The Sound of the Trumpet

19    My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain!
Oh the walls of my heart!
                        My heart is beating wildly;
I cannot keep silent,
                        for I hear the sound of the trumpet,
the alarm of war.
            20          Crash follows hard on crash;
the whole land is laid waste.
                        Suddenly my tents are laid waste,
my curtains in a moment.
            21          How long must I see the standard
and hear the sound of the trumpet?
Jeremiah 4:19-21
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The Sound of the Trumpet
Jeremiah does not speak as a detached observer. He groans. His heart writhes. The coming judgment against Judah is not theoretical; it is personal and devastating. The prophet feels the terror of invasion as though it were already at the gates. The trumpet of war sounds, announcing the Lord’s righteous judgment against persistent idolatry. This is what sin does. It is not harmless. It brings real ruin. When God’s people refuse His Word, destruction follows, not because the Lord delights in wrath, but because He is just. Yet Jeremiah’s anguish also foreshadows another cry, the cry of the Son of God. On the cross, Jesus bears the full weight of judgment that our sin deserves. The battle trumpet of condemnation fell on Him. He endured the invasion of death in our place. Now, instead of terror, we hear a different trumpet: the proclamation of forgiveness. In Christ crucified, judgment has been satisfied, and mercy is ours.