Call to Commitment

 

The whirlwind of the Lord... vs. 23

Chapter 30

 

Divine principle… first comes fear, then restoration

 1.      The word that came to Jeremiah from the   LORD, saying, 

 2.      "Thus speaks the LORD God of Israel, saying: 'Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. 

 3.      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.' " 

 4.      Now these are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah. 

 5.      "For thus says the LORD: 'We have heard a voice of trembling, Of fear, and not of peace. 

 The oft-repeated and true phrase throughout the Old Testament, “The word that came… from the Lord,” is the proof that it is the inspired word of God. Chapter after chapter makes the same claim, throughout the books of Moses. After Moses' death, the Lord speaks to his successor, Joshua. All the prophets hear directly from the Lord and Job, Solomon, David and other Psalmists declare His wisdom in their writings. Opponents of the divine inspiration of the Bible have to conclude that all these men are lying about hearing directly from God, so that this treasured Scripture is a book of lies in their opinion.

 In the New Testament, “the Word was made flesh” (Jn.1:14) and “God… has… in these last days spoken to us by His Son” (He.1:1,2). The eternal Son of God, equal with the Father, came to earth and spoke directly. Paul and other apostles formed their doctrines from His word and delivered them to the church. Yes, the Bible, including the word that we study today from the prophet Jeremiah, is the inspired word of God. We will take it, believe it, and apply its principles to our lives. We will form our concepts, concerning the person of God, from its revelations.

 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah (1) and instructed him to write in a book (2). The Lord was in the process of preparing 66 books to form an authoritative canon for all the world to study, and by which they could live. God is writing first for the benefit of His chosen people, the Jews, and it concerns their return from captivity to repossess their Promised Land (3). The apostle Paul clearly claims the principle, especially in the letter to the Romans in the New Testament, that the word comes first to the Jews (Ro.1:16; 2:9-10). He shows to the Gentiles in Ephesus “that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph.2:12).    

 

 However, in Romans 11, he shows how God has grafted the Gentile Church into these Jewish roots, so that we, at this time in the 21^st Century, could glean from the writings of Jeremiah. It was not only a spoken word to the people in the time of the prophet, but was preserved with an eternal purpose. I rejoice, whenever God commands His servants to write, because He shows thereby, His purpose and concern for us throughout history up to our times.

 It is so good to know that, after Jeremiah prepares Israel and Judah for divine discipline lasting 70 years, he now bears good news, concerning the return to their country. Trouble may dominate the story that He writes, but we can be assured by His word, that the end will be good. We want to come to grips with this fact, as we study Jeremiah, because it is a divine principle, which continues faithfully to the present day: “In the world you will have tribulation…” (Jn.16:33). No Bible student should dare to tamper with divine principle.

 The principle is clearly taught in their actual experience in verses 3-5. First God’s word brings fear and trembling, not peace, but then the Lord brings wonderful restoration. In preaching the gospel in our times, first people must be taught that they are sinners, under God’s curse. They must be thoroughly warned of the consequences for their disobedience to His law, in order to bring them to repentance. This is clearly shown through the ministry of John the Baptist. Repentance prepares the heart to receive the gospel, run to the cross, and find salvation.

 

Jacob’s trouble

6.      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? 

 7.      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. 

 8.      'For it shall come to pass in that day,' Says the LORD of hosts, 'That I will break his yoke from your neck, And will burst your bonds; Foreigners shall no more enslave them. 

 9.      But they shall serve the LORD their God, And David their king, Whom I will raise up for them. 

 10.  'Therefore do not fear, O My servant Jacob,' says the LORD, 'Nor be dismayed, O Israel; For behold, I will save you from afar, And your seed from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet, And no one shall make him afraid. 

 11.  For I am with you,' says the LORD, 'to save you; Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, Yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice, And will not let you go altogether unpunished.' 

Jamieson-Faucett-Brown expresses the previous principle, commenting over the first word in verse 6, “ask”: “Consult all the authorities, men or books, you can, you will not find an instance. Yet in that coming day men will be seen with their hands pressed on their loins, as women do to repress their pangs. God will drive men through pain to gestures more fitting a woman than a man (Jer.4:31; 6:24). The metaphor is often used to express the previous pain followed by the sudden deliverance of Israel, as in the case of a woman in childbirth (Is.66:7-9).”

 Strong men are humbled and brought to their knees through the pain of fear; so speaks the wisdom of God: “The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom” (Job 28:28)… “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Ps.111:10; Pro.1:7; 9:10; 15:33). Men and women do not take their first step away from their own foolish ways, until fear turns them in wisdom towards God. The pain of terror is on their faces, but any other motivation will be unsuccessful.

 This word is written and prepared for the last days: That day (v.7) and in that day (v.8). There is certainly a double fulfillment of prophecy in this portion. First, it points to a partial deliverance after a partial dispersion of the Jews to Babylon. That is what concerned Israel and Judah in Jeremiah’s day, but there came a time, in which the Jews were totally dispersed into all the nations of the world in 70 A.D. There must be a total deliverance in that day. It began in the 20^th Century.

 The apostle Peter showed that the prophesy of Joel, that day, had still not been fulfilled before the day of Pentecost. He proclaimed, “It shall come to pass in the last days, says God…” (Ac.2:17). Daniel, from his position in captivity, also saw that that day referred to a time of greater trouble: “At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book” (Dn.12:1).

 I resort again to Jamieson-Faucett-Brown: “The partial deliverance at Babylon’s downfall prefigures the final, complete deliverance of Israel, literal and spiritual, at the downfall of the mystical Babylon (Revelation 18:1-19:21).” John MacArthur comments: “This period of unprecedented difficulty for Israel, as the verse defines, is set in a context of Israel’s final restoration. It is best equated with the time of tribulation (v.8-9) just before Christ’s second advent, mentioned elsewhere (Dn.12:1; Mt. 24:21-22) and described in detail by Rev.6-19.” That day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble” (7).

 This prophecy, to be totally fulfilled in the last days, follows. In the day of Great Tribulation, Israel will be saved out of it. Israel was been held captive by earth’s great empires, since the time that they were slaves in Egypt. Assyria carried northern Israel into captivity; Babylon and Persia captured Judah in the south. A Greek descendant from the conquests of Alexander the Great, persecuted the Israelites and they were under Roman government at the time of Christ. Antichrist will launch a final battle toward their extinction, but all the power of earthly empires, every yoke, will be broken from off their necks (8).

 David’s throne will be restored and the Jews will serve the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and Jesus of Nazareth will be their Messiah, Savior and Lord. The immensity of this prophecy absolutely dwarfs all previous suffering. Say no more of the church displacing literal Israel; drop the vague claims of a present spiritual millennium. True prophecy is clearly literal and glorious, defying man’s unverifiable logic, which veers off into the unproven paths of his own mind (9).  That doctrine has its roots in antisemitism.

 In the New Testament, in Romans 11, Paul could not have made the restoration and eventual salvation of the Jews clearer. Romans 11:12 (ESV): “If their failure (of the Jews) means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean.” Romans 11:26: “All Israel will be saved.” Their future is based on divine principle. Romans 11:29: “The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”  

 The LORD said to Moses, "Has the LORD's arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not" (Nu.11:23). His arm reaches out to the Jew, in whatever place that the dispersion has brought him. There is no reason for fear or dismay, when any person lays hold on His promise. No matter how far away a Jew dwells and how difficult the journey, He will return to the Promised Land, have rest and total tranquility, never to be afraid again. Man has never come close to issuing an insurance policy with as great a guarantee. God’s word is infinitely faithful, just as Jesus said, when He taught of last day events: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Mt.24:35). No law of probability enters into the truth of His word; the smallest percentage of possible failure is discounted. This will happen to Israel (10).

 God’s severe dealings with Israel are not condemnatory, but disciplinary. Verse 11 states the fact, that He corrects them in justice. He may bring any other nation to annihilation and has done so throughout history. The Bible, as well as secular history gives us numerous examples. It seemed impossible before the 20^th Century, in which the Jews were in exile since 70 A.D., that the Jew would return to take possession of Palestine. Who could have possibly thought that it would become the sovereign nation that they are today? But God had promised, I will not make a complete end of you (11).

  

Israel’s must recognize its impossible position

 12.  "For thus says the LORD: 'Your affliction is incurable, Your wound is severe. 

 13.  There is no one to plead your cause, That you may be bound up; You have no healing medicines. 

 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 chastisement of a cruel one, For the multitude of your iniquities, Because your sins have increased. 

 15.  Why do you cry about your affliction? Your sorrow is incurable. Because of the multitude of your iniquities, Because your sins have increased, I have done these things to you. 

 16.  'Therefore all those who devour you shall be devoured; And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; Those who plunder you shall become plunder, And all who prey upon you I will make a prey. 

 In the preceding portion, verses 12-15, the Lord shows the absolute impossibility of any human help. Their national disease is like inoperable cancer, being incurably malignant; their wound is draining their lifeblood and there is no way to stop the flow. That is God’s expert, infallible diagnosis (12). There is no medicine on earth to counter its aggressiveness. Worse yet, there is no one who cares to intervene (13). 

 Israel has been abandoned by its neighbors and its conquerors and there is no friend, to which to turn. Israel is like a soldier, left to die on the battlefield and it is God Himself, Who has brought him to this miserable state and treated him, as if He were a cruel enemy (14). This treatment, however, serves to show the world how evil sin is. “That sin, through the commandment, might become exceedingly sinful” (Ro.7:13). It is God’s aim and intention to drive that truth into human hearts around the world.  

 In bringing about their affliction, God is completely just. There is no excuse and no plea for justice to be done, for Israel is guilty as charged, and has no defense. The sentence does not even do justice to the multitude of sins, and worse yet, they continue to increase (15). Although that is true, no one, but God, has a right to take advantage of Israel’s weakened condition. Aggression against the Lord’s possession will bring severe retribution. Without exception, all adversaries will be devoured, taken captive, plundered and become a prey (16).

 

There is nothing the Almighty cannot do

 17.  For I will restore health to you And heal you of your wounds,' says the LORD, 'Because they called you an outcast saying: "This is Zion; No one seeks her."'

 18.  "Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob's tents, And have mercy on his dwelling places; The city shall be built upon its own mound, And the palace shall remain according to its own plan. 

 19.  Then out of them shall proceed thanksgiving And the voice of those who make merry; I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. 

 20.  Their children also shall be as before, And their congregation shall be established before Me; And I will punish all who oppress them. 

 21.  Their nobles shall be from among them, And their governor shall come from their midst; Then I will cause him to draw near, And he shall approach Me; For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?' says the LORD. 

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

 23.  Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD—Goes forth with fury, A continuing whirlwind; It will fall violently on the head of the wicked. 

 24.  The fierce anger of the LORD will not return until He has done it, And until He has performed the intents of His heart. In the latter days you will consider it. 

 Let’s get this straight… God is the God of the impossible. There is nothing too difficult for Him. There is no one on this earth, who can offer a hand to help his fellow man. A. W. Tozer depicted mankind, all together, existing in a deep pit. It is so deep that no one can escape, nor is there anyone able to help another escape. He must have outside help. The gospel is a story of supernatural, divine help for man’s dilemma. I hope that the reader has come to that conclusion and has refrained from looking to possibilities. This chapter has absolutely quenched every chance for earthly help. We are lost and without hope.

 Only God can cure the incurable disease of sin and only God can apply the divine tourniquet to stop the flow of blood. Now hear what He promises; His word makes the action, as good as done! Faith takes hold of His word… “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (He.11:1). Faith in God makes the impossible possible. The enemy has pronounced the verdict against us; we are hopeless, outcasts, helpless and seemingly forsaken by God, Faith gives substance, where there is no material help or hope; it brings evidence to our favor, when everything is against us (17). Is that not what God is teaching us in this chapter? He is! And I remind you that He instructed Jeremiah to put it in writing!

 Too often we have listened to the enemy. Let’s hear what God says: We have been grafted into the Israelite olive tree. As God promised liberty to the Jewish captive, let us also be free from the captivity of the enemy. We have a place of mercy and compassion in His Kingdom and everything that has been torn down will be rebuilt and the original plan will remain in place (18). God will never resort to a Plan B. Now tell me what enemy dares to challenge the Almighty?

 Let us be a people, from whom praise and thanksgiving proceed. Let’s glorify the Father by bearing much fruit (Jn.15:8) and repossess the joy of our salvation (Jn.15:11). Paul’s declaration in Romans 8:30 is no small thing (19): “Whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” Let’s go on from there: “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us” (Ro.8:32-34).

 God also promises a renewal for the family under His care and the family is the basis for the congregation. The Lord declares punishment upon all who oppose God-given family values (20). I believe, we can claim these promises personally, because they originate in the Creator. They are His values.

 Their prince shall be one of themselves (ESV). What a blessing it is to have God-blessed leadership! Out of their families and their congregation, will come “home-grown” leadership. The U.S. Constitution demands that all, who hold high positions, be native born. The writers wanted them to love their country and lead with compassion. That was also God’s intention for the Messiah.

 The commentators insist that verse 21 is Messianic! It agrees beautifully with New Testament teaching. The writer of Hebrews teaches, “Every high priest chosen from among men… He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward…” (He.5:1) John writes about our chosen, heavenly High Priest , “He came to His own… and the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us” (Jn.1:11,14). Matthew adds the promise of Isaiah to Joseph, “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us)” (Mt.1:23).

 I believe that the purpose of God, conceived before the foundation of the earth, and revealed in Creation, is expressed in verse 22. You shall be my people, and I will be your God. There are too many references for us to study at this time, which declare the Lord’s desire for a people, with which He can hold that relationship. I will mention two, the first one, which demonstrates the intimacy involved in it: “My beloved is mine, and I am his” (S.S.2:16). The other comes at the end of the Scriptures and shows the permanent state of the relationship: “The tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God” (Rv.21:3).

 As God has put before us, the end, which He has in store for His people, He concludes the chapter with another warning for the wicked (23,24). It is a repetition of chapter 23:19-20. His anger is as a violent whirlwind, which is continually dealing out judgment and will do so perpetually. John Wesley comments: “Not a sudden blast, that shall presently go over, but a vengeance that shall abide.” As He is faithful to His people, so He is also faithful in judgment. Because of the intense rebellion against Him and His goodness, it is in His heart to bring fierce and worthy retribution upon them.

 In the light of the promise of wonderful blessings to His people, which we have considered in this chapter, God has given this alternative as we close. I know about the unreasonable and unrelenting enmity, which an unconverted person has in his heart. However, should there be one, who has read from the beginning and held out to the end of this article, let me ask you. Could it be that the Holy Spirit is now dealing compassionately with you, exposing you to truth? Continue to cooperate with Him, as He leads you toward your eternal salvation.