Jeremiah 4b: Another Sermon, Another Prophecy

 Remember that Baruch the scribe recorded various prophetic sermons that Jeremiah preached. We cannot tell for sure where one ends and another begins, but this looks like the beginning of a new sermon. Let’s see. 

Jeremiah 4: 5-8. 

Declare in Judah,

and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say:

Blow the trumpet through the land;   

shout aloud (take your weapons), and say,

“Gather together, and let us go   

into the fortified cities!”

Raise a standard toward Zion;   

flee for safety; do not delay,

for I am bringing evil from the north   

and a great destruction.

A lion has gone up from its thicket;   

a destroyer of nations has set out;   

he has gone out from his place

to make your land a waste;   

your cities will be ruins   

without inhabitants.

Because of this put on sackcloth,   

lament and wail:

“The fierce anger of the LORD   

has not turned away from us.”

 What happened to God’s tender plea, “Come back to me”? It’s simple. They didn’t return. That is why mocks the cry: “Gather together in the fortified cities,” as if that would do any good. 

 To be sure, Judah did clean up their worship service. They added some psalms that were loud in their praise of YHWH. “YHWH is our God! Yah, Yah, Yah.” You hear the same thing every morning in some churches; and then the people leave the service and do not perform deeds worthy of repentance. If they did love God, then they would take care of the orphan, the widow, and the alien in the land; they would feed, clothe, medicate, and educate the poor of the land.

Here are nine passages that make the triple charge of a godly society’s responsibility: Deuteronomy 14:28-29; 24:17,19,20,21; 26:12,13,19. There are many more, but I wanted to show you how many commands to care for the orphan, the widow, and the alien are in just one book of the Bible. 

If they did love God, then they would become like God in their character, they would be gracious, generous, and forgiving. If we did love God, then we would exhibit the gifts of the Spirit, which are: “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5: 23-24). I do not see many Americans who are acting in this godly manner even though they loudly proclaim that they believe in Christian values. Yeah, sure. Go on with your big talk.

 In Judah’s case, God tells them that the game is up. No more pretending to be godly. God is bringing a predator nation from the north to demolish Judah. Not that God thinks that that particular nation is wonderful; they are just a tool in God’s hand and will be discarded after they have served their purpose.

When Jeremiah started to preach, their age-old enemy Assyria was still in view. But Assyria was about to fall apart, so people might wonder what Jeremiah was talking about. By the time the invasion came, decades later, it came from the Babylonian Empire. Although Babylon is due east of Jerusalem, no one goes straight across the desert. All attacks would come from the north. Look at a map. 

 For the first audience, Jeremiah warns what it will be like. For the second audience, which is already captive in exile, Jeremiah explains why it happened.  

Jeremiah 4:9-14.   On that day, says the LORD, courage shall fail the king and the officials; the priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded. Then I said, “Ah, Lord YHWH, how utterly you have deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,’ even while the sword is at the throat!” At that time, it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem: A hot wind comes from me out of the bare heights (or along the trails) in the desert toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow or cleanse, a wind too strong for that. Now it is I who speak in judgment against them.

Look! He comes up like clouds,   

his chariots like the whirlwind;

his horses are swifter than eagles—   

woe to us, for we are ruined!

O Jerusalem, wash your heart clean of wickedness   

so that you may be saved.

How long shall your evil schemes   

lodge within you?

 This prophecy reads like Jeremiah was seeing flashes of the future that did not come in consecutive order. “On that day” a lot of things are going to happen, in heaven and on earth, at the northern borders, then in the northern part of old Israel. Finally, as the foreign army marches closer, the people of Judah will hear the warning that they are near, and they will respond in different ways.

 Though God is directing all the action, God steps out for a moment to warn the people that he is coming and the enemy is right behind. Then God switches to a lament that if they had not tried to hide their sin, if they had truly repented, if they had devoted themselves to God, then none of this would have happened.

 Even Jeremiah the prophet gets to express his emotions about the failure of the people to respond favorably to the invitation of God. He may be accusing God of tricking the people by saying ‘Come to me’ and then sending destruction. But, as he well knows, it is no trick. They have had their chance, they did not come back in truth and in deed, so God is preparing their destruction.

 God uses two metaphors for the destroying nation: a ravaging lion who kills all in his path and a hot searing wind that blows everything away (like a tornado). Then he paints a scene that portrays the fog of war. The ‘he’ is the enemy, and he comes like fast moving clouds, like a whirlwind along the ground, on fast horses with the speed of eagles. It’s a blitzkrieg. There will be no defense against this enemy, even if there are warnings, which Jeremiah gave them.   

Jeremiah 4: 15-18.

For a voice declares from Dan   

and proclaims disaster from Mount Ephraim.

Tell the nations,

“Here they are!”   

Proclaim against Jerusalem,

"Besiegers come from a distant land;   

they shout against the cities of Judah.

They have closed in around her

like watchers of a field   

because she has rebelled against me,           

says the LORD.

Your ways and your doings   

have brought this upon you.

This is your doom;

how bitter it is!   

It has reached your very heart.”

 This is like a hastily written record of an enemy closing in: “They are coming, they are near, I can hear the shouts, they come from all sides, all is lost.” Dan and Ephraim are in the north, the cities of Judah come next, and finally they are at the gates of Jerusalem.

 But why? God says clearly that this is a case where the peoples’ schemes and wicked practices have not been discarded. Since they want to live that way and play that political game, then a nation that is better at the game will wreak havoc on Jerusalem. They have forsaken the God who would otherwise protect them. Their choice of worshipping despicable gods with despicable values has led them to their self-destructive behavior. In this game, the most brutal wins. When will our time be up? 

 How does the prophet feel about having to preach all this? More next week.