Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Jeremiah 3:12-19
A Brief Glimpse Of The Future Establishment Of The Everlasting Kingdom (Jeremiah 3:12).
Having established that Judah was even more guilty than Israel YHWH now breaks into the message of gloom by demonstrating hope for the future for Israel. On the basis of His great mercy He called through Jeremiah for Israel's return to the land. This was a flash-forward into the future. While at present she was in exile, if she would only admit her backsliding and repent He promises that He will bring her back and will once again be a husband to her (compare the inference in Jeremiah 2:2, and Hosea 1-3). Then He will give to her shepherds according to His own heart who will feed her in knowledge and understanding. And in that day Israel will no more be dependent on the presence of the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH (which was seen by them as the throne of YHWH), nor will they even think of it or miss it, because the whole of Jerusalem will have become (will ‘be called') ‘The Throne of YHWH'. Then all nations will gather to Jerusalem, and Israel will no longer walk in the stubbornness of their evil hearts, but will rather be one with Judah, something which will be made possible by their looking to YHWH as their Father and truly following Him.
In these words YHWH makes clear His future intentions for His people, and seeks to arouse Judah to jealousy. Initially His words were a call to return accompanied by glowing promises, but when that call failed to achieve its purpose it became a prophetic indication of what the future would hold.
“Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, ‘Return, you backsliding Israel,' says YHWH, ‘I will not look in anger on you, for I am merciful,' says YHWH, ‘I will not keep my anger for ever.' ”
Jeremiah is commanded to go and ‘proclaim words towards the north' for it was to the north that Israel had been taken captive (2 Kings 17:6; 2 Kings 17:23). Such proclamations to a far off people are found regularly in the prophets, for the prophets were acting in the Name of YHWH, and could therefore be sure that their words would eventually be fulfilled because they were His word which went forth from His mouth and would prosper in the way to which He sent it (Isaiah 55:10). And this proclamation to Israel was to be that they should return from their backsliding with the assurance that if they did so YHWH would no longer look on them with anger (view their sin with antipathy), which would be as a consequence of His great compassion. As the Merciful One He would not retain His anger for ever.
‘Return you backsliding Israel.' The Hebrew is emphatic and poignant. Shubah meshubah yisrael (return O turning away Israel').
“Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against YHWH your God, and have scattered your ways to strangers under every green tree, and you have not obeyed my voice,” the word of YHWH.'
Nevertheless their return was conditional on their acknowledging their iniquity, and admitting that they had transgressed against YHWH, and had had sexual relationships with (‘scattered their ways to') strangers under every green tree, thus failing to be obedient to His voice. There could be no return without repentance and a full admission of guilt. This again was ‘the word of YHWH' (neum YHWH).
“Return, O backsliding children,” says YHWH, “for I am a husband to you, and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion, and I will give you shepherds according to my heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”
So YHWH calls for the return of Israel, His backsliding children in exile, on the grounds that He is their ‘husband', a word expressing His tender love and concern for them (compare Hosea 1:3). They are not being called back to slavery, but to a loving family relationship. Yet He recognises that all will not return, and He informs them that He will therefore call from among them a remnant, one from a city, two from a family, and will bring them to Zion, and there He would give them shepherds after His own heart who would provide them with true knowledge and understanding. The idea would appear to be in order to arouse Judah to jealousy.
This prophecy was in fact initially fulfilled in that many Israelites would have made their way back to Palestine in ones and twos once Cyrus's policies had made it possible, and would have united with the men of Judah in re-establishing the land. This is demonstrated by their presence there in the time of Jesus. Initially the shepherds after His own heart would be the later prophets and the later godly rulers like Zerubbabel, but finally they would be Jesus Christ and His Apostles. It was they who would provide true knowledge and understanding. But the final reference, as what follows makes clear, is to the heavenly Zion, for only there could the promises reach their final fulfilment. This is confirmed in Hebrews 11:10 where the land to be received by Abraham and his descendants is ‘a heavenly country', and in the transference of the true Jerusalem from earth to Heaven (Galatians 4:21; Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 21-22), something already made clear in Isaiah.
“And it will come about, when you are multiplied and increased in the land, in those days,” says YHWH, “they will no more say, ‘The ark of the covenant of YHWH', nor will it come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made any more.”
As always with the prophets, Jeremiah spoke of the coming eternity in terms connected with this earth. God's promises were to be seen as firmly rooted in reality, and not in some world of the gods beyond the skies. But when Israel/Judah did later multiply and increase in the land it was only once again to sink into failure. That is why in the end the multiplying and increasing will take place in the new Heaven and the new earth (Revelation 7:9), and the land in which they will increase will be ‘the better country' that Abraham was seeking (Hebrews 11:10).
This verse has within it the ring of eternity. In that future day earthly symbols will no longer be required, but will be gone for ever. And that would be true even of the holy ‘Ark of the Covenant of YHWH' which was seen as YHWH's earthly throne (and disappeared at the time of the Babylonian captivity). It would neither come to mind, or be remembered or be missed, or have reference made to it, because (as Jeremiah 3:17 makes clear) they would be enjoying something even more glorious, the real presence of YHWH upon His throne in the new Jerusalem where they would walk in His light and see His face (Revelation 21:22; Revelation 22:3). ‘There will be no curse any more, and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it --' (Revelation 22:3), and His people will be there as His bride (compare Jeremiah 3:14, and see Revelation 19:7; Revelation 21:2).
We must always remember that the prophets as they looked forward saw heavenly realities in terms of this earth. They had no concept of a Heaven beyond to which human beings could go. That was something that had not yet been revealed and was outside the range of their thinking, and it was well that it was so, for had they enunciated such an idea it would immediately have been mixed up in men's minds with polytheistic ideas about the world of the gods, and have been seen as supporting Baalism. Thus their ideas were firmly rooted in terms of this earth, but would eventually develop into the idea of ‘the new Heaven and the new earth' (Isaiah 65:17; Isaiah 2. Peter Jeremiah 3:13; Revelation 21:1). It was there that the promises to Abraham would be fulfilled (Hebrews 11:10). For the coming of an everlasting kingdom required an everlasting environment.
As we look back on history we can see how the promises made through the prophets were slowly being fulfilled. Initial fulfilment came in the return of the people of Israel/Judah back to Palestine and the re-establishment of the Davidic rule and of God's Law. This was then followed, once that Israel had once again failed, by the establishment of the new Israel by Jesus Christ, the son of David (John 15:1; Matthew 16:18; Matthew 21:43; Galatians 3:29; Galatians 6:16; Ephesians 2:11; 1 Peter 5:9; 1 Peter 1:1; James 1:1) proclaiming truth and understanding. And that, as Jesus made clear, would achieve its final fulfilment in the new Heaven and the new earth. That is why we are to set our minds on things above and build up treasure in Heaven (Colossians 1:1; Matthew 6:19).
“At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of YHWH, and all the nations will be gathered to it, to the name of YHWH, to Jerusalem, nor will they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart.”
And at that time there will be a new Jerusalem, a heavenly Jerusalem, which will be called ‘The Throne of YHWH' (see Revelation 22:3). This was something already clearly depicted by Isaiah 2:2; Isaiah 4:2; Isaiah 11:1; Isaiah 33:20; Isaiah 65:18, none of which could be literally fulfilled on this earth. And to this new Jerusalem will be gathered men and women of all nations, gathered to the Name of YHWH, and they will no longer walk after the stubbornness of their own hearts (see Revelation 21:24; Revelation 21:27).
“In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together out of the land of the north to the land that I gave for an inheritance to your fathers.”
In that day there will no longer be division and disunity. Israel and Judah will once again be united, and they will come again out of the land of the north to which they had been exiled (so Judah's exile is already in mind) to the land given as an inheritance to their fathers. This certainly happened when, once Cyrus was on the throne, exiles were allowed to return to their own lands, and the Jews became one people, so much so that by the time of Jesus most could not be sure of their tribal connections, which were lost in antiquity (with the result that those who could make those connections saw themselves as superior to the others). But as previously YHWH's deliverance would fail to achieve its purpose because of man's rebellion, with the result that the promises were transferred to the new Heaven and the new earth, to the new land given to their fathers for an inheritance (Hebrews 11:10; Revelation 21).
“And I said, ‘How I will put you among the children, and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of the nations!' and I said, ‘You will call me My Father, and will not turn away from following me.' ”
YHWH's intentions for them were good. They would be set among the people of the world (‘among the children' connects with ‘my Father' demonstrating that here ‘Father' has in mind God as the Lord of creation) in a pleasant land, a goodly heritage, one which was either given to them by the hosts of the nations, or one that was outstanding among the hosts of the nations, depending on how we interpret the words.
One point being established here was that God as Creator was the Father of all the people in the world (they were His children), but that the nations as a whole had turned away from Him and had refused to follow Him. Israel were to be different. They were to call Him ‘my Father', and were to follow Him and walk in obedience to Him (as children were expected to be obedient to their fathers).
And there, He said, ‘You will call Me ‘My Father' and will not turn away from following Me.' It is hardly necessary to point out that this was precisely the message that Jesus Christ came to bring, arriving in the land to which they had gathered and laying great emphasis on God as the heavenly Father of His believing people. And those who did respond did not turn away from following Him, even in the most adverse circumstances of severe persecution. But again its final fulfilment awaits the new Heaven and the new earth ‘wherein dwells righteousness' (2 Peter 3:13), for only there will sin be finally done away.
‘A goodly heritage of the hosts of the nations.' This is literally ‘a heritage of the beauty of the beauties (tsebi tsibeoth) of the nations'. We could paraphrase as ‘the beautiful heritage outstanding among the beautiful heritages of the nations', or as ‘the most beautiful heritage among those of the nations' (Hebrew regularly expressed adjectival thought in genitival phrases. Thus seeing ‘heritage of the beauty' as signifying ‘beautiful heritage', and ‘beauty of the beauties' as signifying ‘very beautiful'). The translation ‘host of the nations' comes from repointing tsibeoth (beauties) as tsebaoth (hosts)).