The Lord Promises Peace
Jer 33:1 While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time:
Jer 33:2 “This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name:
Jer 33:3 ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’
Jer 33:4 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege ramps and the sword
Jer 33:5 in the fight with the Babylonians: ‘They will be filled with the dead bodies of the people I will slay in my anger and wrath. I will hide my face from this city because of all its wickedness.
Jer 33:6 “‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.
Jer 33:7 I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before.
Jer 33:8 I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me.
Jer 33:9 Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’
Jer 33:10 “This is what the LORD says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without people or animals.” Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more
Jer 33:11 the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying, “Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever.” For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the LORD.
Jer 33:12 “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In this place, desolate and without people or animals—in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks.
Jer 33:13 In the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,’ says the LORD.
The Lord’s Eternal Covenant with David
Jer 33:14 “‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
Jer 33:15 “‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land.
Jer 33:16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteous Savior.’
Jer 33:17 For this is what the LORD says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel,
Jer 33:18 nor will the Levitical priests ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.'”
Jer 33:19 The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
Jer 33:20 “This is what the LORD says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time,
Jer 33:21 then my covenant with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne.
Jer 33:22 I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.'”
Jer 33:23 The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
Jer 33:24 “Have you not noticed that these people are saying, ‘The LORD has rejected the two kingdoms he chose’? So they despise my people and no longer regard them as a nation.
Jer 33:25 This is what the LORD says: ‘If I have not made my covenant with day and night and established the laws of heaven and earth,
Jer 33:26 then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them.'”
1 God promises to the captivity a gracious return, 9 a joyful state, 12 a settled government, 15 Christ the Branch of righteousness, 17 a continuance of kingdom and priesthood, 20 and a stability of a blessed seed.
The Lord Promises Peace
Jer 33:1 While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time:
The prophet is still in the place of his imprisonment mentioned in ch. 32 (see on ch. 32:2).
Jer 33:2 “This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name:
The Lord. Heb. Yahweh, the sacred Tetragrammaton.
Jer 33:3 ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’
Jer 33:4 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege ramps and the sword
Jer 33:5 in the fight with the Babylonians: ‘They will be filled with the dead bodies of the people I will slay in my anger and wrath. I will hide my face from this city because of all its wickedness.
The Israelites sally forth against the Babylonians, only to be repulsed at the cost of many “dead bodies of men” (see on ch. 32:24).
Jer 33:6 “‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.
God now turns from a consideration of the chastisement of His people to a promise of their restoration, when they will enjoy “abundance of peace and security.” Verses 6–26 present a vivid picture of the glory that might have been Israel’s after the return from captivity if the people had heeded the light from Heaven and had cooperated with God in the carrying out of His plans and purposes for the salvation of the world.
Unfortunately, they turned again and again from their glorious destiny and so realized only in a small measure the blessedness here predicted. With the transfer of the promises to spiritual Israel many of the forecasts will see a fulfillment in principle in the Christian church.
Jer 33:7 I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before.
Israel, as well as Judah, is included in the promise of a return from exile.
Jer 33:8 I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me.
Cleanse them. The enjoyment of temporal blessings was dependent upon meeting certain spiritual requirements. In order to experience the glory portrayed in vs. 6–26 it would be necessary for Israel to forsake her sins. For those who genuinely repented, God held out the promise of pardon, full and free.
Men were not to be discouraged by the magnitude of their past transgressions, thinking that their case was hopeless. Not only would God forgive their sins, He would also supply grace for future obedience (Eze. 36:25–28).
Jer 33:9 Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honour before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’
Although Israel had grievously sinned, God had not withdrawn any of His promises of favor. These were, of course, conditional on obedience. It was possible for Israel after the Captivity to attain to the full glory promised the ancient people. Through Zechariah the assurance was given, “They shall be as though I had not cast them off” (Zech. 10:6). Thus it is also in the spiritual realm. No matter how far a man may have departed from the path of rectitude, he may be accepted before God as if he had not sinned (SC 62).
Jer 33:10 “This is what the LORD says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without people or animals.” Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more
Jer 33:11 the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying, “Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever.” For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the LORD.
Sounds of joy. A repetition of the promised joys of the restoration that will come to God’s people. The very sounds of joy that would disappear during the Exile (see on ch. 7:34) would now be heard again in the land.
Jer 33:13 In the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,’ says the LORD.
The Lord’s Eternal Covenant with David
Jer 33:14 “‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
Jer 33:15 “‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land.
Branch of righteousness. See Isa. 11:1; see on Zech. 3:8; 6:12.
Jer 33:16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteous Savior.’
Although v. 16 repeats the prediction of ch. 23:6, it differs from that reference in that here the city is called “The Lord our righteousness.” If Jerusalem had only lived up to what God designed that it should be, its future would have been most glorious.
Jer 33:17 For this is what the LORD says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel,
This repeats the promise of 2 Sam. 7:16; 1 Kings 2:4; Ps. 89:20, 29, 35, 36. See on 1 Kings 2:4.
Jer 33:18 nor will the Levitical priests ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.'”
Jer 33:20 “This is what the LORD says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time,
Again, as previously, God guarantees the surety of His “covenant” with His people by referring to the surety of natural law (see on ch. 31:35).
Jer 33:22 I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.'”
The infinite number of the heavenly bodies is used to illustrate the great multitude who will be accounted the “seed of David.”
Jer 33:24 “Have you not noticed that these people are saying, ‘The LORD has rejected the two kingdoms he chose’? So they despise my people and no longer regard them as a nation.
Jer 33:25 This is what the LORD says: ‘If I have not made my covenant with day and night and established the laws of heaven and earth,
God meets this despair by holding up the surety of natural law as proof of the surety of His promises toward His people (see on v. 20).
Jer 33:26 then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them.'”
God gives His answer to the disdainful taunt of the heathen or to the utterance of discouragement on the part of His people (see on v. 24). He promises to return them to their own land and to restore their former glory (see on v. 9).