Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 33:19
And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying,
19 22. God’s Covenant is as certain in its working as the ordinances of nature. Cp. Psa 89:34 ff.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah,…. For the further explanation and confirmation of what is before said; and which came at the same time as the other; this being not a new prophecy, but an illustration of the former:
saying; as follows:
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Vs. 19-26: THE FAITHFULLNESS OF GOD’S COVENANT-PURPOSE
1. This section is, basically, a repetition of the principle that has already been stated (Jer 31:35-37) – that God is absolutely faithful and true to His promises.
2. The stability of the cosmic order is urged as a basis of assurance that His promise concerning the Davidic house and throne, and the blessings awaiting those who minister before Him in priestly service, will not fail, (vs. 20-22).
3. As sure as tomorrow’s sunrise is God’s faithful adequacy to meet the needs of all those who place their trust in Him! (vs. 25; Jer 31:35-36).
4. Thus, the house of David, and.the whole house of Israel, may rest assured that their captivity will be turned to blessing; God WILL have mercy on them, (vs. 23-26; comp. Jer 31:20; Isa 14:1; Isa 54:8; Eze 39:25).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
He confirms the same thing, but by introducing a similitude; for he shews that God’s covenant with the people of Israel would not be less firm than the settled order of nature. Unceasing are the progresses of the sun, moon, and stars; continual is the succession of day and night. This settled state of things is so fixed, that in so great and so multiplied a variety there is no change. We have now rain, then fair weather, and we have various changes in the seasons; but the sun still continues its daily course, the moon is new every month, and the revolving of day and night, which God has appointed, never ceases; and this unbroken order declares, as it is said in Psa 19:0, the wonderful wisdom of God. The Prophet then sets before us here the order of nature, and says, that God’s covenant with his Church shall be no less fixed and unchangeable than what it is with mankind, with regard to the government of the world.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(19-22) And the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, saying . . .The new introduction here and in Jer. 33:23 indicates a fresh message borne in on the prophets mind after an interval of time. In substance it repeats the promise of Jer. 33:17-18, but it reproduces them with yet greater solemnity. The covenant of Jehovah with David and with the Levites the priests is placed on the same level of permanence as the ordered succession of day and night. If the old order ultimately gave way to the new, it was only because the new was the transfigured and glorified reproduction of the old. Whatever may have been the thoughts of the prophet, we are authorised in looking for the seed of David and of the Levites in those who, by virtue of their union with Christ, are made both kings and priests unto the Father (Rev. 1:6). Just as the promise to the seed of Abraham is fulfilled in those who are spiritually the children of the faith of Abraham (Rom. 9:7-8), so in this sense only can it be true that the seed of David and the Levites shall out number the host of the heaven and the sand of the sea.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
YHWH’s Covenant With David And With The Levitical Priesthood Is As Certain As His Covenant Of Day And Night ( Jer 33:19-22 ).
Jer 33:19
‘And the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah, saying,’
The introductory saying leads into a vital ‘word’ from YHWH
Jer 33:20
“Thus says YHWH, If you can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites the priests, my ministers.”
And that vital word is that YHWH’s covenant with David His servant, and with the Levitical Priesthood is as sure as the covenants which result in the continual series of day and night. The first covenant was that there would always be a son available to rule on the throne of David His servant, and the second covenant was that none other would be allowed to offer offerings and sacrifices other than the Levitical priesthood, His servants. Both were fulfilled, the first in that Jesus Christ received the eternal throne of David, and the second in that the Levitical priesthood was restored after the exile and continued its ministry of offerings and sacrifices until Lord Jesus Christ came and offered up a heavenly sacrifice which was not one that the Levitical priesthood could offer (as the writer to the Hebrews makes clear), thus terminating the Levitical priesthood which had thereby lost its purpose and ability to act, a termination confirmed by God in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD.
This solemn promise was necessary at this time. The seed of David appeared to be in a precarious position, with Jehoiachin in prison in Babylon, and Zedekiah and his sons, and the whole house of David, in peril of their lives in Jerusalem, whilst the priests could well have been a target for Nebuchadrezzar’s revenge, or may have become ‘lost in the crowd’ once they were in exile and no longer required. That neither happened was a fulfilment of this promise.
For the covenant with David see 2Sa 7:8-16; Isa 55:3-4; 2Ch 7:18 ; 2Ch 13:5; Psa 89:3. For the covenant with Levi see Num 25:12-13; Neh 13:29; Mal 2:4-9.
Jer 33:22
“As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites who minister to me.”
In a clearly exaggerated statement, exaggerated in order to emphasise His provision, YHWH states that He will multiply the seed of David and the Levites who serve Him until they are as many as the stars and the sand of the sea. The main aim of the statement was in order to indicate the certainty that neither would die out while they were needed as there would be a plentiful supply. That this was fulfilled comes out in that the line of David continued adequately, with an heir always available, and the number of Levitical priests available to serve in the coming new Temple after the exile were numerous. Indeed by the time of Jesus there were so many Levitical priests that they drew lots for the privilege of offering incense in the Sanctuary (Luk 1:9).
However, as this vivid description with regard to the host of heaven and the sand of the sea is in Genesis used of the whole ‘seed of Abraham’ (see e.g. Gen 15:5; Gen 22:17; etc.), and the ‘seed of Abraham’ is mentioned in Jer 33:26, it may well be that we are intended to see in it a hint that God’s people as a whole will become the seed of David (by being united with Christ), and will replace the Levitical priesthood (by becoming priests who offer up the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving), thus being truly a great multitude which no man can number.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
6. The Kingdom and Priesthood of the Future eternal
Jer 33:19-26
19, 20And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah:
If ye will break my covenant[12] of the day and my covenant of the night,
So that13 there shall not be day14 nor night in their season;
21My covenant with David my servant shall also be broken,
So that he shall have15 no son to be king on his throne,
And with the Levites, the priests, who serve16 me.
22As17 the host of heaven cannot be numbered,
Nor the sand of the sea measured,
So will I multiply the seed of David, my servant,
And the Levites who serve me.18
23Moreover the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying:
24Hast thou not seen,19 what this people saith,
The two families which Jehovah had chosen he has rejected?20
And thus despise my people, that they are no more a nation before them [in then sight.]
25Thus saith Jehovah, If my covenant continue not day and night,
And I have not appointed the ordinances21 of heaven and earth;
26Then will I reject the seed of Jacob, and David my servant,
That I will not take of his seed rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
For I will reverse their captivity22 and have mercy on them.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
The preceding section concluded with the word continually. The idea thus briefly intimated, of a perpetual duration of the promised blessing, forms the main thought in what follows. As it does not lie within the power of man to break the covenant of the Lord, which ensures the change of day and night, so also the covenant is not to be broken which guarantees the perpetual succession of Davidic kings and Levitical priests (Jer 33:19-21). A natural guarantee of this duration will be given by the innumerable increase of the royal and priestly seed (Jer 33:22). In opposition to the presumptuous speech that Jehovah had chosen Judah and Israel and yet afterwards rejected them, which contains both a complaint against the Lord and a despising of the people (Jer 33:23-24), the assurance is again given that so long as day and night, and the fundamental laws of heaven and earth continue, so long also will kings of Jacobs and Davids race rule over the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Their rejection is only temporary. The Lord will turn the captivity of the people (Jer 33:25-26). From this table of contents it is clear, that Jer 33:19-26 are related to Jer 33:14-18, just as in Jeremiah 35, Jer 33:3537, are to Jer 33:3134. In form and character the section fully accords with the character of the prophet, as will be seen from a consideration of the particulars. Hitzigs view, which attributes the section to Ezekiel. is deficient in any solid basis. We may indeed infer from the introductory formulas (Jer 33:19; Jer 33:23), that the prophet received these revelations separately, but not that they are disconnected later additions, seeing that these formulas stand in the middle between the large (comp. Jer 32:1), and the small divisions (thus saith Jehovah). Moreover this formula with to Jeremiah, is found all along from Jeremiah 28; Jer 28:12; Jer 29:30; Jer 32:26; Jer 33:1; Jer 33:19; Jer 33:23; Jer 34:12; Jer 35:12; Jer 36:27; Jer 37:6; Jer 42:7; Jer 43:8. Previously we find to me; Jer 1:4; Jer 1:11; Jer 2:1; Jer 13:3; Jer 13:8; Jer 16:1; Jer 18:5; Jer 24:4.
Jer 33:19-22. And the word who serve me. To break the covenant on which the changes of day and night are founded, is not in the power of man. For according to the divine promise (Gen 8:22) in no circumstances, not even in the case of an apostasy similar to that which occasioned the flood, will any change take place in the laws of nature, so long as the earth stands. In these words it is certainly declared that the earth will one day cease to exist, but it will then according to the teaching of the Scriptures only pass to a higher stage of existence (Isa 65:17; Isa 66:22; 2Pe 3:13; Rev 21:1), and this transition is not an annulling of the promise given to David, but only leads to a corresponding transition to a higher stage of realization.My covenant of the day is the covenant which I have concluded with respect to the day, whose object is the day.David my servant. Comp. 2Sa 3:18; 2Sa 7:5; 2Sa 7:8; Eze 34:24, etc.These verses express substantially the same thought as Jer 31:32-37.As the host, etc. The reference to the promise given to the patriarchs, Gen 15:5; Gen 22:17; Gen 32:13 is evident, and corresponds with the mention of the same in Jer 33:26. Hengstenberg has pointed out with perfect justice that Jeremiah here by no means prophesies an unlimited increase of the royal and priestly posterity which, as Jahn remarks, would be only a burden on the people. But in perfect accordance with the declaration of the Lord, that all Israel shall be a kingdom of priests (Exo 19:6), and with the prophetic utterances (Isa 61:6, and ye shall be named the priests of Jehovah: men shall call you the Ministers of our God; Isa 66:20-21, and I will also take of them to be priests and Levites [Levitic priests]). Jeremiah here declares that the threefold promise of 1. innumerable increase; 2. the priestly and royal character of the whole people; 3. the everlasting continuance of kingdom and priesthood, will form a grand harmonious chord. If, as cannot be denied, Jeremiah has in view that time, in which all that is ideal will be real, his words cannot (whether he was conscious of it or not, is a matter of indifference), express anything else but this; the priestly and royal seed will be innumerable, because the whole nation having now become innumerable, will consist according to its original and essential idea of priests and kings. The innumerousness of the people, which was never actual even in the times of the highest prosperity (comp. 2Sa 24:9) rests on the inclusion of the whole of regenerate humanity (Isa 66:20).
Jer 33:23-26. Moreover the word have mercy on them. In the preceding verses (2022) was positively declared the eternal duration of the covenant which Jehovah has concluded with the theocratic kingdom and priesthood: in the following verses this declaration is defended against a malicious attack.It is altogether wrong to understand by this people, foreign nations (Schnurrer understands Egypt, Jahn Chaldean warriors, Movers Samaritans, Hitzig the neighbors of the Jews and of Ezekiel on the Chaboras). It was surely not worth the trouble to rebut such an assertion, if it were made by the heathen. Their judgment had no weight in such a case. But when Israelites, who ought, to know the relation of their nation to the Lord, subscribed to such pessimism, a counter-testimony was in place.It is evident that Judah and Israel are meant by the two families. It is clear both from the following phrase my people, and seed of Jacob, and seed of Abraham, etc., Jer 33:26. is often used in Jeremiah of national races: Jer 1:15; Jer 10:25; Jer 25:9And thus despise, is here cum irrisione spernere, as in general the idea of rejection, rejection with disdain, is related to that of contempt. Comp. Jer 14:21 where is used as synonymous with . These Jews thus pronounce on their own responsibility, without any occasion on the part of the Lord, a sentence of rejection upon their nation, thus on the one hand insulting God as though He were inconsistent, on the other their nation, as though it were only good enough to be the foot-ball of its Lords caprice.A nation before them. From Jer 31:36 coll. Jer 35:19 we see that 1, to be a nation signifies national existence in opposition to division and scattering of the constituents of the nation; 2. that before them is not to be taken in a temporal but a physical sense; i. e., they maintain that they will no longer be witnesses of that national existence, that their eyes will no longer be gratified by the sight of such prosperity.If my covenant, etc. Comp. Jer 31:35; Jer 31:37. The charge is rebutted by an appeal to the guarantee involved in the order of nature. Is this more firmly established than the order of salvation? To supplement if by the following have appointed, as in 2Sa 23:5, seems to me forced. If we do not wish to take according to Job 6:21 as a substantive, it is sufficient to regard it as a negative particle: if my covenant is not daily and nightly, i. e., has no real, permanent existence.Then will I reject the seed, etc. Observe that the charge in Jer 33:24 involved the rejection of both tribes. With a view to this, seed of Jacob is placed first as the main conception and David my servant is inserted, because if the charge were well-founded, the promise in Jer 33:17-18 would also fall to the ground. Since now, however, the seed of Jacob is to remain in possession of his promise, the basis is thus given for the preservation of the seed of David. The priests are no longer spoken of specially, being included in the seed of Jacob. The prophet lays special emphasis on the seed of David, because in Jer 33:15 he started with this idea as the security and central point of the theocracy. He then connects this idea with that of the seed of Jacob by saying that there shall never fail a descendant of David to rule over the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In naming the three patriarchs he throws new weight into the scale in favor of the nation. Not only Jacob, but Isaac and Abraham also must have lost favor in the sight of God, if He reject their seed. They, however, are dear for the fathers sake (Rom 11:28-29 coll. Jer 1:2; Jer 1:16). Comp. Exo 2:24-25; Exo 32:13; Lev 26:42; 2Ki 13:23; Psa 105:8-10; Isa 41:8.
Footnotes:
[12]Jer 33:20.The at the end of is a suffix. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 63, 4 g.
[13]Jer 33:20.The before =and indeed. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 111, a, and Jer 6:2; Jer 17:10; Jer 19:12; Jer 25:9; Jer 26:5.
[14]Jer 33:20. is used as a substantive in the sense of here and in Jer 33:25 only. In Eze 30:16 it=quotidie. Comp. , Pro 26:2. Haevernick on Ezek., S. 515, 6.Since according to all analogies is an old nominal form (comp. Olsh. 222, b), it is possible that for the sake of solemnity Jeremiah made use of this old form without regard to the adverbial signification which had become usual.
[15]Jer 33:21.. Comp. Naeselsb. Gr., 106, 6.
[16]Jer 33:22. is the technical term for the ministration of the Levites and priests. Num 3:6; 1Sa 2:11; Joe 1:9; Joe 2:17; 2Ch 13:10, etc. Comp. Herzog, R.-Enc., XII, 175, 6.
[17]Jer 33:22. is here used accusatively, i.e., adverbially for . Comp. Isa 54:9.
[18]Jer 33:22. . Comp. Ewald, 288, a; Naegelsb. Gr, 64, 5 c.
[19]Jer 33:24. . In Ezekiel this idiom is frequent, Jer 8:12; Jer 8:15; Jer 8:17 coll. Jer 33:6; Jer 47:6. Comp. also Jer 3:6 coll. Jer 7:17 This use of by synecdoche, is like that in Jer 5:12; Lam 3:1; Gen 42:1, coll. 2.
[20]Jer 33:24.. Comp. Jer 6:19; Naegelsb. Gr., 88, 7 e.
[21]Jer 33:25.. In Jer 31:36, . Comp. Jer 32:11. The former is more usual in Jeremiah,Jer 5:24; Jer 10:3; Jer 31:35; Jer 44:10; Jer 44:23.
[22]Jer 33:26.. Only in Jer 40:39 besides do we find in Jeremiah the imperfect Kal in this formula. It also occurs in Joel 4:1. Elsewhere, where the thought is expressed in the imperfect, we find the imperfect Hiphil. (N. B. The Perf. Hiph, occurs also Jer 33:7), Jer 32:44; Jer 33:11; Jer 49:6; Eze 39:25. The Masoretes would therefore, and probably not in correctly, read in these three places also.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. On Jer 32:3. An effect of anger and a procedure almost like that of Ahab with the prophet Micah. The same spirit prevails now-a-days. For without entering on an investigation, with what right or reason men are found who often in pretty general expressions in a call to repentance, borrow from the prophet all sorts of judicial threatening and point to this or that city, we cannot avoid seeing why they are always put in arrest, viz.: for this cause, Why dost thou prophesy what we do not like to hear? When one is sure of his cause, a noble disdain of such people would be the best means to use against them. But men cannot bear a bad conscience and threatenings of all sorts together, and the fear that it may be true has the foolish effect, that they cause the bearers of such unpleasant tidings to come to a bad end, in order to affright others from coming with similar messages. Zinzendorf.
2. On Jer 32:7 sqq. Fundatur in hoc textu locus classicus de contractibus emtionis et venditionis, quos improbant Anabaptist, probat Scriptura, sicut ostendunt hc qu jam sequuntur documenta: Pro 31:14; Mat 13:3.Frster.
3. On Jer 32:15. The prophet had often enough declared the land lost to the Chaldeans. Here, however, he must testify that it is not lost forever: his purchase was to restore confidence in the future to other troubled souls. Thus the most afflicted servant of God must again be the most hopeful.When we are outwardly prosperous, we think no one can take our prosperity from us, and when trouble comes upon us, we again think that no one can help us. Both courses are, however, equally ungodly. Therefore Gods servants must contradict both those who are at ease, and those who are in despair. The reverse is always right. In good days humble thyself, and in bad days let thyself be exalted, for then it is a great thing to do. Diedrich.
4. On Jer 32:9; Jer 32:16; Jer 32:24-25. Jeremiah also contends, but as a servant of the Lord. First he obeys and afterwards speaks about it. This is a noble way, by which every teacher, who knows the Lord, may prove himself. As soon as he observes that the Lord wishes this or that, it is not the time to expostulate, but to act, not to call anything in question, but to set to work. If then any hesitation is left, or one and another scruple, it is time afterwards to consult with the Lord about it, when one has first shown obedience. Zinzendorf. [Though we are bound to follow God with an implicit obedience, yet we should endeavor that it may be more and more intelligent obedience. We must never dispute Gods statutes and judgments, but we may and must inquire, What mean these statutes and judgments? Deu 6:20. Henry.S. R. A.]
5. On Jer 32:25. Tertullian (c. Marc, L. IV., c. 40) sees in the words Buy thee the field for money, the prophetic passage to which Mat 27:9 refers, regarding the reading as correct. Comp. Euseb. Demonstr. Ev., L. X., c. 4; Augustin, De consensu Evang., L. III., c. 7.
6. On Jer 32:27. To God there is no wonder [miracle]. There are wonders only on the lower stage of existence. Every higher stage is a wonder to the lower. Or is there only one stage of existence, and accordingly only one order of nature? When the North American savages cruelly murdered one of their number who had been on a visit to the Great Father in Washington, and told them of the wonders of civilization, as a demoniacally possessed liar, were they less in the right than our highly civilized savages, to whom it is a fundamental axiom, that there is no other world, but that which they can reach with their five senses? It is certainly not proved that there is a living, personal, omnipotent God. But this is not to be proved, it is to be felt from the heart. He who is born of God heareth His voice. To him also miracles cease to be aught irrational. He knows well how to distinguish between true and false miracles, but the former come to him like a voice from the higher world, in which he feels truly at home. For the stages of existence and orders of nature are not hermetically sealed towards each other, but the higher break through in order to lift the lower up to themselves.
7. On Jer 32:36 sqq. On the fulfilment of this prophecy comp. the Comm. on Jer 13:14, and the Doctrinal notes on Jer 3:18-25, No. 8. As the threatening that Israel should be dispersed among all nations from one end of the earth to the other (Deu 28:64-66) has been literally fulfilled, why should not this promise also be literally fulfilled, that they shall be collected from all lands whither the Lord has cast them out? Why cannot this people be destroyed? Why do they retain their peculiarities with such tenacity, that neither the most raging fanaticism, nor the most humane cosmopolitanism, which is much more dangerous than the former, can mingle them with other nations; so that we can follow the course of their national stream through the sea of nations, as it is said of the Rhine that its water flows unmingled through the lake of Constance? Assuredly this people must yet have a future. Only thus much is correct; that the real kernel of these prophecies is offered to us in a shell which the prophets prepared from contemporary events, but it is difficult to determine where the shell ceases and the kernel begins. Comp. Rinck, The Scripturalness of the doctrine of the Millennial reign defended against Hengstenberg. Eberfeld, 1866, S. 45 sqq.
8. On Jer 32:36 sqq. Is the consummation of the redemptive work possible while Israel is rejected as a nation? According to the Old Testament this question must be unconditionally negatived. This knows only a temporary rejection of Israel, which at the same time has this result, that Israel does not perish as a nation, but is preserved for future restoration. Is this law aunulled since Israel despised the gracious visitation of the Messiah, the kingdom of God taken from them and given to a people which bring forth the fruits thereof? Are thus the predictions of the prophets, which treat of a glorification of Israel in the latter days, eternally abrogated on account of the nations sin? Or can their fulfilment be found only in a spiritual manner in the Christian church, the main trunk of which was formed by a chosen few from Israel? These questions are answered in the affirmative by Bertheau (Old Testament prophecy of Israels national glory in their own land. Jahrb. f. deutsche Theol., 1859 and 1860) in accordance with the older protestant theology (comp. especially Hollaz, Exam, theolog. ed. Teller, p. 1264 sqq.) as decidedly as according to our conviction they must, on the ground of Rom 1:25 sqq., be negatived. It seems to us to be irrefragably established that when the times of the world-nations are full (Luk 21:24), Israel will obey the gospel call, and thus be prepared to welcome the Messiah (Mat 23:39); that for this reason in its dispersion among the nations of the earth it has never been absorbed by them, but preserved in separate existence for its final destination, because Gods gifts of grace and calling are . Oehler in Herzog, R.-Enc., XVII., S. 658, 9.
9. On Jer 33:3. This is the Lords declaration to His obedient servant Jeremiah. My dear child, He says, thou hast acted according to my will, without knowing why. Thou hast done well. But I will make it clear to thee, so that thou wilt wonder no more; I will tell thee that and yet more, so that thou wilt at last say., Yes, let it be so. We find such connections a few times elsewhere in the Scriptures. The Lord says, How can I hide from Abraham the thing that I do! (Gen 18:17.) And the same Lord declares to His disciples, whence comes this inclination or predisposition to tell something new to His disciples, Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth, but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard of my Father, I have made known unto you (Joh 15:16). So also is it here with Jeremiah. Zinzendorf.
10. On Jer 33:6. Healing, restoration, joy and permanent prosperity are promised by the prophet to Jerusalem at a time when all seemed lost, and it seemed impossible to regain them. How desolate must it have then appeared in Jerusalem when one house after another was thrown down to furnish means of defence! How wildly raged the tumult of war, and how comfortless was the condition of the city shut in by the enemy and completely cut off from the rest of the country! To the mind of him, who then thought of Jerusalem in the future, pictures of destruction alone presented themselves. Jeremiah, however, whose sight was sharpened by the divine anointing, sees beyond the present abomination of desolation in the far distant future pictures of peace and, moreover, of everlasting peace, such as no eye has ever seen, nor hath it entered into the heart of man. There was the patience and faith of the saints (Rev 13:10). Impossible is a word, which does not occur in Gods language.
11. On Jer 33:8. After the stubborn race has been partly annihilated and partly humbled, God will turn the captivity of the nation, as a whole. Israel cannot perish eternally. God will purify the people from their sins, by forgiveness, the only way in which men can be really freed from sin. Grace and forgiveness are the only ground on which we stand as Christians. This seems nothing to the world, and yet it is more than heaven and earth. Diedrich.
12. On Jer 33:7-13. An important doctrine meets us in these words, that it is not the gifts of God which we should seek to apprehend, but the love of God which is manifested in that He imputes not our sin to us. Otherwise we treat the Divine benefits like the fishes which swallow the hook with the bait. Heim and Hofmann. The major prophets expounded for edification, 1839, S. 509.
13. On Jer 33:14-17. All Gods promises are at the same time fulfilled by the true man, the Son of Man, the pure sprout of David. He will be a King, in whom we have perfect protection from all destructive agencies, for He will help us from sin, procuring and executing on earth justice and righteousness for all mankind. As we all together inherited sin and death from Adam, so Jesus by His righteousness has brought justification of life for all men, if we would now only take it with joy. Jerusalem will itself bear the Kings name, as he was called in Jer 23:6 : Jehovah our Righteousness, i. e., that Jehovah bestows on us the righteousness, which is the bond, which at the same time unites us to the citizens of His celestial city. Diedrich.
14. On Jer 33:15-16. [The Lord our righteousness. This is to be explained by the union of the Church with Christ (see Rom 12:4-5; 1Co 10:17; 1Co 12:12; Eph 1:22; Eph 4:12; Eph 4:15-16; Eph 4:25; Eph 6:23; Col 1:18; Col 1:24) so that what belongs to Him is communicated to her (Calvin, Piscator, Muenster).Thus, by virtue of her mystical union with Christ, and by the imputation of His merits, and the infusion of His Spirit, the Name of the Church may be said to be The Lord our righteousness; she hides herself in Him, and is seen by God as in Him; she is clothed with Christ the Sun of righteousness (see Rev 12:1) and is accepted in the Beloved (Eph 1:6). Wordsworth.S. R. A.]
15. On Jer 33:17. [When the First-begotten was brought into the world it was declared concerning Him, The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His Father David, Luk 1:32. Henry.S.R. A.]
16. On Jer 33:13-22. [Four words, each of them full of meaning, comprise the conceptions which we attribute to the Paradisaical state. They are these: Innocence, Love, Rural Life. Piety; and it is towards these conditions of earthly happiness that the human mind reverts, as often as it turns, sickened and disappointed, from the pursuit of whatever else it may have ever labored to acquire. The innocence we here think of is not virtue recovered, that has passed through its season of trial, but it is Moral Perfectness, darkened by no thought or knowledge of the contrary. This Paradisaical love is conjugal fondness, free from sensuous taint. This Rural Life is the constant flow of summer days, spent in gardens and afield, exempt from our exacted toil. This piety of Paradise is the grateful approach of the finite being to the Infinite,a correspondence that is neither clouded, nor is apprehensive of a cloud. Isaac Taylor, Spirit of Hebrew Poetry.S. R. A.]
17. On Jer 33:19-22. [The richest promises are confirmed by the strongest assurances. Cowles.S. R. A.] As Gods arrangements in nature do not fail, still less can His word fail in His kingdom of grace, and all His word refers to the divine Son of David and His eternal kingdom of grace. Yea, the whole innumerable Israel, Abrahams spiritual posterity, shall become Davids and Levites, i. e., priests and kings, as was designed even at the beginning of Israel. (Exo 19:6; 1Pe 2:9; Rev 5:6). Diedrich.
18. On Jer 33:18-22. [Wordsworth rejects Hengstenbergs explanation that these words are to be applied to all Christians indiscriminately, and approves of the argument derived by the ancient Christian fathers from the passage in favor of the threefold order of ministers in the Christian church. He adds The Gospel of Christ and the Church of Christ possess the spiritual essence of whatever was commanded in the Levitical dispensations. Whatever was local and personal in those dispensations has passed away. The Tabernacle, the Temple, their Sacrifices, their Sabbaths, their Annual Festivals, their threefold Ministry, all these have been spiritualized in the Gospel. Sinai is perpetuated in Zion. The glory of the Law has been absorbed into that of the Gospel. See Psa 68:17, the great Pentecostal Psalm.S. R. A.]
19. On Jer 33:23-26. In the first place they will not be warned, and afterwards they will not be comforted. The true prophet however announces death to sinners according to the law, but afterwards grace for renovation and for life. Despair is blasphemy. Gods kingdom stands and will be perfected, but the fainthearted will not enter it. God answers: so long as heaven and earth are preserved by Me, it is for the sake of My kingdom, and as a pledge that it will not fail. Israel or, what is the same thing, Davids seed shall be a royal seed, and the captivity which the people must now endure is transient. It is however impossible for the worldly to comprehend this, who persist in carnal repose as though no God could punish them, and again in affliction are so despondent, as though there were no God to help them any more. Diedrich. [Deep security commonly ends in deep despair; whereas those that keep up a holy fear at all times have a good hope to support themselves in the worst of times. Henry.S. R. A.]
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
1. On Jer 32:16. [Before Jeremiah went to prayer he delivered the deeds that concerned his new purchase to Baruch, which may intimate to us, that when we are going to worship God we should get our minds as clear as may be from the cares and encumbrances of this world.Note, Prayer is the salve of every sore. Henry.S. R. A.]
2. On Jer 32:17-25. The Divine promises our best consolation in every affliction. 1. There are promises of Divine help for every kind of distress in human life. 2. These promises often sound very wonderful (Jer 32:24-25). 3. Their fulfilment on the part of God is guaranteed by the perfection of the Divine nature (Jer 32:17-19). 4. Their fulfilment is on our part conditioned by faith.
3. On Jer 32:18-19. Harvest [Thanksgiving-day] Sermon. To what should our admiration of the power and grace of God in the present harvest lead us? 1. To thank God. 2. To trust all to Him, that He has promised us. 3. To obey His voice. Jentsch., Gesetz and Zeugniss, 1853.
4. On Jer 32:19. The very serious and important truth, the eyes of the Lord are open to all the paths of the children of men. This should 1, shake us and awake us from our security, if some of our ways are sinful and such as the Lord must certainly disapprove; 2, humble us, if we are indeed under the discipline of Gods Spirit, and yet turn to our own self made courses, and have not yet allowed a fixed and sure heart to be imparted to us; 3, be for our comfort and encouragement, when we are often led in dark and difficult paths. J. M. Mueller, Zeugnisse v. Christo. [Witnesses to Christ]. Neues Predigtbuch., Stuttgart, 1866, S. 757.
5. On Jer 32:19. [The greatness of Gods wisdom and the abundance of His power. Proved from His nature. Rem. 1. God hath the power of making the deepest affliction of His children produce their highest happiness. 2. The contrivances of tyrants to oppress the church procure its establishment. 3. The triumphs of Satan turn to the destruction of his empire. Saurin.S. R. A.]
6. On Jer 32:39. Wedding-sermon, The promise which the Lord gives to God-fearing couples. 1. One heart. 2. One way. 3. One blessing, which shall extend to their children. Florey, 1862.
7. On Jer 32:40. Wedding-sermon. The nature and fruit of a true marriage. 1. Its nature: it is a covenant which a man and a woman conclude in the Lord, and with the Lord (put My fear in their hearts;not depart from Me;everlasting covenant). 2. Its fruit: good from the Lord without ceasing.
8. On Jer 32:40. [Teachers may put good things into our heads, but it is God only that can put them into our hearts, that can work in us both to will and to do. Henry.S. R. A.]
9. On Jer 32:39-41. The greatest and dearest of all the promises of God to a marriage in the highest degree happy and delightful. G. Conr. Rieger.
10. On Jer 32:40-41. Baptismal Sermon. The gracious promises of God, which He gives to a child of man in holy baptism. Florey, 1862.
11. On Jer 32:42. In communion of suffering of pious Christians is also a blessed fellowship of consolation, since 1, when we as Christians bear with one another, we can also with each other and by each other obtain composure with respect to whatever has befallen us; 2, our heart is revived by what remains, viz., love on earth and hope in heaven; 3, we become strong for whatever duty is laid upon us, viz., labor and courage. Florey, 1863.
12. On Jer 33:1. [No confinement can deprive Gods people of His presence; no locks or bars can shut out His gracious visits, nay, oftentimes as their afflictions abound their consolations much more abound, and they have the most reviving communications of His favor then when the world frowns on them. Pauls sweetest Epistles were those that bare date out of a prison. Henry.S. R. A.]
13. On Jer 33:6. The disease of our times is no other than a rebellious spirit, and the cause of this is no other than a want of reverence for God and His law. Discourse on the Birth-day of the king by Deacon Hauber in Tbingen. Palmer, Ev Casualreden, 2te Folge, 1, 1850.
14. On Jer 33:14-16. Jesus Christ a King. 1. From what a noble royal stock did He proceed! (Raised by God, descending from David, both by His deity and humanity heir of the throne). 2. How well has He exercised His rule with judgment and righteousness (He Himself is the Lord, who is our righteousness). 3. How far does His dominion extend! (From Jerusalem to the ends of the earth). 4. How safely does His people dwell by His help in peace ! Naumann, in Gesetz u. Zeugn., 1860, March.
15. On Jer 33:14-16. Who is He announced to-day? 1. The long promisedwith reference to His historical appearance. 2. The Son of David and at the same time Gods Sonthis is His personal significance. 3. The Lord, who is our righteousnessthis relates to His holy office and work. Anacker, in Gesetz u. Zeugn., 1860, March.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
We have here two short, but sweet Sermons of the Prophet, and both to the same amount, by way of confirming the word. The Lord appeals to his original Covenant made after the flood, by way of assuring the Church of his mercy. If the Covenant of day and night cease, then, and not before, may the seed of our spiritual David tremble for their captivity. Gen 8:21-22 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 33:19 And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying,
Ver. 19. And the word of the Lord, &c. ] Iterum de perpetuitate regni Christi tractat et iurat, saith Oecolampadius. Once more he treateth of the perpetuity of Christ’s kingdom, and assureth it as by oath.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 33:19-22
19The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 20Thus says the LORD, ‘If you can break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night will not be at their appointed time, 21then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers. 22As the host of heaven cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.’
Jer 33:19-22 This strophe claims that the new covenant is going to be permanent because the order and cycles of nature are permanent (cf. Jer 31:35-37). Western science was developed on this premise of the regularity of God’s creation (cf. Jer 33:25; Gen 8:22; Psa 74:16-17; Psa 89:36-37).
Jer 33:22 counted. . .measured These are both Niphal IMPERFECTS. They are the same metaphors (i.e., stars and sand) used in the promises to the Patriarchs about the number of descendants to
1. Abraham – Gen 13:16; Gen 15:5; Gen 22:17
2. Isaac – Gen 26:4
3. Jacob – Gen 28:14; Gen 32:12
4. all of them – Exo 32:13
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Jer 33:19-20. The Lord rather interrupts the passage to make a comparison of the surety of his promises. They are as sure as the established law that regulates the day and night.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
This promise of the restoration of a Davidic king and of Levitical priests would be as certain as the Lord’s promise that day will follow night forever (cf. Jer 31:35-36; Gen 1:5; Gen 1:14-18; Gen 8:22; Num 25:12-13; Deu 4:19; Psa 19:1-6; Psa 136:7-9).