Jeremiah the teenage prophet..... "if you claim to worship me.....act like it..... what are you waiting for?"

I went right back to Bible-studys.org.

These verses conclude the message, by using literary figures drawn from Israel’s daily experiences. From agriculture comes the admonition to weed out totally their present practices and “break up” their “fallow ground,” and then “sow” the new seeds of spiritual fruitfulness for God. Repentance and a broken heart must precede renewed spiritual vitality. The second figure comes from religious ceremony. Mere outward conformity to the standards of the covenant were insufficient (compare Gen. 17:10-14; Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Joshua 5:2-7; Rom. 2:28-29; 4:9-25).​
Note the dual use of the term “return”, emphasizing that God would not accept a half-hearted surrender. He knows people’s hearts.​
God instructed Jeremiah to declare “for I will bring evil from the north” and destruction would come. The invasion might take the form of a foreign army, but the driving force would be “the fierce anger of the Lord.”
The rest of the chapter contains a new message emphasizing the proclamation of God’s judgment. The sounding of the “trumpet” was a well-known sign of danger in the ancient Near East (compare Hosea 5:8; 8:1; Joel 2:1; Amos 3:6). It could also mark a time of national self-examination (Joel 2:15-17). The “standard” (conspicuous flag upon a pole), would point to the appropriate place of refuge.​
“Evil from the north”: This evil is Babylon’s army which would invade from that direction. The “lion” on the prowl fit Babylon because of its conquering power, and Babylon was symbolized by the winged lions guarding its royal court. Babylon is later identified. Many details, graphically depict warriors in conquest.​
Jeremiah had pain in his “heart” because there was nothing he could do to avert the coming disaster. God also laments the condition of the people who are “foolish” in the face of His judgment.​
Having warned of the winds of destruction, Jeremiah gives a prediction of the awesome extent of that coming event. That disaster is described in terms of a gigantic cosmic and terrestrial cataclysm. The words without form and void are used of the original conditions at Creation (Gen. 1:2). Therefore, some have suggested that Jeremiah is actually describing the early earth in terms of the effects of a primeval judgment. Similar language is also found (in Isaiah 45:18). However, the context of judgment in Isaiah and here are both future. Accordingly, both have merely applied the phraseology of Genesis to emphasize strongly the severity of Judah’s coming judgment for sin.​
The Lord added a note of hope in the phrase “yet will I not make a full end”: He had “purposed” both judgment and the remnant who would survive to carry on His plan for His people.
Jeremiah returns to the personification of Judah and Jerusalem as a “woman,” first as a prostitute, and then as a woman enduring labor pangs alone, and deserted by all.
This is from the easy English site.
The people in Judah heard the enemy coming nearer. So the people ran away. They were afraid of the arrows that the enemy used. The people in Judah tried to find safe places to hide. They went into the woods and into caves in the cliffs (Isaiah 2:19). Jeremiah describes how Judah tried desperately to be at peace with the enemy. He describes Judah like a prostitute. The *prostitute puts on bright clothes. She paints on a black powder round her eyes. It makes her eyes look larger and more attractive. But it was no use for Judah to make herself look beautiful. Judah’s ‘lovers’ were Egypt and Assyria or Babylon. But they hated Judah and they wanted to kill her.
Jeremiah then changes his description. He describes a woman who gives birth to her first child. The woman was crying because of the pain. She held out her hands for help. The people in Jerusalem cried out as the enemy was ruining it.

God isn't sneaky. He doesn't have to be. He can choose humans to speak to other humans. He can broadcast His intent through those chosen humans.... and even though God is warning humans something horrible is coming...... there's nothing humans can do about it.

If it were merely a foreign king coming to take territory..... God would have defended the land He gave to Jacob's [Israel's] family. This isn't a mere foreign king coming.... this is a horrible Babylonian army that is going to rape and enslave the women.... murder the children.... murder or castrate and enslave the men. The only humans this army will leave behind are those who are too poor or sick to pose a threat now or in the future.

My neighbor broke her femur. She decided to have her carpets cleaned. The worker warned her to be careful.... the rugs were still wet.... even though they felt ok.... and she should only step off the carpet onto the tile with great care. He left.... was gone about 10 minutes and she needed something in the kitchen.... she stepped off the carpet onto the tile.... and boom. The orthopedic doctor has checked her out.... she does not need surgery.... it was a clean break..... but she's hobbled by a boot [it was days before she gave up because the swelling was getting worse] and will be for a few more weeks.

My neighbor is like the descendants of Jacob [Israel]. She had been told.... she had been warned.... she assured the workman that his warning would be heeded..... and then she "forgot".

God is saying.... through Jeremiah.... "look... I had these humans warning people this would happen.... and it did indeed happen. Those humans were force marched out of their homes.... raped, beaten, bloody, devastated... seventy years later I arranged for them to be released back to Jerusalem to rebuild my Temple..... and I had humans talking about it centuries before it took place...... and those stupid humans wouldn't take a hint. Here's a hint... I'm coming back and it won't be a day in the park.... if humans want to be on the right side of all this..... better get on board now.... anything can happen today."

God is saying.... through Jeremiah.... "why take a chance? why wait?"

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