"This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth'" --Jeremiah 25:32
More than once, God sent prophets to warn Israel that their rebellion would be costly. If they did not stop sinning, He would permit Israel to suffer. Jeremiah records a prophecy of just this kind, given to God’s people consistently by the prophet for more than 20 years as he was commanded and empowered by the Lord.
What does it mean that “a storm is rising” and where are “the ends of the Earth?”
Many Translations, One Result
The ESV translation of Jeremiah 25:32 says “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, disaster is going forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth!” A review of more than a dozen translations of Jeremiah 25:32 reveals various translations of the words and phrases “disaster”, “Lord of Hosts”, “mighty storm”, and “farthest parts of the earth”.
The New International Version reads: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth.” The King James Bible renders “disaster” as “evil”. The New Living Translation refers to “A great whirlwind.”
Readers of the NLT will also expect to see disaster “rising from the most distant corners of the earth”, which is rendered “up from the coasts of the earth” in the KJV. The Legacy Standard Bible calls these “the remotest parts of the earth.”
Meanwhile, “Lord of Hosts” is also translated as “the Lord of Heaven’s armies” in the NLT, “Jehovah of hosts” in the ASB, and “The Lord All-Powerful” in the CEV.
A closer look at the original Hebrew should help us get to grips with the nuances as expressed in Hebrew:
"Disaster" could also mean "bad or evil" based on its Hebrew word “ra'”.
“Tempest or storm” is the Hebrew word “ca'ar”.
When Jeremiah says “yerekah” he is talking about “extreme parts, recesses” which means every corner; the remotest locations one can imagine.
Finally, "Yahweh" means "The Lord," leads the “hosts” or “armies” (army, war, warfare).
The overall impression is that God Almighty is the omnipotent Captain of a supernatural army that will find evil in the darkest places, where it tries to hide, and will destroy it.
Evil--sin--cannot outrun God no matter how far away from Israel it tries to run. And his wrath will be more than the worst storm one can imagine.
Understanding God’s Fury
One writer emphasizes that “Jeremiah 25 stands as a potent reminder of the severe implications of turning away from God.” David Guzik explains “When the judgment comes, God’s voice will be heard like the roar from a mighty lion. Those who didn’t want to hear God before will be forced to hear Him then.” God’s anger is always just, and so is His holy discipline.
Why, in the context of Jeremiah 25, is the Lord so angry? Jeremiah 1:16 explains God’s complaint against Judah: “I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands.”
All sin is forsaking God, doing the opposite of what He commands, but among their specific sins is the worship of idols. The consequences of this sin are too great to fully comprehend or describe, but Matthew Poole envisions his judgment in Jeremiah 25:32 as “like a contagion, going from one nation to another, or like a fire catching hold of another house before the first is burned down”.
God’s wrath, then, is in proportion to human sinfulness” wrote Joseph Scheumann. Moreover, God’s wrath is for everyone. We have all failed to keep God’s commandments all of the time.
We are all sinners who “fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). God is angry about our sin too, to the same degree. Praise be to God, He poured out the great tempest of His wrath on our Savior instead of us.
Judah and Israel had known at this point in their history what was expected of them. The cycle had occurred many times: God rescued his people, they worshipped and gave thanks, then turned away from God; they were warned, did not heed the warnings, God punished them, and then rescued them again.
They had no excuse for turning from The Lord to worship “gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell” (Deuteronomy 4:28) again. Their uselessness is more stunning when contrasted with the dangerous power of Yahweh, the storm that destroys and transforms.
Is There Hope?
You might be feeling pretty hopeless right now, after reading such vivid descriptions of God’s wrath and being faced with humanity’s pattern of letting God down again and again. But, our God is so very gracious.
One theologian highlights the hopefulness found in the pages of Jeremiah: “God's desire is for repentance and the transformation of His people. His punishments, though harsh, are not aimed at destruction, but restoration and reconciliation. God's steadfast love is constant, even amidst His righteous anger.”
Moreover, “the people of Judah aren’t the only ones facing God’s judgment.” Although this sounds discouraging at first, stay with me. Judgment would extend to every part of the world, into nations that did not acknowledge Him as Lord.
The use of “yerekah” implies that sin tries to hide in the “recesses” of the world. We might even say that sin crawls into the shadows, hoping to be overlooked by God. But He brings light into the darkness, a light which exposes sin whether found in a distant land or is crouched low behind the shiny good works of a sinful heart.
If judgment is coming to all sinners, then the joy of salvation, forgiveness, and a restored relationship with God are also possible for all people, even those whom Judah and the Israelites would have known as Gentiles.
The Psalmist of Psalm 22, even after their famous lament, comes to a hopeful conclusion and echoes this truth: “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him” (Psalm 22:27).
Men and women living in those furthest reaches will be found, their sin rooted out, exposed, but also paid for by the One who came to pay for it all. The power of the Holy Spirit indwelling believers would do the sanctifying work of rooting out and digging up evil thoughts and inclinations, and cleansing hearts of their tendency to turn away from the Father.
For those running from God, Jeremiah 25:32 is a reminder that the Lord is faster and more powerful. He cannot be contained; He is Holy and cannot abide sin, so He pursues us in order to bring sin into the light. The lost can draw deep into the corners of the world, but God still finds them.
Sources:
https://biblehub.com/hebrew/7451.htm
https://biblehub.com/hebrew/5591.htm
https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3411.htm
https://biblehub.com/hebrew/yahweh_3068.htm
https://biblehub.com/chaptersummaries/jeremiah/25.htm
https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/jeremiah-25/
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/five-truths-about-the-wrath-of-god
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