Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 33:6
Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.
6. health ] mg. healing; lit. fresh flesh; See on Jer 8:22.
abundance ] The word in MT. occurs here only, the meaning that the corresponding root bears in Eze 35:13; Pro 27:6, being taken to justify the sense assigned here. But the text is probably corrupt. A word almost identical in consonants denotes treasures, and so is very apposite here as a conjectural emendation (so Du.).
truth ] (God’s) faithfulness.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I will bring it health and cure – I will lay upon it a bandage and healing, i. e., a healing bandage, a plaster with healing medicines.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Jer 33:6
Behold I will bring it health and cure.
This passage, in its more immediate application, relates to the city and people of Jerusalem, and conveys a promise to the unhappy nation of the Jews of blessings which are yet in store for them.
The Great Physician
I. The visit which this Good Physician pays to the poor patient who has need of Him. The patient is a wretched being, who, in a spiritual point of view, is diseased from head to foot, and hath no soundness in him. He has the disease of human nature, the disease which you and I have–sin. He has become painfully alive to the humiliating fact that there is no good thing in him–that all his doings have been evil–and that the sentence of death eternal hangs over his soul. He cannot heal himself. His fellow-sinners cannot heal him. Is not then his case desperate? It would be so indeed were it not for a voice from heaven which saith of this poor sinner, I will bring him health and cure. Every word is a word of comfort to that sinners soul. There is comfort in the first word I–I will do it. For who is it that speaks? It is Jesus, the great, the mighty Saviour of the soul–that famous, that renowned Physician who hath healed already such a multitude of sinners, and hath never lost a single patient. There is comfort in the next word, I will bring–for, alas! this sinner cannot fetch his cure. But look at the last words of the sentence, and behold still more abundant comfort for this perishing transgressor. I will bring, saith the Lord–What? A medicine? A healing application that will be likely to avail–that may conduce towards recovery? No, but–Oh, bold words! words only fit for an Almighty Saviour!–I will bring him health and cure–something so sovereign in its virtue, so sure, so swift in its effects, that, the moment it is tried upon the patient, he is well; not only in part restored; not only altogether freed from his disease; but well–in full, in perfect health. The balm which the Physician brings to cure the sinner with is the blood which He hath shed for them, the life which He hath given for them, the full, the perfect and sufficient sacrifice which He hath offered up for them. And this balm, is not medicine only–for that may heal or not heal; that is a mere experiment upon a broken constitution, and may be ineffectual; but the balm which Jesus brings the sinner may well be styled health and cure; for it is everything at once which the sinners case requires. This precious blood cleanseth from all sin. But we have not yet attended this Good Physician to His patient. We have not yet ascertained, I mean, how He may be said to bring this health and cure to the poor sinners soul. It is when He opens that sinners eyes to view Him as a Saviour–when, by His word or by His ministers, He sets His love before that sinners soul, and by His Holy Spirit makes him see it.
II. Observe the Good Physicial actually curing the poor patient He attends. There is a difference between a remedy brought near, and a remedy applied; and there is a difference again between Christs bringing health and cure to the sinner, and that sinners being cured. The grace of God that bringeth salvation is said to appear unto all men; but we know that all men to whom it appeareth are not saved by it. Many men perceive that Christ is their Physician, yet will not take His remedy; and many men believe that they have used the remedy when they have only done so in appearance. The patient we have endeavoured to describe is a really humbled and awakened soul, and the Lord, who brings him health, gives him faith also, to be healed. He believes in Jesus as a Saviour. He casts his soul on Him for pardon and righteousness.
III. Now proceed to the blessings my text describes Him as bestowing on the poor patients He has healed. I will reveal to them, says He, the abundance of peace and truth.
1. We may regard this peace and truth as the privileges of the redeemed sinner. When our poor sick bodies are recovered unexpectedly from a painful and a dangerous disease, how do we rejoice in our newly acquired health! How are our fears calmed and our anxieties removed! but these natural emotions are not to be compared for a moment with the spiritual feelings and experiences of the pardoned sinner; no sooner hath the Good Physician healed the soul than what doth He reveal to it? The abundance of peace and truth. Peace–for being justified by faith, he hath peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Christ revealeth also to him the abundance of truth. He enjoys, through the Spirit which Christ sends him, a glorious and most comfortable apprehension of the truth of God–of the truth of His grace, of the truth of His covenant, of the truth of His promises.
2. Consider this abundance of peace and truth as referring also to the character acquired by the believer in consequence of his faith. Christ may be said to have revealed to His people the abundance of peace in that He hath given them a peaceful spirit–in that He hath sent that Dove-like Messenger to rest upon their souls who is first pure, then peaceable, and who makes the hearts He enters like Himself. And Christ may be said also to have revealed to him the abundance of truth, by enabling him to walk in truth. He is an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile, no crooked policy, no artful management. His aim is, on all occasions, to be a child of the light and of the day–sincere and without offence unto the day of Christ–having no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reproving them. (A. Roberts, M. A.)
Health for the soul
I. The patient and his disease. The patient is man; the disease is sin. We see the disease equally in the most refined as in the most ignorant. It stares us in the face when we read of an African negress sacrificing a fowl to her little image; and it shows itself equally when we read of a Grecian philosopher proposing before his death the sacrifice of a cock to Esculapius. We see the ignorance of the true God; we see at the same time such a consciousness of sin that something must be done to appease the apprehension which they have of the reality of a God. But we need a closer application of the subject. You may all of you say perhaps, I have never been guilty of idolatry; I am neither Mohammetan, nor Socialist, nor Communist, nor an infidel. Let us look, then, at some of the peculiar features of the disease of sin, and see whether it is not preying upon you as it is upon other men in the world. Now, it is well illustrated by the effect which sickness produces upon our body. For instance, sickness produces languor through the whole body; and this is exactly Gods account of the effect of sin (Isa 1:5-6). Take the faculties of man. Take his understanding. The understanding, we are told, is darkened, so that man is no longer wise to do good; he is only wise to do evil. Again, look at his will. The will of man has a wrong bias. Once, I cannot doubt, it was true of Adam, as spoken of our Lord in the fortieth Psalm, I delight to do Thy will, O God; yea, it is within my heart. I cannot doubt there was a time when that was the natural expression of Adams heart; but now it is not the expression of any mans heart until he is renewed by the Holy Ghost. But again: sickness takes away our desire for what is wholesome. So it is with sinners. They put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter; they call darkness light, and light darkness, and evil good, and good evil: whereas the spiritual man delights in the law of God after the inward man renewed by the Holy Ghost. Another effect produced by sickness upon the frame is, that it takes away the comfort of life. There is no enjoyment in anything put before the sick man enfeebled by disease, anything in which he was once able to take delight. Yea, life itself often becomes a burden. Now, what is the burden? Why, sin is the burden; it is this, only you do not know it; it is this which at times poisons the joy even of the most thoughtless–the consciousness of sin, the consciousness of your opposition to a holy God.
II. The physician and the cure. Behold I will bring it health and cure–I–Jesus. And it has been Jesus always. The remedy may have been stated more distinctly under the Gospel than under the law, but not more really. It was Jesus always, it was the precious blood of Jesus always, pointed at in the very first premise that was made by God, that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpents head. And salvation has always been shut up in that seed. It may have been expressed sometimes as being Abrahams seed, sometimes the seed of Isaac, and sometimes the seed of Jacob, but it had only one meaning; as the apostle said in the third chapter of Galatians, Not unto seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ. There is the Physician that God has always revealed. And what is His character? I cannot give you a better picture of Him than He has given of Himself in the parable of the good Samaritan. The wounded man had no charges; he had nothing to pay; the good Samaritan paid for all It is so with Jesus. The only fee, if I may so speak with reverence of Jesus, is–all He asks of us is, that we should trust Him, that we should believe in Him. He holds out to us in the Gospel perfect cure of all our disease, whatever it may be, and however aggravated; and He only says, Let Me cure you. And when I point you to this Good Samaritan as a Physician, I would have you remember that He is the only One. I call this another inexpressible mercy, that the poor sinners mind, anxious for relief, is not distracted in the Gospel by choosing between physicians. As the sun is clear in the firmament of heaven at noonday, so does Jesus shine forth as the Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings to every poor sinner. And observe how He brings this before you. He says, Direct your attention, behold, take notice, I will bring you health and cure. Here is purpose, here is determination, here is sovereign will. I will cure, I will heal, I will reveal abundance of peace and truth. We may ask, then, if the way be so simple, why is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered! Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Yes, there is balm, there is the blood of Jesus; there is a Physician, there is Jesus Himself. Then why is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered! I will put before you some reasons. Some are not healed because they do not know they are sick. There is often very great mischief going on in our frames without our knowing it. That is the way in which mortal diseases get hold of a man. Then some are not healed because they love their disease. Yea, they love sin. We read of a very celebrated man, St. Augustine, that there was a time when his conscience was so harassed by the oppression of sin, at the same time that his affections were set upon the enjoyment and indulgence of it, that he declared he was afraid his prayers should be heard when he prayed for deliverance from sin. Now I would ask whether that is not the ease with many. Some, again, are not healed because they are not willing to be healed. Our Lord says, Ye will not come to Me that ye might have life. Again, some hearts are not healed because they will not take the Gospel remedies. What are the two great remedies that Jesus proposes? Repentance towards God, and faith towards Himself. But these are bitter and nauseous draughts to the natural man. There is one other reason which I would give why some are not healed–because they put no confidence in the Physician. Here is the root of all the evil–a want of faith. If they trusted Him, they would trust His word; and if they trusted His Word, they would take His remedies. (J. W. Reeve, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 6. Behold I will bring it health and cure] aruchah, an extensive plaister; or, as we phrase it, a plaister as large as the sore. I will repair the losses of families by numerous births, and bless the land with fertility.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The latter part of this verse expoundeth the former, for by
health and
cure the prophet meaneth peace and truth: we met with the like metaphorical expression Jer 30:17; See Poole “Jer 30:17“. The miserable disturbed state of a nation being compared to wounds and sickness, the restoring of it to a peaceable, prosperous state is fitly called its health and cure. By
truth here seems to be meant faithfulness, or stability, not truth of propositions: q.d. I will, after this great wound which I have given this people, bring them again into a quiet and peaceable state, in which they shall abide many days.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. (Jer30:17). The answer to Jeremiah’s mournful question (Jer8:22).
cureliterally, thelong linen bandage employed in dressing wounds.
truththat is,stability; I will bring forth for them abundant and permanentpeace, that is, prosperity.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them,…. That is, the church of God, the members of it, typified by Jerusalem; and it is to be understood of the healing of their spiritual maladies, the diseases of sin, through the blood of the Messiah, who should arise with healing in his wings; that is, with remission of sin, which is often meant by healing in Scripture: Christ is the physician; his blood the balm in Gilead, which being applied to those that are diseased with sin, to sin sick souls, it makes an effectual cure of them; so that they shall not say they are sick, because their iniquities are forgiven them; see Ps 103:3;
and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth; the same with “grace and truth”, which are come by Christ, Joh 1:17; under the Old Testament, these were figured out by types and shadows; but not revealed clearly, as under the New Testament, to which this prophecy belongs. “Peace” may intend peace made with God by the blood of Christ; peace of conscience, which he gives, and arises from a sense of pardon and atonement by his blood, and justification by his righteousness; and all kind of spiritual welfare, prosperity, and happiness; of which there will be an abundance, especially in the latter days of the Messiah, Ps 72:8. “Truth” may design the faithfulness of God, in fulfilling all his promises and prophecies concerning the Messiah, and salvation by him, and may stand opposed to the types and shadows of the old law; and include the Gospel, the word of truth, and all the doctrines of it; which are clearly and fully revealed by the spirit of truth, wisdom, and revelation, in the knowledge of Christ. Here begins the account of the great, mighty, and hidden things the Lord promised to show the prophet, Jer 33:3. The Targum of this last clause is,
“and I will reveal the gate of repentance unto them, and I will show them, how they shall walk in the way of peace and truth;”
and the Syriac version is,
“I will reveal unto them the paths of peace and faith;”
but the word here used signifies abundance, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He afterwards says, Behold, I will bring a renewal and a healing, and I will heal them This is the main point, as they say, in the passage. He had been hitherto shewing, that the Jews had deserved so heavy a punishment, because by their obstinacy they had not ceased to provoke God against themselves. But he promises here to be propitious to them after having moderately corrected them. For we have said, that the design of this prophecy was to sustain the Jews, so that they might not despond, but rely on the promise of favor, however bitter exile might be. Then he says, I will bring a renewal, or restoration, and a healing (88)
And it is added, I will open to them abundance of peace and of truth Some render the last word, אמת, amet, prayer; for the verb אמן amen, means sometimes to pray and also to multiply. There may then be a twofold meaning; the first, that God would open to them an access to prayer; for things were so hopeless among the people, that no one dared to utter a word. Even Jeremiah himself was forbidden to pray, (Jer 11:14) because God had resolved to destroy those miserable men respecting whom there was no hope of repentance. Some therefore understand that an access to prayer is here promised, so that the faithful and the servants of God might pray for the prosperity of the city. But this explanation seems to me to be too far-fetched. I take, therefore, a simpler interpretation, — that God would give them abundance of peace, or rather the prolonging or continuance of peace. By peace is meant, as it is well known, a happy state. Then to Jerusalem, reduced to extreme miseries, God promises joyful things, so that she should afterwards live prosperously; and he adds the word truth, which is to be taken here for stability, (89) as, indeed, everywhere in Scripture, as though he had said, that the prosperous state of the city would notbe for a month, or a short time, but continual and even perpetual, as he declares in the next verse.
(88) The word rendered “renewal,” means lengthening, that is, of man’s life; hence it is taken in the sense of recovery, — “I will bring to it a recovery and a healing.” See Jer 8:22. — Ed.
(89) The best word for it here, as given by the Syr., is security; “And I will unfold to them abundance of peace and security.” — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) Health and cure . . .The first word is, as in Jer. 8:22; Jer. 30:17, the bandage, or plaister, which was prominent in the therapeutics of the East. It is possible that both words may have been spoken in direct contrast with the pestilence which was ravaging the city (Jer. 21:9; Jer. 27:13; Jer. 38:2). In any case, however, the words have a higher and figurative meaning. It was true of the city and its people that the whole head was sick, and the whole heart faint (Isa. 1:5); and Jehovah promises to manifest Himself as the healer of that spiritual disease which was worse than any pestilence.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. I will bring it health and cure Literally, I will apply to it a bandage and healing, that is, a healing bandage. The language following sets forth the idea more fully: I will cure them, and will reveal, etc.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
YHWH Confirms His Promise Of Future Restoration ( Jer 33:6-9 ).
These verses must be seen as being closely connected with Jer 33:5 for it is in the light of the words there that these promises are made. Indeed there is a certain pattern here which partially parallels Jer 33:5. Instead of broken down buildings there will in the future be plasters and healing, instead of dead bodies there will be an abundance of true peace and restoration, and instead of YHWH’s anger over their sin they will receive cleansing and pardon. And the consequence of all this will be that YHWH’s Name will be exalted among the nations. Nevertheless it is quite clear that in the case of each parallel the one must precede the other. The breaking down must precede the binding up, warfare must precede true peace. The lessons must first be learned through suffering, before the glory arises out of the ashes. But so wonderful will be what happens that it will be a deliverance beyond Jeremiah’s, and the nation’s, current understanding.
Jer 33:6-9
“Behold, I will bring it a plaster and a healing,
And I will heal them,
And I will reveal to them abundance of peace and truth,
And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return,
And will build them, as at the first,
And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity,
By which they have sinned against me,
And I will pardon all their iniquities,
By which they have sinned against me,
And by which they have rebelled against me.
And it will be to me for a name of joy (a joyous renown),
For a praise and for a glory, before all the nations of the earth,
Who will hear all the good that I do to them,
And will fear and tremble for all the good and for all the peace that I procure to it.”
YHWH promises that in days to come the wrecked and devastated Jerusalem, and the equally desolate Judah, will be brought back to health, bound up (covered with an effective plaster) and healed (compare Jer 30:17), and that the people within it will themselves be healed, and will enjoy an abundance of ‘peace and truth’ (‘genuine peace’ rather than the kind of peace promised by the false prophets). Thus the city and the land, at present experiencing such despair and hopelessness, will once more be restored to life and vigour. For He will cause the captivity and exile of Judah and Israel to be reversed, with the result that their numbers will be built up in the land so that they will be as numerous as before.
Furthermore they will be cleansed from all their ‘iniquity’ (the root means ‘to be bent’) and will be pardoned from all their ‘iniquities’ (the consequences of their being ‘bent’ within) which assumes that they will have repented from their ‘sins’ (their ‘coming short of the mark’) with which they have sinned against Him. Note that this last is repeated twice. We can see from this how the depths of their sin is being emphasised. And it had all resulted from ‘rebellion’ (hostility to God and His ways). But now their rebellion will be over and they will be cleansed and pardoned (as per the new covenant – Jer 31:34). Thus both the depths of their sin and the greatness of their pardon is being emphasised.
And the consequence of YHWH’s goodness to them will be that ‘all the nations’ will fear and tremble as they see all that YHWH does for His people. They will realise that from then on they must treat them with care because they are YHWH’s. And all that has happened will bring home to them the wonder of YHWH, His joyous renown, His praise and His glory. We may also justifiably see in this ‘fear and trembling’ a reverent response of the nations to YHWH, another indication that finally people of all nations will turn to YHWH (compare Gen 12:3).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jer 33:6. Behold, &c. Behold, I will bring them, &c. “I will restore them to their wonted prosperity; I will re-establish their walls; I will repair their breaches.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 1079
CONVERSION OF THE JEWSA MATTER OF IMPORTANCE TO GOD AND MAN
Jer 33:6-9. Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth. And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first. And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I wilt pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.
THE more fully the subject of the restoration and conversion of the Jews is considered, the more important it will appear. The prophetic writings are full of it; and the obscurity of those writings arises in a great measure from the gross perversion of them, of which even pious ministers have been guilty, through a long succession of ages. Those whose office has been to interpret them, have almost universally applied them spiritually to the Gentiles; overlooking the plain literal meaning of them, as addressed to the Jewish people: and by this means, not only has the attention of the Christian world been drawn from the Jews, but it has been drawn also even from the prophecies themselves, because of the impenetrable veil that has been cast over them.
That the passage before us relates to that subject, no one can entertain a doubt. And that it has never yet been fulfilled, is equally clear; not only because the ten tribes of Israel are combined with Judah, but because the effects which are here announced as to be produced by the event, were never, in any degree, produced by the return of the Jews to Babylon. The different nations of the earth were never led to fear and tremble by reason of the goodness and prosperity which were then procured unto the Jewish nation. We must therefore, of necessity, look forward to a future period for the full accomplishment of this prophecy.
In discoursing on this prophecy, I shall consider,
I.
The event predicted
Respecting the restoration of the Jews to their own land, I say little; because, though it seems as clearly revealed as any event in all the book of God, there are some who doubt whether the prophecies relating to it are to be understood literally; and because, in labouring for the welfare of that people, we have no respect whatever to any thing but the conversion of their souls to God.
In the passage before us God promises to them,
1.
A discovery of his will
[In the whole of their civil and ecclesiastical polity, they are in the state described by the Prophet Isaiah; The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint: from the sole of the foot even to the head there is so soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores [Note: Isa 1:5-6.]. But God promises here, that he will restore health unto them, and cure them, by revealing unto them the abundance of peace and truth.
To enter fully into the meaning of these words, we must bear in mind, that, in the writings of Moses, the way of salvation is revealed only under types and shadows; and that, even by the strictest observance of them, the Jews could not be made perfect as pertaining to the conscience [Note: Heb 9:9.]: consequently, under existing circumstances, when they are precluded from a possibility of observing the law, they cannot by any means obtain rest unto their souls. They cannot by repentance; because rivers of tears could never wash away one sin. They cannot by good works; for their best works are imperfect, and can never atone for sin, and purchase an eternity of bliss. And, as for any rites prescribed by their Rabbins, in addition to the Mosaic Ritual, they are held, as the superstitious ordinances of the Pharisees were, in utter abhorrence by Almighty God. All the Rabbins in the universe, therefore, cannot tell an afflicted and tempest-tossed Jew how he may obtain peace with God and in his own conscience. But when God shall take away the veil that is on the hearts of that people, he will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth. He will shew them, that every shadow in their law is derived from Christ, who is the substance. Had they a temple, an altar, a high-priest, a sacrifice, a sanctuary? These are all contained in Christ, who is the one great sacrifice for sin, the priest that offers it, the altar on which it is presented, the sanctuary in which dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and in which it comes up with acceptance before God. There is not any single ordinance, or even a vessel in the sanctuary, which was not intended to shadow him forth, and with which he does not, in some respect or other, correspond: so perfectly did Moses execute the divine command, in making every thing according to the pattern shewn to him in the mount. This being discovered to the Jews by the clear light of the Gospel, they will see an abundance of truth; such as we, who are little conversant with the law, have scarcely any conception of. And from the fulness of Christ, so richly displayed before them, they will have a peace which passeth all understanding, yea, such an abundance of peace, that it will flow down like a river. All that can disturb their minds shall be put far from them by the discovery of Christ. Are they oppressed with guilt, and apprehensive of punishment? They shall see that he has by the one offering of himself upon the cross, made a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice for sin, and completely reconciled them to their offended God. Do they feel their need, of a perfect righteousness wherein to stand before God? They shall see that he has wrought out a righteousness for them by his own obedience unto death; and that that righteousness shall be unto all, and upon all, who believe in him. In a word, they shall see in him an accomplishment of what the prophet Daniel has foretold:He shall finish transgression, and make an end of sin, and make reconciliation for iniquity, and bring in for his believing people everlasting righteousness [Note: Dan 9:24.]. And, in the view of these things, they shall rejoice in him with joy unspeakable, and full of glory.]
2.
A manifestation of his favour
[God promises in my text, and again in ver. 11, to build them as at the first. This necessarily carries us back to the time when he redeemed them out of Egypt, and brought them forth with a mighty hand and a stretched-out arm. Let us call to mind all the wonders that were then wrought in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the Wilderness; let us remember how God went before them in the pillar and the cloud; how ho fed them with manna from heaven, and with water from the flinty rock; how he appeared to them on Mount Sinai, and gave to them his law; how he protected them from every enemy, and brought them in safety to the promised land; how he subdued before them seven nations, greater and mightier than they; and, above all, how he dwelt in his sanctuary, and manifested to them his favour, so as he never had done to any people upon earth: let us call all this to mind, and then we snail have some faint conception of the blessings which he has in reserve for his outcast people. I doubt not, but that, in a temporal view, as far as similar interpositions shall be found necessary for them, they shall experience them at the hands of God [Note: Isa 11:16.]: but in a spiritual view, I am perfectly sure that none of these things shall be wanting unto them: they shall be delivered from their spiritual bondage; they shall eat of Christ, who is the spiritual meat, and drink of that spiritual drink, even of that rock which will follow them, which is Christ Jesus [Note: 1Co 10:3-4.]; and at last have an abundant entrance ministered unto them into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ [Note: 2Pe 1:11.]. We may stretch out our imaginations to the uttermost, and grasp all that was ever done for that people in the days of old; and we may be sure that it shall all be renewed to them in the latter clay with ten-fold advantage [Note: Jer 30:18-20.]: that nation shall then sing as in the days of her youth, when she came up out of the land of Egypt [Note: Hos 2:15.].]
3.
A communication of his grace
[What is there that any sinner in the universe can need? That shall, in the richest abundance, be imparted unto them. Do they need the pardon of their iniquities? So fully shall it be vouchsafed, that all their sins shall be cast into the depths of the sea; not into the shallows, from whence they might be brought again; but into the depths, where they shall never again be found [Note: Compare Mic 7:19. with Jer 50:20.]. Do they need the renovation of their natures after the Divine image? This also shall be vouchsafed unto them; for, not in my text only, but in numberless passages of the prophetic writings, does God promise to them tins inestimable blessing [Note: Jer 32:36-42.]. Thus fully to this purpose speaks the Prophet Ezekiel: I will take you from among the Heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then (N. B. then) will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh; and I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes; and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them [Note: Eze 36:24-27.]. In a word, nothing shall be wanting to the completion of their happiness; their cup shall be full, and overflow with joy.]
From the event itself, let us proceed to consider,
II.
The vast importance of It
If we were to contemplate only the happiness of that people, the temporal, spiritual, eternal happiness of millions living, and of millions arising in every successive age, methinks we should need no more to mark the importance of the event that is here predicted. But we are content to wave the contemplation of this part of our subject altogether, and to limit our views to the points more especially referred to in our text. Mark,
1.
The interest which God himself has in it
[God says of it, It shall be to me a name of joy, a praise, and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them. Of course, when we speak of God rejoicing in it, we merely accommodate ourselves to the language of Scripture, in which God condescends to speak after the manner of men; in order that by conveying to our minds such ideas as we are able to comprehend, he may produce on us such impressions as the subject calls for. Behold, then, to God it will be a source of joy; and in him will be realized the description of the Father in the Parable, receiving, and rejoicing over, his repentant son. Hear how the prophet represents this matter: Be ye glad, and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy, And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying [Note: Isa 65:18-19. See also Zep 3:17.]. So also, in another place, in yet stronger terms: Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. For, as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons (thy restorers) marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee [Note: Isa 62:4-5.]. Moreover, this event will greatly tend to the honour of God. His power and goodness are seen by all people, in the works of creation: but in the restoration of his outcast people, his glory will shine forth as in its meridian splendour, before all the nations of the earth. It will be seen of all; because, the Jews being dispersed over all the world, and the motion amongst them being simultaneous throughout the earth, the attention of all will be fixed upon them, and the glory of God appear upon them. In that event shall all his perfections shine forth; and especially his mercy and love, his truth and faithfulness. Greatly as he was magnified in their deliverance from Egypt, he will be far more exalted in that day; because the work will be infinitely more extensive, and the effects produced upon them be incomparably more glorious. For in that day, the people shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever; the branch of his planting, the work of his hands, that he may be glorified [Note: Isa 60:20-21; Isa 61:1-3.]. In a fore-cited chapter, this is very strongly and beautifully marked. Of all that a king possesses, there is nothing so dear to him, nothing with which his honour is so intimately connected, as his crown; yet such shall the Jewish people be, in the estimation of their God: Thou shalt be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God [Note: Isa 62:3.]. Yes, he will hold them forth before the whole world, as the dearest objects of his love, and the brightest monuments of his glory.]
2.
The interest of the whole world involved in it
[At this wonderful sight will all the nations of the earth fear and tremble. At their coming out of Egypt, was somewhat of this effect produced on the surrounding nations [Note: Exo 15:15-16.]: and amongst those who shall desire to retain them in bondage, will the same terror prevail, at the period that we are now contemplating. According to the clays of thy coming out of the land of Egypt, says God, will I shew unto him marvellous things. The nations shall see, and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth; their ears shall be deaf: they shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the Lord our God, and shall fear because of thee [Note: Mic 7:15-17.]. But on immense multitudes will a far different effect be produced: they, indeed, shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that God hath procured unto his people; but it will be with a holy, reverential fear, such as that which is invariably signified by those words in the epistles of the New Testament, even such as is imported in that injunction, Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Yes, in every place will this effect be produced. It will not merely attract the attention of the whole world, but will create within them a desire to know and serve that God who has done such things for them. In every place will the beholders be filled with wonder; and with the deepest conviction will cry out, as the worshippers of Baal did before them, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God! Then will be fulfilled what the Prophet Zechariah has spoken: Ten men shall take hold, out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you; for we have heard that God is with you [Note: Zec 8:23.]. To this event St. Paul evidently refers, when he says, If the fall of the Jews be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles, how much more their fulness? If the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead [Note: Rom 11:12; Rom 11:15.]?
Now, let the restoration of the Jews be considered in this light; and what shall we think of it, or what terms shall we ever find whereby to express its inconceivable importance? Surely we are highly culpable in this matter, we do not study the Holy Scriptures in reference to this event; and, when we meet with it, we pass it over without any serious reflection, or accommodate it to ourselves as the only persons interested in it. But is this right? Should we be so indifferent to the welfare of Gods ancient people? or, if we account that of so little consequence, should we be regardless of the honour, and, if I may so express myself, the very happiness of God? And should the conversion and salvation of the whole world be of so little value in our eyes? I call you, Brethren, to blush and be confounded, because of your past insensibility; and now to rise, as fellow-workers with God, to the performance of your duty,]
But, that I may improve the subject for the good of all, I would entreat you to take occasion from it to consider
1.
What blessings you yourselves enjoy
[It is said, The Law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ [Note: Joh 1:17.]. Hence it appears, that if you are believers in Christ, these blessings are already yours: you are brought nigh to God, having been rescued from the sorest bondage: and through a discovery of Christ, as revealed in the Gospel, you enjoy in your souls an abundance of peace, and joy, and holiness, and, by anticipation at least, of glory also. You are shining as lights in a dark world; and are a source both of joy and honour to your God, and of conviction and consolation to those around you. In you, the millennial period is, as it were, begun. O, rejoice ye, and shout for joy; and endeavour, in every possible way, to glorify the God of your salvation ]
2.
What reason you have to seek the welfare of your Jewish brethren
[Behold with what glorious consequences it will be followed! Though, for argument sake, I have waved all consideration of the Jews themselves, methinks you will not agree to dismiss them from your minds. The recollection of what their ancestors, and the Lord Jesus Christ himself, have done for you, will never suffer you to be indifferent about the salvation of their souls. But, if we could suppose such a malignant disposition in you towards that unhappy people, shall the glory of God and the salvation of the whole world have no effect upon you? I call you then, every one of you, to exert yourselves, in whatever way the Lord may enable you, for the restoration of his outcast people. Make known to them the Gospel, whereby all other blessings shall How down into their souls; and, as they are the appointed reapers of the Gentile world, go forth to hire them for the work; that, as their ancestors reaped the first-fruits, these may be the happy means of gathering in the whole harvest.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 33:6 Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.
Ver. 6. Behold, I will bring it health and cure. ] Una eademque manus vulnus opemque feret. This is God’s usual method and manner of dealing with his people, Hos 6:1 as a skilful physician, primo pungit, deinde ungit.
“ Enecat, ut possit vivificare Deus. ”
And I will reveal a unto them abundance of peace and truth.] Why then, feri, Domine, feri; such gold as “peace and truth” cannot be bought too dear. The Chaldee here hath it, Revelabo iis portam poenitentiae, I will reveal unto them the gate of repentance, and show them how they may walk in the way of peace and truth.
a Revelabo., i.e., re ipsa exhibebo.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
I will bring: Jer 17:14, Jer 30:12-17, Deu 32:39, Psa 67:2, Isa 30:26, Isa 58:8, Hos 6:1, Hos 7:1
health: Aruchah; not a plaister, as some, or progress, as others; but health, or the healing or closing of a wound, as the cognate Arabic areekat signifies, from araka to heal.
and will: Exo 34:6, Psa 37:11, Psa 72:7, Psa 85:10-12, Isa 2:4, Isa 11:5-9, Isa 26:2-4, Isa 30:26, Isa 33:15-18, Isa 39:8, Isa 48:17, Isa 48:18, Isa 54:13, Isa 55:7, Isa 66:12, Mic 4:3, Joh 10:10, Gal 5:22, Gal 5:23, Eph 6:23, Tit 3:5, Tit 3:6, Heb 6:17, Heb 6:18, 1Pe 1:3
Reciprocal: Exo 15:26 – for I am 2Ki 20:19 – peace and truth 2Ch 6:25 – forgive the sin 2Ch 7:14 – heal their land Psa 42:11 – the health Psa 147:3 – healeth Pro 4:22 – health Ecc 3:3 – a time to heal Isa 1:6 – they have Isa 26:12 – ordain Isa 33:24 – the inhabitant Isa 55:12 – ye shall Isa 57:18 – will heal Jer 30:13 – hast Jer 30:17 – For I Jer 50:4 – the children of Israel Hos 2:14 – and speak Hos 14:4 – heal Mal 4:2 – healing Mat 9:12 – They that be whole Mat 13:15 – and I Rom 2:10 – and peace Phi 4:7 – the peace
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 33:6. This verse through 14 Is a bracket on the return from the captivity with a few special predictions in connection with that event. The only difference between health and cure is that the first is the result of using the second. It has general reference to the national soundness in their native land.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 33:6-8. Behold, I will bring it health and cure The latter part of this verse expounds the former: for, by health and cure, the prophet means peace and truth, or, stability. Blaney renders it, I will make it, namely, the city or state perfectly sound and whole. The disturbed and calamitous state of the nation being compared to wounds and sickness, (see Jer 8:21-22; Jer 30:17,) the restoring of it to a peaceful and prosperous state is fitly called its health and cure. And will build them as at the first When they, by repentance, do their first works, God will, by their restoration, manifest toward them his ancient mercies and loving- kindnesses. He will not only cause their captivity to return, as is expressed, in plain words, in the former clause, but will re-establish them in the possession of their civil and religious privileges, and hereby promote both their virtue and happiness. And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity I will make them pious and holy, as well as virtuous and happy; and I will pardon all their iniquities Will not impute their past sins any longer to them as I have done, but will remit the further punishments to which for sin they were liable.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
33:6 Behold, I {f} will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.
(f) In the midst of his threatenings God remembers his, and comforts them.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
All the same, the Lord promised to bring health and healing to the city and to restore His people (cf. Jer 30:17). He would bless them with much peace and truth in the future.