(This DRAFT study has been done fairly quickly, without the further guide of commentaries. I hope to improve on it later.)
Jeremiah 4:1-2, Return!
"If you will return, O Israel, return to me," declares the LORD.
"If you put your detestable idols out of my sight
and no longer go astray,
and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
you swear, `As surely as the LORD lives,'
then the nations will be blessed by him
and in him they will glory."
The people are called to return to God and be blessed by Him. Indeed, the nations will be blessed.
Jeremiah 4:3-6, Or my wrath breaks out
This is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem:
"Break up your unplowed ground
and do not sow among thorns.
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD,
circumcise your hearts,
you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem,
or my wrath will break out
and burn like fire because of the evil you have done--
burn with no one to quench it.
"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!'
Raise the signal to go to Zion!
Flee for safety without delay!
For I am bringing disaster from the north,
even terrible destruction."
The people are told to get right with God or there will come a terrible destruction from the north. There is apparently still time!
Jeremiah 4:7-9, An approaching lion
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.
So put on sackcloth,
lament and wail,
for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.
"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."
A lion approaches (from the north) ready to put Israel in ruins.
Jeremiah 4:10-12, Fierce wind
Then I said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, how completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, `You will have peace,' when the sword is at our throats."
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; a wind too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments against them."
Jeremiah seems to accuse God of false reassurance, of telling them that peace was coming when it was not. In a coming moment, the people will be told of a fierce wind of judgment that is coming.
Jeremiah 4:13-17, A besieging army approaches
Look! He advances like the clouds,
his chariots come like a whirlwind,
his horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us! We are ruined!
O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved.
How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?
A voice is announcing from Dan,
proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.
"Tell this to the nations, proclaim it to Jerusalem:
`A besieging army is coming from a distant land,
raising a war cry against the cities of Judah.
They surround her like men guarding a field,
because she has rebelled against me,'"
declares the LORD.
The invader approaches, moving from the north through Dan and Ephraim. They will besiege Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 4:18-19a, Writhe in pain
"Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you.
This is your punishment.
How bitter it is!
How it pierces to the heart!"
Oh, my anguish, my anguish!
I writhe in pain.
Oh, the agony of my heart!
My heart pounds within me,
I cannot keep silent.
The prophetic vision that Jeremiah sees causes anxiety and physical pain. He is frightened and hurting.
Jeremiah 4:19b-21, Disaster follows disaster
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;
I have heard the battle cry.
Disaster follows disaster;
the whole land lies in ruins.
In an instant my tents are destroyed,
my shelter in a moment.
How long must I see the battle standard
and hear the sound of the trumpet?
Jeremiah sees the land lying in ruins.
Jeremiah 4:22-26, Skilled at doing evil
"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."
The people are not only ignorant of God but in fact skilled at evil.
Jeremiah 4:22-26, Formless and empty
I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty;
and at the heavens, and their light was gone.
I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking;
all the hills were swaying.
I looked, and there were no people;
every bird in the sky had flown away.
I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;
all its towns lay in ruins before the LORD,
before his fierce anger.
Jeremiah sees, in his vision, complete devastation. The land is empty; indeed the heavens and earth are in turmoil. Creation has been undone here and the universe returns to the initial chaos, being "formless and empty" as it was in Genesis 1:2.
Jeremiah 4:27-29, Every town taken to flight
This is what the LORD says:
"The whole land will be ruined,
though I will not destroy it completely.
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."
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.
The invasion brings destruction, but as always, a small remnant remains.
Jeremiah 4:30-31, Weeping woman
What are you doing, O devastated one?
Why dress yourself in scarlet
and put on jewels of gold?
Why shade your eyes with paint?
You adorn yourself in vain.
Your lovers despise you;
they seek your life.
I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,
a groan as of one bearing her first child--
the cry of the Daughter of Zion gasping for breath,
stretching out her hands and saying,
"Alas! I am fainting;
my life is given over to murderers."
Israel groans in pain, like a woman in labor, distressed that all has been turned over to evil, to murderers.
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