The second part of the Book of Consolation (chs. 30-33) is entirely prose material, not mainly poetry as were chapters 30-31. It describes conditions just before the fall of Jerusalem, not conditions quite a while before then (chs. 30-31). And it deals mainly with the future restoration of Judah and Jerusalem, not that of the Northern Kingdom (chs. 30-31).
All of chapter 32 centers around one event in Jeremiah's life. By this time he had given many prophecies about the restoration of Israel to her land. Something happened that challenged his faith in those promises. The chapter records what happened and how the prophet responded.
33:1 Jeremiah received another message from the Lord while he was still confined in the court of the guard (cf. 32:2).
33:2 The Lord introduced Himself as the Creator and Establisher of the earth (cf. 32:17; Gen. 1). This was appropriate since He would say that He was going to do some things that required great power.
33:3 He commanded Jeremiah, and perhaps the people, to pray to Him with the promise that He would hear him and tell him inaccessible (Heb. besuroth) things that the prophet did not know (cf. Ps. 91:15). The Hebrew word besuroth describes something made inaccessible by fortifying or enclosing it, such as a city (cf. Num. 13:28; Deut. 3:5; 28:52; Ezek. 21:20). The Lord's plans for Israel were inaccessible to most people, but He would unlock some of these secrets and share them with Jeremiah in answer to the prophet's prayer. We must ask the Lord for some things before He will give them to us (cf. Matt. 7:7; James 4:2).
"While God is always ready to answer the cry of the human heart, man must first request assistance."431
"In other words, although God can make himself heard, and has already done so in saying this, nevertheless to reveal all that he wants to say, he desires a hearer who is already reaching out to him. This is why prayer is never superfluous to the study of Scripture or the quest for guidance. God is then speaking to an upturned face, not a preoccupied back."432
We may assume that Jeremiah, and perhaps the faithful remnant, prayed this prayer. What follows is incredible promises concerning the restoration of the nation, its rulers, and its worship leaders.
33:4 The Lord would do something to the city, which at this time was full of houses that the Jerusalemites had demolished to build up the city walls so the Chaldeans could not break through them. They had also used some of the palace wood and stone for this purpose (cf. 22:5).
33:5 The city was also full of Judahite corpses that had died in the siege. Really these people had died because the Lord was fighting against His people. He had not responded to their cries of help because of their wickedness.
33:6 The Lord promised to bring health and healing to the city and to restore His people (cf. 30:17). He would bless them with much peace and truth in the future.
33:7 He would restore the fortunes of both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms and would rebuild these nations as they had been formerly.
33:8 He would cleanse them of their iniquities against Him, and He would pardon their sins and transgressions (cf. 31:34; 50:20; Ezek. 36:25-26).
33:9 Jerusalem would become a city associated with joy, praise, and glory in the thinking of all the world when they heard of all the good things that Yahweh had done for her. The nations would fear and tremble because of all the good and the peace that He would make for her.
33:10-11 Presently desolate Jerusalem and the cities of Judah would experience joy and thank God because He would restore their fortunes as they had been formerly.433
33:12-13 Judah would again become a quiet and secure place where shepherds would pasture their flocks. This may refer to leaders of people as well as to shepherds of sheep (cf. 23:1-3; Ezek. 34:1-6; Luke 15:3-7; John 10:1-18).434
This section consists of a small collection of messianic prophecies.
33:14 Future days would come, the Lord promised, when He would fulfill His promises concerning the restoration of all Israel.
"The predicted restoration (the days are coming') is not, however, to be looked for in the immediate time of the return from the Captivity. Only in a limited and preliminary way were these promises fulfilled in Zerubbabel and Sheshbazzar after the Captivity (cf. Ezra 1:8; 2:2; also 2:40-54; 8:15-20). Ultimately, they are combined in the highest sense in Christ (cf. Ps 110:4) and are yet to be fulfilled in the reign of Messiah on earth."435
33:15 At that future time, Yahweh would cause a righteous Sprout from the Davidic line of kings to appear, a legitimate ruler. He would rule in justice and righteousness on the earth (not just in heaven; cf. 23:5-6).436
33:16 Then Judah would enjoy salvation, and Jerusalem would dwell in safety. The name of the city would be "Yahweh our righteousness."Formerly this was to be the name of a ruler (23:6), but it will also be the name of Jerusalem (cf. Ezek. 48:35).
"The inference is that Jerusalem would so manifest the qualities of justice and righteousness (in contrast to her past bad record) that she would be worthy of such a name and exemplify the divine order for all the cities and all the people in Israel."437
33:17 From then on, there would always be a Davidic king ruling over the nation of Israel (cf. 1 Kings 2:4; 8:25; 9:5).438
That King has appeared, but His subjects, the Israelites, refused to accept Him as their King. Therefore, He returned to heaven, but He will return to earth to rule over restored Israel in the future, at the Second Coming. Christ's present rule over the church today from heaven is not the same rule as the one promised here. The one promised here is a reign over the Israelites at the time of their future restoration.439
33:18 Likewise the Levitical priests would resume functioning and would continue to do so forever.440They would offer sacrifices of worship continually (in the millennial kingdom). The burnt and grain (or meal) offerings were specifically for worship rather than to remove the defilement of sin (cf. Lev. 1-2).441In Jeremiah's day, the priesthood was corrupt, and it may even have included non-Levitical priests (cf. 6:13; 19:1; 26:10-11). The lack of legitimate priests was a problem in the early years of the restoration community (cf. Ezra 8:15).
In the Millennium there will be a restoration of Levitical priests, though instead of looking forward to the coming of the ultimate Sacrifice the worship will look back to it.442
33:19-21 This promise of the restoration of a Davidic king and of Levitical priests would be as certain as the Lord's promise that day would follow night forever (cf. 31:35-36; Gen. 1:5, 14-18; 8:22; Num. 25:12-13; Deut. 4:19; Ps. 19:1-6; 136:7-9).
33:22 Yahweh promised to multiply the descendants of David and the Levites as the stars of the heavens and as the sand of the sea (cf. Gen. 13:16; 15:5; 22:17).
"Just as the covenant with Noah (cf. Gen 8:22) is kept, so the covenant with David (cf. 2 Sam 7) and that with Levi (Num 17) will also be kept."443
33:23-24 The Judahites had concluded that Yahweh had rejected the two families of the Israelites: the Northern and Southern Kingdoms (cf. 30:3). They were saying that there was no future for them as nations.
33:25-26 But Yahweh promised that He would restore the fortunes of Jacob's seed and that a descendant of David would rule over all the Israelites in the future. This promise was as sure as God's promise to provide day and night faithfully. The Lord's compassion prevented His abandoning His chosen people and gave hope for their restoration.
"The greatest argument for the future restoration of Israel as a nation is the character of God. He made a series of covenants with the patriarchs, David, and the Levites; His character demands that He will ultimately fulfill these promises to their nation."444
"The salvation announcements in chap. 33 answer at least two questions left from chap. 32 (and 30-31): (1) How can people who persistently rebelled and even offered their children to Molech, become covenant partners with God? The LORD will heal, cleanse, and forgive them (vv 6-8) out of mercy for them (v 26). (2) What will life be like for the people whom God will plant in the land? Families will grow again (v 11), worship will resume at the temple (vv 11, 18), and God will always provide a legitimate and righteous ruler (vv 14-26), so that people can live in safety (v 16). All this will be accomplished by the Creator, for whom nothing is too difficult (32:17, 26) and whose willingness and power to do good inspires awe among the nations (33:9)."445
