Not for the first time, Jeremiah speaks of the coming invader as a lion
( Jeremiah 2:15). The enemy remains unidentified, but it is clearly a powerful and ominous enemy. The lion
has gone up
from his thicket
or lair. This is a deliberate and calculated move towards Judah. The lion is further described as a destroyer
of nations who will make your land a waste; your cities will be ruins without inhabitant.
Nothing and no one will be left standing in Judah when he is done. In Jeremiah 4:5 there was an urgent call for the people to flee to the fortified cities, but these traditional places of safety are also going to be destroyed and all those in them.1 The fact that the enemy is not identified increases the sense of impending doom. In Jeremiah 4:6 the Lord has already said that he is the one bringing this disaster from the north. The language used to describe the terrifying lion is vague enough to suggest the idea that it may be the Lord himself, the Divine Warrior, who is pictured as the destroying lion.2
7 A lion has gone up from his thicket, a destroyer of nations has set out; he has gone out from his place to make your land a waste; your cities will be ruins without inhabitant.