Jeremiah;- Hope for the land (ch33)

“The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, when he was still shut up in the court of the guard” ch33 v1

The previous chapter describes the first time the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in that place of imprisonment. The words of this chapter continue the prophetic theme that the land will be restored after judgement has been carried out.

The Lord invites Jeremiah to “call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and hidden things which you have not known.” It is true, on the one hand, that houses have been torn down in the city to help defend it against the siege mounds of the Chaldeans. It is true that the Chaldeans will be coming in to fill the houses with dead bodies, “for I have hidden my face from this city because of their wickedness”.

On the other hand (vv6-9) the Lord is coming in later to bring health and healing to the city. He will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel (both kingdoms, as when he was talking about their evil in ch32 v30). He will cleanse them from al the guilt of their sin against himself, forgiving their sin and rebellion. That is what makes a renewed relationship possible. Incidentally, I don’t think there is a substantial difference between “forgiving” and “cleansing”. They are just two ways of saying the same thing. Having done that, he will make the city “a name of joy” to him, something to his praise and glory before all the nations of the earth. The nations will fear God, when they see what good he is able to do for his people.

Again (vv10-11), “you” say this place is a waste without man or beast. For the second time, as in ch32 v43,the Lord is quoting Jeremiah himself. Nevertheless, there shall be heard again “the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the vice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord”. The first four voices are precisely those which the Lord threatened to take away in ch7 v34 and ch25 v10 (not to mention Revelation ch18 v25). That covers the restoration of men to the wasteland.

Finally (vv12-13), repeating the line about being waste without man or beast, he comes to the restoration of the beasts. He means, of course, the domesticated animals. I don’t think Jeremiah ever meant to suggest that wild animals had disappeared. The promise is that there will be habitations of shepherds resting their flocks, in all the city-regions of the kingdom, from Benjamin and Jerusalem down to the Shephelah and the Negeb.