Jeremiah 4:11

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, DRY WIND - the simoom, terrific and destructive, blowing from the southeast across the sandy deserts east of Palestine. Image of the invading Babylonian army (). Babylon in its turn shall be visited by a similar "destroying wind" (). OF THE HIGH PLACES - i:e., that sweeps over the high places. DAUGHTER - i:e., the children of my people. NOT TO FAN - a very different wind from those ordinary winds employed for fanning the grain in the open air....

Jeremiah proceeds with the same prediction: he says, that a terrible _wind _was coming, which would not only _disperse _or _clear away, _but dissipate and overthrow all things. He then expresses how great and how grievous would be the calamity which he had before mentioned. He compares it to dry or and wind; for צח, _tsach, _sometimes means “clear,” and sometimes “arid,” as the greatest dryness is found on high places. He means, no doubt, here the wind, which is violent, and disturbs the whole atmosphere, when there are no clouds, and where no trees impede its course. Hence, he speaks of high and desert places. It is the same as though he had said, that so great would be the violence of God’s vengeance, and so irresistible would be the eruption, that it would be like a violent wind when it passes through high regions and through dry land or desert places. He says, _Towards the way of the...

5-18 The fierce conqueror of the neighbouring nations was to make Judah desolate. The prophet was afflicted to see the people lulled into security by false prophets. The approach of the enemy is described. Some attention was paid in Jerusalem to outward reformation; but it was necessary that their hearts should be washed, in the exercise of true repentance and faith, from the love and pollution of sin. When lesser calamities do not rouse sinners and reform nations, sentence will be given against them. The Lord's voice declares that misery is approaching, especially against wicked professors of the gospel; when it overtakes them, it will be plainly seen that the fruit of wickedness is bitter, and the end is fatal....

Verse 11. - 13. _A DRY WIND - A FALL WIND - AS CLOUDS - AS A WHIRLWIND_] All these expressions appear to refer to the _pestilential winds,_ _suffocating vapours_, and _clouds and pillars of sand_ collected by _whirlwinds_, which are so common and destructive in the east, (Isaiah 21:1;) and these images are employed here to show the overwhelming effect of the invasion of the land by the Chaldeans....

AT THAT TIME - See Jeremiah 4:7. Though the revelation of the certainty of Judah’s ruin wrings from Jeremiah a cry of despair, yet it is but for a moment; he immediately returns to the delivery of God’s message. A DRY WIND - literally, A clear wind. The Samum is probably meant, a dry parching east wind blowing from the Arabian desert, before which vegetation withers, and human life becomes intolerable. NOT TO FAN ... - The Syrian farmers make great use of the wind for separating the chaff from the grain: but when the Samum blows labor becomes impossible. It is not for use, but for destruction....

EXPOSITION JEREMIAH 4:1, JEREMIAH 4:2 The form and structure of the translation require a change. Render, _If thou wilt return_,_ O Israel_,_ saith Jehovah_,_ wilt return unto me_;_ and if thou wilt put away_,_ _etc; _and not wander_;_ and wilt swear_,_ As Jehovah liveth_,_ with good faith_,_ with justice_,_ and with righteousness_;_ then shall the nations bless themselves by him_,_ and in him shall they glory_. The clause, "and not wander," seems too short; the Septuagint had a choicer reading, "and put away, etc; from his [thy] mouth, and not wander from before me." It is the close of the prophecy which we have here. The prophet subjoins a p

AT THAT TIME SHALL IT BE SAID TO THIS PEOPLE, AND TO JERUSALEM,.... The inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem, the people of the Jews; or "concerning" x them, as Jarchi interprets it: A DRY WIND OF THE HIGH PLACES IN THE WILDERNESS TOWARD THE DAUGHTER OF MY PEOPLE. The Targum is, "as the south wind upon the heads of floods of water in the wilderness, so is the way of the congregation of my people;'' but rather the north wind is designed, since that is a dry one, and the south wind a moist one; and the rather, since this wind intends Nebuchadnezzar and his army, which should come from Babylon, from the north. Some render it, "a neat clean wind" y; which strips the trees, lays bare rocks and mountains, carries away the earth and dust before it, and makes the stones look white and clean: it denotes a very strong, rushing, stormy, and boisterous wind. The Vulgate Latin version renders it, "a...

Jeremiah 4:1. _If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove. And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory._ So he sets before them life and death. First, he begins with these words of encouragement. He begs them to come, for God is willing to receive them notwithstanding all. Jeremiah 4:3 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 bu

CHAPTER 4 _ 1. True repentance and what it means (Jeremiah 4:1) _ 2. The alarm sounded: judgment comes (Jeremiah 4:5) 3. The doom of the rebellious people (Jeremiah 4:14) 4. The desolation of Israel's land through judgment (Jeremiah 4:23) Jeremiah 4:1. A return must be a return unto Him, Jehovah; anything less is insufficient. Their abominations must be judged and put away. Every return of backsliders must be in the same way--a true return to the Lord with confession of sin, self-judgment, and abandonment

THE ENEMY'S APPROACH. Warning is given by the horn, and guidance, to the refugees fleeing to Jerusalem, by the standard; they are bidden to bring (their families) into safety (not flee for safety). The lion-like foe draws near to destroy, and the courage (Hebrew heart, Jeremiah 4:9) of Judah's leaders fails them. The prophets will say that they have been deceived in prophesying prosperity (_cf._ Jeremiah 6:14; Jeremiah 14:13; Jeremiah 23:17; Jeremiah's own prophecies were in marked contrast, see on Jeremiah 28). A sirocco blast blows on Judah, too strong ...