Commentary on the Old Testament Volume 2-4, Biblical commentary 7 · Jeremiah · Chapter 30
CHAP. XXX.
HEre because the Prophecie before going of deliverance at the end of seventy years might be in danger otherwise to be forgotten, and so the faithfull might want the comfort hereof for want of the knowledge of it, especially another Vers. 2.generation thirty or forty years after, the Lord commandeth Ieremiah to write it in a Book. And, as appears by that which followeth, not only the words which he had received from him, which tended to comfort; but first of the words of terrour, verse 4, 5. We have heard a voice of trembling and fear. Vers. 5.Wherein the Lord puts upon him the person of the people, teaching them how they should have been affected at his threatning of judgements before going. To express the greatness of which fear he compares men under these calamities Vers. 6.threatned to an woman in travell, holding her sides, and making a grievous moan. And then plainly sheweth, that it should be such, as there was never any Vers. 7.like unto it; for it should be the time of Iacobs trouble, that is, of his posterity, and he calleth it, the time of his trouble; because whatsoever they had formerly suffered was nothing in comparison of this, when the City and Temple should be destroyed, the Kingdome of David abolished, and the holy Land made desolate, and left lying so for seventy years. But he shall be saved out of Vers. 8.it. Verse 8. For I will break his yoke from thy neck. All that hath been said hitherto is to make way to speak of the comfort, that this deliverance might be the more magnified: for the greater the misery of a people is, the more doth Gods mercy shine in their deliverance, and setling in an happy estate, not only according to the time of their suffering, but for ever: to intimate which he saith, That strangers shall no more serve themselves of them.
But they shall serve the Lord, and David their King, whom I will raise up unto Vers. 9.them. In which words he leapeth suddenly from the joyfull tidings of their deliverance out of Captivity under the Caldees, to another far more joyfull by Christ Jesus, whom he setteth forth by the name of David, because he was his seed, and is said to sit upon his Throne to rule, Isa. 9. 7. For that the Messiah is here prophecied of, all, both Jewes and Christians teach; yea Calvin himself, Calvin.that impugnes the application of other things here before spoken of to the Messiah, yet consents, that this is a prophecie concerning his Kingdome; noting, Note. that simply to be delivered from the servitude of strangers tyranny, is not a benefit; but when being delivered, a people is brought under a better government. Because the case of such as are under an Anarchy, so that every man may do what he lusteth, is worse than to be under the cruellest Tyrant that ever lived, if he were a devill in the shape of a man; but to be delivered from strangers, and to be under God and his Son Jesus Christ, rusing by godly Vicegerents, is the height of worldly felicity. That this cannot be understood of the time of their return from Babylon appeareth, because then they served not King David, although they were under the Government of one of his Line, Zerubbabel; for he was but a Prince substituted by the Persian; neither had the Jews ever after an absolute King, till Christ came, whom they ungratefully rejected and crucified. For although Alexander in the time of the Assamoneans made himself King, yet his reigne was most uncomfortable, by reason of the Civill wars betwixt him and the Pharisees; as I have shewed in my continuation of the History from Nehemiah to the destruction of Jerusalem. Again, strangers still served themselves of them, sometime the Kings of Syria, sometime the Kings of Egypt, under whom they were. And lastly, although Judah returned then, yet Israel did not, as is promised verse 3. that they should serve the Lord and his King Christ, whom he set up, as is said here, Whom I will raise up unto them.
And as v. 9. he passeth from one deliverance to another, from that from Babylon, Vers. 10.to that by Christ; so verse 10. I will save thee from afar. That is, by bringing thee from Babylon, a Countrey so far off from Jerusalem; and thy seed shall return out of Captivity: which is spoken of their coming from Babylon, is also a Prophecy with another far greater annexed unto it; None shall make thee afraid. For they that returned from Babylon were many times much affrighted by their enemies, as is shewed in Nehemiah; but through Christ such undanted Acts 4.courage came to the faithfull, that his Apostles feared no threatnings of Tyrants, but rejoyced when they were threatned and suffered. Some because the Israelites never came in yet to serve Christ, but some Jewes onelyonly, and they but a few; whereas this seems to be spoken of the generality of the Nation, hold, that this is a Prophecy of a time yet to come; when as the Apostle saith, Rom. 11. All Israel shall be saved. That is, when the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in. But about this there are two gross errors, one of the Rabbins, teaching that the Messiah is not yet come, but then shall, and gather together all Israel from all parts of the world, and set up a most glorious Kingdome in Judea: another of some Ancients imbraced by the Papists, that Antichrist coming, the Jewes shall be gathered to him, as to the Messiah; but Enoch and Elias shall be sent to preach, and do miracles, whereby they shall be converted to Christ, and fall from Antichrist, for which they shall suffer much at his hands, but be soon delivered; for the whole time of his reign shall be but three years and an half. For that this, as well as the other of the Rabins, is a grosse error, is manifest; seeing Antichrist is already come, and hath long reigned, even the Pope of Rome; to whom all things spoken of Antichrist doe so agree, as that some Papists themselves confess him to be the Antichrist, as the French, and so he hath long agoe been proclaimed in Paris. And Gregory the first, the most pious and learned of all the Roman Bishops, gave a sign of him before, whereby he might easily be known to be the man, viz. his t…ing upon him to be universall Bishop; as Gregory the seventh, one of his successors, by the help of Phocas a murtherer, first did. But these errours being rejected, we may safely hold the conversion of the Jewish nation to the faith of Christ towards the end of the world to be here pointed at, whereof Isaiah also spake oft-times in his Prophecie. At what time the faithful shall live without fear of their enemies and the Israelites in particular, never to be brought under again by any humane power, as they were after Ioshuah, in the time of Judges, then of Kings, and finally of the Romans, being dispersed into all Countreys to this day: and that the mercy finally to be shewed is meant, see verse 24. In the latter dayes ye shall consider.
For though I make a full end of all Nations whither I have scattered thee, yet I will not make a full end of thee. The cause why the Lord will deal so favourably Vers. 11.with Iacob, as hath been said, is here shewed, viz. his singular love and favour towards them; for which he would not deal by them, as by their enemies, the Babylonians, who are utterly destroyed; as I have shewed in writing upon Isa. 13. 14. And this partiall dealing with the Jewes, and saving a remnant of them, hath been often spoken of before; and where the destroying of them is sometime spoken of also, as an utter destruction for ever, it is spoken in respect of the wicked, of which sort the generality of the Nation was, a few only that feared God scarce to be found out, being excepted; as we may see Chap. 5. and 1 Kings 19.
For thy wound is incurable. Here, and so forth to verse 16. to magnifie Gods mercy the more, he setteth forth the desperate case of the Jewish Nation, by Vers. 12.reason of their sins; that it appearing to be so, but deliverance and restitution to happiness for the destruction of their cruell enemies then coming, they might be the more stirred up to give him thanks and praise, For when we finde it said, Thy wound is incurable: and yet verse 11. In measure I have corrected thee. But verse 14. I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, a cruell one, Here may seem to be a contradiction, and it may be said, How can both these be true? But it is easily answered: Thy wound is incurable, both because thou canst not of thy self find out how to heal it; neither can the Nations, in whom thou hast formerly trusted as thy friends, yet the Lord can and will doe it. And the Prophet doth the rather set forth their case thus as desperate, to meet with the vain confidence that they had in their false Prophets, promising them deliverance Calvin.within 2 year; to beat them from which, he thought he could not speak to much, as Calvin noteth, who also, for incurable, hath grievous; thy wound is grievous, holding that the word foreign here used signifieth gravitas, and cannot rightly be otherwise translated. But because a wound incurable is grievous above all others, it is no errour to render it so, especially because verse 13. he addeth for further Explanation, None to binde it up, no medicines to heal it; or according to the Vulgar Latin, no utility of sanations, word for word according to the Hebrew.
I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, and with the chastisement of a cruell one. The miseries of the Jewes here spoken of were by the Caldeans; but because God would have them know and consider his hand in it, he takes Vers. 14.it upon himself, the Caldees being but his instruments in all their cruelty exercising against them, and by them he was provoked to scourge them for their sins. But verse 16. he saith; Therefore all that devoure thee shall be devoured; that is, Notwithstanding the Caldees being brought upon thee by me to exercise such cruelty, they shall be devoured by others, that is, by Medes and Persians; because Vers. 16.that although I did it in Justice, yet they in pride and cruelty, as was also shewed before.
I will bring again the Captivity of Jacobs Tents. Having promised salvation to Israel, verse 17. Now he sheweth how he should be saved, viz. by being brought out of Captivity: and he speaks of his Tents, because the habitations Vers. 18.in Babylon, where most probably like unto Tents, being of the meanest sort: And the City shall be built upon her former heap; That is, where the City Jerusalem stood before, but now lay upon ruinous heap, in the self same place it shall be built: In which words he speaks of the state of things after their return from Babylon under Cyrus. At what time he saith, that they should praise God, and multiply again, and have Congregations.
And their Governour shall proceed from the midst of them, and he shall draw Vers. 19. Vers. 20. Vers. 21.near unto me, and approach; for who is this that ingaged his heart to approach unto me? Here most Expositors by their Ruler understand Christ, that should in his due time spring up from the Jewes themselves, as supreme; whereas they had alwayes since the time of their Captivity been under strangers; yet Ierom doth Lyra.not understand it of Christ, but at first concerning Zerubbabel, in whom it was fulfilled in part, and afterwards perfectly in Christ. Some apply it altogether Hieron.to him and to the Jewes in those dayes; as Theodore, and Thomas Aquinas. But that of Ierom seemeth to be best, and so the words of verse 18, 19, 20 are spoken also of both, the first being but a Figure of the other. And being understood Theod.of Zerubbabel, by these words; He shall draw near unto me, and I will cause him to approach. He commends that Prince for his forwardness in returning and leading the people to their old land, to build the holy City again, and the Temple: For then God caused him to come near unto him. And then in way of admiration, the more to commend his prompt and ready minde, he saith, Who is this that ingaged his heart to approach unto me? As if he were for this singularly to be praised. And the Hebrew expression is to be noted, which is not one word alone, but two, to set him forth a rare man, foreign, This he; Because as Calvin noteth, many by continuing long in Babylon, were so taken with the love of that Countrey, that they had no heart to return to the Holy Calvin.Land, and Temple; and many that returned had no heart to do this, being moved through piety, whereby he is moved that ingageth his heart to approach to God: being understood of Christ, the meaning is, that he approached unto God so as never any man did, or can do, in the perfect fulfilling of his will, being without all stain or spot of sin or imperfection, as the best are not, neither hath any else ever been. For the first words of the Verse, Their Nobles, Hebrew it is His Captain, Vulgar Latin, Fortis, or, Dux ejus & dominator ex eo. Calvin follows that of Fortis; and therefore the N. Tr. rendring it Their Nobles, erreth.
He concludeth with comfort to the godly; Ye shall be my people; But with terrour to the wicked, against whom his wrath shall go out as a Whirl-wind. Vers. 22, 23.And although little faith was now given to these things, yet he addeth further, and saith; In the latter dayes ye shall consider it. That is, when all things are come to pass, as I have spoken, and the wicked, although now in prosperity, shall lie Vers. 24.in misery. And this he saith, as to comfort the faithfull, who although they believed, yet met with many brunts of temptation, for which they had need of further confirmation, so to the terror of the wicked, that would not believe; for he sheweth hereby, that they should be made to believe it by wofull experience. By the latter dayes, he meaneth either towards the end of the world, when the wicked enemies of the truth, not onelyonly Babylon properly so called, but also mysticall Babylon, Rev. 17. shall be destroyed, and the Turk also, the Jewes being converted that yet remain in unbelief; and all false worship shall every where be put down: or at the day of Judgement, when the wicked shall too late see into their extream folly, and sorrow the refore bootlesly; and the faithfull shall by experience finde the promises of God all verified in being brought to everlasting happiness to their unspeakable comfort; as is notably set forth in the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon, Chap. 2, 3, 4, 5.