Jeremiah 33
by Pastor David Groendyk
Remember Jeremiah is currently imprisoned for speaking the words of God (32:2ff.). This is now the second time God has revealed something to Jeremiah while in prison, and the theme of this chapter is that God fulfills all his promises to his people.
The Lord prefaces this revelation by reminding Jeremiah that he is the Creator God of the universe (v. 2). He formed and established the earth by simply speaking it into existence. This is a powerful reminder both to Jeremiah and the reader who it is that’s speaking to them. This God is no slouch. Moreover, this God is very personally concerned with the matters of his people (v. 4). If one nation wanted to siege another nation’s city, it was common practice for the besieging nation to build up huge mounds of earth against the besieged city’s walls to act as ramps, the better with which to attack the city and penetrate its defenses. Thus, the besieged city would often tear down citizens’ houses near the wall in order to use the wood and stone to reinforce the wall. This strikes me as a very personal observation by the Lord, and it’s juxtaposed by the reminder that the Lord is the Almighty One of the universe who spoke it into existence. He knows every house that is lost and every possession that is sacrificed. Although the Lord himself has ordained this judgment upon Judah, he knows every evil that Babylon has perpetrated and will repay them for it. The all-powerful and all-knowing God carefully pays attention to every human being. Nothing slips his notice. And although your life may be literally crumbling around you, he promises joy, peace, and singing in your future (vv. 6–13). What a God we have who so personally pays attention to you!
Our God makes a specific promise to Judah in the first half of this chapter, but then he reminds his people of the promises he made hundreds of years ago too. And so many of the major, foundational promises of Scripture are referenced here: the covenant with David that promised a son who would reign on the throne forever and bring about safety and victory (vv. 15–17; see 2 Sam. 7:1–17), the covenant with Moses where the priesthood was established and the people were given access to God (v. 18; see Ex. 40:12–15), the covenant with Noah in which God promised day and night would never again cease until the gospel had been fulfilled (v. 20; see Gen. 8:21–22), and the covenant with Abraham where God promised that a nation of people would come from Abraham (v. 22; see Gen. 15:5). These—along with Genesis 3:15 and Jeremiah 31:31–34—are the biggest history-shaping promises in Scripture. God causes all of history, kings and nations and armies, to bend to his will found in these promises. Thank God that he is a promise-making God! And praise him that he will always come through on his promises! They’re guaranteed. Can you imagine the sun not rising tomorrow? Can you imagine night not falling tonight? How impossible does that seem? As sure as those events are, that’s how sure it is that God provides salvation for his people. That should offer us all the assurance we need. But what else would you expect from the God who spoke all of Creation into existence?
One more point to touch on in this chapter is in verse 16. The Lord has promised in this chapter that an offspring, referred to as the “righteous branch”, would come from the line of David to do all the saving and promise-fulfilling (vv. 14–15). Again, as we see often in these chapters called the “Book of Comfort”, the phrase “days are coming” pops up again, signaling us that this is talking about the days of Jesus. Maybe you’re astute enough that you didn’t need a pastor to tell you that this promised offspring is Jesus. But look at the name Jeremiah gives Jesus in verse 16: “The Lord is our righteousness”. Jeremiah is prophesying that, in order to save his people, God himself will be their righteousness. That is, God will give his people his own righteousness. They will not save themselves by their own righteousness but will need the righteousness of God himself. Even here in Jeremiah’s time, we get hints of 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” God saves us by giving us the righteousness earned by Christ. And if it is righteousness earned by Christ that we have, then, following the theme of assurance, we can be guaranteed of our salvation. It is earned by Christ, and you cannot lose it. Praise God for the security we have in him!