Jeremiah 4:3 - Meaning and Application

The prophet now turns his message, in God’s name, to the people living in his own land. Earlier, he spoke toward the north (Jeremiah 3:12) for the comfort of those already in exile and humbled under God’s hand. Now he speaks to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, who were still enjoying prosperity, and he does so to warn them and wake them up. In these verses, he urges them to repent and change their ways, because that was the only way to avoid the terrible judgment ready to fall on them.

First, he tells them what they must do. They must deal with their hearts as they would deal with a field they hope to get a harvest from, they must break up the hard ground. “Break up your fallow ground” means, in effect, “Plough your unworked land” so that you do not sow among thorns (Jeremiah 4:3). In other words, get your hearts ready to receive God’s mercy, remove whatever keeps that mercy away, and then you may expect God to bless your efforts.

An unconvicted, unhumble heart is like fallow ground, land that has not been worked. It is still our own field, given to us to answer for, but it lies open, unfruitful, and overgrown with thorns and weeds, which grow naturally from a sinful heart. If grace does not renew it, then rain and sunshine are wasted on it (Hebrews 6:7-8). So we must let this hard ground be broken up. We do that by examining our own hearts, letting God’s word cut and separate what is mixed together like a plough does (Hebrews 4:12). We must also “rend your hearts” or tear them open in true sorrow for sin (Joel 2:13), and pull up by the roots the sins that choke our efforts and spoil our hopes, like thorns (Hosea 10:12).

Second, they must do for their souls what had once been done for their bodies when they entered God’s covenant, or solemn agreement, with him (Jeremiah 4:4). “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord” means, “Take away the foreskin of your heart.” In plain terms, kill the sins of the flesh and its desires. Remove that extra layer of wickedness that keeps you from receiving God’s word with a humble heart (James 1:21). Do not boast in the outward sign of circumcision, and do not rest in it, because the body’s sign is nothing without what it stands for. It was a sign of devotion to God, so let the inward reality match the outward profession. Give yourselves fully to the Lord, so that you truly belong to him as his special people. Circumcision also brought an obligation to keep the law, so take up that obligation again. It was a seal of the righteousness that comes by faith, so lay hold of that righteousness, and in that way circumcise yourselves to the Lord.

They are also warned of the danger they must try to avoid. They must repent and reform, or God’s fury will burst out like fire, and it is already ready to do so. His wrath is like the fire that came out from the Lord and consumed the sacrifices, and like the fire that was always kept burning on the altar and could not be put out. That is what God’s anger is like against stubborn sinners, because of their evil deeds. The one thing we should fear more than anything else is the wrath of God, because it is the source and bitter heart of all present trouble, and it will be the full measure of everlasting misery. It is our evil deeds that kindle that fire. So when we see how near we are to falling under that wrath, we should rouse ourselves to serve God with all care, and make sure we are cleansed and changed by his grace.