1 - 3 Call to the LORD
1 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still confined in the court of the guard, saying, 2 “Thus says the LORD who made [the earth], the LORD who formed it to establish it, the LORD is His name, 3 ‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’
Jeremiah is confined, but that does not prevent the LORD from sending His message to this man of God (verse 1; 2Tim 2:9). The LORD first directs Jeremiah’s attention to Himself as “the LORD Who made” it (verse 2). He is the God Who works it, whatever it is – except sin, for it is not in Him and He cannot sin. Jeremiah may know that, like Paul (Eph 3:1; 4:1), he is a prisoner of His. The LORD forms His plan and establishes His purpose. He works on a plan and also carries it out. “LORD is His Name.” That is the guarantee of everything.
When He has thus presented Himself, He encourages Jeremiah to call to Him, the LORD (verse 3; Mt 7:7-8). He assures him that He will answer him. In that answer, He will make known to him “great and mighty things”. The things that Jeremiah does not know and no man can know, because they are beyond his human understanding and knowledge, the LORD will tell him when he calls to Him.
This is also a great incentive for us to call to Him. He wants to make known things that are beyond human understanding and require Divine revelation.
4 - 5 Certainty of the Fall of Jerusalem
4 For thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah which are broken down [to make a defense] against the siege ramps and against the sword, 5 ‘While [they] are coming to fight with the Chaldeans and to fill them with the corpses of men whom I have slain in My anger and in My wrath, and I have hidden My face from this city because of all their wickedness:
First the LORD speaks of the houses of Jerusalem, both of the common man and of the kings (verse 4). He points out that they are broken down to make siege ramps and defend themselves behind them with the sword. They do everything they can to defend themselves against the Babylonians (verse 5). It will all be in vain, for the LORD has taken away His favor from them because of “all their wickedness”.
What they have built to defend themselves will be filled with the dead bodies of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Those dead bodies have been slain by Him. The Chaldeans are doing what He wants to bring upon them in His anger and wrath, because of the wickedness of the city. He can no longer look upon the city because it is full of sin. Here we see the folly of disobedience. When we go our own way and follow our own will, disaster is the result.
6 - 13 Days of Return and Joy
6 Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth.
7 I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel and will rebuild them as they were at first.
8 I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which they have transgressed against Me.
9 It will be to Me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for them, and they will fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.’
10 “Thus says the LORD, ‘Yet again there will be heard in this place, of which you say, “It is a waste, without man and without beast,” [that is], in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast,
11 the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say,
“Give thanks to the LORD of hosts,
For the LORD is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting”;
[and of those] who bring a thank offering into the house of the LORD. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,’ says the LORD.
12 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘There will again be in this place which is waste, without man or beast, and in all its cities, a habitation of shepherds who rest their flocks.
13 In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the Negev, in the land of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who numbers them,’ says the LORD.
Then suddenly, the word of restoration and healing sounds (verse 6). The LORD Himself will work that. The result will be an abundance of lasting peace. It will not be the case that after a period of rest the people will turn away again, as has so often been the case in the history of Israel and as we see for example in the book of Judges. This promise is a wonderful grace. God is indeed the God of all grace. We too have lasting peace if we walk in fellowship with Him, in His way, and surrender all our needs and concerns to Him, trusting that He will make all things well (Phil 4:6-7).
The LORD will work that reversal (verse 7). A small pre-fulfillment is the return from Babylon, but there is no lasting peace then. The full fulfillment will take place in the realm of peace. Then the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel will be over and they will be built up as before, in the days when they entered the promised land. There are two captivities here, one of Judah and one of Israel. Both empires have been in captivity in diverse ways. Judah has been in Babylon and Israel has been in the scattering.
In order to bring them into that blessing, the LORD must first cleanse them from all their iniquity (singular) with which they have sinned against Him (verse 8). We can think here of the sinful nature, the source from which all their iniquity sprang. He will cleanse them by pardoning them all their iniquities (plural) with which they have sinned against Him and rebelled against Him. They are two forms of iniquity: that of sin and that of rebellion. Both are sins against God. One is more general, doing one’s own will in a way of unbelief and disobedience. The other is more violent, rejecting any correction.
The city will then become to the LORD a name of joy, praise and glory (verse 9). Now Jerusalem is still a name that brings shame and causes sorrow to the LORD. That will change. Jerusalem means “foundations of peace”. All the nations of the earth will praise the city for its splendor. They will hear all the good that the LORD will do to it.
Also, they will fear and tremble, precisely because of all the good and all the peace that the LORD provides for His people. They have always thought they could oppress Israel and always tried to wipe it out. Now they see the LORD blessing the people. They see themselves facing the power of the LORD, Who is on the side of the people they wanted to destroy.
The LORD goes on to speak of the profound change that the city and the land will undergo in that time of good and peace (verses 10-11). A partial fulfillment of this we see in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, but the final, full fulfillment takes place again in the millennial realm of peace. All kinds of sounds of joy will again be heard in the ruined and desolate city.
There is now no joy without the LORD. All this joy is expressed in praising the LORD, that He is good because His lovingkindness is everlasting. This is the characteristic expression for the realm of peace. The praise of the LORD will be expressed in the offering of a thank offering in the house of the LORD, the temple.
All this will happen through the reversal that the LORD will bring to the captivity of the land. As a result, the land will become as it was at first, says the LORD. Not only have the people been in captivity, but also the land has been in captivity. The land is the LORD’s land, but it has been in foreign hands because He had to surrender it to them because of the unfaithfulness of His people. This will also come to an end in the reversal that He is working. Then the land and all that it yields and everyone who lives in it will be completely dedicated to Him.
The LORD points out again that all these glorious things will happen in the place that is now desolate and waste (verse 12). In Jerusalem and in all the cities of Judah, there will again be pasture land where shepherds rest their flocks. It shows a scene of care and peace, rest and security. All the sheep that are there will be counted (verse 13). Not one will be missed. That is what the LORD will do to His people. It will happen, because the LORD says so. Each time we read “says the LORD” is a confirmation that it will definitely come to pass because He has said so.
14 - 22 Restoration of Kingship and Priesthood
14 ‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. 16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is [the name] by which she will be called: the LORD is our righteousness.’ 17 For thus says the LORD, ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; 18 and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to prepare sacrifices continually.’” 19 The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 20 “Thus says the LORD, ‘If you can break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night will not be at their appointed time, 21 then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers. 22 As the host of heaven cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.’”
The LORD points to the days to come as days when He will fulfill “the good word” that He has spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah (verse 14). That fulfillment is fully connected with the coming of the “righteous Branch,” Whom the LORD will cause to arise for David in those days and in that time, the time of the realm of peace (verse 15). That is none other than the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, through Whom the LORD will do justice and righteousness on earth as an introduction to the establishment of a thousand years of peace. Every restoration has Him as its centerpiece; it depends entirely on Him. Without Him there is no restoration.
Justice and righteousness are also the hallmarks of His government during the realm of peace. He is the Prince of peace. Judah is then delivered from all its enemies (verse 16). Jerusalem will be in safety and live untroubled. The city is then called by the name by which previously the LORD, that is, the Lord Jesus, was called (Jer 23:5-6). Jerusalem is a glorious city because of the glory of the LORD that He has placed upon it, a glory that it will never lose.
This is because the Davidic kingship will not come to an end (verse 17). The King Who reigns then, will reign in everlasting faithfulness. The Levitical priesthood will also have no end (verse 18). The priests will forever offer the sacrifices that will always remind the LORD of the basis for that glorious time: the perfect and glorious work of His Son on earth. Those sacrifices will be offered “continually” or “all the days”.
Again it is said that the word of the LORD comes to Jeremiah, again that certainty that what follows is sure because He says it (verse 19). The confirmation of what the LORD has said is underlined even more powerfully by His reference to His covenant with the day and His covenant with the night (verse 20). As impossible as it is to break the cycle of day and night, it is impossible to break God’s covenant with David “My servant”, and with the Levites, “My ministers”. David’s kingship remains and so does the Levitical priesthood (verse 21). Here again we see the close connection between kingship and priesthood.
There will even be a posterity of David and of the Levites that is compared to the way the posterity of Abraham is described (verse 22; Gen 22:17a). This indicates that the offspring of Abraham, that is all the people, will be a royal priesthood (Exo 19:6a). Thus, they will serve the LORD.
23 - 26 Confirmation of the Promises
23 And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 24 “Have you not observed what this people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families which the LORD chose, He has rejected them’? Thus they despise My people, no longer are they as a nation in their sight. 25 Thus says the LORD, ‘If My covenant [for] day and night [stand] not, [and] the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established, 26 then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.’”
Again the word of the LORD comes to Jeremiah (verse 23). The LORD asks Jeremiah if he has also noticed how the people speak of what He, according to them, has done to His people (verse 24). They speak of the fact that He has now rejected the two generations that He had chosen – by this they mean that of David and that of Levi about which the LORD has just said such wonderful things. They blame Him for the misery they are in and declare that God’s people are no longer His people.
Jeremiah should just not be fooled and discouraged by that talk. Once again the “thus says the LORD” is heard followed by a repetition of the declaration of God’s covenant with the day and the night (verse 25). An additional assurance is added and that is that He also established the fixed patterns of heaven and earth. Just as He will not overturn those two fixed certainties, neither will He reject the descendants of Jacob and that of His servant David (verse 26). That would be tantamount to saying that He would not take rulers from the descendants of David to rule over the descendants of the patriarchs to whom He promised.
The mention of the names “Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” of whom they are “the descendants,” gives the greatest possible assurance of the fulfillment of the promises made to them. The unchanging promises He has made to them guarantee that He will see to it that the descendants about whom and the rulers of whom He has spoken will be there. For this He will bring a reversal in their captivity. He will not leave His people to their fate, but will take care of them.