◄ Jeremiah 6:25 ►
Do not go out to the fields; do not walk the road. For the enemy has a sword; terror is on every side.
Study Bible
Do not go out to the fields;
This phrase serves as a warning to the people of Jerusalem. In the context of Jeremiah's prophecy, the fields represent areas outside the safety of the city walls. Historically, during times of invasion, fields would be dangerous as they were exposed to enemy forces. This warning reflects the imminent threat posed by the Babylonian army, which would soon besiege Jerusalem. The fields, typically places of labor and sustenance, become perilous, symbolizing the disruption of daily life and the loss of security.

do not walk the road.
The roads, like the fields, are unsafe due to the presence of enemy forces. Roads were essential for trade, travel, and communication, but in times of war, they became routes for invading armies. This phrase emphasizes the totality of the threat, as even the paths that connect communities and facilitate commerce are fraught with danger. The roads, often seen as symbols of connection and progress, now represent vulnerability and isolation.

For the enemy has a sword;
The sword is a symbol of warfare and judgment. In the biblical context, the sword often represents divine judgment executed through human agents, in this case, the Babylonians. The presence of the sword indicates not just physical danger but also the fulfillment of God's warnings through the prophets. This imagery connects to other scriptures where the sword is used as a metaphor for God's judgment, such as in Ezekiel 21:9-11.

terror is on every side.
This phrase captures the pervasive fear and panic that grips the people. The expression "terror on every side" is a recurring theme in Jeremiah, highlighting the inescapable nature of the threat. It reflects the psychological impact of the impending invasion, where the fear of destruction and death is omnipresent. This phrase also points to the broader spiritual condition of the people, who are surrounded by the consequences of their disobedience to God. The sense of encirclement by terror can be seen as a type of the ultimate judgment, contrasting with the peace and security found in Christ.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jeremiah
A prophet called by God to deliver messages of warning and judgment to the people of Judah. His ministry spanned the reigns of several kings and was marked by his deep emotional connection to his people and his message.

2. Judah
The southern kingdom of Israel, which was facing imminent judgment due to its persistent disobedience and idolatry. Jeremiah's prophecies were directed primarily at this kingdom.

3. The Enemy
Refers to the Babylonian forces that were threatening Judah. The Babylonians were used by God as instruments of judgment against His people.

4. The Sword
Symbolizes the impending violence and destruction that would come upon Judah as a result of their rebellion against God.

5. Terror on Every Side
A phrase indicating the pervasive fear and danger that surrounded the people due to the approaching Babylonian army.
Teaching Points
The Consequences of Disobedience
Jeremiah 6:25 serves as a stark reminder of the serious consequences that come from turning away from God. Just as Judah faced physical danger, spiritual disobedience today can lead to personal and communal turmoil.

God's Warnings are Acts of Mercy
The warnings given through Jeremiah were meant to lead the people to repentance. In our lives, we should view God's warnings as opportunities for correction and growth.

The Reality of Spiritual Warfare
The "enemy's sword" can be seen as a metaphor for spiritual attacks. Christians must remain vigilant and equipped with the armor of God to withstand such threats.

The Importance of Heeding God's Word
Ignoring God's instructions leads to peril. We must prioritize listening to and applying God's Word in our daily lives to avoid spiritual pitfalls.

Finding Peace Amidst Fear
Even when "terror is on every side," believers can find peace and security in God's promises and presence, trusting that He is sovereign over all circumstances.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the warning in Jeremiah 6:25 reflect the broader theme of judgment in the book of Jeremiah, and what can we learn from it about the nature of God's justice?

2. In what ways can the "enemy's sword" be understood in a spiritual context today, and how can Christians prepare to face such challenges?

3. Reflect on a time when you experienced "terror on every side." How did your faith in God help you navigate that situation?

4. Compare the warnings in Jeremiah 6:25 with those in Isaiah 24:17-18. What similarities and differences do you observe, and what do they teach us about God's communication with His people?

5. How can we apply the lessons from Jeremiah 6:25 to ensure that we are living in obedience to God and avoiding the pitfalls of spiritual complacency?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Jeremiah 4:6
This verse also warns of the coming disaster from the north, emphasizing the urgency of the threat and the need for repentance.

Lamentations 1:20
Reflects the fulfillment of Jeremiah's warnings, describing the distress and desolation experienced by Jerusalem after the Babylonian invasion.

Psalm 31:13
Uses similar language of "terror on every side," highlighting the psalmist's experience of fear and persecution, yet also his trust in God.

Isaiah 24:17-18
Speaks of terror, pit, and snare, illustrating the inescapable judgment that comes upon those who reject God.
Sermons
God's Appeal for Vindication of His VengeanceS. Conway Jeremiah 6:18-30
People
Benjamin, Jeremiah
Places
Beth-haccherem, Jerusalem, Sheba, Tekoa, Zion
Topics
Attacker, Enemy, Fear, Field, Forth, Road, Roads, Round, Sword, Terror, Walk
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Jeremiah 6:25

     5505   roads

Jeremiah 6:22-26

     8795   persecution, nature of

Library
Stedfastness in the Old Paths.
"Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls."--Jer. vi. 16. Reverence for the old paths is a chief Christian duty. We look to the future indeed with hope; yet this need not stand in the way of our dwelling on the past days of the Church with affection and deference. This is the feeling of our own Church, as continually expressed in the Prayer Book;--not to slight what has gone before, …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

A Blast of the Trumpet against False Peace
The motive with these false prophets is an abominable one. Jeremiah tells us it was an evil covetousness. They preached smooth things because the people would have it so, because they thus brought grist to their own mill, and glory to their own names. Their design was abominable, and without doubt, their end shall be desperate--cast away with the refuse of mankind. These who professed to be the precious sons of God, comparable to fine gold, shall be esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 6: 1860

Whitefield -- the Method of Grace
George Whitefield, evangelist and leader of Calvinistic Methodists, who has been called the Demosthenes of the pulpit, was born at Gloucester, England, in 1714. He was an impassioned pulpit orator of the popular type, and his power over immense congregations was largely due to his histrionic talent and his exquisitely modulated voice, which has been described as "an organ, a flute, a harp, all in one," and which at times became stentorian. He had a most expressive face, and altho he squinted, in …
Grenville Kleiser—The world's great sermons, Volume 3

Reprobation.
In discussing this subject I shall endeavor to show, I. What the true doctrine of reprobation is not. 1. It is not that the ultimate end of God in the creation of any was their damnation. Neither reason nor revelation confirms, but both contradict the assumption, that God has created or can create any being for the purpose of rendering him miserable as an ultimate end. God is love, or he is benevolent, and cannot therefore will the misery of any being as an ultimate end, or for its own sake. It is …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

Prefatory Scripture Passages.
To the Law and to the Testimony; if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them.-- Isa. viii. 20. Thus saith the Lord; Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.--Jer. vi. 16. That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. But …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

Jesus Raises the Widow's Son.
(at Nain in Galilee.) ^C Luke VII. 11-17. ^c 11 And it came to pass soon afterwards [many ancient authorities read on the next day], that he went into a city called Nain; and his disciples went with him, and a great multitude. [We find that Jesus had been thronged with multitudes pretty continuously since the choosing of his twelve apostles. Nain lies on the northern slope of the mountain, which the Crusaders called Little Hermon, between twenty and twenty-five miles south of Capernaum, and about …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Backsliding.
"I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely: for Mine anger is turned away."--Hosea xiv. 4. There are two kinds of backsliders. Some have never been converted: they have gone through the form of joining a Christian community and claim to be backsliders; but they never have, if I may use the expression, "slid forward." They may talk of backsliding; but they have never really been born again. They need to be treated differently from real back-sliders--those who have been born of the incorruptible …
Dwight L. Moody—The Way to God and How to Find It

An Obscured vision
(Preached at the opening of the Winona Lake Bible Conference.) TEXT: "Where there is no vision, the people perish."--Proverbs 29:18. It is not altogether an easy matter to secure a text for such an occasion as this; not because the texts are so few in number but rather because they are so many, for one has only to turn over the pages of the Bible in the most casual way to find them facing him at every reading. Feeling the need of advice for such a time as this, I asked a number of my friends who …
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas Iscariot

Sin Charged Upon the Surety
All we like sheep have gone astray: we have turned every one to his own way, and the LORD hath laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. C omparisons, in the Scripture, are frequently to be understood with great limitation: perhaps, out of many circumstances, only one is justly applicable to the case. Thus, when our Lord says, Behold, I come as a thief (Revelation 16:15) , --common sense will fix the resemblance to a single point, that He will come suddenly, and unexpectedly. So when wandering sinners …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

An Address to the Regenerate, Founded on the Preceding Discourses.
James I. 18. James I. 18. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. I INTEND the words which I have now been reading, only as an introduction to that address to the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty, with which I am now to conclude these lectures; and therefore shall not enter into any critical discussion, either of them, or of the context. I hope God has made the series of these discourses, in some measure, useful to those …
Philip Doddridge—Practical Discourses on Regeneration

Scriptures Showing the Sin and Danger of Joining with Wicked and Ungodly Men.
Scriptures Showing The Sin And Danger Of Joining With Wicked And Ungodly Men. When the Lord is punishing such a people against whom he hath a controversy, and a notable controversy, every one that is found shall be thrust through: and every one joined with them shall fall, Isa. xiii. 15. They partake in their judgment, not only because in a common calamity all shares, (as in Ezek. xxi. 3.) but chiefly because joined with and partakers with these whom God is pursuing; even as the strangers that join …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

How those who Fear Scourges and those who Contemn them are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 14.) Differently to be admonished are those who fear scourges, and on that account live innocently, and those who have grown so hard in wickedness as not to be corrected even by scourges. For those who fear scourges are to be told by no means to desire temporal goods as being of great account, seeing that bad men also have them, and by no means to shun present evils as intolerable, seeing they are not ignorant how for the most part good men also are touched by them. They are to be admonished …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Christian Meekness
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth Matthew 5:5 We are now got to the third step leading in the way to blessedness, Christian meekness. Blessed are the meek'. See how the Spirit of God adorns the hidden man of the heart, with multiplicity of graces! The workmanship of the Holy Ghost is not only curious, but various. It makes the heart meek, pure, peaceable etc. The graces therefore are compared to needlework, which is different and various in its flowers and colours (Psalm 45:14). …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

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

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