Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Jeremiah 4:5 - 4:18

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Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Jeremiah 4:5 - 4:18


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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:



Description of The Judgment under three Emblems

v. 5. Declare ye in Judah,
announcing it, making it known widely, and publish in Jerusalem and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land, as a signal calling the inhabitants to arms; cry, gather together, and say, rather, "cry fully," that is, with a loud voice, shouting. Assemble yourselves and let us go into the defensed cities, into their strongest fortresses.

v. 6. Set up the standard toward Zion,
raising their banners as a signal to make the city of God their refuge; retire, stay not, flee, do not try to make a stand! For I will bring evil from the North and a great destruction, namely, by the invasion of the enemy.

v. 7. The lion is come up from his thicket,
Nebuchadnezzar, like an angry lion, leaving his lair, Babylon, with his army of Chaldean soldiers, and the destroyer of the Gentiles, he who subdued many nations, is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate, by ravaging it with fire and sword; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant. Cf. Jer_2:15.

v. 8. For this,
on account of the impending destruction, gird you with sackcloth, the garment of deep mourning, lament and howl; for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned back from us. Cf Isa_9:12; Isaiah 17-21. The people who had expected to return to the Lord on the basis of their hypocritical behavior, their feigned repentance, would find themselves sorely disappointed.

v. 9. And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the Lord,
at the time when this judgment would come upon Judah, that the heart of the king shall perish, the rulers whose position demanded that they devise means of defense would be utterly at a loss in this emergency, unable to provide help, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, amazed at the turn of events, and the prophets shall wonder, be filled with horror. So all the leaders are helpless and without presence of mind.

v. 10. Then said I, Ah, Lord God!
the prophet here recording the impression which the declaration of the Lord made upon him; surely Thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, in permitting the false prophets to lead the people astray, willing as they were to be duped, saying, Ye shall have peace, that being the common assurance of the deceiving prophets, whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul. Cf 1Ki_22:22. If people persist in opposing Him, the Lord finally delivers them to the certain consequences of such opposition and brings their punishment upon them in this manner.

v. 11. At that time,
when the judgment of the Lord will strike the idolaters, shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, the center of Jewish religious life, A dry wind, the simoom, or desert wind, with its destructive breath, of the high places in the wilderness, sweeping down from the high places and across the desert, toward the daughter of My people, the children of God's chosen nation, not to fan nor to cleanse, not the gentle breeze which ordinarily carried off the chaff as the threshed grain was winnowed,

v. 12. Even a full wind from those places,
more violent than any such light breezes, shall come unto Me, as the Lord's instrument for working His punishment; now also will I give sentence against them, passing judgment upon the idolaters and executing the same.

v. 13. Behold, he,
the enemy with his army, shall come up as clouds, those of sand and dust blown up by the tempest, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles, in bringing destruction to the land of Israel. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled, thus the exclamations of the despairing Israelites are recorded. But the Lord has still another emblem of the expected judgment, which He proceeds to hold before the eyes of Judah and Jerusalem.

v. 14. O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness,
for a mere outward change of behavior is not sufficient, heart and mind and soul must undergo a complete transformation, that thou mayest be saved, for only he who truly repents may partake of the Lord's deliverance. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? It was high time for all sinful thoughts to be dismissed.

v. 15. For a voice declareth from Dan,
in the extreme northern part of Canaan, where the advance of the enemy would be felt first, and publisheth affliction from Mount Ephraim, this being an evidence that the foe is coming nearer and nearer, and that there is great danger in delaying repentance.

v. 16. Make ye mention to the nations,
calling the attention of the neighbors to the Lord's judgment. Behold, publish against Jerusalem that watchers come from a far country, people who would witness the catastrophe upon Jerusalem, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah, in a shout of triumph or derision.

v. 17. As keepers of a field,
the men whose duty it was to frighten away wild animals from the cultivated land, lest they work harm, are they against her round about, as watchers who have surrounded a harmful animal and are making ready to dispatch it, because she hath been rebellious against Me, saith the Lord. This God further affirms by turning directly to Judah once more.

v. 18. Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee,
she had only herself to blame if the punishment struck her with full force; this is thy wickedness, the fruit and consequence of her evil doing, because it is bitter, in its effect upon others as well as upon the sinners themselves, because it reacheth unto thine heart, inflicting deadly wounds. Such is ever the result of sin: sweet and attractive as it seems at first, it strikes deadly wounds, as the sinner usually finds out to his great regret.