Chapter XXXIII
Ver. 1-26. Prophecy of thb Rkstoration from Baby-
IX>N, AND OF ME.SSIAH AS KiNG AND PRIEST. 1. shut Up —(Ch. 32. 2, 3; 2 Timothy 2. 9.) Though Jeremiah was shut up in bondage, the word of God was "not bound." 3. maker thereof— rather, the dotr of it, viz., that which Jeremiah is about to prophesy, the restoration of Israel, an act which is thought now impossible, but which the Almighty will effect, formed it viz., Jerusalem (ch. 32.
12). The Church hereby professes to draw all her righteousness from Christ (Isaiah 45. 24, 25). It is for the sake of Jerusalem, literal and spiritual, that God the Father gives this name (Jehovah, Tsidkenu, "The Lord our Righteousness") to Christ. 17. The promises of perpetuity of the throne of David fulfilled in Messiah, the son of David
44). [Calvin.] Rather, that formed, i. e., moulds purpose into due shape for execution (Isaiah 37. 26). Lord . .
his name—(Exodus 3. 14, 15.) 3. Call ... I w^ll answer —(Ch. 29. 12; Psalm 91. 15.) Jeremiah, as the representative of the people of God, is urged by God to pray for that which God has determined to grant, viz., the restoration. God's promises are not to slacken, but to quicken the prayers of His people (Psalm 132. 13, 17; Isaiah 62.6,7). mighty things Hebrew, " inaccessible things," t. e., incredible, hard to man's understanding [Maurer], viz., the restoration of the Jews, an event despaired of. " Hid den," or " recondite." [Piscator.] thou knowest no«^ • yet God had revealed those things to Jeremiah, but the anbeliefof the people In rejecting tlie grace of God had caased him to forget God's promise, as though the case of the people admitted of no remedy. 4. houses . . . thrown down by the mounts viz., by the missiles cast from the besiegers' mounds (ch. 32. 24); "and by the sword" follows properly, as, after missiles had prepared the way, the foe next advanced to close quarters " with the sword." 5. They—The Jews; the defencKsrs of the "houses" (v. i), "come forward to fight with Ine Chaldeans," who burst
(2 Samuel 7. 16 ; 1 Kings 2. 4; Psalm 89. 4, 29, 36; cf. Luke 1.
32, 33). 18. Messiah's literal p.iesthood (Hebrews 7. 17, 21,
24-28), and His followers' spiritual priesthood and sacri-
fices {v. 11 ; Romans 12. 1; 15. 16; 1 Peter 2. 5, 9; Revelation
1.6), shall never cease, according to the covenant with Levi, broken by the priests, but fulfilled by Messiah (Numbers 25. 12, 13; Malachi 2. 4, 5, 8). 30. covrnnnt of the day i.e., covenant the day : answering to "covenant with David" (v. 21, also v. 25, "with day ;" cf. ch. 31. .35,
36; Leviticus 26.42; Psalm 89.34, 37). 32. (Genesis 15.5;
22. 17). The blessing there promised belonged to nil the tribes; here it is restricted to the family of David and the tribe of Levi, because it was on these that the welfare of the whole people rested. When the kingdom and priesthood flourish in the person of Messiah, the whole nation shall temporally and spiritually prosper. .34. this people—certain of the Jews, especially those who spoke with Jeremiah in the court of the prison (ch. 32. 12; 38. 1). th« 541
The Captivity of Zedekiah Foretold. JEREMIAH XXXIV, XXXV. Disobedience of the Jews Condemned,
two families—JudaU and Israel, before them—In their
der. (Matthew 24. 51 ; Oreek, cut in two) if they should break the covenant (Genesis 15. 10, 17). 20. I will even give resuming the sentence begun, but not completed {v. 18), "I will give," &e. seeUtheir life—implacably : satisfied with nothing short of their blood; not content with booty." dead bodies—The breakers of the covenant shall be cut in pieces, as the calf between whose parts they passed. 21. gone np— 1. e., raised the siege in order to meet Pharaohhophra (ch. 37. 7-10). The departure of the Chaldeans was a kind of manumission of the Jews; but as their manumission of their bond-servants was recalled, so God revoked His manumission of them from the Chaldeans. 23. I will command—Nebuchadnezzar, impelled unconsciously by a Divine instigation, returned on the withdrawal of the Egyptian!?.
juds'it-'it. They suppose that I have utterly cast off
Israel so as to be no more a nation. The expression, " my
people.'' of itself, shows God has not cast off Israel for
ever. 25. (Ch. 31. 35, 36; Genesis 8. 22 ; Psalm 74. 16, 17.) I •who have established the laws of nature am the same God who have made a covenant with the Church. 26. Isaac—(Psalm 105. 9; Amos 7. 9, 16.)