Reflections on Jeremiah 4

Jeremiah 04 (Contemporary English Version)
1. The LORD said: Israel, if you really want to come back to me, get rid of those disgusting idols.
   
2. Make promises only in my name, and do what you promise! Then all nations will praise me, and I will bless them.
   
3. People of Jerusalem and Judah, don't be so stubborn! Your hearts have become hard, like unplowed ground where thornbushes grow.
   
4. With all your hearts, keep the agreement I made with you. But if you are stubborn and keep on sinning, my anger will burn like a fire that cannot be put out. *
   
5. "Sound the trumpets, my people. Warn the people of Judah, 'Run for your lives!
   
6. Head for Jerusalem or another walled town!' "Jeremiah, tell them I'm sending disaster from the north.
   
7. An army will come out, like a lion from its den. It will destroy nations and leave your towns empty and in ruins."
   
8. Then I said to the people of Israel, "Put on sackcloth! Mourn and cry out, 'The LORD is still angry with us.' "
   
9. The LORD said, "When all this happens, the king and his officials, the prophets and the priests will be shocked and terrified."
   
10. I said, "You are the LORD God. So why have you fooled everyone, especially the people of Jerusalem? Why did you promise peace, when a knife is at our throats?"
    
11. When disaster comes, the LORD will tell you people of Jerusalem, "I am sending a windstorm from the desert-- not a welcome breeze. And it will sweep you away as punishment for your sins.
    
12. (SEE 4:11)
    
13. Look! The enemy army swoops down like an eagle; their cavalry and chariots race faster than storm clouds blown by the wind." Then you will answer, "We are doomed!"
    
14. But Jerusalem, there is still time for you to be saved. Wash the evil from your hearts and stop making sinful plans,
    
15. before a message of disaster arrives from the hills of Ephraim and the town of Dan.
    
16. The LORD said, "Tell the nations that my people have rebelled against me. And so an army will come from far away to surround Jerusalem and the towns of Judah. I, the LORD, have spoken.
    
17. (SEE 4:16)
    
18. "People of Judah, your hearts will be in pain, but it's your own fault that you will be punished."
    
19. I can't stand the pain! My heart pounds, as I twist and turn in agony. I hear the signal trumpet and the battle cry of the enemy, and I cannot be silent.
    
20. I see the enemy defeating us time after time, leaving everything in ruins. Even my own home is destroyed in a moment.
    
21. How long will I see enemy flags and hear their trumpets?
    
22. I heard the LORD say, "My people ignore me. They are foolish children who do not understand that they will be punished. All they know is how to sin."
    
23. After this, I looked around. The earth was barren, with no form of life. The sun, moon, and stars had disappeared.
    
24. The mountains were shaking;
    
25. no people could be seen, and all the birds had flown away.
    
26. Farmland had become a desert, and towns were in ruins. The LORD's fierce anger had done all of this.
    
27. The LORD said: I have made my decision, and I won't change my mind. This land will be destroyed, although not completely. The sky will turn dark, and the earth will mourn.
    
28. (SEE 4:27)
    
29. Enemy cavalry and archers shout their battle cry. People run for their lives and try to find safety among trees and rocks. Every town is empty.
    
30. Jerusalem, your land has been wiped out. But you act like a prostitute and try to win back your lovers, who now hate you. You can put on a red dress, gold jewelry, and eye shadow, but it's no use-- your lovers are out to kill you!
    
31. I heard groaning and crying. Was it a woman giving birth to her first child? No, it was Jerusalem. She was gasping for breath and begging for help. "I'm dying!" she said. "They have murdered me."

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A clear warning is given Judah in this passage of the coming destruction at the hands of the Babylonians, along with a clear description of how the destruction might be avoided. The fact that the warning was not heeded is an indication of Judah's spiritual condition. She had become so emersed in her dispicable lifestyle and idolatry and had grown so far from God and His teaching that she had no sense of conscience about what she was doing. In the minds of the people, they were doing nothing wrong so this message delivered by Jeremiah was ridiculous. Jeremiah was a madman speaking nonsense.

Had Judah paid attention to Jeremiah's message from God, the remedy to her impending destruction was clear: "If you return, Israel--this is the LORD's declaration--if you return to Me, if you remove your detestable idols from My presence and do not waver, if you swear, As the LORD lives, in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then the nations will be blessed by Him and will pride themselves in Him." (4:1-2) This promise from the Lord included more than an avoidance of destruction. It was also a promise of blessing.

The destruction of Judah, foretold in this chapter, is just short of complete annihilation. Jeremiah's description of Judah's destruction is a reversal of creation. The land would become formless and empty, the heavens would no longer have light, no lifeforms such as man and birds would be left, and the fertile fields would become wilderness. (4:23-27) Only the Lord's promise that He would not "finish it off" (4:27) assures us that annihilation was not complete. Nothing Judah did would avoid this destruction except for repentance. But this is the one thing she would not do.

Judah is a picture of all people's relationship with God. The Lord, the only true God, desires an intimate relationship with all His creation, desiring to bless them. But much of His creation, as with Judah, either ignores Him altogether or credits His creative work to other sources. In so doing, they turn away from the very source of life Who sustains life and fills it with purpose and meaning. This pursuit of sustenance, purpose, and meaning in directions other than with God leads to destruction. But as much as one might claim ignorance of God or doubt of His existence, scripture tells us this pursuit of life apart from God is not done in ignorance. The Apostle Paul states in Romans 1:20-21 that "From the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse. For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened." It is a choice.