"For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good." For My people are fools;This phrase highlights God's lament over the spiritual state of His people, Israel. The term "fools" in biblical context often refers to moral and spiritual deficiency rather than intellectual incapacity. In the wisdom literature, such as Proverbs, a fool is someone who rejects God's wisdom and guidance. This reflects Israel's repeated disobedience and idolatry, despite being chosen as God's covenant people. The use of "My people" underscores the personal relationship God desires with Israel, making their foolishness more grievous. they have not known Me.
Knowing God in the biblical sense involves an intimate relationship characterized by obedience and love. This phrase indicates a failure to recognize and honor God as their sovereign Lord. Historically, Israel's knowledge of God was meant to be experiential and covenantal, as seen in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, where they are commanded to love God with all their heart. Their lack of knowledge is not due to ignorance but a willful rejection of God's revelation and commandments. They are foolish children,
The imagery of "children" suggests immaturity and dependency, yet here it is used to emphasize their lack of wisdom and discernment. In the cultural context of ancient Israel, children were expected to learn from their parents, just as Israel was to learn from God. This phrase echoes the prophetic tradition where Israel is often depicted as a wayward child (Hosea 11:1-4), highlighting their failure to live up to their identity as God's children. without understanding.
Understanding in the biblical sense involves insight and discernment that comes from God. This phrase suggests a spiritual blindness and inability to perceive God's truth and will. The prophets frequently criticized Israel for their lack of understanding, which led to their downfall (Isaiah 6:9-10). This lack of understanding is not merely intellectual but moral and spiritual, affecting their ability to live righteously. They are skilled in doing evil,
This phrase contrasts their lack of understanding with their proficiency in sin. The word "skilled" implies deliberate practice and expertise, indicating that Israel has become adept at pursuing wickedness. This reflects the human tendency to become entrenched in sin when separated from God's guidance. The prophets often condemned Israel for their social injustices and idolatry, which were manifestations of their evil practices (Amos 5:21-24). but they know not how to do good.
The inability to do good highlights a moral and spiritual deficiency. In biblical terms, doing good is associated with justice, mercy, and walking humbly with God (Micah 6:8). This phrase underscores the tragic irony that while Israel is skilled in evil, they are ignorant of righteousness. It serves as a call to repentance and a return to God's ways, which is a central theme in the prophetic messages. 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 his deep emotional connection to his people and his unwavering commitment to God's truth. 2. JudahThe southern kingdom of Israel, which was facing imminent judgment due to its persistent idolatry and rebellion against God. Jeremiah's prophecies were directed primarily at this kingdom. 3. GodThe sovereign Lord who speaks through Jeremiah, expressing His disappointment and anger at the spiritual state of His people. He desires repentance and a return to righteousness. 4. Foolish ChildrenA metaphor for the people of Judah, highlighting their lack of spiritual discernment and wisdom. Despite being God's chosen people, they have turned away from His teachings. 5. Evil and GoodThe contrasting behaviors that God highlights through Jeremiah. The people are adept at committing evil acts but lack the knowledge and will to do good. Teaching Points The Danger of Spiritual IgnoranceSpiritual ignorance leads to moral decay and separation from God. We must seek to know God deeply through His Word and prayer. The Consequences of FoolishnessFoolishness, as described in the Bible, is not merely a lack of intelligence but a willful rejection of God's wisdom. We must strive to be wise in God's eyes, not just in worldly matters. The Skill of Doing GoodJust as the people of Judah were skilled in doing evil, we are called to cultivate the skill of doing good. This requires intentional practice and reliance on the Holy Spirit. Repentance and Return to GodGod desires His people to turn from their foolish ways and return to Him. Repentance is a daily practice that keeps our hearts aligned with God's will. Bible Study Questions 1. What are some modern examples of spiritual ignorance, and how can we guard against them in our own lives? 2. How does the description of "foolish children" in Jeremiah 4:22 challenge our understanding of spiritual maturity? 3. In what ways can we become more "skilled in doing good" in our daily lives, and what practical steps can we take to achieve this? 4. How do the themes of Jeremiah 4:22 relate to the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament about knowing God and doing His will? 5. Reflect on a time when you experienced the consequences of foolishness. How did that experience shape your understanding of God's wisdom and guidance? Connections to Other Scriptures Proverbs 1:7This verse emphasizes the importance of the fear of the Lord as the beginning of knowledge, contrasting with the foolishness of those who reject wisdom and instruction, similar to the people of Judah in Jeremiah 4:22. Hosea 4:6This passage speaks of God's people being destroyed for lack of knowledge, paralleling the ignorance and foolishness described in Jeremiah 4:22. Romans 1:21-22Paul describes how people, although knowing God, did not honor Him and became futile in their thinking, echoing the foolishness and lack of understanding in Jeremiah 4:22. People Dan, JeremiahPlaces Dan, Jerusalem, Mount Ephraim, ZionTopics Evil, Evil-doing, Evil-minded, Foolish, Intelligence, Intelligent, None, Sense, Senseless, Shrewd, Skilled, Sons, Sottish, Stupid, Understanding, Wise, YeaDictionary of Bible Themes Jeremiah 4:22 1403 God, revelation
5135 blindness, spiritual
5531 skill
6183 ignorance, of God
7115 children of God
8136 knowing God, effects
8355 understanding
8367 wisdom, importance of
8442 good works
8702 agnosticism
8756 folly, examples
8760 fools, characteristics 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 4:22 NIVJeremiah 4:22 NLTJeremiah 4:22 ESVJeremiah 4:22 NASBJeremiah 4:22 KJV
Jeremiah 4:22 Commentaries
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