Jeremiah 30 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Jeremiah 30

Restoration for Israel and Judah

30:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. 3 For behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the LORD, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”

4 These are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah:

5   “Thus says the LORD:
  We have heard a cry of panic,
    of terror, and no peace.
6   Ask now, and see,
    can a man bear a child?
  Why then do I see every man
    with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor?
    Why has every face turned pale?
7   Alas! That day is so great
    there is none like it;
  it is a time of distress for Jacob;
    yet he shall be saved out of it.

8 “And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off your neck, and I will burst your bonds, and foreigners shall no more make a servant of him.¹ 9 But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

10   “Then fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the LORD,
    nor be dismayed, O Israel;
  for behold, I will save you from far away,
    and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
  Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
    and none shall make him afraid.
11   For I am with you to save you,
      declares the LORD;
  I will make a full end of all the nations
    among whom I scattered you,
    but of you I will not make a full end.
  I will discipline you in just measure,
    and I will by no means leave you unpunished.
12   “For thus says the LORD:
  Your hurt is incurable,
    and your wound is grievous.
13   There is none to uphold your cause,
    no medicine for your wound,
    no healing for you.
14   All your lovers have forgotten you;
    they care nothing for you;
  for I have dealt you the blow of an enemy,
    the punishment of a merciless foe,
  because your guilt is great,
    because your sins are flagrant.
15   Why do you cry out over your hurt?
    Your pain is incurable.
  Because your guilt is great,
    because your sins are flagrant,
    I have done these things to you.
16   Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured,
    and all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity;
  those who plunder you shall be plundered,
    and all who prey on you I will make a prey.
17   For I will restore health to you,
    and your wounds I will heal,
      declares the LORD,
  because they have called you an outcast:
    ‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’
18   “Thus says the LORD:
  Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
    and have compassion on his dwellings;
  the city shall be rebuilt on its mound,
    and the palace shall stand where it used to be.
19   Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving,
    and the voices of those who celebrate.
  I will multiply them, and they shall not be few;
    I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.
20   Their children shall be as they were of old,
    and their congregation shall be established before me,
    and I will punish all who oppress them.
21   Their prince shall be one of themselves;
    their ruler shall come out from their midst;
  I will make him draw near, and he shall approach me,
    for who would dare of himself to approach me?
      declares the LORD.
22   And you shall be my people,
    and I will be your God.”
23   Behold the storm of the LORD!
    Wrath has gone forth,
  a whirling tempest;
    it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
24   The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back
    until he has executed and accomplished
    the intentions of his mind.
  In the latter days you will understand this.

Footnotes

[1] 30:8 Or serve him

Commentary

v1-2: Up to this point Jeremiah had brought God's message against a rebellious people. Chapters 30-33 bring a different theme, the restoration of God's people. These words were and are important, and they had to be spoken and written, to provide real encouragement and motivation for the people. In dark days, such promises are of tremendous importance.

v3: "The days are coming," for these things will really happen. There are three aspects to this restoration here;

Israel and Judah will become a re-united kingdom;
They will be brought back from captivity;
They will be brought back into the land, the same land that Joshua had led the people into.

"I will", said the Lord, for these words are His promises. He will accomplish His plans for His people. These are unconditional promises. In these chapters (30-33), Israel and Judah are used somewhat interchangeably. In this verse, they are both used, indicating a real and complete restoration.

v4-7: The time of Jacob's trouble, Matt 24.21-22, a time worse than any previous or subsequent, although details are not given. Yet Jacob shall be saved out of it; those days will be shortened for the sake of God's elect.

The use of "Jacob" also implies a re-united kingdom made up of twelve tribes.

v8-9: The slavery under the Gentiles will end, the times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled. Since the time of Jeremiah or, more particularly, Nebuchadnezzar, Israel has been subject to the Gentiles. This unwilling bondage will be replaced by a willing bondage to the Lord God. The words translated "enslave" and "serve" are the same Hebrew word.

David their king; after Zedekiah, there has been no king in Israel. It is of great significance that Christ is the Son of David, the king of Israel, John 1.49.

v10: Message for Jacob; do not fear, do not just look at the hard times, but look beyond them, and rejoice in God's promises;

I will surely save you out of a distant place;
I will surely save...your descendants from the land of their exile;
Jacob will again have peace and security;
No one will make him afraid.

v11: Such promises follow from the truth that "I am with you." God will destroy those nations into which Israel was scattered. But He will make a distinction with Israel, bringing judgment to correct and purge, rather than to destroy. The restored nation will be a repentant nation.

Here, Jeremiah uses phrases found elsewhere. Even though the style may vary throughout the book, this is indication of a single author. Also, the Lord is emphasizing the main messages of the book; “I am with you, and will save you;” “I will discipline you, but only with justice,” etc.

v12-13: No answer for their problem;

their affliction was incurable;
no one to plead their cause;
no remedy, no healing medicines.

Compare 8.21-22; Jeremiah's own sorrow that there was no recovery. Part of Judah’s sorrow was that no-one seemed to care for them.

v14: All her allies, or lovers; a reference to the idols of foreign nations; they found no answer here either. Their wounds from the Lord were Harsh and "cruel," see 22.20. But this was with good reason, due to the multitude of their sins. God's anger is never capricious or arbitrary. Part of the judgment of God was their abandonment by those who were previously allies.

v15: "Why do you cry out?" An apparent unwillingness to accept the reason for God's wrath. We sometimes sorrow over the consequences of our sins, but not over the sins themselves. The truth was clear, "I have done these things to you." The nation suffered for its sins.

v16: Those who attacked Judah would suffer accordingly; devoured, exiled, plundered, despoiled; God is never unfair.

v17: In God's time, Judah would be restored and healed by God; like Isaiah, rejected by men, by chosen by God. The words used here look forward to Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones (Ezek 37).

v18: The Lord Himself brought specific promises of blessing for the nation. The city and palace would be rebuilt; partly fulfilled under Ezra and Nehemiah.

v19: Rejoicing again amongst the people; this had been a characteristic of the people during the reigns of good kings; 1 Kings 8.66; 2 Kings 11.20; 2 Chr 15.15; 20.27; 23.21; 29.36. Rejoicing will become constant, not periodic.

The people will be multiplied and glorified; even in Neh 13, following decades of restoration, the people were still few; this prophecy has still to be fulfilled.

v20: God's people established, their enemies punished.

v21-22: New relationship with God. The challenge, appropriate at all times, is to be devoted to living close to the Lord. Once more the leader of the nation will be chosen from the nation, not imposed from outside; in this way the nation is restored to dignity and influence.

v23-24: The wicked punished by God; and may also include unrepentant Jews. (Words repeated from 23.19-20.)