Jeremiah 4 - Bible Study, Explanation, and Application
Jeremiah 4 Bible Study
INTRO AND TIMELINE:
Jeremiah was a priest who lived in Anathoth (3 miles from Jerusalem). His ministry was directed towards the people of Judah, immediately before and during their exile in Babylon. His work as a prophet dates from 627 BC through the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC.
Jeremiah is the longest book in the English Bible by word count. The book has 52 chapters.
Jeremiah prophesied under the following Kings of Judah:
Josiah (640-609 BC)
Jehoahaz (also known as Shallum, 609 BC)
Jehoiakim (also known as Jeconiah or Coniah, 609-598 BC)
Jehoiachin (598-597 BC)
Zedekiah (His reign ended when Babylon conquered Judah, (597-586 BC)
FALLOW GROUND:
There is a reference to “fallow ground” in verse 3.
“For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns” (4:3).
Fallow ground is land that has been unplanted for at least one growing season. It is often overgrown with weeds and maybe thorns. It is often hard and compacted from not being plowed.
The hearts of the men of Judah were like fallow ground. They were hard, stubborn, and overgrown with ungodly things.
Jeremiah told them to plow the land, to sow seed on it and make use of it. The hard hearts of the men of Judah needed God’s plow of humility to break them up so they could be made into something useful again.
OUTLINE:
CIRCUMCISION OF THE HEART (4:1-4):
God called Judah to repent and remove anything detestable from their land and lifestyle.
He told them to circumcise their hearts. Circumcision was a sign of God’s covenant with His people. Though all the men of Judah were physically circumcised, their hearts didn’t show any sign of respecting the Lord’s commands. They needed a change of heart.
A LION FROM THE NORTH (4:5-18):
Knowing that His people wouldn’t repent, God prophesied destruction over Judah.
The origin of the threat was God’s wrath, and by His design, a lion (a foreign nation) would pounce on Judah and leave their cities in ruins.
Jeremiah told the people of Judah to flee the land because the devastation was going to be terrible.
In that day, there would be no heroes to save Jerusalem. The courage of their kings and officials would fail.
Judah’s enemy would ride chariots like whirlwinds and horses swifter than eagles.
They would surround Jerusalem, like shepherds who keep watch over a flock, making sure no one escaped.
God said to Judah, “Your ways and your deeds have brought this upon you” (4:18).
JEREMIAH’S EXPRESSION OF THE COMING ANGUISH OF JUDAH (4:19-31):
Jeremiah assumed the voice of a citizen of Judah suffering through the prophesied desolation.
He exclaimed, “My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! My heart is beating wildly… for I hear the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war” (4:19).
Jeremiah said he saw the tents of Judah laid waste. The destruction was so severe that Jeremiah described it using language similar to that of Genesis 1, Judah was “without form and void” (4:23).
The whole land was shaken; there were earthquakes in the mountains and animals fled.
Jeremiah wrote, “Behold, the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid in ruins before the Lord, before His fierce anger” (4:26).
God would not relent from the punishment He purposed, but He did promise not to extinguish Judah entirely.
Judah should have been in sackcloth and ashes (4:8), mourning their sins. Instead, they were in going about life like a woman dressed in scarlet and gold (4:30), trying to pretend as if everything was alright and trying to attract the assistance of allies.
APPLICATION:
Why does God offer an opportunity for Judah to repent and then prophesy with certainty that they were going to be destroyed?
Isn’t that inconsistent? Wouldn’t God have to void His prophecy if they repented?
God can prophesy about the future with certainty because He knows the choices human beings will make.
That isn’t to say God forces them to make those decisions.
God knows what people will choose and can build His will around those choices.
For example, God didn’t make Judas betray Jesus, but God knew the choices Judas would make even before Judas was born, so God, accounting for Judas’ sin ahead of time, and utilized it to accomplish His plan to save mankind.
The distinction between God determining something (causing it to happen) and God foreknowing something is a very important distinction to understand in apologetic discussions and in one’s personal pursuit to understand the nature of God.
