Jeremiah 33
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 33:1-3
D. The Promise of God Jeremiah 33:1-26
Shortly after he had received the comforting revelation of the preceding chapter, Jeremiah received yet another word from the Lord. At the time, Jeremiah was still imprisoned in the court of the guard (cf. Jeremiah 32:2). The genuineness of this passage has been questioned. But Hall is surely correct when he argues: The situation, the language of the passage, and the comparison with other phrases of Jeremiah combine to refute the critical liberal claim that this is not genuine Jeremianic prophecy.[289] The chapter contains promises which apply first to the people and kingdom in general (Jeremiah 33:4-13) and then to the royal and priestly offices in particular (Jeremiah 33:14-26).
[289] Hall, op. cit., p. 284.
- An introductory word (Jeremiah 33:1-3)
TRANSLATION
(1) And the word of God came unto Jeremiah a second time while he was yet imprisoned in the court of the guard, saying, (2) Thus says the LORD who is the Creator of it, the Former of it so that He has established it, The LORD is His name: (3) Call unto Me, and I will answer you, and I will declare to you great and unsearchable things that you do not know.
COMMENTS
The first three verses of chapter 33 are in the nature of a bridge between the preceding and the present chapter. The verses contain a declaration, an invitation and a promise. The God who speaks to Jeremiah in the court of the guard declares Himself to be the Lord, Yahweh. The use of the Tetragrammaton (the four Hebrew consonants which form the name of God par excellence) is significant in this passage. The name seems to have the meaning He Who Is and consequently denotes God as the Eternal, Self-existent One. The name Yahweh is also the covenant name of God and as such denotes God as the keeper of covenant promises, as the merciful benefactor of His people. Being eternal, God can look beyond the present difficulty and darkness to the bright and hopeful future when He in His mercy will restore Israel to Canaan.
God not only observes the future, he creates it. Thus God declares Himself to be the Maker of it and the Former of it. That He may establish (or accomplish) it. Commentators have puzzled over the significance of the objective pronouns in Jeremiah 33:2. What does God create, form, establish or accomplish? Whether it here refers to the universe or to the plan about to be revealed, the basic idea is the same: God has the power to fulfill His promises. Whatever God determines to do, He is able to bring to a successful conclusion. God’s very name, Yahweh, is a pledge that He will keep His word to His people (Jeremiah 31:35; Jeremiah 32:18).
In the opening words of Jer 33:3 God invites His prophet or perhaps the nation as a whole to call unto Me. What a wonderful invitation! Jeremiah had prayed, inquiring as to the meaning of an act which God had required him to perform (Jeremiah 32:16-25). Here God places His stamp of approval on that prayer and encourages His prophet to approach the Lord more frequently with such requests. The prayer that grows out of perplexity often is labeled as doubt and is therefore discouraged. But here the God of all wisdom encourages the searching out of the mysteries of life through prayer. Furthermore, God under girds His invitation with a gracious promise: I will answer you! prayer is more effective than perhaps anyone realizes. Prayer is the key that opens the door to a new understanding of the power and purpose of God. The earnest petitioner will find his mind enlightened regarding the great and hidden things of life (Jeremiah 33:3).
Jeremiah 33:4-13
- 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.
Jeremiah 33:14-26
- Special promises (Jeremiah 33:14-26)
TRANSLATION
(14) Behold, days are coming (oracle of the LORD) when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. (15) In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous sprout to spring forth to David; and He will establish justice and righteousness in the land. (16) In those days Judah shall be saved, and Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited; and this is the name by which she shall be called: The LORD our Righteousness. (17) For thus says the LORD: David shall never lack a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel; (18) and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn meal offerings, and to make sacrifice forever. (19) And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying, (20) Thus says the LORD: If My covenant of the day and night can be broken so that there will no longer be day and night in their proper times, (21) then My covenant with David MY servant shall be broken so that he will have no son to reign upon his throne; and for the Levitical priests, MY ministers. (22) As the hosts of the heaven cannot be numbered nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I increase the descendants of David My servant and the Levites, My ministers. (23) And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying, (24) Have you not considered what this people have said, saying, The two families which the LORD chose, He has rejected? Thus they despise My people that they no longer regard them as a nation. (25) Thus says the LORD: If My covenant with the day and night shall not stand, if I did not establish the statutes of the heaven and the earth, (26) then shall I reject the seed of Jacob and David My servant, and no longer take from his seed rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will reverse their fortunes and have mercy upon them.
COMMENTS
In the grandiose promises of this paragraph the Book of Consolation reaches its climax. Since these verses are absent in the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, some liberal critics have questioned the genuineness of the passage. They are also quick to point out that Messianic concepts are introduced here which find no parallel in the rest of the Book of Jeremiah. But a prophet must be allowed freedom to express the Messianic hope in a variety of ways. The absence of the paragraph in the Septuagint version is difficult to explain no matter who is taken to be the author. Perhaps this paragraph was inserted into the book by Baruch after he emigrated to Babylon. If this was the case, then these verses would not be present in the Egyptian copy of the book from which the Septuagint translators made the Greek version. In any case this material certainly goes back to Jeremiah. Here the prophet focuses first on the grand Davidic Ruler of the future (Jeremiah 33:14-16) and then on the permanence of the royal and priestly offices in the new Israel (Jeremiah 33:17-26). In Jeremiah 33:14-16 the description of the happy future of Israel continues. The opening words Behold, the days come point to a certain but indefinite future. These words as used by Jeremiah become something of a Messianic pointer. God declares that He will certainly fulfill the good word that He has spoken to the covenant people. The good word probably refers back to the promise of a Righteous Sprout (Jeremiah 23:5-6). As if to remind Jeremiah of that promise, the Lord repeats it in Jeremiah 33:15. A Sprout of Righteousness shall spring from the stock of David who will restore justice and righteousness in the land. There can be scarcely any doubt that it is the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of David and Messiah of Israel who is depicted here. In the days of Messiah the people of God, symbolized by Judah and Jerusalem,[295] will be delivered from their oppressors and enjoy peace and security. Literal Israel and Judah never regained political independence following the restoration to Palestine. They were dominated successively by the Persians, the Greeks, the Idumean Herodians and the Romans. Thus Judah and Jerusalem must be understood here spiritually of the church of Christ and the deliverance and safety promised should be regarded as spiritual blessings.
[295] In the parallel passage it is Judah and Israel which will experience salvation and safety in the Messianic age. The change from Israel to Jerusalem seems to be an intentional alteration in the promise in order to apply it more specifically to the dire straits in which Jerusalem found itself.
In those glorious days of which the prophet is speaking, spiritual Jerusalem, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, will actually wear the name of her Messiah and Master. She shall be called The Lord our Righteousness (cf. Jeremiah 23:6). It is altogether fitting and proper that the church being the bride of Christ should wear the same name of her divine husband. The holy city has taken on the character of her King.
In Jeremiah 33:17-18 the permanence of the kingly and priestly lines is affirmed. The expression shall never lack a man used twice in these verses is hardly meant to refer to a whole line of kings or priests. Rather this expression guarantees that the office of king and the office of priest is to be perpetual. The new Israel will have a throne and the one who will occupy that throne will be a descendant of David. The prophet reproduces almost verbatim the ancient promise made to David (1 Samuel 7:16) and repeated by David in his parting words to Solomon (1 Kings 2:4). When that promise was first given the line of David was in all the freshness of its strength. But in the present circumstances the line of David seemed to be one on the verge of total extinction. The prophet, however, sees beyond the present tragedy. He is certain that the royal line will survive the destruction of Jerusalem and that the true king of Israel will always come from the house of David.
During the intertestamental period some of the Hasmoneans called themselves king but they were not universally recognized as such. The Herodian dynasty, which still retained some measure of power in the days of Jesus, was never acknowledged as sitting on the throne of Israel. When the new Israel of God came into being on Pentecost the sovereign Ruler was a son of David, a legitimate King.[296]
[296] See Luke 1:32-33; John 18:36; Ephesians 1:20-23; Revelation 17:14.
The priestly office as well as the royal office will survive the fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the Temple. The terminology the priests the Levites (KJV) or the Levitical priests (NASV) points to the fact that under the old covenant the priestly functions were the exclusive right of the descendants of Levi (Numbers 3:10; Numbers 16:40; Numbers 18:7). The New Testament categorically affirms that the Levitical priesthood has passed away (Hebrews 7:11). That priesthood was replaced by a new and better one inaugurated by Christ who was made a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Furthermore, the New Testament affirms that those who have been baptized into Christ have become part of a holy priesthood (Hebrews 10:19-22). Christians do not offer before God burnt-offerings and meal-offerings for the perfect sacrifice for sins was made upon the cross of Calvary. Rather the Christian priesthood offers the sacrifices of praise (1 Peter 2:5) and the sacrifice of the body (Romans 12:1). Jeremiah himself hints at this dramatic change in the nature of the priesthood when he declares that the ark of the covenant will no longer be remembered in the Messianic age (Jeremiah 3:16). The removal of the ark of the covenant, which was so crucial in the rituals of Old Testament worship, points to a complete change in the nature of the priesthood.
In Jeremiah 33:19-22 the promise concerning David and the Levites is reproduced with even greater solemnity. These promises are placed on the same level of permanence as the God-ordained succession of day and night. As long as day follows night, God will be faithful to His commitment to guarantee the survival of the royal and priestly lines (Jeremiah 33:19-21).
The covenant with the line of David is given in 2 Samuel 7:12-16. The covenant with the Levi, referred to again in Malachi 2:4-5; Malachi 2:8, is not so explicitly stated. Probably the reference is to the promise made to Phinehas in Numbers 25:13. The argument of Jer 33:19-22 is the same as in Jeremiah 31:35-37 except that here the argument is applied specifically to the monarchy and priesthood while in the earlier passage it is applied to Israel as a nation.
Jeremiah 33:22 affirms that the descendants of David and Levi will be innumerable. According to the prophecy of Isaiah all members of the Messianic Israel would be priests and ministers of the Lord. No longer would the priesthood be restricted to descendants of Levi, but any and every member of the nationeven Gentile convertswould be able to serve in the priestly capacities (Isaiah 66:20-21). Just as Messiah is both priest and king, so also are his subjects. These Old Testament prophecies find their fulfillment in the New Testament concept of the royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6; Revelation 5:9-10). Christians offer the sacrifice of praise before the throne of grace continually (Romans 12:1; Hebrews 13:15-16; 1 Peter 2:5). Furthermore, Christians are said to reign with Christ (Revelations Jeremiah 5:10; Jeremiah 20:4; Jeremiah 20:6). Just as Christians are spiritually the seed of Abraham (Romans 9:7-8; Galatians 3:29) so also are they envisioned in this prophecy as descendants of David and of Levi. Whatever may have been the thoughts of the prophet, one is justified in looking for the seed of David and the Levites in those who, by virtue of their union with Christ, are made both kings and priests (Revelation 1:6).
Apparently some found it hard to accept at face value these glorious promises regarding the future of the royal and priestly orders. God calls the attention of the prophet to the anguished cries of despair. God, it seemed, had altogether cast off his people. Gentiles looking upon the pitiful condition of Israel could only despise the people of God (Jeremiah 33:24). In response to the despondency of Israel and the disdain of Gentiles the prophet renews his assurance of the permanence of the kingly and priestly lines and in fact strengthens that assurance in three ways.
First, he mentions the names of the three great patriarchs of the race with whom God had already demonstrated His faithfulness in covenant keeping. Secondly, He connects his promises concerning David with a promise of a return from captivity (Jeremiah 33:26). When that return came, it would be the pledge of the yet greater blessings which were involved in the new and everlasting covenant. Finally, he repeats the analogy between His covenant with nature and His covenant with Jacob and David. As surely as God is responsible for the orderly processes of nature so surely has He ordained a glorious future for Jacob in general and David in particular.
Many prophecies of the Old Testament were never fulfilled. in a narrow, literalistic sense. The principle of interpreting every prophecy literally unless forced to do otherwise is not really valid in the light of the inspired interpretation of prophecy found in the New Testament. The prophets often used Mosaic terminology to describe the spiritual realities of the new covenant. So long as interpreters miss this point the prophetic books will remain an enigma and Messianic prophecies but utopian dreams. In painting his picture of the future the prophet of God utilized the forms, the terminology and concepts of his own day. That prophetic pictures of the Christian dispensation should be clothed in Jewish dress is not strange since this is the only form in which they could present any meaning to those to whom they were delivered. Those in the New Testament who were privileged to catch a glimpse of the heavenly Jerusalem exhausted the vocabulary of human language in describing the wonders they beheld. So the Old Testament prophets found it necessary to utilize the language of the old covenant worship to describe that of the new covenant. It is no doubt to such passages as Jeremiah 33 that Peter refers when he speaks of the prophets as inquiring and searching diligently. what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified before hand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow (1 Peter 1:10-11).