Jeremiah 30 Commentary

Updated: Wed, 06/22/2022 - 17:03 By admin

JEREMIAH COMMENTARIES JEREMIAH 31 COMMENTARY

"Jeremiah on the Ruins of Jerusalem"
(Horace Vernet, 1844)

JEREMIAH OVERVIEW Sin - "I Will Punish" (Jer 9:25) Hope - "I Will Restore" (Jer 30:17)
Prophet Called Jer 1:1-1:19	Prophecies to Judah Jer 2:1-45:5				Prophecies to the Gentiles Jer 46:1-51:64	Prophet's Appendix Jer 52:1-52:34
Prophet's Commission Jer 1:1-19	Judah Condemned Jer 2:1-25:38	Jeremiah's Conflicts Jer 26:1-29:32	Jerusalem's Future Jer 30:1-33:26	Jerusalem's Fall Jer 34:1-45:5	Nations Condemned Jer 46:1-51:64	Historic Conclusion Jer 52:1-52:34
Before The Fall Of Jerusalem Jer 1:1-38:28				The Fall Jer 39:1-18	After The Fall
Call	Ministry					Retrospect
Nation of Judah					Surrounding Nations	Future of Babylon
627-582BC Ministered 40+ Years! Related Blog Post - Jeremiah Overview Jeremiah Book Chart Another Chart on the book of Jeremiah

RESOURCES RELATED TO
JEREMIAH 30-33

Supplement you reading with the following conservative sources that use a literal approach in interpretation of the Scriptures:

Commentaries - not free but take a literal approach to interpretation:

Commentaries and Study Bibles - not free but can be borrowed

Explanation - The following list includes not only commentaries but other Christian works by well known evangelical writers. Most of the resources below are newer works (written after 1970) which previously were available only for purchase in book form or in a Bible computer program. The resources are made freely available by archive.org but have several caveats - (1) they do not allow copy and paste, (2) they can only be checked out for one hour (but can be checked out immediately when your hour expires giving you time to read or take notes on a lengthy section) and (3) they require creating an account which allows you to check out the books free of charge. To set up an account click archive.org and then click the picture of the person in right upper corner and enter email and a password. That's all you have to do. Then you can read these more modern resources free of charge! I have read or used many of these resources but not all of them so ultimately you will need to be a Berean (Acts 17:11+) as you use them. I have also selected works that are conservative and Biblically sound. If you find one that you think does not meet those criteria please send an email at https://www.preceptaustin.org/contact. The resources below are in no particular order.

The MacArthur Study Bible

Conservative. Literal. Premillennial. Notes are good but somewhat brief.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary - Jeremiah by Charles H. Dyer

James Rosscup A concise but carefully-researched conservative work that very often provides good help in explaining verses to preachers, students and lay people. Dyer gets to the flow of the message in Jeremiah, mingles summaries and sections on detail in a good balance, and usually has something worthwhile on key verses or problem passages.

Be Decisive : taking a stand for the truth : OT commentary, Jeremiah by Wiersbe, Warren

Wiersbe's insights are always worth checking for good preaching and teaching ideas.

Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament by Wiersbe, Warren W 113 ratings

"Even the most difficult Scriptures come alive as Warren Wiersbe leads you book-by-book through the Old Testament and helps you to see the "big picture" of God's revelation. In this unique volume, you will find: • Introductions and/or outlines for every Old Testament book • Practical expositions of strategic chapters • Special studies on key topics, relating the Old Testament to the New Testament • Easy-to-understand expositions that are practical, preachable, and teachable If you have used Dr. Wiersbe's popular BE series, you know how simple and practical his Bible studies are, with outlines that almost teach themselves. If not, you can now discover a wonderful new resource. This work is a unique commentary on every book of the Old Testament. It contains new material not to be found in the BE series.

With the Word - Devotional Commentary - Warren Wiersbe - 428 ratings

Chapter summaries. Good but resource above is more detailed.

Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel

Isaiah 40-66 and Jeremiah by Cundall, Arthur Ernest

Jeremiah and Lamentations; an introduction and commentary by Harrison, R. K.

Rosscup - This famous Old Testament scholar, a conservative, concludes that we have here the basic teachings of Jeremiah under several kings. Lamentations is done by an eye-witness of Jerusalem’s fall. In both books, Harrison offers a brief but well informed commentary that is usually quite helpful in getting at what the text means and not substituting redactional theory from another era.

Jeremiah : Prophet of judgment commentary by Jensen, Irving (132 pages) (Also has a self-study guide - Isaiah, Jeremiah : a self-study guide)

Rosscup - Jensen has written a concise evangelical commentary for those who wish for a simple survey. The work is premillennial in its orientation, and is done by a man well-known for his helpful expositional works.

Jeremiah (Bible Study Commentary) by Huey, F. B. 1981. 157 pp.

James Rosscup - Conservative and concise, using a good outline and giving pastors, Sunday School teachers and lay people in general a quick look in a fairly able way. Dyer, Jensen, Kidner and Harrison do it better among the briefer works in overall helpfulness, though this is not to downgrade Huey.

HCSB Study Bible : Holman Christian Standard Bible -

Conservative. Literal. Brief but good notes. Holman's excellent maps.

Believer's Bible Commentary - OT and NT - MacDonald, William (1995) 2480 pages. Conservative. Literal.

Often has very insightful comments. John MacArthur, says "Concise yet comprehensive - the most complete single-volume commentary I have seen." Warren Wiersbe adds "For the student who is serious about seeing Christ in the Word." One hour limit.

Rosscup - This work, originally issued in 1983, is conservative and premillennial, written to help teachers, preachers and people in every walk of life with different views, explanation and application. The 2-column format runs verse by verse for the most part, usually in a helpfully knowledgeable manner, and there are several special sections such as “Prayer” in Acts and “Legalism” in Galatians. The premillennial view is evident on Acts 1:6, 3:20, Romans 11:26, Galatians 6:16, Revelation 20, etc.

The King James Study Bible Second Edition (2013) (Thomas Nelson) contributing editors (only first is listed) include Wayne A. Brindle.

There is no restriction on length of time one can use, but there is no copy and paste function

Life Application Study Bible: Old Testament and New Testament: New Living Translation.

Has some very helpful notes especially with application of texts. 4,445 ratings

NKJV Study Bible: New King James Version Study Bible (formerly "The Nelson Study Bible - NKJV") by Radmacher, Earl D; Allen, Ronald Barclay; House, H. Wayne (1997, 2007); 917 ratings

Helpful notes. Conservative.

KJV Bible Commentary Judges - Hindson, Edward E; Kroll, Woodrow Michael.

This is not a study Bible per se, but a one volume commentary with over 3000 pages of comments covering the entire OT/NT. There is no restriction on length of time one can use, but there is no copy and paste function. These are excellent conservative comments that interpret Scripture from a literal perspective. User reviews - it generally gets 4/5 stars from users.

ESV Study Bible -

Good notes but not always literal in eschatology and the nation of Israel 6,004 ratings

Zondervan NIV Study Bible - (2011) 2570 pages

The David Jeremiah Study Bible - (2013) 2208 pages. Logos.com

"Drawing on more than 40 years of study, Dr. David Jeremiah has compiled a legacy resource that will make an eternal impact on generations to come. 8,000 study notes. Hundreds of enriching word studies"50+ Essentials of the Christian Faith" articles." 2,272 ratings

The Defender's Study Bible : King James Version by Morris, Henry M.

Excellent notes by well known creationist. 45 ratings

Ryrie Study Bible - Charles Ryrie (1978) 2142 pages.

Conservative. Notes are brief. 216 ratings

Wycliffe Bible Commentary - Charles Pfeiffer - 1560 pages (1962). 214 ratings

Conservative. Notes are generally verse by verse but brief.

Rosscup - Conservative and premillennial scholars here have been experts in their fields. The work contains brief introductions and attempts to give a verse-by-verse exposition, though it does skip over some verses. The treatments vary with the authors, but as a whole it is a fine one-volume commentary for pastors and students to use or give to a layman. Outstanding sections include, for example: Whitcomb on Ezra-Nehemiah-Esther; Culver on Daniel; Ladd on Acts; Harrison on Galatians; Johnson on I Corinthians; and Ryrie on the Johannine Epistles.

NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible. Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture Keener, Craig and Walton, John. Editors (2017)

Jeremiah by Davidson, R

Cyril Barber - Covers chaps. 1-20. Helps to explain the words of the Lord through Jeremiah. Contains insightful thoughts on the autobiographical and theological passages in these chapters.

The book of Jeremiah by Thompson, J. A. (John Arthur), 1913-2002

Cyril Barber - New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1980. This highly competent commentary deals thoroughly with every aspect of the prophet's life and ministry and stresses the importance of Judah's covenant relationship with the Lord. Readers are treated to a careful handling of the Hebrew text ably correlated with the DDS. Also they are given a definitive explanation of the backdrop of the times in the Josianic reformation

Rosscup - This is the most detailed evangelical commentary of recent vintage, competent in its lengthy introduction (pp. 1–136) on scholarly issues and views, details of text, exegesis, history and theology. Much of the commentary is lucidly helpful for the general reader as well as teachers and church workers. It does not take up a number of questions some scholars would like or give a bibliography of the length Thompson might offer. But he is helpful on archeology and the Near Eastern treaty concept. The perspective on prophecy is amillennial

Journal Articles or other discussions related to Jeremiah 30-33:

Sermons on Jeremiah 30-33

Jeremiah 30:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

COMFORT AND
CONSOLATION
Jeremiah 30-33

The word which came to Jeremiah - This phrase occurs 8 times in this book - Jer 11:1; 18:1; 21:1; 30:1; 34:1, 8; 35:1; 40:1. As we learn in Jer 31:26, this word came to Jeremiah in his sleep (cp Heb 1:1, Da 10:9, Zech 4:1).

Here is the Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible outline for Jeremiah 30-33...

The Messages of Comfort and Hope to God's People, Jeremiah 30:1-33:26

A. The Great Trial and Triumph of the Coming Days, Jer 30:1-24

B. The Great Gift of Restoration: A Picture of Reconciliation Between God and His Backsliding People, Jer 31:1-30

C. The Great Gift of a New Covenant: A Picture of Regeneration, of Being Given a New Heart, Jer 31:31-40

D. The Great Faith Needed in the Coming Days, Jer 32:1-44

E. The Absolute Surety of God's Promises in the Coming Days, Jer 33:1-26

This chapter introduces the section many commentators have referred to as "The Book of Consolation". Recall that the preceding 29 chapters have brought a primarily negative message, but this chapter is like a breath of fresh air, this pleasant prophecy proceeding from Jeremiah 30 through Jeremiah 33 with Jeremiah 30:3 serving essentially as a "summary" of this message of consolation. "A new day is about to dawn, and these chapters are filled with hope." (Michael Brown) E. W. Hengstenberg identifies Jeremiah 30-33 as “the grand hymn of Israel’s deliverance.”

Jeremiah 30-33 expands on the famous hope filled words of Jeremiah 29:11 "I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare (shalom) and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope." But as Jeremiah says in Jer 30:7 before the Jews will experience shalom, they must first endure a time of distress.

As an aside it must be emphasized that most of the so-called "top rated" commentaries on Jeremiah (see here) fail to see a future fulfillment in Jeremiah 30 and specifically Jeremiah 30:7 "the time of Jacob's distress/trouble." Ryken for example literally completely passes by Jer 30:7 seven with no comment! Frankly this is shocking, given that it is the second rated commentary by Challies!

Cundall writes that "Jeremiah 32:1-2 gives the time of this prophecy (Jer 30-33) and book - right before the final fall of Jerusalem. The historical context is clearly indicated in Jeremiah 32:1f. (cf. Jer 33:1). Jerusalem was in the final stages of an eighteen-month siege which ended with its destruction by the Babylonians. The situation, humanly speaking, could not have been darker, but at this very point God commands Jeremiah to speak out concerning the future."

Warren Wiersbe - Jeremiah 30-33 describes the glory of the dawning of a new day for the people of Israel, not only for the exiles in Babylon but also for the Jewish people in the latter days before the Lord returns. As you study, you’ll discover that Jeremiah had two “horizons” in view: the nearer horizon of the return of the exiles to Judah and the farther horizon of the regathering of Israel in the end times from the nations of the earth. (Be Decisive)

Spurgeon - Think no more of Jeremiah as exclusively the weeping prophet; for the flashes of his delight make the night of his sorrow brilliant with an aurora of heavenly brilliance.

Jeremiah 30:2 "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book.

Thus says the LORD - Again Jeremiah emphasizes these are God's words given to the prophet (cf "from the LORD" in Jer 30:1).

Jeremiah uses the phrase thus says the LORD 151x in 150 (more than 1/3 of all the OT uses!) - Jer 2:2, 5; 4:3, 27; 5:14; 6:6, 9, 16, 21-2; 7:3, 20-21; 8:4; 9:7, 15, 17, 22-22; 10:2, 18; 11:3, 11, 21-22; 12:14; 13:9, 12-13; 14:10, 15; 15:2, 19; 16:3, 5, 9; 17:5, 21; 18:11, 13; 19:1, 3, 11, 15; 20:4; 21:4, 8, 12; 22:1, 3, 6, 11, 18, 30; 23:2, 15-16, 38; 24:5, 8; 25:8, 27f, 32; 26:2, 4; 27:2, 4, 16, 19, 21; 28:2, 11, 13-14, 16; 29:4, 8, 10, 16-17, 21, 25, 31-32; 30:2, 5, 12, 18; 31:2, 7, 15-16, 23, 35, 37; 32:3, 14-15, 28, 36, 42; 33:2, 4, 10, 12, 17, 20, 25; 34:2, 4, 13, 17; 35:13, 17-19; 36:29-30; 37:7, 9; 38:2-3, 17; 39:16; 42:9, 15, 18; 43:10; 44:2, 7, 11, 25, 30; 45:2, 4; 47:2; 48:1, 40; 49:1, 7, 12, 28, 35; 50:18, 33; 51:1, 33, 36, 58.

God of Israel (49 uses are found in Jeremiah out of 199 verses in the OT) - In spite of the fact that they have sinned for centuries and the preceding chapters are filled with descriptions of their just retribution, God still associates Himself with them as the God of Israel. This title “the God of Israel,” shows God's special relation to and interest in Israel. The first use is in Exodus 5:1 = "And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’” They are still "His people" even after millennia of rejecting Him and rebelling against Him! This is supernatural everlasting love (Jer 31:3)! Jehovah was and will always be the God of Israel, a truth which soundly trumps the tragic teaching of replacement theology or supersessionism! Jehovah Sabaoth said it and that settles it whether non-literalists believe it or not!

God of Israel - 199 v - Ex 5:1; 24:10; 32:27; 34:23; Nu 16:9; Josh 7:13, 19f; 8:30; 9:18f; 10:40, 42; 13:14, 33; 14:14; 22:16, 24; 24:2, 23; Jdg 4:6; 5:3, 5; 6:8; 11:21, 23; 21:3; Ruth 2:12; 1 Sam 1:17; 2:30; 5:7f, 10f; 6:3, 5; 10:18; 14:41; 20:12; 23:10f; 25:32, 34; 2 Sam 7:27; 12:7; 23:3; 1 Kgs 1:30, 48; 8:15, 17, 20, 23, 25f; 11:9, 31; 14:7, 13; 15:30; 16:13, 26, 33; 17:1, 14; 22:53; 2 Kgs 9:6; 10:31; 14:25; 18:5; 19:15, 20; 21:12; 22:15, 18; 1 Chr 4:10; 5:26; 15:12, 14; 16:4, 36; 17:24; 22:6; 23:25; 24:19; 28:4; 29:10; 2 Chr 2:12; 6:4, 7, 10, 14, 16f; 11:16; 13:5; 15:4, 13; 20:19; 29:7, 10; 30:1, 5; 32:17; 33:16, 18; 34:23, 26; 36:13; Ezra 1:3; 3:2; 4:1, 3; 5:1; 6:14, 21f; 7:6, 15; 8:35; 9:4, 15; Ps 41:13; 59:5; 68:8, 35; 69:6; 72:18; 106:48; Isa 17:6; 21:10, 17; 24:15; 29:23; 37:16, 21; 41:17; 45:3, 15; 48:1f; 52:12;

Jeremiah 7:3, 21; 9:15; 11:3; 13:12; 16:9; 19:3, 15; 21:4; 23:2; 24:5; 25:15, 27; 27:4, 21; 28:2, 14; 29:4, 8, 21, 25; 30:2; 31:23; 32:14, 15, 36; 33:4; 34:2, 13; 35:13, 17-19; 37:7; 38:17; 39:16; 42:9, 15, 18; 43:10; 44:2, 7, 11, 25; 45:2; 46:25; 48:1; 50:18; 51:33

Ezek 8:4; 9:3; 10:19f; 11:22; 43:2; 44:2; Zeph 2:9; Mal 2:16 (2x in NT = Matt 15:31; Luke 1:68)

Note the repetition of synonymous terms - the word (Jer 30:1, saying (Jer 30:1), says (Jer 30:2), spoken (Jer 30:2). Whenever we read the living word, we are hearing the Living God speaking to us! Do we really understand that words on a page of the Bible are more than ink on paper, but are truly the Living God expressing Himself to us personally! When the Bible speaks, God speaks! Do we have ears to hear and hearts to obey?

John Trapp - These are the contents of this precious book; every leaf, nay, line, nay, letter whereof, droppeth myrrh and mercy. (Trapp)

Write all the words...in a book - These would serve as everlasting testimony to the faithfulness of God to keep His promises to bring them back from Babylon, but to restore them to the land of Israel in the last days. As Constable says "There needed to be a permanent record of these predictions since the people rejected the Lord’s words." (Read Jer 6:19, 8:9) The Temple and the nation of Judah would be destroyed but this letter would survive as not just a testament and testimony but a word that assured them they had a future and a hope! (Jer 29:11, Jer 31:17-note, cp Mt 24:35, Mk 13:31, Lk 21:33)

Michael Brown adds that "This command to write a document that will survive the city’s destruction is reminiscent of the journals and documents collected and compiled by Emanuel Ringelblum, the Warsaw Ghetto historian, and given the code name “Oneg Shabbat” (“O.S.,” in Hebrew meaning “Sabbath delight”). On the eve of the ghetto’s destruction at the end of the heroic Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (which also took Ringelblum’s life), the documents—some fifty thousand in total—were placed in three milk cans and metal boxes and hidden in cellars or buried underground with the hope that the memory of his people’s courageous deeds in life and in death would be preserved for posterity. Two of the three caches have been discovered, with many of the documents published. See, for example, Emmanuel Ringelblum, Notes from the Warsaw Ghetto (New York: Schocken, 1974); Joseph Kermish, ed., To Live with Honor and to Die with Honor!… Selected Documents from the Warsaw Ghetto Underground Archives “O.S.” [“Oneg Shabbat”] (Jerusalem: Yad Vashem), 1986. (See also “Let The World Read And Know” The Oneg Shabbat Archives)

Jeremiah 30:3 'For behold, days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.' The LORD says, 'I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers and they shall possess it.'"

DIVINE RESTORATION
OF ISRAEL'S FORTUNES

Jeremiah 30:3 is a prophecy which will be fulfilled at the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the last half of Daniel's Seventieth Week, at the end of the 3.5 year period ( the Great Tribulation) at which time the Messiah establishes His literal, earthly Millennial Kingdom.

Behold - Listen up! Pay attention! Why? Because their are two incomparable promises God gives to Israel - (1) I will restore the fortunes and (2) I will also bring them back to the land.

Behold (02009)(hinneh) is an interjection meaning behold, look, now; if. "It is used often and expresses strong feelings, surprise, hope, expectation, certainty, thus giving vividness depending on its surrounding context." (Baker) Hinneh generally directs our mind to the text, imploring the reader to give it special attention. In short, the Spirit is trying to arrest our attention!

Spurgeon reminds us that "Behold is a word of wonder; it is intended to excite admiration. Wherever you see it hung out in Scripture, it is like an ancient sign-board, signifying that there are rich wares within, or like the hands which solid readers have observed in the margin of the older Puritanic books, drawing attention to something particularly worthy of observation." I would add, behold is like a divine highlighter, a divine underlining of an especially striking or important text. It says in effect "Listen up, all ye who would be wise in the ways of Jehovah!"

In Jer 2:32 Israel had forgotten God days without number and yet now we see the everlasting love of God (Jer 31:3) manifest in His remembering them in the "days (that) are coming!" In short, they had repeatedly spurned Jehovah, but because of His unconditional covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (cp Abrahamic versus Mosaic), He would yet remember them (contrast what He promised not to remember in Jer 31:34)! Amazing love! Indeed, amazing grace!

Days are coming (See discussion of "Last Days") - This section predicts that better days are coming for God's chosen people. And notice Jehovah does not just restrict His promise to Judah (Jer 1:18) but includes the northern kingdom of Israel which had been taken into captivity by the Assyrians more 100 years earlier in 722BC. As an aside these 10 northern tribes are often called the Ten Lost Tribes but here we see they are not lost to the all seeing eyes (Pr 15:3-note) of the omniscient One!

Moody Bible Commentary - The phrase the days are coming is an eschatological marker, looking forward to the end times and goes beyond the immediate future of the return from Babylon (Jer 3:16; cf. comments on Jer 16:14-16; 23:5-6; 31:3, 31; 31:27; 50:1). However, as in all prophetic material one must keep in mind the principle of "foreshortening" or "telescoping." That is, though Jeremiah saw all these predictions as one continuous series of events, they were fulfilled over a long period with intervening gaps of time. Thus, for example, prophecies about the suffering Messiah and the ruling Messiah appear together, though they describe two different advents of Christ (e.g., Isa 9:6-7-note; Isa 61:1-2) separated by at least 2,000 years. In the same way Jeremiah described the restoration of Judah after the Babylonian captivity and the still-future restoration of Judah in the Messianic Age within some of the same passage (Jeremiah 31:15-20, cf. comments on Jer 50:1). Therefore one should be cautious in interpreting the various parts of Jeremiah's predictions about "the coming days" as having already been fulfilled at the return from the Babylonian captivity (see comments on Jer 50:1).

Days are coming - This pregnant phrase is found 23x in the Scripture with 15 of the uses in Jeremiah. - 1Sa 2:31; 2Ki 20:17; Isa 39:6; Jer 7:32; 9:25; 16:14; 19:6; 23:5, 7; Jer 30:3; 31:27, 31, 38; 33:14; 48:12; 49:2; 51:47, 52; Amos 4:2; 8:11; 9:13; Lk 23:29; Heb 8:8.

Note especially the 5 uses of days are coming in this section announcing coming comfort and consolation - Jer 30:3, Jer 31:27, 31, 38, Jer 33:14.

Digression on Jeremiah 3:15-18 - Earlier in the book of Jeremiah Jehovah prophesied of better days when He promised "Then I will give them "shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding." (Jer 3:15) "In those days" they won't miss the Ark of the Covenant (Why? Because the symbol will be seen in the substance of their Savior) (Jer 3:16), and they will call Jerusalem "the Throne of the LORD and all nations will be gathered to it." (Jer 3:17, cp Ezek 43:7 which also picture the Millennial Temple as God's throne). And finally "In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel." (Jeremiah 3:18) So since 931BC the nation of Israel had been divided, but here God predicts their reunification as a nation under God, a fulfillment which awaits the return of their Messiah. Sadly the ESV Study Bible totally skips the millennium and interprets this passage as being fulfilled in the heavenly Jerusalem, an interpretation with which I strongly disagree (e.g., in Jer 3:16 God says to Judah "it shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land." - If taken literally, clearly He is referring to the land of Israel, the Promised Land, and in this context does not refer to heaven!) On the other hand I agree with the Reformation Study Bible which interprets in those days accurately writing "A future messianic age is now in view (cf. Isa 2:1–5)....The importance of the ark will be diminished because the Lord will be present in a new way....No longer is the ark the Lord’s throne (Ex. 25:22; 1Sa 4:4), but Jerusalem itself: the Lord rules the whole earth from the midst of His people (Zech. 2:10–12)." The Holman Christian Standard Study Bible adds an interesting note on Jeremiah 3:16 = "The future messianic era is signaled by the introductory phrase in those days (see also "in time to come," Jer 30:24; "the days are coming," Jer 31:27,31,38; and "after those days," Jer 31:33). Israel and Judah would multiply and increase in the land in this messianic era (Ed: Synonymous with the Millennium). The ark of the covenant, the most central and precious symbol at the heart of Israel's worship, will not even be remembered because something (Ed: Someone! Messiah Himself!) more significant will take its place." Hindson and Kroll are even more direct commenting on Jeremiah 3:16-18 that "The Old Testament prophets refused to accept the divided kingdom as final. Here, Jeremiah saw the reunification of both Israel (Jer 3:14) and Judah (Jer 3:18). This is a literal return to a literal Zion. The words of this passage are too plain and explicit to spiritualize (cf. Jeremiah 30–31) (KJV Bible Commentary).

When - This is an expression of time. It means at that time (those days). When are those days? Paul explains "I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until (expression of time) the fulness of the Gentiles has come in; and thus all Israel will be saved (all the Jewish remnant = those that believe in the Messiah, the Anointed One, by grace through faith - Eph 2:8-9-note); just as it is written, “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.” “AND THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.” (Ro 11:25-27-note) In the latter half (3.5 years, 1260 days, 42 months) of Daniel's Seventieth Week, specifically at the end of the period which Jesus designated as the Great Tribulation, (Mt 24:21, cp Rev 7:14-note) the Messiah "will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory." (Mt 24:30, cf Rev 19:11-16-note) Jesus explained to his Jewish disciples (Mt 24:1) that "unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect (Jews and Gentiles) those days shall be cut short." (Mt 24:22)

Tony Garland commenting on the Great Tribulation writes "It is interesting to note the accuracy which attends predictions made by those who take Scripture at face value. Walter Scott (1796-1861), writing well in advance of the establishment of Israel in 1948, says of this verse: “ ‘The great tribulation’ is yet future. It pre-supposes the Jewish nation restored to Palestine in unbelief, to serve Gentile political ends, and brought there by the active intervention of a great maritime power (Isa. 18).” Since 1948, Scott’s words, which reflect God’s Word, have come to pass."

Related Resource - Second Coming

I will - God is moved by His own being to show compassion and grant consolation. This phrase "I will" saturates the consoling section of Jeremiah 30-33 where they are used 59 times in 40 verses. Gaebelein refers to "I will" as God's "word of sovereign grace." Jehovah says what He will do. They are the “I wills” of Israel’s Hope and coming Glory." Some say "God said and I believe it so that settles it." Even better is God said it, that settles it, whether I believe it or not!

RESTORE THE FORTUNES
OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH

The restoration of fortunes is a very important concept in the Old Testament and most of the 20 occurrences of this phrase apply to Israel. The idea of this Hebrew phrase is "to turn a turning" signifying a reversal of divine judgment and replacement with restoration to a state of well-being and prosperity. Talk about amazing grace (God giving what is not deserved)!

Restore the fortunes = “turning back the captivity” or “turning back the turning”.

Here are some other translations of the phrase I will restore the fortunes = "when I will reverse the plight" (NET), "I will bring back the captivity" (Lxx English), "I will bring again the captivity" (KJV), "I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah" (NKJV); "I will restore the fortunes" (ESV), "I will bring my people, Israel and Judah back from captivity" (NIV), ""when I will restore the fortunes" (with a note "will end the captivity") (Holman CSB), "I will turn the captivity of my people Israel and Judah" (Darby), "I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity" (GWT); "when I will change the lot of my people" (NAB); "I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah" (NRSV)

Charles Feinberg on restore the fortunes - I will bring back from captivity - This sense accords well with the theme of Jeremiah 30-33. However, there are instances - e.g., Job 42:10 (with regard to his misfortunes); Ezek 16:53 (a prediction concerning Sodom) where captivity is not in view. In such eases a derived meaning such as reverse or restore the fortunes fits well. (Expositor's Bible Commentary, 1984 edition)

The NET Note explains the Hebrew idiom “restore your fortunes” noting first that it can also be translated "I will bring you back from exile.” This idiom occurs twenty-six times in the OT and in several cases it is clearly not referring to return from exile but restoration of fortunes (e.g., Job 42:10; Hos 6:11–7:1; Jer 33:11). It is often followed as here by “regather” or “bring back” (e.g., Jer 30:3; Ezek 29:14) so it is often misunderstood as “bringing back the exiles.” The versions (LXX, Vulg., Tg., Pesh.) often translate the idiom as “to go away into captivity,” deriving the noun from שְׁבִי (shévi, “captivity”). However, the use of this expression in Old Aramaic documents of Sefire parallels the biblical idiom: “the gods restored the fortunes of the house of my father again” (J. A. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Inscriptions of Sefire [BibOr], 100–101, 119–20). The idiom means “to turn someone’s fortune, bring about change” or “to reestablish as it was” (HALOT 1386 s.v. 3.c). In Ezek 16:53 it is paralleled by the expression “to restore the situation which prevailed earlier.” This amounts to restitutio in integrum, which is applicable to the circumstances surrounding the return of the exiles.

Restore (turn back) (07725)(shub/sub) describes movement back to a point of departure. In Jer 30:3 shub is translated in the Septuagint (Lxx) with apostrepho which means to cause to turn from incorrect to correct behavior and so to turn back or to change one's belief or behavior. It is also noteworthy that apostrepho is the very verb Paul used to describe the time of national restoration of Israel in Romans writing " thus all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE (apostrepho) UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.” (Ro 11:26-note ).

Shub is used in Ps 23:3 when David declared that it is the Good Shepherd Who "restores (Lxx = epistrepho) my soul." Similarly in Ps 19:7 he declared that it is "law of the LORD (which) is perfect, restoring (Lxx = epistrepho) the soul." The Hebrew word shub combines two requisites of repentance - a turn from evil and a turn to good. Shub conveys the idea of a radical change in one's attitude toward sin. It Implies a conscious moral separation and personal decision to forsake sin and enter fellowship with God. We see a striking example in Nineveh in Jonah 3:8 ("turn from his wicked way" = Lxx = apostrepho, same verb used here in Jer 30:3).

The phrase "restore your fortunes" is a Hebrew idiom (2 Hebrew words = shub shebuth - see NET Note above) found over 20 times in the OT. In every usage Jehovah is the Subject, the One doing or carrying out the restoration. The recipient of the restoration is most often Israel (and Judah), but other recipients of restoration include Job, Moab, Ammon, Elam and Egypt.

Deuteronomy 30:3 then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you.

Job 42:10 And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the LORD increased all that Job had twofold.

Psalm 14:7 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores His captive people, Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.

Psalm 53:6 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores His captive people, Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

Psalm 85:1 For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. O Lord, Thou didst show favor to Thy land; Thou didst restore the captivity of Jacob.

Psalm 126:1 A Song of Ascents. When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion, We were like those who dream.

Psalm 126:4 Restore our captivity, O LORD, As the streams in the South.

Jeremiah 29:14 (Read the preceding context Jer 29:11-13) ‘And I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

MacArthur - The Lord would answer their prayer, by returning the Jews to their land, cf. Daniel’s example and God’s response (Da 9:4–27). Fulfillment would occur in the era of Ezra and Nehemiah, and beyond this in even fuller measure after the Second Advent of their Messiah (cf. Da 2:35, 45; 7:13, 14, 27; 12:1–3, 13).

Charles Dyer - Once they had turned back to the Lord, He would gather them from all the nations where they had been banished and restore them to their land (Jeremiah 29:14). The Jewish people did not return from Babylon because of spiritual revival, but because of Cyrus's decree (Ed: 2Chr 36:23, Ezra 1:1). However, in the future the whole people of Israel will call upon the Lord and recognize Jesus as their Savior (Zech 12:10) (Ed: I would qualify this statement by Dyer -- not all Israel will be saved for 2/3's will perish as stated in Zech 13:8,9. Only 1/3 would call on Messiah and be saved -- this 1/3 is part of the believing Jewish remnant). This restoration is from all the nations, so it seems to look beyond the return from Babylonian exile to the future regathering of Israel at the end of days when Messiah will establish His kingdom (Ed: Excellent, irrefutable point!). The purpose of casting Israel out of their land, whether to Babylon or after the Roman expulsion, was more than judgment for sin. The larger purpose was to force Israel back to her God (cf. Deut 30:1-10, Ed: cp the idea of the purging wrought by the "Refinier's fire" in Da 12:10). Whenever we face difficulties in our lives, we must remember God has a good plan for us, a plan that includes even the difficulties themselves (cp Ge 50:20, Ro 8:28). We should call on Him, pray to Him, and know that He is listening. Instead of being angry and shutting God out when we encounter trials, we should seek Him with our whole heart, keep reading the Bible, stay in fellowship in our local church, and anticipate a good outcome from the Lord (Jeremiah 29:11-14; Romans 8:28; James 1:2-4; Hebrews 10:19-25). (Moody Bible Commentary) (Bolding added for emphasis)

Jeremiah 30:3-note ‘For, behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.’ The LORD says, ‘I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall possess it.’”

Jeremiah 30:18-note “Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob And have compassion on his dwelling places; And the city shall be rebuilt on its ruin, And the palace shall stand on its rightful place.

Jeremiah 31:23-note Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Once again they will speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I restore their fortunes, ‘The LORD bless you, O abode of righteousness, O holy hill!’

Jeremiah 32:44-note 'Men will buy fields for money, sign and seal deeds, and call in witnesses in the land of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland and in the cities of the Negev; for I will restore their fortunes,' declares the LORD."

Jeremiah 33:7-note 'I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel and will rebuild them as they were at first.

Jeremiah 33:11-note the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, “Give thanks to the LORD of hosts, For the LORD is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting”; and of those who bring a thank offering into the house of the LORD. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,’ says the LORD.

Jeremiah 33:26-note then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.'"

Jeremiah 48:47 “Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab In the latter days,” declares the LORD. Thus far the judgment on Moab.

Jeremiah 49:6 “But afterward I will restore The fortunes of the sons of Ammon,” Declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 49:39 ‘But it will come about in the last days That I shall restore the fortunes of Elam,’” Declares the LORD.

Lamentations 2:14 Your prophets have seen for you False and foolish visions; And they have not exposed your iniquity So as to restore you from captivity, But they have seen for you false and misleading oracles.

Ezekiel 16:53-note “Nevertheless, I will restore their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and along with them your own captivity,

Ezekiel 29:14 “And I shall turn the fortunes of Egypt and shall make them return to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin; and there they will be a lowly kingdom.

Ezekiel 39:25-note Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Now I shall restore the fortunes of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I shall be jealous for My holy name.

Hosea 6:11+ Also, O Judah, there is a harvest appointed for you, When I restore the fortunes of My people.

Joel 3:1+ “For behold, in those days and at that time, When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

Moody Bible Commentary - In those days and at that time indicates an eschatological period. Then, the Lord will restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, initiating that blessing by judging Israel's enemies. He will gather all the nations... to the valley of Jehoshaphat (lit., "Yahweh's Judgment," cf. Joel 3:12). These are all the Gentile nations that have oppressed God's people (cf. Ps 83:1-12; 110:6; Isa 66:18; Jeremiah 25:32; Ezek 39:21; Mic 4:11-12). The place of judgment is the valley of Jehoshaphat (lit., "Yahweh Judges," cf. Joel 3:12). This is the only mention of this name in Scripture but likely refers to the fertile plain of the Jezreel Valley below the ancient city of Megiddo, north and east of the Carmel Range. Here the armies of the world will muster at the end of the tribulation period for the campaign of Har-Magedon or Armageddon (cf. Revelation 16:16). These armies will then march to Jerusalem and besiege it (Zech 14:2).

Amos 9:14+ “Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, And they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them, They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, And make gardens and eat their fruit.

Zephaniah 2:7 And the coast will be For the remnant of the house of Judah, They will pasture on it. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening; For the LORD their God will care for them And restore their fortune.

Zephaniah 3:20-note “At that time I will bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” Says the LORD.

David Guzik - This is a promise stated many times before and after in Jeremiah. Yet as this prophecy develops it seems clear that this return from captivity is later and greater than the relatively soon return from the Babylonian exile. This is especially indicated by the last words of this chapter, which tell us that in the latter days you will consider it (Jeremiah 30:24). Jeremiah here looked beyond his present day and near future to see the latter days. (Jeremiah 30 Commentary)

Fortunes (07622) (shebuth from shabah = to take captive but some think it originates from shub = to return, restore) is a feminine noun which has two main meanings in the OT, (1) captivity, captives (esp Nu 21:29 referring to Moab), implying control and oppression and (2) fortunes, assets (primarily possessions, materials, and property though not exclusively so which will make life easier and more secure). One could see how both senses are meant in some passages because to restore someone from captivity is tantamount to bringing them into a place of good fortune.

Baker - This word conveys either a state of exile, such as being taken for a spoil of war, or the subjects of such captivity. The chief use was in declaring the liberating power of the Lord in releasing His people from such banishment (Deut. 30:3; Jer. 33:7; Hos. 6:11).

Shebuth - 28 verses (all except Nu 21:29 are listed above under discussion of the Hebrew idiom "restore fortunes") -

Nu 21:29; Dt 30:3; Job 42:10; Ps 14:7; 53:6; 85:1; 126:1, 4; Jer 29:14; 30:3, 18; 31:23; 32:44; 33:7, 11, 26; 48:47; 49:6, 39; Lam 2:14; Ezek 16:53; 29:14; 39:25; Hos 6:11; Joel 3:1; Amos 9:14; Zeph 2:7; 3:20

Stephen Miller - Exiled a thousand miles away in what is now Iraq, Jews lament the loss of their nation. They also fear they have become God's "unchosen people." But Jeremiah says they still have reason to hope. Each Bible prophet who predicted doom for the Jewish nation—Jeremiah included—assured the people that God would give them a second chance. God would save a remnant and bring them home to rebuild Israel. (Ed: But this was only a foreshadowing of a greater restoration of fortunes, when Messiah returns and "all Israel will be saved" Ro 11:26!) (Complete Guide to the Bible)

ISRAEL AND JUDAH

Israel and Judah - When one interprets this literally, clearly God is speaking of the two divisions of His once united nation. If one does not accept a literal reading of the Scripture, phrases such as "Israel and Judah" become a bit difficult to interpret and forces the interpreter to speculate rather than see the text for what it say. As an example of the problem for non-literal interpreters, Temper Longman writes "The fact that both the people of Israel and Judah are mentioned is of interest (Ed: That's an understatement! It is of critical importance in interpreting the text accurately!). It may indicate that the earlier exiles from the northern kingdom preserved some measure of identity at this stage in their captivity. Or it could simply be a way to refer to those who were exiled in 605, 597, and who will be exiled in 586 as now representative of both (and perhaps some northerners had escaped to the south after 722B.C.)." Do you see how Longman is forced to "force" his interpretation? It does not even man good sense. Remember - if the plain sense of a text makes good sense in context, seek to make no other sense out of it or you will likely end up with nonsense! Listen to Challies' fourth best commentator Jack Dearman's comment on Jeremiah 30:4–7. - "This portion of chapter 30 is a bit cryptic with respect to the future turmoil it presupposes. A rhetorical question in verse 6 suggests that the dismay on the part of human beings will not be permanent. The point is that Jacob will be saved from a time of trouble." And that's all Dearman says on this incredible passage. Dear reader, the point I would like to make is that you must be very discerning, especially when studying the Bible books that were prophetic at the time they were written (Jeremiah, Isaiah, etc). And you need to be especially careful to be be swayed by lists of the "best commentaries" as it is obvious those lists usually reflect more the critics theological leaning than they do an assessment of the literal interpretation of the text! See similar comments on various commentaries available on the great prophecy of Isaiah. In fairness, it should be noted that Challies' fifth rated commentary on Jeremiah by Bruce MacKay is an exception for on Jer 30:7 he comments "Mention is specifically made of Israel, which had been scattered by the Assyrians (2 Kgs. 17:6), to show that the reintegration of the fractured people of God would be effected in this time of future blessing." Unfortunately, although this is a "good start," MacKay makes absolutely no mention of any association with the coming Great Tribulation.

My people Israel and Judah - Both divisions of the nation are mentioned 36 times in Jeremiah's prophecy, even though Israel (the northern 10 tribes) had been removed into exile by Assyria over a century earlier. Notice also that Jehovah uses the possessive pronoun "My." Yes they have both been unfaithful but clearly He has not "unchosen" them! Israel and Judah are mentioned 36 times in Jeremiah - Jer 3:8, Jer 3:11, Jer 3:18, Jer 5:11, Jer 9:26, Jer 11:10, Jer 11:17, Jer 12:14, Jer 13:11, Jer 19:3, Jer 23:6, Jer 24:5, Jer 27:21, Jer 30:3, Jer 30:4, Jer 31:23, Jer 31:27, Jer 31:31, Jer 32:30, Jer 32:32, Jer 33:4, Jer 33:7, Jer 33:14, Jer 34:2, Jer 35:13, Jer 35:17, Jer 36:2, Jer 37:7, Jer 42:15, Jer 44:2, Jer 44:7, Jer 44:11, Jer 50:4, Jer 50:20, Jer 50:33, Jer 51:5.

Guzik writes that "The mention of both kingdoms is another hint that this written prophecy speaks of something later and greater than the return from Babylonian exile. It is true that the Kingdom of Judah did contain people from all the tribes (2 Chronicles 11:13-16) so these words don't demand a greater fulfillment, but they do suggest it." (Jeremiah 30 Commentary)

The LORD says, 'I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers and they shall possess it. - God speaks another "I will!" At the time Jeremiah wrote this was prophecy this prophecy was entirely future. While some might seek to find fulfillment in the return of the Jews to their homeland after the 70 years of Babylonian captivity, the promise is given not just to Judah but to Israel. Therefore, the return from Babylonian exile could not be the complete fulfillment of this prophecy. I would posit a partial fulfillment of this prophecy in May, 1948 when the United Nations passed a vote establishing Israel as a nation once again in the the Land (Israeli Declaration of Independence), " that (God) gave to their forefathers!" And yet the context (e.g., Jer 30:8 Israel today does not fulfill this promise) speaks of a yet future day when Messiah , the Stone, returns to crush the Gentile empires, even as predicted by the prophet Daniel (Da 2:34-36-note , Da 2:44-45-note).

Jehovah says I will bring them back - This promise speaks of divinely empowered restoration and regathering of the reunited nation of Israel back to the Promised Land. If God said it, it will come to pass. As noted above, this prophecy cannot refer to the return of the Jews from exile in Babylon because Israel (the northern 10 tribes) was not exiled to Babylon but to Assyria! To state that this prophecy is fulfilled in Judah's return from the Babylonian exile is to choose to ignore the plain, normal reading of the Biblical text!

HCSB Study Bible Note on bring them back to the land...and they shall possess it - (This promise) looks to a time beyond the future return from the exile. The exiles, when they returned, retook only a small portion of the ancestral lands. Thus the restoration God promised here looks beyond this event. (HCSB Notes)

The Land...I gave to their forefathers - The land is the land of Palestine promised to their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob which is reiterated again and again in the OT (the following is but a sampling of passages in which the land is promised to Jacob or Israel)....

Genesis 12:7 "And the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.

Comment - This promise to Abraham was repeated in Ge 13:15. The verb "give" appears >1000x in the OT, with greatest frequency in relation to God's giving the land of Palestine to Israel, a truth here announced for the first time but repeated in approximately 150 OT passages from the days of the patriarchs to the return from the exile (Neh 9:35,36) and even incorporated in the Decalogue (Ex 20:12).

Genesis 15:18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:

Comment - "The boundaries of the Promised Land are now given for the first time. This promise has not yet been fulfilled but will be when Christ returns." (Ryrie)

Genesis 17:8 (cp Ge 12:7) God promised Abraham "And I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."

Ps 105:9 The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac. 10 Then He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant, 11 Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan As the portion of your inheritance,"

Ge 28:4 (Isaac passes the land blessing to Jacob) "May He also give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you; that you may possess the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham."

Ge 28:13 (Jehovah speaking to Jacob) And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants.

Ge 35:12 "And the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, And I will give the land to your descendants after you."

Amos 9:14 "Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, And they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them, They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, And make gardens and eat their fruit. 15 "I will also plant them on their land, And they will not again be rooted out from their land Which I have given them," Says the LORD your God.

Comment - Notice that this promise applies, not to the return from Babylon, but to the final restoration in the last days (Amos 9:13 = Messianic age, cp Jer 30:3), when they will never again "be pulled up out of their land."

The land...they shall possess it - In the end times when Messiah returns to establish His kingdom on earth (not the New Earth of Revelation 21-22), Jacob (representing the reunited nation of Israel now composed only of a believing remnant) will receive the land. The prophet Ezekiel echoes this promise of the gift of the land to Israel...

Ezekiel 37:25-note "They will live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons' sons, forever; and David My servant will be their prince forever.

Comment - A normal reading of this prophecy is clearly a promise to Jacob (Israel) that they will live on the land given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Notice that there is no mention of the church in this promise. The land was promised to Israel and Israel will receive the land.

John MacArthur on Jeremiah 30:3 - This theme verse gives in capsule form the pledge of chaps. 30–33. God’s restoration of the whole nation to their own land (cf. Jer 29:10; Am 9:14, 15; Ro 11:26) has in view a final regathering never to be removed again and not just a return in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah (Jer 30:8, 9; 31:31-34; 32:39, 40; 33:8, 9, 15, 16). (MacArthur Study Bible)

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Note that the remainder of the comments on this verse (below) are all from David Baron's book - The Jewish Problem.

Jewish Believer David Baron
Analyzes Jeremiah 30:3

The first item in that program is Restoration - "when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.' (Jeremiah 30:3).

Note the frequent reiteration of the august and glorious name Jehovah in this, as in the other verses of this prophecy; as if to give credibility to the announcements made, and to test our faith in the accomplishment of those things for which the eternal, unchangeable name, Jehovah, stands pledged.

Now, what are we to do with this and other prophecies of a Restoration of the people of Israel to the land of their fathers?

THREE METHODS OF
INTERPRETATION

There are several methods of interpretation (Baron briefly refutes three methods) which seem alike unsatisfactory, and are perhaps responsible for a great deal of Jewish and Gentile unbelief.

(1). There is, first of all, the old-fashioned way of so-called spiritualizing the prophecies—making Israel and Zion to mean the Church, and The Land to signify heaven ; but I confess this system of interpretation has no consistency about it, and makes the Word of God the most meaningless and unintelligible book in the world. For instance, we read here

"I will bring again the captivity of My people Israel and Judah…and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers." (Jer 30:3KJV)

If Israel be the Church, who is Judah? If Judah be the Church, who is Israel? What is the "captivity" the Church has endured? And where is "the land" from which the Church has been driven out, and to which it will return? At the end of the prophecy we read:

"Behold, days are coming," declares Jehovah, "when the city shall be rebuilt for the LORD from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. And the measuring line shall go out farther straight ahead to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah. And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse-gate toward the east, shall be holy to Jehovah; it shall not be plucked up, or overthrown anymore forever." (Jeremiah 31:38-40)

In what particular locality in heaven are the tower of Hananel and the corner gate? And what will our allegorical Interpretations make of the hill Gareb, and Goah, and the brook Kidron? All these are known to me in the environs of the literal Jerusalem in Canaan; but I confess some difficulty in locating them in heavenly places. If Israel does not mean Israel, and "the land God gave to the fathers" does not mean Palestine, then I do not know what is meant.

The announcement is: "He that scatters Israel will gather him." (Jer 31:10) Now, when it comes to scattering—of course, this is allowed to refer to literal Israel, to the Jews, "scattered and peeled"; but when, in the same sentence, a gathering of the same people is mentioned—oh, this is the gathering of the spiritual Israel. What consistency or honesty, I pray, is there in such interpretations!

To quote Bishop J C Ryle...

To what may we attribute the loose system of interpreting the language of the Psalms and prophets, and the extravagant expectations of the universal conversion of the world by the preaching of the Gospel, which may be observed in many Christian writers?

To nothing so much, I believe, as to the habit of inaccurately interpreting the word "Israel," and the consequent application of promises to the Gentile churches, with which they have nothing to do.

The least errors in theology always bear fruit. Never does man take up an incorrect principle of interpreting Scripture without that principle entailing awkward consequences, and coloring the whole tone of his religion.

I do not deny that Israel was a peculiar typical people, and that God's relations to Israel were meant to be a type of relations to His believing people all over the world. I do not forget that it is written, "As in water face reflects face, So the heart of man reflects man." (Proverbs 27:19) and that whatever spiritual truths are taught in prophecy concerning Israelitish hearts, are applicable to the hearts of Gentiles. I would have it most distinctly understood that God's dealings with individual Jews and Gentiles are precisely one and the same. Without repentance, faith in Christ, and holiness of heart, no individual Jew or Gentile shall ever be saved.

What I protest against is, the habit of allegorizing plain sayings of the Word of God concerning the future history of the nation Israel, and explaining away the fulness of their contents in order to accommodate them to the Gentile Church.

I believe the habit to be unwarranted by anything in Scripture, and to draw after it a long train of evil consequences. (From “Scattered and Gathered" by the late Dr. Ryle, Bishop of Liverpool) (Ed: Click for similar quote from C H Spurgeon in 1864)

Like thousands more, the writer has in the infinite grace of God been brought out of the darkness of Rabbinical Judaism (Ed: David Baron is referring to himself) into the marvelous light and liberty of the glorious Gospel of Christ. He accepted Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah of Israel and Saviour of the world, on the ground of a literal interpretation of the prophecies concerning Him; and he cannot consistently, without doing outrage to his convictions, accept one principle of interpretation for one set of prophecies which have already been fulfilled, and another principle of interpretation for another set of prophecies not yet fulfilled. Rather, he honestly believes that the manner of fulfillment of those prophecies which are now history, supplies the only sound basis for the interpretation of those prophecies with regard to Israel and the kingdom which yet await their fulfillment. "Though He tarry, wait for Him" (cp Hab 2:3); and when the fulness of time (Gal 4:4) is come, it will be seen that though man's systems and principles of interpretation be diverse, God's manner of fulfilling His promises is one.

(2) Another way of dealing with these prophecies of a Restoration is to make them refer to the gathering of the Jews into the Church. But this position also is untenable. The Jews will not be nationally gathered into the Church; for even in the New Testament we have the Jews, as well as the Gentiles, as nations, running parallel with, and continuing separate from, the Church throughout all the period of its history on earth; (1Corinthians 10:32); and in Ro 11:25-note, the inspired apostle is commissioned to announce to the Gentile believers the fact that all Israel will not be saved; that the "partial hardening" which has befallen that nation will continue until after the "fulness of the Gentiles has come in."

"He that scattered Israel": From whence? From the Church or Gospel blessings? No, no; but from Palestine. "Will gather him:" (Jer 31:10KJV) Where to? why, surely, to the land which He gave to their fathers, from which Israel, on account of disobedience, was banished and scattered.

(3) But perhaps the most plausible way of explaining such predictions is to represent them as having had their fulfillment at the restoration from Babylon, since they were given before the Babylonish captivity. To this I reply that this and other predictions are in terms of which we vainly seek an adequate fulfillment at that period. It may be as well to give here a few reasons in justification of the position that there is a future Restoration of the literal Israel to the land which by unconditional promise and covenant was given to them as an everlasting possession. (Ge 15:7-21; Ge 18:7, 8, 19, 21)

SIX REASONS FOR A
LITERAL RESTORATION

I. The Restoration promised here is a complete one:

"I will bring again the captivity of My people Israel and Judah;" and the number who will return shall be "a great company," (Jeremiah 31:8) so that even the whole of the promised land will not be large enough for them. (Zec 10:10, Isa 44:19-20) The same appears in that remarkable prophecy of Isaiah 11:1-16 (note), which, on whatever system of interpretation we adopt, is admittedly future in its application, where "the outcasts of Israel" and "the dispersed of Judah" are to be gathered together. The same appears again in Ezekiel 37:1-28 (note), where there is a future announced for the whole twelve tribes reunited in one kingdom. Many more passages might be cited which speak of a complete Restoration of the entire nation in terms most unequivocal and minute; which certainly could not be said to have received their fulfillment in the—comparatively speaking—mere handful who returned from Babylon.

II. After the Restoration predicted in this and other prophecies, Israel is to enjoy at least national independence, if not supremacy.

'For it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah of Hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him " (Jeremiah 30:8KJV).

Backsliding Israel, because he served not Jehovah with joyfulness and with gladness of heart for the abundance of all things, was to be taught a lesson by comparison ; and was given over by God to be in servitude for a time to the Gentiles.

"Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies, which Jehovah shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in want of all things; and He shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck" (Deut 28:47-48KJV).

But this iron yoke of Gentile oppression was not to last forever. This is clear even from the solemn words of the Lord Jesus, when, after announcing the fact that Israel "shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations,' (Lk 21:24a) He suspends in the midst of the darkness of threatened judgment the bright star of hope which ultimately shall banish the darkness, and cause judgment to be forgotten in the abundance of mercy; inasmuch as He announces a limit to the time of Israel's servitude to Gentile oppression :

"Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles UNTIL (crucial time phrase ) the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."' (Luke 21:24).

And when they be fulfilled, the yoke will be broken, and Israel will once more not only be free and independent, but nationally supreme among the nations.'

But has this ever yet taken place? Let those who point to the restoration from Babylon as an exhaustive fulfilment of these prophecies compare, for instance, such a passage as Isaiah 14:1-3, where we read that

"Jehovah will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of Jehovah for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives whose captives they were ; and they shall rule over their oppressors."

Let them compare this with Nehemiah 9:36, 37, which describes the actual condition of the people after their restoration :

"Behold, we are slaves today, And as to the land which You gave to our fathers to eat of its fruit and its bounty, Behold, we are slaves in it. Its abundant produce is for the kings Whom You have set over us because of our sins; They also rule over our bodies And over our cattle as they please, So we are in great distress.”

III. According to the express declaration of the prophet Isaiah, there is to be a "second" Restoration, which is to be universal in its character.

"And it shall to come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth" (Isaiah 11:11-12-note).

Now, there has been no second Restoration as yet; neither could the return from Babylon be said to be a gathering from the "four corners of the earth"; that captivity having been local in its character, and of short duration. Never before the dispersion inaugurated by Titus, could the scattering of the people be said to have been universal; hence they could never before have been gathered from the four corners of the earth.

IV. Israel has never yet in all its fulness possessed the land which God has promised them; and Palestine may still be said to be " the land of promise."

Its boundaries are given in Ge 15:18; Ezek 47:13, Ezek 48:1. Dr. Alex. Keith, author of " The Evidence of Prophecy" has given us the results of his personal investigations and measurements in his book called "The Land of Israel," according to which the extent of the promised land is 300,000 square miles.

The infidel Voltaire is said to have scoffingly remarked on Ex 3:8, where God says that He has come down to deliver Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land into a "good land and a large," that the God of the Jews must have been a petty God, because He gave them a land not larger in size than Wales, and called it a " large land." But this is only in keeping with the style of infidel scoffers in general, who find it easy to ridicule things about which they know very little. It is only ignorance that could represent the land called in Ex 3:8, a "large land " as being no larger in size than Wales. Why, it is twice and a half as large as Great Britain and Ireland. And yet Christians who do not believe in a future possession by Israel of the whole land which God has promised them, really give occasion to the enemies of God to blaspheme ; for if there be no future occupation of the land by Israel, the solemn word of God, on which His oath is staked, would fail of fulfillment.' (Genesis 15:8-18)

What though generations may pass, and instead of the fathers may be the children: "heaven and earth shall pass away," (Mt 24:35) but God's oath and promise cannot fail.

It is very remarkable that when we come to the future re-division of the land in the last chapters of Ezekiel, it is no longer merely from Dan to Beersheba with which the prophet deals; but faith and inspiration combine to claim all the promised land contained within the boundaries of the original covenant in Genesis 25. This, by the way, is a sufficient answer to those who ask whether there is room enough in Palestine for the 12,000,000 Jews at present in the world. Note also that according to these same last chapters of Ezekiel, there is to be a different location of the twelve tribes at the re-division of the land. What can we make of this, if there be no future Restoration of Israel to the promised land?

V. Leaving out for the moment the brief ordeal and baptism of suffering which awaits Israel immediately on their return to their land, with which we shall deal presently, the Restoration announced in this and other prophecies is to be followed by a National Conversion (Jer 30:8-10).

Israel nationally is then to enter into the blessing of the New Covenant announced in this very prophecy; (Jeremiah 31:31-34) (Ed: See also New Covenant in the Old Testament) which the election of individuals from all nations now enjoy, as it were, by anticipation. The same is clearly announced in Ezek. 36:24-28 (note):

"For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you ; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers ; and ye shall be My people, and I will be your God."

And by the same prophet in the following chapter—Jer 32:21-23; and in many other passages of Scripture. Now, such a national conversion has surely never yet taken place. The restoration from Babylon was followed by the most appalling and universal national apostasy, which culminated in the rejection of the Son of God, and the consequent dispersion of the people into all the four corners of the earth.

VI. There is to be a gathering of Israel to the land of their fathers, which is to be final.

This is announced in this very prophecy, where, at the end of Jeremiah 31, after describing with the greatest minuteness and geographical exactness the rebuilding of the Holy City, it closes with the declaration "it shall not be plucked up nor thrown down any more forever." (Jer 31:40) The same is again emphatically proclaimed by the prophet Amos :

"I will bring again the captivity of My people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof ; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God" (Amos 9:14, 15).

Now, supposing that since these inspired announcements by Amos and Jeremiah there had already taken place a hundred dispersions and a hundred restorations, we would still be justified in believing in yet another gathering, after which there should be no more scattering. (From David Baron's book - The Jewish Problem)

Jeremiah 30:4 Now these are the words which the LORD spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah,

JEHOVAH ADDRESSES
THE ENTIRE NATION

Concerning Israel and concerning Judah - As alluded to above, in approximately 931BC the nation of Israel was divided into 10 northern tribes (commonly referred to as "Israel") with Samaria as their capital and 2 southern tribes (Judah and Benjamin) with Jerusalem as their capital. Assyria defeated "Israel" and transported the 10 northern tribes into exile in 722BC. Here in Jeremiah 30:4 Jehovah is addressing both Israel (northern tribes) and Judah (southern tribes), implying there will be a time of reunification (or gathering together) of all 12 tribes prior to the time of Jacob's distress.

Jeremiah 30:5 "For thus says the LORD, 'I have heard a sound of terror, Of dread, and there is no peace.

For - see discussion of importance of observing and interrogating this frequent term of explanation - NET Note says The particle כִּי (ki) is functioning here as loosely causal or epexegetical of the preceding introduction.

For thus says the LORD - Jeremiah uses this phrase 26x out of 51 total uses in the OT - Jer 4:3, 27; 6:6; 10:18; 16:3, 5, 9; 20:4; 22:6, 11; 27:19; 28:14; 29:8, 10, 16; 30:5, 12; 31:7; 32:15, 42; 33:4, 17; 42:18; 48:40; 49:12; 51:33

Jeremiah is beginning his description of the Time of Jacob's Distress (Jer 30:7), a time that is dominated by terror...dread...no peace! While this warning could in part refer to the coming devastation of the Holy Temple and Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in 586BC, the fact that it is prefaced in the preceding passage as "concerning Israel and concerning Judah" would make it difficult to ascribe this terror...dread...no peace to 586BC. Why? Simply because Israel had been defeated and transferred to Assyria over 100 years earlier!

Hindson and Kroll rightly observe that "Before the promises of blessings there must be the judgment of God upon Israel and the nations (cf. Amos 5:18–20; Isa 2:12–22; 34:1–15; Zeph 1:2–3:8; Zech 14:1–8, 12–15). (King James Version Bible Commentary)

Jeremiah also alludes to a time of purging before the time of permanent peace - “For thus says the LORD, ‘Just as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I am going to bring on them all the good that I am promising them." (Jer 32:42)

I have heard - To whom does this refer? In context it would seem to refer to the people of Judah and Israel. The NET Note agrees that "It is generally agreed that the person of the verb presupposes that this is an unintroduced quote of the people."

Terror (02731)(charadah from chared = fearful, trembling) is an adjective means trembling (Ge 27:33), fear, anxiety, quaking. This trembling is often brought on by acts of God. It is the terror of God that overcame the enemy (1Sa 14:15) and startled Daniel’s friends in a vision (Da 10:7). To fear men brings a snare (Pr 29:25).

The Lxx translates charadah with the noun phobos - that which arouses fear or terror.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Expanded Definition

I. חֲרָדָה noun feminine trembling, fear, anxiety — חֲרָדָה Genesis 27:33 5t. + Ezekiel 38:21(read for הָרַי, B Co compare Dr 1 Samuel 14:15); construct חֶרְדַּת 1 Samuel 14:15; Proverbs 29:25(see Lag^{BN 113}); plural חֲרָדוֺת Ezekiel 26:16; —

1 trembling, quaking (of terror ascribed to supernatural cause) 1 Samuel 14:15 (twice in verse) (henceאלהים׳ח see Dr; "" וַתִּרְגַּזהֿארץ) compare Ezekiel 38:21 (see above); Daniel 10:7; ׳קול חJeremiah 30:5 voice of trembling; followed by Genitive object אָדָם׳ח Proverbs 29:25 trembling before man; opposed to pleasure Isaiah 21:4; tremblings (plural) Ezekiel 26:16 under figure of garment (ילבשׁו׳ח), of effect on coast-princes of fall of Tyre.

2 anxious care 2 Kings 4:13, accusative of congnate meaning with verb with חָרַד.

Charadah - 9x in 8 verses in the OT - Usage: care(1), dread(1), fear(1), terror(1), trembling(4), violently*(1).

Genesis 27:33 Then Isaac trembled violently (Lxx = ekstasis = state of consternation or profound emotional experience to the point of being beside oneself as in Mk 16:8), and said, "Who was he then that hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate of all of it before you came, and blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed."

NET Note - Heb "and Isaac trembled with a great trembling to excess." The verb "trembled" is joined with a cognate accusative, which is modified by an adjective "great," and a prepositional phrase "to excess." All of this is emphatic, showing the violence of Isaac's reaction to the news.

1 Samuel 14:15 And there was a trembling (Lxx = ekstasis) in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even the garrison and the raiders trembled, and the earth quaked so that it became a great trembling.

NET Note - Heb "and it was by the fear of God." The translation understands this to mean that God was the source or cause of the fear experienced by the Philistines. This seems to be the most straightforward reading of the sentence. It is possible, however, that the word "God" functions here simply to intensify the accompanying word "fear," in which one might translate "a very great fear" (cf. NAB, NRSV). It is clear that on some occasions that the divine name carries such a superlative nuance. For examples see Joüon 2:525 §141.n.

2 Kings 4:13 He said to him, "Say now to her, 'Behold, you have been careful for us with all this care (Lxx = ekstasis); what can I do for you? Would you be spoken for to the king or to the captain of the army?'" And she answered, "I live among my own people."

NET Note - "you have turned trembling to us with all this trembling." The exaggerated language is probably idiomatic. The point seems to be that she has taken great pains or gone out of her way to be kind to them. Her concern was a sign of her respect for the prophetic office.

Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man brings a snare, But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted.

NET Note - Heb "the fear of man." This uses an objective genitive to describe a situation where fearing what people might do or think controls one's life. There is no indication in the immediate context that this should be limited only to males, so the translation uses the more generic "people" here. Brings = Heb "gives [or yields, or produces]"; NIV "will prove to be." "Snare" is an implied comparison; fearing people is like being in a trap – there is no freedom of movement or sense of security. Will be exalted - The image of being set on high comes from the military experience of finding a defensible position, a place of safety and security, such as a high wall or a mountain. Trusting in the LORD sets people free and gives them a sense of safety and security (e.g, Pr 10:27, 12:2)

Isaiah 21:4 My mind reels, horror overwhelms me; The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling.

Jeremiah 30:5 "For thus says the LORD, 'I have heard a sound of terror, Of dread, and there is no peace.

Ezekiel 26:16 "Then all the princes of the sea will go down from their thrones, remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble every moment and be appalled at you.

NET Note - Heb "and they will be astonished over you."

Daniel 10:7 Now I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, while the men who were with me did not see the vision; nevertheless, a great dread fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves.

There is no peace (shalom) (07965)(Shalom is used 25x in Jeremiah out of total of 210 OT uses = Jer 4:10; 6:14; 8:11, 15; 9:8; 12:5, 12; 13:19; 14:13, 19; 15:5; 16:5; 20:10; 23:17; 25:37; 28:9; 29:7, 11; 30:5; 33:6, 9; 34:5; 38:4, 22; 43:12)

Why is there no peace? Because...

NO GOD, NO PEACE
KNOW GOD, KNOW PEACE!

The words of the true prophet (Jeremiah) were the antithesis of the words of the false prophets who were falsely prophesying peace...

"And they have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace." (Jer 6:14)

"And they heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace. (Jer 8:11)

As an aside, the "ultimate false peace" will be brokered by the Antichrist who will establish a covenant with Israel for 7 years but will break it in the middle of the seven years. Any "peace" this covenant with the Antichrist brings will be a false peace! (Da 9:27-see note - "“And he [Antichrist] will make a firm covenant with the many [Jews/Israel] for one week [one seven, in context 7 years], but in the middle of the week [3.5 years] he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering;)

Jeremiah 30:6 'Ask now, and see if a male can give birth. Why do I see every man With his hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth? And why have all faces turned pale?

PAIN AND PALLOR

NET Bible - Ask yourselves this and consider it carefully: Have you ever seen a man give birth to a baby? Why then do I see all these strong men grabbing their stomachs in pain like a woman giving birth? And why do their faces turn so deathly pale?

The striking descriptions of pain and pallor and analogy to a pregnant woman in travail are followed in Jer 30:7 with "Alas! That day..." which is a description of the Time of Jacob's Distress. There was coming a day like none they had ever experienced, nor would there ever be a day like it again!

If a male can give birth - Of course not, but the coming distress would make men place their hands on their loins like a woman in childbirth. If you see a man who looks like that you can be sure he is not giving birth to a child but that there is another reason, and in this context he is in grave distress (Jer 30:6).

Thompson - The picture of men clutching their thighs in anguish gives rise to the question Can a man bear a child? They behave like women in labor and their faces have turned pale.

Hands on his loins - Many of us have seen our wife in labor grasping at her lower abdomen because of the great distress and discomfort. "The word rendered “loins” refers to the area between the ribs and the thighs." (NET Note)

As a woman in childbirth - (term of comparison) - In the days before epidural anesthesia, childbirth was uniformly a very painful ordeal and Scripture frequently uses the woman in labor (travail = defined as painful or laborious effort) as a symbol of suffering. In Jeremiah 30:6 we see this suffering during the time of Jacob's distress (suffering) which (as explained below) is synonymous with the Great Tribulation. Other OT passages use the figure of a woman in labor to depict the suffering that will occur during these latter days. For example Daniel's Seventieth Week, which most scholars designate as "The Tribulation" is described by Isaiah 13:8 this way - "And they will be terrified, Pains and anguish will take hold of them; They will writhe like a woman in labor, They will look at one another in astonishment, Their faces aflame."

As as aside, it is interesting that God choose the figure of a woman travailing in labor to give birth, for in a very literal sense Israel (God's "wife" in the OT - Isa 54:5-6, Jer 31:32; Hos 2:19) would go through this painful, difficult labor and in a sense "give birth" to a new nation, a nation of Israel for the first time ever composed wholly of a holy remnant, men and women who were spiritually circumcised in preparation for entrance into the new age of the Messiah (the Millennium).

Faces turned pale - Whereas anger elicits rubor (flushed face), great fear elicits pallor (pale). Studies show that fear can be associated with a decreased cardiac output and increased total peripheral vascular resistance which would explain pallor. The point is that the people would be seeing and experiencing things that would be so intense that they would cause significant physiological disturbances!

The time Jacob's distress will be a day of agonizing panic for the Jews!

Jeremiah 30:7 'Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And it is the time of Jacob's distress, But he will be saved from it.

THE TIME OF JACOB'S
DISTRESS/TROUBLE

NET Alas, what a terrible time of trouble it is! There has never been any like it. It is a time of trouble for the descendants of Jacob, but some of them will be rescued out of it.

ESV Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it.

NIV 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.

NLT In all history there has never been such a time of terror. It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel. Yet in the end they will be saved!

NOTE: Click here for separate more in depth discussion of Jeremiah 30:7

Alas (woe)(01945) (hoy) is an interjection of distress used primarily by the prophets, 6x in mourning for the dead (1Ki 13:30 Jer 22:18; 34:5), and 40x as negative warnings specifying Divine punishment in the form of disaster, etc, for failing to repent from certain sins. The wicked are under the judgment of God (cp Ro 1:18ff) and therefore face a time of ruin and mourning, so that the only thing left for an unrepentant people is to mourn the destruction of their lives! Woe! Indeed, this dark distressful day will bring about a day against Israel (the Jews) far worse than even the horror of the Holocaust!

NET Note - “Alas” to signal a time of terrible trouble, even to sound the death knell for someone

Hoy is used >50x in prophets and only once elsewhere. 6x = mourning for the dead (1 Ki13:30), 40x = negative warnings or threats of God's physical chastisement. R. J. Clifford found 53 occurrences of hoy in the Old Testament. Of these he listed three possible uses: (1) to describe funeral laments (eight times), usually translated “alas”; (2) a cry to get attention (four times), usually translated “ho” or “ah”; (3) an announcement of doom (forty-one times and used only by the prophets), usually translated “woe to.” The wicked were under the judgment of God and therefore faced a time of ruin and mourning. The only thing left for an unrepentant people was to mourn the destruction of their lives.

Prophetic Passage - Jeremiah 30:7-note is a prophecy which will be fulfilled at the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the last half of Daniel's Seventieth Week, at the end of the 3.5 year period (the Great Tribulation) at which time the Messiah establishes His literal, earthly Millennial Kingdom.

That day (See "Last Days") - This picks back up on the mention in Jer 30:3 of the proclamation "behold days are coming," but there the day was only described in positive terms. Now Jeremiah describes the day in negative terms, followed by the positive statement that Jacob "will be saved from it."

That day is great - How great? There is nothing to compare to what would be experienced for "there is none like it."

None like it - The Septuagint uses the negative particle ou which conveys the idea of absolute negation. There has absolutely never been a day (time) like this time. It is unique in all of history. The prophet Daniel and Jesus both described a unique time of distress (never before seen) that would impact the nation of Israel.

Daniel described the terrible time that would befall Israel...

"Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time (compare Jer 30:7's"day is great...none like it"); and at that time your people (Jews), everyone who is found written in the book (apparently refers to the Book of Life = those who belong to the believing Jewish remnant), will be rescued (Hebrew = malat = escape, be delivered; Lxx = sozo)

Jesus also described the terrible time that would befall Israel explaining

"For (term of explanation = explaining why He made the warning statements in Mt 24:16-20-note) then (expression of time = When? "when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" = Mt 24:15-note, cp 2Th 2:3-4-note) there will be a Great Tribulation (thlipsis), such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall. (compare Jer 30:7's "day is great...none like it")

It is the time of Jacob's distress - The day will be one of distress. It will be great distress. It will be be terrifying to point of causing pallor and will be associated with great pain (Jer 30:6). Jacob stands for the entire (reunited) nation of Israel.

Jacob (3290)(ya'aqob from 'aqab = seize by the heel and figuratively to circumvent) is commonly interpreted to mean heel-catcher, that is supplanter. He acquired his name when he was born "with his hand [symbolically] holding on to Esau's heel" (Ge 25:26 Hos 12:3). When he had later gained the birthright (Ge 25:29-34) and stolen Isaac's blessing (Ge 27:1-29), Esau exclaimed, "Is he not rightly named Jacob (ya'aqob), for he has supplanted me these two times?" (Ge 27:36). See also used his devices against Laban (Ge 30:29-31:12). Despite his devious nature, at Bethel, as Jacob was fleeing from Esau, God assured him that he was with him (Ge 28:12, 15) and renewed the covenant which he had previously revealed to Abraham and Isaac (Ge 28:13-14; cf. Ge 17:7-8; Ge 26:3-4; Lev 26:42). Jacob thereupon vowed that Yahweh would be his God and receive his tithes (Ge 28:20-22). Then at Peniel, enriched by the Lord but dreading to meet Esau, he uttered a model prayer (Ge 32:9-12). God, in the person of the Angel of the LORD presumably Christ pre-incarnate (Ge 32:24, 30; Hos 12:4), next encountered Jacob, with whom the patriarch wrestled, literally, but also in prayer (Hos 12:4). Broken by God (Ge 32:25), Jacob thereby achieved his final spiritual victory and blessing (Ge 32:29), for the Angel said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob (ya'aqob - "supplanter"), but Israel (yisra'el), for you have striven (sara) with God and with men and have prevailed" (Ge 32:28).

Jacob is mentioned 8x in 6 verses in the "Book of Consolation" (Jeremiah 30-33) = Jer 30:7 Jer 30:10 Jer 30:18 Jer 31:7 Jer 31:11 Jer 33:26.

Distress (06869)(tsarah from tsar = literally a narrow, confining space, figuratively dire straits from which escape is difficult) is a noun which depicts tightness (figuratively trouble) and implies great strain or stress psychologically and spiritually (as in Ge 42:21). The root word deals with harassment and torment engendered by an enemy and thus speaks of adversity, affliction, tribulation, trouble. Tsarah is used to describe the cursing to Israel for disobedience (Dt 31:17, 21 = troubles).

Tsarah is used 8x in Jeremiah and 5 of these are in the context of labor pains! - Jer 4:31; 6:24; 14:8; 15:11; 16:19; 30:7; 49:24; 50:43. Jer 4:31 and Jer 6:24 use tsarah in reference to the destruction of Jerusalem.

The Septuagint (Lxx) translates tsarah with the adjective stenos which literally describes a narrow space, like a narrow strait or a narrow strip of land. Figuratively stenos refers to close, confined circumstances. Think of our English word strait describes a situation characterized by a specified degree of trouble or difficulty.

Tsarah is used 8 times in Jeremiah

Jeremiah 4:31 For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor, The anguish (Lxx = stenagmos = sighing, groaning, involuntary expression of great concern or stress - Ro 8:26) as of one giving birth to her first child, The cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, Stretching out her hands, saying, "Ah, woe is me, for I faint before murderers."

Jeremiah 6:24 We have heard the report of it; Our hands are limp. Anguish (Lxx = thlipsis = suffering brought on by external circumstances) has seized us, Pain as of a woman in childbirth.

Jeremiah 14:8 "O Hope of Israel, Its Savior in time of distress (Lxx = kakos = evil), Why are You like a stranger in the land Or like a traveler who has pitched his tent for the night?

Jeremiah 15:11 The LORD said, "Surely I will set you free for purposes of good; Surely I will cause the enemy to make supplication to you In a time of disaster and a time of distress thlipsis = suffering brought on by external circumstances).

Jeremiah 16:19 O LORD, my strength and my stronghold, And my refuge in the day of distress kakos = evil), To You the nations will come From the ends of the earth and say, "Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood, Futility and things of no profit."

Jeremiah 30:7 'Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And it is the time of Jacob's distress, But he will be saved from it.

Jeremiah 49:24 "Damascus has become helpless; She has turned away to flee, And panic has gripped her; Distress and pangs have taken hold of her Like a woman in childbirth.

Jeremiah 50:43 "The king of Babylon has heard the report about them, And his hands hang limp; Distress (Lxx = thlipsis = suffering brought on by external circumstances) has gripped him, Agony like a woman in childbirth.

But - term of contrast - Always pause and review what the author is contrasting, which can occasionally lead to some surprising insights into the meaning of a given text.

He will be saved from it - Who is "he?" He refers to "Jacob," this name being representative of the nation of Israel (Jacob's other name). The distress will be horrific but the salvation terrific for those Jews who turn to their Messiah. In the midst of this horrible wrath, God remembers mercy. The time is horrible, but it is finite (cp Mt 24:22, 30). We see a vivid description of Jehovah's "operation rescue" in Revelation 19:15, 16-note, Zechariah 12:1-14:21 (which should be read as a unit) and summarized in Romans 11:26-27-note. Jeremiah 30:8-11 gives more specific details of the characteristics of this end time salvation of Jacob (Israel).

NET Note - Jacob here is figurative for the people descended from him. Moreover the figure moves from Jacob = descendants of Jacob to only a part of those descendants. Not all of his descendants who have experienced and are now experiencing trouble will be saved. Only a remnant (i.e., the good figs, cf., e.g., Jer 23:3; 31:7) will see the good things that the LORD has in store for them (Jer 24:5–6). The bad figs will suffer destruction through war, starvation, and disease (cf., e.g., Jer 24:8–10 among many other references).

Constable summarizes this coming day of distress - A coming time would be the worst Jacob had ever experienced or would ever experience. This anticipates the Tribulation in which Israelites will suffer more greatly than they ever have or ever will (cf. Jer 46:10; Isa. 2:12–21; 13:6; 34:1–8; Ezek. 30:3; Dan. 9:27; 12:1; Joel 1:15; 2:1–2, 11; Amos 5:18–20; Mic. 1:2–5; Zeph. 1:2–3:8; Zech. 14:1–8, 12–15; Matt. 24–25; Rev. 6–18).

GREAT TROUBLE
GREATER DELIVERANCE

Saved (delivered) (03467)(yasha') (See also yeshua from which we get our word "Jesus") is a verb which means to help, to save, to deliver. The root in Arabic is "make wide" which underscores the main thought of yasha ' as to bring to a place of safety or broad pasture in contrast to a narrow strait which symbolizes distress or danger." Note that yasha' is used 2 other times in this chapter (Jer 30:10, 11), which leaves little doubt as to the intentions of God toward Israel in the future!

Yasha' - Occurs 198x in the OT. Here are the uses in Jeremiah - Jer 2:27-28; 4:14; 8:20; 11:12; 14:8-9; 15:20; 17:14; 23:6; 30:7, 10-11; Jer 31:7; 33:16; 42:11; 46:27;

Similarly predictions of end times salvation by Jehovah are seen in Ezek 34:22; 36:29; 37:23; Hos 1:7; 13:4, 10; 14:3; Obad 1:21; Hab 1:2; Zeph 3:17, 19; Zech 8:7, 13; 9:9, 16; 10:6; 12:7.

Our God is a saving God! He will save the believing remnant of Israel. Of that you can be absolutely certain! Unless the "fixed order" of the sun, moon and stars ceases (Jer 31:35, 36)!

TWOT adds that the concept of wide "connotes freedom from distress and the ability to pursue one’s own objectives. To move from distress to safety requires deliverance. Generally the deliverance must come from somewhere outside the party oppressed. In the OT the kinds of distress, both national and individual, include enemies, natural catastrophies, such as plague or famine, and sickness. The one who brings deliverance is known as the “savior.” (Harris, R L, Archer, G L & Waltke, B K Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Moody Press)

From it - In the Septuagint the preposition apo is used for "from" and is a marker indicating separation from something (a person, place or thing). And "it" of course is the day of distress, not a single day but representative of a period of time. While Jeremiah does not state how long this day will last (so clearly it is not a literal day), comparison with the Great Tribulation described by Jesus leaves no doubt that these are two names of the same time of distress. And by comparing Jesus' description of the event that begins the Great Tribulation (revealing of the antichrist - Mt 24:15) and Daniel's description of the seventieth week of the prophecy in Da 9:24-27-note (see especially Da 9:27-note), one can confidently state that this time of distress will last three and one-half years, the last half of the seven year period traditionally called "The Tribulation."

SUMMARY OF THE
DAY OF JACOB'S DISTRESS

First note that the time of Jacob's distress describes a period of time, specifically the last 3.5 years of Daniel's Seventieth Week, which Jesus designated as Great Tribulation (Mt 24:21, cp Mk 13:19, Re 7:14-note). During this time the Antichrist ("Beast" of Rev 13, "Little Horn of Daniel 7") will be allowed by God and empowered by Satan (Rev 13:4-note, Rev 13:5-note where 42 months = 3.5 years) to have essentially "free reign" on the earth and will attempt to destroy the Jews in the greatest "holocaust" the world has ever seen. And yet in the midst of this horrible time to come, God makes the sure promise that He will save Jacob from it or out of it, which is a prophecy of the Messiah's return to deliver Israel (see Ro 11:25,26, 27-note cp Zech 13:8, 9). See also "Last Days"

SUMMARY OF GREAT TRIBULATION
Tony Garland

Tony Garland has the following summary of the Great Tribulation (A Testimony of Jesus Christ - Jacob’s Trouble and the Great Tribulation)...

Two other titles which are related to the coming Day of the Lord are the Time of Jacob’s Trouble and the Great Tribulation. (1 - see notes below) Notice that all three involve the concept of an unparalleled time of trouble. Unparalleled implies two things concerning the time periods involved:

1 Since there cannot be more than one unparalleled time of trouble, their time periods must overlap. (2)

2 These events have not transpired in the past. (3)

Regarding the timing of the Great Tribulation, Jesus said

“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.” (Mt 24:15-22, cp Mark 13:19-27)

Jesus referred to this Daniel 9:27 “overspreading of abominations” in Matthew 24:15. Then He said, “then shall be Great Tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Mt 24:21), thereby indicating that the Great Tribulation will begin when the overspreading of abominations of Daniel 9:27 occurs. Since the Great Tribulation will begin when the overspreading of abominations occurs in the middle of the 70th week, we can conclude that the Great Tribulation will begin in the middle of the 70th week of Daniel, or after the first three and one-half years of that seven-year period have transpired. (4)

Notice Jesus says, “let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” and “pray that your flight may not be . . . on the Sabbath.” There is an explicit Jewish element to this entire passage. This is because the events are related to the Time of Jacob’s Trouble described by Jeremiah:

‘For behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the LORD. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’ Now these are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah. For thus says the LORD: ‘We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask now, and see, whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor, and all faces turned pale? Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.’ (Je 30:3-7)

Notice several important aspects within this passage:

1 Jacob is Israel - Jacob fathered the 12 tribes and was given the name Israel by God (Gen. 32:28). Thus, this is describing a time of trouble specifically for the Jews.

2 Gathering in the Land - This time of trouble occurs after Israel is gathered back in the Promised Land.

3 Birth Pangs - The passage refers to every man acting “like a woman in labor.” How similar this is to the words of Jesus, “All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Mt 24:8). Sorrows (ōdin) indicates “[A] pang or throe, especially of childbirth.” [emphasis added] 5

4 A Unique Day - There is no other day like it.

5 Results in Salvation - “But he shall be saved out of it.” Although the Jews undergo an extremely troubling time, salvation comes at the end. 6

The Jewish aspect of this period can also be seen in the wider context of Micah’s well-known prophecy concerning the birthplace of Messiah:

Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; He has laid siege against us; they will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek. But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. Therefore He shall give them up, until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; then the remnant of His brethren shall return to the children of Israel. And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God; and they shall abide, for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth. (Mic. 5:1-4) [bolding added]

Scripture record’s two pregnancies in relation to Messiah. The first labor terminates in the First Coming of Messiah (Re 12:2, 3, 4-note). The second labor terminates in the ushering in of the Millennial Kingdom. It is this second period of labor, subsequent to the going forth of Messiah from Bethlehem, which Micah sets forth. This second labor leads to the millennial age: “For now He shall be great to the ends of the earth.” The time of Jacob’s trouble describes the labor pains associated with the second pregnancy.

“She who travaileth” does not refer to Israel bringing forth (giving birth to) Messiah, but to her last-day Tribulation travail (Jer. 30:5-7) in bringing forth a believing remnant, . . . Israel’s greatest and most anguishing sufferings of all her long and checkered history of woe will take place during the coming Great Tribulation (Rev. 8:1-note- Re 20:3-note). Her terrible travail pains that in God’s plan precede the joy of birth (cf. Mic. 4:9; cf. John 16:21), will bring forth a regenerated nation to enter the joy of the Kingdom, which will be as unparalleled as the agony that introduces it.7

This period is mentioned in the book of Revelation and also Daniel which provides additional details as to its duration: 8

Revelation 12-note states the length of time this persecution and hiding of the Jews in the wilderness will last . . . it will last 1,260 days (Rev. 12:6-note) . . . Revelation 12:14-note states that Israel will hide in the wilderness from Satan for “a time, and times, and half a time.” Daniel 7:25 uses this identical time designation for the length of time that the Antichrist will persecute the saints of the 70th week. . . . Revelation 13:5-7-note, when referring to this same persecution of 70th-week saints by the Antichrist, declares that it will last for 42 months, which equal three and one-half years. . . . The Jews will be persecuted and will hide in a wilderness area for three and one-half years, exactly one-half of the seven-year 70th week. . . . the Great Tribulation will be finished when God has completely shattered the obstinate rebellion of the nation of Israel against Him [Dan. 9:24; 12:7]. In other words, the Great Tribulation will end when Israel’s rebellion against God’s rule ends. 9

Scofield summarizes the character of this unique period:

The elements of the tribulation are: (1) The cruel reign of the “beast out of the sea” (Rev. 13:1-note), who, at the beginning of the three and a half years, will break his covenant with the Jews (by virtue of which they will have re-established the temple worship, Dan. 9:27), and show himself in the temple, demanding that he be worshipped as God (Mt 24:15; 2Th. 2:4). (2) The active interposition of Satan “having great wrath” (Rev. 12:12-note), who gives his power to the Beast (Rev. 13:4-note, Re 13:5-note). (3) The unprecedented activity of demons (Rev. 9:2-note, Re 9:11-note); and (4) the terrible “bowl” judgments of Rev. 16-note 10

Although the book of Revelation indicates that all those living on the earth immediately prior to the return of Jesus will be involved in troublesome times, this is especially true for the Jews. This is because God applies judgment first and more fully to those who have greater revelation and responsibility (Amos 3:2; Luke 12:48).11

While it is true that all will suffer during that time, Israel will suffer more so. The basic reason for this lies in Israel’s relationship to God as God’s first born (Ex. 4:22) and, therefore, Israel receives double, both in blessing and cursing. The principle that Israel receives double for all her sins is stated in Isaiah 40:1-2 . . . It is also found in Jeremiah 16:16-18. The principle of Israel’s receiving double for all her sins is the reason why the Tribulation is uniquely the Time of Jacob’s Trouble.12

Stanton shows the Jewish character of the period by saying: “The tribulation is primarily Jewish. This fact is borne out by Old Testament Scriptures (Dt 4:30; Jer. 30:7; Eze. 20:37; Dan. 12:1; Zec. 13:8-9), by the Olivet Discourse of Christ (Mt 24:9-26), and by the book of Revelation itself (Rev. 7:4-8-note; Re 12:1-2-note, Re 12:17-note etc.). It concerns ‘Daniel’s people,’ the coming of ‘false Messiah,’ the preaching of the ‘gospel of the kingdom,’ flight on the ‘sabbath,’ the temple and the ‘holy place,’ the land of Judea, the city of Jerusalem, the twelve ‘tribes of the children of Israel,’ the ‘son of Moses,’ ‘signs’ in the heavens, the ‘covenant’ with the Beast, the ‘sanctuary,’ the ‘sacrifice and the oblation’ of the temple ritual—these all speak of Israel and prove that the tribulation is largely a time when God deals with His ancient people prior to their entrance into the promised kingdom.”13

Our study of the book of Revelation will greatly benefit by keeping in mind the purposes God has for this period of time:

The first purpose is to make an end of wickedness and wicked ones (Isa. 13:9; Isa. 24:19-20) . . . The second purpose of the Tribulation is to bring about a worldwide revival (Rev. 7:1-7-note) . . . The Third purpose of the Tribulation is to break the power of the stubborn will of the Jewish nation (Dan. 12:5-7; Eze. 20:33-38).14

The Old Testament presents at least five purposes for the Tribulation.

1 . The Tribulation will complete the decreed period of national Israel’s judicial hardening as punishment for its rejection of the messianic program, which the partial return from exile did not remove and which culminated in the national rejection of Jesus (Isa. 6:9-13; 24:1-6; cf. John 12:37-41; Rom. 11:7-10).

2 . It will produce a messianic revival among Jewish people scattered throughout the world (Dt 4:27-30; cf. Rev. 7:1-4-note; Mt 24:14).

3 . The Tribulation will convince the Jewish nation of their need for the Messiah in order to produce a national regeneration (Dan. 12:5-7; Jer. 31:31-34; Eze. 20:34-38; 36:25-27; 37:1-14; Zec. 12:9-13:2; Isa. 59:20-21). This will result in a massive return of Jews to the land of Israel (Zec. 8:7-8; Eze. 36:24; 37:21).

4 . It will end the time of the Gentiles and effect the deliverance of the Jewish people from Gentile dominion (Isa. 24:21-23; 59:16-20; cf. Mt 24:29-31; Mark 13:24-27; Rom. 11:25).

5 . The Tribulation will purge the earth of wicked people in order to establish the Messianic Kingdom in righteousness (Isa. 13:9; 24:19-20; Eze. 37:23; Zec. 13:2; 14:9; Isa. 11:9). This violent reduction of the world’s unbelieving population will result from the divine judgments unleashed throughout the Tribulation (Rev. 6-18), climaxing with the Battle of Armageddon under King Messiah (Rev. 19) and His purge of rebel Jews and oppressive Gentiles at the end of the Tribulation (Eze. 20:33-38; Mt 25:31-46).15

Notes and Reference annotations

1 “The Scriptures indicate that the Day of the Lord, the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, and the Great Tribulation (Ed: see chart for synonyms) have several things in common. First, the concept of trouble or tribulation are associated with all three . . . Second, the concept of an unparalleled time of trouble is identified with all three [Joel 2:1-2; Jer. 30:7; Dan. 12:1 cf. Mt 24:21] . . . Third, the term ‘great’ is used for all three . . . Fourth, the concept of birth pangs is associated with all three . . . Fifth, the expression ‘that day’ is used for all three . . . Sixth, Israel’s future repentance or spiritual restoration to God is associated with all three . . . These comparisons demonstrate that several of the same concepts and terms are associated with the Day of the Lord, the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, and the Great Tribulation . . . they indicate that the Day of the Lord will cover or at least include the same time period as the Time of Jacob’s Trouble and the Great Tribulation.”—Renald E. Showers, Maranatha, Our Lord Come (Bellmawr, NJ: The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, 1995), 41-42.

2 “Both the Time of Jacob’s Trouble (Jer. 30:6-7) and the Great Tribulation (Mt 24:21) are described as the unparalleled time of trouble. Since there can only be one such time, both will cover the same time period. The Great Tribulation will begin in the middle of the seven-year 70th week. We know this because Jesus indicated that the Great Tribulation will begin with the abomination of desolation (Mt 24:15-21), which will take place in the middle of the 70th week (Dan. 9:27). . . . Since the Great Tribulation will begin in the middle and terminate at the end of the 70th week and will cover the same time period as the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, the Time of Jacob’s Trouble will also cover the entire second half of the 70th week.”—Showers, Maranatha, Our Lord Come, 23-24.

3 They must necessarily eclipse all the world wars and the horrors of the holocaust unless God be accused of exaggeration.

4 Showers, Maranatha, Our Lord Come, 43.

5 James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship, 1996), G5604.

6 How different this is from the interpretation which preterists force upon Matthew 24! The destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 involved no intervention by God on behalf of the Jews.

7 Merrill F. Unger, Unger’s Commentary on the Old Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2002), Mic. 5:3.

8 See Prophetic Year.

9 Showers, Maranatha, Our Lord Come, 44-46.

10 C. I. Scofield, The Scofield Study Bible (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2002, 1909), Rev. 7:14.

11 “It has been denied that God‘s people were actually worse than the pagans about them, but reckoning must be in proportion to spiritual knowledge and privileges enjoyed. The judgments of God are always relative to light and privilege granted. . . The Latins have a pointed saying: Corruptio optimi pessima (’The corruption of the best issues in the worst.’)”—Charles Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel: The Glory of the Lord (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1969), 37.

12 Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of Messiah, rev ed. (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2003), 282-283.

13 J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1958), 237.

14 Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of Messiah, 177-181.

15 Randall Price, “Old Testament References to The Great Tribulation,” in Mal Couch, ed., Dictionary of Premillennial Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1996), 415.

Jewish Believer David Baron
Analyzes Jeremiah 30:7

THE second item in the Divine program of the future of Israel, as given in this divinely dictated "book," is, to use the language of inspiration, the "time of Jacob's trouble.".....But may not this "time of Jacob's trouble" refer to the awful calamity which befell the nation at the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, which was repeated with perhaps still greater severity about sixty-five years later in the time of Bar Kokhba and Hadrian? No! The ordeal announced here through which Israel is to pass is terribly sharp, but brief in its duration, as suggested by the very figure employed—which is that of a woman in travail ; and it ends in their salvation (Jer 30:7b): while the sufferings at the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus (70AD) only inaugurated a long series of dispersions, massacres, spoliations, and oppressions, which has already continued for more than eighteen centuries. Of course, it is not denied that these long-enduring sufferings were predicted in the Word of God, and have their place and relation to Israel's apostasy and future glory; and, in one sense, "the time of Jacob's trouble" may be only a summing up, a culmination, of all that has preceded: but it is clear that there is a time of purging by fiery judgment awaiting Israel after the return to their land, which will immediately precede their national conversion and the revelation to them of the Messiah, whom, as a nation, they have so long rejected. (The Jewish Problem-David Baron - The Time of Israel's Trouble)

David Cooper writes on "The Tribulation Period":

The prophets constantly speak of "the day of Jehovah." Descriptions of it are found in such passages as Isaiah 2, the Book of Joel, and Zephaniah 1:14-18. They picture it as a time of great distress and indignation when God arises to shake the earth mightily and to destroy the wicked out of it. One of the clearest descriptions of this period of trouble and judgment is found in Isaiah 24:1-20. This is called especially the time of Jacob's trouble, but he is assured that he shall be saved out of it (Jeremiah 30:7).

The Book of Revelation is a detailed account of the judgments which will fall upon the earth during that time. This period of Jehovah's wrath is described in chapters 6 through 19. Those chapters which give the chronological order of events are: 6,8,9, and 16. The other chapters give details concerning the conditions which will then obtain upon the earth. Thus, figuratively speaking, we would say that they give the stage setting.

A careful study of Revelation shows that this period of wrath is divided into two sections: The first half of the Tribulation covering 1260 days (Revelation 11:3); the second half consisting of forty-two months (Revelation 11:2). These judgments will be so very severe that the bulk of humanity will be swept from the face of the globe. The surface of the earth will present the appearance of a desolation and a waste. The heavens likewise will be affected by these thorough-going judgments. Jeremiah, chapter 4:23-26, gives a very vivid description of the heavens and the earth at the end of the Tribulation. That he was talking about this time of judgment is evident from the fact that verse 27 begins with the conjunction for, which introduces a sentence explanatory of this passage. An examination of this verse and the following ones shows that Jeremiah was looking forward into the future — to this period of travail through which Israel as a nation shall pass in this period of Tribulation. (The Seventy Weeks of Daniel- Chapter 05) (The Seventy Weeks of Daniel)

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As as aside, I am shocked that a Jewish believer, Dr Michael Brown (Expositor's Bible Commentary---Revised) makes this dogmatic statement -

"Dispensational authors take the passage (Jer 30:7) to refer to Israel’s sufferings in the great tribulation after the church has been raptured—certainly not in the mind of Jeremiah here—with almost no reference to the sufferings of Israel and Judah at the hands of the Babylonians."

I far prefer the non-revised 1984 edition of the Expositor's Bible Commentary in which the section on Jeremiah was penned by another Jewish believer, Dr. Charles Feinberg. His words (with which I agree) are essentially the antithesis of the musings of Dr Brown -

"In the light of the immediate context and what follows, the preferable position is to assume that the reference (in Jer 30:7) is to the Day of the Lord. “That day” was not one immediately at hand. It is not the day of the destruction of Jerusalem but the day of God’s comprehensive judgment. The present is not to be excluded, but it is swallowed up in the future. That day was to be marked by great calamities. In a sense the fall of Babylon was only the opening scene of the extended drama. Yet it is vitally important to remember that v.7 speaks of Jacob’s trouble, not Babylon’s. The prophetic Scriptures are replete with references to this unique time of Jacob’s distress; e.g., “There is none like it” (cf. Matt 24:21 with the earlier prediction in Dan 12:1; cf. also 46:10; Isa 2:12–21; 13:6; 34:1–8; Ezek 30:3; Joel 1:15; 2:1–2, 11; Amos 5:18–20; Mic 1:2–5; Zeph 1:2–3:8; Zech 14:1–8, 12–15 among others). Notice that the travail will issue in both physical and spiritual deliverance (cf. Zech 12:10–13:1) and that liberation will be such that never again will Israel be enslaved by any nation. This could never be said of any deliverance to this present hour; it must refer to eschatological times." (Expositor's Bible Commentary)

I would suggest that newer editions of books are not necessarily better editions and the preceding discussion is a striking example!

And since Dr Brown seems to blame the eschatological (future) interpretation of Jeremiah 30:7 on a "dispensationalist" approach, I thought it would be "kosher" to quote a voice from the past, Charles Simeon (1759-1836), a British pastor who lived and preached long before dispensationalism was a popular. Here is a section from his sermon on verses in the context of Jeremiah 30:7 (sermon on Jeremiah 30:10-11) -

Respecting their primary import we can have no doubt. They (the words of Jer 30:10,11) look forward to a period far beyond the return of the Jews from Babylon, even to that blessed period, when the whole nation shall be converted to the faith of Christ, and be restored to the possession of the land of Canaan (Jer 30:8,9). That such a period shall arrive, we have the strongest and most unequivocal declarations of Holy Writ (cf Hos 3:5): and it becomes us all to look forward to it with confidence and joy.... A season of happiness awaits them, such as they never experienced in their most prosperous days: “they shall be at rest, and be quiet, and none shall make them afraid:” and this outward peace shall be only a shadow of that inward joy which they snail experience under the protection of their reconciled God and Saviour, who will be “a little sanctuary unto them.” (Ezek. 11:16, 17-note with Jer 23:6.) However “far off” his people are, God sees and knows them (2Ti 2:19), and will in due season bring them to Himself. No enemy shall be able to detain them: their bonds shall be broken, and they shall be “brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” O what sweet peace and composure of mind shall they enjoy, when they are truly brought to the fold of Christ (Ps 23:1-2)! what blessed assurance too shall they possess, not only of their present interest in the Saviour, but of final victory and everlasting felicity (Ps 23:3-4)! Yet is this but the beginning of blessings: the time shall come when the saints of all ages, even from the beginning to the end of time, shall be gathered together, every one of them freed from all remains of sin and sorrow, and raised to the fruition of their heavenly inheritance. Shall we not then, whilst we contemplate the future destinies of God’s ancient people, consider also our own; when, even in this life, such “things are prepared for us as no un-renewed eye hath seen, or ear heard, or heart conceived;” and, in the world to come, such things as exceed the comprehension whether of men or angels?....The Egyptians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Romans, have ceased to exist as distinct kingdoms; and have been lost, as it were, among the people who subdued them: but the Jews are in every place a distinct people, and are so kept by God’s overruling providence, that he may accomplish more manifestly his gracious purposes towards them. Many indeed, like Pharaoh, have sought their destruction; but they live as monuments of God’s unceasing care and faithfulness. And may not we also see the hand of God ordering and overruling every thing for our good?....Look at the Jews in Babylon, or in their present state; What can be conceived more hopeless? — — — Yet they were, and shall be delivered." - (Full sermon - Jeremiah 30:10, 11.God’s gracious Designs towards his chosen People)

I love it. Here is Charles Simeon, a Gentile non-dispensationalist, who seems to simply allow the text say what it says normally and in plain English and in so doing arrives at the same conclusion that Feinberg did more than a 100 years later -- the conclusion that this section of Jeremiah clearly has a future fulfillment in view! The upshot is be careful who you read on prophetic passages, regardless of how many degrees or doctorates they possess! If they do not read and interpret the text literally, they are very likely to err in their interpretation on eschatological passages, whether they are Jewish or Gentile!

Jeremiah 30:8 'It shall come about on that day,' declares the LORD of hosts, 'that I will break his yoke from off their neck and will tear off their bonds; and strangers will no longer make them their slaves.

BREAKING THE YOKE
SETTING SLAVES FREE

Prophetic Passage - Jeremiah 30:8 is a prophecy which will be fulfilled at the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the last half of Daniel's Seventieth Week, at the end of the 3.5 year period (the Great Tribulation) at which time the Messiah establishes His literal, earthly Millennial Kingdom.

On that day...I will break his yoke off their neck...tear off their bonds - What day? Clearly in context he is referring to the day of Jacob's distress which will usher in the day of Jacob's deliverance (See discussion of the "Last Days")! When the Messiah returns, He will come as the Stone described in Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45 Who "will crush and put an end to all these (Gentile) kingdoms." And when their power and authority is broken, the yoke of the neck that they have placed on Israel will be broken (forever)!

On that day is translated "in that day" by most of the other modern translations (Jer 30:8ESV, Jer 30:8NIV, Jer 30:8NLT, etc). The phrase "in that day" when used by the prophets most often refers to that future day when God will judge the Gentile nations and will restore the land of Israel to the believing remnant who will possess the land. The phrase "in that day" (searching the ESV) is found 66 times in 64 verses in the Old Testament with the majority found in Isaiah's prophecy...

Dt 31:17-18; 1Sa 8:18; Isa 2:11, 17, 20; 3:7, 18; 4:1f; 7:18, 20-21, 23; 10:20, 27; 11:10-11; 12:1, 4; 17:4, 7, 9; 19:16, 18-19, 21, 23-24; 20:6; 22:8, 12, 20, 25; 23:15; 26:1; 27:1-2, 12-13; 28:5; 29:18; 30:23; 31:7; 52:6; Jer 4:9; 30:8; 48:41; 49:22, 26; Hos 2:16, 21; Joel 3:18; Amos 2:16; 8:3, 13; 9:11; Mic 2:4; 4:6; 5:10; 7:11-12; Zech 2:11; 3:10.

HCSB Note - Much debate revolves around the phrase on that day. Was this the day Cyrus captured Babylon? If so, why would it be so horrendous for Israel? Cyrus was their liberator. "That day" therefore must be the time when God will judge all nations. "That day" is used in Scripture to introduce the "Day of the Lord" (Am 5:18-20; Zeph 1:14-18). All oppression (his understood collectively of all Israel's oppressors) of Israel will be overcome on that future day. (HCSB)

LORD of hosts - see Jehovah Sabaoth (of the armies)

Break his yoke - Who's yoke? This refers to the oppressive yoke of the Gentile powers in the end times. It is notable that Jehovah has broken the yoke historically (Lev 26:13 - freeing them from the yoke of the Egyptians) and so clearly He is will fulfill His promise in the future! Remember that Jeremiah's readers are currently under the yoke of Babylon and yet here they are given hope. While one might propose that Judah's liberation after 70 years is in a sense a fulfillment of this promise, it cannot be the final fulfillment. Why? Because strangers will no longer make them slaves and yet the Jews have been subjected to the yoke of many anti-Semitic regimes since Babylon. This promise awaits their future full restoration to the land of Israel when their Messiah returns!

In Deuteronomy 28:48 Moses prophesied that Israel would suffer the yoke of oppression from their enemies.

Ezekiel 34:27 makes a prophetic promise similar to Jer 30:8, a promise which also will be fulfilled in the last days, in the time of Jacob's distress and the glorious Millennial reign of Messiah.

Yoke (05923)('ol) is a masculine noun which literally describes a wooden frame or a bar placed on the neck of work animals to harness them for labor (Nu 19:2, Dt 28:48, 1Sa 6:7). As used in this passage, 'ol was frequently used as a symbol for slavery or enslavement. It also conveyed the picture of something that oppressed or was a burden. For example, in Lamentations 1:14 transgressions were described as the "yoke" that enslaved! Woe! Is this not what the old sin nature does to all of us (even believers if we fail to walk in the light and the power of the Spirit!)! Note that the majority of the OT uses are in the book of Jeremiah.

NET Note - The yoke is a common biblical symbol of political servitude (see, e.g., Dt 28:48; 1Kgs 12:4, 9, 10). From the context of 1Kgs 12:1-33 it is clear that it applied to taxation and the provision of conscript labor. In international political contexts it involved the payment of heavy tribute which was often conscripted from the citizens (see, e.g., 2Ki 15:19–20; 23:34–35) and the furnishing of military contingents for the sovereign’s armies (see, e.g., 2Ki 24:2). Jeremiah’s message here combines both a symbolic action (the wearing of a yoke) and words of explanation as in Jer 19:1–13. (See Isa 20:1–6 for an example outside of Jeremiah.) The casting off of the yoke has been used earlier in Jer 2:20, 5:5 to refer to Israel’s failure to remain spiritually “subject” or faithful to God.

'ol - 40x in 34 verses in the OT - all translated yoke...

Genesis 27:40 "By your sword you shall live, And your brother you shall serve; But it shall come about when you become restless, That you will break his yoke from your neck."

Leviticus 26:13 'I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves, and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.

Numbers 19:2 "This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying, 'Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and on which a yoke has never been placed.

Deuteronomy 21:3 "It shall be that the city which is nearest to the slain man, that is, the elders of that city, shall take a heifer of the herd, which has not been worked and which has not pulled in a yoke;

Deuteronomy 28:48 therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.

1 Samuel 6:7 "Now therefore, take and prepare a new cart and two milch cows on which there has never been a yoke; and hitch the cows to the cart and take their calves home, away from them.

1 Kings 12:4 "Your father made our yoke hard; now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you."

9 So he said to them, "What counsel do you give that we may answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, 'Lighten the yoke which your father put on us'?"

10 The young men who grew up with him spoke to him, saying, "Thus you shall say to this people who spoke to you, saying, 'Your father made our yoke heavy, now you make it lighter for us!' But you shall speak to them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's loins!

11 'Whereas my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.'"

14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions."

2 Chronicles 10:4 "Your father made our yoke hard; now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you."

9 So he said to them, "What counsel do you give that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, 'Lighten the yoke which your father put on us'?"

10 The young men who grew up with him spoke to him, saying, "Thus you shall say to the people who spoke to you, saying, 'Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter for us.' Thus you shall say to them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's loins!

11 'Whereas my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.'"

14 He spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions."

Isaiah 9:4 For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.

Isaiah 10:27-note So it will be in that day, that his burden will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be broken because of fatness.

Isaiah 14:25 to break Assyria in My land, and I will trample him on My mountains. Then his yoke will be removed from them and his burden removed from their shoulder.

Isaiah 47:6 "I was angry with My people, I profaned My heritage And gave them into your hand. You did not show mercy to them, On the aged you made your yoke very heavy.

Jeremiah 2:20 "For long ago I broke your yoke And tore off your bonds; But you said, 'I will not serve!' For on every high hill And under every green tree You have lain down as a harlot.

Jeremiah 5:5 "I will go to the great And will speak to them, For they know the way of the LORD And the ordinance of their God." But they too, with one accord, have broken the yoke And burst the bonds.

Jeremiah 27:8 "It will be, that the nation or the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine and with pestilence," declares the LORD, "until I have destroyed it by his hand.

11 "But the nation which will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let remain on its land," declares the LORD, "and they will till it and dwell in it."'"

12 I spoke words like all these to Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, "Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live!

Jeremiah 28:2 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.

4 'I am also going to bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,' declares the LORD, 'for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.'"

11 Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, "Thus says the LORD, 'Even so will I break within two full years the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.'" Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

14 'For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they will serve him. And I have also given him the beasts of the field."'"

Jeremiah 30:8 'It shall come about on that day,' declares the LORD of hosts, 'that I will break his yoke from off their neck and will tear off their bonds; and strangers will no longer make them their slaves.

Lamentations 1:14 "The yoke of my transgressions is bound; By His hand they are knit together. They have come upon my neck; He has made my strength fail. The Lord has given me into the hands Of those against whom I am not able to stand.

Lamentations 3:27 It is good for a man that he should bear The yoke in his youth.

Ezekiel 34:27 "Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its increase, and they will be secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them.

Hosea 11:4 I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love, And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws; And I bent down and fed them.

NET Note on will tear off their bonds (bands) - The “bands” are the leather straps which held the yoke bars in place (cf. Jer 27:2). The metaphor of the “yoke on the neck” is continued.

No longer - This phrase is used several times in the book of Jeremiah with an eschatological meaning, specifically signifying the time of the end, when Messiah returns and supernaturally reverses Israel's fortunes - Jer 3:16, 16:14, (Jer 23:4NET), Jer 23:7, 30:8 (Jer 31:19NET, Jer 31:29NET, Jer 31:34NET - twice)

Ray Stedman - This passage (Jer 30:8,9) looks far beyond the return from the Babylonian captivity. It looks down through the years beyond our own day to the time when God promises to restore the fortunes of Israel, and even to raise up David to be king over the people again. Therefore, it is a promise not yet fulfilled. God is still waiting for this time to come. There are other beautiful expressions of this in the song. Notice Jer 30:16, 17. All through the record of history it has been noteworthy that every nation which has attacked the Jews has found itself suffering as a result. God promises here to watch over His people, and to return evil upon those who harm them in any way...It is evident that these words (Jer 30:18-22) have never been fulfilled in all the history of Israel. In all the restorations they have gone through they have never come to anything like this describes; so this awaits the future....(Commenting on Jer 31:7,8) Many thought when Israel became a nation again, and Jews came from all parts of the earth back to the land of Israel, that this was the fulfillment of this passage. But I do not think so. (Ed: And this writer agrees.) It was a foreview of it, as were other foreviews in history. But it is not yet fully fulfilled, for at the present time they are not there in belief but in unbelief, whereas this passage speaks of their coming back in joy and worship. (See full sermon Jeremiah 30-31 The Secret Of Strength)

Jeremiah 30:9 'But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

THE FUTURE
MESSIANIC AGE

But - term of contrast

They shall serve Jehovah their God - Notice this sentence begins with "but." What is the contrast? Slaves of their enemies (Jer 30:8) is radically contrasted with slaves of Jehovah. The same Hebrew verb (abad) is used in both passages.

Serve (enslave, worship) (05647)(abad) means to work (to cultivate, till - Ge 2:5, 15 - Lxx = ergazomai before the fall! Ge 3:23 after the fall, Lxx = ergazomai), to serve (be enslaved or hold in bondage - Ex 6:6 - Lxx = katadouloo = make a slave; Lev 25:38, 39 Lxx = douleuo)(Ge 14:4, 15:13, 14 - Lxx = douleuo), worship. Labor (as when Israel was in Egyptian bondage - Ex 1:13,14 but same word abad translated worship after redemption Ex 3:12, 7:16, 8:1, 8:20, 9:1, et al where Lxx = latreuo). In the first use of abad Israel had her yoke broken and still stubbornly "said, ‘I will not serve!’" In Jer 5:19 the accusation is that they had "served foreign gods in your land."

All uses of abad in Jeremiah (very frequent verb)

Jer. 2:20; Jer. 5:19; Jer. 8:2; Jer. 11:10; Jer. 13:10; Jer. 16:11; Jer. 16:13; Jer. 17:4; Jer. 22:9; Jer. 22:13; Jer. 25:6; Jer. 25:11; Jer. 25:14; Jer. 27:6; Jer. 27:7; Jer. 27:8; Jer. 27:9; Jer. 27:11; Jer. 27:12; Jer. 27:13; Jer. 27:14; Jer. 27:17; Jer. 28:14; Jer. 30:8; Jer. 30:9; Jer. 34:9; Jer. 34:10; Jer. 34:14; Jer. 35:15; Jer. 40:9; Jer. 44:3;

Feinberg explains that "Only in the most preliminary way may “the yoke” (Jer 30:8) refer to bondage to Nebuchadnezzar; what is meant is total liberation from all foreign oppressors. This can be effected only by the glorious intervention of Israel’s messianic King (cf. Ezek 34:23; Hos 3:5). After the yoke of foreign rule has been broken, the benevolent yoke of their King will be gladly assumed by the godly in Israel and Judah (cf. Matt 11:28–30)." (Bolding added)

Whom I will raise up for them - Whom refers to David their king. While one might posit that this refers to the resurrection of Jesus, the Son of David, the greater David, there is no reason it does not point to a literal resurrection of David. And remember that Jesus is never referred to as "David" in the Bible. He is referred to as the Son of David but not David (see passages below). If we read this text literally (always the safest way to read Scripture!), Jeremiah (inspired by the Spirit) is referring to Israel's greatest human king, King David! And we know that along with Daniel and the other OT saints, David will be bodily resurrected at the end of this present age and he will receive his "allotted portion at the end of the age." (Da 12:13+), where the end of this age is followed by another age, the Messianic age. And what is David's "allotted portion," but the kingship over redeemed Israel in the Millennium. And King David will be subject to Jesus for He Alone is called King of kings (Rev 19:16+). The Septuagint uses the verb anistemi which is used by Martha when she asked Jesus about her brother Lazarus “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection (anistemi) on the last day.” (Jn 11:24)

Messiah referred to as Son of David -

Matt. 1:1; Matt. 1:20; Matt. 9:27; Matt. 12:23; Matt. 15:22; Matt. 20:30; Matt. 20:31; Matt. 21:9; Matt. 21:15; Matt. 22:42; Mk. 10:47; Mk. 10:48; Mk. 12:35; Lk. 3:31; Lk. 18:38; Lk. 18:39

David their king - To whom does this refer. Many (most) will answer this is the "son of David", the "greater David", the Messiah. While that is a consideration, as discussed above, if one takes this statement literally, there is absolutely no reason it can not be King David who is resurrected to participate in the Messianic Kingdom (cp Da 12:13 where Daniel is promised that he will "rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age.”

The words of the prophet Ezekiel would substantiate that David refers to David -

And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among them; I the LORD have spoken. (Ezekiel 34:24)

Notice that Jehovah is speaking these words and if they are interpreted in the normal sense David will rule as a prince.

Finally, notice Ezekiel's prophecy in Ezekiel 37:24+

My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them.

TO REPEAT - Who does God say will be king over the reunited kingdom of Israel? Notice that it does not say the "son of David" but "My servant David." Many commentaries see this as a reference to David's "greater Son." If one adheres to the literal Interpretation of Scripture where possible (and it is possible in this passage), then this reference seems to be describing a "literal" David. How could this occur since David is dead? Is anything too difficult for the Lord? Clearly the answer is "No!" God can and will raise David. The timing of the resurrection of the Old Testament saints is somewhat more problematic, but it would be most reasonable to assume that David will be raised before the Millennial reign of Christ (see note above with Da 12:13+). And if we compare this interpretation with Scriptures such as Revelation 19:16+ which identifies Christ as the "King of kings," it is not difficult to see how this passage dovetails with Ezekiel 37:24+. Yes, David is a king over Israel, but Christ is King over David. Respected expositors such as John MacArthur feel Ezekiel 37:24+ is referring to the "Son of David" and not to David writing "This leader (cf. Ezek 37:24, 25+) is the Messiah-King-Shepherd often promised for David’s dynasty (Ezek 34:23, 24; Jer 23:5-8; 30:9; Da 2:35, 45; 7:13, 14, 27), who is the one king of Zec 14:9 (cf. Mt 25:31, 34, 40)." I hate to disagree with Dr MacArthur who usually assiduously interprets the Scripture literally, but I think he has "allegorized" this passage to make it fit what he and many others think is a reasonable interpretation.

Dr John Walvoord has some insights that help guide our interpretation of Jeremiah's phrase David their king...

A legitimate problem has arisen in the interpretation of the reign of Christ concerning how this relates to various prophecies which speak of David as King in the millennial kingdom. References to this concept are found in Jeremiah 30:9; Jeremiah 33:15-17; Ezekiel 34:23-24; Ezekiel 37:24-25; Hosea 3:5, with more indirect references in Isaiah 55:3-4 and Amos 9:11.

Several solutions have been offered to resolve this problem.

One of the most common is to take references to David as indicating Christ Himself as the greater David. Keil and Peters, as well as Ironside, support this view (cf. Karl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets, I, 72; Peters, The Theocratic Kingdom, III, 572; and Ironside, Ezekiel the Prophet, p. 262). There are obvious difficulties, however, in this point of view in that Christ is never referred to as David elsewhere in the Bible though He is frequently called the Son of David, Seed of David, etc.

A second view held by some interpreters is that the reference in some passages is to a future literal son of David who will sit on the Davidic throne, but who is not to be identified as Christ. Passages such as Jeremiah 33:15-21 are cited in support of this view. From many standpoints, however, this is less desirable than the first view. As many have indicated, no one today aside from Christ could prove His kingly lineage among the people of Israel. It is most unlikely that there should be another person closely related to Christ who is a descendant of David other than David himself.

A third solution of the problem is more simple and seemingly in keeping with the prophetic references throughout Scripture, namely, that by David is meant the resurrected David who shares with Christ as prince some of the governmental duties of the millennial kingdom. It should be clear from many Scriptures that the reign of Christ is shared with others. As Newell has written: "David is not the son of David. Christ, as Son of David, will be King; and David, His father after the flesh, will be prince, during the Millennium."

In the light of many prophecies which promise saints the privilege of reigning with Christ, it would seem most logical that David the king raised from the dead should be given a place of prominence in the Davidic kingdom of the millennial reign of Christ. As indicated in Revelation 19:16, Christ is "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." This would certainly imply other rulers (cf. Isa. 32:1; Ezek. 45:8-9; Matt. 19:28; Luke 19:12-27). (The Doctrine of the Millennium — Part I The Righteous Government of the Millennium)]

David Guzik - In that day God will also raise up for them David to reign as king. Most commentators take this as a reference to the Messiah, the Son of David and not David the Son of Jesse. Yet there are good reasons to believe that this and similar passages speak of David the Son of Jesse. This promise seems impossible, yet is repeated several times in the prophets of the Old Testament (Isaiah 55:3-4, Ezekiel 34:23-24, 37:24-25, Hosea 3:5). This speaks of the reign of the resurrected David the Son of Jesse over Israel in the Millennial earth. We have indications that as Gods people rule with Jesus over the millennial earth (Rev 2:26-27, Rev 20:6), people will be entrusted with geographical regions according to their faithfulness (Luke 19:12-19). It seems that Davids glorious portion will be to rule over Israel. (Jeremiah 30 Commentary)

Jeremiah 30:10 'Fear not, O Jacob My servant,' declares the LORD, 'And do not be dismayed, O Israel; For behold, I will save you from afar and your offspring from the land of their captivity. And Jacob will return and will be quiet and at ease, and no one will make him afraid.

FEAR NOT!

Fear not...do not be dismayed (cf Isa 41:8, 10; 43:1; 44:1-2) - Why? Because Jehovah promises to save (rescue) them! Similar encouraging words were frequent from Yeshua's lips ""Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.....These things I have spoken to you (John 13-16), that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (Jn 14:27, 16:33) So whatever you may be experiencing, fear not and do not be dismayed.

NET Note on Jacob...Israel - Here and elsewhere in the verse the terms Jacob and Israel are poetic for the people of Israel descended from the patriarch Jacob. (Ed: And I would add they seem to point to a reunited nation which Israel will be as it enters the Millennial Kingdom).

For - term of explanation - Jehovah explains why Jacob has no reason to fear.

Behold (02009)(hinneh) directs the reader's mind to the text, imploring him to give it special attention. The Spirit is trying to arrest our attention that something very important follows! In this case what follows is the promise of salvation for Jacob (Israel) accompanied by return to the land where the Jews will experience quiet and be at ease. These conditions have never been fulfilled in Israel after the time they were described by Jeremiah and thus clearly call for a future fulfillment. Even the rebirth of the nation of Israel in May, 1948 does not fulfill this prophecy. This prophecy will be fulfilled when Messiah returns and sets up His Millennial kingdom. Then Israel will experience quiet and have no need to be afraid! But first she must experience the time of Jacob's distress!

I will save you - Another prophetic I will. Because this is a promise from the "non-lying" omnipotent God, it is as good as done! Would it be that all believers had such a steadfast trust in the "precious and magnificent promises" (2Pe 1:4) that Jehovah has given to His people to enable them to hold fast to the end (Heb 3:6, Heb 3:14)!

Will save (will deliver) (03467)(yasha') means to help, to save, to deliver. The root in Arabic is "make wide" which underscores the main thought of yasha ' as to bring to a place of safety or broad pasture in contrast to a narrow strait which symbolizes distress or danger." First use: Of Moses Ex 2:17 "but Moses stood up and helped them." In Ex 14:30 "the LORD saved Israel."

Feinberg - God’s people are to be regathered from all the lands of their dispersion.

Jacob will return and will be quiet and at ease - Guzik comments that " In a lesser sense this was fulfilled in the return from exile under Ezra and Nehemiah; but only in a lesser sense. It could not be said of the return from Babylonian captivity, no one shall make him afraid, but it shall be said of Israel in the Millennium." (Jeremiah 30 Commentary)

HCSB - Their condition will be one of calm and quiet, a pastoral metaphor, like sheep resting with no one to frighten them.

No one will make him afraid - This was God's promise to Israel in Lev 26:6 but it was contingent upon their obedience. In the Millennium the peace is contingent upon God's grace.

Jeremiah 30:11 'For I am with you,' declares the LORD, 'to save you; For I will destroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you, Only I will not destroy you completely. But I will chasten you justly and will by no means leave you unpunished.'

ISRAEL'S ENEMIES
ANNIHILATED!

For I am with you - term of explanation - What is Jehovah explaining? How it is possible for Israel to return to the land in quiet and peace with no fear.

The phrase I am with you is repeated six times in Jeremiah - Jer 1:8, 19; Jer 15:20; Jer 30:11; Jer 42:11; Jer 46:28. It is often associated with His promise to deliver or save. This truth reminds one of Ro 8:31 " What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?"

But - What's he contrasting? Yes, Jehovah will save them but His salvation will clearly be associated with corrective chastisement.

For I will destroy - term of explanation - He is explaining how He will save them. When Messiah returns he will crush the Gentile empires (nations in OT normally = Gentiles) and destroy them completely, as predicted by Daniel (Da 2:34-36-note , Da 2:44-45-note). Notice that since there has never been a complete destruction of all the nations to which the Jews have been scattered, this prophecy awaits a future fulfillment.

Destroy completely all the nations - In Jeremiah 48 Jehovah gives a similar promise - “O Jacob My servant, do not fear,” (cp Jer 30:10) declares the LORD, “For I am with you (cp Jer 30:22-24). For I shall make a full end of all the nations Where I have driven you (cp Jer 30:16), Yet I shall not make a full end of you; But I shall correct you properly and by no means leave you unpunished (cp "I will chasten you justly...").” (Jer 46:28)

Guzik comments that "This is another aspect that was fulfilled in a lesser sense in the return from Babylonian exile, but awaits the latter days (Jeremiah 30:24) for its full fulfillment." (Jeremiah 30 Commentary)

I will not destroy you completely - The implication of this statement is that Jehovah will allow a "partial" destruction of Israel as for example in the time of Jacob's distress (Jer 30:7) which would be compatible with the prophecy in Zechariah when predicts a partial destruction.

And it will come about in all the land,” Declares the LORD, “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it. (Zech 13:8)

Comment: Two parts will be cut off and perish refers to the Jews who do not believe in the Messiah. The third that do receive Jesus as their Messiah (John 1:11-13-note) will be delivered (cp Ro 11:26-27-note).

John MacArthur on Zech 13:8 - Only a portion of the people of Israel will remain faithful to Christ and be alive in the end. The spiritual survivors will be the remnant who look upon Christ in repentance at His return (cf. Zech 12:10–13:1), which will include those who make up the 144,000 (cf. Rev 7:4). These will be the sheep of the sheep-goat judgment after Christ’s return who enter the (Millennial) kingdom alive (cf. Isaiah 35:10; Jer 30:11; Mt 25:31-46)

Meyer applies the statement I will not destroy you completely to believers who are enduring intense trials and afflictions writing that "The believer today can draw comfort from this principle of Gods character and nature. Take to heart these tender words: God will not make a full end of you. It may seem as though nothing will be left: the furnace is so hot; the stock is cut down so near to the ground. But God knows just how much you can bear, and will stay his hand. I will not make a full end of thee."

I will chasten you justly - In the context of Jeremiah 30 the chastening appears to refer to the time of Jacob's distress. Just (fair) chastening from God is never to be regarded lightly, for it has great benefits to those who receive such discipline. This "I will" declaration is reminiscent of the words in Hebrews 12:5-9-note -

You have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; 6 FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.” 7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?

Feinberg observes that Jehovah "makes a telling distinction between the fate of God’s people and that of their oppressors: the oppressors may be removed finally from the scene of history, but God’s people never (Jer 30:11; cf. Jer 4:27; 5:10, 18; 46:28). This is not partiality on God’s part, for he will not overlook his people’s sins. They can no more sin with impunity than any other persons or nation. The Lord must chasten them and he will do so with justice, not capriciously."

Jeremiah 30:12 "For thus says the LORD, 'Your wound is incurable and your injury is serious.

For - term of explanation - He is elaborating on the chastisement (Jer 30:11).

Wound...incurable...injury...serious - The prognosis looks grim for the nation of Israel. But remember Who the "attending Physician" is in this case! These descriptions refer to their grave condition because of their persistent sin against Jehovah!

Charles Feinberg - Jeremiah now turns to the serious condition of Israel. His purpose is to show that her punishment was well deserved. The pronouns in Jer 30:12 are in the feminine, referring to the nation. Her wounds were, apart from God, incurable.

Wiersbe - In Isaiah’s day, Judah was a “sick” nation (Isa. 1:5–6), and thanks to the superficial ministry of the false prophets (Jer. 6:14; 8:11), the sickness became worse in Jeremiah’s day (Jer 10:19; 14:17; 15:18).

Wound (KJV = bruise) (07667)(sheber/shever/seber from shabar = to burst, break in pieces) is a masculine noun which means a breaking, a breach, a fracture, a shattering, a crash, a ruin. Isaiah 30:26 speaks of the LORD binding "up the fracture (sheber) of His people."

HCSB - Sheber/shever, from the verb shavar (break), has many of its connotations. Jeremiah especially likes both words. Shever describes a broken foot (Lev 21:19), spirit (Pr 15:4, Isa 65:14), or people (Jer 6:14). It denotes fracture (Lv 24:20) or injury (Jer 30:12). It is a personal downfall (Pr 18:12) and a people's brokenness (Jer 6:14), ruin (Am 6:6), or wretchedness (Isa 59:7). It suggests land fissures (Ps 60:2), collapse of a wall (Isa 30:13), or shattering of a jar (Isa 30:14). Shever mostly implies disaster (Jer 4:20) or destruction (Isa 15:5); it occurs with terms for "devastation" (shod, Jer 48:3; she'th, Lam 3:47). Shever indicates dream interpretation (Jdg 7:15). It connotes a crashing (Zeph 1:10) or thrashing (Job 41:25). It can be translated by verbs like destroy (Isa 1:28). Related shibbaron indicates destruction (Jer 17:18) and bitter groaning (Ezek 21:6).

Sheber/shever - 41 verses - (1), breaches(1), breakdown(1), broken(2), brokenness(3), collapse(1), crash(1), crashing(1), crushed(1), crushes(1), destruction(17), disaster(2), fracture(3), injury(2), interpretation(1), ruin(3), smashing(1).

Leviticus 21:19 or a man who has a broken foot or broken hand,

Leviticus 24:20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a man, so it shall be inflicted on him.

Judges 7:15 When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation (Lxx = sugkrisis = comparison, interpretation - cf Ge 40:12), he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, "Arise, for the LORD has given the camp of Midian into your hands."

Job 41:25 "When he raises himself up, the mighty fear; Because of the crashing they are bewildered.

Psalm 60:2 You have made the land quake, You have split it open; Heal its breaches (Lxx = suntrimma = that which is broken or shattered, destruction, affliction, ruin), for it totters.

Proverbs 15:4 A soothing tongue is a tree of life, But perversion in it crushes the spirit.

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction (Lxx = suntribe = literally "rubbing away" - crushing, ruin), And a haughty spirit before stumbling.

Proverbs 17:19 He who loves transgression loves strife; He who raises his door seeks destruction.

Proverbs 18:12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, But humility goes before honor.

Isaiah 1:28 But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together, And those who forsake the LORD will come to an end.

Isaiah 15:5 My heart cries out for Moab; His fugitives are as far as Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah, For they go up the ascent of Luhith weeping; Surely on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of distress over their ruin.

Isaiah 30:13 Therefore this iniquity will be to you Like a breach about to fall, A bulge in a high wall, Whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant,

14 Whose collapse is like the smashing of a potter's jar, So ruthlessly shattered That a sherd will not be found among its pieces To take fire from a hearth Or to scoop water from a cistern."

26 The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day the LORD binds up the fracture of His people and heals the bruise He has inflicted.

Isaiah 51:19 These two things have befallen you; Who will mourn for you? The devastation and destruction, famine and sword; How shall I comfort you?

Isaiah 59:7 Their feet run to evil, And they hasten to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, Devastation and destruction are in their highways.

Isaiah 60:18 "Violence will not be heard again in your land, Nor devastation or destruction within your borders; But you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise.

Isaiah 65:14 "Behold, My servants will shout joyfully with a glad heart, But you will cry out with a heavy heart, And you will wail with a broken spirit.

Jeremiah 4:6 "Lift up a standard toward Zion! Seek refuge, do not stand still, For I am bringing evil from the north (Babylonians would invade from North), And great destruction (Lxx = suntribe).

20 Disaster (Lxx = talaiporia = wretchedness, trouble, misery) on disaster is proclaimed, For the whole land is devastated; Suddenly my tents are devastated, My curtains in an instant.

Jeremiah 6:1 ¶ "Flee for safety, O sons of Benjamin, From the midst of Jerusalem! Now blow a trumpet in Tekoa And raise a signal over Beth-haccerem; For evil looks down from the north, And a great destruction. (Lxx = suntribe)

14 "They have healed the brokenness (Lxx = suntrimma) of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace.

Jeremiah 8:11 "They heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace.

21 For the brokenness (Lxx = suntrimma) of the daughter of my people I am broken (Root verb = shabar); I mourn, dismay has taken hold of me.

Jeremiah 10:19 Woe is me, because of my injury (Lxx = suntrimma)! My wound is incurable. But I said, "Truly this is a sickness, And I must bear it."

Jeremiah 14:17 "You will say this word to them, 'Let my eyes flow down with tears night and day, And let them not cease; For the virgin daughter of my people has been crushed with a mighty blow (KJV - has "breach" and uses sheber, NAS has blow and uses makkah = blow, wound), With a sorely infected wound.

Jeremiah 30:12 "For thus says the LORD, 'Your wound (KJV - has "bruise" and uses sheber, NAS has blow and uses makkah = blow, wound) is incurable And your injury is serious.

15 'Why do you cry out over your injury? Your pain is incurable. Because your iniquity is great And your sins are numerous, I have done these things to you.

Jeremiah 48:3 "The sound of an outcry from Horonaim, 'Devastation and great destruction (Lxx = suntrimma)!'

5 "For by the ascent of Luhith They will ascend with continual weeping; For at the descent of Horonaim They have heard the anguished cry of destruction (Lxx = suntrimma).

Jeremiah 50:22 "The noise of battle is in the land, And great destruction (Lxx = suntribe - crushing).

Jeremiah 51:54 The sound of an outcry from Babylon, And of great destruction (Lxx = suntribe - crushing) from the land of the Chaldeans!

Lamentations 2:11 My eyes fail because of tears, My spirit is greatly troubled; My heart is poured out on the earth Because of the destruction (Lxx = suntrimma) of the daughter of my people, When little ones and infants faint In the streets of the city.

13 How shall I admonish you? To what shall I compare you, O daughter of Jerusalem? To what shall I liken you as I comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your ruin is as vast as the sea; Who can heal you?

Lamentations 3:47 Panic and pitfall have befallen us, Devastation and destruction;

48 My eyes run down with streams of water Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

Lamentations 4:10 The hands of compassionate women Boiled their own children; They became food for them Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

Ezekiel 32:9 "I will also trouble the hearts of many peoples when I bring your destruction among the nations, into lands which you have not known.

Amos 6:6 Who drink wine from sacrificial bowls While they anoint themselves with the finest of oils, Yet they have not grieved over the ruin of Joseph.

Nahum 3:19 There is no relief for your breakdown (Lxx = suntribe - crushing), Your wound is incurable. All who hear about you Will clap their hands over you, For on whom has not your evil passed continually?

Zephaniah 1:10 "On that day," declares the LORD, "There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, A wail from the Second Quarter, And a loud crash (Lxx = suntrimmos = noun = ruin, crusihing) from the hills.

Incurable (0605)(anash) means desperately sick, incurable, sick, woeful and is used 9 times in the OT, with 6 uses in Jeremiah. In Jer 17:16 the idea of anash is despairing, i.e., pertaining to that which causes worries, anxiety or lack of peace.

Incurable speaks generally of that which is not likely to be changed or corrected. In context of Israel this makes one think of their unfaithful, rebellious hearts!

Anash - 9 verses - 2Sa 12:15; Job 34:6; Isa 17:11; Jer 15:18; 17:9, 16; 30:12, 15; Mic 1:9.

One of the more familiar uses is in Jer 17:9 "“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?"

Jeremiah 30:13 'There is no one to plead your cause; No healing for your sore, No recovery for you.

No one to plead...no healing...no recovery - Why? Because they would be chastised. The time for prayer, recovery and repentance had passed. Now they must be punished. This punishment will reach its climax in the time of Jacob's distress.

NET Note - This verse exhibits a mixed metaphor of an advocate (lawyer) pleading someone’s case (cf., Jer 5:28; 22:18) and of a physician applying medicine to wounds and sores resulting from them (see, e.g., Jer 8:18 for the latter metaphor). Zion’s sins are beyond defense and the wounds inflicted upon her beyond healing. However, God, himself, in his own time will forgive her sins (Jer 31:34; 33:8) and heal her wounds (Jer 30:17).

Jeremiah 30:14 'All your lovers have forgotten you, They do not seek you; For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, with the punishment of a cruel one, because your iniquity is great and your sins are numerous.

THE REASON FOR
ISRAEL'S PUNISHMENT

NET All your allies have abandoned you. They no longer have any concern for you. For I have attacked you like an enemy would. I have chastened you cruelly. For your wickedness is so great and your sin is so much.

All your lovers - The foreign godless nations and their horrid so-called gods with whom Israel had "consorted" incessantly committing spiritual harlotry. (See Jer 3:1-2; 4:30; 22:20-23; Lam. 1:2, 19). Those nations that had previously been allies had left Israel in a lurch so to speak.

Harrison feels that "The lovers were the surrounding nations on whom Judah had relied for help against Babylon."

I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy - (NET = I have attacked you like an enemy would). Notice that God takes full responsibility for their punishment.

ESV Study Bible - God turned from fighting for Israel (Ex. 15:1–18) to fighting against Israel (Jer. 11:14–17; 15:1–9; 27:8).

Note the declaration by God "I have wounded you" indicates that Jacob's suffering was not random or accidental but was righteous and appropriate!

Wiersbe - "The Lord reminded the Jews that it was He who used other nations to wound them because of their disobedience to Him (Jer 30:14). He used Assyria to chasten Israel and Babylon to punish Judah, and in the latter days, He will use the Gentile nations to correct Israel and prepare the Jews for the return of their Messiah. However, God will punish the Gentile nations for the way they treat Israel in the last days (Jer 30:16; see Joel 3) just as He punished Assyria and Babylon."

Because - Here is the strategic term of explanation! Israel's iniquity was great and her sins... numerous. Jehovah's chastisement would be just and justly deserved!

Iniquity (guilt) (05771)( 'avon) is from the verb 'avah which has an interesting basic meaning of to bend, twist or distort. In simple terms 'avon is a twisting of God's standard or deviation from it.

Sins (02403)(chattat/chattath) conveys the idea of falling short of a divine standard or missing the mark of God's righteous standard. This sense of chatta is depicted in Jdg 20:16 which records "every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss (chatta)."

Jeremiah 30:15 'Why do you cry out over your injury? Your pain is incurable. Because your iniquity is great and your sins are numerous, I have done these things to you.

NO JUSTIFICATION
FOR COMPLAINING!

Why do you cry - Their punishment was just. Their cry was not the cry of repentance but the cry of remorse. They were "sorry" like the child who got caught was sorry, but not truly sorry for their great and numerous sins against God

Pain is incurable (anash) - cp wound is incurable (Jer 30:12).

Your iniquity is great and your sins are numerous - Repeated from Jer 30:14 for emphasis!

I have done these things to you - God takes responsibility for their punishment.

Jeremiah 30:16 'Therefore all who devour you will be devoured; And all your adversaries, every one of them, will go into captivity; And those who plunder you will be for plunder, And all who prey upon you I will give for prey.

FUTURE PROMISES
TO ISRAEL

Jeremiah 30:16-24

Wiersbe entitles Jeremiah 30:16-24 "The Calm After the Storm" writing that "Jeremiah then picked up the image of the storm (Jer 30:23) that he had used earlier (Jer 23:19–20) to describe the Babylonian assault, but now he related it to the trials of “the latter days” (Jer 30:24).

HCSB Note on Jer 30:15-16 - Some argue that there is a radical change in God's attitude between these two verses. But God remains the same. His judgment must fall to bring Israel to the point where He can restore them. Israel's best hope was that God remains constant in spite of human fickleness. Israel's enemies will experience the same things Israel went through: (1) The nations who devoured you will be devoured, (2) those who sent Israel into captivity will go off into exile, (3) the plunderers will be plundered, and (4) those who raided Israel will be raided. (Ibid)

All who devour you will be devoured - The Babylonians would devour Judah but they in turn would be devoured by the Medes and Persians (cf Da 5:30-31). "So it has been throughout redemption history: those who have treated God’s people ill have to reckon with God as avenger (cf. Gen 12:1–3)." (Feinberg)

Note especially the promises - "I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse." (Ge 12:3).

This teaching is a version of God's law of reaping and sowing. God would mete out divine retribution to all the nations who have hated and hurt Israel over the centuries, even in situations where He had allowed the nation to discipline His rebellious people. For example, earlier Jehovah had prophesied that even though Nebuchadnezzar (and Babylon) were the instruments He used to discipline Judah "it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation....for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation." (Jer 25:12)

Jeremiah 30:17 'For I will restore you to health and I will heal you of your wounds,' declares the LORD, 'Because they have called you an outcast, saying: "It is Zion; no one cares for her."'

THE GREAT PHYSICIAN
WILL RESTORE ISRAEL'S HEALTH!

I will restore...I will heal - In spite of the magnitude of their iniquity which is incurable humanly speaking (Jer 30:12), nothing is too difficult for the Almighty! (Jer 32:17)

The Hebrew word for "restore" is not the same as mentioned in Jer 30:3 (shub), but is the word 'alah (05927) which basically suggests movement from lower to higher place )1st = Ge2:6 Eden watered by mist that “went up” over ground).

Heal (07495)(rapha) means to heal (both figurative and literal healing), to make whole, to restore to normal (restore health), to cure, to repair. Indeed, Israel's poor health and their wounds were not so much physical as they are moral! While their moral ills were incurable for man, they were curable by the Messiah. As Isaiah explains "He (Messiah) was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5).

As an aside, it is worth noting that the Greek word used in the NT for save (sozo) also means to make well, to heal or to make whole. So in this future day when the remnant place their faith in their Messiah, they will be restored and healed!

Feinberg on they have called you an outcast - "In their contempt, the enemies of God’s nation called her an outcast, for whom no one cared. The figure is that of a woman put away by her husband (cf. Isa 62:4). Why did the Lord consider this treatment of his nation so great an offense? Because the words and actions of the enemies revealed their disregard of God and His expressed purpose for His people. Ultimately, calling them an outcast impugned God’s faithfulness to his elect people."

Here is an excerpt of a sermon preached by Charles Simeon (1759-1836), on Jeremiah 30:17 - Considering how much is spoken in the Holy Scriptures concerning the present and future state of the Jewish nation, it is surprising how little they occupy the attention of the Christian world....they are scarcely ever noticed, so that, to bring the subject before a Christian audience seems almost to require an apology....But this indifference towards them is highly criminal. We are not to imagine, that, because they are under God’s displeasure, we are discharged from all those duties which we owe them as men....Was man justified in despising them, because they were under the chastisement of their offended God? Assuredly not!" (Jeremiah 30:17.The Conversion of the Jews—our Duty to promote it) (Bolding added)

Jeremiah 30:18 "Thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob And have compassion on his dwelling places; And the city will be rebuilt on its ruin, And the palace will stand on its rightful place.

RESTORATION OF JACOB

Restore the fortunes - (shub shebuth) See notes on this great phrase which is used in Jeremiah 30:3 and many other OT passages.

Jacob - Here stands for the entire nation of Israel.

Tents...dwelling places...city...palace - Not just a remodeling but a full restoration and rebuilding.

Have compassion (mercy) (07355)(racham)[/FONT> means to show love for, to love deeply, to feel, show or have compassion on, to be compassionate, show pity or mercy (Hab 3:2-note). Racham speaks of tender, heart-felt concern. To tenderly regard someone (or in Jer 30:18 some "thing" - the "dwelling places" of the restored Jews!) as parents love their infant child. It is amazing that Jehovah's love and compassion is directed even to the dwelling places in the city! This is surely a reflection of His deep compassion for His restored people! How deep the Father's love for saved sinners! (Play and ponder How deep the Father's love for us [and FOR YOU!] by Fernando Ortega).

The city will be rebuilt on its ruin - Jerusalem will be devastated in the horrible time of Jacob's distress, but would be rebuilt and would be glorious. In the next chapter Jeremiah records "Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the city shall be rebuilt for Jehovah from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate." (Jer 31:38, cp Isa 44:26).

On its ruin - Literally "on its tel" - NET Note explains that "A tel is a site where successive layers of occupation are built upon one another after the destruction or decay of the former city. The original site was not abandoned because it had been chosen for strategic purposes, such as proximity to water or ease of defense. Many modern archaeological sites have the designation “Tel” as a component of their name because of this practice."

The palace (armon) will stand on its rightful place - It is interesting that the Jewish writer Rashi understands armon to mean the temple. Feinberg adds that "There are those who understand “palace” to refer to the “temple,” but the meaning is that the city will be settled by a king, with all that pertains to such a residence."

The ESV Study Bible says "The rebuilding of cities prefigures the heavenly Jerusalem," but neglects to say anything about the glorious Millennial reign during which these cities will literally be rebuilt.

Behold (02009)(hinneh) directs the reader's mind to the text, imploring him to give it special attention. The Spirit is trying to arrest our attention that even though Israel's sins iniquity was great and her sins were numerous (Jer 30:14-15), Jehovah would restore them and have compassion on them. Why? Because He is faithful to keep His covenant promises, promises made originally to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Ge 12:1-3, et al). He loves Israel with an everlasting love and thus drew them with lovingkindness (Jer 31:3).

I will restore - Repetition of Jer 30:17.

Moody Bible Commentary (recommended) - Dr. Charles Dyer explains why this restoration is not past but yet future.

The time of fulfillment for Jeremiah's prophecies of the judgments of Babylon and the restoration of Israel is a matter of controversy. Some have suggested that all the future events in the book of Jeremiah, spoken of as "days are coming" (see comments on Ge 16:14 and Ge 31:27-40), were fulfilled when the Jewish people returned from Babylon in 539 BC. However, for a number of reasons, it seems better to understand these as eschatological, end-time, events.

(1) The return is to be from "all the countries where He had banished them" not just from Babylon. This return will be so spectacular it will overshadow in importance the return from Egyptian captivity (Ge 16:14-15; 23:7-8; 29:14; 32:37; Isa 43:5-7; Ezk 34:13-14; 37:21).

(2) When the Jewish people return, they will be transformed spiritually, cleansed of all iniquity and idolatry (Jeremiah 3:15-18; 31:14; 33:6-11; 50:4-5). Sadly, this was not the spiritual condition of the Jewish people when they returned from Babylon. Throughout their post-Babylonian history, Jewish people have wandered from the Lord. The spiritual transformation of Israel will only occur in the future, when the nation will turn and recognize Jesus as Messiah (Zech 12:10).

(3) In the future Israel will "dwell securely" because the land of Israel will be in complete peace, "never to be overthrown again" (Jeremiah 23:6; 31:40; 33:16; 46:27-28). However, when the Jewish people returned from Babylon, they were met with immediate and violent opposition by the Samaritans living in the land (Neh 4:1-8; 6:1-9). That opposition was just the beginning of conflict. Since the return from Babylon, Israel has never enjoyed a time of genuine security. After the captivity they lived under the domination of the Greeks and Romans, then were expelled from the land (AD 70) and suffered persecution (from the Crusades to the Inquisition to the Holocaust) up to the present time. Although the modern state of Israel provides a homeland for the Jewish people, since its founding in 1948 Israel has not had a single year of peace and has been under constant threat of war and annihilation. Only when the Messiah Jesus rules from Jerusalem will the nation be guaranteed to live in safety and "not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever."

(4) In the future Israel will be ruled by King Messiah, the Son of David, the Righteous Branch (Jeremiah 23:5-6; 30:8-11; 33:14-17). He will establish righteousness in the people and security in the land. This certainly did not occur at the return from Babylon, but awaits fulfillment after the time of Jacob's distress, when all Israel will be saved (Romans 11:26-27; Isa 59:20).

(5) The destruction of Babylon described (Ed: Dyer is referring to Jeremiah 50) does not fit the historical events of the period. The prophet foretold that Babylon would be destroyed in a cataclysmic way (Jeremiah 50:29-51:64). But when Babylon fell to the Medes, it was not by violent attack but rather peaceful takeover. The events described here certainly are yet future.

Jeremiah 30:19 'From them will proceed thanksgiving And the voice of those who celebrate; And I will multiply them and they will not be diminished; I will also honor them and they will not be insignificant.

MOURNING TURNED
TO DANCING

From them - From the redeemed Jewish remnant who enter into the Millennial Kingdom. What a contrast this passage presents with the earlier pictures in Jeremiah 7:34; 16:9; 25:10, where the sounds of bride and bridegroom were no longer to be heard!

Thanksgiving (Heb = todah - used in Jer 17:26, 33:11)...celebrate - In the Messianic Kingdom Israel's sorrow will turn to singing! He reiterates this joyous theme in the following chapters of the "Book of Consolation" (e.g., Jer 31:4, Jer 31:12-14, Jer 33:11)

Thanksgiving...voice of those who celebrate is a striking contrast to earlier prophecies in Jeremiah...

Jer 7:34 (context = a description of Judah's sins for which she would be judged) - "Then I will make to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land will become a ruin."

Jer 25:10 (context = decree of judgment on Judah by Babylon) - "Moreover, I will take from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp."

I will multiply them - This promise was also given in the prophecy in Dt 30:5 where Moses wrote "the LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers."

Adam Clarke on I will also honor them - I will put honour upon them every where, so that they shall be no longer contemptible. This will be a very great change, for they are now despised all over the earth.

Honor (KJV = glorify) (03513)(kabad) conveys the basic meaning of be heavy or weighty, but most uses are figurative so that the picture of a "weighty" person in society is one who is honorable, impressive, worthy of respect.

Jeremiah 30:20 'Their children also will be as formerly, And their congregation shall be established before Me; And I will punish all their oppressors.

He continues to enumerate the gracious blessings of the Millennial age for the faithful remnant who survive the time of Jacob's distress.

Jeremiah 30:21 'Their leader shall be one of them, and their ruler shall come forth from their midst; And I will bring him near and he shall approach Me; For who would dare to risk his life to approach Me?' declares the LORD.

Their leader shall be one of them - Most commentaries interpret this as referring to Messiah.

One of them - He will be a Jew.

Wiersbe - Not only will the Messiah be their King, but He will also be their Priest! “Then I will cause Him to draw near, and He shall approach Me” (Jer 30:21NKJV). This is language that applies especially to the Jewish high priest, who alone entered the holy of holies on the annual Day of Atonement (Lev 16). Only Jesus Christ, who is both King and Priest (Heb. 7–8), can qualify to fulfill this prophecy.

Charles Dyer - Walter Kaiser identifies this passage as a picture of the Messiah. The Hebrew word translated leader (‘addir) can be translated “glorious one” and indicates divine origin; it is used four times of either the Lord or God. Nevertheless, this coming glorious ruler will come forth from their midst, be from the Jewish people, as predicted of the Messiah (Gn 49:10; Dt 18:15). The phrase I will bring him near and he shall approach Me indicates a priestly office of this ruler. To come near or to approach (Ex 24:2; Nm 16:5) means “to engage in the work of a priest.” The privilege of drawing near to God in this technical sense belongs only to those persons whom God had set apart for the task. The closing challenge, who would dare to risk his life to approach Me? implies that only the Messiah would be qualified for the task of Glorious Ruler-Priest. (Moody Bible Commentary)

Jeremiah 30:22 'You shall be My people, And I will be your God.'"

COVENANT
LANGUAGE

I will be their God - This promise was first given in the Abrahamic Covenant in Ge 17:8 = "And I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." Whenever you see this phrase, recognize that it is clearly speaking about God's covenant with His people.

This promise is given repeatedly to Israel by Jehovah by several OT prophets (Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah)...

"And I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart." (Jeremiah 24:7)

"But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Jeremiah 31:33)

"And they shall be My people, and I will be their God, and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good, and for the good of their children after them." (Jeremiah 32:38-39)

"And I shall give them one heart, and shall put a new spirit within them (Ed: The blessings of the New Covenant). And I shall take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances, and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God." (Ezekiel 11:19-20-note)

"In order that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me and no longer defile themselves with all their transgressions. Thus they will be My people, and I shall be their God,"' declares the Lord GOD." (Ezekiel 14:11-note)

"And you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God. (Ezekiel 36:28-note)

"And they will be My people, and I will be their God....."My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people." (Ezekiel 37:23, 27-note)

"And I will bring them back, and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem, and they will be My people and I will be their God in truth and righteousness." (Zechariah 8:8 )

"And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, 'They are My people,' And they will say, 'The LORD is my God.'" (Zechariah 13:9)

NET Note adds that "It is a formula referring to a covenant relationship in which God pledges to protect, provide, and be present with His people....."

Jeremiah 30:23 Behold, the tempest of the LORD! Wrath has gone forth, A sweeping tempest; It will burst on the head of the wicked.

A STORM
FROM JEHOVAH

Behold (02009)(hinneh) calls for the reader to pay close attention to what follows. Stop for a moment and ponder the picture presented by Jeremiah! The omnipotent God finally unleashing His full fury on the wicked! The picture should stop us in our tracks. It should arrest our attention. And it should serve to motivate us to a holy fear the next time we are sorely tempted to commit that sin which so easily entangles us! Pay day, some day! The full wrath fell on the Lamb, so it does not have to fall on those who take shelter in His "ark." Have you received His righteousness by grace through faithful. The doors of the Ark are still "open," but they will not remain open forever!

Jeremiah 30:23 is almost a verbatim repetition of Jer 23:19–20 -

"Behold, the storm of Jehovah has gone forth in wrath, Even a whirling tempest; It will swirl down on the head of the wicked. The anger of the LORD will not turn back Until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; In the last days you will clearly understand it (cp Jer 30:24)."

Comment: Notice the phrase "clearly understand"! There will be no more arguments about whether the millennium is pre-, a- or post-!

From the following context (Jer 30:24 = "the latter days") this tempest of the LORD (cp Jer 23:19) will come about in the latter days in the time of the Tribulation. Revelation 6-19 describes details of this "tempest." The Septuagint uses the noun orge to translate tempest and this same noun orge is used to describe the wrath of God in Revelation 6:16-17-note, Rev 14:10-note, Rev 16:19-note and Rev 19:15-note. Orge conveys the picture of a swelling which eventually bursts, and thus describes an anger that proceeds from one’s settled nature. Orge describes God's resentment toward sin that seethes and smolders and will finally fully burst forth in Revelation 6-19!

Jeremiah 30:24 The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has performed and until He has accomplished the intent of His heart. In the latter days you will understand this.

Prophetic Passage - Jeremiah 30:7 is a prophecy which will be fulfilled at the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the last half of Daniel's Seventieth Week, at the end of the 3.5 year period (the Great Tribulation) at which time the Messiah establishes His literal, earthly Millennial Kingdom.

Fierce anger - The anger of God would have been sufficiently frightening but to call it fierce anger should help us grasp the gravity of sin.

Until - Until means up to the point in time or the event mentioned. Thank God for this expression of time for it depicts Jehovah's fierce anger going forth but finally being finished!

He has accomplished the intent of His heart - God's wrath is not like man's but has a holy purpose which He will surely bring to pass. In the context of Jeremiah 30, surely one major aspect of that purpose is that "all Israel will be saved." (Ro 11:26).

HCSB on Jer 30:23-24 - To forestall any false security from the promises just delivered in Jer 30:17-22, judgment must be poured out on the guilty. God's judgment will be like a sudden windstorm. His wrath will continue until the purposes of His heart are completely fulfilled. His purposes cannot be enacted until the sins of Israel and her adversaries have been addressed.

In the latter days you will understand this - Remember Jeremiah is addressing Jews (in captivity) and he is giving them a promise that they might not fully understand at this time. Nor would Jews reading it in the centuries that followed. However God promises that in the future (the latter days) the Jews (the believing remnant) will understand why all of these things happened to them.

Jeremiah's fellow exilic prophet Daniel was given a similar promise -

But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase. (Da 12:4-note).

MacArthur comments go back and forth - This Heb. verb form always refers to the movement of a person searching for something. In the tribulation, people will search for answers to the devastation and discover increased knowledge through Daniel’s preserved book

As for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, "My lord, what will be the outcome of these events?" And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time. "Many will be purged, purified and refined; but the wicked will act wickedly, and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand." (Da 12:8-10-note)

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"Jeremiah on the Ruins of Jerusalem"
(Horace Vernet, 1844)

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Jeremiah 30 Commentary

"Jeremiah on the Ruins of Jerusalem" (Horace Vernet, 1844)

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"Jeremiah on the Ruins of Jerusalem"
(Horace Vernet, 1844)