Jeremiah 4:3

The Bible says in Jeremiah 4:3-4, “For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.” In these two verses two different symbols are used to point out to the Israelites that they need to change their ways. The first symbol has to do with “fallow ground.” Fallow ground refers to land that is unproductive. Nothing will grow in fallow ground for one main reason: nothing has been planted. The law of sowing and reaping requires the planting of seed. If you are going to work with Jesus in doing His work in this world, then you must be involved in sowing the seed of the gospel somewhere in the world. Jesus told us the parable of the sower in order to explain to us why the seed of truth does not always grow into a good spiritual harvest. Jesus said in Matthew 13:18-23, “Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” One thing is for certain: no seeds at all will grow if no seeds at all are planted. The Israelites were not planting any seeds because they were too preoccupied with other things, especially sinful things. Jesus has sent you forth to be a sower of seed. Are you involved in sowing the seed of the truth of the gospel of Christ?

Jeremiah 4:4 mentioned the symbol of circumcision. Circumcision had a purpose: it was a physical act that symbolized a spiritual reality. The Israelite males were all circumcised. Circumcision distinguished the Israelites from the heathen in the nations around them. But circumcision was of no value if the person did not have the true circumcision, which was the circumcision of the heart. It says in Romans 2:28-29, “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” Circumcision involved taking a knife and cutting away unnecessary flesh, so that the body would be more clean. To serve God in this world there are human things that you must pare down and take away. These are things that normally would be in your life if you did not serve Jesus, but in order to serve Jesus effectively, you put them away.

Jeremiah 4:5-22 is a description of the sorrows and judgments that would befall the land of Israel because of their sins. It says, “Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities. Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. The 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. For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us. 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. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul. At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse, Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them. Behold, 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. O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim. Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah. As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD. 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. My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.”

The future that awaited the Israelites was not good, to say the least. Let’s repeat just some of the words and phrases from this last passage: 1. “evil from the north.” 2. “a great destruction.” 3. “The lion is come.” 4. “the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way.” 5. “to make thy land desolate.” 6. “thy cities shall be laid waste.” 7. “lament and howl.” 8. “the fierce anger of the LORD.” 9. “the heart of the king shall perish.” 10. “the sword reacheth unto the soul.” 11. “A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness.” 12. “I give sentence against them.” 13. “his chariots shall be as a whirlwind.” 14. “Woe unto us.” 15. “we are spoiled.” 16. “wickedness.” 17. “vain thoughts.” 18. “affliction from mount Ephraim.” 19. “their voice against the cities of Judah.” 20. “they against her round about.” 21. “she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD.” 22. “this is thy wickedness.” 23. “it is bitter.” 24. “I am pained at my very heart.” 25. “the alarm of war.” 26. “Destruction upon destruction.” 27. “the whole land is spoiled.” 28. “my people is foolish.” 29. “they have not known me.” 30. “they have none understanding.” 31. “they are wise to do evil.” 32. “to do good they have no knowledge.” If we look closely at these words, they tell us both the problem that the Israelites had, as well as what was going to befall them. The problem was their great wickedness, and judgment from God was going to befall them. One thing to notice is that the judgment was somewhat in the future. They still had a chance to repent. Jesus does not want to punish anyone. He wants to forgive and to cleanse from sin. But He is a just Judge. He will not let sin go by forever. Each person will either repent, or else he or she will face the righteous judgment of God somewhere and somehow. God was telling the Israelites their sins through Jeremiah so that they would wake up to how sinful they were, and so that they would repent. The Lord works in people’s hearts today in a similar fashion. The Spirit of God speaks to people in their conscience in order to convict them of sin. The question then becomes: how will they respond to this conviction of sin. Will they reject the working of the Spirit, or will they respond in the right way? One of the reasons that people become hardened against the truth is that they have already resisted the working of the Spirit in their conscience. One of the reasons that some people have gone down a path in life where they seem to love sinfulness and error but dislike goodness and righteousness is because they have already resisted the working of the Spirit in their conscience. The Lord said in Genesis 6:3, “My spirit shall not always strive with man.” You might have time to repent, but you do not have unlimited time.

The Bible says in Jeremiah 4:23-29, “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger. For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it. The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.” In describing how great the destruction in Israel will be, it is interesting the language that is used in Jeremiah 4:23. The language is very similar to that of Genesis chapter one where the earth is described before any life at all exists on it. It says in Genesis 1:1-2, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away that which He hath given. Perhaps the lesson learned from the destruction that befell Israel is as it says in Galatians 6:7, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

$Description: C:\BibleGemsDoc\Image37.gif$

___________________________________________________