28:5-11. Jeremiah wished he could say amen to Hananiah’s words (v. 6), yet he knew Hananiah’s prophecy was false. The ultimate test for prophets was whether their prophecies were fulfilled. A prophet was known to be sent by God only when the word of the prophet comes to pass (vv. 8-9; cf. Dt 18:20-22).

To demonstrate that he was right, Hananiah took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah (cf. Jr 27:2) and broke it (v. 10). This dramatically visualized his prophecy of God breaking the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar … within two full years. Jeremiah did not respond publicly to this insult, but went his way (v. 11).

(2) Jeremiah’s Message to Hananiah (28:12-17)

28:12-14. Jeremiah spoke privately to Hananiah with a three-part message from the LORD. First, Hananiah’s actions increased the harshness of the coming judgment. The false prophet had broken the yokes of wood, but God would replace them with yokes of iron that could not be broken (v. 13). These iron yokes, figuratively speaking, would be fastened to the necks of all these nations who gathered in Jerusalem that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar (27:3), as would the beasts of the field.

28:15-17. Second, Jeremiah revealed Hananiah’s lack of credentials as a prophet. God had not sent Hananiah as His spokesman, but through his eloquent speech the false prophet had made the nation of Judah trust in a lie.

Third, as a judgment on Hananiah, because he counseled rebellion against the LORD, he would be removed from the face of the earth (die). It was already the “fifth month” (v. 1), and Hananiah died in the same year in the seventh month two months later (v. 17). With this death, God vindicated His true prophet Jeremiah, and judged the false prophet Hananiah, and demonstrated to the priests and all the people Jeremiah’s accuracy.

3. Jeremiah’s Conflict with the False Prophets in Exile (29:1-32)

a. Jeremiah’s First Letter to the Exiles (29:1-23)

(1) The Introduction (29:1-3)

29:1-3. The words and influence of false prophets like Hananiah had spread even to the Jewish exiles in Babylon. Jeremiah therefore wrote a letter to neutralize this influence if possible. Jeremiah inserted into his book the words of the letter that he sent from Jerusalem to the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets, and those deported with King Jeconiah and the queen mother (cf. 2Kg 24:8-17; Jr 13:18; 22:24-27; Dn 1:1-2). This deportation occurred in 597 BC, so Jeremiah’s letter was written after that date.

(2) The Announcement of a Long Exile (29:4-14)

29:4-9. God told the exiles to prepare for a long stay in Babylon, completely opposite of the teaching of the false prophets. In exile they were to build houses, plant gardens, take wives, and have sons and daughters … multiply there and do not decrease (v. 6). They were to settle down and make a life for themselves in exile. Instead of hoping for Babylon’s quick collapse they were commanded to seek the welfare of the city (v. 7). Jeremiah even told them to pray to the LORD on … behalf of Babylon! Those prophets and diviners (cf. 27:9) who were predicting a soon return to Judah were prophesying falsely in God’s name (vv. 8-9). God made it clear: I have not sent them.

29:10-14. The exiles would return to Judah only when God’s seventy years of judgment had been completed (cf. 25:11-12). Then God would fulfill His good word to bring the exiles back to their land. The seventy-year exile was a part of God’s plans to give Judah a future and a hope (v. 11). The people were to be encouraged when they realized that, at the end of the exile—at the end of the time of judgment—God would provide for their welfare and not bring them calamity.

The judgment prompted the exiles to seek God wholeheartedly (cf. Dn 9:2-3, 15-19), and He promised that when they call upon Him, he would listen; and when they seek Him with all their heart, they would find Him. These verses are sometimes used to support the idea that even a person who never hears about Christ can be saved apart from conscious faith in Christ if he or she responds correctly to the light of God in creation and seeks Him sincerely. But such an understanding wrests this promise from its theological and literary context. These Jewish exiles had special revelation from God which had forecast such an exile, and which had forecast a restoration to the land after exile when they repented, when the Jewish people returned to the Lord and “searched for Him with all their heart.” See, e.g., Lv 26:33-45; Dt 4:25-29; 30:1-3. This is a guarantee God made to a people already in a covenantal relationship with Him and cannot be applied to those who are not. This text is not helpful when it comes to considerations of those who never hear about Jesus. For more relevant passages, see comments on Rm 1:18-23; 3:9-19, where it is apparent that no one, apart from the intervening work of God, would begin a search for God based on the dictates of his or her own unregenerate heart.

Once they had turned back to the Lord, He would gather them from all the nations where they had been banished and restore them to their land (Jr 29:14). The Jewish people did not return from Babylon because of spiritual revival, but because of Cyrus’s decree. However, in the future the whole people of Israel will call upon the Lord and recognize Jesus as their Savior (Zch 12:10). This restoration is from all the nations, so it seems to look beyond the return from Babylonian exile to the future regathering of Israel at the end of days when Messiah will establish His kingdom.

The purpose of casting Israel out of their land, whether to Babylon or after the Roman expulsion, was more than judgment for sin. The larger purpose was to force Israel back to her God (cf. Dt 30:1-10). Whenever we face difficulties in our lives, we must remember God has a good plan for us, a plan that includes even the difficulties themselves. We should call on Him, pray to Him, and know that He is listening. Instead of being angry and shutting God out when we encounter trials, we should seek Him with our whole heart, keep reading the Bible, stay in fellowship in our local church, and anticipate a good outcome from the Lord (Jr 29:11-14; Rm 8:28; Jms 1:2-4; Heb 10:19-25).

(3) The Warning against False Prophets (29:15-23)

29:15-20. The people rejected Jeremiah’s message because it contradicted the message of the Jewish false prophets … in Babylon. Evidently these prophets were proclaiming the safety of Jerusalem and the swift return of those in captivity (cf. 28:2-4). Jeremiah shattered their optimistic forecasts by announcing that those who had not been exiled were destined for the sword, famine, and pestilence (cf. comments on 14:12). He reminded them of his earlier vision of the figs (cf. 24:1-2). Those remaining in Jerusalem were like split-open, rotten figs, destined to be thrown away because they were not good for anything. Still they would not listen (cf. 24:8-9).

29:21-23. Jeremiah singled out two of the false prophets in Babylon, Ahab the son of Koliah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah who were prophesying … falsely and committing adultery with their neighbors’ wives. The Lord would judge them by delivering them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. For rebellion against Babylon, they would be publicly executed, roasted in the fire, a form of execution often used in Babylon (cf. Dn 3:6, 11, 15, 17, 19-23). Their death by fire would give rise to a curse the captives would use. These false prophets had said Nebuchadnezzar would not capture the city; when Babylon captured Jerusalem they were among the first to die for their insolence against mighty Babylon.

b. Jeremiah’s Second Letter to the Exiles (29:24-32)

(1) The Report of Shemaiah’s Letter to Jerusalem (29:24-29)

29:24-29. Evidently after Jeremiah’s first letter to the exiles (vv. 1-23) another prophet in Babylon, Shemaiah, wrote to Zephaniah, the priest, and to all the priests in Jerusalem urging them to rebuke Jeremiah (vv. 25-28). However, the letter was read to Jeremiah (v. 29) who then wrote a second letter to the exiles, quoting the text of Shemaiah’s letter.

(2) The Condemnation of Shemaiah (29:30-32)

29:30-32. Jeremiah quoted the text of Shemaiah’s letter (vv. 24-28), delivering God’s word of judgment against the false prophet. God would punish both Shemaiah … and his descendants. They would not live to see the good the Lord was about to do for His people (explained in chaps. 30–33). Because Shemaiah had preached rebellion and caused the people to trust in a lie, he had forfeited his right to the blessings of the Lord.

C. Future Comfort for Israel and Judah (30:1–33:26)

This section of Jeremiah’s prophecy is called “The Book of Consolation.” It is a poetic description of the ultimate restoration and blessing of Israel and Judah. Certainly there would be a time of judgment for God’s people, but after the “time of Jacob’s distress” (30:7) Israel and Judah would be returned to their land, reunited as a nation, and restored to their God. Here is the promise of the new covenant and redemption. These prophecies look beyond Judah’s imminent situation and point to the Messianic Age.

1. The Restoration of Israel and Judah Declared (30:1-24)

a. Physical Deliverance of Israel and Judah (30:1-11)

(1) The Nation’s Restoration to the Land (30:1-3)

30:1-3. The LORD, the God of Israel told Jeremiah to write His promises of comfort in a book so they would be available to the exiles after Jerusalem fell. This book would declare a note of hope that the days are coming when God will restore the fortunes [i.e., deliver them from captivity] of His people Israel and Judah. The phrase the days are coming is an eschatological marker, looking forward to the end times and goes beyond the immediate future of the return from Babylon (3:16; cf. comments on 16:14-16; 23:5-6; 31:3, 31; 31:27; 50:1).

However, as in all prophetic material one must keep in mind the principle of “foreshortening” or “telescoping.” That is, though Jeremiah saw all these predictions as one continuous series of events, they were fulfilled over a long period with intervening gaps of time. Thus, for example, prophecies about the suffering Messiah and the ruling Messiah appear together, though they describe two different advents of Christ (e.g., Is 9:6-7; 61:1-2) separated by at least 2,000 years. In the same way Jeremiah described the restoration of Judah after the Babylonian captivity and the still-future restoration of Judah in the Messianic Age within some of the same passage (Jr 31:15-20, cf. comments on 50:1). Therefore one should be cautious in interpreting the various parts of Jeremiah’s predictions about “the coming days” as having already been fulfilled at the return from the Babylonian captivity (see comments on 50:1).

God’s first promise, related to the first day, was to restore the nations of Israel and Judah back from captivity. God promised to bring them back to the land He had given them (cf. Dt 30:3-5). This promised return of both the northern and southern kingdoms served as an introduction to these chapters and provided hope to those who would soon be dispossessed from their land.

(2) The Time of Jacob’s Distress Prior to Restoration (30:4-7)

30:4-7. The final return of Israel and Judah to the land will be preceded by a time of national distress, “Cries of terror will be heard among the residents of Israel in the latter days, during the time of Jacob’s distress, and there will be no peace. Jeremiah compared the anguish of men clutching themselves in fear to a woman in childbirth (cf. 4:31; 6:24; 13:21; 22:23; 49:24; 50:43). The coming calamity will be so awful that there is none like it (cf. Mt 24:21; Dn 12:1).

This is the time of Jacob’s distress, also known as the day of the Lord, or the great tribulation. It is a time of judgment that will culminate in Israel’s physical and spiritual deliverance when the nation will recognize Jesus as the Messiah of Israel (see comments on Zch 12:10-13:1). The period includes a unique time of judgment on the nation for their sin (cf. Mt 24:21; Dn 12:1; Ezk 30:3; Jl 1:15; 2:1-2, 11; Am 5:18-20; Mc 1:2-5; Zph 1:2–3:8), including events more extreme than the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon (586 BC) or Rome (AD 70) (see comments on Mt 24:21-22).

The use of Jacob represents the whole nation, and this eschatological song looks to the Lord’s faithfulness. Despite the distress, all will not be lost because God guaranteed that the nation will be saved from it (Zch 14:1-8, 12-15), for He has guaranteed the survival and ultimate blessing of His chosen people (Gn 12:1-3; 17:1-14; Is 41:8-11; 31:35-37).

Some interpreters consider the time of Jacob’s distress to be the coming fall of Judah to Babylon. However, this is unlikely because these events are linked to that day, an eschatological term. A better solution is to see Jeremiah referring to the still-future tribulation period, when the remnant of Israel and Judah will experience a time of unparalleled persecution (there is none like it; Dn 9:27; 12:1; Mt 24:15-22). The result of this tribulation will be that Israel will call on Jesus the Messiah in faith (Zch 12:10–13:1). Then He will appear, rescue Israel (Rm 11:26), and establish His kingdom (Mt 24:30-31; 25:31-46; Rv 19:11-21; 20:4-6), providing Israel with their ultimate physical and spiritual deliverance.

(3) Restoration and Deliverance by the Lord (30:8-11)

30:8-9. God will come to rescue the nation on that day, and strangers will no longer make them their slaves. In addition, they shall serve the LORD and submit to the authority of David their king whom God will raise up for them. Many scholars view this, and the passages below, as a reference to Christ who is from the line of David. Others see this literally as David resurrected because he is referred to by name. However, it seems best to understand this and other passages like it (cf. Ezk 34:23-24; 37:24-25; Hs 3:5) as referring to the future restoration of a united Israel (see comments on Jr ¹²). The name David is not about resurrected King David but the scion of the house of David, the Messiah Jesus (see comments on Ezk 34:23-24). In the messianic kingdom, King Messiah, the Son of David will rule on the throne of David. Jesus is frequently identified as the Son of David in the NT (Lk 1:31; Mt 1:22; Mk 10:47; Ac 4:12; 2Tm 2:8; Rv 5:5).

This is a reference to the future millennial kingdom (on that day) when King Messiah, the Son of David, will rule from Jerusalem. From the Babylonian captivity until the coming of Messiah there was no king in Israel, just as the prophets foretold. Today we await the return of the King, the second coming of Jesus the Messiah to rule in His kingdom on earth (Hs 3:4-5). Here Jeremiah is speaking of restoration (Jr 30:3) in the remote future during the Messianic Age, when God will bring Judah and Israel into a new relationship with Him, and when He will judge the Gentile nations (cf. 3:16, 18; 16:14; 23:5, 7, 20; 30:3, 24; 31:27, 29, 31, 33, 38; 33:14-16; 48:12, 47; 49:2, 39; 50:4, 20; 51:47, 52). Both of these days, the time of Jacob’s distress and that day when they shall serve the LORD … and David their king are yet future. In that day God will purify Israel, judge the nations, and fulfill the blessings of restoration promised in Dt 30:1-10 and Jr 31.

30:10-11. Jacob is told not to fear, and God’s promise of restoration was designed to give Israel hope. She had no need to be dismayed because God promised to save her from afar. No country would be too distant for God to reach and rescue His people. When He brings them back to their land they will live in quiet and at ease, with the peace and security that was absent in Jeremiah’s day (cf. 8:11), and for which Israel is still waiting.

God will destroy completely all the nations where Israel and Judah had been scattered. Though He would chasten Israel and Judah, He assured them that He would never destroy them completely. Any judgment would be done justly (cf. 10:24; 46:28) so that the punishment for His chosen people would be tempered with His faithfulness.

b. The Spiritual Healing of Zion (30:12-17)

This period of spiritual healing looks not to the return from Babylon but to the future end times. It is only then that God will destroy Israel’s enemies and remove the iniquity of Israel.

(1) Israel’s Sin Caused Her Wounds (30:12-15)

30:12-15. Israel’s condition was critical. Her wound appeared incurable (6:14), and no one was available to provide a healing for [her] sore. There appeared to be no recovery possible. The lovers, her allies, in whom the nation had placed such great hope, had forgotten her. Even God had wounded her as an enemy would and punished her because of her iniquity.

(2) God Would Heal Israel’s Wounds (30:16-17)

30:16-17. Israel’s condition appeared hopeless, but God promised to reverse her misfortunes. Those who were devouring the nation would themselves be devoured by God. He would send her adversaries … into captivity and plunder those who sought to make spoil of her. At the same time God promised to restore Israel to spiritual health. He would intervene for His outcast people. Although the nations said no one cares for her, the Lord cared for Zion.

c. The Nation’s Material and Spiritual Blessing (30:18-22)

Events described in this section go beyond the return from Babylon and detail a set of events that will take place at the end of days (cf. comments on 50:1).

30:18-20. God Himself will be involved in rebuilding the tents of Jacob (32:44; 33:11, 26; cf. Dt 30:3). The city of Jerusalem will be rebuilt on its ruin, including the king’s palace. The festive sound of thanksgiving and the voice of those who celebrate, which had been silenced by Babylon (cf. Jr 7:34; 16:19; 25:10), will once again be heard in the city, and God will increase Judah numerically (cf. Dt 30:5). The nation will be secured and established before God, and He will punish all their oppressors.

30:21. Their leader will be one of them … from their midst instead of some foreign despot (cf. v. 9). This ruler will come close to God as the Lord brings him near into His service and will approach the Lord. Since unauthorized approaches to God’s presence were punishable by death (Ex 19:21; Nm 8:19) this leader’s proximity to God indicated spiritual qualifications for leadership.

Walter Kaiser identifies this passage as a picture of the Messiah. The Hebrew word translated leader (‘addir) can be translated “glorious one” and indicates divine origin; it is used four times of either the Lord or God. Nevertheless, this coming glorious ruler will come forth from their midst, be from the Jewish people, as predicted of the Messiah (Gn 49:10; Dt 18:15). The phrase I will bring him near and he shall approach Me indicates a priestly office of this ruler. To come near or to approach (Ex 24:2; Nm 16:5) means “to engage in the work of a priest.” The privilege of drawing near to God in this technical sense belongs only to those persons whom God had set apart for the task. The closing challenge, who would dare to risk his life to approach Me? implies that only the Messiah would be qualified for the task of Glorious Ruler-Priest (W. C. Kaiser Jr., The Messiah in the Old Testament [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994], 189–90).

30:22. Immediately Jeremiah pictured the result of the Messiah’s ministry: You shall be My people and I will be your God. This ideal relationship between Israel and her God was expressed several times in the OT (cf. Lv 26:12; Dt 7:6; 26:16-19; Jr 7:23; 11:4; 24:7; 31:1, 33; Ezk 11:20; 14:11; 34:30; 36:28; 37:23, 27; Hs 2:23; Zch 8:8; 13:9). Israel will finally experience the relationship with God that He had always intended under the leadership of King Messiah.

d. The Judgment on the Wicked (30:23-24)

30:23-24. Jeremiah repeated a similar message to that written in 23:19-20. Before God’s blessing can be experienced, He must judge sin. His wrath will burst out against the wicked. Though these words applied to false prophets in 23:19-20, here they may refer to God’s judgment on the wicked nations who opposed Israel (cf. vv. 16-20). God’s fierce anger has accomplished the intent of His heart. The full meaning of this message will be understood only in the latter days (an eschatological expression pointing to the day of the Lord; 23:20; Gn 49:1), and points to a time after the judgment has passed.

2. The New Covenant: Israel’s Future Hope (31:1-40)

31:1. This verse should be connected with the text about the “latter days” in 30:23-24, as there are no chapter breaks in the original manuscript. It explains the results of God’s judgment on the earth and also serves to introduce the section on national restoration that follows. God promised that when He would judge the world for its sins He would also restore all Israel to Himself in the Messianic Age. All the families of Israel, not just the tribe of Judah, will be known as God’s people (cf. 30:22). An integral component of that restoration involves His establishment of the new covenant, the main topic of chap. 31.

a. The National Restoration of Israel (31:2-22)

31:2-6. God assured restoration even to the northern kingdom, which had fallen to Assyria in 721 BC. Those who had survived the sword would yet experience God’s grace as He led them into the desert for their new exodus (cf. 16:14-15; 23:7-8; Hs 2:14-15). The turmoil of their long years of exile would cease when God intervened to give rest to the nation Israel.

God would restore the nation because of His everlasting love (ahabah; Jr 31:3), which He will freely bestow on His people (cf. Hs 11:4; 14:4; Zph 3:17) and His lovingkindness (chesed; cf. Jr 9:24; 32:18; Lm 3:32; Dn 9:4). God had made unconditional covenants with Abraham (Gn 15:7-21) and with David (2Sm 7:12-16), as well as another covenant with Israel at Sinai (Ex 19:3-8; Lv 26; Dt 28:1–30:10). He vowed to stay faithful to His commitments. Therefore, Israel could look forward to experiencing God’s blessing. The people were called the virgin of Israel (Jr 31:4)—God will one day see them as pure and innocent, because in the future, by His grace, she will be forgiven and rebuilt.

Jeremiah drew three word-pictures of God’s restoration of Israel. First, it will be a time of renewed joy. Israel will once again take up her tambourines with dances and merrymakers (v. 4). The times of sadness will cease when the captivity ends and Messiah sets up His kingdom (cf. Ps 137:1-4; Jr 16:8-9; 25:10-11). Second, it will be a time of peace and prosperity as the people plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria (v. 5). Free from external threats, they will be able to enjoy their fruit (cf. Lv 26:16; Dt 28:33; Mc 4:4; Zch 3:9-10). Third, even more splendid, it will be a time of renewed commitment to the Lord. The watchmen stationed on the hills of Ephraim (Jr 31:6) will direct those from the northern kingdom to go up to Zion to worship the LORD our God. Not since the split of the northern kingdom from Judah (930 BC) had there been united worship in Zion by Israel and Judah. In the messianic age, the people will once again be united in their worship in Jerusalem.

31:7-9. The great salvation provided by the Lord is described with five joyful verbs: sing, shout, proclaim, praise, and say. The people will call out, O LORD, save (Pss 20:9; 28:9; 86:2). The same Hebrew word for save is the basis of the word “Hosanna,” the cry of the people of Jerusalem to Jesus on Palm Sunday (Mt 21:9). God’s restoration will be accompanied by songs of joy and the praises of the people for His deliverance. God will gather His people from the remote parts of the earth. No one will be too insignificant or weak for the Lord to deliver. God will restore the blind and the lame as well as the mother with child and women in labor (i.e., those who are most vulnerable). A great company will return to the land, weeping tears of repentance (Jr 31:9) for their sin will be overcome with tears of joy at God’s salvation.

As God leads His people home to Israel, He will provide for their every need. He will guide the people beside streams of waters (cf. Ex 15:22-25; Nm 20:2-13; Ps 23:2; Is 41:18; 49:10) and they will travel on a straight path so they will not stumble—images of spiritual supply and guidance. God will do all this because of His special relationship to Israel. He is a father to Israel (Jr 31:9; cf. Dt 32:6; Is 63:16; 64:8; Jr 3:4, 19; Mt 6:9), and Ephraim (emphasizing the northern tribes of Israel) is his firstborn son (cf. Ex 4:22). Jeremiah used the image of a father/son relationship to show God’s deep love for His people (cf. Hs 11:1, 8).

31:10-14. The Lord will gather Israel, as a shepherd keeps his flock (cf. 23:3; Mc 2:12; 5:4; 7:14) with tenderness and compassion. Jacob will be blessed spiritually, ransomed (padah) suggesting financial payment to buy out of slavery (Hs 13:14), and redeemed (gaal, used of a family member acting on behalf of a relative to remove trouble, avenge wrong, or pay a debt; Ru 4:1; Hs 13:14) by the Lord. They will come and shout for joy on the height of Zion (Jr 31:12). They will be radiant over the bounty (tov, “goodness”) of the LORD. There will be material blessings of crops (cf. v. 5) and flocks. Israel will enjoy such a life of material blessing that she will be compared to a watered garden that would never languish again. This outpouring of blessing will produce gladness from young to old, as mourning and sorrow are replaced by joy (cf. vv. 4, 7; 33:10-11). The prosperity will be so great that the priests will have abundance from the many sacrifices brought by the worshipers (Lv 7:34).

31:15-17. The nation’s future hope is certain. It is in stark contrast to her misery in Jeremiah’s day. The cry from Ramah was one of lamentation and bitter weeping—Rachel … weeping for her children. It presents a heartbreaking picture of a mother’s grief. Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife, was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Joseph was the father of Ephraim and Manasseh, who became two major tribes in the northern kingdom of Israel. Benjamin was the father of one of the two tribes that made up the southern kingdom. Thus Jeremiah was picturing Rachel as a symbol of mothers of the northern kingdom watching their children being carried into Assyrian exile (722 BC) and mothers of Judah who would see their children slaughtered or exiled to Babylon (586 BC) and be no more.

Significantly, near Ramah, a town in Benjamin five miles north of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar established his headquarters on the plain of Hamath (39:5) and used it as the deportation point where the captives were assembled before removal to Babylon (cf. 40:1). Those considered too weak for the journey were immediately slaughtered there.

But as the women of Israel and Judah wept for their exiled children, God offered a word of hope and comfort: Restrain your voice from weeping … they will return … There is hope for your future (cf. comments on 29:11). Their children would return to their own land of Israel because God would bring about the restoration. This is a promise to be fulfilled in the Messianic Age, more than with a return from Babylon (see comments on 50:1).

This passage is most familiar because it is quoted in the NT regarding Herod’s slaughter of the all the baby boys “in Bethlehem and its vicinity … two years old and under” when Jesus was born (Mt 2:16). When Herod learned of the birth of Jesus from the Wise Men, he killed all the innocent male children age two and younger in Bethlehem in an attempt to kill the baby Messiah. Matthew identified this tragedy as fulfilling that which “had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet” (Mt 2:17-18).

Understanding Matthew’s use of the word “fulfilled” (pleroo) in Mt 2:17 is important. Although Matthew did use the verb to record direct fulfillment of OT predictions (cf. Mt 21:4-5 with Zch 9:9), he also used the word to indicate a variety of other categories of fulfillment of prophecy. (For the different ways that Matthew uses the verb “to fulfill,” and other ways he indicates fulfillment in his Gospel, see Michael Rydelnik, The Messianic Hope: Is the Hebrew Bible Really Messianic? [Nashville: B&H, 2010], 95). Specifically, in this quotation, Matthew used the word “fulfilled” in the sense of applicational fulfillment. This sort of usage highlights the contemporary relevance of an ancient prophetic text. Therefore, Matthew cited Jr 31:15 to show that Scripture had a continuing relevance, simply applying the language of this prophecy to the tragic situation of the slaughter of the innocents. Even as Jeremiah had described Rachel, representing Jewish motherhood, weeping at the death and exile of her sons, so Jewish motherhood once again mourned when wicked Herod murdered her children. And Rachel has continued to lament and has refused to be consoled for her children as they have been murdered by Crusaders, Nazis, and modern terrorists. Sadly, this Scripture has had continuing relevance for centuries of Jewish history (Rydelnik, The Messianic Hope, 104–08).

31:18-20. Jeremiah ended this section by recording the grief, shame, and contrition Ephraim (Israel) will express when she is restored to the Lord. Though she had behaved like an untrained calf she will return to the Lord, repent, and be instructed. God in turn will remember Israel, because the Lord’s heart yearns for His people (has great compassion) and will have mercy on them when Israel returns to their Father (cf. 31:9; Hs 2:16-23; Rm 11:28-29).

31:21-22. The imperatives in these verses show the urgency of Israel’s preparation for return: Set up, place, direct, return (twice). God called on the captives to set up … road marks and guideposts as they traveled to Babylon and to remember the road they would take home. They would need this information during His promised restoration so they could return to their cities (see comments on 50:1).

This time of promised restoration will be so remarkable that it will be as if God will create a new thing in the earth. That new event is described proverbially by the clause, a woman will encompass (“encircle, surround”) a man. Although this verse is obscure, the possible idea is that a woman will seek or court a man. In Jewish culture of the biblical period a woman would not court a man; but instead the brides were brought to their arranged husbands (cf. Gn 2:22; 24; 29:16-30). This encompassing would indicate something unusual. The woman here is Israel (Jr 31:21) who had been faithless, but in the future she will return to the Lord—God, her true Husband—and ask to be united with Him again, loving Him wholeheartedly (29:33). This verse is the basis for the Jewish practice of a bride walking around the groom seven times at a wedding ceremony.

b. The National Restoration of Judah (31:23-26)

When God restores Israel, He will also reverse the fortunes of Judah. Those living in Judah will once again invoke a blessing on the abode of righteousness (Jerusalem, cf. Is 1:21, 26) and the holy hill (temple) (cf. Pss 2:6; 43:3; Is 66:20). The land will be repopulated, and God will meet every need and refresh everyone. As throughout this oracle, Jeremiah is speaking of events and conditions in the last days, not just the return from Babylon.

Jeremiah received this revelation (Jr 30:3-26) in a dream from the Lord, so he wrote, At this I awoke (Dn 10:9; Zch 4:1). Jeremiah’s sleep was pleasant because the truth he received from the Lord was a comforting preview of the future hope of his people.

c. The New Covenant (31:27-40)

Jeremiah used the Hebrew phrase “Behold, days are coming” to introduce the three sections of this unit (31:27, 31, 38).

The phrase “Behold, days are coming” (hinneh yamim ba’im) is used 15 times in his book. It is used in a negative sense seven times, and refers then to the coming destruction of Judah and surrounding nations. Some of the negative occurrences have eschatological implications (cf. 7:32; 9:25; 19:6; 48:12; 49:2; 51:47, 52). The final nine occurrences of this phrase are eschatological, pointing to a future period of blessing for Israel when (1) the nation will be restored to the land (cf. comments on 16:14-15; 23:7-8; 30:3); (2) the righteous Branch of David will be ruling over a united monarchy (23:5-6; 33:14-15); (3) the nation will be experiencing peace and prosperity in the land (vv. 27-28; 33:14, 16); (4) the new covenant with its cleansing from sin will be in effect (vv. 31-34), and (5) the city of Jerusalem will be rebuilt as a holy city that will never again be destroyed (vv. 38-40). These promises transcend anything that Israel has experienced throughout her long history. They will find their ultimate fulfillment only in the millennial age when the messianic kingdom is established, when God will fulfill all the promises He made to Israel and Judah (33:14).

31:27-30. In chap. 31, the three occurrences of the phrase Behold, days are coming introduce three aspects of the Lord’s new relationship with His people in the new covenant (vv. 27, 31, 38). First, God vowed to provide a new beginning for His covenant people, Israel. Behold the days are coming in the future messianic kingdom when God will sow the nations of Israel and Judah with man and beast (Ezk 36:8-11; Hs 1:11-23). Jeremiah used agricultural and architectural metaphors to illustrate God’s work of blessing and prosperity (cf. Jr 1:10). God had judged Judah for her sin and brought disaster, but He will reverse that judgment to build and to plant.

God’s work for the nation will silence a proverb that was common in Jeremiah’s day (cf. the comments on Ezk 18:2-4). Those facing judgment by the Babylonians felt they were being unfairly punished by God for their ancestors’ sins. Though the fathers [had] eaten sour grapes, it was the children who had their teeth … set on edge. This proverb would be false in those days because God’s justice will guarantee that each guilty person will die for his own iniquity.

31:31-37. Second, days are coming when God would make a new covenant with His people, the house of Israel (the northern kingdom) and the house of Judah (the Southern Kingdom). One aspect of this covenant is that it was new, and not like the covenant God made with their fathers at the time of the exodus from the land of Egypt, because that covenant had been broken by the people (cf. 11:1-8). This earlier covenant was the Mosaic (or Sinai) covenant contained in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (Ex 19:1–31:18; 34:1-27). Twice God had announced a series of punishments or “curses” that would be invoked on those who violated His law given at Sinai (Lv 26:1-46; Dt 28:1-68). The final judgment would be a physical deportation from the land of Israel.

The new covenant is related to the major covenants God made with Israel in the OT, and it was foreshadowed in the Abrahamic covenant. God promised that in the seed of Abraham “all the families of the earth will be blessed,” which is a reference to the coming Messiah (Gn 12:3; 22:18). The opening verse of the NT identifies Jesus as the descendant of Abraham (Mt 1:1) who was the blessing to the whole world. The new covenant fulfilled the Mosaic covenant, because Jesus the Messiah kept the law perfectly, fulfilling all its requirements. He was the ultimate, final Passover Lamb (1Co 5:7) and Atonement (2Co 5:17; 1Jn 2:1-2). The Davidic covenant (2Sm 7:8-17) has far-reaching implications of establishing a dynasty in David’s line that would have an eternal house (descendants), throne (dynasty), and kingdom (land). The Davidic covenant looks forward to a descendant of David who would bring peace and justice to God’s people through His reign. This Son of David is the Messiah Jesus. The new covenant is linked to the Davidic covenant with the promise of the eternality of the Jewish people (Jr 31:35-37).

God had set a holy standard of conduct before the people, but because of their sinful hearts they could not keep those standards. A change was needed; days are coming when the temporary Mosaic covenant would be replaced by a permanent new covenant.

This new covenant will involve an internalization of His law. He will put (write) His law within them and on their heart, not just on stones, like the Mosaic covenant (Ex 34:1). People will not remind one another to know the LORD. They will already all know Him, because they have been forgiven (cf. Is 11:9; Hab 2:14) so God will include them in His new covenant community. God’s new covenant will give Israel the inner ability to obey His righteous standards and thus to enjoy His blessings.

Ezekiel indicated that this change will result from God’s bestowal of the Holy Spirit on these believers (cf. Ezk 36:24-32). In OT times the Holy Spirit did not universally indwell all believers. Thus one different aspect of the new covenant is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in all the members of God’s covenant community (Jr 31:33; Rm 8:9).

The new covenant will be God’s final provision for sin. The sins of the people under the old covenant were temporarily covered by the continual offering of sacrifices according to the Sinai covenant (Ex 24:8; Lv 17:11; Heb 9:1-22). However, as part of the new covenant God will forgive Israel’s iniquity and remember their sins no more. God cannot overlook sin, and the Mosaic sacrificial system was set up to temporarily deal with sin. His righteousness demanded a payment for sin. Under the new covenant, the penalty for sin would be paid for by His Suffering Servant, the Messiah (cf. Is 53:4-6; Mt 5:17; Jn 19:30).

The Lord Jesus announced the new covenant in the Upper Room at His last Passover (the Lord’s Supper). He indicated that it would be inaugurated through the shedding of His blood (cf. Mt 26:27-28; Lk 22:20). Forgiveness of sin would be part of the new covenant because God provided Messiah Jesus as the perfect sacrifice to pay the penalty for sin once for all (2Co 5:17; Rm 6:10; Heb 7:27; 9:12; 10:10; 1Pt 3:18). The new covenant was promised to Israel and Judah and actually initiated with the faithful remnant of Israel embodied by the Jewish followers of Jesus. However, the new covenant’s benefits have a broader scope than Israel alone. The spiritual aspects of this new covenant are available to all people, whether Jewish or Gentile, who put their faith in the Messiah Jesus (1Co 11:23-26; 2Co 3:6).

To underscore Israel’s permanence in relation to the new covenant, God compared her existence to the heavens and the earth (Jr 31:35-37). As God had appointed the sun for light by day and the moon and stars for light by night (Gn 1:14-19), so He had appointed Israel as His chosen nation … forever. Just as it is impossible to stop the natural fixed order of sun, moon, and stars, neither is it possible to make Israel … cease from being a nation. The power God displayed in creating the universe was the power that He exercises in preserving Israel as a nation. Throughout history people have tried in vain to destroy Israel, but none have succeeded—and none ever will. Those who claim that the Church replaces Israel in God’s program, or who claim that the NT teaches this, fail to come to grips with promises such as these.

Not only will the Jewish people survive as a distinct people, they will be a nation before the LORD forever (Jr 31:36). He will never stop loving His chosen people; only if the heavens above could be measured and the foundations of the earth could be searched out (which is as impossible as pulling the moon and sun out of the sky), only then will the offspring of Israel be cast off by God for all that they have done (Rm 11:1-2, 28). In other words, God will always be faithful to His chosen people.

The new covenant was made with Israel (Jr 31:31, 33; Lk 22:1-20) just as the Mosaic covenant had been (Jr 31:32). Ultimately the new covenant will find its complete fulfillment during the millennium when Israel is restored to her God under King Messiah. Though the ultimate fulfillment of this covenant awaits the millennial reign of Christ, the Church today is participating in some of the spiritual benefits of the new covenant. The covenant was inaugurated at Christ’s sacrifice (Mt 26:27-28; Lk 22:20) with the faithful remnant of Israel, His Jewish disciples. After the resurrection and the birth of the Church at Pentecost, many Gentiles came to faith in Christ. The Church, by her union with Christ, is sharing in many of the spiritual blessings promised to Israel (cf. Rm 11:11-24; Eph 2:11-22) through the new covenant (2Co 3:6; Heb 8:6-13; 9:15; 12:22-24).

Though the Church’s participation in the new covenant is real, it is not the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise. That all believers today, Jewish and Gentile, enjoy the spiritual blessings of the new covenant (forgiveness of sins by faith in Jesus and the indwelling Holy Spirit) does not mean that God is finished with His plan for the Jewish people. Scripture clearly says days are coming when all the spiritual and physical blessings promised to Israel will be realized by her. That still awaits the day when Israel will acknowledge her sin and turn to her Messiah for forgiveness (Zch 12:10–13:1) when “all Israel will be saved” (see comments on Rm 11:25-27). The new covenant, made possible by the blood of Messiah, brought redemption to the world and will ultimately bring unique blessing to Israel.

31:38-40. Verse 38 includes the third use of the phrase behold, days are coming (cf. vv. 27, 31). In the future, God will establish a new city for His people. Jerusalem, the city that symbolizes God’s relationship with His people, was destroyed by Babylon. But even before that destruction, God promised that the city will be rebuilt.

The Tower of Hananel was at the northeast corner of Jerusalem (cf. Neh 3:1; 12:39; Zch 14:10), and the Corner Gate was probably at the northwest corner of the city (cf. 2Kg 14:13; 2Ch 26:9; Zch 14:10). Thus the northern wall will be restored. The locations of the hill of Gareb and Goah are unknown, but since Jr 31:38 describes the northern boundary and 31:40 describes the southern and eastern boundaries it may be assumed that Gareb and Goah detail the western boundary of the city. The southwestern and southern boundary will be the valley in which dead bodies and ashes are thrown. This is the Hinnom Valley (cf. 7:30-34; 19:1-6). The eastern boundary is the fields as far as the brook Kidron. This boundary would extend to the corner of the Horse Gate on the southeast tip of the city, where the Kidron Valley and Hinnom Valley unite. These geographic locations give an outline of Jerusalem.

God described two characteristics of this new city. First, it will be holy to the LORD (cf. Zch 14:20-21). The city and its inhabitants will be set apart to God who will dwell in her midst (Ezk 48:35). Second, the city will not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever. The ravages of war will never happen this new city. These verses were not fulfilled after the Babylonian captivity ended. The postexilic period provided clear evidence that holiness was not a primary characteristic of the people in Jerusalem and Judah (Mal 1:6-14; Lk 13:34), so the city was destroyed again in AD 70 by the Romans. Furthermore, war has ravaged Jerusalem from ancient times up until the present political turmoil. Therefore the city awaits the coming of her King Messiah to bring the peace that the prophets predicted. These promises await their future fulfillment during the millennium (Jr 31:31-40) when Israel will know, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness” (31:3-4; Is 11:9).

3. The Restoration of Israel and Judah Illustrated (32:1-44)

Although Israel’s ultimate restoration will come in the Messianic age (31:31-40), the captivity in Babylon would be for only 70 years (25:11-12; 2Ch 36:20-21). God promised that afterward the Jewish people would return to their land. This section illustrates the restoration of the Jewish people to their land.

a. The Illustration: Buy a Field in Anathoth (32:1-12)

(1) Jeremiah’s Circumstances (32:1-5)

32:1-2. Jeremiah’s message was given in the tenth year of Zedekiah, which was also the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. The time frame of this prophecy was given because of its significance to the message. The tenth year of Zedekiah ended on October 17, 587 BC (using the Jewish calendrical reckoning of Tishri-to-Tishri comprising a year) while the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar began on April 23, 587 BC (using Babylonian reckoning of a Nisan-to-Nisan year), so this prophecy occurred sometime between April 23 and October 17, 587 BC. Jerusalem was under siege from Babylon from January 15, 588 BC, until July 18, 586 BC. When this message was given, Babylon was besieging Jerusalem and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up under arrest in the house of the king of Judah.

32:3-5. Zedekiah imprisoned Jeremiah for the prophet’s messages, namely: (1) that God would give Jerusalem into the hand of the king of Babylon, (2) that Zedekiah would not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, and (3) any attempt to oppose the Babylonians would not succeed. These negative, defeatist statements were demoralizing to the nation and insulting to the king, who was trying to withstand Babylon’s assault.

(2) The Purchase of the Field at Anathoth (32:6-12)

32:6-9. God told Jeremiah of an impending visit by his cousin Hanamel the son of Shallum and gave him an unusual assignment. This Shallum, Jeremiah’s uncle, was a servant in the temple and was carried into exile (1Ch 9:19); he is not the royal Shallum, also known by the name Jehoahaz (1Ch 3:15). Hanamel visited Jeremiah in prison and asked Jeremiah to buy his field at Anathoth because Jeremiah had the right of redemption to buy it. The Mosaic law called for a person to redeem (purchase) the property of a relative who was forced to sell; this law kept property in the family (Lv. 25:23-28; Ru 4:1-6). Hanamel’s motives for selling the land are not given, but to purchase land in Anathoth that was already under Babylonian control would appear to be foolish. Who would buy a parcel of land that was already in enemy hands? God told Jeremiah in advance that Hanamel would come so Jeremiah would recognize God’s hand in the request and not dismiss this seeming foolishness. However, buying a field prior to going into captivity indicates a hope of return.

When Hanamel came, Jeremiah bought the field for seventeen shekels of silver (about seven ounces). Ordinarily this would have been a small price for a field (cf. Gn 23:12-16). But the size of the field is unknown.

32:10-12. Following the legal practice of the day, Jeremiah signed and sealed the deed and called in witnesses and weighed … the silver. Two copies of the deed of purchase were made, a sealed copy and open copy. One was sealed by being bound with a piece of cord with Jeremiah’s official seal stamped into a lump of clay placed over the string. The other copy remained unsealed so it could later be examined. Jeremiah handed both copies of the deed to Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe and friend (cf. 36:4, 8, 26). This was a public action in the sight of Hanamel, and in the sight of the witness who signed the deed, and before all the Jews who were sitting in the court of the guard, the area where Jeremiah was imprisoned (v. 2).

b. The Explanation of the Purchase (32:13-15)

32:13-15. Jeremiah commanded Baruch to take both deeds and put them in an earthenware jar for preservation. The documents had to last a long time in storage while the people were in exile. This object lesson was to show that houses, fields, and vineyards would again be bought by the people of Israel in this land. The people would return from exile in Babylon.

c. The Prayer of Jeremiah (32:16-25)

(1) His Praise for God’s Greatness (32:16-23)

32:16-19. As he prayed, Jeremiah focused on the incomparable greatness and majesty of God’s character. God’s creation of the heavens and the earth proved that nothing is too difficult for the Lord (31:27). He is omnipotent, and He is also a God of love and justice. He shows lovingkindness (chesed; cf. 9:24; 31:3) to thousands, countless generations; but He also punishes iniquity (cf. Ex 20:5; 34:7; Nm 14:18; Dt 5:9-10). In God’s omniscience He gives to everyone according to his ways (according to their behavior). Jeremiah worships God as great and mighty (Dt 10:17; Neh 9:32), the LORD of hosts (the name of God indicating His power, righteousness and covenant keeping, used hundreds of times in the OT, and dozens of times by Jeremiah; see 1Sm 17:45; 2Sm 5:10; Ps 89:8; Is 54:5; Jr 5:14; 50:34). Since nothing escapes His eyes He can justly reward everyone according to his conduct, the fruit of his deeds.

32:20-23. God’s character was evident in His deeds throughout Israel’s history, briefly recounted in this passage: From God’s signs and wonders (cf. Dt 4:34; 26:8; 29:3; 34:11) during the exodus, to the disobedience of Israel when they took possession of the land He promised, to the calamity that was about to occur (cf. Lv 26:14-39; Dt 28:15-68).

(2) His Puzzlement over God’s Promise (32:24-25)

32:24-25. After proclaiming God’s mighty character and deeds, Jeremiah expressed his confusion at God’s workings. In light of vv. 32:17-23 it seems unreasonable to believe that Jeremiah doubted God’s ability to restore His people. Probably Jeremiah was expressing in vv. 24-25 his bewilderment over how God would accomplish this restoration rather than doubting if God would accomplish it.

Babylon’s siege ramps had already reached the city. Jerusalem’s fate was sealed; she would be given over to the Chaldeans, and the people to the sword, famine, and pestilence (cf. v. 36 and see comments on 14:12.) Everything that God had foretold through His prophets had come to pass. Yet as the army of Babylon stood poised to reduce Jerusalem to rubble, God had commanded Jeremiah to buy a field and call in witnesses, although the city was doomed (vv. 6-12). Jeremiah did not understand how God’s promised restoration related to Judah’s present calamity.

d. The Answer of the Lord (32:26-44)

(1) The City Will Be Destroyed (32:26-35)

32:26-29. God answered Jeremiah by first reminding him of His identity and power: Behold, I am the LORD … is anything too difficult for Me? (v. 17; Gn 18:14; Lk 1:34-37). Jeremiah could depend on God’s word even if he did not understand how it would be accomplished. Nebuchadnezzar would destroy Jerusalem. He would set it on fire and burn it down (cf. Jr 21:10; 34:2, 22; 37:8, 10; 38:18, 23) because of the people’s worship of other gods (cf. 19:13).

32:30-35. Doing only evil had characterized both Israel and Judah … from their youth. They provoked God to anger by the work of their hands, practicing idolatry. Spiritually they turned their backs on God and refused to listen or respond to discipline. Everyone was guilty: their kings, leaders, priests, prophets, men of Judah, inhabitants of Jerusalem (2:26). They turned their back to God, despite His repeated lessons again and again. The temple was defiled with detestable things (7:30; Ezk 8:3-16), and the valley of Ben-hinnom had become the offering place of child sacrifice to Molech (cf. comments on Jr 7:31-32; 19:5-6), an act so abominable it had never entered the mind of God (cf. comments on 7:30-31). Jerusalem would fall to Babylon because of her sin.

(2) The City Will Be Restored (32:36-44)

32:36-44. Jerusalem was given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, famine and by pestilence (32:24; see comments on 14:12). Yet that catastrophic event did not signal the end of God’s chosen people. God offered hope in the midst of despair. First, He promised to gather them (cf. Ezk 37:1-14). God will regather His people from all the lands where they had been in exile and will bring them back to the land of Israel where they will dwell in safety (cf. Jr 31:1-17). They will have one heart to fear the Lord. Second, He promised an everlasting covenant, the new covenant (cf. 31:31-34; Ezk 36:24-32). It was called everlasting (‘olam) to stress its duration. Not only will the people of Israel be restored to their land, but also they will be restored to their God. They will be His people and He will be their God (see comments on Jr 30:22), and they will never turn away from Him. With singleness of heart His people will follow the Lord, and He will never stop doing all the good He promised to them.

Just as God had been faithful to His word in bringing great disaster on Israel because of her sin (Dt 28:15-68), so He will also be faithful in providing the good He had promised them (Dt 30:1-10). Thus Jeremiah’s purchase of the field (Jr 32:1-15) was a symbolic act to show that people will buy fields for money throughout Israel, from Benjamin and Judah to the hill country to the Negev, because God will restore their fortunes (cf. 30:18; 33:11, 26; Dt 30:3).

4. The Restoration of Israel and Judah Reaffirmed (33:1-26)

“The Book of Consolation” concludes in chap. 33, which is structurally and chronologically related to chap. 32. In chap. 33:1-13, Jeremiah continued relaying God’s promise of blessing, even as the Lord reaffirmed both the coming destruction and the future restoration of Jerusalem. God then reaffirmed His covenants with David and with the Levitical priests (33:14-26).

a. The Coming Judgment and Future Restoration (33:1-13)

(1) The Judgment (33:1-5)

33:1-3. While he was still confined in the guardhouse (cf. 32:2), the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the second time with a message similar to the first he received while in custody (chap. 32). God again reminded Jeremiah of who He was, stressing both His power and His character as the LORD who made the earth (cf. 32:17). This emphasized His covenant-keeping faithfulness to Israel by stating that the LORD is His name, it is the LORD who created the earth, and He is able to answer when called upon (cf. 32:18; Ex 3:13-15).

Jeremiah did not understand how God could restore a nation that was destined for doom (cf. Jr 32:24-25), so God challenged the prophet to call to Him for understanding. God promised to answer by revealing great and mighty things. The word for mighty (b’surot) means “something that is made impenetrable by fortifying it or enclosing it.” It is used to describe heavily fortified cities (cf. Nm 13:28; Dt 3:5; 28:52; Ezk 21:20). God’s plans for the future are inscrutable to ordinary people. Only God can unlock the secrets of the future, and He offered this knowledge to Jeremiah. God would share with Jeremiah information the prophet did not know or understand about Israel’s future. Likewise, God wants us to come to Him for understanding and insight. All true wisdom ultimately begins with Him (Pr 1:7) and in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:3).

33:4-5. As Babylon’s siege wore away at Jerusalem’s outer resistance, the defenders of Jerusalem used houses and the royal palaces to provide wood and stone to strengthen the walls against the siege ramps to prevent the sword of Babylon’s soldiers from making a breach in the walls and entering the city. God revealed that all these defensive plans would fail because of His anger and … wrath. God would hide His face from this city, refusing to deliver it from this destruction because of all their wickedness (cf. 18:17; Ezk 4:1-3). Jerusalem had to be destroyed because of all their wickedness.

(2) The Restoration (33:6-13)

33:6-9. The key to understanding God’s seemingly contradictory prophecies of judgment and blessing is to realize that the judgment was to be only temporary. After the time of judgment God will, in days to come, bring health and healing to His city and His people with abundant peace and truth.

God spoke to Jeremiah about three elements of this blessing. First, the blessing will involve a restoration to the land (cf. 31:8-11; 32:37). God will bring both Judah and Israel back from captivity, and restore (shuv, “return”) their fortunes (shavuth, “captivity” or “captives”). They will be rebuilt, reestablished. Second, the blessing will involve a restoration to the Lord (cf. 31:31-34; 32:33-40). God will cleanse the people from all their iniquity and pardon them of their transgressions. Third, the blessing will involve a restoration to a special place of honor among the nations (cf. 31:10-14; Dt 28:13). Jerusalem will bring renown, joy, praise, and glory to God before all the nations of the earth. Nations will be in awe and will tremble as they marvel at the good and peace God will lavish on His people (Jr 33:6, 9). The fulfillment of this prophecy did not occur following the exile and awaits an eschatological realization.

33:10-13. God drew two pictures that contrasted Israel’s present judgment and her future blessing. Each picture began with similar phrases, including the words Thus says the LORD, again, and in this place, and the theme of various cities being a waste (vv. 10, 12).

God emphasized that this is what the LORD (or LORD of hosts) says. In each picture the scene in Jeremiah’s day was similar (vv. 10, 12). Jerusalem was a desolate waste, without man or beast (cf. 32:45). Though the siege was still in progress, the fall of Jerusalem was so sure that God pictured it as if it had already happened. However, these events are yet in the future, when King Messiah reigns over his people, who will be cleansed from all their iniquity (v. 8).

At this point the two pictures changed. First, God illustrated the joy and gladness that will again return to Judah and Jerusalem (vv. 10-11). Next, He illustrated the peace and prosperity of the people, where flocks … pass under the hands of good shepherds, throughout all of Israel from the hill country to the lowland to the Negev in the south, to Benjamin, Jerusalem, and Judah (vv. 12-13; 17:26). The streets of Jerusalem that were desolate after its destruction by Babylon (cf. Lm 1:1-4) will again be filled with the voice of joy and … gladness. This joyful sound will be typified by the voices of a bride and bridegroom in a wedding ceremony (cf. Jr 7:34; 16:9; 25:10) and the voices of worshipers who bring a thank offering into the house of the LORD (cf. Ps 100:1-2, 4; Jr 17:26). The song to be sung by the worshipers, Give thanks to the LORD of hosts, For the LORD is good, recorded by Jeremiah, resembled the refrain of several psalms (cf. Pss 100:4-5; 106:1; 107:1; 136:1-3). Joy will come when God restores Judah’s fortunes (cf. Jr 30:18; 32:44; 33:26; Dt 30:3).

Throughout the land flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who numbers them, as a shepherd counts his sheep to be sure none is absent. Return of flocks of sheep points to a time of prosperity. Possibly Jeremiah was using shepherd and sheep in a metaphorical sense to refer to the leaders of Israel and the people. He had already compared the leaders to shepherds (cf. comments on 3:15) and the restored nation to a regathered flock (cf. 23:3; 31:10). Ultimately the Lord is the Shepherd of Israel and will care for His flock (Ps 80:1; Ec 12:11; Ezk 34:11-31; Jn 10:11; Heb 13:20; 1Pt 5:4).

b. The Covenants with David and the Levitical Priests (33:14-26)

Jeremiah had also used this imagery of future blessing to introduce his message on the “righteous Branch” of David (23:1-6; 33:14-26).

(1) The Covenants (33:14-18)

The second section of this chapter is introduced with the phrase “Behold, the days are coming” (hinneh yamim ba’im, cf. comments on 31:27) when God would “fulfill the good word … concerning … Israel and … Judah.” Although the monarchy and the priesthood were suspended during the exile, Jeremiah proclaimed there would be both an eternal Davidic kingship and an eternal Levitical priesthood (vv. 17-18) in the coming days. However, the fulfillment was not realized at the return from Babylon (Ezk 1:8; 2:2, 40-54; 8:15-20). The “good word,” a phrase that captures the entire breadth of the glorious promises made to both parts of the nation (16:14-15; 23:3-6; 29:10-14; 31:1-14, 27-40; 32:37-44; Hs 1:10-11; 2:14-23; Am 9:11-15; Mc 7:18-20; Zph 3:10, 14-17; Zch 8:3-8, 10:6, 14:9-20) will be fulfilled in the Messianic Age.

33:14-16. The first aspect of this fulfillment will be the restoration of the monarchy (cf. 23:5). The righteous Branch of David (cf. 23:5-6; 33:15; Is 11:1-4) will rule as King over the nation. This was a prophecy about Jesus Christ who descended from the line of David and was promised David’s throne (cf. Mt 1:1; Lk 1:31-33). His reign is characterized by justice and righteousness and extends to the whole earth.

The second aspect of this fulfillment will be the restoration of Jerusalem as God’s dwelling place. The city that was about to be destroyed by Babylon (Jr 33:4-5) will, in the coming days, dwell in safety, and she will be called: the LORD is our righteousness. This verse is similar to 23:6, but here a significant change gives it a new meaning. In 23:6 Jeremiah pictured the safety of Israel and Judah through the ministry of the Messiah who was called “The LORD Our Righteousness.” However, by changing “Israel” to “Jerusalem” and by changing the pronoun “He” to “she,” Jeremiah here applied the title, the LORD Our Righteousness, to the city of Jerusalem instead of to the Messiah. Under the kingship of Messiah, Jerusalem will take on the same holy characteristics as the Lord who will dwell in her (cf. Ezk 48:35).

It is significant that Jeremiah singled out the royal (Jr 33:15) and religious (v. 16) aspects of God’s restoration. Both were vital to Israel’s existence as God’s covenant community. With the certain destruction by Babylon, the people would be carried into exile and the promised land reduced to rubble, and all God’s covenants with His people seemed to be at the point of annulment. The series of message to Jeremiah (vv. 17-26) confirms that the ancient covenant is secure, based on the character God.

33:17-18. To stress the importance of both priesthood and king, God reiterated His covenants with the line of David and with the Levitical priests. The first covenant mentioned was God’s covenant with David (cf. 2Sm 7:8-16; 1Ch 17:4-14). God vowed that David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel. Some have felt that this promise failed because the monarchy ended in 586 BC when Jerusalem fell. However, God did not promise an unbroken monarchy but an unbroken line of descendants from David who would be qualified to sit on that throne when it was reestablished. David’s line would not fail before the righteous Branch of David came to claim His throne (cf. Lk 1:31-33). The genealogies of Matthew and Luke show that this promise was fulfilled, as Messiah Jesus was able to trace both His legal line through Joseph and His physical line through Mary back to David (Mt 1:1-16; Lk 3:23-31).

The second covenant mentioned was God’s covenant with the Levitical priests. This covenant was God’s promise that the Levites would never lack a man to stand before Him to offer burnt offerings … grain offerings, and sacrifices. Again the promise was not that the sacrifices would continue unabated, because they did cease in 586 BC and were not resumed till 537 BC (cf. Ezr 3:1-6). The promise here was that the Levitical priesthood would not be extinguished. God was referring back to the promise He made to Phinehas (Nm 25:12-13). Although the Messiah Jesus, our Redeemer King Priest who ever lives to make intercession, is our high priest, this prophecy is not about Him (Heb 7:24-25). Certainly, neither the monarchy nor the priesthood would ever be abolished. Messiah Jesus will reign as King from the line of David (2Sm 7:16; Ps 89:34-37; Jr 33:17, 20-22; Lk 1:32-33) and as High Priest. However, He is fulfilling the office of high priest, not from the Levitical priesthood, but as a priest in the line of Melchizedek; a change in law, from the Sinai covenant to the new covenant, leads to a change in high priesthood (Gn 14:18-20; Ps 110:4; Heb 5:5-6; 6:20; 7:1-28). However, in the messianic kingdom, there will be a messianic temple with offerings and sacrifices, and at that time, Levitical priests will continue to minister there under the high priesthood of the Lord Jesus (see Ezk 43:19; 44:15-19 and comments there).

(2) The Confirmation of God’s Covenant Promises (33:19-26)

Going into exile would cause the people to doubt their future and even God’s faithfulness to His promises. In this section, Jeremiah records reassurance from the Lord.

God gave two assurances that He would keep His covenant promises. Each assurance began with the same introductory phrase, “The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah” (33:19, 23), and each used God’s “covenant for day and … night” to illustrate the permanence of these institutions (33:20, 25; cf. 31:35-37).

33:19-22. Only if man could break God’s covenant for the day and … covenant for the night (cf. Gn. 1:14-19) could God’s covenant[s] … with David and with the Levitical priests be broken. That is, God’s covenants with them were as fixed as the natural order in the universe. They could not be overthrown by mere mortals. The word for “covenant” (berit) referred to a treaty or agreement made between individuals or parties by which they bound themselves to a specific relationship or course of action. A covenant could be conditioned on the behavior of both parties, or unconditional, based on the behavior of one party. The covenants to Abraham, David, and the Levitical priesthood were unconditional covenants, assured by the actions of God alone.

God had promised to preserve the kingly line of David (2Sm 7:8-16) and priestly line of Phinehas (Nm 25:12-13), and He would not break His oath. Indeed, God promised to bless both lines of the descendants of David and the Levites, and both would become as countless as the host of heaven (the stars) and the sand of the sea.

33:23-26. God’s second promise was to Jeremiah because of the doubt and reproach raised against him by this people, a phrase used to refer only to Israel and/or Judah. Some people in the nation claimed that God had so rejected the two families of Israel and Judah that He would no longer regard them as a nation. They felt that Israel’s and Judah’s sin, and coming exile, had led God to invalidate His covenant promises.

God responded to this argument by reaffirming His commitment to His covenants. The covenants with Abraham and David were not conditioned on people’s obedience but on God’s character (cf. comments on the unconditional nature of these covenants at 22:6-10). They were as sure as His covenant for day and night and as immutable as the fixed patterns of heaven and earth. Only if these natural laws could be repealed would God reject the descendants of Jacob and David. The reference to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is God’s unconditional covenant with Abraham and the patriarchs regarding His selection of Israel as the chosen people (cf. Gn 12:1-3; 15:7-21; 17:1-8; 26:1-6; 28:10-15). God was bound to His promises and He would restore the nation’s fortunes (cf. Jr 30:18; 32:44; 33:11; Dt 30:3) and have mercy on them. The greatest argument for the future restoration of Israel as a nation is the character of God. He made a series of covenants with the patriarchs, David, and the Levites; His character demands that He will preserve Israel and ultimately fulfill these promises to the Jewish people (Rm 11:1-6, 28-29).

D. Present Catastrophe of Judah (34:1–45:5)

After describing the future hope of Judah (chaps. 30–33), Jeremiah returned to their present judgment. The destruction he had been predicting (chaps. 2–29) would now occur. The theme of judgment that began in chaps. 26–29 is taken up again in chaps. 34–36. The prophet was clear about the coming judgment (chaps. 2–29 and chaps. 34–45), but used a central part of his message in this book to confirm the Lord’s mercy and faithfulness (chaps. 30–33).

1. Before the Fall of Jerusalem (34:1–36:32)

A detailed eyewitness account of the events that occurred during and after Jerusalem’s fall to Babylon is presented in chronological order in chaps. 37–45. However, Jeremiah introduces those events with a record of life in Jerusalem immediately prior to its fall, to show the necessity of God’s judgment.

a. The Inconsistency of the People (34:1-22)

(1) The Warning to Zedekiah of His Exile (34:1-7)

34:1-3. When Nebuchadnezzar and all his army … were fighting against Jerusalem, God gave Jeremiah a message for King Zedekiah. This message was that Zedekiah’s rebellion against Babylon would not succeed. God had already determined to give Jerusalem into the hand of the king of Babylon, who would burn it (cf. 33: 22; 32:29; 37:8, 10; 38:18, 23). Though Zedekiah would try to flee, he would not escape. Instead he would see the king of Babylon and speak with him eye to eye and be judged for his rebellion. Zedekiah would be taken captive to Babylon as punishment for his rebellion. Everything Jeremiah predicted came to pass (cf. 39:4-7; 52:7-11).

34:4-5. Because of his rebellion Zedekiah could have been executed by Nebuchadnezzar, but God promised that he would not die by the sword. Rather, he would die in peace and have a funeral befitting a king (in contrast with Jehoiakim; cf. 22:18-19; 36:27-31). With spices … burned is not a reference to cremation, which was not practiced by the Jewish people, but the custom of burning spices (incense) at royal funerals (cf. 2Ch 16:14; 21:19). The lament Alas, lord! is equivalent to “Alas, our Majesty!” It is not giving qualities of deity to the king since Israel did not view their kings as gods.

34:6-7. Jeremiah delivered his message to King Zedekiah when the army … of Babylon relentlessly continued its attack against Jerusalem and the only remaining fortified cities of Judah. The guard cities of Lachish, 27 miles southwest of Jerusalem, and Azekah, 18 miles southwest of Jerusalem, fell in 587 BC.

(2) The Warning to the People for Enslaving Their Countrymen (34:8-22)

34:8-11. Jeremiah highlighted the specific sin of keeping Jewish slaves. Perhaps in a desperate attempt to win God’s favor during Babylon’s siege of Jerusalem, Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people … to release their Jewish slaves because the law commanded that no one should keep … a Jew, his brother, in bondage (cf. Ex 21:2-11; Lv 25:39-55; Dt 15:12-18).

The slaves’ freedom, however, was short-lived. All those who released their slaves afterward … turned around and took back the male … and the female servants and enslaved them again. The slave owners changed their minds when the Babylonians broke off their siege of Jerusalem to repel an attack by the Egyptians. The people hoped for an Egyptian victory, which would end the Babylonian threat. But after so much destruction from the siege, slaves would be needed to rebuild the cities and towns. So the people reneged on their promise to obey God when it seemed that life would return to normal (cf. Jr 37:4-13).

34:12-16. God rebuked the people for their inconsistency by reminding them of their history. He had made a covenant with their forefathers when He freed them from Egyptian bondage. The law required that every seven years all Hebrew slaves were to go free. No Israelite was to be forced into permanent bondage again. Unfortunately the people did not obey God’s Word. Because of Babylon’s attack, the people finally repented and did what was right by granting freedom to their countrymen, but it was an insincere obedience. When they no longer felt under threat, they no longer felt the need to obey the Lord, and so they profaned God’s name. They made a covenant before God in the house which is called by His name, the temple, and they broke that covenant, treating His name as unholy—with irreverence and contempt.

34:17-20. God’s penalty matched their sin. By revoking their covenant the people had not proclaimed release for those Israelites who were wrongfully enslaved. Therefore, God would give them release to die by the sword, pestilence, and famine (cf. comments on 14:12).

In making their covenant in the temple (cf. v. 15) the people had cut the calf in two, and passed between its parts to signify their commitment to the covenant. By walking through the parts of the animal they were symbolizing the judgment that would befall them if they violated the agreement. God promised to treat those who broke the covenant like the calf they had slaughtered for the covenant. All who made the agreement would be given into the hand of their enemies and their dead bodies would be food for the birds … and beasts (cf. 7:33; 15:3; 16:4; 19:7).

Significantly when God made His covenant with Abraham, the patriarch did not pass between the parts of the animal. Only God passed between the parts, symbolized by the blazing torch (Gn 15:4-18, especially v. 17). The Abrahamic covenant rested on God’s character, not on man’s obedience.

34:21-22. Zedekiah and his officials should have been models of godly leadership, but they were as godless as the people. Though the Babylonians had gone away from Jerusalem, God would command them to come back to this city. The siege would resume until the Babylonians would take Jerusalem and burn it down (cf. v. 2). The other cities of Judah would be devastated, and the whole country would be a desolation without inhabitant.

b. The Consistency of the Rechabites: An Object Lesson to Judah (35:1-19)

(1) The Fidelity of the Rechabites (35:1-11)

35:1-5. This prophecy was given during the reign of Jehoiakim (609–598 BC), at least 11 years earlier than the prophecies in chap. 34. Jeremiah placed the chapter here to contrast the faithfulness of the Rechabite people with the unfaithful Judeans. The Rechabites were a nomadic clan (vv. 7-10) descended from Jonadab [or Jehonadab] son of Rechab (v. 6), who assisted Jehu in exterminating Baal worship from Israel (2Kg 10:15-27). They were related to the Kenites (1Ch 2:54-55) who descended from Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro (Jdg 1:16). Jonadab chose to live as a nomad, not a city dweller, and his lifestyle became the norm for his clan (Jr 35:6-10). Rechabites dwelt in tents in the Negev (Jdg 1:16; 1Sm 15:6), but they were forced to move to Jerusalem when Nebuchadnezzar threatened Judah in 598 BC (Jr 35:11).

Jeremiah invited the Rechabites, including Jaazaniah, for a meeting in the house of the LORD in the chamber of … Hanan … the man of God, a term usually used of a prophet (cf. 1Kg 12:22; 1Kg 1:9-13; 4:21-22). These rooms surrounded the temple court and were used for meetings, storage, and as priests’ residences (1Kg 6:5; 1Ch 28:12; 2Ch 31:11; Neh 13:7-9). The room occupied a prominent position, near the chamber of the officials and over the room of Maaseiah … the doorkeeper. This was evidently a high position because doorkeepers were singled out by the Babylonians for judgment along with the chief priests (cf. 2Kg 25:18-21; Jr 52:24-27). Jeremiah brought the nomadic Rechabites to this serious meeting with high-level Jerusalemites. He offered hospitality with pitchers full of wine and cups, and invited them to drink wine.

35:6-11. As Jeremiah knew, the Rechabites would not drink wine because the founder of the Rechabites, Jonadab the son of Rechab had prohibited it. He commanded his descendants: You shall not drink wine, you or your sons, forever. Nor were they allowed to build a house, sow seed, or plant a vineyard. They were not to live as farmers or in the city; they were to live in tents as nomads.

Jonadab’s descendants, and their wives, sons and daughters, had obeyed the voice of Jonadab, the son of Rechab … in all that he commanded. (vv. 8-10). Only the Babylonian war had driven them to Jerusalem.

(2) The Example of the Rechabites (35:12-17)

35:12-17. The Rechabites were an object lesson to Judah. They consistently obeyed their father’s command, in sharp contrast with the people of Judah who had consistently disobeyed God their Father (cf. 31:9). The Rechabites were a reminder of Judah’s sin. God vowed to bring on Judah … all the disaster [He had] pronounced against them. This disaster could refer to either (1) the curses of the covenant (cf. Lv 26:14-39; Dt 28:15-68) or, more probably, (2) the fall of Judah and Jerusalem predicted by Jeremiah (cf. Jr 4:20; 6:19; 11:11-12; 17:18). Judah would be punished because she did not listen to God’s words and did not answer God’s summons.

(3) The Reward of the Rechabites (35:18-19)

35:18-19. In contrast to faithless Judah, the Rechabites had faithfully obeyed the command of their forefather Jonadab. God rewarded their faithfulness by assuring them they would not lack a man to stand before the Lord always. The word “always” should be understood in context. Here “always” does not mean necessarily forever into eternity, but has a limited duration of their service in the temple. The promise was given to the Rechabites prior to the destruction of the temple and fall of Jerusalem, indicating they would return to Jerusalem with the Jewish people after the exile and take up their worship of the Lord in the temple (Neh 3:14). They apparently continued their worship in the temple until the Romans destroyed it in AD 70.

“To stand before” was used of those who served in a variety of ways: as prophets (Jr 15:19; 1Kg 17:1), as officials who served the king (1Kg 10:8), and of priests in the temple (Dt 4:10; 10:8; 2Ch 29:11). It was these people of Israel who stood before the Lord at the tabernacle and the temple (cf. Lv 9:5; Dt 4:10; Jr 7:10). The Lord promised that the line of the Rechabites would always have descendants who would be able to worship the Lord. The promise pointed to a continuing line of people who followed God, rather than a specific office of ministry for Him. Although the Rechabites are not specifically mentioned in Ezekiel’s description of the millennial temple, perhaps they too will be part of the worship in that future temple, along with the Levitical priests (see 33:17-18; Ezk 43:18-19; 44:15-19).

God is always looking for individuals whose lives are characterized by faithfulness. Such people will experience God’s blessing even in the midst of trials and will always have opportunity to serve Him.

c. Jehoiakim’s Scroll-Burning (36:1-32)

(1) The Writing of the Scroll (36:1-7)

36:1-3. The events of this chapter began in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim (605–604 BC; cf. 25:1). This is just prior to Judah becoming a vassal to Babylon (2Kg 24:1) and Babylon taking the best of the young men captives (Dn 1:1-4). God commanded Jeremiah to take a scroll and write on it all the words God gave him about Israel, Judah, and … all the nations from the day I first spoke to you … even to this day. God first spoke to him in the days of Josiah (627 BC; cf. Jr 1:2; 25:3). This was the first formal compilation of Jeremiah’s prophecies (25:13). At least two additional stages of compilation are mentioned in the book (cf. v. 32; 51:64).

One purpose for recording these prophecies was so they could be read aloud to the people. The hope was that the house of Judah would hear all the calamity God would bring on them and turn from his evil way and God would forgive their iniquity and their sin.

36:4-7. Jeremiah called Baruch, his scribe (cf. 32:12-16; 36:26), and dictated to him all the words of the LORD. It is not known whether Jeremiah recited all the prophecies from memory or if he read them from scrolls on which he had recorded them earlier. Either method allows for God’s superintendence.

Jeremiah was restricted and could not go into the house of the LORD, possibly because of his earlier unpopular Temple Address there (cf. 7:1-15; 26:1-19) or because of his message about the broken jar and Pashhur’s attack (cf. 19:1–20:6). So Jeremiah commanded Baruch to go to the temple in his place on a fast day when people would be assembled there. Prior to the fall of Jerusalem (586 BC) fast days were not specified (other than Yom Kippur, Lv 23:26-32) but were called in times of emergency (cf. Jr 36:9; 2Ch. 20:3; Jl 1:14; 2:15). Only after the fall of Jerusalem were regular fast days instituted (Zch 7:3, 5; 8:19). Jeremiah hoped that as Baruch read the scroll everyone [would] turn from his evil way.

(2) The Reading of the Scroll (36:8-19)

36:8-10. Some time elapsed before a national emergency arose that prompted all the people to proclaim a fast before the LORD. The scroll was written in Jehoiakim’s fourth year (v. 1), but it was not read until the fifth year, in the ninth month (December), a possible gap of several months. (For a detailed discussion of the chronological issues see Edwin R. Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, rev. ed. [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1983]; and Richard A. Parker and Waldo H. Dubberstein, Babylonian Chronology: 626 BC–AD 75 [Providence, RI: Brown University Press, 1956]).

The date was significant because the Babylonian Chronicles (cf. 27:1-7) report that, at the same time, Nebuchadnezzar was in Judah collecting “vast tribute” from those nations he had conquered. In the same month the fast was called, Nebuchadnezzar captured the city of Ashkelon and plundered it. It is possible that the fast was called to plead for deliverance from Babylon’s harsh hand.

Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah in the chamber of Gemariah that was in the upper court of the temple (cf. v. 10) at the entrance of the New Gate. It seems Baruch stood at the door of Germariah’s room so that what he read could be heard by all the assembled people in the temple courtyard. This was the first of three readings that day (vv. 10, 15, 21). Because of the repeated readings, it is likely that only portions of the scroll were read each time.

36:11-19. Gemariah’s son Micaiah … heard all the words of the LORD from the book. He went to the king’s house in the scribe’s chamber to report the contents of the scroll to the all the officials, including Delaiah and Elnathan the son of Achbor, who urged Jehoiakim not to burn Jeremiah’s scroll (v. 25). However, Elnathan had earlier led an expedition to Egypt to extradite the righteous prophet Uriah back to Jerusalem to be executed.

When Micaiah finished his report, Baruch was summoned to appear before them and read the scroll to them. The officials turned in fear to one another when they heard the message of the scroll, and knew they must report all these words to the king. They asked if Baruch wrote all these words at Jeremiah’s dictation.

To protect them from the king, the officials warned Baruch and Jeremiah: hide and do not let anyone know where you are. Jehoiakim’s prior reaction against Uriah the prophet showed the wisdom of this advice (cf. 26:20-23).

(3) The Burning of the Scroll (36:20-26)

36:20-22. The scroll was placed in the chamber of Elishama, the scribe, while the officials reported all the words to the king in court. Jehudi was sent to retrieve scroll, and he read it to the king and his officials.

The events took place in the ninth month (between November 24 and December 23, 604 BC). Since it was cold in Jerusalem, Jehoiakim was in his winter house (Am 3:15), probably facing south to catch the winter sun. Further, he had a fire burning in the brazier, a small stove, for warmth.

36:23-26. Hebrew scrolls are written in vertical columns. After Jehudi had read three or four columns, Jehoiakim interrupted him and cut those columns off the scroll with a scribe’s knife, then threw those pieces into the fire … in the brazier. What a contrast with his godly father Josiah’s (cf. 2Kg 22:11-13) responsive behavior when he found the scroll of the Lord. Instead, Jehoiakim burned the scroll column by column as it was read to him until all the scroll was consumed in the fire … in the brazier.

This was shocking behavior. Yet the king and all his servants, who heard all these words were not afraid of God’s words of judgment. Neither did they rend their garments in grief and repentance for their sins enumerated in the scroll. Instead Jehoiakim ordered the immediate arrest of Baruch and Jeremiah. However, the LORD hid them and kept them safe from the king.

(4) The Rewriting of the Scroll (36:27-32)

36:27-31. A scroll can be burned, but the Word of God cannot be destroyed. Since Jehoiakim burned the first scroll, God told Jeremiah to write on another scroll all the words that were on the first scroll. Because Jehoiakim had burned the scroll and refused to believe God’s warning about the king of Babylon, God vowed to judge him. First, no descendant of his would permanently sit on the throne of David. Though his son, Jehoiachin, did follow him to the throne (cf. 2Kg 24:8-17), he was deposed by Nebuchadnezzar after only three months. No other descendant of Jehoiakim ascended the throne (see comments on Jr 22:24-30). Second, Jehoiakim would not receive a proper burial (cf. 22:18-19). Instead his dead body would be cast out and left unburied, exposed to the elements. Third, Jehoiakim’s descendants and his servants would be punished for their iniquity. God would bring on them and Jerusalem and Judah every calamity that He had declared … because they did not listen.

36:32. Jeremiah obeyed God’s command exactly. He took another scroll, and Baruch wrote … at the dictation of Jeremiah on the new scroll all the words of the burned scroll. Plus Jeremiah, according to the instruction of the Lord, added many similar words, most likely the contents of chap. 36, including the judgment on Jehoiakim. This verse used the word scroll (megillah “a scroll”) and book (sapher, “writing,” “written document,” “decree”—not a square bound book with pages) interchangeably. Ancient scrolls were made of tanned leather or papyrus sewn together in long sheets and rolled scrolls.

2. During the Fall of Jerusalem (37:1–39:18)

The events of chaps. 37–39 are arranged chronologically. They record Jerusalem’s final days before the fall, and trace Jeremiah’s life and ministry during the final siege and fall of Jerusalem. The events foretold in Jeremiah’s messages and recorded on the scroll begin to occur.

a. Jeremiah’s Message to Zedekiah about Egypt (37:1-10)

37:1-2. The section focuses on Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, who was placed on the throne as a vassal king by Nebuchadnezzar (cf. 2Kg 24:15-17). From the king to the common people, no one listened to the words of the LORD given by Jeremiah.

37:3-10. Although Zedekiah did not listen to the words of the Lord, he asked Jeremiah to pray to the LORD for Judah. Jeremiah was not yet … in the prison, and Babylon, the Chaldeans, had just lifted her siege of Jerusalem to defend herself from Pharaoh’s army marching from Egypt as Judah’s ally. Perhaps Zedekiah hoped that Jeremiah’s prayers would induce God to grant a victory to the Egyptians and force Babylon out of Judah (cf. 21:1-7 for a similar request).

God’s answer was bad news for Zedekiah. Pharaoh’s army that had marched out to give assistance to Judah would be crushed by Babylon and forced to return to … Egypt. Then the Chaldeans would return and fight against Jerusalem, capture it and burn it down (cf. 21:10; 32:29; 34:2, 22; 37:10; 38:18, 23). Those who hoped for a Babylonian withdrawal were deceiving themselves. Even if only wounded men were in Nebuchadnezzar’s army, they would rise up and burn Jerusalem (cf. v. 8).

b. Jeremiah’s Imprisonment (37:11–38:28)

(1) Jeremiah’s Arrest and Confinement in a Dungeon (37:11-16)

37:11-16. When the Babylonian army withdrew to fight the Egyptians, they lifted the siege from Jerusalem, and the city had a time of relative calm. Jeremiah used this pause in fighting to leave the city for a short journey (perhaps 10 to 15 miles or so, depending on the exact destination), to his home in the land of Benjamin (cf. 1:1). The purpose of his trip was to take possession of some property belonging to his family, either to secure some land or to divide up some land for sale to others. Apparently Jeremiah had purchased the field earlier without ever leaving the premises of the court of the guard (32:1-15). Now with the siege lifted, he went out from Jerusalem to care for the property.

On his way out of Jerusalem, at the Gate of Benjamin (38:7; Zch 14:10), the northeast city gate toward the territory of Benjamin, the captain of the guard at that gate arrested Jeremiah and charged him with deserting to the Chaldeans, a logical accusation since many people from Judah had defected (Jr 38:19; 39:9; 52:15), and Jeremiah constantly foretold Babylonian victory (21:9). Jeremiah called the charge a lie, but the captain, Irijah, arrested him anyway. Jeremiah was beaten and put into jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe. He was put in a dungeon (lit., “in the house of the cistern, in the vaulted rooms”). This was probably a broken or dry cistern made into a prison where Jeremiah stayed many days.

(2) Jeremiah’s First Meeting with Zedekiah and Transfer to the Courtyard of the Guard (37:17-21)

37:17-20. The Babylonian army returned to Jerusalem and renewed the siege of the city, as the Lord said (vv. 9-10). Zedekiah took Jeremiah out … secretly because of Jeremiah’s unpopularity with the people (cf. 26:10-11; 37:11-13; 38:4) and brought him to the palace. The resumption of the Babylonian siege was crushing, so Zedekiah asked for a word from the LORD. Jeremiah gave him the same message as before: You will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon! (21:7; 32:4; 34:3).

Jeremiah used his audience with Zedekiah to plead his innocence. He asked how he had sinned against the king or his servants or this people that he should be put in prison. Other prophets had prophesied lies, declaring the Babylonians would not come against … this land; Jeremiah was jailed for telling the truth. He petitioned Zedekiah to not make him return to the dungeon to die there.

37:21. Zedekiah granted Jeremiah’s request and had him transferred from the cistern to the court of the guardhouse in the royal palace (cf. 32:2) and arranged for Jeremiah to be given bread daily … until all the bread in the city was gone (cf. 52:6). Being imprisoned in the guardhouse of the palace assured Jeremiah of food during the siege, while many others in Jerusalem died of starvation. This is an example of how “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him” (Rm 8:28).

(3) Jeremiah’s Confinement in a Cistern (38:1-6)

38:1-3. Confinement in the courtyard of the guard (37:21) gave Jeremiah some freedom to speak to all the people (cf. 32:1-2, 6). He used this time to deliver God’s message to any who would listen. His message was overheard by four high-ranking officials: Shephatiah son of Mattan (not mentioned elsewhere), Gedaliah son of Pashhur (possibly a son of the Pashhur who beat Jeremiah, 20:1-3), Jucal son of Shelemiah (sent by Zedekiah to inquire about the lifting of Babylon’s siege, 37:3), and Pashhur son of Malchijah (sent by Zedekiah to inquire about Babylon’s initial attack on Jerusalem, 21:1-2). These four powerful officials heard the words Jeremiah was speaking to all the people.

Jeremiah’s message (summarized in 38:2-3) was the same one that Jeremiah gave before (21:3-10). Those who stayed in Jerusalem would die by the sword, famine, or pestilence (cf. comments on 14:12). Only those who went out to the Chaldeans would stay alive. Jerusalem’s only hope was to surrender. Any thought of withstanding Babylon’s siege was futile since the Lord had said the city will certainly be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon.

38:4-6. The officials went to the king and demanded Jeremiah be put to death for discouraging the men of war and all the people. These officials did not believe the word of the Lord, but thought Jeremiah was seeking … the harm of the people and the city. Zedekiah’s weak leadership was most evident in his response to these officials. He forsook his promise to protect Jeremiah (37:18-21) and handed him over to those who sought his life. Saying, Behold, he is in your hands, Zedekiah abdicated his authority concerning Jeremiah, and maintained that he could do nothing. Zedekiah was a political puppet, incapable of making strong, independent decisions. He was controlled either by Nebuchadnezzar (cf. 2Kg 24:17) or by the city officials who urged him to rebel against Babylon and then influenced his decisions (Jr 27:12-15; 38:5, 19, 24-28).

The officials took Jeremiah from the royal guardhouse (37:21) and cast him into the cistern of Malchijah, in the courtyard of the guard (cf. 2:13; 37:16). This cistern was so deep that they had to lower Jeremiah down with ropes. It had no water in it, probably because of the prolonged drought (cf. 14:1-4), but there was mud that collected in the bottom of the pit. Jeremiah then sank down into the mud, an even worse condition than the dungeon-prison in Jonathan’s house (37:15). Had the water or mud been deeper he would have drowned or suffocated, and death by starvation was likely. Perhaps people threw stones at Jeremiah in the cistern, hoping to kill him outright or to knock him unconscious so he would sink into the mud and die (Lm 3:52-54).

(4) Jeremiah’s Rescue from the Cistern (38:7-13)

38:7-9. Many of Jeremiah’s countrymen wanted him killed because they hated his message of the coming fall of Jerusalem and exile to Babylon. The only official who cared enough to intercede on his behalf was Ebed-melech (lit., “servant of the king”) the Ethiopian. He was a eunuch. The word (saris) did not always mean castrated, but often was used in the sense of “officer” or “court official.”

Ebed-melech went to the Gate of Benjamin (cf. 20:2; 37:13) where the king was sitting, perhaps conducting royal business. He described Jeremiah’s circumstances, and reported that other officials had acted wickedly by throwing Jeremiah into a cistern where he would starve to death. Evidently Zedekiah had not known the officials’ specific plan to kill Jeremiah or else he had not believed that they would carry it out. But now he knew Jeremiah’s death was imminent.

38:10-13. Zedekiah ordered Ebed-melech to rescue Jeremiah … from the cistern before he died. He gave him thirty men to pull Jeremiah from the pit and to defend the rescue party. After being hauled up by ropes, with rags protecting his armpits, Jeremiah was again put in the court of the guardhouse (cf. 37:21).

(5) Jeremiah’s Second Meeting with Zedekiah (38:14-28)

38:14-16. Again Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah to meet him at the third entrance to the temple. This entrance, not mentioned elsewhere, may refer to a private entrance that connected the king’s palace with the temple. Zedekiah told the prophet to not hide anything from him.

Jeremiah voiced two objections. First, if he answered with a message the king did not want to hear he had no guarantee that the king would not put [him] to death. Second, any counsel Jeremiah gave would be wasted because the king would not listen to him. Zedekiah answered the first objection but not the second. He promised in secret that he would not put Jeremiah to death or give him over to men seeking his life; but the king made no promise to heed Jeremiah’s message.

38:17-23. Jeremiah’s message was unchanged (cf. 21:1-10; 37:17; 38:1-3). If Zedekiah would surrender to the Babylonians he would live, the city would not be burned down, and his household would survive. However, if he would not surrender, Zedekiah would not escape but would be seized by the king of Babylon (cf. 39:5-7; 52:8-11) and the city would be handed over to the Chaldeans who would burn it (cf. 21:10; 32:29; 34:2, 22; 37:8, 10; 38:23).

Zedekiah refused to heed Jeremiah’s message because he had a dread of the Jews who had already gone over to the Chaldeans. He believed if he went to Babylon he would be handed over to these Judahites who would abuse him for his past acts of cruelty and bad leadership. Jeremiah assured Zedekiah that this would not happen. He begged him to listen: Please obey the LORD, that you may live. Then Jeremiah detailed the horrible results of refusing to go out. Zedekiah would suffer the very ridicule and humiliation he sought to avoid. The women from his palace would be given to the officers of the king of Babylon to be raped. The women would mock Zedekiah’s weak leadership for following the advice of his close friends. Zedekiah would be misled and overpowered, his feet would sink in the mire of a dungeon, and his friends will have turned back from him. If Zedekiah refused to surrender to Babylon he would see his wives and … sons being led away (cf. 39:6), he would not escape, and Jerusalem would be burned (cf. v. 18).

38:24-28. Zedekiah rejected Jeremiah’s advice. Such a bold step was beyond the ability of this spineless monarch. Instead he warned Jeremiah not to let anyone know about these words; their conversation needed to be kept secret for the sake of the king’s reputation and Jeremiah’s life. If word got out, the officials would try to kill Jeremiah. Palace spies were everywhere, so Zedekiah gave Jeremiah an alibi in case he was questioned. If the officials asked Jeremiah what he said to the king and what the king said to him, he was to tell them that he was pleading with Zedekiah not to send him back to the dungeon in Jonathan’s house (cf. 37:15-16, 20). Jeremiah had indeed made such a request during his first meeting Zedekiah, so this would be an accurate reply.

Zedekiah’s caution was well founded because the officials did hear about the meeting and questioned Jeremiah, and he reported to them as the king had commanded. His answer ended their questions, but he remained in the court of the guardhouse as a political prisoner until Jerusalem was captured by Nebuchadnezzar.

c. Jerusalem’s Destruction (39:1-18)

Chapters 39-45 give the most detailed account in the OT of the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon, and the circumstances of the Jewish people who were not taken captive.

(1) The Fate of the Jews (39:1-10)

39:1-4. In one sense, chap. 39 is a climax to God’s messages of judgment against Jerusalem. Jeremiah provided a detailed account of how Jerusalem was captured.

The final assault began in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah in the tenth month. This event was so traumatic that it was recorded three other times in the OT, even noting the day of the month (cf. 2Kg 25:1; Jr 52:4; Ezk 24:1-2). The siege lasted over 30 months. Using our modern calendar, the siege began on January 15, 588 BC. Jerusalem fell in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, specifically the ninth day of the fourth month, a day of mourning in the Jewish calendar to the present time, Tisah b’Av (ninth of Av, August 14, 586 BC).

After the 30-month siege by the Babylonians, the city wall was breached. The officials of … Babylon entered the city and sat down at the Middle Gate to establish their control over the city and to judge those taken captive (cf. comments on Jr 38:7; Ezk 11:1). One of the officials overseeing the siege was Nergal-sar-ezer Samgar-nebu (cf. Jr 39:13), Nebuchadnezzar’s son-in-law. He ascended Babylon’s throne after the death of Nebuchadnezzar’s son (560 BC). So the officials who oversaw the capture of Jerusalem were of the highest rank.

When King Zedekiah and his military commanders (men of war), saw that the city had fallen, they fled toward the Arabah, the Jordan Valley.

39:5-7. Escape was impossible, as Jeremiah had foretold (38:18). Zedekiah was captured by the army of the Chaldeans on the plains of Jericho, in the Jordan Valley, about 14 miles east of Jerusalem. He was taken north to Nebuchadnezzar in the Babylonian military headquarters at the city of Riblah in … Hamath. Riblah was a key city in the Beqa Valley, north of Damascus (2Kg 23:29-35; 25:6, 20, 21; Jr 52:10, and Hamath was a political territory in ancient Syria (2Sm 8:9-10; 2Kg 14:28, 17:24), part of modern Lebanon and Syria. The king of Babylon had established military headquarters there to direct the siege of Judah (2Kg 25:20-21; Jr 52:10). There Nebuchadnezzar passed sentence on Zedekiah for rebelling against Babylon. First, Zedekiah was forced to watch as the Babylonians slaughtered his sons … before his eyes and killed all the nobles of Judah. Then, to seal this sight of horror in Zedekiah’s mind forever, Nebuchadnezzar blinded Zedekiah’s eyes. Finally he bound Zedekiah with fetters (shackles) of bronze to drag him in humiliation to Babylon. Zedekiah was shamed more than he even feared (cf. 38:17-23) because he had ignored the warnings of the Lord.

39:8-10. Jerusalem suffered the exact fate Jeremiah predicted. The Babylonians burned with fire the magnificent king’s palace and the houses of the people (cf. 21:10; 22:6-7; 32:29; 34:2, 22; 37:8-10; 38:18, 23). The soldiers also broke down the walls of Jerusalem so the city would remain defenseless (cf. Lm 2:8-9; Neh 1:3). Nebuzaradan, captain of the bodyguard, carried … into exile everyone who was still alive in the city (cf. Jr 13:19; 15:2; Ezk 5:8-12), to join the people who had gone over earlier (cf. Jr 21:8-9; 38:1-4, 17-23). Only the very poorest people … were left behind in the land to insure stability and productivity; they were given vineyards and fields to keep them alive.

(2) The Fate of Jeremiah (39:11-18)

39:11-14. Nebuchadnezzar had apparently heard of Jeremiah, either through the letters the prophet had sent to Babylon (cf. chap. 29) or through the testimony of those who had defected to the Babylonians (21:8-9; 38:1-3). Nebuchadnezzar … gave orders for his soldiers to take Jeremiah and look after him. They were not to harm Jeremiah but were to do for him whatever he desired. Jeremiah was released from the court of the guardhouse (cf. 38:28). Apparently Jeremiah was moved from the guardhouse with the captives to Ramah, five miles north of Jerusalem (31:15; 40:1), but Nebuchadnezzar arranged for him to be released and not returned to the guardhouse. Instead, Jeremiah was entrusted to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, the scribe in the reign of Josiah (2 Kg 25:22-25; Jr 39:14; 40:5-16; 41:1-18). Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah as governor of those who remained in the land (40:7, cf. 41:12 about the murder of Gedaliah). So Jeremiah stayed among the people of Jerusalem who were not sent to exile in Babylon.

39:15-18. While Jeremiah was confined in the court of the guardhouse, before the city fell, God gave him a message for Ebed-melech (cf. 38:7-13). God’s words against Jerusalem would be fulfilled before Ebed-Melech’s eyes on that day. God promised that when Jerusalem fell He would rescue Ebed-melech so that he would not fall by the sword, or be executed with all the other officials (cf. v. 6; 52:10, 24-27). Ebed-melech would escape because he had trusted in God by helping Jeremiah when he secured the prophet’s release from the cistern (cf. 38:7-13).

3. After the Fall of Jerusalem (40:1–45:5)

It seems the fall of Jerusalem would have taught Judah a permanent lesson. She would have learned to listen to and obey the word of God through Jeremiah. However, by recording the events that happened after the fall of the city, Jeremiah demonstrated that the basic character of the people who remained in the land was unchanged. They still refused to trust the Lord or the word of His prophet (cf. Ezk 33:23-29).

a. Jeremiah’s Ministry to the Remnant in Judah (40:1–42:22)

(1) The Governorship of Gedaliah (40:1-12)

40:1-6. After Jeremiah was released from Ramah where he had been taken bound in chains with the other captives, Nebuzaradan, the Babylonian captain of the bodyguard, said he was aware of Jeremiah’s prophecies, that the LORD … God promised this calamity because the people had sinned and did not listen. However, Nebuzaradan was freeing Jeremiah from his chains and would look after him (cf. 39:12), because he was innocent in Judah’s revolt against Babylon.

Jeremiah was free to go, and the whole land was before him (Gn 13:9). Jeremiah was free to choose; he could go to Babylon with the other captives or stay anywhere in Judah. However, if he did stay in Judah, Nebuzaradan suggested that he go to Gedaliah and live with him. Governor Gedaliah, whom Nebuchadnezzar appointed over the cities of Judah, could offer both the protection and the physical provisions that Jeremiah would need. To start Jeremiah on his new life of freedom and for the three-mile journey from Ramah to Mizpah, the administrative center for Judah after the destruction of Jerusalem, Nebuzaradan gave him a ration and a gift.

40:7-12. As often in war, scattered remnants of the army often still remained deployed under commanders of the forces in the field after the surrender of the main body of troops. The main forces of Judah, located in Jerusalem, Lachish, and Azekah, had been crushed; but groups of army officers and their men were still scattered in the open country. When these soldiers heard that Gedaliah was now governor over the land they came to him at Mizpah. Two of the leaders were worthy of special notice because of subsequent events (v. 8). Ishmael the son of Nethaniah (vv. 14-15) was from the royal family of David (cf. 41:1; 2Kg 25:25) and had served as one of King Zedekiah’s officers. Johanan was one of two sons of Kareah (cf. vv. 13-16).

These commanders wanted to know what would happen if they would lay down their arms and surrender. Gedaliah reassured them if they served the king of Babylon it would go well with them. Gedaliah promised to stand for, or represent, them before the Babylonians while they concentrated on harvesting the wine, summer fruit, and olive oil. They would be free to live in the cities they had taken over.

The news of Gedaliah’s appointment not only reached the scattered bands of Judah’s resistance fighters, but it also reached the Jews who had fled to Moab, Ammon, Edom, and all the other countries. These refugees returned to the land to resettle it, and helped in harvesting the wine and summer fruit in great abundance (cf. v. 10).

Judah’s prospects looked bright. Peace and stability were returning to the land. The warring factions had submitted to Gedaliah’s rule, and some refugees had returned.

(2) The Assassination of Gedaliah (40:13–41:15)

40:13-16. But despite the calm, forces of intrigue and rebellion were churning. News of danger was brought by Johanan the son of Kareah (cf. 31:8) and the field commanders of the forces. They reported to Gedaliah a plot by Baalis king of the Ammonites to have Ishmael son of Nethaniah (v. 8) kill Gedaliah. The motive for this assassination was woven into the relationship between Judah and Ammon and the political fabric of the area under Babylonian threat. Both nations were vassals to Babylon and had participated in a secret meeting of nations in 593 BC to evaluate their prospects of uniting in rebellion against Babylon (cf. 27:1-11). Although that meeting did not produce any definite action, Egypt’s new Pharaoh (Hophra) persuaded Judah, Ammon, and Tyre to revolt against Babylon in 588 BC.