His People Are To Prepare For Action Because The Invasion Is Upon Them (Jeremiah 6:1-8).
As the enemy approached from the north the tribe of Benjamin (his own tribe), who were to the north of Jerusalem, had fled for refuge to Jerusalem, and to help to defend the city. But now they are commanded to leave Jerusalem because its case is hopeless, and continue their southward journey in order to bring the southern cities to a state of readiness. Benjamin were well known as doughty fighters, and their skills would be needed there. And all this was because Jerusalem was no longer a safe place to be. She had prided herself on being ‘the comely and delicate one' but now she was to be cut off without mercy.
As a result the call then goes out to prepare for war, because the approaching enemy are filled with an eagerness that brooks no delay. This eagerness is because it is YHWH Who has ordered them into action, as a result of the corruption and waywardness of His people. But there is a touch of mercy here also, as He calls His people to learn and repent, lest this desolation come upon them. It is apparent that if only they will receive His instruction they may yet be saved.
“Flee for safety, you children of Benjamin,
Out of the midst of Jerusalem,
And blow the ram's horn in Tekoa,
And raise up a signal on Beth-haccherem,
For evil looks down from the north,
And a great destruction.”
The children of Benjamin, having come southwards seeking refuge in Jerusalem are now advised to move on for safety's sake. Jerusalem is no longer a safe place to be. But it will not be an act of cowardice, for the point is made that it will be their duty to warn and help the southern cities to prepare for what is coming. The Benjaminites were renowned fighters.
Thus in Teqo‘a, (a city sixteen or so kilometres (ten miles) south of Jerusalem) they are to tiqe‘u the ram's horn. Note the wordplay. The name is simply chosen for its assonance, not because Tekoa was of special importance. And in Beth-haccherem (the house of the vineyard) they are to set up the war signal, indicating that war has come to YHWH's vineyard. The fact that evil ‘looks down' from the north may indicate that the enemy have taken over a high point overlooking the doomed city, so that its ‘great destruction' is about to take place.
Some relate the mention of Benjamin to the fact that Jeremiah was a Benjaminite, with the thought being that he would feel more at home addressing his own tribe who would be more to receive his words in a friendly spirit, but the mention of safety makes our first suggestion more likely.
“The comely and delicate one, the daughter of Zion, will I cut off,
Shepherds with their flocks will come to her,
They will pitch their tents against her round about,
They will feed every one in his place.”
‘The comely and delicate one.' YHWH is possibly here citing Jerusalem's verdict on itself as ‘the comely and delicate one, the daughter of Zion' (note the contrast with Jeremiah 4:31 where she is the destitute mother with child). This may well have been their view of themselves in terms of the Song of Solomon (Jeremiah 1:5; Jeremiah 1:8-10; Jeremiah 1:15-16; Jeremiah 2:14; Jeremiah 6:4; Jeremiah 7:1-6). Note especially Jeremiah 6:4, ‘comely as Jerusalem'. The idea then is that her view of herself will not save her, for she is to be cut off (compare Isaiah 1:8; Lamentations 1:6) to such an extent that she will become a pasturage for sheep. Her lovers have evidently turned against her. (She will, however, one day be restored (Isaiah 52:2), but that is not in mind here). In Deuteronomy 28:56 the woman suffering under siege was also described as ‘tender and delicate', and this may be in mind here, linking the coming destruction with the curses in Deuteronomy.
Others, however, see this instead as YHWH's benevolent view of Jerusalem, which would tie in with the description of Judah/Israel as His ‘beloved' in Jeremiah 11:15; Jeremiah 12:7, and the thought that she was once His lover (Jeremiah 2:1-3). But unless it is meant at least partially sarcastically (compare how her being called YHWH's ‘beloved' in Jeremiah 11:15 is also probably partially sarcastic), it is incompatible with the descriptions that have already been given of her and also with the judgment immediately described. Jerusalem has in fact been revealed as far from tender and delicate.
“Shepherds with their flocks will come to her; they will pitch their tents against her round about; they will feed every one in his place.” This may be seen as a follow up of the ‘great destruction' in Jeremiah 6:1, being seen as a picture of what would follow her ‘great destruction'. She would become so desolated that she would no longer be inhabited, shepherds would feed their flocks there, and pitch their tents around her, and each would feed his flock in his chosen place (compare Jeremiah 33:12-13). This would provide a vivid contrast with Jeremiah 6:2. “Having been ‘cut off' ‘the comely and delicate one' will become a ruined waste”.
Alternately it may be seeing the commanders of the invading army as shepherds over their sheep, pitching their war tents around Jerusalem expecting to partake of her spoils. But while elsewhere invaders are sometimes likened to shepherds, they are nowhere spoken of in terms of sheep (see Jeremiah 12:10; Isaiah 31:4; Isaiah 44:28; Micah 5:5; Nahum 3:18). Invaders are more thought of in terms of lions. This fact in itself would appear to support the first suggestion.
“Prepare you war against her,
Arise, and let us go up at noon.
Woe to us! for the day declines,
For the shadows of the evening are stretched out.
Arise, and let us go up by night,
And let us destroy her palaces.”
In rather slick phrases Jeremiah conveys the idea of the invaders being ready to act by both day and night. It is made clear that nothing will be allowed to hold them back or delay them. They attack during the heat of the day, and then again at nightfall, even though a night raid of such a type during a siege would normally be unlikely, for they see the declining of the day as tragic because it might hinder their activity. They are so determined that nothing can be allowed to stop them that even the approach of night does not matter. No delay can be countenanced.
The word for ‘prepare' means ‘sanctify, make holy'. War was looked on very much as a religious venture. The omens would be consulted (Ezekiel 21:21), the gods would be called on (Isaiah 36:10), the priests would pray over the army, the guidance of astrologers would be sought to see if the portents were good. It is intended to be ironic that it was the enemies of Jerusalem, and not ‘God's people', who ‘made themselves holy', and who were so eager to obey their gods.
‘For thus has YHWH of hosts said,
“Hew you down trees,
And cast up a mound against Jerusalem,
This is the city to be visited,
She is wholly oppression in the midst of her.”
And the reason for their haste is that they are acting under YHWH's orders. It is YHWH Who has told them to hew down the trees and cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem, seeking to bring the attackers on a level with the defenders, because this is the city that He desires to visit in judgment, and that because she is so full of oppression. Note that the whole city is in fact seen by Him as filled with oppression. The judgment is not arbitrary. She is being ‘visited' by design. The detailed description of the siege tallies with what is depicted in inscriptions
“As a cistern (pit) casts forth its waters,
So does she cast forth her wickedness,
Violence and destruction is heard in her,
Before me continually is sickness and wounds.”
Indeed just as a cistern (compare Genesis 37:24; Leviticus 13:36) pours forth its somewhat soiled water (the rare verb indicates water obtained by digging - 2 Kings 19:24), so does Jerusalem pour forth iniquity, in terms of wickedness, violence and destruction. Evil has so taken over the city that as YHWH surveys it, all He can see continually is sickness and wounds. The city as a whole is like a sick and wounded man. Compare for this idea Isaiah 1:5-6.
“Be you instructed, O Jerusalem,
Lest my soul be alienated from you,
Lest I make you a desolation,
A land not inhabited.”
But even in spite of Judah's continued wickedness God would not give them up unless there was no alternative. So He calls on them to let Him instruct them and teach them so that they might return to Him and seek His face. He does not want to be permanently alienated from them. And one reason for this (apart from His great love and compassion) is that if that alienation takes place then they will become a desolation and their land will become uninhabited. So once again at the end of a message of judgment we find a message of hope, an appeal to Judah to respond, something which could solve all their problems, with the alternative being total desolation.