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HERE are a few key phrases in this chapter that are packed
with power and meaning. In each case the same basic thing is communicated. The
people of God were spiritually insensitive. Consider these word pictures: "break up your fallow ground" (Jeremiah
4:3), "take away the foreskins of
your heart'' (Jeremiah 4:4), "wash
your heart from wickedness" (Jeremiah 4:14), and all of verse 22. We
might say they were calloused, numb, deaf and blind. Truth bounced off them
like tennis balls off a brick wall. They were unconcerned and unaffected. Their spiritual nerve endings were dead.
Their conscience was seared (I Timothy 4:2). They needed a major operation.
They were in desperate need of an intervention. For them to be changed, God
would have to step in and change them. Somehow, they had to be convinced and
impressed, but their spiritual receptors were broken. One must perceive God's greatness before one
can perceive His love. Are WE convinced of His power and of His generosity
(Colossians 2:12)? How did this happen? We were also spiritual corpses before
our regeneration. What did God use on us to make us sensitive?
Well, based upon this chapter we must conclude that fear is
one of God's chief tools in tenderizing our hearts. Here in Jeremiah 4 there
are mostly just lots of negative threats and severe descriptions of how hard it
will be for the unrepentant in the day of their judgment. A step away from God
in humble trepidation and cowering respect can very well actually be a man's
first step toward God. The realization that we got ourselves into our sinful
mess and that our heart is morally warped (Jeremiah 4:18) can come on the heels
of a clear view of hellfire and brimstone. This then can lead to an openness
that can allow for the light of the glorious gospel to have its rejuvenating
effect on our souls.
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