Geremia 30:4 Commento

The sermon which we have in this and the following chapter is of a very different complexion from all those before. The prophet does indeed, by direction from God, change his voice. Most of what he had said hitherto was by way of reproof and threatening; but these two chapters are wholly taken up with precious promises of a return out of captivity, and that typical of the glorious things reserved for the church in the days of the Messiah. The prophet is told not only to preach this, but to write it, because it is intended for the comfort of the generation to come (Jer 30:1-3). It is here promised, I. That they should hereafter have a joyful restoration. 1. Though they were now in a great deal of pain and terror (Jer 30:4-7). 2. Though their oppressors were very strong (Jer 30:8-10). 3. Though a full end was made of other nations, and they were not restored (Jer 30:11). 4. Though all means of their deliverance seemed to fail and be cut off (Jer 30:12-14). 5. Though God himself had sent them into captivity, and justly, for their sins (Jer 30:15, Jer 30:16). 6. Though all about them looked upon their case as desperate (Jer 30:17). II. That after their joyful restoration they should have a happy settlement, that their city should be rebuilt (Jer 30:18), their numbers increased (Jer 30:19, Jer 30:20), their government established (Jer 30:21), God's covenant with them renewed (Jer 30:22), and their enemies destroyed and cut off (Jer 30:23, Jer 30:24).

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 30 This chapter contains a prophecy of the call and conversion of the Jews in the latter day; which being a matter of moment and importance, and that it might continue, and be read hereafter, it is ordered to be written in a book, Jer 30:1; the thing itself is expressed by a return from captivity to their own land, Jer 30:3; but previous to this there would be most dreadful times, as never were the like, Jer 30:4; yet there would be a deliverance from them, and from the yoke of the oppressor; when the Jews should serve the Lord God, and the true Messiah, Jer 30:8; of which deliverance and salvation they are assured in the strongest terms, though all other nations should be made an end of, among whom they were, Jer 30:10; and though their ease might seem to be desperate, Jer 30:12; nevertheless they should be brought into a very comfortable and happy estate; their city rebuilt; their offspring increased; and religious worship established; and, above all, the Messiah should be made known to them as their King and Priest, and they appear to be the Lord's covenant people, Jer 30:18; and the chapter is concluded with threatening utter destruction to the wicked, Jer 30:23.

And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel, and concerning Judah. Which follow in this chapter and the next; first concerning Israel, the ten tribes; and then concerning the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, even concerning all Israel; whereas, if this prophecy only respects the return from the captivity in Babylon, there is very little in it which concerns the ten tribes, or but a very few of them. The words may be rendered, "unto Israel, and unto Judah"; as being the persons to whom they were directed, as well as were the subjects of them.

(Verse 4 and following) And these are the words that the Lord spoke to Israel and Judah, for this is what the Lord says: We have heard the voice of terror (or fear), and there is no peace. Inquire and see if a male gives birth. Why then do I see every man with his hand on his loins like a woman in labor, and all faces have turned pale? First, sadness is announced, so that after the magnitude of evils, joy may follow. Indeed, good health is more pleasant when illness has been driven away; and the magnitude of pain is turned into the magnitude of joys. But what he says is this, that such will be the fear and such the terror, that with peace driven away, everything will be filled with wars and blood, and even men (whose proper role is to fight against enemies) will be overcome by feminine fear: and their hands will not be directed to weapons, but to holding onto their kidneys, as if a woman in labor were holding onto her loins. And so the appearance of all will be turned into rust, the terror of the heart, the paleness of the countenance testifying. Some interpret this place according to tropology, so that they think that testimony: From fear of you, O Lord, we have conceived, and brought forth, and brought forth: we have made the spirit of your salvation upon the earth (Isaiah 26:17-18), and that Apostolic one in which it says: My little children, of whom I am in labor again, until Christ be formed in you (Galatians 4:19), is compared to this example: which is manifestly not to be pertained to terror, but to joy, since the present Scripture denotes the devastation of Israel, and the time of ruin.

RESTORATION OF THE JEWS FROM BABYLON AFTER ITS CAPTURE, AND RAISING UP OF MESSIAH. (Jer. 30:1-24) Write . . . in a book--After the destruction of Jerusalem Jeremiah is not ordered as heretofore to speak, but to write the succeeding prophecy (Jer 30:4, &c.), so as thereby it might be read by his countrymen wheresoever they might be in their dispersion.

The judgment on the nations for the deliverance of Israel. - Jer 30:4. "And these are the words which Jahveh spake concerning Israel and Judah: Jer 30:5. For thus saith Jahveh: We have heard a cry of terror, fear, and no peace. Jer 30:6. Ask now, and see whether a male bears a child? Why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in childbirth, and every face turned to paleness? Jer 30:7. Alas! for that day is great, with none like it, and it is a time of distress for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it. Jer 30:8. And it shall come to pass on that day, saith Jahveh of hosts, that I will break his yoke from upon thy neck, and I will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more put servitude on him; Jer 30:9. But they shall serve Jahveh their God, and David their king, whom I shall raise up to them. Jer 30:10. But fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith Jahveh, neither be confounded, O Israel; for, behold, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be at rest, and be secure, and there shall be none making him afraid. Jer 30:11. For I am with thee, saith Jahveh, to save thee; for I will make an end of all the nations whither I have scattered thee, yet of thee will I not make an end, but I will chastise thee properly and will not let thee go quite unpunished." With Jer 30:4 is introduced the description of Israel's restoration announced in Jer 30:3. This introduction is not absolutely necessary, but neither is it for that reason spurious and to be expunged, as Hitzig seeks to do; it rather corresponds to the breadth of Jeremiah's representation. The כּי in Jer 30:5 is explicative: "Thus, namely, hath Jahveh spoken." With the lively dramatic power of a poet, the prophet at once transports the hearers or readers of his prophecy, in thought, into the great day to come, which is to bring deliverance to all Israel. As a day of judgment, it brings terror and anguish on all those who live to see it. קול חרדה, "A voice (sound) of trembling (or terror) we hear," viz., the people, of whom the prophet is one. פּחד does not depend on שׁמענוּ, but forms with ואין שׁלום an independent clause: "There is fear and not peace" (or safety). Jer 30:6. What is the cause of this great horror, which makes all men, from convulsive pains, hold their hands on their loins, so as to support their bowels, in which they feel the pangs, and which makes every countenance pale? In Jer 30:7 the cause of this horror is declared. It is the great day of judgment that is coming. "That (not hits) day" points to the future, and thus, even apart from other reasons, excludes the supposition that it is the day of the destruction of Jerusalem that is meant. The words "that day is great" refer to Joe 2:11, and "there is none like it" is an imitation of Joe 2:2; in the latter passage the prophet makes use of a judgment which he had seen passed on Judah - its devastation by locusts - and for the first time presents, as the main element in his prophecy, the idea of the great day of judgment to come on all nations, and by which the Lord will perfect His kingdom on this earth. This day is for Jacob also, i.e., for all Israel, a time of distress; for the judgment falls not merely on the heathen nations, but also on the godless members of the covenant people, that they may be destroyed from among the congregation of the Lord. The judgment is therefore for Israel as well as for other nations a critical juncture, from which the Israel of God, the community of the faithful, will be delivered. This deliverance is described more in detail in Jer 30:8. The Lord will break the yoke imposed on Israel, free His people from all bondage to strangers, i.e., the heathen, so that they may serve only Him, the Lord, and David, His king, whom He will raise up. The suffix in עלּו is referred by several expositors (Hitzig, Ngelsbach) to the king of Babylon, "as having been most clearly before the minds of Jeremiah and his contemporaries;" in support of this view we are pointed to Isa 10:27, as a passage which may have been before the eyes of Jeremiah. But neither this parallel passage nor צוּארך (with the suffix of the second person), which immediately follows, sufficiently justifies this view. For, in the second half also of the verse, the second person is interchanged with the third, and מוסרותיך, which is parallel with עלּו, requires us to refer the suffix in the latter word to Jacob, so that "his yoke" means "the yoke laid on him," as in Kg1 12:4; Isa 9:3. It is also to be borne in mind that, throughout the whole prophecy, neither Babylon nor the king of Babylon is once mentioned; and that the judgment described in these verses cannot possibly be restricted to the downfall of the Babylonian monarchy, but is the judgment that is to fall upon all nations (Jer 30:11). And although this judgment begins with the fall of the Babylonian supremacy, it will bring deliverance to the people of God, not merely from the yoke of Babylon, but from every yoke which strangers have laid or will lay on them. Jer 30:9 Then Israel will no longer serve strangers, i.e., foreign rulers who are heathens, but their God Jahveh, and David the king who will be raised up to them, i.e., the Messiah, the righteous sprout that Jahveh will raise up to David; cf. Jer 23:5. The designation of this sprout as "David their king," i.e., the king of the Israelites, points us back to Hos 3:5. Jer 30:10-11 Israel the servant of Jahveh, i.e., the true Israel, faithful and devoted to God, need thus fear nothing, since their God will deliver them from the land of their captivity, and stand by them as their deliverer, so that they shall be able to dwell in peace and undisturbed security in their own land. For Jahveh will make a complete end of all the nations among whom Israel has been scattered; Israel, on the other hand, He shall certainly chastise, but למּשׁפּט (according to what is right, in due measure), that they may be made better by their punishment. As to the expression יסּר למּשׁפּט, see on Jer 10:24; for לא עשׂה כלה, see on Jer 4:27 and Jer 5:18 (אתך for אתּך, Jer 5:18); and lastly, on נקּה לא אנקּך, cf. Ex. 34:47, Num 14:18, Nah 1:3. Jer 30:10 and Jer 30:11 are repeated in Jer 46:27-28, though with some slight changes. (Note: The general strain of these verses is the same as that of the second portion of Isaiah; hence Hitzig, following Movers, views them as an interpolation made by the reviser. But this view is most incorrect, as Graf has already pointed out. The only expression which, besides the repetition made in Jer 46:27, occurs nowhere else in Jeremiah, but frequently in the second Isaiah, is, "my servant Jacob;" cf. Isa 44:1-2; Isa 45:4; Isa 48:20 and Isa 41:8; Isa 44:21; Isa 49:3. All the rest is not characteristic of Isaiah. "Thus, 'Fear not, I am with thee,' is certainly found in Isa 43:5, but also in Gen 26:24; 'Fear not, neither be afraid,' is found in a like connection in Isa 51:7, but also in Jer 23:24; Deu 1:21; Deu 31:8; Jos 8:1; cf. Isa 44:2; Jer 1:8, Jer 1:17; Jos 1:9. יעקוב occurs also in Jer 30:7, Jer 30:10, 25, Lam 2:3. For מושׁיעך, cf. Jer 14:8; for מרחק, cf. Jer 23:23; Jer 31:3; Jer 51:50. In the second part of Isaiah, שׁאנן occurs as seldom as ואין; on the other hand, cf. Jer 48:11; Jer 7:33. The expressions found in Jer 30:11 are as rare in the second part of Isaiah as they are frequent in Jeremiah. Thus, 'For I am with thee to save thee" is found in Jer 15:20; Jer 42:11; 'to make a full end' occurs also in Jer 4:27; Jer 5:10, Jer 5:18; 'I shall certainly not let thee go unpunished,' which, like Nah 1:3, seems to have been taken from Exo 34:7 or Num 14:18, is not found at all in the second part of Isaiah; הפיץ, which is found in Jer 9:15; Jer 13:24; Jer 18:17; Jer 23:1., appears only in Isa 41:16; and while יסּר is used in the same meaning in Jer 10:24, יסּר occurs nowhere in the second part of Isaiah, and למּשׁפּט is found in Isa 41:1; Isa 54:17; Isa 59:11, in quite a different connection and meaning." (Graf.))