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Deliverance for Israel
Jeremiah 30–33
Don Ruhl • Savage Street, Grants Pass, Oregon • May 26, In the year of our Lord Christ, 2019
- Chaps 21–33 | Prophecies of Judgment & the Messiah
- Chaps 30–33 | Deliverance for Israel
- Chap 30 | Future Israel
- 30.1–3 | Write
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 “Thus speaks the LORD God of Israel, saying: Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. 3 For behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah, says the LORD. And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.”
– Jeremiah 30.1–3
- Was the prophet’s idea to write things down?
- Why in this case, did the Lord want Jeremiah to write down what he had been saying?
- They would return from Babylonian captivity and they needed a record of what Jeremiah had said that they might see the fulfillment of prophecy and learn not to sin again.
- The question is, Did they return and possess the land again?
- 30.4–11 | Means of Deliverance
4 Now these are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah.
5 “For thus says the LORD:
We have heard a voice of trembling,
Of fear, and not of peace.
6 Ask now, and see,
Whether a man is ever in labor with child?
So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins
Like a woman in labor,
And all faces turned pale?
7 Alas! For that day is great,
So that none is like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble,
But he shall be saved out of it.
8 For it shall come to pass in that day,
Says the LORD of hosts,
That I will break his yoke from your neck,
And will burst your bonds;
Foreigners shall no more enslave them.
9 But they shall serve the LORD their God,
And David their king,
Whom I will raise up for them.
10 Therefore do not fear, O My servant Jacob, says the LORD,
Nor be dismayed, O Israel;
For behold, I will save you from afar,
And your seed from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet,
And no one shall make him afraid.
11 For I am with you, says the LORD, to save you;
Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you,
Yet I will not make a complete end of you.
But I will correct you in justice,
And will not let you go altogether unpunished.”
– Jeremiah 30.4–11
- To what did the Lord compare Israel’s fear?
- It was like a woman in childbirth.
- Would Jacob, Israel, make it through the time of his trouble?
- What would God do to the yoke of Babylon?
- Whom would they serve instead?
- Who would be David their king?
- Why did the Lord tell Jacob that he did not have to fear?
- The Lord would save them out of all places where they had gone captive.
- What would God do to the nations that enslaved Israel?
- Would the Lord make a complete end of Israel?
- To what did the Lord compare Israel’s fear?
- 30.12–17 | God Rescues Israel
12 “For thus says the LORD:
Your affliction is incurable,
Your wound is severe.
13 There is no one to plead your cause,
That you may be bound up;
You have no healing medicines.
14 All your lovers have forgotten you;
They do not seek you;
For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy,
With the chastisement of a cruel one,
For the multitude of your iniquities,
Because your sins have increased.
15 Why do you cry about your affliction?
Your sorrow is incurable.
Because of the multitude of your iniquities,
Because your sins have increased,
I have done these things to you.
16 Therefore all those who devour you shall be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity;
Those who plunder you shall become plunder,
And all who prey upon you I will make a prey.
17 For I will restore health to you
And heal you of your wounds, says the LORD,
Because they called you an outcast saying:
‘This is Zion;
No one seeks her.’”
– Jeremiah 30.12–17
- How bad was Israel’s affliction?
- Was there anyone in the world that would help Israel?
- Where were all of their lovers, allies in idolatry?
- Why did God afflict Israel?
- What would happen to Israel’s enemies?
- What the Lord do about Israel’s incurable wounds?
- 30.18–22 | God Restores His People
18 Thus says the LORD:
“Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents,
And have mercy on his dwelling places;
The city shall be built upon its own mound,
And the palace shall remain according to its own plan.
19 Then out of them shall proceed thanksgiving
And the voice of those who make merry;
I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish;
I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.
20 Their children also shall be as before,
And their congregation shall be established before Me;
And I will punish all who oppress them.
21 Their nobles shall be from among them,
And their governor shall come from their midst;
Then I will cause him to draw near,
And he shall approach Me;
For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?”
says the LORD.
22 “You shall be My people,
And I will be your God.”
– Jeremiah 30.18–22
- Describe the extent to which the Lord would restore Israel?
- When the Lord restores them, what would they do?
- What would the Lord do to their oppressors?
- What promise did the Lord make at the end?
- 30.23–24 | Punishment on the Wicked
23 Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD
Goes forth with fury,
A continuing whirlwind;
It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.
24 The fierce anger of the LORD will not return until He has done it,
And until He has performed the intents of His heart.
In the latter days you will consider it.
– Jeremiah 30.23–24
- Contrast this with the treatment He would give His people.
- When would the anger of the Lord cease?
- 30.1–3 | Write
- Chap 31 | All Families of Israel
- 31.1–6 | All Israel
1 “At the same time,” says the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.” 2 Thus says the LORD:
“The people who survived the sword
Found grace in the wilderness—
Israel, when I went to give him rest.”
3 The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying:
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.
4 Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
You shall again be adorned with your tambourines,
And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.
5 You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria;
The planters shall plant and eat them as ordinary food.
6 For there shall be a day
When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim,
‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
To the LORD our God.’”
– Jeremiah 31.1–6
- “At the same time” as what?
- What had chapter 30 showed?
- Israel restored to its land.
- What do you think the Lord meant by all the families of Israel?
- It would not be Judah alone, but all the tribes of Israel would experience this restoration.
- Jeremiah has been mentioning that the Lord would gather His people from all the nations to which they were sent.
- Jeremiah 29.14
- Note parts of The Family Promise of God.
- What kind of love did the Lord have for His people?
- It was an everlasting love.
- What is an everlasting love?
- Describe what it would be like for them to be restored in the land.
- “At the same time” as what?
- 31.7–14 | Beauties of the Restoration
7 For thus says the LORD:
“Sing with gladness for Jacob,
And shout among the chief of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise, and say,
‘O LORD, save Your people,
The remnant of Israel!’
8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country,
And gather them from the ends of the earth,
Among them the blind and the lame,
The woman with child
And the one who labors with child, together;
A great throng shall return there.
9 They shall come with weeping,
And with supplications I will lead them.
I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters,
In a straight way in which they shall not stumble;
For I am a Father to Israel,
And Ephraim is My firstborn.
10 Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
And declare it in the isles afar off, and say,
‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,
And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’
11 For the LORD has redeemed Jacob,
And ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he.
12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion,
Streaming to the goodness of the LORD—
For wheat and new wine and oil,
For the young of the flock and the herd;
Their souls shall be like a well-watered garden,
And they shall sorrow no more at all.
13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance,
And the young men and the old, together;
For I will turn their mourning to joy,
Will comfort them,
And make them rejoice rather than sorrow.
14 I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance,
And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness,
Says the LORD.”
– Jeremiah 31.7–14
- Why were they to sing with gladness?
- The Lord would have His people.
- He would gather them from the ends of the earth.
- Would He bring back only the strong?
- According to verse 9, what would be the condition of their hearts?
- Who needed to hear what the Lord would do for Israel? (vv. 10–12)
- What would be the signs of their joy? (vv. 13–14)
- Why were they to sing with gladness?
- 31.15–22 | Work Rewarded
15 Thus says the LORD:
“A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted for her children,
Because they are no more.”
16 Thus says the LORD:
“Refrain your voice from weeping,
And your eyes from tears;
For your work shall be rewarded, says the LORD,
And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
17 There is hope in your future, says the LORD,
That your children shall come back to their own border.
18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself:
‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained bull;
Restore me, and I will return,
For You are the LORD my God.
19 Surely, after my turning, I repented;
And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh;
I was ashamed, yes, even humiliated,
Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
20 Is Ephraim My dear son?
Is he a pleasant child?
For though I spoke against him,
I earnestly remember him still;
Therefore My heart yearns for him;
I will surely have mercy on him, says the LORD.
21 Set up signposts,
Make landmarks;
Set your heart toward the highway,
The way in which you went.
Turn back, O virgin of Israel,
Turn back to these your cities.
22 How long will you gad about,
O you backsliding daughter?
For the LORD has created a new thing in the earth—
A woman shall encompass a man.”
– Jeremiah 31.15–22
- Who was from Ramah? (Samuel)
- Who is Rachel?
- Jacob’s wife
- Why was she weeping?
- First, it would be for those lost in the war with Babylon.
- Its greater fulfillment came in the days of Christ – Matthew 2.16–18.
- When or why would the weeping cease?
- Why did Ephraim bemoan himself?
- What did God think of Ephraim?
- What new thing would God create in the earth?
- What does this mean?
- There are several different theories, including the virgin birth.
- 31.23–26 | God’s Blessings Again
23 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: ‘The LORD bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness!’ 24 And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks. 25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.” 26 After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was sweet to me.
– Jeremiah 31.23–26
- Contrast the blessing of verse 24 with what Jeremiah had been preaching.
- What is the significance of farmers and shepherds dwelling in Judah and its cities again?
- What had the Lord done with their souls?
- 31.27–30 | Better Days
27 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the LORD. 29 In those days they shall say no more:
‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.
– Jeremiah 31.27–30
- “The days are coming” speaks of the Messianic age.
- Compare verse 28 with 1.10.
- The Lord did not bring doom on Judah and Israel because He simply wanted to tear them down.
- He wanted to bless them, but sometimes you have to destroy before you can bless.
- What did they mean by that proverb of the fathers and the children?
- People in captivity were suffering for the sins of past generations.
- However, in the age of the Messiah, each one would be responsible for his own sin.
- Compare Ezekiel 18.
- 31.31–34 | A New Covenant
31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
– Jeremiah 31.31–34
- Another view of conditions during the Messiah’s reign.
- This new covenant would be different from what?
- Where would the Lord write His law?
- Notice again two parts of The Family Promise of God.
- Why would they not teach “know the Lord”?
- They would already know Him.
- They would already know Him because they would have to know the Lord in order to be one of His.
- Under the old covenant they were born naturally into a covenant relationship with the Lord and then they would have to be taught about the Lord, but under the new covenant you first learn about the Lord then you are born into a covenant relationship with Him.
- Under the old covenant you were born in the flesh into the relationship.
- Under the new covenant you are born in the spirit into the relationship.
- Does God forgive and forget?
- Does He expect us to do the same thing?
- See Ephesians 4.31–32 and Colossians 3.12–14.
- For this whole prophecy see: Hebrews 8.7–13; 10.15–18.
- 31.35–37 | Assurances for Israel
35 Thus says the LORD,
Who gives the sun for a light by day,
The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night,
Who disturbs the sea,
And its waves roar
(The LORD of hosts is His name):
36 “If those ordinances depart
From before Me, says the LORD,
Then the seed of Israel shall also cease
From being a nation before Me forever.”
37 Thus says the LORD:
“If heaven above can be measured,
And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,
I will also cast off all the seed of Israel
For all that they have done,” says the LORD.
– Jeremiah 31.35–37
- How certain is it that Israel would be a nation before the Lord?
- More certain than the ordinances of the heavens.
- How steadfast are the ordinances of the heavens?
- It is important to understand whom the Lord considers Israel:
- Romans 2.28–29
- Romans 9.6–13
- If the heavens and the foundations of the earth can be measured and searched out completely, then what?
- How certain is it that Israel would be a nation before the Lord?
- 31.38–40 | Jerusalem
38 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that the city shall be built for the LORD from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 The surveyor’s line shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb; then it shall turn toward Goath. 40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the LORD. It shall not be plucked up or thrown down anymore forever.”
– Jeremiah 31.38–40
- Compare this with Daniel 2.44.
- He used earthly Jerusalem to picture the everlasting nature of true Jerusalem.
- 31.1–6 | All Israel
- Chap 30 | Future Israel
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