◄ Jeremiah 4:14 ►
Wash the evil from your heart, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts within you?
Study Bible
O Jerusalem
The address to "Jerusalem" is significant, as it represents not just the city itself but the heart of the nation of Judah. Jerusalem was the center of religious, political, and cultural life for the Israelites. Historically, it was the site of the Temple, the dwelling place of God's presence among His people. The call to Jerusalem is a call to the entire nation to heed the warning and return to God. The use of "O" conveys a sense of urgency and deep emotion, reflecting God's earnest desire for His people to repent.

wash the evil from your heart
The imagery of "washing" is deeply rooted in the Hebrew tradition of purification. In the Hebrew context, the heart is the center of thought, emotion, and will. The call to "wash" suggests a need for thorough cleansing, not just of outward actions but of inner motives and desires. This reflects the biblical theme that true repentance involves a transformation of the heart, aligning with passages like Psalm 51:10, "Create in me a clean heart, O God." The emphasis is on personal responsibility to remove sin and seek purity.

so that you may be saved
The phrase "so that you may be saved" underscores the conditional nature of salvation in this context. Salvation here is not merely physical deliverance from impending judgment but also spiritual restoration and reconciliation with God. The Hebrew concept of salvation encompasses wholeness, peace, and well-being. This reflects the covenant relationship between God and His people, where obedience and repentance lead to divine favor and protection.

How long will you harbor wicked thoughts within you?
The rhetorical question "How long" indicates God's patience and long-suffering with His people, yet it also serves as a warning that His patience is not infinite. The word "harbor" suggests an active choice to entertain or dwell on "wicked thoughts," highlighting the internal nature of sin. This phrase calls attention to the importance of the mind and thoughts in the spiritual life, echoing the biblical principle that sin begins in the heart and mind before manifesting in actions. The call is for introspection and a turning away from evil intentions, aligning with the New Testament teaching in 2 Corinthians 10:5 to "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

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 his deep emotional connection to his people and his unwavering commitment to God's truth.

2. Jerusalem
The capital city of Judah, representing the heart of the nation both politically and spiritually. It is often used symbolically in the Bible to represent the people of God.

3. Judah
The southern kingdom of Israel, which was facing impending judgment due to its persistent sin and rebellion against God.

4. Wicked Thoughts
The internal sinful inclinations and intentions that lead to outward disobedience and rebellion against God.

5. Salvation
In this context, it refers to deliverance from impending judgment and destruction due to sin.
Teaching Points
The Call to Repentance
God desires genuine repentance, which involves a transformation of the heart. This is not merely about external actions but a deep, internal cleansing.

The Danger of Harboring Sin
Holding onto wicked thoughts and intentions can lead to spiritual destruction. We must be vigilant in examining our hearts and minds.

The Role of the Heart in Sin
Sin often begins in the heart with our thoughts and desires. We must guard our hearts diligently, as they are the wellspring of life.

The Urgency of Salvation
The call to wash the evil from our hearts is urgent. Delaying repentance can lead to missed opportunities for salvation and deliverance.

God's Desire for Holiness
God calls His people to holiness, which involves both turning away from sin and turning towards Him in obedience and love.
Bible Study Questions
1. What does it mean to "wash the evil from your heart," and how can we apply this in our daily lives?

2. How can we identify and address the "wicked thoughts" that we may harbor within us?

3. In what ways does the message of Jeremiah 4:14 challenge our understanding of repentance and salvation?

4. How do the connections to other scriptures, such as Psalm 51 and James 4:8, deepen our understanding of this verse?

5. What practical steps can we take to ensure that our hearts are aligned with God's desire for holiness and purity?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 51
David's plea for a clean heart and renewal of spirit connects with the call for Jerusalem to wash the evil from their hearts.

Isaiah 1:16-18
Isaiah's call for the people to wash themselves and make themselves clean parallels Jeremiah's message of repentance and cleansing.

Matthew 15:19
Jesus' teaching on the origin of evil thoughts from the heart aligns with Jeremiah's focus on internal wickedness.

James 4:8
The call to purify hearts and cleanse hands echoes the need for internal and external repentance.
Sermons
Bad LodgersJeremiah 4:14
Bad Lodgers, and How to Treat ThemJeremiah 4:14
Fain ThoughtsS. Conway Jeremiah 4:14
Purity Necessary to SalvationSketches of Four Hundred SermonsJeremiah 4:14
The Heart to be Kept PureJohn Foster.Jeremiah 4:14
The Loving Charge of the Great Searcher of HeartsS. Conway Jeremiah 4:14
The Place of Thought in the Making of CharacterAmerican National PreacherJeremiah 4:14
The Unwashed Heart and the Vain Purposes Cherished in itD. Young Jeremiah 4:14
The Vanity of Man as a ThinkerHomilistJeremiah 4:14
Vain ThoughtsJeremiah 4:14
Vain ThoughtsJ. Jowett, M. A.Jeremiah 4:14
Vain ThoughtsW. Richardson.Jeremiah 4:14
Vain ThoughtsBp. E. Hopkins.Jeremiah 4:14
Vain ThoughtsJ. Waite Jeremiah 4:14
The Proclamation of WoeS. Conway Jeremiah 4:5-31
People
Dan, Jeremiah
Places
Dan, Jerusalem, Mount Ephraim, Zion
Topics
Baleful, Clean, Evil, Harbor, Heart, Jerusalem, Lodge, Mayest, O, Purposes, Resting-place, Salvation, Saved, Strength, Thoughts, Till, Vain, Wash, Wicked, Wickedness, Within
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Jeremiah 4:14

     5016   heart, fallen and redeemed
     7241   Jerusalem, significance
     7342   cleanliness
     7478   washing
     8735   evil, origins of

Jeremiah 4:13-18

     9250   woe

Jeremiah 4:14-18

     5606   warfare, nature of

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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