JEREMIAH—NOTE ON JEREMIAH 4:1 True repentance includes removing DETESTABLE THINGS (idols) FROM God’s PRESENCE (Genesis 35:1) and not wavering in this decision. Israel must not try to serve both God and idols, as Judah is currently doing (Jeremiah 2:23). ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ [ Continue Reading ]
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON JEREMIAH 4:2 Grace leads to changed living. Israel’s full repentance will glorify God. It will lead the nations to BLESS THEMSELVES IN HIM—thus fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham concerning the nations (Genesis 12:3)—and to GLORY (or “exult”; see Psalms 63:11) IN HIM. God called Je... [ Continue Reading ]
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON JEREMIAH 4:4 Changing the image, God tells the people of Judah to CIRCUMCISE themselves TO THE LORD by removing the FORESKIN OF their HEARTS (Deuteronomy 10:16). The heart symbolizes the totality of one’s will and emotions. Loving God with all one’s heart is the essence of faith (De... [ Continue Reading ]
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON JEREMIAH 4:5 JUDAH and JERUSALEM must prepare for war. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON JEREMIAH 4:7 LION. Many ancient nations likened themselves to lions, but here the text refers to Babylon, the chief DESTROYER OF NATIONS in Jeremiah’s times. The land will be a WASTE... WITHOUT INHABITANT, so fleeing (as in vv. Jeremiah 4:5) will be useless. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = docu... [ Continue Reading ]
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON JEREMIAH 4:9 IN THAT DAY refers to the day of the Lord, the day God judges, whether in history or at the final judgment that ends history. (See note on Amos 5:18–20 and The Day of the Lord in the Prophets.) ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=... [ Continue Reading ]
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON JEREMIAH 4:10 Jeremiah speaks in frustration. He claims God has said that all SHALL BE WELL when in fact divine wrath is coming. Apparently he quotes the false prophets (Jeremiah 6:14; Jeremiah 14:13; Jeremiah 23:16). He wonders why God has allowed these prophets to speak at all if... [ Continue Reading ]
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON JEREMIAH 4:18 The defeat will be so BITTER it will touch Israel’s HEART, the very place God has tried to touch with his love. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON JEREMIAH 4:22 God says his PEOPLE lack saving knowledge and a proper UNDERSTANDING of his ways and words (Jeremiah 3:15; Hosea 4:1). Their only wisdom is IN DOING EVIL. Thus, they are FOOLISH and STUPID CHILDREN. This strong language seeks to shock the people into repentance and to... [ Continue Reading ]
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON JEREMIAH 4:23 Jeremiah portrays the coming judgment as a reversal of the creation process. The earth is once again WITHOUT FORM AND VOID (compare Genesis 1:2), the HEAVENS have NO LIGHT (compare Genesis 1:3), the MOUNTAINS and HILLS quake (compare Genesis 1:9), and mankind ... [ Continue Reading ]
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON JEREMIAH 4:27 Despite the seeming totality of the destruction, God WILL NOT MAKE A FULL END of the WHOLE LAND (or “whole earth”). The creation will endure because of God’s mercy (Hosea 11:1) and eternal plan (2 Peter 3:1). ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getEle [ Continue Reading ]