#1049 Jeremiah 4 Part 1 Fallow Ground

 

“If you return, O Israel,

declares the Lord,

to me you should return.

If you remove your detestable things from my presence,

and do not waver,

2 and if you swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’

in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,

then nations shall bless themselves in him,

and in him shall they glory.”

3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

“Break up your fallow ground,

and sow not among thorns.

4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord;

remove the foreskin of your hearts,

O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem;

lest my wrath go forth like fire,

and burn with none to quench it,

because of the evil of your deeds.”

Disaster from the North

5 Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,

“Blow the trumpet through the land;

cry aloud and say,

‘Assemble, and let us go

into the fortified cities!’

6 Raise a standard toward Zion,

flee for safety, stay not,

for I bring disaster from the north,

and great destruction.

7 A lion has gone up from his 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 inhabitant.

8 For this put on sackcloth,

lament and wail,

for the fierce anger of the Lord

has not turned back from us.”

9 “In that day, declares the Lord, courage shall fail both king and officials. The priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded.” 10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God, surely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,’ whereas the sword has reached their very life.”

11 At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A hot wind from the bare heights in the desert toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow or cleanse, 12 a wind too full for this comes for me. Now it is I who speak in judgment upon them.”

13 Behold, he comes up like clouds;

his chariots like the whirlwind;

his horses are swifter than eagles—

woe to us, for we are ruined!

14 O Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil,

that you may be saved.

How long shall your wicked thoughts

lodge within you?

15 For a voice declares from Dan

and proclaims trouble from Mount Ephraim.

16 Warn the nations that he is coming;

announce to Jerusalem,

“Besiegers come from a distant land;

they shout against the cities of Judah.

17 Like keepers of a field are they against her all around,

because she has rebelled against me,

declares the Lord.

18 Your ways and your deeds

have brought this upon you.

This is your doom, and it is bitter;

it has reached your very heart.”

Anguish over Judah's Desolation

19 My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain!

Oh the walls of my heart!

My heart is beating wildly;

I cannot keep silent,

for I hear the sound of the trumpet,

the alarm of war.

20 Crash follows hard on crash;

the whole land is laid waste.

Suddenly my tents are laid waste,

my curtains in a moment.

21 How long must I see the standard

and hear the sound of the trumpet?

22 “For my people are foolish;

they know me not;

they are stupid children;

they have no understanding.

They are ‘wise’—in doing evil!

But how to do good they know not.”

23 I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void;

and to the heavens, and they had no light.

24 I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,

and all the hills moved to and fro.

25 I looked, and behold, there was no man,

and all the birds of the air had fled.

26 I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a desert,

and all its cities were laid in ruins

before the Lord, before his fierce anger.

27 For thus says the Lord, “The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.

28 “For this the earth shall mourn,

and the heavens above be dark;

for I have spoken; I have purposed;

I have not relented, nor will I turn back.”

29 At the noise of horseman and archer

every city takes to flight;

they enter thickets; they climb among rocks;

all the cities are forsaken,

and no man dwells in them.

30 And you, O desolate one,

what do you mean that you dress in scarlet,

that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,

that you enlarge your eyes with paint?

In vain you beautify yourself.

Your lovers despise you;

they seek your life.

31 For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor,

anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,

the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath,

stretching out her hands,

“Woe is me! I am fainting before murderers.” Jeremiah 4 ESV

Jeremiah 4: 1-4 If You Return

1-2. If you return - In the last chapter Israel had acknowledged their departure, but repentance is not a matter merely of words, not a one time experience of sadness, nor a state of constant euphoria. It is often alone, hated, and here God declares what it looks like to turn away from sin and turn to Him. 

To Me you should return - This sounds obvious, but not if you are no longer sure Who God is, if you have been sitting under false prophets, bad doctrine and bought priests, then introductions are necessary. What is the expectation here?

• Remove your detestable things from my presence. It is safe to assume from what we have read in Isaiah and Jeremiah that these people had a lot of idols, false prophets and were unjust to the poor. Their politicians were all liars, and sadly the people had come to expect that and not abhor it. 
• Do not waver. Not a 90 either way, but full 180, no running at the mouth, boasting, swearing, but then holding back with the heart like Ananias and Sapphira. Oh yes, that is right, remember them, turns out the God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament. 

…5Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.… James 1: 5-7

And if you swear - In truth, justice and righteousness, these shall be a great testimony of your faith, exalting the God by Whose name you say you are bound.

They must give unto God the glory due unto his name (v. 2): "Thou shalt sear, The Lord liveth. His existence shall be with thee the most sacred fact, than which nothing can be more sure, and his judgment the supreme court to which thou shalt appeal, than which nothing can be more awful.’’ Swearing is an act of religious worship, in which we are to give honour to God three ways:—(1.) We must swear by the true God only, and not by creatures, or any false gods,—by the God that liveth, not by the gods that are deaf and dumb and dead,—by him only, and not by the Lord and by Malcham, as Zec. 1:5 . (2.) We must swear that only which is true, in truth and in righteousness, not daring to assert that which is false, or which we do not know to be true, nor to assert that as certain which is doubtful, nor to promise that which we mean not to perform, nor to violate the promise we have made. To say that which is untrue, or to do that which is unrighteous, is bad, but to back either with an oath is much worse. (3.) We must do it solemnly, swear in judgment, that is, when judicially called to it, and not in common conversation. Rash swearing is as great a profanation of God’s name as solemn swearing is an honour to it. - Matthew Henry

So Jeremiah says all this to Israel, and let us recall that the northern part of the kingdom had long walked in apostasy, the sins of Jeroboam. Most of them had been dispersed into Assyria, some had been left that even the Assyrians didn't want, and though they said "God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob", though they recounted some oral history of God's great acts, the very way they practiced religion was an abomination, "remove the detestable things", and yes, they would have to be taught Who God is, by real shepherds, so they could return in spirit and in truth. We sort of looked at it in the last post, it takes very little time from Adam to Cain, to Noah and Ham, to Babel and the atrocities of Nimrod and his wife, then God's call to Abraham, then Sodom, the cycle repeats, men know, fall away from and then each generation becomes more lost and depraved. Listen to Jesus's words to a daughter of the northern tribes, a Samaritan woman.

…21“Believe Me, woman,” Jesus replied, “a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him.… John 4: 21-23

3-4. To the men of Judah and Jerusalem - This audience has yet to be taken captive by Babylon, but it is coming.

Break up your fallow ground - This reminds you of the parable of the seed and the sower. Fallow ground is ground that has been used for planting before, but has been left unplowed. It has been tapped of it's nutrients and become trampled and compacted. The people he is talking to are not so far removed from agriculture, so this is not lost on them. If you want to plant something in a fallow field then you have to reverse it's condition, otherwise your seed will be wasted, and the only thing that will grow there is weeds that don't mind poor soil. What is necessary is what some would call violent these days, the preaching of the law unto conviction, pointing out the condition of the ground, announcing the remedy, and accepting the truth of this state, followed by grabbing a team of oxen, hooking up the plow and not looking back. 

11Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same pattern of disobedience. 12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.… Hebrews 4: 11-13

…7For land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is tended receives the blessing of God. 8But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless, and its curse is imminent. In the end it will be burned. 9Even though we speak like this, beloved, we are convinced of better things in your case—things that accompany salvation.… Hebrews 6: 7-9

Remove the foreskin of your hearts - We have a tendency as fallen humans to be satisfied with outward form, rituals, knowing the definitions of words, but not knowing the true God. He looks at the heart, nothing is hidden from Him, and your righteousness, your ideals, are as filthy rags. I plead with and preach to my own heart, don't be satisfied with human measurements, don't lie to yourself or accept a lie from anyone else, know that your heart is wicked and deceitful above all things. There is nothing hidden.

…28A man is not a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical. 29No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God. Romans 2: 28-29