21 And their prince shall be of themselves, and their ruler shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to approach, and he shall draw near unto me. For who is this that engageth his heart to draw near unto me? saith Jehovah.
And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David: he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I Jehovah will be their God, and my servant David a prince in their midst: I Jehovah have spoken [it].
Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold thy King cometh to thee, meek, and mounted upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. But the disciples, having gone and done as Jesus had ordered them, brought the ass and the colt and put their garments upon them, and he sat on them. But a very great crowd strewed their own garments on the way, and others kept cutting down branches from the trees and strewing them on the way. And the crowds who went before him and who followed cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed [be] he who comes in the name of [the] Lord; hosanna in the highest. And as he entered into Jerusalem, the whole city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the crowds said, This is Jesus the prophet who is from Nazareth of Galilee.
*He* shall be great, and shall be called Son of [the] Highest; and [the] Lord God shall give him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for the ages, and of his kingdom there shall not be an end.
Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my servants had fought that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from hence. Pilate therefore said to him, Thou art then a king? Jesus answered, Thou sayest [it], that I am a king. I have been born for this, and for this I have come into the world, that I might bear witness to the truth. Every one that is of the truth hears my voice.
And Pilate wrote a title also and put it on the cross. But there was written: Jesus the Nazaraean, the King of the Jews. This title therefore many of the Jews read, for the place of the city where Jesus was crucified was near; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, Latin. The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, Do not write, The king of the Jews, but that *he* said, I am king of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written.
For David has not ascended into the heavens, but he says himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I have put thine enemies [to be] the footstool of thy feet. Let the whole house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him, this Jesus whom *ye* have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
Having therefore a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast the confession. For we have not a high priest not able to sympathise with our infirmities, but tempted in all things in like manner, sin apart. Let us approach therefore with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and find grace for seasonable help.
(for they are become priests without the swearing of an oath, but he with the swearing of an oath, by him who said, as to him, The Lord has sworn, and will not repent [of it], *Thou* [art] priest for ever [according to the order of Melchisedec];) by so much Jesus became surety of a better covenant. And they have been many priests, on account of being hindered from continuing by death; but he, because of his continuing for ever, has the priesthood unchangeable. Whence also he is able to save completely those who approach by him to God, always living to intercede for them. For such a high priest became us, holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and become higher than the heavens:
And for this reason he is mediator of a new covenant, so that, death having taken place for redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, the called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. (For where [there is] a testament, the death of the testator must needs come in. For a testament [is] of force when men are dead, since it is in no way of force while the testator is alive.) Whence neither the first was inaugurated without blood. For every commandment having been spoken according to [the] law by Moses to all the people; having taken the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, he sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, This [is] the blood of the covenant which God has enjoined to you. And the tabernacle too and all the vessels of service he sprinkled in like manner with blood; and almost all things are purified with blood according to the law, and without blood-shedding there is no remission. [It was] necessary then that the figurative representations of the things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with sacrifices better than these. For the Christ is not entered into holy places made with hand, figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us:
And they sing a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open its seals; because thou hast been slain, and hast redeemed to God, by thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and made them to our God kings and priests; and they shall reign over the earth.
Who is he that obscureth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered what I did not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and inform me. I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee: Wherefore I abhor [myself], and repent in dust and ashes.
And the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, Lo, we expire, we perish, we all perish. Every one that comes at all near to the tabernacle of Jehovah shall die: shall we then expire altogether?
And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, which is in thy hand, set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye him that knows [them] not. And whosoever will not do the law of thy God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed diligently upon him, whether unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.
And I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of a force and horsemen with me. And when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobijah the servant, the Ammonite, heard [of it], it grieved them exceedingly that there had come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
Oh that I knew where I might find him, that I might come to his seat! I would order the cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments; I would know the words he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me.
{Psalm of David.} Jehovah said unto my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put thine enemies [as] footstool of thy feet. Jehovah shall send the sceptre of thy might out of Zion: rule in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in holy splendour: from the womb of the morning [shall come] to thee the dew of thy youth. Jehovah hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art priest for ever after the order of Melchisedek.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name is called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty ùGod, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with judgment and with righteousness, from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will perform this.
Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, when I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, who shall reign as king, and act wisely, and shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell in safety; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, Jehovah our Righteousness.
(And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall he come forth unto me [who is] to be Ruler in Israel: whose goings forth are from of old, from the days of eternity.) Therefore will he give them up, until the time when she which travaileth shall have brought forth: and the residue of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And he shall stand and feed [his flock] in the strength of Jehovah, in the majesty of the name of Jehovah his God. And they shall abide; for now shall he be great even unto the ends of the earth.
and speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, saying, Behold a man whose name is [the] Branch; and he shall grow up from his own place, and he shall build the temple of Jehovah: even he shall build the temple of Jehovah; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.
Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion; shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy King cometh to thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly and rIding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the battle-bow shall be cut off. And he shall speak peace unto the nations; and his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Jeremiah 30
Commentary on Jeremiah 30 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 30
Jer 30:1-24. Restoration of the Jews from Babylon after Its Capture, and Raising Up of Messiah.
2. 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.
3. bring again … captivity of … Israel and Judah—the restoration not merely of the Jews (treated of in this thirtieth chapter), but also of the ten tribes ("Israel"; treated in the thirty-first chapter), together forming the whole nation (Jer 30:18; Jer 32:44; Eze 39:25; Am 9:14, 15). "Israel" is mentioned first because its exile was longer than that of Judah. Some captives of the Israelite ten tribes returned with those of Judah (Lu 2:36; "Aser" is mentioned). But these are only a pledge of the full restoration hereafter (Ro 11:26, "All Israel"). Compare Jer 16:15. This third verse is a brief statement of the subject before the prophecy itself is given.
5. We have heard … trembling—God introduces the Jews speaking that which they will be reduced to at last in spite of their stubbornness. Threat and promise are combined: the former briefly; namely, the misery of the Jews in the Babylonian captivity down to their "trembling" and "fear" arising from the approach of the Medo-Persian army of Cyrus against Babylon; the promise is more fully dwelt on; namely, their "trembling" will issue in a deliverance as speedy as is the transition from a woman's labor pangs to her joy at giving birth to a child (Jer 30:6).
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 (Isa 66:7-9).
paleness—properly the color of herbs blasted and fading: the green paleness of one in jaundice: the sickly paleness of terror.
7. great—marked by great calamities (Joe 2:11, 31; Am 5:18; Zep 1:14).
none like it … but he shall be saved—(Da 12:1). The partial deliverance at Babylon's downfall prefigures the final, complete deliverance of Israel, literal and spiritual, at the downfall of the mystical Babylon (Re 18:1-19:21).
8. his yoke … thy neck—his, that is, Jacob's (Jer 30:7), the yoke imposed on him. The transition to the second person is frequent, God speaking of Jacob or Israel, at the same time addressing him directly. So "him" rightly follows; "foreigners shall no more make him their servant" (Jer 25:14). After the deliverance by Cyrus, Persia, Alexander, Antiochus, and Rome made Judah their servant. The full of deliverance meant must, therefore, be still future.
9. Instead of serving strangers (Jer 30:8), they shall serve the Lord, their rightful King in the theocracy (Eze 21:27).
David, their king—No king of David's seed has held the scepter since the captivity; for Zerubbabel, though of David's line, never claimed the title of "king." The Son of David, Messiah, must therefore be meant; so the Targum (compare Isa 55:3, 4; Eze 34:23, 24; 37:24; Ho 3:5; Ro 11:25-32). He was appointed to the throne of David (Isa 9:7; Lu 1:32). He is here joined with Jehovah as claiming equal allegiance. God is our "King," only when we are subject to Christ; God rules us not immediately, but through His Son (Joh 5:22, 23, 27).
raise up—applied to the judges whom God raised up as deliverers of Israel out of the hand of its oppressors (Jud 2:16; 3:9). So Christ was raised up as the antitypical Deliverer (Ps 2:6; Lu 1:69; Ac 2:30; 13:23).
10. from afar—Be not afraid as if the distance of the places whither ye are to be dispersed precludes the possibility of return.
seed—Though through the many years of captivity intervening, you yourselves may not see the restoration, the promise shall be fulfilled to your seed, primarily at the return from Babylon, fully at the final restoration.
quiet … none … make … afraid—(Jer 23:6; Zec 14:11).
11. though … full end of all nations … yet … not … of thee—(Am 9:8). The punishment of reprobates is final and fatal; that of God's people temporary and corrective. Babylon was utterly destroyed: Israel after chastisement was delivered.
in measure—literally, "with judgment," that is, moderation, not in the full rigor of justice (Jer 10:24; 46:28; Ps 6:1; Isa 27:8).
not … altogether unpunished—(Ex 34:7).
12. The desperate circumstances of the Jews are here represented as an incurable wound. Their sin is so grievous that their hope of the punishment (their exile) soon coming to an end is vain (Jer 8:22; 15:18; 2Ch 36:16).
13. none to plead—a new image from a court of justice.
bound up—namely, with the bandages applied to tie up a wound.
no healing medicines—literally, "medicines of healing," or else applications, (literally, "ascensions") of medicaments.
14. lovers—the peoples formerly allied to thee, Assyria and Egypt (compare La 1:2).
seek thee not—have cast away all concern for thee in thy distress.
wound of an enemy—a wound such as an enemy would inflict. God condescends to employ language adapted to human conceptions. He is incapable of "enmity" or "cruelty"; it was their grievous sin which righteously demanded a grievous punishment, as though He were an "enemy" (Jer 5:6; Job 13:24; 30:21).
15. Why criest thou—as if God's severity was excessive. Thou hast no reason to complain, for thine affliction is just. Thy cry is too late, for the time of repentance and mercy is past [Calvin].
16. Therefore—connected with Jer 30:13, because "There is none to plead thy cause … therefore" I will plead thy cause, and heal thy wound, by overwhelming thy foes. This fifteenth verse is inserted to amplify what was said at the close of Jer 30:14. When the false ways of peace, suggested by the so-called prophets, had only ended in the people's irremediable ruin, the true prophet comes forward to announce the grace of God as bestowing repentance and healing.
devour thee … be devoured … spoil … be a spoil … prey upon … give for a prey—retribution in kind (see on Jer 2:3; Ex 23:22; Isa 33:1).
17. (Jer 8:22; 33:6).
Outcast—as a wife put away by her husband (Isa 62:4, contrasted with Jer 30:12).
Zion—alluding to its Hebrew meaning, "dryness"; "sought after" by none, as would be the case with an arid region (Isa 62:12). The extremity of the people, so far from being an obstacle to, will be the chosen opportunity of, God's grace.
18. bring again … captivity—(Jer 33:7, 11).
tents—used to intimate that their present dwellings in Chaldea were but temporary as tents.
have mercy on dwelling-places—(Ps 102:13).
own heap—on the same hill, that is, site, a hill being the usual site chosen for a city (compare Jos 11:13, Margin). This better answers the parallel clause, "after the manner thereof" (that is, in the same becoming ways as formerly), than the rendering, "its own heap of ruins," as in Jer 49:2.
palace—the king's, on Mount Zion.
remain—rather, "shall be inhabited" (see on Jer 17:6, Jer 17:25). This confirms English Version, "palace," not as others translate, "the temple" (see 1Ki 16:18; 2Ki 15:25).
19. thanksgiving—The Hebrew word includes confession as well as praise; for, in the case of God, the highest praises we can bestow are only confessing what God really is [Bengel], (Jer 17:26; 31:12, 13; 33:11; Isa 35:10; 51:11).
multiply them—(Zec 10:8).
20. as aforetime—as flourishing as in the time of David.
21. their nobles—rather, "their Glorious One," or "Leader" (compare Ac 3:15; Heb 2:10), answering to "their Governor" in the parallel clause.
of themselves—of their own nation, a Jew, not a foreigner; applicable to Zerubbabel, or J. Hyrcanus (hereditary high priest and governor), only as types of Christ (Ge 49:10; Mic 5:2; Ro 9:5), the antitypical "David" (Jer 30:9).
cause him to draw near—as the great Priest (Ex 19:22; Le 21:17), through whom believers also have access to God (Heb 10:19-22). His priestly and kingly characters are similarly combined (Ps 110:4; Zec 6:13).
who … engaged … heart to approach—literally, "pledged his heart," that is, his life; a thing unique; Messiah alone has made His life responsible as the surety (Heb 7:22; 9:11-15), in order to gain access not only for Himself, but for us to God. Heart is here used for life, to express the courage which it needed to undertake such a tremendous suretyship. The question implies admiration at one being found competent by His twofold nature, as God and man, for the task. Compare the interrogation (Isa 63:1-3).
22. ye shall be my people, &c.—The covenant shall be renewed between God and His people through Messiah's mediation (Jer 30:21; 31:1, 33; 32:38; Eze 11:20; 36:28).
23, 24. (Jer 23:19). Vengeance upon God's foes always accompanies manifestations of His grace to His people.
continuing—literally, "sojourning," abiding constantly; appropriately here in the case of Babylon, which was to be permanently destroyed, substituted for "whirling itself about" ("grievous" in English Version) (see on Jer 23:19,20), where the temporary downfall of Judea is spoken of.