Behold, he advances like the clouds, his chariots like the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined! Behold, he advances like the cloudsThis phrase evokes the imagery of an impending and overwhelming force, often associated with divine judgment or significant events in biblical literature. Clouds in the Bible frequently symbolize God's presence and power, as seen in Exodus 13:21, where God leads the Israelites by a pillar of cloud. The advancing clouds here suggest an unstoppable approach, emphasizing the inevitability of the coming judgment. This imagery can also be linked to the prophetic visions of Daniel 7:13, where the Son of Man comes with the clouds of heaven, indicating divine authority and intervention. his chariots like the whirlwind
Chariots in ancient times were symbols of military might and speed. The comparison to a whirlwind suggests not only speed but also destructive power, as whirlwinds can cause chaos and devastation. This imagery is consistent with the descriptions of divine judgment found in other prophetic books, such as Nahum 1:3, where the Lord's way is in the whirlwind and the storm. The whirlwind also signifies the swift and comprehensive nature of the judgment that is to come, leaving no place untouched. His horses are swifter than eagles
Horses were a key component of ancient warfare, representing strength and mobility. The comparison to eagles, known for their speed and keen sight, underscores the rapid and unavoidable nature of the approaching threat. In biblical symbolism, eagles often represent swiftness and the ability to execute God's will, as seen in Isaiah 40:31, where those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength and soar on wings like eagles. This phrase highlights the futility of escape from the impending judgment. Woe to us, for we are ruined!
"Woe" is a term frequently used by prophets to express lamentation and impending doom. It signifies a deep sense of despair and acknowledgment of inevitable destruction. The phrase "we are ruined" reflects the realization of the people of Judah that their sins have led to their downfall, as prophesied by Jeremiah. This echoes the themes of repentance and judgment found throughout the book of Jeremiah, where the prophet calls the people to return to God to avoid such ruin. The lamentation here is a call to recognize the seriousness of their situation and the need for divine intervention, reminiscent of the cries for deliverance found in the Psalms, such as Psalm 79:8-9. Persons / Places / Events 1. JeremiahA 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. JudahThe southern kingdom of Israel, which was facing imminent judgment due to its persistent idolatry and disobedience to God. 3. Babylonian InvasionThe impending threat that Jeremiah warns about, symbolized by the advancing chariots and horses. This invasion would eventually lead to the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of its people. Teaching Points The Certainty of God's JudgmentGod's warnings through His prophets are not to be taken lightly. Just as the clouds and whirlwind are unstoppable forces of nature, so is the certainty of God's judgment against sin. The Swiftness of Divine RetributionThe imagery of horses swifter than eagles serves as a reminder that God's judgment can come swiftly and unexpectedly. We must live in a state of readiness and repentance. The Call to RepentanceJeremiah's message is ultimately a call to repentance. The acknowledgment of "Woe to us, for we are ruined!" should lead to a heartfelt turning back to God. The Sovereignty of God in World EventsThe Babylonian invasion was not just a political event but a fulfillment of God's sovereign plan. We must recognize God's hand in the affairs of nations and history. Hope Amidst JudgmentWhile the message is one of impending doom, the broader context of Jeremiah includes promises of restoration and hope for those who turn back to God. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the imagery of clouds, whirlwind, and swift horses in Jeremiah 4:13 enhance our understanding of God's judgment? 2. In what ways can we see the fulfillment of Jeremiah's warnings in the historical context of Judah and the Babylonian invasion? 3. How do the themes of judgment and repentance in Jeremiah 4:13 relate to the New Testament teachings on repentance and salvation? 4. What are some modern-day "chariots" or "whirlwinds" that might symbolize God's judgment or call to repentance in our lives today? 5. How can we find hope and assurance in God's promises, even when facing the consequences of our actions, as seen in the broader context of Jeremiah's prophecies? Connections to Other Scriptures Isaiah 5:26-30This passage also uses imagery of swift and powerful invaders as instruments of God's judgment, emphasizing the seriousness of divine retribution for sin. Nahum 1:3Highlights God's power and control over nature, including the whirlwind, which is used as a metaphor for His judgment. Revelation 6:2-8The imagery of horses and riders is echoed in the apocalyptic visions of Revelation, symbolizing conquest, war, and divine judgment. People Dan, JeremiahPlaces Dan, Jerusalem, Mount Ephraim, ZionTopics Behold, Chariots, Clouds, Destroyed, Destruction, Eagles, Goes, Horses, Hurricane, Laid, Lighter, Ours, Quicker, Ruined, Sorrow, Spoiled, Storm-wind, Swifter, Undone, War-carriages, Waste, Whirlwind, Wo, WoeDictionary of Bible Themes Jeremiah 4:13 4657 horse
4805 clouds
4858 whirlwind
5252 chariots Jeremiah 4:13-18 9250 woe 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 4:13 NIVJeremiah 4:13 NLTJeremiah 4:13 ESVJeremiah 4:13 NASBJeremiah 4:13 KJV
Jeremiah 4:13 Commentaries
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