The Restoration Of Israel – Jeremiah – Part 3 – Chapter 30 – The Fortunes Of Israel And Judah To Be Restored Series

Chapters 30 and 31 are crucial in the restoration of Israel in the book of Jeremiah. Chapter 31 is one of the most important references in all of scripture outlining the Millennial and eternal blessings for the nation. Chapter 33 is another vital chapter.

{{Jeremiah 30:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Jer 30:2 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book, Jer 30:3 for behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I WILL RESTORE THE FORTUNES OF MY PEOPLE ISRAEL AND JUDAH.’ The LORD says, ‘I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall possess it.’”}}

{{Jeremiah 30:4 Now these are the words which the LORD spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah, Jer 30:5 “For thus says the LORD, ‘I have heard a sound of terror, of dread, and there is no peace. Jer 30:6 Ask now, and see, if a male can give birth. Why do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth, and why have all faces turned pale? Jer 30:7 Alas! for that day is great. There is none like it, and it is the time of Jacob’s distress, but he will be saved from it, Jer 30:8 and it shall come about ON THAT DAY,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘that I will break his yoke from off their neck, and will tear off their bonds, AND STRANGERS SHALL NO LONGER MAKE THEM THEIR SLAVES.}}

VERSES 1-3. This prophecy is so important that Jeremiah is instructed to write it down in a book (a scroll in those days). Verse 3 states almost the same as the previous section does, the one Jeremiah 29:12-14, a promise of restoration and settlement in their land.

VERSES 4-8. Some say this is a description of the destruction of Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar, but the context does not allow that. Of course certain events can be forerunners or hints of a future calamity, and some features in common, and that may be so here as a wisp of “the great one”. That great one is the Great Tribulation that is on the horizon, for the Rapture of the Church looks so close. We examine the passage. We begin with terror and dread and an absence of peace. The men are in turmoil as if in labour pains and all faces are pale. Great calamity is overtaking the nation and that could have been also under Nebuchadnezzar and later under Titus in AD 70, but verse 7 gives the proper context. It is the great day, in fact, THE GREAT DAY OF HIS WRATH over all the earth, but for the Jews, a special phrase is entered for them – “the time of Jacob’s distress” or “THE TIME OF JACOB’S TROUBLE” as it is more commonly termed.

There is some difference of opinion as to what this is, with some saying it is the whole of the Tribulation viewed in respect of Israel based on the whole night of Jacob’s wrestling with God before the victory came. Others, and I think the majority, say this is the intensity of Jacob's trouble that night, the most severe part, and therefore it relates to the second half of the Tribulation beginning with the erection by Antichrist of the abomination in the Temple, the very time when the Lord would tell His (Jewish Tribulation saints) to flee from Jerusalem immediately they saw this event (Matthew 24). That is the last three and a half years, the 1260 days (42 months). In verse 7, the term, “THERE IS NONE LIKE IT,” means it must be like no other time in history and nothing can equal it, so it must be set in the Tribulation.

VERSE 8. Let us look at this term – “I will break HIS yoke from off their neck, and will tear off THEIR bonds,” as it is the turning point and the solution to Israel's great distress. What does “his” and “their” mean? This is how I see it. The description has its fulfillment at Armageddon, but it is not just one single event leading to it. For the last half of the Tribulation, the world leader = Antichrist - will be the satanic enemy of Israel and especially of the Jewish believers who are fleeing Jerusalem. This is where Revelation 12 applies; that chapter being God’s protection for His own from Satan. Additionally, the nations of the world have their armies in Israel and particularly for the assault against Jerusalem. Zechariah describes that this way – {{Zechariah 12:3 “And it will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH WILL BE GATHERED AGAINST IT.” AND Zechariah 14:2 “For I will gather ALL THE NATIONS against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.”}}