It was the best of times: Two towns (Zechariah chapter 2)

 OUT OF THE CHAOS: A study in the book of Zechariah 

Chapter 2: It was the best of times: Two towns 

 

Given 28 April 2023

By Bob Mendelsohn

Sydney, Australia

This talk is on YouTube on:

https://youtu.be/DaDqaXKIjhs

 

We are continuing in this prophetic book written by a young Jewish man living in Jerusalem about 500 BCE as he writes to his people, those living there in Judah and also to those living in Babylon. To each of those groups, he has some clear words and I trust that those words he spoke 2500 years ago will speak to you and to me as we will consider what God meant as he used that young man. And we will try to learn what God has to say to us as 21^st Century people. 

As per usual, my usual method will take us through a chapter each Friday morning, and then we will have plenty of time for discussion and questions in the final half-hour. If you are watching this teaching on YouTube after our class, please feel free to write me (bob@jewsforjesus.org.au) and I will try to answer queries if I’m able. 

If you don’t already receive the email invitations to join this class live, please enter your email address just now, type it into the chat box or write our office (admin@jewsforjesus.org.au) and ask to be invited. Thanks. 

Also if you don’t mind, please read the chapter before you come to the class live, and if you are watching YouTube, pause your playback, read chapter 2 and then rejoin us. Thanks.

Let’s jump in. Today’s lesson begins with a young man and a measuring line. He’s a surveyor. And this is Vision #3 in this quick listing of night visions that Zechariah sees. Oh, by the way, for those using a Masoretic text or any number of Hebrew versions of the Bible, the 2^nd chapter actually begins with the first two visions from last week, the horns and the tradies. But as of today, we are all reading from the same text. 

Vision 3 is about a surveyor who is to measure the length and width of Jerusalem. And you have to ask yourself, why is that included here? Chapter 1.16 indicated that the point of Zechariah’s talks, his clear message was to get the Jewish people focused on the rebuilding of the Temple. And as a spoiler alert, you should know that the Temple was rebuilt, even in his day, and that it saw a significant increase in the times of the Romans. That Temple is the one where Yeshua visited and from which he spoke many times. That Temple took 46 years to build, and Yeshua prophesied that if people destroyed “The Temple”, he would rebuild it in three days. (John 2.19) The people mocked him at that, but he was insistent and of course, he was speaking about his own body. 

Back to Zechariah. The man in the vision says he is off to measure Jerusalem. That’s it. That’s the end of the encounter. 

Verse 3. One angel exits and another one enters. Nothing of these visions seems elaborate to me. In fact, they are highlighting one thing, over and over. That is, that the Jewish people have hope, and it’s wrapped up in being in Jerusalem at that time, and getting down to work on the building project at hand. 

You have to remember that 70 years before, or so, under the guidance of the then prophet Jeremiah, God had instructed the Jewish people something very different. Chpater 29 read as follows:

“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon,  ‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their ¹produce. Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’ For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares the LORD.” (29.4-9)

Back in Jeremiah’s day, the way to ‘salvation’ was clear and very different to the words in Zechariah’s day. For the Jewish people to survive and to succeed in 587 BCE we had to move to Babylon, to build cities and seek the welfare of that city. We had to settle down and get married. We had to build gardens and cities and listen to few prophets. We had to pray for the welfare of Babylon!

But the vision and the accompanying oracles are now telling Zechariah and thus the people of God that our hope is now moving back to Jerusalem. Get out of Dodge; get out of Babylon. Stop seeking the welfare of that city. Move, in fact, the angel says, “Run!” in verse 4 and in verse 6, “Flee” from the land of the North (Now that used to be a reference to Assyrian, but since Babylon captured it, Northland implies Babylon. Again in verse 6, the ‘four winds’ speak of whirlwind and thus quick motion. And in verse 7, ‘escape’ says the same to me. It’s about getting out of town quickly. 

Does that remind you of the Exodus? We’d been there 400 years and in a few days we are told to spoil the Egyptians and get out of Goshen and out of Egypt. 

So back to the vision. Angel #2 comes out and tells retiring angel #1 to go back to the “young man.” That’s a reference to Zechariah. 

The message? Go and tell him that Jerusalem will be inhabited. Significantly. Massive numbers of animals and people will be in town. Not only for a festival or a pilgrimage. They will move in. Don’t delay. Don’t require the fences to be established first. Get with the housing industry, let ‘er rip!

You know when a construction site is established here in Australia, around a new metro station or when a bit of demolishing is going to take place, someone sets up a perimeter. They establish the limitations as a wall. Then the signage goes on indicating ‘no handbills or else there will be consequences.’ We really don’t know what is being built or demolished, but we know there will be action. 

Zechariah is being told to get on with the work, without the required fencing. Don’t build a wall. You don’t need to spend energy protecting what is not yours. You need to get the housing contracts and the main site to be the Temple. Walls will be rebuilt by Nehemiah some 75 to 80 years later. Your job? Get that Temple built again!

God will take care of protection. He will be a ‘wall of fire’. 

ח֥וֹמַת אֵ֖שׁ

Personally, he will see to us. Our role: build that Temple. That will lodge him as significant inside the walls. It will be a daily reminder of God’s grandeur and significance. He is not yet so to the people of God. He wants to be to you and to me.

More in verse 5. I will be the glory in her midst. This promise of God’s majesty is the centrepoint of this message to me. All the stuff, the walls, the fire, the angels …they all help me see that God wants to be all in all. He is NOT YET all in all. He wants the relationship with Israel and Judah to be complete. Yes, get the Temple built, but it’s not about the Temple. Yes, get back to the Land, but it’s not about the land. It’s about God himself!

Now in verses 6 and following, God speaks to those exiles still living in Babylon. Get out. Yes, in verse 6, I dispersed you. Some will argue, the Babylonians did it. Some will say the Assyrians before them caused the removal of the Jewish people. God says, “I did it.” Judgment begins with the house of God. We had sinned and the warnings were clear. Stop and if you don’t stop, I will judge you. And so we as Jewish people were judged significantly. 

But now the 70 years are up, like the 400 years were up in Egypt, and God says ‘get out.’ 

Think about it, though. Jerusalem was not in repair. It was not flourishing. There were no gardens. It did not look the land of milk and honey. It was destitute. No Temple. No gardens. Where were the gardens? Babylon. Where was there money and comfort? Babylon. Where were most of the Jewish people living? Babylon. God is calling his people to exit comfort and walk with him in discomfort. That’s a stretch. That’s a tough call. God is calling us out of comfort to chaos, but it’s ordered chaos, under his lordship!

Verse 8 has a tough phrase to translate. Very few agree on this one. It’s three words

אַחַ֣ר כָּב֔וֹד שְׁלָחַ֕נִי

Smith in his commentary says, “is the most puzzling clause in the book. Is it to be taken as a purpose clause to mean that Yahweh sent Zechariah to get glory; or as a temporal clause “after the glory i.e. the vision, Yahweh sent me. . .”? Does “glory” refer to Yahweh as the RSV indicates; or to the vision (KJV); or to heaviness or insistence, as Chary and Baldwin believe? כּבוֹד basically means “to be heavy.” Baldwin suggests “with insistence he sent me” (p. 109). Others emend or transpose the text in order to get a clear reading.”

I agree with Michael Stead, bishop of South Sydney, who translated it as, “For this is what the Lord Almighty says, who for the sake of his honour sent me against the nations that have plundered you,”

That makes sense. It’s the purpose. God is sending Zechariah for his own sake. But the Hebrew is a bit tough; I’ll give everyone that. 

Listen to the rest of verse 8. “Touches the apple of God’s eye.” This is the soft spot in God’s vision. It’s the Jewish people. Don’t mess. Like Genesis 12 taught from the beginning. Bless Israel, you will get a blessing. Curse them, you will be cursed. Babylon? You are going down for what you did to Judah 100 years ago. 

Verse 9. God is about to act for his name’s sake. I almost see a magician waving his hand over a scene. Or maybe I should stay with the Egypt motif and see the hand of God’s judgment falling on the Egyptians. 

Verse 10. Sing and rejoice. Hey, Jewish people, it’s not yet done, but it will be. It’s as good as done. Yes, you are right, it’s incomplete, but the eyes of faith see the end from the beginning. God is about to act on your behalf and for his name’s sake. Now it will happen, then it will be done. Now and not yet. What is our job today? Sing and rejoice. Why? God is coming and will dwell with us. 

Where will that take place? Jerusalem. Where? In the Temple.

Verse 11 is shocking. Who will be there in the Temple? Who will be there with God? Many nations!

גוֹיִ֨ם רַבִּ֤ים

It won’t only be the Jewish nation. This is shocking. In verse 8, God’s judgement is coming against ‘the nations’ (el hagoyim), but now only moments later, the word of the Lord will make clear that Gentiles will be welcomed in God’s Big Tent. There is room for all peoples. The measuring rod and line at the beginning hearkens to Ezekiel chapter 40 and the immense measurement of the City and the Temple. It’s not only for Jews; it’s for all nations. Whoever will! And we will see that in Zechariah 14 at the end of this prophecy as well. 

Who is included in that? There might be Babylonians. There might be Assyrians. It’s not the entire populace of Mesopotamia or Shinar. But there will be people from every kindred, tribe and tongue in the Family of God in the largesse of God, in God’s glory. Wow, what a vision!

Verse 11 says when those nations join, you will know that God is who he claimed to be. And those nations will be joined to us in such a way that together we are ‘My people.’ Wow, if only Peter had known that verse when the vision of the heavenly sheet dropped in Joppa. If only the disciples had understood that when Yeshua spoke to a Canaanite woman and healed her or others who were not properly Jewish. God’s people includes all who name the name of the Lord. Jews and non-Jews. Men, women, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free. Whoever names Yeshua as Lord… they are God’s people.

Verse 12. God again highlights the geography about which he’s speaking. The English phrase ‘holy land’ is only used here, but it’s not ‘eretz’, but rather ‘adamah.’ Holy ground. Holy dirt. Same phrase as when Moses met God at the burning bush. Take off your shoes. Holy ground. 

No wonder the chapter ends with the silence required in verse 13. Habakkuk ends chapter 2 of his prophecy with that same thought.  “But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him.” (2.20)

We who encounter the Lord, in Sydney, on Zoom, in our local church, in our neighbourhood, in a paddock, or wherever, when we do, let all the earth be silent before him. 

Before you rush into a prayer meeting. Before you share your prayer list with the Almighty, be silent. Consider his purposes. Consider his love. His mercy. His intention to all people, even to you… consider and be grateful. Be and then speak. 

God’s plans will be accomplished. Listen and learn. And then sing and rejoice. And welcome others. So be it. Amen.

Remember, you who are watching today, if you are not yet a follower of Yeshua, and see his love for you, his kindness extended, his offer of forgiveness available, right where you are, submit to him, to his lordship, to his care, and your life will take on new meaning, new substance, and you will have mates on this call, and in your neighbourhood and wherever you travel… the Kingdom is advancing under the King. Chaos is subjugated, life is available.

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Resource on video

To see a fun video overview of the book of Zechariah see this from Bible Project:

https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/zechariah/

 

Bibliography:

Smith, Ralph, Micah to Malachi: Word Biblical Commentary (Volume 32), Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1984.

Stead, Michael, Zechariah: The Lord Returns, Aquila Press, Sydney, 2015.

Webb, Barry, The Message of Zechariah: Your Kingdom Come, Intervarsity Press, Nottingham, 2003.

Wiersbe, Warren, Be Heroic: Demonstrating Bravery by your Walk, David C. Cook Press, Colorado Springs, 1997.

 

The king of love my shepherd is (A study in Jeremiah 33)

 Truth and Consequences:    

A study in the prophecy of Jeremiah

Chapter 33

By Bob Mendelsohn

Given 12 August 2022

 

Lesson Thirty-three: The King of love my shepherd is

 

INTRODUCTION

  Springtime is a time of great hope and beauty; the winter’s chills and snow and ice are melting and the sun is lingering longer. For many, this is their favourite season. It won’t be long as summer’s heat will soon be on us, and the buds on the bushes and trees will soon be blossoming. Sheep have plenty of good grass to eat, and Bondi Beach is booming again with tumbling children and splashing surfers. The world will be wonderful for many; the promise of spring and thus summer was in us last week. We had temps in the 20s and the sun shone relentlessly. I thought winter was over; winter was not complete as this week has evidenced. 

Why am I giving you this meteorological report? That you and I might think thoughts of the promise of sunshine when the sun is not shining. We need to think of promises of warmth when baby, it’s cold outside. Promises are not to be held onto when they are fulfilled; you have to hold onto promises when they are oh, so far, far away.

That said, in today’s chapter, we hear a repeat of many of the promises God made to the Judeans in chapters 30 and 31, with a new promise about King David and about Levites. Stay tuned to hear what God will say, and remember, it’s not when they are fulfilled that you ponder them. 

Let’s hear what God is saying to us in this messed up and darkening world from chapter 33 of Jeremiah. 

Verse 1 tells us the timeline of this chapter, the same as last chapter. Jeremiah is still in prison, again, like house arrest, and in this whole chapter we don’t hear anything about his prayers or his response at all. It’s all “THUS SAYS GOD” and as such is a litany of God’s thoughts, not those of the prophet. 

Verse 2, God self-introduces as is his custom, as the God who created the world, and everything in it. And that would include Babylonians and Judeans and even Kiwis. 

Verse 3, call to me, and I will answer you. It’s particular. It’s personal. God is inviting us to listen and to pray and his promise is immediate. I will answer you, he says. Can you take comfort in that promise? Today? Are you currently asking God to accomplish something? He promises to hear us. Do you believe that?

What will he tell us, great and mighty things we don’t already know. Awesome, we will have wisdom granted. We will be alerted to his plans for our neighbours and our children. Things we do not know. Like the timing of his provision. Like the times he will answer in the affirmative and times in the negative. 

Verse 4, second time, “Thus says the Lord.” And what’s the subject of this word? The houses where we live and the houses of the leadership. The defences are broken down and the enemy will enter to ruin. God says that he is open to listen to us. There are walls around the city-- they are down; there are walls around God. They are also down, but open to us! It’s a brilliant image.

Verse 5, God has hidden himself, due to our sinfulness. Our ra’ah. Listen hell may well be defined as the ultimate isolation and loneliness, far not only from the madding crowd, but also far from the Living God. If heaven is relationship and fellowship and belonging, then hell is lack of relationship and loneness and not belonging. 

Verse 6 HINEY, Behold, don’t miss this. ‘Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth. God will heal, three times in this one verse, healing is coming. Yes, admit you are sick and go to the doctor of life (God) so that your healing comes. No one gets well without such an admission. 

Arucha means ‘health’ and it comes from the root ERECH, like in Erech Apayim, long or slow to anger, and I’m glad God is perhaps slow to bring healing, but it will surely come. Also I cannot get away from the last word. Truth. Telling the truth about God. About you. About your relationship or lack of one. This promise is worth writing on a post, or on a post it, or on your wall in bright colours… God will reveal an abundance of peace and truth. 

Verse 7, we’ve seen this phrase before several times…

וַהֲשִֽׁבֹתִי֙ אֶת־שְׁב֣וּת

I will restore the fortunes. Restore the captivity (that is, to erase the captivity) Not in a permanent or conclusive way, but reset factory settings, take us back to where we were before we fell. Before we were tainted by idolatry in Judah and before we were taken into captivity. 

Verse 8, God says he will both make us pure (Taher) and forgive us (Salach) for both our sins and our transgressions. Look, so many of us use different words either to soften the reality of our sin or to excuse it, but 

“The three most familiar Hebrew terms for sin occur in this verse. The verbs ‏חטא‎, “sin” (twice), and ‏פשׁע‎, “rebel,” take singular and plural forms of the noun ‏עון, “iniquity,” as their objects (cf Hos 12:9). Every indictment in the book of Jeremiah contributes to the description of Israel’s and Judah’s iniquity.”

 

And don’t miss this object word “LI” in the text. 

מִכָּל־עֲוֹנָ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֣ר חָֽטְאוּ־לִ֑י

You sinned li, that is, against me. God takes our sins against people and against nature and against our families and against ourselves… he takes those sins personally and says you sin against me. That’s why fixing problems people-to-people is useful in social circumstances, but it doesn’t fix our lives. Only in repairing our relationship with God, in atonement, in blood-for-blood atonement, is our relationship fixable. Our lives are restored if we get right with God, and it won’t be good until then. 

“It will be to Me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for them, and they will fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.’” (verse 9)

What is the ‘it’? It’s Jerusalem. That tells me that this is a prediction that will not take place until at least 70 years hence. And what are the three characteristics that define that new city? Joy, praise, and glory. Remember those from Jer. 13.11 and from Deuteronomy 26.19, God will fulfil his promises to make Jerusalem glorious, but not from military victories. Rather, this is from God being good to the peoples of the earth. Good is used twice in this sentence. God’s goodness leads people to repentance. God’s goodness leads us to thankfulness. 

Verse 10, Another “Thus says the Lord.” Third time. And through verse 11, the misfortunes of lack and of famine will be replaced with merriment and restoration. And the standard “Hodu” is sung, and is probably inserted by later authors to remind the people (“Sing God’s thanks as usual here.”)

Verses 12-13, there are five images of sheep and shepherds and if you think that’s about pastoral situations you are very close to right. It’s about the leadership of the ‘sheep of his pasture” namely the people of Israel and the kings. God will make those relationships back to ‘as in the beginning’ before the current kings had ruined things.

The verb ‘count’ surprised me, but when I think of the Lost items parables of Luke 15, that’s the only way the shepherd would know if there were 99 + 1. Only in counting his sheep did the shepherd know the flock. John 10 is where the apostle listed his “Jesus is the Good Shepherd” speech. And there we see that Jesus ‘knows his sheep’ and they ‘hear his voice and follow him.’ I identify with this notion. God made me one of his sheep and he loves and cares for me as a shepherd. The king of love, my shepherd is. No one “can take us out of his hand.”

Verse 14 introduces the promise he already gave us in chapter 23. The righteous branch, this one who is coming, will execute justice and that sounds royal and like a good king rather than the ones we’ve recently had to lead us. He will lead us to good, to holiness and purity. And in verse 15, another direct quote from the earlier chapter, the one who is born to us is named “Jehovah our righteousness.” Whoever this one is, he’s not only the rep of God; he IS God and that’s a massive surprise, eh?

Then verses 16 and 17, another Thus says the Lord (#4) the double surprise that only makes sense in terms of Yeshua, the greater Son of David. We read that there will never be a time without a Davidic king and without priests to perform sacrifices. This clearly is not fulfilled and we have an enigma.

Listen how Barnes solves this: “Read literally, these verses promise the permanent restoration of the Davidic throne and (of the Levitical priesthood. As a matter of fact Zedekiah was the last king of David’s line, and the Levitical priest-hood has long passed away. Both these changes Jeremiah himself foretold (Jeremiah 22:30; 3:16). In what way then is this apparent contradiction (compare Isaiah 66:20–23; Ezekiel 40–48) to be explained? The solution is probably as follows. It was necessary that the Bible should be intelligible to the people at the time when it was written, and in some degree to the writer. The Davidic kingship and the Levitical priest-hood were symbols, which represented to the Jew all that was most dear to his heart in the state of things under which he lived. Their restoration was the restoration of his national and spiritual life. Neither was so restored as to exist permanently. But that was given instead, of which both were types, the Church, whose Head is the true prophet, priest and King.”

Christopher Wright comments about Horizon 2 and 3. He says something similar to Barnes. “The NT affirms that the eternal nature of both the throne of David and the Leviti al priesthood was taken up and fulfilled by Jesus Christ. The angel declared the former (Luke 1.32-33) and Hebrews declares the latter (Heb. 8-10)”

This makes sense and we addressed it last week with the whole David restoration. It won’t be David himself, but the Greater Son of David who will make this happen and the priesthood of the Levites and their work in the Temple will terminate in 70 CE, BUT the Great High Priest Yeshua will take their place in substitution. 

Verse 20, Thus says the Lord, again. #5 in this chapter alone. If it’s possible that the sun and moon stop shining, then my covenant is breakable, BUT IT IS NOT. This will not happen as sure as I’m the Creator and SUSTAINER. Again the promises of God to Abraham and David are now reiterated and God will make this happen, for HIS NAME’s sake and in Yeshua they are fulfilled. 

Verse 24-26, people’s sins are apparent, AND YET, there it is…the interrupting grace of Almighty God. But I will ^crestore their ³fortunes and will have ^dmercy on them

God does this. Then. And in 70 years. And in Yeshua and in our lives. 

אָשׁוּב אֶת־שְׁבוּתָ֖ם וְרִחַמְתִּֽים

God, full of mercy and compassion. The Good Shepherd. Restoring the lost son to the Father, saving the 100^th sheep and bringing him back to himself. God doesn’t want any of us lost. He wants us restored. And he will do it. 

Have you encountered him yourself? Have you been born again?

 

CONCLUSION

God is calling each of us to know him and to walk with him, today and throughout our days. Have you received Yeshua as your messiah and Lord? He is risen from the dead! Have you renounced your sin, your idolatry, your forsaking God and given him First Place in your life? If not, please, do so now, just now, as we pray together. Use your own words, if you want, but yield, surrender, to the Lord of life. 

 

PRAYER

Then please write us (admin@jewsforjesus.org.au) to tell us what you have just done, and we will send you literature and encourage you. You are part of our family; we love and appreciate you. And we want you to enjoy the presence of the Lord who calls, who knows, who blesses and builds us up. 

We hope to see you again next week as we study chapter 34. Until then, Shabbat shalom!

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barnes, Albert, Commentary on the Old Testament. (Published by many, from 1880 on)

Henry, Matthew, Commentary.

Keown, Gerald, Scalise, Pamela, Smothers, Thomas, Word Biblical Commentary. Book of Jeremiah (Part 2).  1995. 

McConnville, Gordon, Jeremiah, New Bible Commentary. 

Wright, Christopher, The Message of Jeremiah, The Bible Speaks Today. Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014.

 

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ACTUAL TEXT

Restoration Promised

 

Jer. 33:1   Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still confined in the court of the guard, saying, ² “Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it to establish it, the LORD is His name, ³ ‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ ⁴ “For thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah which are broken down to make a defence against the siege ramps and against the sword, ⁵ ‘While they are coming to fight with the Chaldeans and to fill them with the corpses of men whom I have slain in My anger and in My wrath, and I have hidden My face from this city because of all their wickedness: ⁶ ‘Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth. ⁷ ‘I will restore the ¹fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel and will rebuild them as they were at first. ⁸ ‘I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which they have transgressed against Me. ⁹ ‘It will be to Me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for them, and they will fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.’

 

Jer. 33:10   “Thus says the LORD, ‘Yet again there will be heard in this place, of which you say, “It is a waste, without man and without beast,” that is, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, ¹¹  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.

 

Jer. 33:12   “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘There will again be in this place which is waste, without man or beast, and in all its cities, a habitation of shepherds who rest their flocks. ¹³ ‘In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the Negev, in the land of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who numbers them,’ says the LORD.

 

The Davidic Kingdom

 

Jer. 33:14   ‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfil the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ¹⁵ ‘In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. ¹⁶ ‘In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the LORD is our righteousness.’ ¹⁷ “For thus says the LORD, ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; ¹⁸ and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to prepare sacrifices continually.’”

 

Jer. 33:19   The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁰ “Thus says the LORD, ‘If you can break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night will not be at their appointed time, ²¹ then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers. ²² ‘As the host of heaven cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.’”

 

Jer. 33:23   And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁴ “Have you not observed what this people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families which the LORD chose, He has rejected them’? Thus they despise My people, no longer are they as a nation ¹in their sight. ²⁵ “Thus says the LORD, ‘If My covenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established, ²⁶ 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.’”