"In that day," declares the LORD, "the king and officials will lose their courage. The priests will tremble in fear, and the prophets will be astounded." On that dayThis phrase refers to a specific time of judgment that God has appointed. In the Hebrew context, "that day" often signifies a day of reckoning or divine intervention. It is a reminder of God's sovereignty over time and history, emphasizing that He has set a particular moment for His purposes to unfold. This phrase calls believers to be mindful of God's timing and the certainty of His plans. declares the LORD
The use of "declares the LORD" underscores the authority and certainty of the message. In Hebrew, the term often translated as "declares" is "נְאֻם" (ne'um), which conveys a solemn pronouncement. This is not merely a prediction but a divine decree, emphasizing that the words come directly from God Himself. It reassures believers of the reliability and truth of God's word. the king and officials
The mention of "the king and officials" highlights the leadership of Judah, who were expected to guide and protect the people. In the historical context, these leaders were often seen as the embodiment of the nation's strength and stability. Their loss of courage signifies a complete breakdown of human authority and governance, pointing to the futility of relying on earthly powers instead of God. will lose their courage
This phrase indicates a profound sense of fear and helplessness. The Hebrew root for "lose courage" can be associated with the idea of disintegration or melting away, suggesting a total collapse of confidence. It serves as a warning that without God, even the mightiest leaders are vulnerable and powerless in the face of divine judgment. The priests will tremble in fear
The priests, who were responsible for spiritual leadership and maintaining the covenant relationship with God, are depicted as trembling. This reaction indicates a failure in their spiritual duties and a recognition of their own inadequacy. Historically, priests were seen as mediators between God and the people, and their fear reflects the gravity of the nation's spiritual decline. and the prophets will be astounded
Prophets, who were supposed to be the mouthpieces of God, are described as being astounded. The Hebrew root for "astounded" can imply being stunned or rendered speechless. This suggests that even those who were expected to have insight into God's plans are caught off guard by the severity of the judgment. It serves as a sobering reminder of the unpredictability of God's ways and the need for humility and repentance. Persons / Places / Events 1. JeremiahThe prophet who conveyed God's messages to the people of Judah, warning them of impending judgment due to their unfaithfulness. 2. The LORDThe covenant God of Israel, who is speaking through Jeremiah, declaring the consequences of the people's disobedience. 3. The King and OfficialsThe political leaders of Judah who are expected to guide and protect the nation but will find themselves powerless and without courage. 4. The PriestsReligious leaders responsible for spiritual guidance and temple rituals, who will be overcome with fear. 5. The ProphetsThose who claim to speak for God, who will be left speechless and astounded by the unfolding events. Teaching Points The Consequences of DisobedienceGod's judgment is a direct result of persistent disobedience and unfaithfulness. The leaders' loss of courage signifies the failure of human strength without divine support. The Role of LeadersSpiritual and political leaders are accountable to God. Their failure to lead righteously results in fear and confusion, emphasizing the need for godly leadership. The Futility of False SecurityReliance on human wisdom and false prophets leads to a false sense of security. True security is found only in obedience to God. The Importance of True ProphecyProphets must speak God's truth, not what is popular or pleasing. The silence of the prophets in this passage underscores the danger of false prophecy. God's Sovereignty in JudgmentGod's declarations through Jeremiah remind us of His ultimate control over nations and leaders. His plans will prevail despite human resistance. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the fear and loss of courage among the leaders in Jeremiah 4:9 reflect the spiritual state of Judah at that time? 2. In what ways can we ensure that our leaders, both spiritual and political, are aligned with God's will today? 3. How does the reaction of the priests and prophets in this passage challenge us to discern true from false teachings in our own lives? 4. What are some modern examples of false security that people might rely on instead of trusting in God? 5. How can we apply the lessons of God's sovereignty and judgment in Jeremiah 4:9 to our understanding of current world events? Connections to Other Scriptures Isaiah 3:1-4This passage also speaks of a time when God will remove support and leadership from Jerusalem and Judah, leading to chaos and fear among leaders. Ezekiel 7:26Describes a similar scenario where disaster upon disaster will leave prophets, priests, and elders without answers, highlighting the futility of relying on human wisdom in times of divine judgment. Matthew 24:29-30Jesus speaks of a future time of tribulation when leaders and nations will be in distress, drawing a parallel to the fear and confusion described in Jeremiah. People Dan, JeremiahPlaces Dan, Jerusalem, Mount Ephraim, ZionTopics Affirmation, Amazed, Appalled, Astonished, Astounded, Courage, Dead, Declares, Fail, Fear, Heart, Hearts, Horrified, Lose, Officials, Overcome, Pass, Perish, Priests, Princes, Prophets, Rulers, Says, WonderDictionary of Bible Themes Jeremiah 4:9 5916 pessimism Library The Wailing of Risca
You all know the story; it scarce needs that I should tell it to you. Last Saturday week some two hundred or more miners descended in health and strength to their usual work in the bowels of the earth. They had not been working long, their wives and their children had risen, and their little ones had gone to their schools, when suddenly there was heard a noise at the mouth of the pit;--it was an explosion,--all knew what it meant. Men's hearts failed them, for well they prophesied the horror which …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 7: 1861How those are to be Admonished who Sin from Sudden Impulse and those who Sin Deliberately.
(Admonition 33.). Differently to be admonished are those who are overcome by sudden passion and those who are bound in guilt of set purpose. For those whom sudden passion overcomes are to be admonished to regard themselves as daily set in the warfare of the present life, and to protect the heart, which cannot foresee wounds, with the shield of anxious fear; to dread the hidden darts of the ambushed foe, and, in so dark a contest, to guard with continual attention the inward camp of the soul. For, …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great Prevailing Prayer.
Text.--The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.--James v. 16. THE last lecture referred principally to the confession of sin. To-night my remarks will be chiefly confined to the subject of intercession, or prayer. There are two kinds of means requisite to promote a revival; one to influence men, the other to influence God. The truth is employed to influence men, and prayer to move God. When I speak of moving God, I do not mean that God's mind is changed by prayer, or that his …
Charles Grandison Finney—Lectures on Revivals of Religion How to Make Use of Christ for Cleansing of us from Our Daily Spots.
Having spoken of the way of making use of Christ for removing the guilt of our daily transgressions, we come to speak of the way of making use of Christ, for taking away the guilt that cleaveth to the soul, through daily transgressions; "for every sin defileth the man," Matt. xv. 20; and the best are said to have their spots, and to need washing, which presupposeth filthiness and defilement, Eph. v. 27. John xiii. 8-10. Hence we are so oft called to this duty of washing and making us clean. Isa. …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life "For they that are after the Flesh do Mind the Things of the Flesh,",
Rom. viii. 5.--"For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh,", &c. Though sin hath taken up the principal and inmost cabinet of the heart of man--though it hath fixed its imperial throne in the spirit of man, and makes use of all the powers and faculties in the soul to accomplish its accursed desires and fulfil its boundless lusts, yet it is not without good reason expressed in scripture, ordinarily under the name of "flesh," and a "body of death," and men dead in sins, are …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning "Who Walk not after the Flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the Flesh,"
Rom. viii. 4, 5.--"Who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh," &c. If there were nothing else to engage our hearts to religion, I think this might do it, that there is so much reason in it. Truly it is the most rational thing in the world, except some revealed mysteries of faith, which are far above reason, but not contrary to it. There is nothing besides in it, but that which is the purest reason. Even that part of it which is most difficult to man, …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning "If So be that the Spirit of God Dwell in You. Now if any Man have not the Spirit of Christ, He is None of His. "
Rom. viii. 9.--"If so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." "But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth?" 2 Chron. vi. 18. It was the wonder of one of the wisest of men, and indeed, considering his infinite highness above the height of heavens, his immense and incomprehensible greatness, that the heaven of heavens cannot contain him, and then the baseness, emptiness, and worthlessness of man, it may be a wonder to the …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning The Acceptable Sacrifice;
OR, THE EXCELLENCY OF A BROKEN HEART: SHOWING THE NATURE, SIGNS, AND PROPER EFFECTS OF A CONTRITE SPIRIT. BEING THE LAST WORKS OF THAT EMINENT PREACHER AND FAITHFUL MINISTER OF JESUS CHRIST, MR. JOHN BUNYAN, OF BEDFORD. WITH A PREFACE PREFIXED THEREUNTO BY AN EMINENT MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL IN LONDON. London: Sold by George Larkin, at the Two Swans without Bishopgates, 1692. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. The very excellent preface to this treatise, written by George Cokayn, will inform the reader of …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Original Sin
Q-16: DID ALL MANKIND FALL IN ADAM'S FIRST TRANSGRESSION? A: The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself, but for his posterity, all mankind descending from him, by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him in his first transgression. 'By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin,' &c. Rom 5:12. Adam being a representative person, while he stood, we stood; when he fell, we fell, We sinned in Adam; so it is in the text, In whom all have sinned.' Adam was the head …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Repentance
Then has God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.' Acts 11: 18. Repentance seems to be a bitter pill to take, but it is to purge out the bad humour of sin. By some Antinomian spirits it is cried down as a legal doctrine; but Christ himself preached it. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent,' &c. Matt 4: 17. In his last farewell, when he was ascending to heaven, he commanded that Repentance should be preached in his name.' Luke 24: 47. Repentance is a pure gospel grace. …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments Directions to Awakened Sinners.
Acts ix. 6. Acts ix. 6. And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do. THESE are the words of Saul, who also is called Paul, (Acts xiii. 9,) when he was stricken to the ground as he was going to Damascus; and any one who had looked upon him in his present circumstances and knew nothing more of him than that view, in comparison with his past life, could have given, would have imagined him one of the most miserable creatures that ever lived upon earth, and would have expected …
Philip Doddridge—Practical Discourses on Regeneration The Quotation in Matt. Ii. 6.
Several interpreters, Paulus especially, have asserted that the interpretation of Micah which is here given, was that of the Sanhedrim only, and not of the Evangelist, who merely recorded what happened and was said. But this assertion is at once refuted when we consider the object which Matthew has in view in his entire representation of the early life of Jesus. His object in recording the early life of Jesus is not like that of Luke, viz., to communicate historical information to his readers. …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Jesus Attends the First Passover of his Ministry.
(Jerusalem, April 9, a.d. 27.) Subdivision B. Jesus Talks with Nicodemus. ^D John III. 1-21. ^d 1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. [Nicodemus is mentioned only by John. His character is marked by a prudence amounting almost to timidity. At John vii. 50-52 he defends Jesus, but without committing himself as in any way interested in him: at John xix. 38, 39 he brought spices for the body of Jesus, but only after Joseph of Arimathæa had secured the body. …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Jeremiah
The interest of the book of Jeremiah is unique. On the one hand, it is our most reliable and elaborate source for the long period of history which it covers; on the other, it presents us with prophecy in its most intensely human phase, manifesting itself through a strangely attractive personality that was subject to like doubts and passions with ourselves. At his call, in 626 B.C., he was young and inexperienced, i. 6, so that he cannot have been born earlier than 650. The political and religious …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Jeremiah 4:9 NIVJeremiah 4:9 NLTJeremiah 4:9 ESVJeremiah 4:9 NASBJeremiah 4:9 KJV
Jeremiah 4:9 Commentaries
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