The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the guard: 2 “Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: 3 Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. 4 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah that were torn down to make a defense against the siege mounds and against the sword: 5 They are coming in to fight against the Chaldeans and to fill them with the dead bodies of men whom I shall strike down in my anger and my wrath, for I have hidden my face from this city because of all their evil. 6 Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security. 7 I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first. 8 I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. 9 And this city shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.
10 “Thus says the Lord: In this place of which you say, ‘It is a waste without man or beast,’ in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man or inhabitant or beast, there shall be heard again 11 the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord:
“‘Give thanks to the Lord of hosts,
for the Lord is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!’
For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the Lord.
12 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: In this place that is waste, without man or beast, and in all of its cities, there shall again be habitations of shepherds resting their flocks. 13 In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, flocks shall again pass under the hands of the one who counts them, says the Lord.
The Lord's Eternal Covenant with David
14 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
17 “For thus says the Lord: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, 18 and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices forever.”
19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 20 “Thus says the Lord: If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night will not come at their appointed time, 21 then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with the Levitical priests my ministers. 22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of David my servant, and the Levitical priests who minister to me.”
23 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 24 “Have you not observed that these people are saying, ‘The Lord has rejected the two clans that he chose’? Thus they have despised my people so that they are no longer a nation in their sight. 25 Thus says the Lord: If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed order of heaven and earth, 26 then I will reject the offspring of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his offspring to rule over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.” Jeremiah 33 ESV
Jeremiah 33 Lord Promises Peace
1-13. While he was still shut up - This is still during the siege of the last chapter.
Formed it to establish it - The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. It was formed in such a matter that it works, supports life, seasons, night and day. He created it seasoned with the proper age, balance of water and minerals, like when I set up a tank, I need certain nitrifying bacteria in there to consider it aged, to the ammonia in check, to support the life I want to place in the water. I need aeration, and if there are plants I need substrate, proper lighting, temperature and nutrients.
Call to Me and I will answer you - The God who established the heavens and the earth, who understands the most intricate and detailed of processes, that same Being is inviting you to ask of Him.
Great and hidden things - Men have their limits in understanding. I have looked back on historical claims which some may still believe even today, a fish that was long extinct, some "millions" of years ago, documented as such from the fossil record, but then they found one swimming around in recent times. Men applaud themselves on things they don't even know for certain, but they hit a wall at eternity, and they still have much to learn about their own back yard. So much lies outside our grasp, and many are afraid or too arrogant to acknowledge that.
“The mtbesurot (rsvhidden things) usually means ‘that which is inaccessible’, and here that which is beyond the normal reach of human knowledge.” (Harrison)
iii. “The things to be revealed are ‘unsearchable’ (basur, literally, ‘inaccessible’) because they are beyond the grasp of human knowledge. The principle adjective basur is used of the strongly fortified cities of Canaan in Deuteronomy 1:28 (‘walled up’); here it refers to matters so far beyond human insight that they require divine revelation.” (Feinberg)
…4Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.… James 1: 4-6
…8Your servant is here among the people You have chosen, a people too numerous to count or number. 9Therefore give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?” 1 Kings 3: 8-9
Fill them with the dead bodies - They tore apart buildings to add to their defense structure, increase the walls against the siege mound, and to make more weapons, but it will be to no avail. All the men they brought in to fight against the Babylonians will be fighting against God's decree. He has revealed to them through His prophet, Jeremiah, that this will not go their way. They have refused God's counsel.
…13About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied.… Acts 26: 13-15
I will cleanse them - God does not act against justice, for that would be sin, and He is holy. For Him to show mercy is such a way as to restore Israel, to bless them, then He must pay the ultimate price for them. They will be justified by Him and sanctified through Him.
They shall fear and tremble - Quite a turn around, for now Israel has much reason to fear with Babylon at their gate, but during the Millennial kingdom, those who despised them will be overcome with fear at the revelation of God and seeing His good intent towards Jacob.
14-26. I will cause a Righteous Branch to spring up for David - Christ comes first to pay the cost for showing Israel and all who believe, mercy. This is the seed promised in Genesis, first in the garden, then to Abraham, that in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
The Lord is our Righteousness - That He is, we often recount the debt He paid, as we are to preach Christ crucified until His return, for His life atoned for ours, but look at the life.
“Salvation and safety are in store for Judah and Jerusalem because of the presence of justice and righteousness personified. The name given the Messiah in Jeremiah 23:6 is here given to Jerusalem. She can have the same name as the Messiah because she reflects that righteousness the Messiah bestows on her.” (Feinberg)
ii. “There is, however, no need to allegorize the name of the city as though it were the NT church. On what grounds could the impartation of such a concept be justified here? Jerusalem will be called by his name because she will partake of his nature, which has been graciously imparted to her.” (Feinberg)
To sit on the throne - The Davidic line continues in Christ, and there will be a new temple, a new throne, and Messiah will rule the nations from Jerusalem.
Levitical priest shall never lack a man - Jesus fulfills the office of King from the line of David, the root of Jesse. His earthly father was registered in this through Solomon's line which was cursed, but He shared no blood with His earthly father Joseph, yet with His mother Mary, who was related to David by another son. He fulfilled the office of prophet, as He only said what the Father would, and He only did what He saw the Father doing. No one spoke with such authority. He also fulfilled the role of priest in bringing forth the necessary sacrifice of Himself, and as our advocate before the Father. He satisfied the debt of the elect and the veil was torn in two. He is our entry to the Father.
…16one who has become a priest not by a law of succession, but by the power of an indestructible life. 17For it is testified: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” 18So the former commandment is set aside because it was weak and useless… Hebrews 7: 16-18
…4because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me. 6In burnt offerings and sin offerings You took no delight.… Hebrews 10: 4-6
1My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 3By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments.… 1 John 2: 1-3
If you can break My covenant with the day - Men cannot do this, and they certainly can't save themselves, but this is the certainty of God's promise, in as much as I suspect the sun to rise tomorrow, so much so that I take it for granite, I shall see the coming of the Lord, the covenant with David fulfilled, all the shadows fade away, disappearing in the fullness of the Son.
They are no longer a nation in their site - Listen to this, I have heard this cry before and even now, the hate of Israel. Now some of these back then thought she was cast off forever, lost in the sands of time, but yet I know of a place that bears her name now. Throughout history men have erred about God's intention towards her, replacement theologians, many in the vein of anti-Christ also. Antiochus Epiphanes, Adolph Hitler, many of the Arab leaders, and some popes have all hated her and tried to justify such. Atheists find their own reasons, much like the Hellenistic king, Antiochus, who I will discuss in more detail later, but it has again found popularity in our day to be anti-Semitic.
For I will restore their fortunes and have mercy on them - Now, this is God's word about them, and as I expect to see the sun set tonight, so I shall see the remnant of Israel with the King. He still loves her, and this should be no point of pride for you or I, but a great comfort.
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