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.