Why does he ask how long he must see the standard and hear the sound of the trumpet?

The cry of How long? is used often in Scripture to express anguish and despair in the face of disaster and suffering (see also Psalm 13:1–2; Psalm 79:5; Isaiah 6:11; Habakkuk 1:2). We may picture Jeremiah, hands to his ears, with the noise of battle on both sides, crying out in distress as to how long this will continue.¹ As real and intense as the despair is, however, this is a cry that expresses faith which understands that judgment will not be the Lord’s final act towards his people.