Jeremiah 40, Gedaliah and Peace in Judah (DRAFT)

(This DRAFT study has been done fairly quickly, without the further guide of commentaries. I hope to improve on it later.)

Jerusalem has been sacked and Jeremiah captured.

Jeremiah 40:1-5, Jeremiah freed

The word came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had released him at Ramah. He had found Jeremiah bound in chains among all the captives from Jerusalem and Judah who were being carried into exile to Babylon. 

When the commander of the guard found Jeremiah, he said to him, "The LORD your God decreed this disaster for this place. And now the LORD has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned against the LORD and did not obey him. But today I am freeing you from the chains on your wrists. Come with me to Babylon, if you like, and I will look after you; but if you do not want to, then don't come. Look, the whole country lies before you; go wherever you please." 

However, before Jeremiah turned to go, Nebuzaradan added, "Go back to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the towns of Judah, and live with him among the people, or go anywhere else you please." 

Then the commander gave him provisions and a present and let him go. 

Jeremiah is freed and allowed to go wherever he wants. At the last moment, the commander of Nebuchadnezzar's imperial guard tells him to go give advice to Gedaliah who has been appointed puppet governor.

Jeremiah 40:6-12, Peace under Gedaliah

So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and stayed with him among the people who were left behind in the land. When all the army officers and their men who were still in the open country heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam as governor over the land and had put him in charge of the men, women and children who were the poorest in the land and who had not been carried into exile to Babylon, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah--Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, and their men. 

Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath to reassure them and their men. "Do not be afraid to serve the Babylonians," he said. "Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you. I myself will stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians who come to us, but you are to harvest the wine, summer fruit and oil, and put them in your storage jars, and live in the towns you have taken over." 

When all the Jews in Moab, Ammon, Edom and all the other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as governor over them, they all came back to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, from all the countries where they had been scattered. And they harvested an abundance of wine and summer fruit. 

Gedaliah reassures the other army officers that he will be an advocate for them to the Babylonians. This is good news to the displaced peoples and they return to Judah. The resulting harvest is plentiful.

Jeremiah 40:13-16, An assassin recruited

Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers still in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah and said to him, "Don't you know that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take your life?" 

But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them. Then Johanan son of Kareah said privately to Gedaliah in Mizpah, "Let me go and kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life and cause all the Jews who are gathered around you to be scattered and the remnant of Judah to perish?" But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, "Don't do such a thing! What you are saying about Ishmael is not true." 

One of the army leaders, Ishmael, has been recruited by the king of Ammon to assassinate Gedaliah. Gedaliah is told this but does not believe it.

Jeremiah 39, The Fall of Jerusalem (DRAFT)

(This DRAFT study has been done fairly quickly, without the further guide of commentaries. I hope to improve on it later.)

Jeremiah has been kept in a courtyard of the palace, while the city is besieged by Nebuchadnezzar. He has repeatedly told King Zedekiah to surrender.  

It is about 586 BC, a date that will become infamous.

Jeremiah 39:1-3, Jerusalem falls

This is how Jerusalem was taken: In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it.  And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah's eleventh year, the city wall was broken through. 

Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officials of the king of Babylon. 

It takes about a year and a half for the city to fall. Babylonian officials enter the city and take administrative seats at the city gate.

Jeremiah 39:4-7, Capture

When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled; they left the city at night by way of the king's garden, through the gate between the two walls, and headed toward the Arabah. But the Babylonian army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him. 

There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also killed all the nobles of Judah. Then he put out Zedekiah's eyes and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. 

Zedekiah and his retainers flee the city but are captured in the plains of Jericho. They are then taken to Nebuchadnezzar. The punishment for resistance and for fleeing is that Zedekiah's sons and other nobles are slaughtered in front of him. Then Zedekiah is blinded by having his eyes put out. Then he is shackled and taken to Babylon.

Jeremiah 39:8-9, Burnt

The Babylonians set fire to the royal palace and the houses of the people and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard carried into exile to Babylon the people who remained in the city, along with those who had gone over to him, and the rest of the people. 

The palace is burned and the people taken captive and deported to Babylon. The exile has begun.

Jeremiah 39:10, Poor given vineyards

10 But Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields. 

The poor are left to take care of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 39:11-14, Don't harm him.

Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given these orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard: "Take him and look after him; don't harm him but do for him whatever he asks." 

So Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard, Nebushazban a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officers of the king of Babylon sent and had Jeremiah taken out of the courtyard of the guard. They turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him back to his home. So he remained among his own people. 

Jeremiah is freed by Nebuchadnezzar's commander and allowed to go home.

Jeremiah 39:15-18, Ebed-Melech saved

While Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him: 16 "Go and tell Ebed-Melech the Cushite, `This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words against this city through disaster, not prosperity. At that time they will be fulfilled before your eyes. But I will rescue you on that day, declares the LORD; you will not be handed over to those you fear. I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the LORD.'" 

Ebed-Melech, who saved Jeremiah's life, will be spared by God.

Jeremiah 38, Down a Well (DRAFT)

(This DRAFT study has been done fairly quickly, without the further guide of commentaries. I hope to improve on it later.)

Jeremiah had been imprisoned by Zedekiah and then allowed to be free in the courtyard of the guard, a more suitable house arrest. But thinks are getting ready to turn ugly.

Jeremiah 38:1-3, Go to the Babylonians

Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people when he said, "This is what the LORD says: `Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague, but whoever goes over to the Babylonians will live. He will escape with his life; he will live.' 

And this is what the LORD says: `This city will certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.'" 

Jeremiah has been warning people to not resist Babylon. This naturally upsets the Judean leaders.

Jeremiah 38:4-5, Put him to death!

Then the officials said to the king, "This man should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin."

 "He is in your hands," King Zedekiah answered. "The king can do nothing to oppose you." 

So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king's son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the cistern; it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud. 

Officials go to the king and complain about Jeremiah. They want him executed. The king will not stand in their way. So they take Jeremiah and lower him into a dry well. There he will die of starvation or thirst.

Jeremiah 38:7-13, Rescued

But Ebed-Melech, a Cushite, an official in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate, Ebed-Melech went out of the palace and said to him, "My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern, where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread in the city." 

Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Cushite, "Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies." 

So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went to a room under the treasury in the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from there and let them down with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.  Ebed-Melech the Cushite said to Jeremiah, "Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes." Jeremiah did so, and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard. 

Ebed-Melech ("slave to Melech"?), an Egyptian who is an official in the palace, appeals to the king. He says that Jeremiah will starve to death and that this is not right. The king reluctantly agrees.  Ebed-Melech then organizes a way to pull Jeremiah from the well. Jeremiah is returned to living in the courtyard of the guard.

Jeremiah 38:14-16, Do not hide anything

Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to the third entrance to the temple of the LORD. "I am going to ask you something," the king said to Jeremiah. "Do not hide anything from me." 

Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I give you an answer, will you not kill me? Even if I did give you counsel, you would not listen to me." 

But King Zedekiah swore this oath secretly to Jeremiah: "As surely as the LORD lives, who has given us breath, I will neither kill you nor hand you over to those who are seeking your life." 

Zedekiah seeks out Jeremiah. He promises not to kill Jeremiah, but wants to hear about the future. Jeremiah is naturally reluctant.

Jeremiah 38:17-18, Surrender

Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "This is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: `If you surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live. But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be handed over to the Babylonians and they will burn it down; you yourself will not escape from their hands.'" 

Jeremiah's prophecy is that if he surrenders, the city will not be destroyed. But if he does not surrender, it will be destroyed although Zedekiah will be spared.

Jeremiah 38:19-23, Your friends mislead you

King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Jews who have gone over to the Babylonians, for the Babylonians may hand me over to them and they will mistreat me." 

"They will not hand you over," Jeremiah replied. "Obey the LORD by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well with you, and your life will be spared. But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the LORD has revealed to me: All the women left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon. 

Those women will say to you: "`They misled you and overcame you-- those trusted friends of yours. Your feet are sunk in the mud; your friends have deserted you.'  "All your wives and children will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape from their hands but will be captured by the king of Babylon; and this city will be burned down." 

Jeremiah tells Zedekiah that he is not to fear those who have already surrendered to the Babylonians. But if he refuses to surrender, when he is captured, the city will be burned down and the women of the palace will tell Zedekiah that he had been misled.

Jeremiah 38:24-27, Don't tell anyone

Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Do not let anyone know about this conversation, or you may die. If the officials hear that I talked with you, and they come to you and say, `Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us or we will kill you,' then tell them, `I was pleading with the king not to send me back to Jonathan's house to die there.'" 

All the officials did come to Jeremiah and question him, and he told them everything the king had ordered him to say. So they said no more to him, for no one had heard his conversation with the king. 

Zedekiah does not want anyone to know that he consulted with Jeremiah. So he concocts a lie. Jeremiah goes along with it.

Jeremiah 38:28, In the courtyard.

And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.

Jeremiah will stay safely in the courtyard until the city falls. That will happen in the next chapter.

Jeremiah 37, Imprisoned (DRAFT)

(This DRAFT study has been done fairly quickly, without the further guide of commentaries. I hope to improve on it later.)

Jeremiah had his secretary, Baruch, write out a scroll announcing the coming disasters. That scroll was read in the temple and eventually carried to King Jeconiah who destroyed it and ordered the arrest of Jeremiah and Baruch. That scroll was then rewritten. Now we have a later message to King Zedekiah. This event occurs before Jeremiah is sent to prison.

Jeremiah 37:1-5, Inquiry from Zedekiah

Zedekiah son of Josiah was made king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he reigned in place of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim. Neither he nor his attendants nor the people of the land paid any attention to the words the LORD had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet. 

King Zedekiah, however, sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah with the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah the prophet with this message: "Please pray to the LORD our God for us." 

Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison. Pharaoh's army had marched out of Egypt, and when the Babylonians who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem. 

Zedekiah has been ignoring Jeremiah's messages but now wants prayer, as the military situation shifts. The king of Egypt has moved in from the west and now threatens Nebuchadnezzar's army which has now withdrawn. Is this good? Zedekiah probably thinks so.

Jeremiah 37:6-10, Ignore Pharaoh

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet: "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of me, `Pharaoh's army, which has marched out to support you, will go back to its own land, to Egypt. Then the Babylonians will return and attack this city; they will capture it and burn it down.' 

"This is what the LORD says: Do not deceive yourselves, thinking, `The Babylonians will surely leave us.' They will not! Even if you were to defeat the entire Babylonian army that is attacking you and only wounded men were left in their tents, they would come out and burn this city down." 

God's message, through Jeremiah, is that the Babylonian army will eventually prevail.

Jeremiah 37:11-14, Arrested

After the Babylonian army had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh's army, Jeremiah started to leave the city to go to the territory of Benjamin to get his share of the property among the people there. 

But when he reached the Benjamin Gate, the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, arrested him and said, "You are deserting to the Babylonians!" 

"That's not true!" Jeremiah said. "I am not deserting to the Babylonians." 

But Irijah would not listen to him; instead, he arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 

Jeremiah, on an around to Benjamin to the north, is arrested leaving the city. He is accused of turning traitor and going over to the Babylonians. There is good reason to be suspicious of Jeremiah since he has been prophesying of a Babylonian victory.

Jeremiah 37:15-17, Imprisoned

They were angry with Jeremiah and had him beaten and imprisoned in the house of Jonathan the secretary, which they had made into a prison. Jeremiah was put into a vaulted cell in a dungeon, where he remained a long time. 

Then King Zedekiah sent for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked him privately, "Is there any word from the LORD?" 

"Yes," Jeremiah replied, "you will be handed over to the king of Babylon." 

Jeremiah is imprisoned. When asked by Zedekiah of a prophecy, Jeremiah replies, "Yes, you will be imprisoned by Nebuchadnezzar."

Jeremiah 37:18-21. Why are you doing this?

Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, "What crime have I committed against you or your officials or this people, that you have put me in prison? Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, `The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land'? But now, my lord the king, please listen. Let me bring my petition before you: Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, or I will die there." 

King Zedekiah then gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given bread from the street of the bakers each day until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard. 

Jeremiah reminds the king of the false prophets who said Babylon would never attack. The king moves Jeremiah to a more suitable place, a form of house arrest in the courtyard where he is given decent bread.

Jeremiah 36, Baruch's Scroll (DRAFT)

(This DRAFT study has been done fairly quickly, without the further guide of commentaries. I hope to improve on it later.)

We have been reading a variety of messages of Jeremiah to various kings and people groups. Here we have a message during the reign of Jehoiakim, around 604 BC.

Jeremiah 36:1-3, Take a scroll

In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: "Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah till now. 

Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, each of them will turn from his wicked way; then I will forgive their wickedness and their sin." 

Jeremiah is to record on a scroll all the upcoming disasters, in hopes that the people repent.

Jeremiah 36:4-7, Read to the people

So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and while Jeremiah dictated all the words the LORD had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll. Then Jeremiah told Baruch, "I am restricted; I cannot go to the LORD's temple. So you go to the house of the LORD on a day of fasting and read to the people from the scroll the words of the LORD that you wrote as I dictated. Read them to all the people of Judah who come in from their towns. Perhaps they will bring their petition before the LORD, and each will turn from his wicked ways, for the anger and wrath pronounced against this people by the LORD are great." 

Baruch becomes Jeremiah's scribe. Jeremiah is restricted from entering the temple (by a decree of the king?) and so Baruch will read the scroll to them.

Jeremiah 36:8-10, Baruch reads

Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do; at the LORD's temple he read the words of the LORD from the scroll. In the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a time of fasting before the LORD was proclaimed for all the people in Jerusalem and those who had come from the towns of Judah. 

From the room of Gemariah son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate of the temple, Baruch read to all the people at the LORD's temple the words of Jeremiah from the scroll. 

Baruch does as he is told. He reads to the people in the temple.

Jeremiah 36:11-16, Leaders respond

When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD from the scroll, he went down to the secretary's room in the royal palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Acbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 

After Micaiah told them everything he had heard Baruch read to the people from the scroll, all the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, "Bring the scroll from which you have read to the people and come." 

So Baruch son of Neriah went to them with the scroll in his hand. They said to him, "Sit down, please, and read it to us." 

So Baruch read it to them. 

When they heard all these words, they looked at each other in fear and said to Baruch, "We must report all these words to the king." 

Led by Micaiah, a variety of leaders get Baruch to read the message to them. They are frightened by the message and decide they must carry the message to the king.

Jeremiah 36:17-19, Go hide

Then they asked Baruch, "Tell us, how did you come to write all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it?" 

"Yes," Baruch replied, "he dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them in ink on the scroll." 

Then the officials said to Baruch, "You and Jeremiah, go and hide. Don't let anyone know where you are." 

Before carrying the message to the king, these leaders tell Baruch that he and Jeremiah must go into hiding.

Jeremiah 36:20-22,

After they put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went to the king in the courtyard and reported everything to him. The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and Jehudi brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary and read it to the king and all the officials standing beside him. It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment, with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him. 

The scroll is read to the king. It is winter (ninth month) in Jerusalem and the king is sitting with a fire in a firepot nearby.

Jeremiah 36:23-26, Columns cut off

Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe's knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire. The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear, nor did they tear their clothes. 

Even though Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD had hidden them.

The king is not receptive. The Hebrews read in columns and every four columns or so, the king cuts off and destroys. The king and his attendants are unrepentant. The king orders the arrest of Baruch and Jeremiah. But forewarned by Jehudi and the others, Baruch and Jeremiah have gone into hiding.

Jeremiah 36:27-31, Prophecy for Jehoiakim

 After the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah's dictation, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: "Take another scroll and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up. Also tell Jehoiakim king of Judah, `This is what the LORD says: You burned that scroll and said, "Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon would certainly come and destroy this land and cut off both men and animals from it?"  Therefore, this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out and exposed to the heat by day and the frost by night. I will punish him and his children and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster I pronounced against them, because they have not listened.'" 

Now the message is to Jehoiakim. The disaster will come personally for Jehoiakim and his body will be dumped in the wild, exposed to the elements.

Jeremiah 36:32, A second scroll

So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated, Baruch wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them. 

Baruch then  writes a second scroll. So the message survives. But, strangely, this story seems to end here. A new story begins in the next chapter.

Jeremiah 35, The Recabites (DRAFT)

(This DRAFT study has been done fairly quickly, without the further guide of commentaries. I hope to improve on it later.)

In the previous chapter we had a message from God to Zedekiah. Here we have a message to Jehoiakim.

Jeremiah 35:1-2, Go to the Recabites

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD during the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: "Go to the Recabite family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms of the house of the LORD and give them wine to drink." 

The Recabites are an interesting clan. See this GotQuestions link. Here Jeremiah is to offer them wine to drink. But the Recabites do not drink wine....

Jeremiah 35:3-5, Drink this wine

So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons--the whole family of the Recabites. I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God. It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. 

Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the men of the Recabite family and said to them, "Drink some wine." 

Note the details in this passage. There is a specific room that Jeremiah identifies for this event.

Jeremiah 35:6-11, Drink this wine

But they replied, "We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jonadab son of Recab gave us this command: `Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.' 

We have obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab son of Recab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops. We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab commanded us. 

But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded this land, we said, `Come, we must go to Jerusalem to escape the Babylonian and Aramean armies.' So we have remained in Jerusalem." 

The Jecabites are, by choice, tent dwellers who abstain from wine or houses or vineyards. It turns out that they are now in Jerusalem as refugees, fleeing Nebuchadnezzar.

Jeremiah 35:12-17, An example

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, `Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?' declares the LORD. `Jonadab son of Recab ordered his sons not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather's command. 

But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, "Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your fathers." But you have not paid attention or listened to me. The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.' 

"Therefore, this is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: `Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.'" 

The Jecabites are given as an example of a clan that obeyed their forefather's instructions. But Judah, as a rule, has not. And so Judah will be punished.

Jeremiah 35:18-19, Promise to the Recabites

Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Recabites, "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: `You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.' Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: `Jonadab son of Recab will never fail to have a man to serve me.'" 

Jeremiah says that YHWH has determined that there will always be a Recabite serving Him.  What do we know about the Recabite descendants? There are certainly claims of people groups to have descended from the Recabites....

Jeremiah 34, "Freed" Slaves (DRAFT)

(This DRAFT study has been done fairly quickly, without the further guide of commentaries. I hope to improve on it later.)

Jeremiah has been prophesying about a coming invasion. Now it approaches.

Jeremiah 34:1-5, Promise to Zedekiah

While Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms and peoples in the empire he ruled were fighting against Jerusalem and all its surrounding towns, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 

"This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Go to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, `This is what the LORD says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down. You will not escape from his grasp but will surely be captured and handed over to him. You will see the king of Babylon with your own eyes, and he will speak with you face to face. And you will go to Babylon.

"`Yet hear the promise of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what the LORD says concerning you: You will not die by the sword; you will die peacefully. As people made a funeral fire in honor of your fathers, the former kings who preceded you, so they will make a fire in your honor and lament, "Alas, O master!" 

I myself make this promise, 

declares the LORD.'" 

Then Jeremiah the prophet told all this to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah that were still holding out--Lachish and Azekah. These were the only fortified cities left in Judah

Jerusalem will be burned down but Zedekiah will not be killed. Instead, he will die peacefully of old age. Jeremiah passes this on to Zedekiah while Nebuchadnezzar continues to besiege the last three fortresses of Judah.

Jeremiah 34:8-11, Free your slaves!

The word came to Jeremiah from the LORD after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom for the slaves. Everyone was to free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Jew in bondage. 

So all the officials and people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their male and female slaves and no longer hold them in bondage. They agreed, and set them free. But afterward they changed their minds and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again. 

Zedekiah orders the people of Jerusalem to free their Hebrew slaves. This is a good first start in giving justice to the people. The people do this and then renege on the agreement.

Jeremiah 34:13-16, Profaned my name

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 

"This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your forefathers when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I said, `Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrew who has sold himself to you. After he has served you six years, you must let him go free.' Your fathers, however, did not listen to me or pay attention to me. 

Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to his countrymen. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name. But now you have turned around and profaned my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again. 

YHWH tells Jeremiah that he has noticed their breaking of their covenant vows. Their  reversal of their vow profanes the name of God, since the people bear His name.

Notice that the actions of the Israelites breaks the Third Commandment -- they have profaned the name of YHWH.

Jeremiah 34:17-22, "Freed"

"Therefore, this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom for your fellow countrymen. So I now proclaim `freedom' for you, declares the LORD--`freedom' to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth. 

The men who have violated my covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces. The leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests and all the people of the land who walked between the pieces of the calf, I will hand over to their enemies who seek their lives. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. 

"I will hand Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials over to their enemies who seek their lives, to the army of the king of Babylon, which has withdrawn from you. I am going to give the order, declares the LORD, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, take it and burn it down. And I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there." 

The people of Jerusalem will be "freed" just as their slaves have been "freed". 

The people have violated God's covenant with them. In the ancient Near East culture, covenants were ratified by splitting an animal in two and walking between the two halves. This sybolized that if either party broke the covenant, they would expect to be cut in two like the animals. (See Genesis 15:7-21 for the ratification of a covenant between Abram and God.)  Here the people of Israel are about to experience this penalty.

Some Random Thoughts

The Third Commandment says to not profane the name of God. Modern Christianity has watered this down to avoiding words like "God!" or "damn!" But the commandment is much much deeper than that. It speaks to people who claim the name of God and then acts in disobedience to Him. In American society today, there are many politicians who claim to speak for Jesus and Christianity -- while living out a life of abuse, adultery, slander... and evil is various forms.

Jeremiah 33, Future Restoraton (DRAFT)

(This DRAFT study has been done fairly quickly, without the further guide of commentaries. I hope to improve on it later.)

Jeremiah has been giving messages from God about coming judgment and also a coming renewal.

Jeremiah 33:1-4, City of dead bodies

While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time: 

"This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it--the LORD is his name: `Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' 

For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege ramps and the sword in the fight with the Babylonians: `They will be filled with the dead bodies of the men I will slay in my anger and wrath. I will hide my face from this city because of all its wickedness. 

Jerusalem will suffer devastation, with dead boides in the streets. This is the result of the wickedness of the nation of Judah.

Jeremiah 33:5-9, Health, healing, forgiveness

"`Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.' 

But eventually there will be healing and forgiveness. Eventually the city will recover and bring God praise and honor.

Jeremiah 33:10-11, Once more joy and thanksgiving.

"This is what the LORD says: `You say about this place, "It is a desolate waste, without men or animals." Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither men nor animals, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying, 

"Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, 

for the LORD is good; 

his love endures forever." 

For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,' says the LORD. 

Eventually the desolate waste will be filled with sounds of joy, with people giving thanks to God, as their fortunes are restored. The passage includes a praise chorus from Psalm 118, a statement occurring in both verses 1 and 29.

Jeremiah 33:12-13, Flocks restored

"This is what the LORD Almighty says: `In this place, desolate and without men or animals--in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks. In the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,' says the LORD. 

The wealth of the hills around Jerusalem will be restored, again filling with flocks of sheep.

Jeremiah 33:14-18, Righteous branch

"`The days are coming,' declares the LORD, `when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. 

"`In those days and at that time

 I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line; 

he will do what is just and right in the land. 

In those days Judah will be saved 

and Jerusalem will live in safety. 

This is the name by which it will be called: 

The LORD Our Righteousness.' 

For this is what the LORD says: `David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, nor will the priests, who are Levites, ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.'" 

A righteous branch off of the lineage of David will sit on the throne in that future day. A man will stand before God perpetually offering sacrifices. See jeremiah 23:5, Romans 11:24, isaiah 11:1

The term "branch" (here tsemach) takes on a significant Messianic meaning in Isaiah (see 11:1 where a different word, netser, is used) and in the prophetic books of Jeremiah and Zechariah (Jeremiah 23:5, 33:15, Zechariah 3:8, 6:12.) 

Jeremiah 33:19-22, Covenant with day/night.

The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:"This is what the LORD says: `If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, then my covenant with David my servant--and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me--can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. 

I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars of the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.'" 

The covenant that YHWH is making cannot be broken anymore than day or night can be broken. Both descendants of David and descendants of Levi will eventually minister in waves as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore.

Jeremiah 33:23-26, Two kingdoms

The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: "Have you not noticed that these people are saying, `The LORD has rejected the two kingdoms he chose'? So they despise my people and no longer regard them as a nation. 

This is what the LORD says: `If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed laws of heaven and earth, then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them.'" 

People say that God has rejected both of the kingdoms. But that is not true -- they will be restored. The promise about the covenant is repeated. 

Jeremiah 32, The Purchase of a Field (DRAFT)

(This DRAFT study has been done fairly quickly, without the further guide of commentaries. I hope to improve on it later.)

In the previous chapter, Jeremiah spoke of a future day with a new covenant, a day in which everyone has God's laws on their hearts. This chapter has a different message, a new message. The date is about 587 BC.

Jeremiah 32:1-5, Imprisoned

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah. 

Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, "Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, `This is what the LORD says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape out of the hands of the Babylonians but will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him, declares the LORD. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.'" 

Jeremiah is imprisoned for his treasonous speech and Jerusalem is besieged. Zedekiah is both stressed and very angry at Jeremiah. He is certainly not listening to Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 32:6-12, A field in Anathoth

Jeremiah said, "The word of the LORD came to me: Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, `Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.' 

"Then, just as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, `Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.' 

"I knew that this was the word of the LORD; so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver. I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales. 

I took the deed of purchase--the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy-- and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard. 

Jeremiah has a story to tell. It revolves around a field in Anathoth, his hometown.

Jeremiah 32:13-15, Seal the deed and store it away

"In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: `This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. For this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.' 

Jeremiah has the copies of the deed sealed in a clay jar so that they last a long time. Then he makes a statement that in a future day, people will again buy houses, fields and vineyards. In a later day, normal life will return.

Jeremiah 32:16-25, Jeremiah's prayer

"After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD: 

"Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the fathers' sins into the laps of their children after them. 

O great and powerful God, whose name is the LORD Almighty, great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to all the ways of men; you reward everyone according to his conduct and as his deeds deserve. You performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt and have continued them to this day, both in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renown that is still yours. 

You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror. 

You gave them this land you had sworn to give their forefathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey you or follow your law; they did not do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disaster upon them. "See how the siege ramps are built up to take the city. Because of the sword, famine and plague, the city will be handed over to the Babylonians who are attacking it. What you said has happened, as you now see. And though the city will be handed over to the Babylonians, you, O Sovereign LORD, say to me, `Buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed.'" 

After storing away the deeds, Jeremiah then prays, reviewing God's work in Israel since the Exodus and confessing that the current disaster, with siege ramps, famine and plague, are due to the disobedience of the people of Judah. The purchase of land seems to be a counterpoint or contradiction to this all.

Jeremiah 32:26-29,

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: "I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I am about to hand this city over to the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will capture it. The Babylonians who are attacking this city will come in and set it on fire; they will burn it down, along with the houses where the people provoked me to anger by burning incense on the roofs to Baal and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods. 

YHWH responds that He is in complete control. Jerusalem will indeed be destroyed. It will be burned down.

Jeremiah 32:30-35, Provoked

"The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth; indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but provoke me with what their hands have made, declares the LORD. From the day it was built until now, this city has so aroused my anger and wrath that I must remove it from my sight. The people of Israel and Judah have provoked me by all the evil they have done--they, their kings and officials, their priests and prophets, the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem. They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline. They set up their abominable idols in the house that bears my Name and defiled it. They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech, though I never commanded, nor did it enter my mind, that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin. 

The people of Jerusalem have provoked YHWH for centuries. It is time to bring it down. It will be handed over to Babylon as a sign of God's wrath and judgment.

Jeremiah 32:36-44, But...

"You are saying about this city, `By the sword, famine and plague it will be handed over to the king of Babylon'; but this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. 

They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. 

I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul. "This is what the LORD says: As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them. 

Once more fields will be bought in this land of which you say, `It is a desolate waste, without men or animals, for it has been handed over to the Babylonians.' Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, because I will restore their fortunes, declares the LORD." 

Yet, despite the coming judgment, a remnant will return. The field bought in Anathoth is symbol of that future time.

Jeremiah 31, A New Testament (DRAFT)

(This DRAFT study has been done fairly quickly, without the further guide of commentaries. I hope to improve on it later.)

Jeremiah is describing a future day when all of Israel is restored in glory.

Jeremiah 31:1-2, Rest to Israel

"At that time," declares the LORD, "I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they will be my people." 

This is what the LORD says: 

"The people who survive the sword 

will find favor in the desert; 

I will come to give rest to Israel." 

The survivors of war will find support and rest in the desert and return to Israel. This could be the return from Babylon -- or is it a far future time?

Jeremiah 31:3-6, Dancing again with tambourines

The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: 

"I have loved you with an everlasting love;

 I have drawn you with loving-kindness.

 I will build you up again 

and you will be rebuilt, 

O Virgin Israel. 

Again you will take up your tambourines 

and go out to dance with the joyful. 

Again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria;

 the farmers will plant them 

and enjoy their fruit. 

There will be a day when watchmen cry out on the hills of Ephraim, 

`Come, let us go up to Zion, to the LORD our God.'" 

A day will come when dancing to tambourines will fill the streets and people will plant fruitful vineyards. Everyone will want to go up to Zion/Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 31:7, Sing with joy

This is what the LORD says: 

"Sing with joy for Jacob; 

shout for the foremost of the nations. 

Make your praises heard, 

and say, `O LORD, save your people, 

the remnant of Israel.' 

This prayer chorus asks for the salvation of the remnant of Israel.

Jeremiah 31:8-9, Gathered from all the earth

See, I will bring them from the land of the north 

and gather them from the ends of the earth. 

Among them will be the blind and the lame, 

expectant mothers and women in labor; 

a great throng will return. 

They will come with weeping; 

they will pray as I bring them back.

 I will lead them beside streams of water 

on a level path where they will not stumble, 

because I am Israel's father, 

and Ephraim is my firstborn son. 

People will return from the north (Assyria? Babylon?), even from the ends of the earth. The poor and vulnerable will come -- the blind and lame, expectant mothers, women in labor. They will be led back along easy paths, a joyous return.

Jeremiah 31:10-14, No more sorrow!

"Hear the word of the LORD, O nations; 

proclaim it in distant coastlands: 

`He who scattered Israel will gather them 

and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.' 

For the LORD will ransom Jacob 

and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they. 

They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion;

 they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD-- 

the grain, the new wine and the oil, 

the young of the flocks and herds. 

They will be like a well-watered garden,

 and they will sorrow no more. 

Then maidens will dance and be glad, 

young men and old as well. 

I will turn their mourning into gladness; 

I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. 

I will satisfy the priests with abundance, 

and my people will be filled with my bounty," 

declares the LORD. 

The return will be joyous. It includes all the material signs of prosperity, grain, new wine, oil, flocks and herds, plush gardens. There will be no more sorrow. Young women will dance -- as will young men and the old. Mourning turns to gladness....

Jeremiah 31:15-16a, Rachel weeping

This is what the LORD says: 

"A voice is heard in Ramah,

 mourning and great weeping, 

Rachel weeping for her children 

and refusing to be comforted, 

because her children are no more." 

This is what the LORD says: 

"Restrain your voice from weeping 

and your eyes from tears, 

for your work will be rewarded," declares the LORD. 

"They will return from the land of the enemy. 

So there is hope for your future," 

declares the LORD. 

"Your children will return to their own land. 

Rachel weeps for her children and cannot be comforted. But stop weeping, suggests YHWH and see the reward of your work. 

In the New Testament, verse 15 is quoted in Matthew 2:16-18, after Herod massacres the innocent children in Bethlehem.

Jeremiah 31:18-20, Dear son, Ephraim

"I have surely heard Ephraim's moaning: 

`You disciplined me like an unruly calf,

 and I have been disciplined. 

Restore me, and I will return, 

because you are the LORD my God. 

After I strayed, I repented; 

after I came to understand, I beat my breast.

 I was ashamed and humiliated 

because I bore the disgrace of my youth.' 

Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight?

 Though I often speak against him, 

I still remember him. 

Therefore my heart yearns for him; 

I have great compassion for him,"

 declares the LORD. 

Ephraim, representing the northern kingdom, now gone (!), will be restored. Ephraim will return repentant.

Jeremiah 31:21-22, Return Virgin Israel

"Set up road signs; put up guideposts. 

Take note of the highway, the road that you take. 

Return, O Virgin Israel, return to your towns. 

How long will you wander, O unfaithful daughter? 

The LORD will create a new thing on earth--

 a woman will surround a man." 

Israel, now called a young virgin, is to return. She has been unfaithful but is called home. The last line is a strange one -- the most natural interpretation is probably that in this new age, things will be different, even a woman protecting a man.

Jeremiah 31:23-25, Refresh the weary

This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "When I bring them back from captivity, the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: `The LORD bless you, O righteous dwelling, O sacred mountain.' 

People will live together in Judah and all its towns--farmers and those who move about with their flocks. I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." 

The people will return at the end of the captivity and be happy to live in Judah. YHWH will refresh and protect them.

Jeremiah 31:26-28, Awake

At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me. 

"The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will plant the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the offspring of men and of animals. Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant," declares the LORD. 

Jeremiah awakes from this dream. But he continues to describe messages from God. Israel and Judah will be replanted.

Jeremiah 31:29-30, Sins of the fathers

"In those days people will no longer say, 

`The fathers have eaten sour grapes, 

and the children's teeth are set on edge.' 

Instead, everyone will die for his own sin; whoever eats sour grapes--his own teeth will be set on edge. 

An old proverb has children suffering because of their father's sins. But in the future each will pay for their own sin. (This proverb is discussed by Ezekiel, over in Babylon, at about the same time. See Ezekiel 18.)

Jeremiah 31:31-34, A new covenant

"The time is coming," declares the LORD, 

"when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel 

and with the house of Judah. 

It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers 

when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, 

because they broke my covenant, 

though I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. 

"This is the covenant I will make 

with the house of Israel after that time," 

declares the LORD. 

"I will put my law in their minds 

and write it on their hearts. 

I will be their God, 

and they will be my people. 

No longer will a man teach his neighbor, 

or a man his brother, saying, `Know the LORD,' 

because they will all know me,

 from the least of them to the greatest,"

 declares the LORD. 

"For I will forgive their wickedness 

and will remember their sins no more." 

A new covenant is coming, says YHWH. According to Isaiah 27:12-13. in that future day, after a judgment "threshing" of the chaff, and the sounding of a trumpet, people will come from the east and the west and worship YHWH in Jerusalem. This time is also described in Ezekiel 36:24-38 and Joel 2:28-29.

In this new covenant, everyone present has the knowledge of God embedded within them. This new covenant replaces (or updates) old covenants with Abraham and David. Christians see the new covenant as beginning at Pentecost, with the overflowing of the Holy Spirit (Act 2), leading believers to have the Spirit within them "in their minds" and written "on their hearts." As the words covenant and testament are synonyms, the writings of this new covenant has been called the New Testament. This new testament is mentioned explicitly in Hebrews 8, which quotes this passage. (See also Romans 11:27.)

Jeremiah 31:35-36, An eternal covenant

This is what the LORD says, 

he who appoints the sun to shine by day,

 who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, 

who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar--

 the LORD Almighty is his name: 

"Only if these decrees vanish from my sight," declares the LORD, 

"will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before me." 

This covenant will never cease -- it will last as long as the stars.

Jeremiah 31:37, Can you measure the heavens

This is what the LORD says: 

"Only if the heavens above can be measured 

and the foundations of the earth below be searched out 

will I reject all the descendants of Israel 

because of all they have done," 

declares the LORD. 

At this time, the people of Israel will no longer be rejected.

Jeremiah 31:38-40, Never again uprooted

"The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when this city will be rebuilt for me from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. The measuring line will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the LORD. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished." 

The city of Jerusalem will some day (after the exile?) be completely rebuilt. Although this happened in the Second Temple period of Ezra and Nehemiah, the city has since undergone both decay and growth.

Jeremiah 30, That Future Restoration (DRAFT)

(This DRAFT study has been done fairly quickly, without the further guide of commentaries. I hope to improve on it later.)

Jeremiah has written a letter to the exiles in Babylon, telling them to settle in.

Jeremiah 30:1-3, Days are coming...

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: `Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. The days are coming,' declares the LORD, `when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their forefathers to possess,' says the LORD." 

Jeremiah is told to record a message in a book. The people will indeed be restored. But not soon.

Jeremiah 30:4-6, A Day of trouble

These are the words the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah: "This is what the LORD says: 

"`Cries of fear are heard-- 

terror, not peace. 

Ask and see: Can a man bear children? 

Then why do I see every strong man

 with his hands on his stomach

 like a woman in labor, 

every face turned deathly pale?

A day of trouble is coming, a day in which men will hold their stomachs, as if in labor.

Jeremiah 30:7-9,

How awful that day will be! 

None will be like it. 

It will be a time of trouble for Jacob,

 but he will be saved out of it. 

"` In that day,' declares the LORD Almighty, `

I will break the yoke off their necks 

and will tear off their bonds; 

no longer will foreigners enslave them. 

Instead, they will serve the LORD their God 

and David their king, 

whom I will raise up for them. 

In that day, the yoke of bondage will indeed be broken and the people will have the freedom they had under David. Indeed there will be a new David.

Jeremiah 30:10-11, Again peace and security

"`So do not fear, O Jacob my servant; 

do not be dismayed, O Israel,' 

declares the LORD. 

`I will surely save you out of a distant place,

 your descendants from the land of their exile. 

Jacob will again have peace and security, 

and no one will make him afraid. 

I am with you and will save you,' 

declares the LORD. 

`Though I completely destroy all the nations 

among which I scatter you, 

I will not completely destroy you. 

I will discipline you but only with justice; 

I will not let you go entirely unpunished.' 

Peace and security will return. Although God insists on justice and punishment, there will be a remnant of Jacob returning to Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 30:12-15, Uncurable wound

"This is what the LORD says: 

"`Your wound is incurable,

 your injury beyond healing. 

There is no one to plead your cause, 

no remedy for your sore, 

no healing for you. 

All your allies have forgotten you;

 they care nothing for you. 

I have struck you as an enemy would 

and punished you as would the cruel,

 because your guilt is so great 

and your sins so many. 

Why do you cry out over your wound, 

your pain that has no cure?

 Because of your great guilt and many sins 

I have done these things to you. 

But until that time, Judah's actions demonstrate an incurable wound, one that they seem to not recognize. They cry out but do not recognize their guilt.

Jeremiah 30:16-187, Restoration

"`But all who devour you will be devoured; 

all your enemies will go into exile. 

Those who plunder you will be plundered; 

all who make spoil of you I will despoil. 

But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,' 

declares the LORD, 

`because you are called an outcast, 

Zion for whom no one cares.' 

In that future day, there will be restoration and healing. Those that plundered Israel will themselves be plundered.

Jeremiah 30:18-21, Rejoicing

"This is what the LORD says: 

"`I will restore the fortunes of Jacob's tents

 and have compassion on his dwellings;

 the city will be rebuilt on her ruins,

 and the palace will stand in its proper place. 

From them will come songs of thanksgiving 

and the sound of rejoicing. 

I will add to their numbers, 

and they will not be decreased;

 I will bring them honor, 

and they will not be disdained. 

Their children will be as in days of old,

 and their community will be established before me; 

I will punish all who oppress them. 

Their leader will be one of their own; 

their ruler will arise from among them.

 I will bring him near and he will come close to me,

 for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?' 

declares the LORD. 

In that future day, the people will rejoice in Jerusalem, a city that is rebuilt. They will have their own leader and he will be devoted to YHWH.

Jeremiah 30:22-24, My people

"`So you will be my people, 

and I will be your God.'" 

See, the storm of the LORD will burst out in wrath, 

a driving wind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. 

 The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back 

until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart. 

In days to come you will understand this. 

The people of Israel will finally be God's people. YHWH will build up a storm of anger that accomplishes His goals. And, eventually, the people will understand.