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Scripture Reading: Jer. 30; Jer. 31
Jeremiah 30—33 is a portion concerned with Jehovah's promise concerning the restoration of Israel. In this message we will begin to consider the various aspects of this promised restoration revealed in chapters thirty and thirty-one.
Jehovah appeared to Israel from afar (from the wilderness where they followed Him — 2:2b). Jehovah said that He loved Israel with an eternal love (the bridal love — 2:2a); therefore, He has drawn them with lovingkindness (31:3). Jehovah went on to say, "I will build you again, and you will be built, / O virgin of Israel. / Again you will adorn yourself with your tambourines / And will go forth in the dance of those who make merry. / Again you will plant vineyards / On the mountains of Samaria; / The planters will plant / And will partake of the fruit" (vv. 4-5).
Jehovah will turn the captivity of Israel and Judah and will bring them back to the land which He gave to their fathers, and they will possess it (30:3).
In verse 10a Jehovah declared that Jacob, His servant, should not fear and that Israel should not be dismayed. He would save them from afar, and their seed from the land of their captivity. Then He promised, "Jacob will return and will be quiet and at ease, / And none will frighten him. / For I am with you, declares Jehovah, to save you; / For I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have scattered you; / But I will not make a full end of you" (vv. 10b-11a).
Jehovah promised to bring them from the land of the north and to gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth (31:8a).
A great assembly will return to the land of Israel. This assembly will include the blind, the lame, the pregnant woman, and the travailing woman (v. 8b).
They will come with weeping, and with supplications Jehovah will lead them. He will cause them to walk by the water brooks in a straight way, in which they will not stumble; for He is a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is His firstborn (v. 9).
According to verses 11 through 14, Jehovah will redeem Israel from the hand of one stronger than them. They will come and sing in the height of Zion, and they will flow forth to the goodness of Jehovah — to the grain, to the new wine, to the fresh oil, and to the young of the flock and of the herd. Their soul will be like a watered garden, and they will not languish any more. Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old men together, and Jehovah will turn their mourning to gladness, comfort them, and cause them to rejoice after their sorrow. He will fill the soul of the priest with abundance, and His people will be satisfied with His goodness.
He who scattered Israel will gather them and keep them, as a shepherd his flock (v. 10).
There will be hope for Israel's latter end, that their children will return to their own border (v. 17).
"Set up road markers for yourself; / Make signposts for yourself; / Pay attention to the highway, / The way you went; / Return, O virgin of Israel; / Return to these cities of yours. / How long will you wander here and there, / O apostate daughter? / For Jehovah has created a new thing in the earth: / A female will encompass a mighty man" (vv. 21-22). When the children of Israel are brought back, something new will happen. A female, a weaker one, will encompass, will help, a mighty man.
The restoration of Israel will take place after Jehovah's chastisement (punishment) of Israel with justice (30:11b).
Jehovah will not leave him unpunished. His hurt is incurable, and there are no healing medicines for him (vv. 12-13). Jehovah has struck him with the striking of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, because of the greatness of his iniquity (vv. 14-15). All those who consume him will be consumed, and every one of them will go into captivity. Jehovah will bring him recovery and will heal him of his wounds (vv. 16-17).
Jehovah says that He has heard Ephraim lamenting. As Ephraim lamented, he said, "You have chastised me, and I was chastised, / Like an untrained calf; / Bring me back that I may be restored, / For You are Jehovah my God. / For after I turned back, I repented; / And after I was instructed, / I struck myself on the thigh. / I was ashamed and even confounded, / For I bear the reproach of my youth" (31:18-19).
Jehovah asked, "Is Ephraim a precious son to Me? / Or a child of My good pleasure?" (v. 20a). Then He went on to say that as often as He has spoken against him, He will surely remember him more. He will surely have mercy on him (v. 20b).
Jehovah will turn the captivity of the tents of Jacob and will have compassion on his dwelling places (30:18a).
The city will be rebuilt on its mound, and the palace will be inhabited after its own manner. Out from them will come thanksgiving and the voice of those who make merry (vv. 18b-19a).
In 31:38-40 Jehovah declares that days are coming when the city of Jerusalem will be built unto Jehovah.
When Jehovah will turn again Israel's captivity, they will say in the land of Judah and in its cities, "Jehovah bless you, O habitation of righteousness, / O mountain of holiness" (v. 23). Here habitation of righteousness refers to Jerusalem, and mountain of holiness, to Mount Zion. Judah and all its cities will dwell together in it, the farmers and they who wander with the flocks (v. 24).
Jehovah will satisfy the weary soul and fill every languishing soul (v. 25).
Jehovah will sow the house of Israel with the seed of man and with the seed of beast (v. 27). This indicates that the living of everything will be rich in life. Jehovah also said that as He has watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to overthrow, to destroy, and to bring evil, He will watch over them to build and to plant (v. 28).
Jehovah will multiply Israel, so that they will not be few. He will cause them to be honored, so that they will not be small (30:19b).
According to verses 20 and 21, their children will be as they were of old, and their assembly will be established before Jehovah. Their leader will be one of them, and their ruler will come out of their midst. Jehovah will bring him near, and he will approach Him.
Here Jehovah speaks of one leader, not of many leaders. If there were more than one leader, there would be different opinions, and these opinions would cause divisions. According to God's ordained way, there will be one leader. Thus, there will be no more opinion and no more division.
Jeremiah 31:35 speaks of Jehovah as the One who gives the sun for light by day and the order of the moon and the stars for light by night and who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar. In the next verse Jehovah says, "If this order departs / From before Me, declares Jehovah, / Then the seed of Israel will also cease / From being a nation before Me forever." However, the seed of Israel will not cease from being a nation before Jehovah forever, just as the ordinances of the sun, the moon and the stars, and the roaring of the waves of the sea will never depart. We have a similar word in 33:25 and 26. "Thus says Jehovah, If My covenant with respect to day and night does not stand, if I have not established the statutes of heaven and earth, then I will also reject the seed of Jacob and David My servant and will not take rulers from his seed to be over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for I will turn their captivity and will have compassion on them." Both portions use the same illustration to indicate that from the time of restoration, that is, the coming millennium, Israel will exist forever. They will not cease from being a nation.
Jeremiah 31:37 is a word of assurance that Jehovah will not cast off all the seed of Israel for all they have done. "Thus says Jehovah, / If the heavens above can be measured, / And the foundations of the earth below can be examined carefully, / Then I will also cast off all the seed of Israel / For all they have done." This verse indicates that their descendants will never be cut off.
Jeremiah 30:5-8 reveals that there will be a great day, a time of distress, for Israel.
Verse 7a says, "Alas! For that day is great, / And there is none like it; / And it is a time of distress for Jacob." This great day, this time of distress, is the time of the great tribulation for three and a half years (Matt. 24:21; Dan. 12:7b; Rev. 13:5, 7a). Jeremiah 30 refers to the great tribulation during the last three and a half years of this age.
Jeremiah 30:7b tells us that Israel will be saved out of this great tribulation (Dan. 12:1).
In Jeremiah 30:8 Jehovah promised that, in that day, He will break the yoke from upon Israel's neck and tear off her bonds. The strangers will no longer make her serve them.
