“I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.”
My Notes
What Does Jeremiah 18:17 Mean?
"I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity." God promises two devastating actions: scattering Judah like the east wind scatters everything in its path, and TURNING HIS BACK on them during their crisis. The east wind is the weapon of dispersal. The turned back is the gesture of abandonment. Both happen on 'the day of their calamity' — the worst possible moment for both.
The phrase "scatter them as with an east wind" (keruach qadim aphitzem — like an east wind I will scatter them) uses Israel's most destructive wind as the instrument: the east wind (qadim) was the hot, dry wind from the desert that withered crops, collapsed structures, and carried sand that buried everything. The scattering has the force and finality of a desert windstorm. The dispersal is violent, comprehensive, and irreversible.
The "shew them the back, and not the face" (oref ar'em velo phanim — the back of the neck I will show them, not the face) is the gesture of abandonment: in the ancient world, showing someone your face meant attention, favor, blessing. Showing your BACK meant rejection, abandonment, withdrawal. God will turn His back on Judah during their worst moment. The face that should look toward them in crisis looks AWAY.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Have you felt God's back instead of His face — and was it during your worst day?
- 2.What does the east wind (desert wind, violent, withering) teach about the nature of divine scattering?
- 3.How does 'back, not face' describe the experience of divine abandonment?
- 4.What does the timing — calamity day — teach about the relationship between sustained sin and crisis-moment abandonment?
Devotional
Scattered by the east wind. Shown God's BACK, not His face. On the worst day possible. God describes two forms of judgment that operate simultaneously: the people are dispersed (scattered) and the God they need is turned away (back, not face). The dispersal and the abandonment happen together.
The 'east wind' is the worst wind in Israel's climate: hot, dry, destructive. It comes from the desert carrying sand and heat. It withers vegetation, collapses tents, and buries settlements. Being scattered 'as with an east wind' means the dispersal is violent, comprehensive, and devastating. The people aren't gently relocated. They're BLOWN — scattered the way sand scatters before a desert storm.
The 'back, and not the face' is the most devastating gesture God can make: the face of God is blessing (Numbers 6:25 — 'the LORD make his face shine upon thee'). The back of God is abandonment. In the moment when Judah needs God's face most — the day of calamity, the day when everything is falling apart — God shows them His back. He turns away. The face that should shine toward them faces the opposite direction.
The timing — 'in the day of their calamity' — is the cruelest precision: the east wind and the turned back don't happen on a normal day. They happen on THE DAY — the worst day, the crisis day, the day when divine help is most desperately needed. The scattering and the abandonment arrive precisely when their absence would be most felt.
Have you felt God's back instead of His face — and was it during the day you needed His face most?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Give heed to me, O Lord,.... To his prayer, since his enemies would not give heed to his prophecies; and God does give…
I will shew them the back - The hiding of God’s face is the sure sign of His displeasure Isa 1:15; Isa 59:2.
These verses seem to be the application of the general truths laid down in the foregoing part of the chapter to the…
as with an east wind better, perhaps, as an east wind.
look upon … their face mg. shew them the back, and not the face,…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture