Jeremiah 33:1-26
Q.1. What was the Lord promising to do? Why was this totally unexpected? Have these promises ever been fulfilled? – (Jer.33:1-13)
God would turn His face away from the city because of the wickedness of Judah (Jer.33:4-5). Jeremiah was imprisoned in the court of the guard with hardly a friend (Jer.33:1). Yet God spoke to His servant – 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’ (Jer.33:2-3). In the midst of this gloom, the Lord promised to restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel and – 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’ (Jer.33:8-9). The cities would be rebuilt and the people live in peace and safety (Jer.33:10-13). Nothing could have been more unexpected, but it still awaits a total fulfillment.
Q.2. To which tribes was the promise made? Who will reign and serve at that time? How sure is God’s promise? – (Jer.33:14-26)
The promise was made to all the tribes who made up the house of Judah and the house of Israel (Jer.33:14 c.f. Jer.33:7). They will be known as – the Lord is our righteousness … that is bestowed by Jesus, the righteous Branch of David (Jer.33:15-16). In writing to the Romans, Paul explained that this righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom.3:21-26). However, this will not be appreciated by many Jews, until all Israel is saved (Rom.11:25-27 c.f. Jer.33:16). God further promised that – David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel … complete with service of the Levitical priests (Jer.33:17-18). The Lord gave Jeremiah an iron-clad promise – 20 … 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 also 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 (Jer.33:20-22). Only God’s promise to Abraham to bless the nations by faith was couched in stronger terms (c.f. Heb.6:13-20). Nevertheless, God’s promise to Israel was both unbreakable and indisputable when He negated the idea that He was finished with Israel (Jer.33:23-24). He repeated once more – 25 Thus says the Lord, ‘If My covenant for day and night cease to stand, 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’ (Jer.33:25-26).