• Download Video
• Download Audio
• Print
• Email
• Save As PDF

"I will bring a nation against you from afar"

Text: Jeremiah 5:15

THE INVADERS DESCRIBED

God’s word of warning was not stated in nebulous language. The invaders were described with startling clarity.

“‘Behold, I will bring a nation against you from afar,
O house of Israel,’ says the LORD.
‘It is a mighty nation,
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose language you do not know,
Nor can you understand what they say.
Their quiver is like an open tomb;
They are all mighty men.
And they shall eat up your harvest and your bread,
Which your sons and daughters should eat.
They shall eat up your flocks and your herds;
They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;
They shall destroy your fortified cities,
In which you trust, with the sword.'”
Jeremiah 5:15-17

1. “‘Behold, I will bring a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,’ says the LORD.”

a) It is the LORD Himself who will bring the invading nation against them.

b) The word “Israel” would be a reference to Judah.

c) The Northern kingdom was destroyed by the Assyrians in 586 BC.

2. Description of the Invading Nation

a) A mighty nation.

b) An ancient nation.

c) A foreign nation whose language was not known to Israel.

3. The army of the Invading Nation

a) They were famed for archery.

b) Their soldiers were mighty.

c) The quiver is the container for the arrows.

i) Their arrows were deadly.

ii) Many had died.

iii) The quiver was compared to a huge open tomb that kept receiving the dead, killed in war.

4. The Invaders were plunderers

a) The harvest and bread would be consumed.

b) Flocks and herds would also be consumed.

c) Vines and fig trees would also be consumed by their voracious appetite.

5. They were bent on destruction

a) Even fortified cities would fall to the enemies.

b) They would destroy all fortified cities with the sword.

6. Israel’s trust

a) In their fortified cities.

b) In their swords (army).

c) They did not place their trust in God at all!

d) The only One who could have delivered them had been rejected.

e) There was now no hope of escaping defeat and destruction by the Babylonians.