Jeremiah 30
OGCREVIEW OF CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I. Facts to Master
That which Jeremiah is told to write (Jeremiah 30:2).
That which God will do for Israel and Judah (Jeremiah 30:3).
The one the Israelites serve upon returning to their homeland (Jeremiah 30:9).
That which will happen to the nations which had scattered Israel (Jeremiah 30:11).
The figure used in Jeremiah 30:12-17 to depict the ter rible sin, punishment and restoration of Israel.
The identity of the Ruler mentioned in Jeremiah 30:21.
The new relationship which will exist between God and Israel in the future (Jeremiah 31:1; Jeremiah 31:9).
The new thing which God will create in the land (Jeremiah 31:22).
A proverb current in the days of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:29).
That which God would make with Israel (Jeremiah 31:31).
Jeremiah’s personal condition during the siege of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 32:1-3).
Jeremiah’s prediction regarding king Zedekiah (Jeremiah 32:4-5).
The name of Jeremiah’s cousin who offered to sell a field (Jeremiah 32:7).
The price of the field (Jeremiah 32:9).
Significance of this act of purchasing the field (Jeremiah 32:15; Jeremiah 32:42-44).
Name of a pagan god to whom the Jews sacrificed their children (Jeremiah 32:35).
Jeremiah’s personal situation at the time he de livered the oracle in Chapter 33.
That which God will cause to sprout (Jeremiah 33:15).
Special promises to the house of David and Levitical priests (Jeremiah 33:17-18).
II. Questions to Ponder
What is the fulfillment of the promises to bring Israel and Judah back to Palestine? Were they fulfilled in the returns of Zerubbabel (536 B.C.) and Ezra (458 B.C.)? Do these promises have any relationship to the Zionist movement of recent years?
In what way were the Jews encouraged to look upon their present trials? Jeremiah 30:4-11, esp. Jeremiah 30:11.
What is the permanent lesson that can be learned from Jeremiah 30:12-17?
What is the basis for thinking that the Prince of Jer 30:21 is Christ?
What figures of speech set forth the new relationship between Israel and God after the restoration? Jeremiah 31:2-5
Matthew (Jeremiah 2:18) quotes Jeremiah 31:15 and says it was fulfilled when Herod slew the Bethlehem innocents. Is Jeremiah 31:15 then a direct prophecy of what would happen at Bethlehem or does Matthew simply mean to say there is an analogy be tween the two events?
What is the new covenant predicted in Jeremiah 31? See Hebrews 8:8-12; Hebrews 10:16. 17; Matthew 26:28; Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25. In what respect is the new covenant superior to the old?
What city does Jeremiah describe in Jeremiah 31:38-40, the earthly Jerusalem, the spiritual Jerusalem, the heavenly Jerusalem, or all three?
How does the principle actions speak louder than words especially apply in chapter 32?
How do the events of chapter 32 fit chronologically with Chapter s 30 and 37?
Is it necessary for a people to face the future with confidence? Why? What is the only solid basis for hope?
Why did the cousin come to Jeremiah and ask him to purchase the field? Jeremiah 32:6-8. Did Jeremiah fully understand the significance of the transaction?
What seeming contradiction is Jeremiah attempting to work out in his prayer? Jeremiah 32:16-25
What is significant about calling the Messiah a Shoot? Jeremiah 33:15. Where else is this designation used?
Have the promises of Jer 33:17-18 been fulfilled? When and how?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
OBEDIENCE AND DISOBEDIENCE
Jeremiah 34:1 to Jeremiah 36:32
In Chapter s 34-36 Jeremiah relates three incidents which vividly illustrate the disobedience of the people of God in general and their leaders in particular. The episodes as they stand in the book are in reverse chronological order. Chapter 36 relates an event which transpired in the year 605-604 B.C. Chapter 35 can be assigned to almost any year between 602 and 598 B.C. The event in chapter 34 transpired during the final siege of Jerusalem (589-588 B.C.). The section contains narrative prose primarily biographical in character. An action parable is recorded in chapter 35.
A NOTE ON THE CHRONOLOGICAL PLACEMENT OF Chapter S 32-33
Chapter 32 contains the following chronological details which aid in integrating this chapter into the chronological framework of the last days of Jerusalem: (1) It was the tenth year of Zedekiah which began in March/ April 588 B.C.; (2) the Babylonian armies were besieging Jerusalem; and (3) Jeremiah was shut up in the court of the guard. Now since the arrest of Jeremiah, his imprisonment and subsequent confinement to the court of the guard are recorded in chapter 37 commentators are all but unanimously agreed that chapter 32 follows chapter 37 chronologically. Of course the basic assumption in this placement is that Jeremiah was only once confined to the court of the guard. This reconstruction may well be correct. The present writer, however, would like to offer an alternative reconstruction.
A close relationship exists between chapter 32 and chapter 34 of Jeremiah. Chapter 34 relates how Nebuchadnezzar was fighting against Jerusalem (Jeremiah 34:1). Outlying fortresses were still holding out against the Chaldeans, Lachish and Azekah being named in particular (Jeremiah 34:7). This would imply that chapter 34 must be assigned to an early part of the siege. The Chaldean strategy seems to have been to eliminate all military outposts before beginning the siege of Jerusalem in earnest.
These were the circumstances which existed when God told Jeremiah to go and deliver an oracle to king Zedekiah (Jeremiah 34:2). The precise words of that oracle should be noted with great care. (See the chart which follows). Chapter 34 does not reveal what the reaction of the king was to this message of doom. In Jeremiah 34:8 the narrator jumps ahead to a later phase in the siege of Jerusalem. The present writer would suggest that Jeremiah 32:2-5 indicates what king Zedekiah did when he heard the word of the Lord. He ordered Jeremiah confined to the court of the guard which was in the house of the king of Judah.
In support of the above suggestion the following points can be made:
- Chapter 32 gives all the appearance of being the initial confinement of Jeremiah in the reign of Zedekiah. There is not the slightest hint that he had previously been confined by the king.
- In chapter 32 Jeremiah is confined in the court of the guard as a punishment for what he had preached. In chapter 37 he is placed in the court of the guard as an act of mercy (see 19-21). Surely this would indicate that the confinement in chapter 32 and that in chapter 37 must be two different occasions.
- The message for which Jeremiah is confined in chapter 32 is very similar to the message which he de livered to Zedekiah at the beginning of the siege in chapter 34. (See following chart).
How then are the events concerning the confinement of Jeremiah to be arranged chronologically? In the tenth year of Zedekiah (March/April 588 B.C.) Jeremiah went to the king and delivered an oracle of doom (Jeremiah 34:1-7). He was arrested by Zedekiah and confined in the court of the guard in the house of the king (Jeremiah 32:1-5). When the Babylonians temporarily raised the siege in the summer of 588 B.C. the prophet was probably released. Since most of the inhabitants of Jerusalem thought the Chaldeans were gone for good there was no further reason for detaining the political prisoners who might have proved dangerous in time of siege. During the lull in the siege operations Jeremiah preached a blistering sermon against the Jerusalem nobles (Jeremiah 34:8-22). No doubt he made some bitter enemies among the princes because of this sermon. As Jeremiah attempted to leave the city to tend to some business in Anathoth, he was arrested by the guard and hailed before the embittered princes who threw him into a dungeon as a traitor (Jeremiah 37:11-15). When the siege resumed Zedekiah was anxious to receive a further word from the Lord and so he sent secretly for Jeremiah. The prophet reiterated in one terse sentence the threat that he had been making for some time against the king (Jeremiah 37:17). Since Jeremiah knew he was innocent of the charge of treason he pleaded with Zedekiah that he might not have to return to the dungeon where he had been kept for some time (Jeremiah 37:20; cf. Jeremiah 37:16). Zedekiah acquiesced in the request of Jeremiah and ordered him confined henceforth in the court of the guard (Jeremiah 37:21). Jeremiah continued to preach even in the court of the guard and so the princes demanded that he be put to death. Zedekiah gave in to the princes and Jeremiah was thrown into an abandoned well (Jeremiah 38:1-6). From thence he was rescued by Ebedmelech (Jeremiah 38:7-13) and confined in the court of the guard until Jerusalem fell to the Chaldeans (Jeremiah 38:28).
THE SERMON WHICH GOT JEREMIAH ARRESTED DURING THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM
Reference back to the sermon
The actual preaching
Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon (Jeremiah 4:3)
Thus says the LORD, Behold I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon (Jeremiah 4:2)
and he shall take it (Jeremiah 4:3)
and he shall burn it with fire (Jeremiah 4:2)
And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon (Jeremiah 4:4)
and you shall not escape out of his hand but you shall surely be taken and delivered into his hand (Jeremiah 4:3)
and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes. (Jeremiah 4:4)
and your eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with you mouth to mouth (Jeremiah 4:9)
and he shall bring Zedekiah to Babylon (Jeremiah 4:5)
and you shall go to Babylon (Jeremiah 4:3)
and there shall he be until I visit him (oracle of the LORD). Though you fight against the Chaldeans you shall not prosper (v.5).
Jeremiah 30:1-3
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
JEREMIAH’S FAITH IN THE FUTURE
Jeremiah 30:1 to Jeremiah 33:26
Chapter s 30-33, the so-called Book of Consolation, is the only consistently hopeful section of the Book of Jeremiah. It is likely that these Chapter s date to the tenth year of Zedekiah (588 B.C.). At least that is the date assigned to Chapter s 32 and 33.[243] These were dark days for Judah and for Jeremiah. The Chaldean army was at the gates of Jerusalem. The city was experiencing the famine, pestilence and misery connected with siege operations. Jeremiah himself had been imprisoned in the court of the guard as a suspected traitor. Even though events had proved him to be speaking truth with regard to the fate of Jerusalem, still the people refused to acknowledge Jeremiah as the man of God that he was. They rather suspected that he was collaborating with the enemy. These dark and dire days gave birth to one of the most beautiful passages in the entire Bible. Here is the positive aspect of the prophet’s ministry. He is now beginning to build and to plant (Jeremiah 1:10). At times during his ministry Jeremiah had been permitted to have a glimpse of the events which were beyond the judgment. But this section of the book is unique in that here the focus is upon hope and salvation. Here the prophet treats the great themes of the destruction of Babylon; the return of God’s people; the reunification of Israel and Judah; the coming of Messiah and the establishment of His kingdom.
[243] Chapter s 30 and 31 have been assigned to periods all the way from the time of Josiah to the governorship of Gedaliah. While one cannot be absolutely certain about the dating of these two Chapter s, it is reasonable to assume that they were written at the same time as Chapter s 32 and 33.
From the literary standpoint this section contains the following elements: an introduction (Jeremiah 30:1-3); a collection of poetic oracles (Jeremiah 30:4 to Jeremiah 31:22); two collections of prose sermons (Jeremiah 31:23-40; Jeremiah 32:26 to Jeremiah 33:26); a narrative account of a symbolic act (Jeremiah 32:1-15); a prayer for enlightenment (Jeremiah 32:16-25). A topical analysis of the material in these Chapter s suggests the following outline: (1) the promise of restoration (Jeremiah 30:4-24); (2) the blessings of restoration (Jeremiah 31:1-40); and (3) confidence in restoration (Jeremiah 32:1 to Jeremiah 33:26).
INTRODUCTION Jeremiah 30:1-3
TRANSLATION
(1) The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD saying, Thus says the LORD God of Israel: Write for yourself all the words which I have spoken unto you in a book. (3) For behold, the days are coming (oracle of the LORD) when I will reverse the fortunes of MY people Israel and Judah, says the LORD, and I will cause them to return unto the land which I gave unto their fathers and they shall repossess it.
COMMENTS
The first three verses of chapter 30 serve to introduce the Book of Consolation. Here Jeremiah is commanded by the Lord to record in a book[244] the words which God had spoken to him concerning the future of the nation. Unlike the collection of prophecies referred to in chapter Jeremiah 36:1-6, this book does not seem to be intended for public proclamation but rather for the personal comfort of the prophet. This is suggested by the words write for your own sake (Jeremiah 30:2). The Hebrew word member (book) can refer to any size document from a single page to an extensive treatise.
[244] While some scholars think that the book mentioned here comprises only Chapter s 30.31, it is probably best to include Chapter s 32-33 as well.
Chapter s 30-33 have been described as a little green oasis in the midst of a dry and barren desert.[245] Verse three sets the tone of the whole section. The reason Jeremiah is to compile another book is because there are glorious things for the covenant people. Behold! days are coming is an expression which points to a certain, but indefinite, time in the future. Three wonderful things are stipulated as part of those future days. (1) God will turn again the captivity i.e., reverse the fortunes of His people. (2) Israel and Judah will once again be reunited. (3) God’s people will return to the land which He had given to their fathers.
[245] F. Cawley, Jeremiah, The New Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964), p. 626.
Jeremiah 30:4-11
I. THE PROMISE OF RESTORATION Jeremiah 30:4-24
In Chapter 30 the focus is upon the promise of restoration to the homeland. Running throughout the chapter are four points of emphasis: (1) The yoke is removed from Jacob; (2) the wounds of Zion are healed; (3) the restored community is blessed; and (4) the pur poses of God are certain.[246]
[246] Hall (op. cit., pp. 273-75) has presented an appealing outline of this chapter: Divine Judgment (4-11); Divine Chastisement (Jeremiah 30:12-17); Divine Blessing (18-22); Divine Purpose (Jeremiah 30:23-24).
A. The Promise to Enslaved Israel Jeremiah 30:4-11
The deliverance of Israel from servitude to Babylon will be preceded by a period of great trouble for Israel. The day of distress must precede the day of deliverance.
- The day of distress (Jeremiah 30:4-7)
TRANSLATION
(4) And these are the words which the LORD has spoken concerning Israel and Judah, (5) For thus says the LORD: We have heard a cry of terror, fear, and there is no peace! (6) Ask now and see! Can a male give birth? Why do I see every mighty man with his hands upon his loins like a woman in childbirth? and why have all faces turned pale? (7) How sad it is! For that day is great, and no other compares to it. It is a time of distress for Jacob, but he shall be saved from it.
COMMENTS
Jeremiah begins the prophecy which is to contain the promise of deliverance in a manner that will intensify the contrast that is coming. He describes in graphic terms the distress that Jacob, the entire covenant nation, is to experience. He hears the people saying, We have heard a voice (or sound) of trembling, of fear, and not of peace (Jeremiah 30:5). A great host is advancing. The people must submit themselves to the uncertainties and horrors of war and siege; they are scared. Convulsive pain grips the men of the nations so that they clutch their loins like a woman in travail (Jeremiah 30:6). That day of trouble which ushers in deliverance for the people of God will be great in suffering and distress (Jeremiah 30:7). This period of fearful tumult and upheaval is called the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7). Although there are several periods of discipline, judgment, adversity and persecution of the people of God this is the only use of the term the time of Jacob’s trouble in Scripture.
It is not easy to determine precisely what period of time is being described in Jeremiah 30:5-7. Three basic views can be found among the commentators. (a) Some regard the time of Jacob’s trouble to be the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. According to this view Jeremiah is describing something that was presently taking place. (b) Others see here a prediction of confusion and fear that would grip the Jews at the fall of the Babylonian empire in 539 B.C. As this view would interpret it, the exiles in Babylonia would share the consternation of their captors when the Persians armies started marching south toward Babylon. (c) A third interpretation would regard the time of Jacob’s trouble as a period that is yet future. It is not uncommon to find commentators who regard the prefillment of the passage in the events of 539 B.C. while regarding the fulfillment to be yet future.
The present writer is inclined to think that the period of Jacob’s trouble began with the first deportation of Israelites to foreign soil in 733 B.C. This deportation certainly launched a day of distress for the covenant people. First they were oppressed by the Assyrians and then by the Babylonians. The calamity predicted by all the prophets had begun. With the final crushing blow in 587 B.C. the nation ceased to exist. Israel was a people without a land. The time of Jacob’s trouble extended to 539 B.C. when Babylon fell to the Persians and the exiles were allowed by the benevolent Cyrus to return to their homeland. This was the act that saved Israel in the day of distress (Jeremiah 30:7).
- The day of deliverance (Jeremiah 30:8-11)
TRANSLATION
(8) And it shall come to pass in that day (oracle of the LORD of hosts) that I will shatter his yoke from upon your neck, and I will snap his bonds; and strangers shall no more enslave him. (9) But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their King, whom I will raise up for him. (10) And as for you, O my servant Jacob, Do not fear (oracle of the LORD), and do not be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity. And Jacob shall return, and rest and be secure, and no one shall disturb him. (11) For I am with you (oracle of the LORD) to deliver you; for I will make a full end of all the nations where I scattered You; but I will not make a full end of you. But I will correct You in measure, and I certainly will not regard you as innocent.
COMMENTS
In stark contrast to the time of Jacob’s trouble is the glorious day of his deliverance. The yoke of the oppressor will be shattered and the bonds of captivity will be loosed. Foreigners would not subject Israel to bondage anymore (Jeremiah 30:8).
The question arises whether or not Jeremiah 30:8 refers exclusively to the deliverance from Babylonian bondage which occurred in 539 B.C. Two facts might lead one to think that the reference reaches beyond 539 B.C. First, the name of the oppressor is omitted. More weighty is the statement that foreigners would no more subject Israel to bondage. Of course, history records that Israel was subject to foreign powers after the fall of BabylonPersia, Greece, the Ptolemaic and Seleucid empires and finally the Romans. If Jeremiah 30:8 refers exclusively to the release from Babylonian captivity then the last clause must be taken to mean that never again would Israel experience a bondage such as they experienced under the Babylonians. Never again would they be carried away en masse to a foreign land. The other alternative is to regard Jeremiah 30:8 as a general prediction that God would shatter the yoke of any nation which tried to oppress Israel down to the time that Messiah would come.
Once the yoke of the Assyrian-Babylonian captivity is removed from the neck of Israel, once more they would be able to worship and serve the Lord in their homeland. Freedom of religion is the highest form of liberty. They would also serve David their king whom the Lord would raise up for them. In this verse Jeremiah is reiterating the prediction of Hos 3:5. This verse does not imply that David will literally reappear to rule over Israel as some modern cults have alleged. Rather it is the Messiah about whom the prophet speaks. Elsewhere He is spoken of under the name David as well (e.g., Ezekiel 34:23-24; Ezekiel 37:24). There is obviously a time gap between the two halves of Jer 30:9.[247] Frequently in predictive prophecy events which are separated by centuries of time are woven together as if they followed one another in immediate chronological order.
[247] As an alternative Laetsch argues that long before Bethlehem the Messiah was worshiped.
In view of the fact that God has promised a grand deliverance to His people they need not be terrified at the horrors of the present day. God will deliver them from the land of exile no matter how distant it may be. Jacob shall one day return to his own land there to dwell peaceably (Jeremiah 30:10). This deliverance will be possible for two reasons: (a) The Lord is with them to deliver them; and (b) God will utterly destroy the nations which had taken Israel captive (Jeremiah 30:11). Throughout the bitterness of the day of distress Israel should realize that God has not utterly rejected them. He is discipline them in measure, literally, according to what is just. In bringing judgment upon Israel God was not acting capriciously or merely to satisfy a feeling of revenge. Israel must be punished; but that punishment had a positive purpose. Through exile and suffering Israel would experience a national regeneration. The nation would be purged and purified from idolatry in preparation for the coming of Messiah.
Jeremiah 30:12-17
B. The Plight of Apostate Israel Jeremiah 30:12-17
TRANSLATION
(12) For thus says the LORD: Your wound is incurable, your hurt is fatal. (13) There is no one to plead your case that you may be bound up; you have no healing medicines. (14) All of your lovers have forgotten you, and they do not inquire about you; for I have smitten you with the blow of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, because your iniquity is so great and your sins so numerous. (15) Why are you crying out concerning your wound? Your pain is incurable! Because your iniquity is great and your sins are numerous, I have done these things unto you. (16) Therefore all of those who devour You shall be devoured! And all of your foes shall all go captive! Those who spoil you shall become spoil, and all who plunder you I will make plunder. (17) For I will restore health to you and with regard to your wounds I will heal you (oracle of the LORD), for they have called you an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.
COMMENTS
After soaring ahead in the time to the grand day of Israel’s deliverance the prophet now returns to the present plight of the nation. He first indicates in some detail the present sad situation of Israel, then points out reasons for that condition, and finally moves forward positively to predict deliverance for the nation.
In a few bold strokes of the pen Jeremiah paints a picture of the present wretched condition of Israel. The nation has an incurable wound (Jeremiah 30:12) for which there are no healing medicines (Jeremiah 30:13 b). No one pleads for the nation at the judgment bar of God where their own iniquities condemn them (Jeremiah 30:13 a).[248] The nation has been forgotten by her lovers i.e., her allies who had encouraged her to revolt against Babylon (Jeremiah 30:14 a). The Lord Himself has treated Israel like an enemy. He has smitten them so severely that it would appear He was their implacable foe (Jeremiah 30:14 b).
[248] Jeremiah has woven together two different figures of speech in Jeremiah 30:12-13. This is a characteristic of his writing. See Streane, op. cit., p. xxix.
Attacked! Devoured! Carried away! How did Israel come to be in such desperate straits? Twice the prophet indicates the reason for the present plight. Because of the multitude of your iniquities, because your sins are great. The chastisement of Israel was well deserved because of the enormous guilt piled up by their innumerable sins (Jeremiah 30:14-15).
The thought in the paragraph takes a sharp turn at Jeremiah 30:16. The word therefore at the beginning of the verse is most significant. Because of the extremity of your need, therefore I will intervene on your behalf. Because you are unable to aid yourself, therefore I will act on your behalf. Because I have afflicted you so severely for your sins, therefore I will now mete out to your tormentors their rightly-deserved punishment. The end of the present plight will come when God brings punishment upon all the adversaries of Israel (Jeremiah 30:16). Humanly speaking the case of Israel was hopeless. But God, the great and gracious Physician, then turns his attention to the wounds of Israel. Zion’s health is restored despite all the ridicule of her enemies. The sneering enemies had called Zion an outcast for whom no one was concerned. Yet the day will surely come when God in an act of pure grace will restore the nation (Jeremiah 30:17).
Jeremiah 30:18-22
C. The Picture of Regenerate Israel Jeremiah 30:18-22
TRANSLATION
(18) Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will reverse the fortunes of the tents of Jacob and have compassion on his dwellings. A city shall be built upon its mound and the palace shall stand in its appropriate place. (19) Thanksgiving and the sound of laughter shall go out from them. I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish; exalt them, and they shall not be lowly. (20) Their children shall be as in olden days, and their congregation shall be established before Me; and I will punish all of their oppressors. (21) And their Prince shall be of themselves, and their Ruler shall come out of the midst of them; and I will allow him to draw near, and He shall come near unto Me; for who otherwise would put his life on the line by approaching Me (oracle of the LORD). (22) And You shall be My people, and I shall be your God.
COMMENTS
Having alluded to the destruction of Israel’s enemies and the restoration to Palestine, the prophet now paints a picture of the regenerate commonwealth of Israel. It is the picture of a happy, prosperous people enjoying freedom and security in their own land. Note the specific promises contained in this paragraph: (a) the Jews who were taken captive will dwell again in their land as aforetime (Jeremiah 30:18 a).[249] (b) The city of Jerusalem will be rebuilt upon its own hill or mound i.e., on its original site (Jeremiah 30:18 b).[250] (c) The palace will be restored and shall be occupied in its usual fashion (Jeremiah 30:18 b).[251] (d) Thanksgiving and happiness shall characterize the inhabitants of the land (Jeremiah 30:19 a). (e) The population of the restored community will be greatly increased (Jeremiah 30:19 b). (f) As aforetime in the golden age of David and Solomon, God will protect them from their adversaries (Jeremiah 30:20). (g) A glorious Prince shall rule over them (Jeremiah 30:21). (h) They shall enter into a new relationship with God (Jeremiah 30:22).
[249] The phrase I will turn again (Or return to) the captivity of Jacob’s tents seems to mean that God will muse the desolate, uninhabited tents or dwelling places to be rebuilt and inhabited. Streane thinks literal tents are meant but this is unlikely. [250] Laetsch contends that city in this verse, which does not have the article in the Hebrew, is a collective singular referring to every city of Judah. [251] This need not be pressed to mean that the restored community Would have a king (Streane). The word palace here may mean nothing more than governmental building. Freedman suggests that palace here is an allusion to the Temple in Jerusalem.
A further comment is necessary with regard to Jeremiah 30:21. That this verse is Messianic in character has generally been acknowledged even by Jewish rabbis. The King James Version is somewhat misleading at this point in translating their nobles. The American Standard Version is more accurate in reading the singular their prince. A still more literal translation of the Hebrew would be his Glorious One and his Ruler. The masculine possessive pronoun throughout this passage refers to the nation. Two significant points about this glorious Ruler are brought out in the passage. (a) He shall be a Jewish as opposed to a foreign Prince.[252] (b) The Prince shall draw near to God without a go-between. This implies that He will be Priest as well as King.
[252] Streane sees another possible meaning in the words from him from his midst. The expression may mean that the new Ruler will spring from a lowly family.
The last clause of Jer 30:21 is extremely difficult. The King James Version renders: who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? The American Standard Version translates: who is he that bath had boldness to approach unto me? Perhaps a better translation would be: who is he that has staked his life (or risked his life) to approach unto Me? Under the Old Testament law only priests were permitted to enter the presence of the Lord. The Holy of Holies was open but once a year and then to the high priest alone. One king, Uzziah, tried to usurp the priestly prerogatives and offer incense before the Lord. He was smitten with incurable leprosy. But the glorious Ruler whose coming is predicted in this verse would be Priest as well as King. Zechariah a few years later would make it crystal clear that the Messiah would be priest upon his throne (Zechariah 6:13).
Jeremiah 30:23-24
D. The purposes of a Sovereign God Jeremiah 30:23 to Jeremiah 31:1
TRANSLATION
(23) Behold, the tempest of the LORD! Wrath has gone forth, a sweeping tempest! It will whirl upon the heads of the wicked. (24) The fierce anger of the LORD shall not turn back until He has done it, until He has accomplished the thoughts of His heart. In the latter days you shall understand it. (1) In that time (oracle of the LORD) I will be the God of all the tribes of Israel and they shall be My people.
COMMENTS
The three verses[253] of this paragraph serve to point to the purpose of God in history. Jeremiah 30:23-24 are almost identical with the threat made against the false prophets in Jeremiah 23:19 f. Here the words apply to the Gentile enemies of Israel and particularly wicked Babylon. The wrath of God like a whirlwind goes forth to execute the intents of His heart. He will not relent until (a) evil has been punished and (b) the families or clans of Israel acknowledge His lordship. Only in the latter days, after the judgment against Babylon has been accomplished, will the people of God fully comprehend the sovereign purposes of God. The latter days as envisioned by the Old Testament seers commenced with the coming of Jesus Christ.[254]
[253] The Hebrew chapter division places Jeremiah 31:1 as the last verse of chapter 30.
[254] See Hebrews 1:1; Acts 2:16-17; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 3:1; 1 John 2:18.