Jeremiah 33:1-26 Comments by Stephen Ricker
Bible Study Home Page

The Righteous Branch
Comments for Study 25

Pick to read this Bible passage in a separate window.

Memory Verse: 33:16
Questions
Introduction
Outline
MAPS OF THE DIVIDED KINGDOM OF ISRAEL
A MAP OF ASSYRIA
A MAP OF THE BABYLONIAN EMPIRE
ISRAEL'S HISTORY
A LIST OF ISRAEL'S KINGS AND PROPHETS
OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS TIMELINE
A LIST OF MAJOR EVENTS FROM JEREMIAH'S TIME TO ROMAN TIMES

SORRY, THE COMMENTARY FOR THIS STUDY IS NOT FINISHED.
CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF BOOKS THAT ARE COMPLETED.

I. I Will Heal My People (33:1-9)

>1. When did the events in this chapter take place? (1)

* Jeremiah 33:1 "While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time:"

* The events in this chapter is directly linked in time to the previous chapter. That chapters starts out, "in the tenth year... which was the eighteenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah". Zedekiah's reign started in 597 B.C. So this took place in 587 B.C.

* Nebuchadnezzar's final siege of Jerusalem was from 10 January 587 to 9 July 586 B.C.

* For other events that take place while Jeremiah was confined to the courtyard of the guard see Jeremiah 32:1-2, 37:21, 38:13, 28, and 39:15.

* Babylon and Judah counted king's reigns differently. According to the Babylonian system of computing the years of a king's reign, the third year of Jehoiakim would have been 605 B.C. (Daniel 1:1), since his first full year of kingship begun on New Year's Day after his ascension in 608 B.C. But according to the Judahite system, which counted the year of ascension as the first year of reign, this was the fourth year of Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 25:1, 46:2) Also note that the Babylon and Hebrew calendars had different months and began the year at different times.

Babylonian Soldiers on Horses

* See a carving of Babylonian soldiers on horses to the right.

>How does the Lord describe himself in verse 2?

* Jeremiah 33:2 "This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it--the LORD is his name:"

* The people of Jerusalem were making a last ditch effort to stop the Babylonians from entering the city. The Lord gave them two messages. First, their resistance to God's punishment was fatal. Babylon would prevail. Judah and Jerusalem would fall.

The second message was hope. He would bless and restore them after the punishment was finished. Furthermore, the Lord would raise up a King among them like no other. He says,, "In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line; he will do what is just and right in the land." And, "David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel, nor will the Levitical priests ever fail to have a man to stand before me..." King Zedekiah would be the last descendant on the throne till Jesus came. The righteous Branch will be King and Priest. He is Jesus. Jesus fulfilled this prophecy.

The Lord also says he will do something amazing for his people. He is making us his servants who minister before him always. He will restore my fortunes and will have compassion on me and all his people. In Jesus, the Righteous Branch there is hope.

*

*

*

*

>What does he encourage his people to do? (3, Luke 11:9-13)

* Jeremiah 33:3 "'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'"

* Luke 11:9-13 "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

* Revelation 3:19-22 "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

*

*

*

>2. Who will bring all of Judah's destruction according to verses 4 and 5?

* Jeremiah 33:4-5 "For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege ramps and the sword in the fight with the Babylonians: 'They will be filled with the dead bodies of the men I will slay in my anger and wrath. I will hide my face from this city because of all its wickedness."

*

*

*

*

*

>And healing according to verses 6 and 7?

* Jeremiah 33:6-7 "'Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before."

*

*

*

*

*

>What can be learned about God's character and our lives? (Matthew 5:17-20)

* Matthew 5:17-20 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."

* Matthew 7:21-23 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"

* See The Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12.

*

*

*

*

Cover By The Blood of Jesus

>3. How did the Lord cleanse us from all our sins? (8; Matthew 26:27-28; and 1 John 1:7)

* Jeremiah 33:8 "I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me."

* Matthew 26:27-28 "Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

* 1 John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

* 1 Peter 2:24-25 "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."

*

>When sins are removed what do people do? (9)

* Jeremiah 33:9 "Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.'"

*

*

*

*

*

>How can people hear to gospel (good news/things)? (Romans 10:14-15)

* Romans 10:14-15 "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

* Mark 16:15-16 "He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

* Acts 5:42 "Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ."

*

*

*

II. David's Branch (33:10-18)

>4. What does the Lord tell them about the desolate towns of Judah? (10, 12-13)

* Jeremiah 33:10 "This is what the LORD says: 'You say about this place, "It is a desolate waste, without men or animals." Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither men nor animals, there will be heard once more"

* Jeremiah 33:12-13 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In this place, desolate and without men or animals--in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks. In the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,' says the LORD."

*

*

*

*

>Who will restore Judah? (11)

* Jeremiah 33:11 "the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying, "Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever." For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,' says the LORD."

* Zephaniah 3:19-20 "At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you; I will rescue the lame and gather those who have been scattered. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they were put to shame. At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes," says the LORD."

*

*

*

*

>When will this be fulfilled?

* "I restore your fortunes before your very eyes," -Jesus, the Messiah is in the process of restoration. His ministry restored. His death restored. His offering restored. His resurrection restored. His ascension restored. His sending of the Spirit restored. His gospel preached restored. His making Israel a nation restored. His calling Jews to Israel restored. His second coming will continue the restoration.

* This promise is in the process of being fulfilled, ever since Israel has been made a nation again we can see Jesus' restoration work.

* On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was proclaimed. The Proclamation of the Establishment of the State of Israel stated: "The State of Israel will be open for Jewish immigration and the ingathering of the exiles; it will foster the development of the country for all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice, and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex..."

This was followed in 1950 by the Law of Return, which granted every Jew the automatic right to immigrate to Israel and become a citizen of the state. With the gates wide open after statehood was declared, a wave of mass immigration brought 687,000 Jews to Israel's shores. By 1951, the number of immigrants more than doubled the Jewish population of the country in 1948. The immigrants included survivors of the Holocaust from displaced persons' camps in Germany, Austria and Italy; a majority of the Jewish communities of Bulgaria and Poland, one third of the Jews of Romania, and nearly all of the Jewish communities of Libya, Yemen and Iraq.

Additional mass immigration took place in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when immigrants arrived from the newly independent countries of North Africa, Morocco and Tunisia. A large number of immigrants also arrived during these years from Poland, Hungary and Egypt.

* From 1948 to 1967, the relations between Jews in the Soviet Union and the State of Israel were limited. Following the Six Day War, Jewish consciousness among Soviet Jews was awakened, and increasing numbers sought immigration to Israel. As an atmosphere of detente began to pervade international relations in the early 1970s, the Soviet Union permitted significant number of Jews to immigrate to Israel. At the end of the decade, a quarter of a million Jews had left the Soviet Union; 140,000 immigrated to Israel.

Soviet Jews were permitted to leave the Soviet Union in unprecedented numbers in the late 1980s, with President Gorbachev's bid to liberalize the country. The collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991 facilitated this process. After 190,000 reached Israel in 1990 and 150,000 in 1991, the stabilization of conditions in the former Soviet Union and adjustment difficulties in Israel caused immigration to level off at approximately 70,000 per year. From 1989 to the end of 2003, more than 950,000 Jews from the former Soviet Union had made their home in Israel.

Since 2003 many more Jews have left lands of the former Soviet Union and migrated to Israel, many supported by funds from Christian groups and organizations like John Hagee ministries.

* The above facts on Jews returning to Israel came from: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Immigration/immigration.html

>5. What does "the days are coming" and "in those days refer to?

* Jeremiah 33:14 "'The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah."

* "The days are coming" -These words are "yom bo" in Hebrew. "Yom" can be any expanse of time, often further defined by the words around them. The English translations makes this word plural; however the Hebrew word does not have a plural and yet can be depending on the words associated with it. The words the Lord gave Jeremiah are for the future and thus need to be written down. Some prophets were not given words for the future so they were not told to write them down. The Lord wanted future generations to study this book. Chapters 30 thru 33 are especially important for future generations.

* "The days are coming" is a common theme in the Bible; Old and New Testament. Phrases like this especially "The day of the Lord" refers to a time when God reveals His sovereignty over human powers and human existence. Jeremiah uses terms like "in those days" (3:16, 33:15, 16, 50:4, 20), "the days are coming" (7:32, 16:14, 19:6, 23:7, 31:27, 38, 33:14, 49:2), "the day of slaughter" (12:3), "in days to come" (30:24, 47:4, 49:39), "there will be a day" (31:6), and "that day" (46:10).

* Other Old Testament prophets speak of "the day of the Lord" using exactly that phrasing. (Isaiah 13:6,9; Ezekiel 13:5, 30:3; Amos 5:18,20; Obadiah 1:15; Zephaniah 1:7,14; Malachi 4:5; perhaps Zechariah 14:1 too) Sometimes they abbreviated it to "that day". It was familiar to their audience, a term by which the audience expected light and salvation (Amos 5:18), but the prophets painted it as a day of darkness and judgment (Isaiah 2:10-22; 13:6,9; Joel 1:15; 2:1-11,31; 3:14-15; Amos 5:20; Zephaniah 1:7-8,14-18; Malachi 4:5). The Old Testament language of "the day of the Lord" is aimed at warning sinners among God's people of the danger of trusting in traditional religion without commitment to God and to His way of life. It is language that could be aimed at judging Israel or that could be used to promise deliverance from evil enemies (Isaiah 13:6,9; Ezekiel 30:3; Obadiah 15). The day of the Lord is thus a point in time in which God displays His sovereign initiative to reveal His control of history, of time, of His people, and of all people.

*

Jesus the Branch

>Who is the righteous Branch? (15; Isaiah 4:2, 11:1-9; Jeremiah 32:5-6; John 15:1-4)

* Jeremiah 33:15 "'In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line; he will do what is just and right in the land."

* Jeremiah 23:5-6 "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness."

* Isaiah 4:2 "In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel."

* Isaiah 11:1-9 "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-- and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea."

* Jeremiah 33:14-16 "'The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. 'In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line; he will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.'"

* Zechariah 3:8 "'Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch."

* John 15:1-4 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."

* Romans 11:17-18 "If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you."

* Luke 13:18-19 "Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches."

* "a righteous Branch" -Jesus is the branch. The threme of Isaiah chapters 40-55 is that the Messiah would be God's servant. Isaiah was a prophet two generations before Jeremiah.

On knees at the cross

>How is the Lord our righteousness? (16; 1 Peter 2:24-25)

* Jeremiah 33:16 "In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.'"

* 1 Peter 2:24-25 "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."

*

*

*

*

>6. How did Jesus fulfill the promise in verse 17? (Matthew 1:1, 22:41-45; Romans 1:2-4)

* Jeremiah 33:17 "For this is what the LORD says: 'David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel,"

* Matthew 1:1 "A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:"

* Matthew 22:41-45 "While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" "The son of David," they replied. He said to them, "How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him 'Lord'? For he says, "'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet."' If then David calls him 'Lord,' how can he be his son?"

* Romans 1:2-4 "the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord."

*

>And verse 18? (Hebrews 6:19-20, 7:15-22)

* Jeremiah 33:18 "nor will the priests, who are Levites, ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.'"

* Hebrews 6:19-20 "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."

* Hebrews 7:15-22 "And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. For it is declared: "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: 'You are a priest forever.'" Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant."

*

*

*

III. I Will Have Compassion on Them (33:19-26)

>7. How sure are the Lord's covenants? (19-21)

* Jeremiah 33:19-21 "The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: "This is what the LORD says: 'If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, then my covenant with David my servant--and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me--can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne."

*

*

*

>Who are the Levites in the kingdom of God? (22; and 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-12)

* Jeremiah 33:22 "I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars of the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.'"

* 1 Peter 2:4-5 "As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

* 1 Peter 2:9-12 "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."

*

*

*

>What do they offer? (Romans 12:1-2; Colossians 3:12-17)

* Romans 12:1-2 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."

* Colossians 3:12-17 "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

*

*

*

*

>8. What did the people believe because of the destruction of Israel and Judah? (23-24)

* Jeremiah 33:23-24 "The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: "Have you not noticed that these people are saying, 'The LORD has rejected the two kingdoms he chose'? So they despise my people and no longer regard them as a nation."

*

*

*

*

>Who established the covenant and who would keep it? (25-26)

* Jeremiah 33:25-26 "This is what the LORD says: 'If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed laws of heaven and earth, then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them.'"

*

*

*

*

*

>How does Israel's and Judah's discipline teach us about how he deals with his people? (Psalm 23:4; and 1 Peter 1:6-9)

* Psalm 23:4 "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

* 1 Peter 1:6-9 "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

*

*

*