Jeremiah 33:4-13

2. General promises (Jeremiah 33:4-13)

TRANSLATION

(4) For thus says the Lord the God of Israel concerning the houses of this city, and the houses of the kings of Judah, which have been torn down so as to provide protection against the siege instruments and the sword(5) as men are coming to fight the Chaldeans, and to fill them with the corpses of men whom I have smitten in My wrath and anger, and I have hidden My face from this city on account of all their evil: (6) Behold, I will bring to her healing and cure, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth. (7) I will reverse the fortune of Judah and Israel, and I will build them as they were at the first. (8) I will cleanse them from all their iniquity which they have sinned against Me, and I will forgive all of their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me, and in which they have transgressed against Me. (9) And it shall be for a name of joy, praise, and glory before all nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good which I am doing for them, and they shall fear and tremble because of all the good and the well-being which I will make for her. (10) Thus says the LORD: Once again in this place which You say is desolate without man or beast, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem which are desolate without man or inhabitant or cattle (11) shall be heard the sound of joy and gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and bride, saying, Give thanks unto the LORD of hosts, for the LORD is good, and His mercy endures forever; while they are bringing their thank offerings to the house of the LORD. For I will reverse the fortunes of the land and make it as in the beginning, says the LORD. (12) Thus says the LORD of hosts: Once again there shall be in this place which is desolate, without man or beast, in all its cities, pasture for shepherds who rest their flocks. (13) In the cities of the hill country, the lowland, the Negev, the land of Benjamin, the environs of Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, flocks shall once again pass under the hand of the one who counts them, says the LORD.

COMMENTS

The general promises contained in the verses now under consideration are in reality but a continuation and expansion of concepts in the preceding prophecy. God promises here to restore the people to the land (Jeremiah 33:4-9) and to restore prosperity to the land (Jeremiah 33:10-13).

When Jeremiah received this message of hope from the Lord the situation within Jerusalem was very grim. The houses of the city including the royal palaces had been torn down in order to strengthen Jerusalem against the mounds[290] and weapons[291] of the Chaldeans (Jeremiah 33:4). Perhaps some houses near the city walls had to be removed in order to give the defenders more maneuverability. Part of the timber and stone taken from the houses would be used to strengthen the walls, and part would serve to plug the breaches made by the enemy battering rams. The Judeans rushed to defend their walls in a heroic but futile attempt to defend the city but their resistance only added to the heaps of slain (Jeremiah 33:5), As one reads Jeremiah 33:4-5 he can feel the sense of desperation that prevailed within Jerusalem as the city prepared to make its final stand.

[290] Ramps of debris and dirt which enabled the attackers to fight on more or less the same level as the defenders. Such ramps also enabled the battering rams to move close and batter the upper and weaker part of the city walls.

[291] The word sword in Jeremiah 33:4 as frequently denotes the entire arsenal of weapons.

After painting this rather gloomy picture of the present conditions of Jerusalem the Lord outlines the glorious future He has planned for His people. After the day of wrath has accomplished its purpose the people of God will receive healing (Jeremiah 33:6-7), cleansing (Jeremiah 33:8) and blessing (Jeremiah 33:9). Destruction would be the gateway to restoration; death the gateway to life. Old Israel dies; a new Israel arises.

Though the Judeans had suffered a grievous wound at the hands of the Chaldeans, God would apply to the city a bandage which would result in healing (Jeremiah 33:6). The divine Healer will reveal or make manifest to them a superabundance of peace and truth. The word peace conveys the idea of physical and spiritual well-being; the word truth, the idea of God's faithfulness to His promises. The nature of the healing is spelled out in Jeremiah 33:7. God will reverse the captivity of both Israel and Judah i.e., He will reverse the fortunes of the whole covenant nation. The wretchedness and misery of the moment will give way to permanent happiness and well-being. God will build them up as a nation and they will again know the prosperity of the Golden Age of David and Solomon.

That the healing is spiritual as well as physical and material is made clear by Jeremiah 33:8. The restoration of Israel to Palestine is never depicted in the Old Testament as a purely political event. A spiritual dimension is always present. The glorious vision of Jerusalem restored and flourishing is not allowed to overshadow the yet more glorious vision of a nation cleansed and purified. The Messianic cleansing here depicted has already been strongly emphasized in Jeremiah 31:34 and will again be discussed in Jeremiah 50:20.

Among the surrounding nations there will be two reactions to the external and internal renovation of Israel. The first reaction is one of joy. Jerusalem will develop into a city over which men will rejoice whenever her name is mentioned. The nations of the world will render praise and glory to the God of Israel for so blessing His people. The second reaction among the nations is fear. They shall behold all the good that God does for Jerusalem and they shall come to have that reverential awe that leads to conversion and salvation.[292]

[292] A popular but manifestly wrong interpretation of the fear in Jeremiah 33:9 is as follows: The heathen infer that the God who so honors Israel will punish with equal emphasis those who disregard Him. The first part of the verse makes it clear that the fear mentioned here is a positive fear, a fear growing out of joy.

Jeremiah 33:10-13 tend to amplify the picture of prosperity which was painted in the previous verses. Here the prophet becomes more specific, showing how the joy and prosperity will affect the city (Jeremiah 33:10-11) and the country (Jeremiah 33:12-13). Throughout this chapter prosperity follows purification. Spiritual health is the key to material well-being.

Three times previously in the Book of Jeremiah the curse of God has been pronounced over Judah and Jerusalem: I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land shall become a waste (Jeremiah 7:34; Jeremiah 16:9; Jeremiah 25:10-11). Here he announces that the day will come when that curse will be removed. The streets of Jerusalem will once again echo with the sound of mirth and marriage. The majestic strains of the Temple liturgy will also be heard again and worshipers will bring their offerings as expressions of their praise for the Lord[293] (cf. Jeremiah 17:26).

[293] That the three clauses Praise the Lord of host: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endures forever are liturgical forms used in Temple services seems to be indicated by 2 Chronicles 5:13; 2 Chronicles 7:3; 2 Chronicles 7:6; Ezra 3:11; Psalms 106:1 :

Passing from the joyous scenes within the cities, the Lord turns to the prosperity which will characterize the rural areas in the day of restoration. In those areas of the land which are presently so desolate sheep will once again find pasture (Jeremiah 33:12 cf. Jeremiah 9:10; Jeremiah 6:2). Once again the populace would see the familiar sight of sheep passing under the hand each morning and evening as the shepherd numbered his flock (Jeremiah 33:13).[294]

[294] The various geographical areas mentioned in Jeremiah 33:13 are not particularly important. This is another example of the literary technique already met in Jeremiah 32:44.