Jeremiah 30: 1 – 24
Jacob’s Trouble
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 “Thus speaks the LORD God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. 3 For behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the LORD. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’” 4 Now these are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah. 5 “For thus says the LORD: ‘We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. 6 Ask now, and see, whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor, and all faces turned pale? 7 Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. 8 ‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘That I will break his yoke from your neck, and will burst your bonds; Foreigners shall no more enslave them. 9 But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. 10 ‘Therefore do not fear, O My servant Jacob,’ says the LORD, ‘Nor be dismayed, O Israel; For behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet, and no one shall make him afraid. 11 For I am with you,’ says the LORD, ‘to save you; Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice, and will not let you go altogether unpunished.’ 12 “For thus says the LORD: ‘Your affliction is incurable, your wound is severe. 13 There is no one to plead your cause, that you may be bound up; You have no healing medicines. 14 All your lovers have forgotten you; They do not seek you; For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of your iniquities, because your sins have increased. 15 Why do you cry about your affliction? Your sorrow is incurable. Because of the multitude of your iniquities, because your sins have increased, I have done these things to you. 16 ‘Therefore all those who devour you shall be devoured; And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; Those who plunder you shall become plunder, and all who prey upon you I will make a prey. 17 For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds,’ says the LORD, ‘Because they called you an outcast saying: “This is Zion; No one seeks her.”?’ 18 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places; The city shall be built upon its own mound, and the palace shall remain according to its own plan. 19 Then out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of those who make merry; I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. 20 Their children also shall be as before, and their congregation shall be established before Me; And I will punish all who oppress them. 21 Their nobles shall be from among them, and their governor shall come from their midst; Then I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach Me; For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ says the LORD. 22 ‘You shall be My people, and I will be your God.’?” 23 Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goes forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind; It will fall violently on the head of the wicked. 24 The fierce anger of the LORD will not return until He has done it, and until He has performed the intents of His heart. In the latter days you will consider it.
A time of fellowship which I enjoy is after our Monday evening bible study. There is a large group now who stay after 9 PM to gather and want to ask questions. One such area of concern is what is brought forth in today’s study. It is referred as ‘The time of Jacob's trouble. What is it?
The "time of Jacob's trouble" comes from Jeremiah chapter 30 that says, "Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it". What is this "time of distress for Jacob"?
In previous verses, God promised He would someday restore His people to their land, meaning the land of Israel. Despite a great time of distress for the Jewish people, the Lord would save them from it. Verses 8 and 9 make it clear that this time would be a period in which God's people no longer served other masters but would serve the Lord and "David their king, whom I will raise up for them" (v. 9). This prophecy was referring to some future time.
The descriptions in the Jeremiah passage most closely resembles the predictions given by our Master and King Jesus in Matthew 24. For example, our Lord Jesus called the trials that would take place among the Jewish people "the beginning of the birth pains" (v. 8). In the book of 1 Thessalonians 5: 3, Paul also describes this period by saying, "While people are saying, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape."
The time frame lasts 7 years as the prophecy of Daniel predicts in chapter 9 of his book, “Seventy sevens are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. 25 “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven sevens and sixty-two sevens; The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. 26 “And after the sixty-two sevens Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the seven He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.”
Let’s look at the 70 sevens as prophesied in chapter 9 of the book of Daniel. There was a three-way spit in these sevens;
7 sevens
62 sevens
Last or 1 seven
Total = 70 sevens
Our Great God could have just said that there was going to be 69 sevens after the ‘command’ was given to rebuild Jerusalem until the Holy Messiah would physically appear on the earth.
25 “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven sevens and sixty-two sevens = 69 sevens (1 seven is left)
Our Holy Father God wanted to let the Jewish people know that after ‘seven’ sevens the city would be rebuilt which verified that the Lord’s Great Mercy and Promises were fulfilled.
The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.
Sixty-nine sevens are completed when the city and its walls are established then midway in the last ‘seven ‘or seventy-seven, the Messiah would be ‘cut off’, which means ‘killed’.
26 “And after the sixty-two sevens (the first sevens are completed and equals 69 sevens) Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself.
A major question that needs to be asked is this, ‘what about the last seven?’ Now there is taught that the church age began with the Resurrection of our Lord, which is true, however this has nothing to do the clock stopping for the last of the seventy-seven. The bible does not talk about any stoppage of time or gap. The last seven takes place after the other 69 sevens. Have you read anywhere in the bible that the Lord is going to freeze everything after the 69th seven? This idea has been created by man.
Do you have any children? Suppose you told your child(ren) that they were to go to bed at 9 PM. At 9:30 you see them sitting around watching TV. You ask them why they have not obeyed? They tell you that time has stopped and that there is now a gap, so they can stay up and watch TV until the gap ends.
After the 69 weeks occurs the 70th week. In the middle of this week our Lord Jesus Christ is crucified and dies for our sins. He has ‘confirmed’ in His blood the New Covenant of God’s Love for us. He died once so there is no longer any need for animal sacrifices. He has put an end to this ritual.
As you know the Jewish people continued to offer up sacrifices. The Roman leader Titus with his soldiers came and put an end to these animal sacrifices once and for all. Then they burnt down the city and the Temple as predicted. If you ever read the books of Josephus the Jews went through a time of trouble that matched the ‘Holocaust’. It was so bad that people were lowered to cannibalism.
In addition, some teachers teach that this passage is the passage on which is based the idea of the ‘seven year’ tribulation, a concept which must be very seriously questioned. The Bible knows nothing of a seven-year tribulation period (the seven is derived from the last 7 spoken of by Daniel), for as we shall see it is not in mind here, and the suggestion of seven years occurs nowhere else.
Notice the words, ‘He shall ‘confirm’ the covenant for one week.” Everything mentioned before speaks of ‘sevens. Now uniquely it speaks of ‘a week’. This is where theological experts get the 7 years from. There is nothing said about a ‘treaty’. In fact, the term ‘confirm a covenant’ means that a covenant was previously in effect and the leader (which speaks about a Jewish leader -ie. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ confirmed His previous covenant with a New Covenant)
If you haven’t thought about it then, now stop and think about what occurs in the 70 sevens. The answer lies in the book of Acts chapter 10. For after our Lord Jesus’ death and resurrection (the first half of the last seven of Daniel) the last 3 and ½ seven takes us to this incident. Have you even wondered why this happened? Peter went to Caesarea to see a gentile by the name of Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.” Here our Great and Good Shepherd added sheep from other nations to His flock and the church was begun.
Today’s study places a great emphasis, not only on the coming anguish, but even more on the glorious restoration that will follow. It presents a final picture of a wholly restored nation which has been spiritually transformed.
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 “Thus speaks the LORD God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you.
With YHWH’s most imposing title being applied, Jeremiah is now called on to write down all the words that YHWH has spoken to him, in a book or scroll. This need for Jeremiah to write down his prophecies has in fact constantly been emphasized (36.2, 28; 45.1), and suggests that he felt under a divine urge to record his prophecies.
3 For behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the LORD. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’”
And the reason for writing down his words is in readiness for the fact that ‘according to the assured word of YHWH’ (twice stressed) the days were coming when YHWH would ‘turn again’ the captivity of His people, both Israel and Judah, and cause them to return to the land of their fathers and possess it. It would be at that stage that they would need Jeremiah’s prophecies of hope. This ‘turning again’ would begin with the return of exiles from Babylon (Ezra 1.1), but it would continue on through the undocumented period following Malachi to such an extent that, by the time of Jesus Christ, Palestine (Galilee and Judaea) was well populated with people connected with the ‘twelve tribes’ in one way or another.
4 Now these are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah.
At the time when Jeremiah was speaking Judah was populated, not only by men of Judah and Benjamin, but also by large numbers of refugees and ‘immigrants’ from northern Israel, who for one reason or another, some for religious reasons, and others for political reasons, had taken up their abode in Judah. It thus represented what officially remained of both Israel and Judah in Palestine itself. These words, however, would appear to encompass not only those in the land, but also the exiles from both Israel and Judah scattered abroad around the world (Isaiah 11.11).
5 “For thus says the LORD: ‘We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.
YHWH declares that all is not well for Israel and Judah, either at home or abroad. From among both peoples comes a voice, not of wellbeing and peace, but of trembling and fear (compare Leviticus 26.36-39). Judah is approaching its final death throes, while many of the exiles are experiencing hard times (Deuteronomy 28.65-67).
6 Ask now, and see, whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor, and all faces turned pale?
Things are so bad that it is as though even the males in Israel and Judah are in labor pains for they are holding their abdomens in their distress, and their faces have gone deathly white. They are like women undergoing labor pains because of the distress in which they find themselves, to such an extent that it makes onlookers ask, ‘are the men also in labor?’.
This depth of suffering suggests either a period near the end of Zedekiah’s reign when the great judgment was looming over them, or the period following when Jerusalem had been destroyed and the land was in darkness and despair.
7 Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.
This idea then leads on to a vivid picture of the anguish that must follow the destruction of Jerusalem and precede the restoration, the ‘time of Jacob’s trouble’, which is the period of suffering prior to restoration, a time of trembling and fear in full accordance with the warning given in Leviticus 26.32-45, “will bring the land to desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it. 33 I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste. 34 Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths. 35 As long as it lies desolate it shall rest—for the time it did not rest on your sabbaths when you dwelt in it. 36 ‘And as for those of you who are left, I will send faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a shaken leaf shall cause them to flee; they shall flee as though fleeing from a sword, and they shall fall when no one pursues. 37 They shall stumble over one another, as it were before a sword, when no one pursues; and you shall have no power to stand before your enemies. 38 You shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. 39 And those of you who are left shall waste away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; also, in their fathers’ iniquities, which are with them, they shall waste away. 40 ‘But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, 41 and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt—42 then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land. 43 The land also shall be left empty by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; they will accept their guilt, because they despised My judgments and because their soul abhorred My statutes. 44 Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. 45 But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.’”
Please notice the prominent mention of ‘Jacob’ (verse 42), and of ‘faintness’ (verse 36) and of the restoration of the covenant (verses 42, 45), all features of this passage. The phrase ‘Jacob’s trouble’ is itself drawn from the warning of ‘trouble’ for a disobedient Israel in Deuteronomy 30.17, 21; and its reference to ‘Jacob’ may be found in Isaiah 43.28.
So, their anguish will be because of the dreadfulness of what is coming. It is the time spoken of by Moses and the prophets, the time of ‘Jacob’s trouble’ resulting from their idolatry and the breaking of the covenant. It would result initially in the besieging of Jerusalem with all the human costs that that involved (Deuteronomy 28.52-55) and continue on in the misery of the exiles (Deuteronomy 28.58-67), something never before experienced. The princes of the sanctuary will be profaned, and ‘Jacob’ will become a curse (Isaiah 43.28). ‘Jacob’ will be punished according to his ways and recompensed according to his doings (Hosea 12.2).
And this occurred because the people had rejected YHWH in their hearts and had gone after other gods and allied themselves with godless nations. Only a remnant would be delivered out of it. (A similar story would repeat itself when the nation rejected Jesus Christ. The Idolatrous Desolator (Abomination of Desolation) would destroy Jerusalem, and the people would be scattered into exile, facing a tribulation the like of which had not ever been known before (Matthew 24.15-21; Luke 21.20-24).).
Jacob (the people of Judah and the exiles of Israel and Judah as still not transformed), would be troubled because of the tumults in the world, as well as because they were strangers in a foreign land. It was not easy living in that area at that time. As we read of the movements of armies and of battles in history we can often tend to overlook the misery and suffering that was being brought on the people in the parts of the world where they took place. Every mile of advance of an army was at a tremendous human cost, as ‘innocent’ people were caught up in the terror that had come upon them. And in mind here are the particularly bad times, probably having in mind the times when the Babylonian kings had to quell rebellions, often in places where many of the exiles were to be found, and that even if they had not themselves been a part of the rebellion. These would most often occur as one king died and was replaced by another, something which would cause friction between contenders, and hopes of freedom (even if hopeless) among tributaries. At such times vengeance could be non-discriminatory. Indeed, from what follows it would appear to have especially in mind the tumults that would arise as a result of the activities of the Persians and the Medes as, under Cyrus, they would challenge the mighty Babylonian Empire. It was a day so great and so awful that none could remember anything like it, and it would cause great trouble to ‘Jacob’, that is, to the exiles in Babylonia, Elam and Assyria, the ‘troubles’ forecast by Moses and the prophets (Deuteronomy 30.17, 21). Thus, it is the time anticipated by the earlier prophets when YHWH would punish His people for their idolatry. But, unexpectedly, out of it would come deliverance and the opportunity to return home, thanks humanly speaking to the humaneness of Cyrus’ policies, a king whom God had raised up for the purpose. They would be ‘saved out of’ the great troubles that were coming on them and on the world.
There are no good grounds for referring the words here specifically to what we call ‘the end times’ except in so far as Jeremiah probably saw them as the end times followed by final restoration. He would not be expecting a complicated future. (He was not to know that it was the first stepping stone in a long history. The words were intended to apply to the situation in which the people in those days could expect to find themselves. Jeremiah was considering what immediately lay ahead. Of course, troubles arose for God’s people throughout all ages, and they would often be ‘beyond compare’, although, of course, from the prophetic perspective their hope each time was that it would then issue in perfect peace for Israel. Thus they hoped that they would be the ‘end time’ troubles. They did not realize that there would be many such times of ‘Jacob’s trouble’, as Daniel in fact brings out, (and also a number of desolations of Jerusalem, e. by Nebuchadnezzar, by Antiochus Epiphanes, by Titus) before the end came. They simply knew that before blessing must come trouble because of the sinfulness of God’s people, and that this would be so to the end.
One day there will come a time when the yoke of Babylon will be removed, and Israel will be free, and they will serve YHWH their God, and The Greater David their king whom YHWH will raise up to them.
8 ‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘That I will break his yoke from your neck, and will burst your bonds; Foreigners shall no more enslave them. 9 But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
And ‘in that day’, the day when YHWH began to act, the yoke and bonds of Babylon, previously so vividly displayed by Jeremiah, would be broken off their necks (as they had been prematurely from Jeremiah’s neck by Hananiah), and their bonds would be torn asunder, and the result would be that they would no longer be bondmen, restricted in their movements, but at liberty to return home to serve YHWH their God freely, and be ruled over by a descendant David (Hosea 3.5; Isaiah 55.4). That this occurred Scripture makes clear. Zerubbabel is the descendant of David best known to us from the post-exilic period, but he was not the only one, and we should note the vivid language used by Haggai and Zechariah concerning his reign (Haggai. From Heaven’s viewpoint his reign was seen as ‘earth shaking ‘culminating in the arrival of the greater ‘Son of David’ Who would establish God’s Kingly Rule on earth (Matthew 12.28; Revelation 12.10), and then establish His throne in Heaven continuing an everlasting rule which would continue over the earth (Revelation 20.4-6) and which would be finalised after His second coming in the everlasting kingdom.
Furthermore, this great picture is repeated whenever someone is converted to Jesus Christ. They rise from the captivity of this world, their chains fall off, their hearts become free, and they rise up to follow YHWH their God and the Greater David, Jesus Christ, Whom they have come to know as their King and LORD. It is noteworthy that in the New Testament the Name LORD (YHWH) is applied mainly to Jesus Christ.
Meanwhile the magnanimity of Persian policy would give nations a new freedom, and none more so than Israel and Judah, who were allowed to return home with their religious accoutrements and with assistance from the Persian treasury, and were thus able to establish first the Temple (completed about 516 BC) and a new but impoverished nation, and then finally Jerusalem itself as a ruling city under Nehemiah (about 445 BC), eventually becoming a relatively wealthy independent nation under the Hasmoneans, only to lose it all because of sin.
‘In that day --’ simply indicates ‘the day in which YHWH decides to act’. Such ‘days’ have occurred throughout history.
10 ‘Therefore do not fear, O My servant Jacob,’ says the LORD, ‘Nor be dismayed, O Israel; For behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet, and no one shall make him afraid.
Jacob (Judah/Israel) were not to be afraid of the future, nor dismayed at what was to happen around them, for all was in YHWH’s hands. Whatever may have happened to them in the past His purpose towards them for the future was good. On the sure ‘word of YHWH’ they could be certain that they would be ‘saved from afar’, wherever they might be, and their children would be saved also, from the land of their enforced exile, and they would return to their land and find quiet and ease, with none to make them afraid.
This redemption of ‘Jacob’ was a regular feature of Isaiah’s ministry. And that is precisely what God did during the centuries after the Exile when His people returned and repopulated Palestine, enjoying many long periods of peace and wellbeing. Whilst we mainly know of the returnees from Babylon we may be sure that many who remained true to YHWH came from other parts as well. It would have been remarkable if they had not. And certainly, by the time of Jesus we find an Israel made up of people from many of the tribes, although many had lost their specific identity. There was further fulfilment when Jesus came, leading men into peace and rest (Matthew 11.28-30) and bringing about an even greater redemption for ‘Jacob’ (Mark 10.45). But, of course, the final fulfilment will be in the everlasting kingdom when there will be no more fear.
The mention of ‘their seed’ indicates, however, that it would not be immediate but after a period, which ties in with the ‘seventy year’ delay.
11 For I am with you,’ says the LORD, ‘to save you; Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice and will not let you go altogether unpunished.’
For on His own sure word (the word of YHWH) they could know that He was with them and would deliver them and would make a full end of all the nations among whom they had been scattered (especially Assyria and Babylon). But while He would make a full end of these nations He would not make a full end of Judah/Israel. This final hope was something that He had indeed often promised in the past (4.27; 5.10, 18). Rather He would correct them ‘in measure’ and punish them in order to remove from them what spoiled them. For towards them His final purpose was of chastisement not final destruction. On the other hand they could not remain wholly unpunished.
That many of the nations among whom they dwelt disappeared as such from history in the inter-testament period is well known. Assyria also disappeared from the map as such, Elam was no more and ancient Babylon ceased to exist. They were eventually replaced by the powers of Greece and Rome.
Having made His glorious promises YHWH now turns back to why all this was necessary. As we have seen above this passage contains a deliberate pattern of contrasts, with the fact of the miserable present being contrasted with the glorious future. Their present condition is what prevents God from restoring His people and must first be dealt with before there can be restoration. Their situation has arisen because they were spiritually badly wounded with none to tend them. It was because there was no balm in Gilead, and no physician there (8.22). It was because all to whom they looked had deserted them. It was because YHWH Himself was dealing with the problem of their sins.
12 “For thus says the LORD: ‘Your affliction is incurable; your wound is severe. 13 There is no one to plead your cause, that you may be bound up; You have no healing medicines.
The condition of ‘Jacob’ (verse 10) is seen as being like that of a badly wounded man. Their hurt is incurable by any earthly means. Their wound is bleeding and grievous. And because they have deserted Him there is no one to speak up for them in order that their wounds might be bound up. That is why they have no healing medicines. It is because they have been abandoned by those on whom they had depended.
14 All your lovers have forgotten you; They do not seek you; For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of your iniquities, because your sins have increased.
They are like a wounded man who has been deserted on the battlefield, with their past ‘lovers’ having forgotten and abandoned them. No one looks for him or is concerned about him. And so it is with them. The reference to ‘lovers’ may be to their idols, or more likely it may have in mind their erstwhile idolatrous allies among the nations. But the point is that they will not receive any help from anywhere or from anyone. And the reason is because it is YHWH Who has wounded them, acting through their enemy. It is YHWH who has chastised them, acting by means of all the fierceness of a cruel invader (both Assyrian and Babylonian soldiers could be called ‘cruel ones’ because of their total lack of humanity). And the reason they are in this condition is because of the greatness of their iniquity, their inbred evil, and because their sins have continually increased.
15 Why do you cry about your affliction? Your sorrow is incurable. Because of the multitude of your iniquities, because your sins have increased, I have done these things to you.
Whenever we get a repetition in Scripture it is because of the necessity of the lesson coming home, and here it is the lesson of Judah and Israel’s extreme sinfulness which is to be repeated almost word for word from verse 14. In verse 14 their wounded state at the hand of YHWH had been described, and we learned that it was because of the greatness of their iniquity, and because their sins were increased, and now they are asked why it is that they are crying out because of the hurt of their wound, and it is again stressed that they are as they are because they are suffering at the hand of YHWH because of the greatness of their iniquity and because their sins had increased. Thus, it is saying, ‘Let it be repeated. That was why He had done these things to them.’ And because it is YHWH Who is responsible for their wound, their wound is incurable except by Him.
But Israel/Judah will not be alone in their sufferings, for those who are their adversaries will also themselves finally suffer. For they too are deserving of judgment and have sown misery, and what they have sown they will reap. On the other hand, because they have dismissed Zion (God’s people) in derision as of no account, Zion will be restored, in order that they might learn the lesson not to dismiss YHWH’s love and concern.
16 ‘Therefore all those who devour you shall be devoured; And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; Those who plunder you shall become plunder, and all who prey upon you I will make a prey.
So those who devoured them would not go unpunished. They too in their turn would be devoured (those who take to the sword will perish by the sword) because they too were filled with iniquity and had increased in sin. And they too would go into captivity, even mighty Babylon. Those who despoiled them would themselves be despoiled, and those who preyed on them would themselves become a prey. God’s righteous judgment would reach to all. Thus in all their sufferings the people could recognise that it was not they alone who would suffer. Their conquerors too would become the conquered. It was the way of all flesh.
17 For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds,’ says the LORD, ‘Because they called you an outcast saying: “This is Zion; No one seeks her.”’
The one difference was that one-day Judah/Israel’s strength would be restored. They alone of all the nations would be preserved through thick and thin. For YHWH Himself would one day restore health to them and heal their ‘incurable’ wounds, the wounds which He alone could cure because He had inflicted them. This was on the sure word of YHWH. And all this would be because men had derided them and had called them an outcast and had spoken of them as ‘Zion whom no man seeks after’, because all had turned away from them. The mention of ‘Zion’ suggests that underneath the derision we are to see lying derision at Zion’s God. Judah/Israel themselves had boasted in ‘Zion’. Very well, say the nations, who wants them now?
This mention of Zion is a theme within a theme, for it is preparing for the following chapter when the restoration of Zion will be a feature of the whole restoration (31.12, 23, 40). Then indeed men will seek after Zion for His people will be restored. Its mention here in this derogatory fashion is thus preparation for its restoration.
The restoration of ‘Zion whom no man seeks after’ is now abundantly guaranteed. The city and palace will be rebuilt, thanksgiving and merriment will ring out, and their numbers will multiply. But above all, and in one way or another it will be repeated three times (30.22; 31.1, 33), He will once more be their God and they will be His people. And all this will be accomplished by the tempestuous power of YHWH.
18 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places; The city shall be built upon its own mound, and the palace shall remain according to its own plan. 19 Then out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of those who make merry; I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.
The picture here is of complete restoration for Judah/Israel through the activity of YHWH. ‘Jacob’s tents’ (the places where they dwelt) would be ‘turned again’ and restored to their former glory. YHWH would have compassion on their forsaken dwelling places. Each city would be built on its own hill (tel, mound), especially Jerusalem, the symbol of them all, and the palace-complex would be re-inhabited as a palace, presumably signifying the restoration of the Davidic house. And from both city and palace would arise thanksgiving and merriment, the sign of a people restored both spiritually and physically. And their numbers would grow more and more so that they would not be few, and He would glorify them (by fruitfulness and prosperity) so that they would not be insignificant.
The fulfilment of this would take a century and more, commencing with the ‘few’ who would return from Babylon, and growing as more and more exiles returned. A great landmark along the way would be the establishment of the Temple, and finally Jerusalem’s own glory would be established by Nehemiah. Jerusalem would once again rule proudly as an independent city, with eventually their own rulers in their own palaces. What followed Nehemiah is mainly hidden from us, only to re-emerge, firstly in the successes of the Maccabees, and the reign of the Hasmonean kings, and then in a prosperous Judaea and Galilee in the time of Jesus, by which time ‘Israel’ were a numerous people. And then the final Son of David came and established the true Israel and the beginnings of the everlasting Kingdom.
20 Their children also shall be as before, and their congregation shall be established before Me; And I will punish all who oppress them.
All would be as before. Their young would again flourish and play in the streets as they had of old (9.21), and the whole of the people (their ‘congregation’) would be established before Him, while all who oppressed them would be punished. A new Israel would arise out of the old, but this time a chastened and at least partially responsive Israel. It was such a ‘congregation’ that Jesus promised to establish, founded on the words of Peter about His Messiahship as the Son of the living God (Matthew 16.18).
21 Their nobles shall be from among them, and their governor shall come from their midst; Then I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach Me; For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ says the LORD. 22 ‘You shall be My people, and I will be your God.’?”
Their rulers would be those whom they themselves chose from among them, and would be home-born, and would be one of themselves. And these rulers would approach YHWH directly. This would be something totally new for in previous times the king would approach through the priests. We can contrast how it was said of Joshua, “he shall stand before Eleazar, who will enquire for him in a matter of Urim before YHWH” (Numbers 27.21), and how even David and Solomon could not approach into the immediate presence of YHWH to ask His will, but stood outside the Sanctuary. However, the prerogative of the priests of YHWH would now also belong to those who ruled in Israel. This found a remarkable fulfilment in the Hasmonean priest-king rulers (it is noteworthy that this particular prophecy did not mention David), and even moreso in the twofold ministries of Jesus Christ, especially as portrayed in Hebrews. In Him we have the Priest-Ruler Supreme, One Who was from among themselves and Who had full access into the presence of His Father.
The question ‘who is He who has had boldness, to approach to me?’ can be seen as similar to the later question of Jesus to the rich young ruler, ‘Why do you call Me good?’ It is not denying that the One questioned about is good, or has the right to approach, but rather asking for all to consider the unique credentials of the One about Whom the question was asked.
And the result will be that the true remnant of Judah/Israel will be His people and He will be their God. This could only ever be so for the remnant who returned to Him in repentance and trust, for all through the Old Testament it was they who formed the true Israel, the Israel within Israel. Thus, there are always two Israel’s in balance, nominal disobedient Israel and true believing Israel. And the final promises are always to true Israel, not to cast-off Israel. The coming of Jesus would bring things to a climax, and the new believing Israel would arise out of the old, with the old cast.
23 Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goes forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind; It will fall violently on the head of the wicked. 24 The fierce anger of the LORD will not return until He has done it, and until He has performed the intents of His heart. In the latter days you will consider it.
For these words compare 23.19-20. All that was being described would be accomplished by ‘the Tempest of YHWH’ as His wrath went forth, both against His own disbelieving people, and against their adversaries. Like a sweeping tempest it would burst on the head of the wicked, and it would not return or cease until He had carried out the intents of His heart. And towards the end, as it was coming into fulfilment, they would understand it. ‘The latter days’ indicates the latter days of this period in which all this would happen. We, as God’s people, of course understand it more fully for we have seen the arrival of the King and await the everlasting kingdom.
