The Strand Study Bible

JEREMIAH 4:5

JEREMIAH 4:22

1148

Jeremiah’s second message – Hurry Judah! Time is running out! Date Written – Between 627-623 BC

13 1 Behold, 2 he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled. P 14 O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? 15 For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim. 16 Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, 1 that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah. P 17 1 As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD. P 18 1 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart. P 19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, 1 because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trump, the alarm of war. P 20 1 Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. P 21 1 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? P

1. Fulfilled - II Ki 25 (Fall of Judah) 2. or, “Babylon” - Dan 7:4 3. or, “stupid”

5 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, 1 Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities. P 6 Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: 1 for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. P 7 1 The 2 lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant. P 8 1 For this gird youwith sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us. P 9 1 And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder. P 10 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; 1 whereastheswordreachethuntothesoul. P 11 At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, 1 A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse, P 12 1 Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them. P

22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are 3 sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are 4:5 Jeremiah’s second message was a warning ( Blow ye the trumpet ) to Judah and Jerusalem that God’s patience can run out (Prov 1:24-31). Thank God He warns before He wounds . 4:7 According to Jeremiah, Judah and Jerusalem were about to face the “ destroyer of the Gentiles ” (Babylon) with the fury and destruction of a lion. Nevertheless, the enemy that the people of God were about to face was nothing compared to the enemy they should have been worried about. According to verse 14, the most dangerous enemy you’ll ever face is “you” ( thy vain thoughts ; our own thought processes – Rom 8:1-8 & 12:1-2 and Phil 2:5 ). Edwin Louis Cole, author of numerous books relating to men and religion, once noted: Your best friend and worst enemy are both in this room right now. It’s not your neighbor right or left –and it’s not God or the devil – it’s you. 1 Mark Buchanan in The Rest of God agrees . He notes: NOTE – Interestingly enough, during the 1,000 Millennial Reign of CHRIST , Satan will be bound for 1000 years, and his influence on the world will be totally diminished (Rev 20:1-3). However, the flesh will still be active, and Satan (after his release in Revelation 20:7), will use that flesh to bring about a Second Armageddon (Rev 20:8-10). That’s how dangerous our flesh can be. Martin Luther once noted: I am more afraid of my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals. I have within me the great pope, Self. 3 1 Edwin Louis Cole quote 2 Buchanan, Mark. The Rest of God , Nashville, TN, Thomas Nelson, 2006. Print. 3 Martin Luther quote According to the apostle Paul, sin’s fortress is your mind: the ultimate consequence of evil behavior, he says, is that it makes us “enemies in [our] minds” toward God (Col. 1:21). So God in Christ, and Christ through the Holy Spirit, is seeking to change our minds. 2