Jeremiah 33:14-26.  Today’s reading is the end of the “Book of Consolation” a section of hope in the middle of the very depressing “book” of Jeremiah.  Jeremiah spent a lot of time delivering messages of warning to the people of Judah.  Of course the idea of a warning is that, if you listen, you might avoid something bad.  So throughout Jeremiah there was always a little hope.  In chapters 31-33 we see a switch from warnings to predictions of restoration.  Just like a little hope was mixed with the warnings, in this sections there is a reminder of the trouble with the predictions of restoration.

Yesterday focused mostly on the restoration of Judah.  The land was destroyed and the people were in exile in Babylon, but the personal creator of the universe promised to bring the people back and fix their towns.  In verse 9 we saw that the “nations” would praise and honor Yahweh because of what he was doing for the Israelites.   In today’s reading we see the promises are bigger than just Judah (the Southern Kingdom).

In verses 14-18 we have a prediction from Yahweh that “days are coming” when he will fulfill his promises about Judah (the Southern Kingdom) and Israel (the Northern Kingdom);the complete nation of Israel.  In those days God will cause a “righteous branch of David to spring forth”.  Trees grow by forming a “bud” on a branch or the trunk, the bud grows into a branch.  We call the young branch a “shoot”.  Sometimes children are called “offspring”.  We also refer to a part of a family as a branch or offshoot.  In Jeremiah 23:5 we see that this is a reference to a descendant of David that God had promised.  The promise to David was that he would have a king on the throne of Israel forever.  He probably thought that this would be a succession (one after the other) of kings.  In reality is will be one king who reigns forever (Jesus).  Jeremiah is also told that this descendant will be “righteous”.  The idea there is never doing anything wrong; of being right with God.  We are also told that he will “execute (make) justice and righteousness on the earth”.  That word “execute” is the same word “make” or “wrought” from yesterday.  We see that this new and good king will be very hands-on about justice and righteousness.  Justice refers to deciding cases, like a judge.  The king will deal with things that people do wrong.  He won’t just be about the negative, though, he will also be very hands-on about helping people do what is right.

In verse 16 we see that Judah and Jerusalem will be saved and be safe.  Jerusalem will have a nick name “Yahweh our righteousness”.  That name is very cool because it actually tells us how the new king will help people be right with God; Yahweh will do it.  Romans 3:19-26 make it clear that God will make our relationship with him right (righteous) by applying the rightness of Jesus’ life to us; Jesus took our punishment and we get his rightness (righteousness) instead.  This is in a legal sense (remember God is interested in justice) but it is also in a practical or real sense too.  Once Jesus has remove the offence in our lives God is free to help us live better for him.  He does this through the work of the Holy Spirit who comes into our lives like an awesome director.  The idea of “saved” in this verse is the idea of being “delivered” like from captivity.  The exiles in Babylon probably though of this in terms of being brought back to Jerusalem from Babylon.  But verse 14 makes it clear that this prediction or promise involves more that just the Jews in exile.  There may have been a partial fulfillment when they returned to the land after the 70 years in exile but the promise wasn’t completely fulfilled and still isn’t; it’s waiting for “the days to come”.

In verse 18 we learn that the promise to David is not the only thing that will be fulfilled forever, there would be permanent representation to God.  Again the people probably thought that their “system” of honoring God would have a permanent succession of priests.  Priests were supposed to talk to God for the people.  The truth is that there would be one forever priest that would talk to God for the people, none other than Jesus, the righteous branch.  In those days Jesus will be both priest and king.

It is interesting that the author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is a “high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 5:6; 6:20; 7:11-22).  Melchizedek was the king of Salem (Jerusalem) back in Abraham’s day (Abram).  After winning a battle Abraham was on his way home when another king in the area came out to fight him.   Abraham was met by Melchizedek who gave him food and drink and also “blessing” him.  We are told that Melchizedek was a priest of “God most high”.  (It is interesting that Abraham uses a similar name for God but adds Yahweh before it, remember all of this was way before God told Moses his personal name).  Abraham gave an offering to Melchizedek as a way of showing respect for the blessing.  We should understand that although Melchizedek wasn’t an Israelite (Israel hadn’t even been born yet) and the Law of Moses hadn’t been written yet, that there has only ever been one true God, Yahweh, and Melchizedek evidently knew of him and tried to honor him (same story with Job).   We see in Hebrews that Jesus is the same kind of priest, that his position doesn’t depend on the Law of Moses and the formal system of Priests who were all descendants of one of Israel’s sons; Levi (thus Levitical priests).  In fact in Hebrews 7:12-14 seems to indicate that Jesus had no connection to the tribe of Levi (at least officially, some experts think he might have had some levitical blood in him but he was not formally considered a Levite.  He certainly wasn’t a candidate to be a priest according the rules of the Mosaic Law).  One other interesting thing, the name Melchizdek means “King of Righteousness”, pretty interesting when you consider what we are reading today and plug in the information from Romans 3 and from Hebrews, Jesus is the forever king who is righteous but went to God and used his righteousness for us; he presented himself as the sacrifice for sin once for all (Hebrew 7:27)

But the promise in verse 18 clearly mentions “Levites” and talks about them “never lacking a man to present offerings “continually”.  Those offerings include grains and meat.  There are a few facts that we need to take a look at in dealing with this prediction.  First, it was revealed to Jeremiah by God; the words were God’s and the ears were Jeremiah’s.  We have to try to hear first with Jeremiah’s “ears” or understanding.  Second we need to keep in mind that God is talking about “days” that are “coming”.  All of the events occur in “those days”.  A lot of times Old Testament prophecies are hard to understand until we see their fulfillment or at leas part of it.  For instance the promised coming one, the Messiah, was to be a king in the line of David but Isaiah also presents him as a suffering servant (Isaiah 52-53).  Jesus is that Messiah and in his day the people were focused on the kingly predictions.  When Jesus presented himself as a sacrifice instead the people did not understand.  Today as we look back we can see that Jesus was fulfilling a part of his role as the Messiah and that there is more to come, the kick butt king part.  If you have read the Old Testament Connection you know that God was using the people of Israel and the system that he set up for them to live under to help the whole world understand the “sin” problem.  The priests would represent the people to God.  The people were supposed to participate in certain rituals; certain offerings and sacrifices as a way of showing that they understood the trouble we are all in.  The offerings and sacrifices were also a reminder to them and to the rest of the world of the “sin” mess.   Some of the animal sacrifices wee designed to remind us all that blood (a symbol of life) was required to deal with sin.  As we saw above Jesus was the actual fulfillment of the requirement, he gave his life to pay for ours; he was the “lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world” (see “The Old Testament Connection”).  Just because Jesus paid the price for the sins of the world does not mean that the sacrifices of the Levites could not still have purpose.  As we saw in Romans (above) the requirements of the Law do not make us right with God they just teach us.  Just as the sacrifices before Jesus pointed to the need for an ultimate sacrifice, sacrifices that may be performed in the future could have the same purpose.  God’s words to Jeremiah seem to indicate that just that sort of thing is actually going to happen.  In Ezekiel 37-39 that prophet predicts that Israel will become a nation once again under her forever king.  In Ezekiel 40-43 he gives a very detailed account of the rebuilding of the Temple and new animal sacrifices including a “sin offering”.  Now remember that these offerings did not really deal with sin, they were reminders.  When Jesus takes control of the earth and becomes the fulfillment of the promises to Israel, and Abraham, and David he will be ruling over all the resurrected believers as well as survivors of the time of Jacob’s trouble.  People will live extraordinarily long times and new people will be born.  Justice will be swift in his reign.  After 1000 years of reign there will be one last rebellion.  This shows us that people will still be making choices about their relationship to God.  The need for reminders about sin will still exist and the function of the Levites would still have a purpose.  It seems like the prediction in Jeremiah 33:18  probably relates to this time after the “Time of Jacob’s Trouble” (the seven year tribulation described in Daniel and Revelation) a time referred to as the “Millennium” or the “Millennial Kingdom”.

In verses 19-22 God tells Jeremiah that his promises will be fulfilled to David and the Levites just as surely as the forces of motion of the planets will continue.  God assures Jeremiah that the descendants of David and the Levites will be numerous, this echoes a promise that God made to Jacob (Israel) (Genesis 28:13-15; 46:3-4).

In verses 23-26 God gives one last message to Jeremiah in this section of hope.  God asks Jeremiah if he hears what the people are saying.  He doesn’t identify which people but they are talking about the Israelites; these two “families”.  The two families could be David and Levi (mentioned before, v. 22) or it could be David and Jacob (mentioned after, v.26) or it could mean Israel and Judah (way back in v. 14).  Verse 22 isn’t in the immediate context of the message and neither is verse 14.  In verse 26 the word descendants may apply specifically to Jacob (Israel, see “What’s in a Name”), while David is mentioned with respect to a more specific promise.  But of course Jacob or Israel includes all the descendants from the twelve tribes, both kingdoms, including the descendants of David who was a Benjamite and part of the Southern Kingdom.  So the “people” doing the talking are not Israelites.  Back in verse 9 we saw that God would restore the Israelite people and this would bring him honor “before all the nations”.  It was probably the nations around Israel who were talking smack on Israel saying that God had dumped them.  God brings back his example from the previous message about his “covenant for the day and night”.  He describes this
“covenant” as a “fixed pattern”, “fixed law”, of “appointed ordinance”.  The words used here in Hebrew are “to put, place, or make” (it can also mean “to plant”) and “statutes or ordinances”.  For this second word we would normally think of laws but the word has a very permanent idea in it.  It comes from a root that means to engrave or cut into.  Think of the Ten Commandments that were cut into pieces of stone in the days of Moses and were still in the “Ark of the Covenant” (a fancy box) in the Temple in Jeremiah’s day 900 years later.  I have books that are maybe 20 years old that are already starting to show signs of age, on the other hand my daughter was showing me pictures of statues she saw in Italy that are hundreds of years old and still bright and whole.  Stone and engraving last a long time, God is definitely trying to communicate permanence here.  His laws of planetary motion are permanent and so are his promises to Israel and to David.

In verse 26 God ends this section of hope by confirming that he will remember his promise to Israel to make his people a large nation and his promise to David that his descendant(s) will forever.  Based on who God is hearing talk (the nations) this restoration certainly involves the promise to Abraham too.  In Genesis 12:2-3 God promised to make Abraham a “great nation” (Abraham would have understood this to mean a lot of people) whom God would “bless”.  This “blessing” by God would make Abraham’s “name great” (everyone would know who he was because of his “success, power, and prosperity”; he would be “rich and famous” in our words).  The end result would be that all the nations of the world would also be blessed.  In Genesis 22:18 God told Abraham that in his “seed” (descendants) all the nations would be blessed.  This blessing was to come through the Israelite people but in Galatians 3:16 Paul told the churches in the area of Galatia that this promise really involved one particular descendant, Jesus (see also Genesis 3:15 where we see a related promise).

So the people who thought that God had abandon Israel would be surprised when they were restored 70 years later, and the people who think that God isn’t going to finish dealing with his plan to “bless all the nations” will be surprised when Jesus returns and establishes Israel in their land forever.  God keeps his promises all of them.  The Israelites needed to remember that and we all need to understand that too.  And remember his promise include mercy (v. 26), not giving us what we deserve, but that mercy required his gracious sacrifice; a gift we must receive.

God there are lots and lots of details in the promises you have made.  Some have conditions others do not.  The promises involve lots of groups and individuals.  Some of the promises have more than one fulfillment and they overlap.  Help us not get lost in the details to the point where we miss the point.  The point is your love, mercy and grace.  We offended you and broke our relationship with you.  You have provided the solution through Jesus.  You want to “bless” us with a restored relationship with you in your forever kingdom.  A kingdom filled with happiness and healing and you (Revelation 21-22).  Thank you for caring.  Thank you for having a plan.  Thank you for following through on your plan even when we have turned our backs on you.  Thank you for caring about all of us and each of us.  Help many turn back to you.  Thank you for restoring me to your kingdom.

Jeremiah 33:1-13.  We are in the middle of a section in Jeremiah called by some, “the Book of Consolation”.  Jeremiah is a very serious book containing lots of warnings about coming disaster.  When I was young the United States was involved in a “cold war” with certain other countries, mainly the Soviet Union, a union of socialist countries controlled by Russia.  There was often tension between the two countries and many feared it would break out into fighting at any moment, or worse.  Some feared that the two countries would “push the button” at any moment and set into motion the nuclear destruction of the Northern Hemisphere.  As a school child growing up at that time we would do “air raid drills” where we would duck under our desks to prepare for an atomic blast.  Jeremiah was sort of the “air raid siren” of Jerusalem, and he was constantly sounding off.  In chapters 31-33, the “Book of Consolation”, he still goes off but he also tells everybody that they will survive and get to go home, eventually.  The same God who (accurately) predicted the disaster should be trusted about his predictions of restoration.

In today’s reading Jeremiah continues to offer the people hope.  In verse 1 we are told that the “word of the LORD (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah a second time” while he was prisoner in the palace courtyard.  The first time was the whole story about redeeming the land in chapter 32, including his prayer and God’s answer.  In verse 2 God identifies himself in a very specific way.  In ancient times names were very important (see “What’s in a Name?”).  In the Bible there are many “names” for God, they are usually descriptive and help us understand who God is and what he is about.  The real God has a personal name, Yahweh.  He is also called “Lord”.  That translates a Hebrew word “adonai” that means lord or master or boss.  The word is also used to describe human bosses or masters.  And then there is the word “God”, that translates a Hebrew word “Elohim”.  That word has a lot of meanings (Hebrew can be fuzzy that way) including rulers, judges, gods, angles, goddesses, divine beings, and God.  If you look at those meanings you will notice that they are all plural except for the last one.  Elohim is the plural form of “Elohe” which has all of those meaning except in the singular form.  When it is applied to Yahweh it is translated God it means divine being, but in the singular, that is very interesting.  I think the answer to why you would use a plural for a singular God is because in that one God there exists 3 persons, it’s kind of a mystery to us but wouldn’t you expect God to be a little mysterious (see “Three or One?”).  Sometimes God is described with compound names like Jehovah-Jireh (Yahweh will provide) or El-shaddai (almighty God, el is a shortened form of “elohim”).

In verse 2 we just have the personal name of God, Yahweh, with descriptions of what he did. In old translations Yahweh was often translated as Jehovah and in newer translations it is usually replace with the word LORD in all capitals.  The ancient Jewish people were kind of superstitious sometimes and didn’t want to say God’s personal name so they would say lord instead.  Because translators didn’t know how a Jewish person would pronounce the name we have “Jehovah” in some translations and “Yahweh” (probably the correct way) in others, while some just copied the Jewish people and substitute LORD).  We see that Yahweh “made” and “formed” the earth.  It is interesting because some people think that God made the ‘stuff” of the universe and then left it to evolve based on the rules he had laid down.  These two words have a more “hands on” meaning though.  “Made” translates a word that can mean “make, dress, prepare, maintain, or wrought”.  Sounds pretty hands on, that last word is often used to describe the kind of work a “blacksmith” does, you know heating a piece of metal up in a fire and beating it with a hammer to form something.   The other word “formed” is even more hands on, it has the idea of making something by squeezing it into shape; like a potter squeezing and shaping a piece of clay.  So we see God is powerful enough to make the universe and that he is closely involved.

In verse 3 Jeremiah is told to talk to God and God will show him “great and mighty things”.  The ideas here are things that are difficult or impossible to understand, things.  The second word has the idea of something in a fort; think something that you can’t get to on your own or without help.  The end of verse 3 confirms that the things God wanted to show to Jeremiah were things that he didn’t really understand.

The rest of the chapter is probably a description of the difficult things God wants to show Jeremiah.  In verses 4-5 God describes the situation in Jerusalem.  Nebuchadnezzar has been outside the city wall tearing down houses and anything else he can find and hauling all the junk up to Jerusalem and piling it up against the city wall to make a ramp to get over the wall.  In the mean time the people inside of Jerusalem have been tearing down stuff too.  They have been piling it up on top of the wall to make the wall higher and keep Nebuchadnezzar and his army out.  They have also been using the piles of rubble to bury the bodies of people who have been dying inside the city.  Because the city was surrounded they would not have had much food, many were starving to death.  All of the cemeteries were outside of the city so the dead bodies would just be lying around.  As they started to rot people would get sick from them, then they would die too.  In verse 5 Yahweh Elohim (LORD God, in other wise the personal God of Israel) was behind the death.  That would be hard to understand but God tells Jeremiah why; the people have been wicked (that word means evil, bad, or disagreeable).

In verses 6-8 God tells Jeremiah that he will also make the city “healthy” again.  He will give them the cure and make sure it works.  Although he uses words like rebuild he is really talking about the Jewish people, but by referring to the city of Jerusalem and the area of Judah we see that he is not just talking about a limited group of people.  In verse 8 we learn that God will clean them from all the “twisted” things they have done (that is the meaning of the word “iniquity”).  He also describes their actions as ‘missing the target” (that is the meaning of the word “sin”).  Finally we see that these actions were “rebellion” (transgression in some translations) against God.

In verse 9 we see that when God is done the nation and people of Israel will be a source of joy to the whole world.  We also see that the whole world will honor God because of that the good they have seen God do for the Israelites and the peace that he has brought into their lives, again more amazing things for Jeremiah to try to understand.

In verses 10-11 God confirms to Jeremiah that the city that he has turned into a wasteland will again be filled with happy people who will be having families and going to the Temple to honor God.  In verse 12-13 God confirms that is will not just be Jerusalem that will be restored by the whole Southern Kingdom of Judah (the description of the land that he gives includes many parts of Judah).  The cities that would be filled with wandering animals would once again be the home of permanent shepherds (who counted their flocks each night and put them in pens).

This section has focused mainly on Judah, the Southern Kingdom.  It was that Kingdom that Jeremiah had been bringing messages to for more than 30 years.  That kingdom was now in ruin.  The ruin was because of the disobedience and rebellion against God (sin).  But there was hope.  The maker of the universe was going to use his creative power to restore the kingdom.  He was going to personally make sure this happened (notice how many times the name Yahweh is used).  It would have been an encouragement to Jeremiah to hear these words.  It may have encouraged some of the exiles and even the residents of Jerusalem during the siege.  The fulfillment of the promises would be and encouragement to all the nations of the world one day.

It is good to know that God personally make the universe, it is good to know that he is also personally involved in our lives.  It is good to see that he keeps his promises and it is good to see that he wants good in our lives (see verse 11 where Yahweh is described as “good” and that he keeps his promises and does good (lovingkindness) forever).  It is cool that the “bride and bridegroom” seem to recognize that their happy day is a result of God’s goodness and lovingkindness.  Of course it can be shocking to see God take responsibility for the destruction that the people of Judah were experiencing.  The word “wicked” in verse 5 can also mean “malignant”, think cancer.  Most cancers are treat by cutting them out or otherwise killing them.  Often those “cures” are very harsh and painful.  For the luck ones though the cancer is completely removed and there are restored to health.  God is willing to use his power to remove the cancer from our lives; the rebellion that leads to eternal separation from God can be permanently healed by God.  There is a catch though, we need to want it.  Jeremiah needed hope in his messed up world and he could have it, if he called to God.  We can have hope to, not about our here and now but about our eternity.  We don’t need to stay exiles from God we can come back, if we will call to him he will answer us and restore us to his forever kingdom.  Of course we have to really want a relationship with God, he will know if we are faking it.  Just like the restored citizens in Judah who went to the Temple to honor God, or like the nations who saw the restored Israelites and praised and honored Yahweh, if we really have turned back to God it will show in our actions; we will honor God in the way we live and the things we say.

God thank you for using your power to make this universe.  Thank you for making it clear that I have offended you and that there is a price to pay for that.  Thank you for using your power to pay that price.  Thank you for staying close and showing me the way back to you.  Thank you for hope.  Hellp me honor you with my new restored life.