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.

Jeremiah 29, Letter to the Exiles (DRAFT)

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

At one point Nebuchadnezzar captures King Jehoiachin and his family that transports the king, along with temple treasures, to Babylon. He then sets Jehoiachin's uncle, Hezekiah, on the throne to serve as a puppet ruler.

Jeremiah 29:1-3a, Letter to exiles

This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. (This was after King Jehoiachin and the queen mother, the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.) He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon.

Aftre Jehoiachin and his court are carried away to Babylon, Jeremiah writes a letter to the surviving elders among the exiles and entrusts it to two men, Elasah and Gemariah, who are traveling to Babylon under the order of Zedekiah.

Jeremiah 29:3b-7, Build houses

 It said: 

This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." 

Jeremiah's letter tells the exiles to settle in and plan to live out their lives in Babylon.

Jeremiah 29:8-9, Do not listen to the prophets

Yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them," declares the LORD. 

There will be some, Jeremiah says, who are like Hananiah and prophecy that the captivity will be short and that the exiles will soon return to Jerusalem. This is not so.

Jeremiah 29:10-11, Seventy years

This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 

Indeed, the time in Babylon will be a lifespan, seventy years. Eventually God will bring the (descendants of the) exiles back to Jerusalem, as part of a bright future. But that will be a long time coming.

It is this passage, or a related passage in Jeremiah 25:8-14, that an elderly Daniel reads in Daniel 9:1-2, many years later. Verse 11 is often quoted as a reassurance of God's plans, but verse 10 puts that promise at least seventy years into the future.

Jeremiah 29:12-14, Then a return

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile." 

After seventy years, the people will pray and ask to return and God will answer their prayers. (This is what Daniel does in Daniel 9.)

Jeremiah 29:15-18, Famine for those who stay

You may say, "The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon," but this is what the LORD says about the king who sits on David's throne and all the people who remain in this city, your countrymen who did not go with you into exile-- yes, this is what the LORD Almighty says: 

 

"I will send the sword, famine and plague against them and I will make them like poor figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth and an object of cursing and horror, of scorn and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them. 

Jeremiah's letter says that it is better to be in Babylon than stay behind in Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 29:19, Again and again

For they have not listened to my words," declares the LORD, "words that I sent to them again and again by my servants the prophets. And you exiles have not listened either," declares the LORD. 

Those who stay in Jerusalem have been repeatedly ignoring the warnings of the prophets.

Jeremiah 29:20-23, False prophets, Ahab and Zedekiah

Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you in my name:

 

"I will hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes. Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: `The LORD treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned in the fire.' For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives and in my name have spoken lies, which I did not tell them to do. I know it and am a witness to it," declares the LORD. 

The false prophets, here Ahab and Zedekiah, will be killed by Nebuchadnezzar.

Jeremiah 29:24-29, Shemaiah's letter

Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite, "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the other priests. You said to Zephaniah,`The LORD has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the LORD; you should put any madman who acts like a prophet into the stocks and neck-irons. So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you? He has sent this message to us in Babylon: It will be a long time. Therefore build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.'" 

Zephaniah the priest, however, read the letter to Jeremiah the prophet. 

Shemaiah writes a letter condemning Jeremiah, accusing him of being a false prophet. But Zephaniah reads the letter to Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 29:30-32, YHWH responds to Shemaiah

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 

"Send this message to all the exiles: `This is what the LORD says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, even though I did not send him, and has led you to believe a lie, this is what the LORD says: I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good things I will do for my people, declares the LORD, because he has preached rebellion against me.'" 

For his false prophecies, Shemaiah will also be cutoff, he and his descendants punished.

Some Random Thoughts

From the perspective of mortal humans, God's actions are very slow. See Job. See seventy years of exile.

Jeremiah 28, Hananiah and Hopium (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 in the reign of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah. To demonstrate the coming oppression of Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah has been wearing a cattle yoke around his neck.

It is about 593 BC. Now suddenly, Jeremiah has a prophet adversary.

Jeremiah 28:1-4, Good news!?

In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the LORD in the presence of the priests and all the people: 

"This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: `I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles of the LORD's house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,' declares the LORD, `for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.'" 

Hananiah stands up and prophesies that all is well. (This cheap hope, fake good news that we are so eager to hear has been called "hopium".) Nebuchadnezzar had already taken away both a king, Jehoiachin, and many treasures from the temple. Hananiah says that all of these will shortly be returned.

Jeremiah 28:5-9, Amen!

Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the LORD. He said, 

"Amen! May the LORD do so! May the LORD fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the LORD's house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon. 

Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the LORD only if his prediction comes true." 

Jeremiah responds with sarcasm. "Amen! May this happen!"  But ... this is only good if it comes true!

Jeremiah 28:10-11, Broken yoke

Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, and he said before all the people, 

"This is what the LORD says: `In the same way will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.'" 

At this, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way. 

Doubling down on his message, Hananiah takes the yoke off of Jeremiah, breaks it and removes it.

Jeremiah 28:12-14, Go tell Hananiah

Shortly after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 

"Go and tell Hananiah, `This is what the LORD says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.'" 

YHWH tells Jeremiah that Nebuchadnezzar will not only control the nations (including Judah) but even the animals.

Jeremiah 28:15-17, This year

Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, 

"Listen, Hananiah! The LORD has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. Therefore, this is what the LORD says: `I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.'" 

In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died. 

Jeremiah confronts Hananiah and tells him that because he, Hananiah, has falsely prophesied, he will die. Within a few months, Hananiah dies.

Some Random Thoughts

Russell Moore has an article Election Day Can Help Break Our Addiction to Hope  in Christianity Today on hopium. Hopium is news that tells us what we want to hear, even if it is false. Moore gives, as an example, Hananiah's prophecy in this chapter.

Jeremiah 27, Submit to Nebuchadnezzar! (DRAFT)

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

The previous chapter reported on an attempt to kill Jeremiah during the reign of Jehoiakim. Now we have an event in the later reign of Zedekiah.

Jeremiah 27:1-7, Word to nearby nations

Early in the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: This is what the LORD said to me: 

"Make a yoke out of straps and crossbars and put it on your neck. Then send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. Give them a message for their masters and say, `This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Tell this to your masters:With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please. Now I will hand all your countries over to my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him. All nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until the time for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate him. 

The reign of Zedekiah began around 597 BC. The invasion of Babylon is just over a decade in the future. God will once again use his outstretched arm to change the kingdoms. These kingdoms will wear the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar.

Jeremiah 27:8-11, Bow to Nebuchadnezzar

"` "If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation with the sword, famine and plague, declares the LORD, until I destroy it by his hand. So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, `You will not serve the king of Babylon.' They prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish. 

But if any nation will bow its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let that nation remain in its own land to till it and to live there, declares the LORD."'" 

The kingdoms are to submit to Nebuchadnezzar! Even though Nebuchadnezzar is evil, he is God's instrument of judgment.

Jeremiah 27:12-15, Message to Zedekiah

I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, 

"Bow your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live. Why will you and your people die by the sword, famine and plague with which the LORD has threatened any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, `You will not serve the king of Babylon,' for they are prophesying lies to you. `I have not sent them,' declares the LORD. `They are prophesying lies in my name. Therefore, I will banish you and you will perish, both you and the prophets who prophesy to you.'" 

The message to Zedekiah of Judah is the same. The false prophets say what the leaders want to hear, but they are wrong. Zedekiah is to give in and take the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar. To do otherwise is to be judged and destroyed. 

Jeremiah 27:16-22, Message to the people

Then I said to the priests and all these people, 

"This is what the LORD says: Do not listen to the prophets who say, `Very soon now the articles from the LORD's house will be brought back from Babylon.' They are prophesying lies to you. Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should this city become a ruin? If they are prophets and have the word of the LORD, let them plead with the LORD Almighty that the furnishings remaining in the house of the LORD and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem not be taken to Babylon. For this is what the LORD Almighty says about the pillars, the Sea, the movable stands and the other furnishings that are left in this city, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away when he carried Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem-- yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says about the things that are left in the house of the LORD and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem: `They will be taken to Babylon and there they will remain until the day I come for them,' declares the LORD. `Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.'" 

Jeremiah's message to the people of Judah is the same as earlier messages. They are not to listen to the false prophets. Some things, including Jehoiakim, have already been captured. The false prophets say that everything given to Babylon will be brought back. (This includes, apparently, Solomon's Sea, see 1 Kings 7:23-26.) But that is not so -- those items will remain in Babylon until God says otherwise.

Jeremiah 26, Death Threats (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 began a prophecy about the invasion of Babylon.

Jeremiah 26:1-6, God may still relent

Early in the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the LORD: 

"This is what the LORD says: Stand in the courtyard of the LORD's house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the LORD. Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word. Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from his evil way. Then I will relent and not bring on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done. 

Say to them, `This is what the LORD says: If you do not listen to me and follow my law, which I have set before you, and if you do not listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you again and again (though you have not listened), then I will make this house like Shiloh and this city an object of cursing among all the nations of the earth.'" 

Jeremiah still offers a chance of repentance and a way to avoid the incoming disaster.

Jeremiah 26:7-9, Kill him!

The priests, the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the LORD. But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the LORD had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, "You must die! Why do you prophesy in the LORD's name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted?" 

And all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the house of the LORD. 

The priests and other leaders become angry at Jeremiah's prophecy of coming doom.

Jeremiah 26:10-11, Call for execution

When the officials of Judah heard about these things, they went up from the royal palace to the house of the LORD and took their places at the entrance of the New Gate of the LORD's house. Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and all the people, "This man should be sentenced to death because he has prophesied against this city. You have heard it with your own ears!" 

The community of priests and prophets want Jeremiah executed.

Jeremiah 26:12-15, Jeremiah's defence

Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and all the people: "The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the things you have heard. Now reform your ways and your actions and obey the LORD your God. Then the LORD will relent and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against you. 

As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right. Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing." 

Jeremiah defends himself, claiming that he truly speaks for God. But he is willing to die and admits that the people have that power. But there will be consequences for killing him.

Jeremiah 26:16-19, Jeremiah protected

Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, "This man should not be sentenced to death! He has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God." 

Some of the elders of the land stepped forward and said to the entire assembly of people,  "Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah, `This is what the LORD Almighty says: 

"`Zion will be plowed like a field, 

Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, 

the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.'

"Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did not Hezekiah fear the LORD and seek his favor? And did not the LORD relent, so that he did not bring the disaster he pronounced against them? We are about to bring a terrible disaster on ourselves!" 

Hezekiah's patience with Micah is cited as an example that Jehoiakim should follow. Micah's statement can be found in Micah 3:12.

Jeremiah 26:20-23, Execution of Uriah

(Now Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim was another man who prophesied in the name of the LORD; he prophesied the same things against this city and this land as Jeremiah did. When King Jehoiakim and all his officers and officials heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But Uriah heard of it and fled in fear to Egypt. King Jehoiakim, however, sent Elnathan son of Acbor to Egypt, along with some other men. They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him struck down with a sword and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.) 

Despite the intent to protect Jeremiah, there was at least one prophet who was killed by Jehoiakim.

Jeremiah 26:24, Ahikam

Furthermore, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, and so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.

An unknown individual named Ahikam also intervenes in Jeremiah's favor.

Jeremiah 25, Seventy Years (DRAFT)

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

Jeremiah describes, in further detail, the invasion of Babylon. In this chapter, it is still in the future.

Jeremiah 25:1-6, Twenty three years

The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah and to all those living in Jerusalem: 

For twenty-three years--from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day--the word of the LORD has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. And though the LORD has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. They said, "Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the LORD gave to you and your fathers for ever and ever. Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not provoke me to anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you." 

The fourth year of Jehoiakim is about 605 BC. Jeremiah has spoken for 23 years, since about 627 BC. He has repeatedly warned the kings about their disobedience.

Jeremiah 25:7-11, Seventy years in Babylon

"But you did not listen to me," declares the LORD, "and you have provoked me with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves." 

Therefore the LORD Almighty says this: 

"Because you have not listened to my words, I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon," declares the LORD, "and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. 

I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 

YHWH gives Jeremiah a prophecy about the future. Soon (it will be about twenty years) Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon will invade Judah and carry off the people. The country will then be desolate for seventy years. 

Jeremiah 25:12-14, Eventual judgment on Babylon

"But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt," declares the LORD, "and will make it desolate forever. I will bring upon that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. 

They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands." 

Seventy years after Babylon is used to bring down Judah, that nation will also be punished. They too will face inslavement and other kings; they will reap the oppression that they have sown.

Daniel 9:1-2 is probably reading Jeremiah 25:8-14 or Jeremiah 29:10-14. (The passage in Jeremiah 29 is part of a letter to the exiles.)

Jeremiah 25:15-26, Cup of wrath on all the nations

This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: "Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them." 

So I took the cup from the LORD's hand and made all the nations to whom he sent me drink it: 

• Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin and an object of horror and scorn and cursing, as they are today; 
• Pharaoh king of Egypt, his attendants, his officials and all his people, and all the foreign people there; 
• all the kings of Uz; 
• all the kings of the Philistines (those of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod); 
• Edom, Moab and Ammon; 
• all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; 
• the kings of the coastlands across the sea; 
• Dedan, Tema, Buz and all who are in distant places; 
• all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the foreign people who live in the desert; 
• all the kings of Zimri, Elam and Media; 
• and all the kings of the north, near and far, one after the other--
• all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. 
• And after all of them, the king of Sheshach will drink it too.

The list of nations eventually experiencing God's wrath is extensive, and a review, at the time, of the kingdoms that held sway in the ancient Near East. After a specific list of about a dozen kingdoms, the next to last line simply covers "all the kingdoms on the face of the earth." And then is mentioned a strange name, Sheshach. This is apparently a cryptic code for Babel, and represents Babylon. (See the Wikipedia article on Sheshach.)

Jeremiah 25:27-29, Drink the cup

"Then tell them, `This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword I will send among you.' 

But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, tell them, `This is what the LORD Almighty says: You must drink it! See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears my Name, and will you indeed go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword upon all who live on the earth, declares the LORD Almighty.' 

The cup of God's wrath represents judgment of the nations. It appears in Isaiah 51:22 and is implied in Obadiah 1:15-16. In the New Testament, we see it in Revelation (eg. Revelation 14:9-10, Revelation 16.)

Jeremiah 25:30-31, Charges against the nations

"Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them: 

"`The LORD will roar from on high; 

he will thunder from his holy dwelling

 and roar mightily against his land. 

He will shout like those who tread the grapes, 

shout against all who live on the earth. 

The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth,

 for the LORD will bring charges against the nations;

 he will bring judgment on all mankind 

and put the wicked to the sword,'" 

declares the LORD. 

When the judgment finally comes, is will come from the One who created everything and has all power. He will "tread the grapes" and kill the wicked.

Jeremiah 25:32-38, Destruction

This is what the LORD Almighty says: 

"Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; 

a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth." 

At that time those slain by the LORD will be everywhere--from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered up or buried, but will be like refuse lying on the ground. 

Weep and wail, you shepherds; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For your time to be slaughtered has come; you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery. The shepherds will have nowhere to flee, the leaders of the flock no place to escape. Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing of the leaders of the flock, for the LORD is destroying their pasture. The peaceful meadows will be laid waste because of the fierce anger of the LORD. Like a lion he will leave his lair, and their land will become desolate because of the sword of the oppressor and because of the LORD's fierce anger. 

The eventual disaster will spread from nations to nation, a war across the entire world. There wil be no place to flee.