Deeper Commentary
Jeremiah 33:2 Thus says Yahweh who does it, Yahweh who forms it to
establish it; Yahweh is His name-
To not restore Israel, to not save His people, would be akin to
having formed / created the world but not establishing it as a realistic
abode for His people. The language here is borrowed from Is. 45:18, where
also in a restoration context, Israel are encouraged that God formed the
earth to be inhabited. If nobody will inhabit that Kingdom, then all
creation was but labour in vain. God wants to save, He rejoices in doing
so. See on Jer. 32:40,41.
Jeremiah 33:3 Call to Me, and I will answer you, and will show you great
things, and difficult, which you don’t know-
This may be a personal invitation to Jeremiah (see on :1). He "knew"
the theoretical truth of the restoration, but he had to "know" it
personally, even though that realization would be both great and
difficult. See on Jer. 32:17,27. Jeremiah was representative of his
people; in the restored kingdom, they would call and God would answer
(s.w. Is. 58:9; 65:24; Zech. 13:9).
Jeremiah 33:4 For thus says Yahweh the God of Israel, concerning the
houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah,
which are broken down to make a defence against the mounds and against the
sword-
Jeremiah elsewhere criticized the building of these great houses on
the walls of Jerusalem- for they were built on the back of abusing the
poor for material and labour. They were finally torn down by the
Babylonians (Jer. 52:13), but even before that, the owners themselves
broke them down and the materials were used to shore up the breaches in
the city walls. Likewise there are foretastes of judgment ahead of time in
the lives of all God's people.
Jeremiah 33:5 While men come to fight with the Chaldeans, and to fill them
with the dead bodies of men, whom I have killed in My anger and in My
wrath-
The great houses were filled with dead bodies; the wealthy homes
which were the epitome of their wealth, pride, materialism and
unspirituality, became their tombs.
Jeremiah 33:6 Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure
them-
Jeremiah 33:7 I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of
Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first- Causing
captivity to return can be read as simply meaning 'to revive the
fortunes'. But they had been asked to return from exile to Zion, and
spiritually, to return to their God. And here God is saying that He will
cause them to return; if they wanted restoration and turning to God, then
God would give this to them. Repentance is therefore a gift (Acts 11:18).
His causative power operates directly upon the human heart; for this
prophecy is a follow on and back up to that of Jer. 32:40.
Jeremiah 33:8 I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, by which they
have sinned against Me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, by which
they have sinned against Me, and by which they have transgressed against
Me- God would give not only repentance (:7) but also forgiveness. But
His amazing offer labours the point four times in this verse- that they
really had sinned against Him. And that needed to be recognized.
Jeremiah 33:9 This city shall be to Me for a name of joy, for a praise and
for a glory, before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the
good that I do to them, and shall fear and tremble for all the good and
for all the peace that I procure to it- The amazing grace of God to
His people, giving them both repentance (:7) and forgiveness (:8), would
result in a peace with God which would become legendary. All nations of
the eretz, including those who had abused Israel, would hear and
perceive this grace, and come trembling to the God of Jerusalem in order
to themselves partake of it. This is what could have happened at the
restoration, but it has been reapplied to the last days. Really perceiving
this grace is enough indeed to make a man "fear and tremble"; not from
fear of condemnation, but in awe at the surpassing grace extended.
Jeremiah 33:10 Thus says Yahweh: Yet again there shall be heard in this
place, about which you say, It is waste, without man and without animal,
even in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are
desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without animal- "Yet
again" demonstrates that the new kingdom to be established would be a
restoration of the previous kingdom of God in Israel, although to a far
grander extent. This is what will happen at the Lord's return to earth
(Acts 1:6). There is an element of continuity with the previous kingdom;
reminding us that the kingdom of God on earth is to be real and concrete
and not purely abstract and immaterial. In Lamentations, Jeremiah laments
the desolate state of the streets of Jerusalem; he appeared to have
forgotten these wonderful prophecies of restoration, caught up as we can
be in the tragedy of the moment.
Jeremiah 33:11 The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of
the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say,
Give thanks to Yahweh of Armies, for Yahweh is good, for His loving
kindness endures forever; who bring thanksgiving into the house of Yahweh-
In the final restoration of the Kingdom, there will be no marriage (Lk.
20:35,36). So this describes what could have been in the restored Kingdom
at the restoration. It didn't happen, and therefore the essence of the
prophecies will come true at the Lord's return- but not every detail. The
building of the temple, institution of sacrifices etc. of Ez. 40-48 would
appear to be another example of some of the literal physicalities intended
which will not be literally fulfilled at the Lord's return.
Jeremiah 33:12 Thus says Yahweh of Armies: Yet again shall there be in
this place which is waste, without man and without animal, and in all its
cities, a habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down-
Jeremiah 33:13 In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the
lowland, and in the cities of the South, and in the land of Benjamin, and
in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the
flocks again pass under the hands of him who numbers them, says Yahweh-
See on :12. Ez. 20:37 speaks of the returning exiles as flocks
passing under the rod of the shepherd, who counts them that none be lost.
Verse 22 is a designed contrast; the redeemed as Abraham's seed cannot be
numbered. And yet this shepherd, spoken of in the singular because one
particular shepherd is in view, will be able to number them. The shepherd
is seen as the Messianic priest-ruler; clearly this looks forward to the
Lord Jesus, seeing the flock of exiles generally did not truly return.
Jeremiah 33:14 Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will perform
that word of grace which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and
concerning the house of Judah- Again it is emphasized that Israel and
Judah would unite, due to the common experience of God's grace. To be not
only forgiven of so much sin, but even caused to repent (see on :7,8), is
indeed a word of grace. No covenant based upon obedience could lead to
their restoration; it had to be of grace alone, as it has to be for us
too.
Jeremiah 33:15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause a Branch of
righteousness to grow up to David; and he shall execute justice and
righteousness in the land- A branch growing out of David means that
this person was the seed of David. Zerubbabel ['branch of God from
Babylon'] could have fulfilled all this; but he didn't. The promised seed
of David was therefore fulfilled in the Lord Jesus (Lk. 1:35,36).
Executing justice and judgment was to be the characteristic of Abraham's
seed (the same three words are in Gen. 18:19). The seed of David would be
the seed of Abraham. The new covenant would be based upon the promises to
Abraham. And yet it is God as judge of all the earth who executes justice
(s.w. Gen. 18:25). So this literal descendant of Abraham and David was to
be the manifestation of God; all clearly to be fulfilled in the Lord
Jesus.
Jeremiah 33:16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall
dwell safely; and this is the name by which it shall be called: Yahweh our
righteousness- The effect of the Messianic ruler, the branch of
righteousness of :15, will be that Jerusalem (put her for the people of
Jerusalem and Judah) would also be known as "Yahweh our righteousness".
The "our" refers not to Judah, but to some other group- the Gentile
nations around them. As Yahweh had been her righteousness, imputing
righteousness to them through the Messianic figure which looked forward to
the Lord Jesus, so they would reflect their reconciliation to others. They
would become righteousness for others as Yahweh had been their saving
righteousness. This is to be our response likewise to what has been done
for us by grace in Christ.
All this could have happened at the restoration. As
Jerusalem was to be renamed "Yahweh is our righteousness" (Jer. 33:16 RV),
so
Ez. 48:35 likewise is a command rather than a prediction, that the city
should be called this. But Judah didn't do this. The concept has been
reapplied to those who call Yahweh's righteousness upon themselves in
baptism. Jer. 33:16; 23:6 etc. outline God's intention that after
the restoration, the rebuilt Zion would be named "The Lord our righteous
one" because Jerusalem would be the habitation of the righteous one (Jer.
31:23; 50:7). This is similar language to the restoration prophecies of
Isaiah- the surrounding Gentile world would see / perceive / believe in
"the righteous one" who would reign in the rebuilt Zion (Is. 62:2).
Jeremiah 33:17 For thus says Yahweh: David shall never want a man to sit
on the throne of the house of Israel- This implies that the ruler in
the line of David would have children and descendants who would eternally
continue reigning on David's throne. That wonderful potential was not
realized in Zerubbabel, and so the prophecy will come true in essence in
that the Lord Jesus, the seed of David, will reign eternally.
In the context of the restoration from Babylon, David would never want a man to sit
upon his throne; and no conditions to this are specified. And
yet even within Jeremiah it is apparent that because of the failure of
Judah’s leaders, there would indeed come a time when there would be “none
to sit upon the throne of David” (Jer. 22:30; 36:30). Yet
if
the Jews had done righteousness in Zedekiah’s time, then instead of the
Babylonians entering the gates of Jerusalem there would have been “kings
sitting for David upon his throne” (Jer. 22:4 RVmg.). But this condition
is not mentioned in the promises to David in 2 Sam. 7 nor in the apparent
blanket statement of Jer. 33:17.
Jeremiah 33:18 Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before Me
to offer burnt offerings, and to burn meal offerings, and to do sacrifice
continually- This again was the potential possibility; the system of
offerings was to be restored in the rebuilt temple, and the Levites who
served there would have an unbroken line of descendants who continued that
work. But they were impenitent; this didn't happen. Therefore
Nehemiah was heartbroken that the temple was “forsaken”, because the
“Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his
field” because the tithes weren’t paid to them (Neh. 13:10,11). The
essence of it came to be fulfilled in the eternal priesthood of the Lord
Jesus, but the detail obviously wasn't.
Jeremiah 33:19 The word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah saying- It would
appear that the fall of Jerusalem and exile meant that there was a feeling
that the covenant relationship with God had been broken, and Israel were
therefore no longer God's people. Those who fail can at times be so
swallowed up with the sorrow of condemnation that they believe there can
be no way back for them (2 Cor. 2:7). And so we have here the affirmation
of God's eternal faithfulness to Israel.
Jeremiah 33:20 Thus says Yahweh: If you can break My covenant of the day,
and My covenant of the night, so that there shall not be day and night in
their season- The whole of creation was bound up with Israel; all of
creation came about for our sakes, God's people. All the vastness is
merely to provide a context for our redemption. Any breaking of covenant
with God's people is therefore tantamount to a breaking of covenant with
day and night, and the entire solar system which provides them. There is
no record of God having a covenant relationship with those entities; but
here we learn that He does, insofar as He has a covenant relationship with
His people.
And yet the covenant with
Israel was broken, both by them and later confirmed by God from His side
(Zech. 11:10). The eternal nature of His covenant is therefore achieved by
redefining the human parties; instead of the nation of Israel, the part
became "David My servant" (:21), Messiah- and all in Him. The darkness that came
down at the crucifixion would have recalled Jer. 33:19-21- when day and
night no longer follow their normal sequence, God is breaking His covenant
with Israel.
Israel’s condemnation would be that “even at midday you will grope like a
blind man in the dark" (Dt. 28:29). And yet the Lord would have known that
He was suffering for Israel, treated as an apostate Israel, and thus He was
the more inspired to pray for their ultimate forgiveness and salvation,
seeing He had borne their condemnation. The Lord suffered “for the
transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due" (Is. 53:8 RVmg.).
There are therefore elements of the crucifixion sufferings of Jesus in every
suffering of natural Israel.
Jeremiah 33:21 Then may also My covenant be broken with David My servant,
that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne; and with the Levites
the priests, My ministers- The old covenant was broken (Zech. 11:10).
But the kingly and priestly lines did not continue after the restoration.
As explained on :20, the covenant was only unbroken in that the human
party was redefined, from Israel as a nation to a singular king-priest who
would be their representative- ultimately, the Lord Jesus. All those in
Him would abide within the covenant, eternally.
Jeremiah 33:22 As the army of the sky can’t be numbered, neither the sand
of the sea measured; so will I multiply the seed of David My servant, and
the Levites who minister to Me-
Jeremiah 33:23 The word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah saying- The
assurance which follows may have been given in answer to some specific
question from the audience, or may be addressing some personal question of
Jeremiah. The specific objection is stated in :34.
Jeremiah 33:24 Don’t consider what this people has spoken saying, The two
families which Yahweh chose, has He not cast them off? Thus do they
despise My people, that they should be no more a nation before them-
The people of Judah appeared to think that now they had been treated like
the ten tribes and sent into captivity, they like the ten tribes would be
permanently rejected it. Judah had fed themselves with the elitist
narrative that the exile of the ten tribes meant they were no longer the
true people of God, whereas they as Judah had the temple with them, had
not gone into exile, and were therefore God's true people. But now they
too had gone into exile. This is the problem of being harshly judgmental
of others; those who are such often then discover that they have actually
committed the same sins as those they once so harshly judge. And their
response is often to walk away from the things of God because they think
that they too are condemned beyond redemption. And so Judah despised
themselves now they too were carried away into exile and had lost the
temple; considering they could never again be Yahweh's people. In this
context comes the message of restoration, possible for those who believed
in it.
Jeremiah 33:25 Thus says Yahweh: If My covenant of day and night fails, if
I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth-
Jeremiah 33:26 Then will I also cast away the seed of Jacob, and of David
My servant, so that I will not take of his seed to be rulers over the seed
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return,
and will have mercy on them- See on :11.
One understanding of this would be that
Yahweh 'cast away' Judah (Jer. 12:7; 23:33) but only because they had cast
Him off (Jer. 15:6 s.w.); and yet He did not cast off His people in that
the seed of Jacob was to be redefined- not as a nation, but as His great
individual seed, Jesus, and all those baptized into Him. And yet perhaps
here we against have the paradox of grace. God did not cast off His people (Jer.
33:26); Jeremiah personally was persuaded that God would not cast off His
people for ever (Lam. 3:31). He will show them mercy as if He had not cast
them off (Zech. 10:6); this reversal of their casting off was to be
through the repentance of the exiled community (Lev. 26:44). But even this
didn't happen, and yet God still did not cast them away (Rom. 11:2). His
love and grace was such that He holds on to them. This desperate holding
on to His people is seen in the experience of every person who joins God's
people through baptism into Christ. They may indeed be cast off
ultimately, but that is because they cast Him off, and wrestled against
His insistent desire to keep hold of them eternally.
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