◄ Jeremiah 4:28 ►
Therefore the earth will mourn and the heavens above will grow dark. I have spoken, I have planned, and I will not relent or turn back."
Study Bible
Therefore the earth will mourn
The phrase "the earth will mourn" uses the Hebrew word "אָבַל" (aval), which conveys a deep sense of lamentation and sorrow. In the context of Jeremiah, this mourning is not just a poetic expression but a reflection of the physical and spiritual desolation that sin brings upon creation. The earth, often personified in Scripture, responds to the moral and spiritual state of humanity. This mourning signifies the profound impact of Israel's unfaithfulness and the resulting divine judgment. It serves as a reminder of the interconnectedness of creation and humanity, echoing the consequences of sin that affect all of God's creation.

and the heavens above grow dark
The imagery of "the heavens above grow dark" is a powerful symbol of divine displeasure and impending judgment. The Hebrew word for "dark" is "קָדַר" (qadar), which can mean to be dark or to mourn. Darkness in the heavens often signifies God's judgment or the withdrawal of His favor, as seen in other biblical passages like the plagues of Egypt or the crucifixion of Christ. This darkness is not merely physical but also spiritual, indicating a separation from God's light and truth. It serves as a warning of the seriousness of turning away from God and the resulting spiritual blindness.

I have spoken
The declaration "I have spoken" emphasizes the authority and finality of God's word. The Hebrew root "דָּבַר" (dabar) means to speak or declare, often used in the context of divine revelation. When God speaks, it is not just communication but an expression of His will and purpose. This phrase underscores the certainty and unchangeable nature of God's pronouncements. It reassures believers of the reliability of God's word and His sovereign control over history and events.

I have purposed
"I have purposed" reflects God's intentional and deliberate plan. The Hebrew word "יָעַץ" (ya'ats) means to advise or purpose, indicating a thoughtful and determined decision. This phrase highlights God's sovereignty and the fulfillment of His divine plan, despite human actions. It reassures believers that God's purposes are always for the ultimate good, even when they involve judgment or correction. It calls for trust in God's wisdom and His overarching plan for redemption and restoration.

I will not relent
The phrase "I will not relent" uses the Hebrew word "נָחַם" (nacham), which can mean to comfort or to change one's mind. In this context, it signifies God's steadfastness and unwavering commitment to His word. Unlike humans, who may change their minds or be swayed by circumstances, God's decisions are firm and just. This phrase serves as a sobering reminder of the seriousness of sin and the certainty of divine judgment, while also affirming God's faithfulness to His promises.

nor will I turn back
"Nor will I turn back" emphasizes God's resolute nature. The Hebrew root "שׁוּב" (shuv) means to return or turn back. This phrase assures that God's course of action, once set, is irreversible. It reflects His justice and the certainty of His decrees. For believers, it is a call to repentance and alignment with God's will, knowing that His plans are unchangeable and His purposes will be accomplished. It also offers hope, as God's unchanging nature is a foundation for trust and faith in His eternal promises.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jeremiah
A prophet called by God to deliver messages of warning and hope to the people of Judah. His ministry spanned the reigns of several kings and was marked by themes of repentance and impending judgment.

2. Judah
The southern kingdom of Israel, which was facing imminent judgment due to its persistent idolatry and disobedience to God.

3. The Earth and Heavens
Symbolic representations of creation that respond to God's decrees. Their mourning and darkening signify the gravity of God's judgment.

4. God's Judgment
The central event in this passage, where God declares His irreversible decision to bring judgment upon Judah for their sins.

5. The Prophetic Message
The broader context of Jeremiah's prophecy, which includes calls to repentance and warnings of destruction if the people do not turn back to God.
Teaching Points
The Certainty of God's Word
God's declarations are unchangeable. When He speaks, His purposes will be fulfilled. This should instill both reverence and trust in His promises.

The Consequences of Sin
Sin has cosmic consequences, affecting not just individuals but the entire creation. This underscores the seriousness of disobedience and the need for repentance.

God's Sovereignty in Judgment
God's sovereignty is evident in His control over creation and history. His judgments are just and purposeful, reminding us of His ultimate authority.

The Call to Repentance
While judgment is certain, God's desire is for repentance. This passage serves as a warning and an invitation to turn back to God before it's too late.

Hope in God's Unchanging Nature
Even in judgment, there is hope because God's character is consistent. His justice is matched by His mercy, offering redemption to those who seek Him.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the imagery of the earth mourning and the heavens growing dark in Jeremiah 4:28 help us understand the impact of sin on creation?

2. In what ways does the certainty of God's word in this passage challenge us to live differently in our daily lives?

3. How can we reconcile the themes of judgment and hope found in Jeremiah with the message of the Gospel?

4. What are some modern-day "idols" that might lead us away from God, similar to the idolatry faced by Judah?

5. How can we apply the call to repentance in Jeremiah to our personal and communal spiritual practices today?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 1
The creation account where God establishes the earth and heavens, highlighting their role in His divine order. Jeremiah 4:28 reflects the disruption of this order due to sin.

Isaiah 13
A prophecy of judgment against Babylon, where similar imagery of cosmic disturbance is used to convey the seriousness of God's wrath.

Revelation 6
The apocalyptic vision where the heavens and earth respond to God's final judgment, echoing the themes found in Jeremiah.
Sermons
The Proclamation of WoeS. Conway Jeremiah 4:5-31
The Fellowship of Christ's SufferingsS. Conway Jeremiah 4:19-30
A Surely Coming Confession Compelling a Present Serious QuestionS. Conway Jeremiah 4:20, 30
People
Dan, Jeremiah
Places
Dan, Jerusalem, Mount Ephraim, Zion
Topics
Black, Change, Changed, Dark, Decided, Grow, Heavens, Mind, Mourn, Purpose, Purposed, Relent, Relented, Repent, Repented, Spoken, Therefrom, Turn, Weeping
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Jeremiah 4:28

     4284   sun
     4971   seasons, of life

Jeremiah 4:27-28

     4812   darkness, God's judgment

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: 1861

How 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

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