Jeremiah 4:5

"Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry aloud and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities. Set up a standard toward Zion: flee for safety, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations; he is on his way, he has gone forth from his place, to make the land desolate, that thy cities be laid waste, without inhabitant. For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of Jehovah is not turned back from us. And it shall come to pass at that day, saith Jehovah, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder."

These verses are a prophecy of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of Judah. That terrible judgment against Judah, like many other judgments of God throughout history against cities and/or nations whose wickedness had reached a point of no return, is also typical of the ultimate overthrow of Adam's rebellious race in the Final Judgment. This is indicated by the words "at that day" in Jeremiah 4:9.

"Blow ye the trumpet in the land ..." (Jeremiah 4:5). This was an all-out war alarm, a signal for Judah and Jerusalem to brace themselves for the conflict.

"Set up a standard toward Zion ..." (Jeremiah 4:6). This meant that road signs should be set up pointing the way to the nearest fortified cities to which the people might flee for safety. It should not be thought, however, that any true safety was available. Of course, there was yet time, IF, only IF Judah repented and turned to the Lord, "There would then have been hope, that protected by their fortified cities, they might have waited till the tide of war had passed; but as long as their sins remained unrepented of, their punishment would continue."[8]

"I will bring evil from the north, and a great devastation ..." (Jeremiah 4:6). Quite a few of the scholars whose writings on this chapter we have consulted still believe they find the Scythians indicated here; but, as in our introduction, we cannot agree with that interpretation.

Taking all into consideration, we see that referring this prophecy to the Scythians is founded neither on exegetical results, nor upon historical evidence; but such a reference relies solely upon rationalistic prejudice that the prophecies of the Biblical prophets are nothing more than either disguised descriptions of historical events, or threatenings based upon forthcoming events that astute political observations could predict.[9]

That the prophecy here refers to the Babylonians is a certainty, as proved by the next verse.

"A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations ..." (Jeremiah 4:7). This lion was no ordinary beast, but a destroyer of nations. While true enough that a lion "could represent either Assyria or Babylon," after the fall of Nineveh (612 B.C.) the metaphor could have applied only to Babylon.

Jamieson identified the lion as, "Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans ... his `thicket' was Babylon."[10] Of course, the emphasis in Babylon upon the lion as their symbol is proved by the lion's den into which Daniel was cast, and also, as Harrison noted: "Archaeological discoveries have uncovered beautiful representations of lions in enamel from the Processional Street of ancient Babylon."[11]

"Gird you with sackcloth, lament and wail ..." (Jeremiah 4:8). There is nothing left for Judah except to weep and wail as the penalty of their sins is ruthlessly executed upon them by the savage lion of the Babylonians. Also note that the expression "at that day" also points forward to that day when "the weeping and the gnashing of teeth" shall mark the final punishment of our rebellious race of the sons of Adam.

This thought is developed more fully a little later in the chapter. "Jehovah's judgment of his people here is similar to that of Isaiah 24, where the judgment of the enemies of Israel is interwoven with the judgment upon the earth."[12]