◄ Jeremiah 10:22 ►
Listen! The sound of a report is coming--a great commotion from the land to the north. The cities of Judah will be made a desolation, a haunt for jackals.
Study Bible
Listen!
This call to attention is a common prophetic device used to alert the audience to an important message from God. It emphasizes the urgency and significance of the forthcoming prophecy. Similar calls to listen are found throughout the prophetic books, such as in Isaiah 1:2 and Hosea 4:1, where God seeks to capture the attention of His people.

The sound of a report is coming—
The "report" refers to news or a message, often of impending judgment or disaster. In the context of Jeremiah, this report is likely concerning the Babylonian invasion. Prophets often received divine revelations about future events, which they then communicated to the people. This echoes the role of a watchman, as seen in Ezekiel 33:7, who warns of approaching danger.

a great commotion from the land to the north.
The "land to the north" is a reference to Babylon, which was the dominant power threatening Judah at the time. Historically, Babylonian armies would approach from the north due to the geographical layout of the region. This phrase is consistent with other prophecies in Jeremiah (e.g., Jeremiah 1:14) that predict the northern threat. The "great commotion" signifies the chaos and destruction that accompany military invasions.

It will make the cities of Judah a desolation,
This prophecy foretells the destruction and desolation that will befall Judah as a result of the Babylonian conquest. The term "desolation" is often used in the Old Testament to describe the aftermath of divine judgment, as seen in Isaiah 6:11 and Lamentations 1:4. The desolation serves as a consequence of the people's disobedience and idolatry, fulfilling the covenant curses outlined in Deuteronomy 28.

a haunt for jackals.
The imagery of jackals inhabiting the ruins underscores the extent of the devastation. Jackals are scavengers that thrive in desolate and abandoned places, symbolizing the complete abandonment and ruin of the cities. This imagery is also used in Isaiah 34:13 and Malachi 1:3 to depict desolation. The presence of jackals highlights the reversal of fortune for Judah, from a thriving community to a wasteland.

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 judgment.

2. Judah
The southern kingdom of Israel, consisting of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. It was the focus of Jeremiah's prophecies, particularly concerning its impending judgment due to idolatry and disobedience.

3. The Land of the North
Often interpreted as Babylon, which was the dominant power in the region and the instrument of God's judgment against Judah. The "north" signifies the direction from which invaders typically approached Jerusalem.

4. Desolation
The state of ruin and abandonment that would come upon Judah as a result of its unfaithfulness to God. This desolation is both physical and spiritual.

5. Jackals
Symbolic of desolation and ruin, as these animals inhabit deserted and desolate places. Their presence signifies the complete devastation of the land.
Teaching Points
The Certainty of God's Judgment
God's warnings through His prophets are not to be taken lightly. Just as Judah faced consequences for its actions, we must heed God's Word and live in obedience.

The Role of Prophets
Prophets like Jeremiah were tasked with delivering difficult messages. We should respect and listen to those who speak God's truth, even when it challenges us.

The Consequences of Idolatry
Judah's desolation was a direct result of its idolatry. We must examine our lives for anything that takes precedence over our relationship with God.

Hope Amidst Desolation
While the message is one of judgment, it also serves as a call to repentance. God's desire is for restoration, not destruction.

Spiritual Vigilance
Just as Judah was warned of the coming invasion, we must remain vigilant in our spiritual lives, aware of the "north" from which spiritual attacks may come.
Bible Study Questions
1. What does the "land of the north" symbolize in Jeremiah 10:22, and how does this relate to the historical context of Judah?

2. How can we apply the warning of desolation in Jeremiah 10:22 to our personal lives today?

3. In what ways does the imagery of jackals in desolate places serve as a warning for spiritual desolation in our own lives?

4. How do the themes of judgment and hope in Jeremiah 10:22 connect with the broader message of the book of Jeremiah?

5. Reflect on a time when you felt a "great commotion" in your life. How can Jeremiah's message guide you in seeking God's direction and peace?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Jeremiah 4:6
This verse also speaks of disaster coming from the north, reinforcing the theme of impending judgment.

Isaiah 13:22
Describes the desolation of Babylon, using similar imagery of wild animals inhabiting the ruins, which parallels the fate of Judah.

Ezekiel 33:27
Speaks of the land becoming a desolation and a haunt for wild animals, echoing the consequences of disobedience.

Lamentations 5:18
Reflects on the desolation of Zion, providing a lament for the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy.
Sermons
The Ruin Wrought by the Prayerless PastorS. Conway
People
Jacob, Jeremiah, Tarshish
Places
Tarshish, Uphaz, Zion
Topics
Behold, Bruit, Cities, Commotion, Den, Desolate, Desolation, Dragons, Dwelling, Dwelling-place, Habitation, Hark, Haunt, Jackals, Judah, Lair, Living-place, News, Noise, North, Report, Rumor, Rumour, Shaking, Tidings, Towns, Voice, Waste
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Jeremiah 10:21

     5810   complacency
     6183   ignorance, of God
     7130   flock, God's
     7786   shepherd, king and leader
     8126   guidance, need for
     8367   wisdom, importance of
     8616   prayerlessness
     8620   prayer, practicalities
     8636   asking
     8648   enquiring of God
     8749   false teachers
     8756   folly, examples

Library
May 16. "It is not in Man that Walketh to Direct his Steps" (Jer. x. 23).
"It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jer. x. 23). United to Jesus Christ as your Redeemer, you are accepted in the Beloved. He does not merely take my place as a man and settle my debts. He does that and more. He comes to give a perfect ideal of what a man should be. He is the model man, not for us to copy, for that would only bring discouragement and utter failure; but He will come and copy Himself in us. If Christ lives in me, I am another Christ. I am not like Him, but I have the …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Possessing and Possessed
'The portion of Jacob is not like them--for He is the former of all things: and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance. The Lord of Hosts is His name.'--JER. x. 16, R.V. Here we have set forth a reciprocal possession. We possess God, He possesses us. We are His inheritance, He is our portion. I am His; He is mine. This mutual ownership is the very living centre of all religion. Without it there is no relation of any depth between God and us. How much profounder such a conception is than the shallow …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

An Instructive Truth
"O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps."--Jeremiah 10:23. This declaration follows after Jeremiah's lamentation over the Lord's ancient people, who were about to be carried captive into Babylon. The prophet speaks of a fact that was well known to him. It is always well, brethren, to know the truth, and to know it so certainly that you are able to remember it just when you most need it. There are some people, who are very much like …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 50: 1904

Dwight -- the Sovereignty of God
Timothy Dwight was born at Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1752. He graduated from Yale in 1769, served as chaplain in the army during the Revolutionary War and was chosen president of his university in 1795. He died, after holding that office for twelve years, in 1817. Lyman Beecher, who attributed his conversion to him, says: "He was of noble form, with a noble head and body, and had one of the sweetest smiles that ever you saw. When I heard him preach on 'the harvest is passed, the summer is ended, …
Grenville Kleiser—The world's great sermons, Volume 3

Of the Exercises of a Religious Man
The life of a Christian ought to be adorned with all virtues, that he may be inwardly what he outwardly appeareth unto men. And verily it should be yet better within than without, for God is a discerner of our heart, Whom we must reverence with all our hearts wheresoever we are, and walk pure in His presence as do the angels. We ought daily to renew our vows, and to kindle our hearts to zeal, as if each day were the first day of our conversion, and to say, "Help me, O God, in my good resolutions, …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Of Hiding Our Grace under the Guard of Humility
"My Son, it is better and safer for thee to hide the grace of devotion, and not to lift thyself up on high, nor to speak much thereof, nor to value it greatly; but rather to despise thyself, and to fear as though this grace were given to one unworthy thereof. Nor must thou depend too much upon this feeling, for it can very quickly be turned into its opposite. Think when thou art in a state of grace how miserable and poor thou art wont to be without grace. Nor is there advance in spiritual life …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

A Wise Desire
I remember once going to a chapel where this happened to be the text, and the good man who occupied the pulpit was more than a little of an Arminian. Therefore, when he commenced, he said, "This passage refers entirely to our temporal inheritance. It has nothing whatever to do with our everlasting destiny: for," said he, "We do not want Christ to choose for us in the matter of heaven or hell. It is so plain and easy that every man who has a grain of common sense will choose heaven; and any person …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 1: 1855

"And Hereby we do Know that we Know Him, if we Keep his Commandments. "
1 John ii. 3.--"And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." This age pretends to much knowledge beyond former ages, knowledge, I say, not only in other natural arts and sciences, but especially in religion. Whether there be any great advancement in other knowledge, and improvement of that which was, to a further extent and clearness, I cannot judge, but I believe there is not much of it in this nation, nor do we so much pretend to it. But, we talk of the enlargements of …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

"Hear the Word of the Lord, Ye Rulers of Sodom, Give Ear unto the Law of Our God, Ye People of Gomorrah,"
Isaiah i. 10, 11, &c.--"Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom, give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah," &c. It is strange to think what mercy is mixed with the most wrath like strokes and threatenings. There is no prophet whose office and commission is only for judgment, nay, to speak the truth, it is mercy that premises threatenings. The entering of the law, both in the commands and curses, is to make sin abound, that grace may superabound, so that both rods and threatenings …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

How Christ is the Way in General, "I am the Way. "
We come now to speak more particularly to the words; and, first, Of his being a way. Our design being to point at the way of use-making of Christ in all our necessities, straits, and difficulties which are in our way to heaven; and particularly to point out the way how believers should make use of Christ in all their particular exigencies; and so live by faith in him, walk in him, grow up in him, advance and march forward toward glory in him. It will not be amiss to speak of this fulness of Christ …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Meditations for Household Piety.
1. If thou be called to the government of a family, thou must not hold it sufficient to serve God and live uprightly in thy own person, unless thou cause all under thy charge to do the same with thee. For the performance of this duty God was so well pleased with Abraham, that he would not hide from him his counsel: "For," saith God, "I know him that he will command his sons and his household after him that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

"For if Ye Live after the Flesh, Ye Shall Die; but if Ye through the Spirit do Mortify the Deeds of the Body, Ye Shall Live.
Rom. viii. s 13, 14.--"For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." The life and being of many things consists in union,--separate them, and they remain not the same, or they lose their virtue. It is much more thus in Christianity, the power and life of it consists in the union of these things that God hath conjoined, so that if any man pretend to …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Creation
Q-7: WHAT ARE THE DECREES OF GOD? A: The decrees of God are his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he has foreordained whatsoever shall come to pass. I have already spoken something concerning the decrees of God under the attribute of his immutability. God is unchangeable in his essence, and he-is unchangeable in his decrees; his counsel shall stand. He decrees the issue of all things, and carries them on to their accomplishment by his providence; I …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

God's Sovereignty and Prayer
"If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us" (1 John 5:14). Throughout this book it has been our chief aim to exalt the Creator and abase the creature. The well-nigh universal tendency now, is to magnify man and dishonour and degrade God. On every hand it will be found that, when spiritual things are under discussion, the human side and element is pressed and stressed, and the Divine side, if not altogether ignored, is relegated to the background. This holds true of very much of the …
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God

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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