JEREMIAH - CHAPTER 30 - IN THE LATTER DAYS
JEREMIAH – CHAPTERS 30
“In The Latter Days You Shall Consider This”
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
July 6, 2021; January 13, 2009
At the very moment captors broke through the walls, the LORD shouted down a word about Judah’s future.
Chapters 30 and 31 are a grand SONG OF RESTORATION. God chose to give a message of hope to those being taken away. As Christians, we know this applies to the natural Jew, but we also know it finds its complete fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ and His church! The TIME OF JACOB’S TROUBLE corresponds to the Feast Day of Atonement as a part of the Feast of Tabernacles in the Seventh month!
30: 7-8: Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it, it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. For it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off your neck, and will burst your bonds, and strangers shall no longer serve themselves of him.
Leviticus 16: 33-34: And he shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation. And this shall be an everlasting statute to you, to make atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year.
These chapters also bring a prophetic hope for end-time deliverance.
The book Jeremiah was commanded to write, brings the promise of a New Covenant. Again, while some project this to some future day, it is obvious to any believer that the New Covenant is the New Testament! This message of hope and restoration comes at the nation’s darkest hour. When it looked like total extinction, Jehovah promises His people a future! They would be saved and restored.
30:10: Therefore, fear you not, O My servant Jacob, says the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel for, lo, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.
30:18: Thus says the Lord; behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places; and the city shall be built upon her own heap; and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof.
“God always brings His people to a place where He can be Sovereign and reign over them (Dr. C. R. Oliver).
Like Isaiah before Him, Jeremiah here telescopes future events. He looks away to the New Covenant of Hebrews 8:7-13: For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, He says, Behold, the days come, says the Lord when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah (Jer. 31:31). Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in My covenant, and I regarded them not, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, say the Lord; I will put My laws into their mind, and write them on their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people (Jer. 31: 31-34.) And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord for all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that He says, a New Covenant. He has made the first old. Now that which decays and waxes old is ready to vanish away.
Following the actions of judgment in chapter 29, a word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah which he was especially commanded to write in a Book.
30: 1-3: The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, Thus, speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying, write you all the words that I have spoken to you in a book. For, lo, the days come, says the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of My people Israel and Judah, says the Lord; and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.
God had spoken his prophetic words through his prophet for over a period of twenty-six years. Yet the Spirit gave Jeremiah remembrance, just as all the Holy books of the bible have been written by the direction of the Holy Spirit.
“It is necessary for the saints to keep records of the words God gives us and preserve these words for posterity. Books allow other persons and generations to follow to review and enter into the work of the Lord with an understanding of the sacred historical perspective. One of the great problems in education today is reliance on secular history. History is spiritual and the spiritual viewpoint of events must be chronicled and preserved.” (Dr. C. R. Oliver). That is why it was so devastating with my sermons and bible studies on the website were wiped off. Yes, I have them filed alphabetically, but on the website, they are written in chronological order as the Spirit gave utterance.
Verse 3 addressed the two houses of Jacob: the house of Israel and the House of Judah. Israel is biblically referenced as Ephraim and was taken captive years before. Most of the prophetic work in these two chapters refer to Ephraim and how God will preserve them.
I am persuaded all these future reference and assurances are to a people who believe Jesus Christ is Lord, which are those of the “pledged heart.” I do not believe there is a separate covenant for “Jews.”
Romans 8: 14-23: For as many as are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God. for you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The spirit Itself bears witness wit out Spirit, that we are the children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and join heirs with Christ; If so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together…”
God is setting forth the Love that will not let His people go, in spite of all their waywardness and folly, this passage stands without a rival in all the words of the prophets.
The whole section speaks of the restoration of the church from the time of Luther to the present, and speaks further that the creation itself shall be delivered!
30: 7-8: Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it; it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. It shall come to pass in that day, says the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off your neck.
The last days Israel-people will serve under the Master yoke-breaker. They will live under the kingship of the son. Jacob will rest and be quiet. No one shall make them afraid. The “full end of all nations” will have occurred.
Babylon will be destroyed and Jacob will be saved! The Day of the Lord is Day and Night at the same time; but our focus in on the morning (Isa. 21: 11-12)! the same flood that destroyed the wicked brought the exaltation and deliverance of Noah to inherit the earth. Historically, Jacob had his time of trouble in Gen. 32: 24-32. In that setting his thigh was smitten or bruised and his name was changed from Jacob (old nature –flesh-antichrist) to Israel (new nature – Spirit-Jesus Christ). The Old and New Covenants (Gal. 4:21).
This restoration of the time of Jacob’s trouble speaks of the Feast Day of Atonement. This was the most solemn of the feast days. It was the day of national and sanctuary cleansing. This feast was fulfilled historically in Jesus Christ’s finished work and will be fulfilled experientially in His body, the Church. There is no doubt that Jesus Christ made a full and complete Atonement, and there is no doubt that the church has never yet fully appropriated and received all that His Atonement has provided. We are presently tasting of this Feast and its emphasis on humble prayer. This day of Holy Convocation was also a day of fasting (Acts. 27:9). This is the afflicting of the flesh and subjugation of the bodily appetites. It was a Day for the Affliction of the Soul. The Day of Atonement was a time of mourning, humiliation, repentance, purification, cleansing, and intercessions. This is the final preparation for the harvest of the Feast of Tabernacles and the Coming of the Lord. Compare our Lord’s experience in the Garden of Gethsemane (“olive press”). Where there is no sin, there is no death, as in Romans 8: 1-6 and 1 Cor. 15:56. God cleansed the temple at the beginning of the age (Acts 5 and 13) through the ministry of Jesus, and will cleanse His church at the end of this age. The yoke of the bonds of the covenant with death and hell is broken! The captivity of God’s people will be turned, and the tail will become the head! No longer slaves to alien concepts, the true Israel shall hear the sound of the Jubilee trumpet (Lev. 25) and return to his inheritance. Man returns to Eden and the dominion of the earth. Men are set free and prison doors are opened. The creation shall be delivered into the glorious liberty of the Sons of God. Israel comes forth out of Jacob’s trouble!
This New Covenant is not about certain days and months of the year. It was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
30:9: They shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
That’s Jesus!
The leftist ideology of the modern state of Israel may thing they have skirted the issue of Jesus’ kingship by establishing themselves as a nation-state rather than a religious state, but they have not.
Every word of God’s promises of restoration depends on Jesus Christ being LORD. He is the “raised up king.”
Terrible times were converging on ancient Judah, ad God assured them He had things under control. America, God has things under control.
Jer. 30:10-11: Do not fear, O My servant Jacob,’ says the LORD, ‘nor be dismayed, O Israel. For behold, I will save you from afar and your seed from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet, and no one shall make him afraid. For I am with you,’ says the LORD, ‘to save you. Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice, and will not let you go altogether unpunished.’
Parallels to today:
1. The nation had no solution for their problems. 30:12-13: Your affliction is incurable; your wound is severe. There is no one to plead your cause, that you may be bound up. You have no healing medicines.
2. Sin has increased exponentially. 30:14-15: All your lovers have forgotten you. They do not seek you. For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy; with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of your iniquities, because your sins have increased. Why do you cry about your affliction? Your sorrow is incurable. Because of the multitude of your iniquities, because your sins have increased, I have done these things to you.
3. Foreign policy was in shambles, as they saw their alliance nations turn against them.
The founding fathers of the United States believed in having no foreign treaties. A principle the nation has violated to its great harm. George Washington warned, “Steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world.”
Thomas Jefferson 1801: “Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations---entangling alliances with none.”
30:16-17: All those who devour you shall be devoured. All your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity. Those who plunder you shall become plunder. All who prey upon you, I will make a prey. For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds, says the LORD, because they called you an outcast saying, “this is Zion; no one seeks her.”
30: 21b: (NKJV): who is this who pledge his heart to approach Me? Says the LORD. You shall be my people, and I will be your God.
New rules are established. A “Know Me” criterion was to be established. (The only corporate entity God would recognize was to be made up of “Know Me” individuals, who have pledged his/her heart to Him.) A “new thing” happens which is a bride who encompasses Him, for she is set upon protecting her relationship with Him.
30:22-24: You shall be My people, and I will be your God. Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goes forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind. It will fall violently on the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the LORD will not return until He has done it, and until He has performed the intents of His heart.
In the latter days you will consider it.
These things are coming to pass during these latter-day times.
31: 1: “At the same time,” says the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”
“At that time” means those latter days of chapter 30 (the time of Jesus’ reign over His people) and it specifically addresses Ephraim (the House of Israel).
31: 3-6: The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore, with lovingkindness, I have drawn you. Again, I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! You shall again be adorned with your tambourines. You shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice. You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria. The planters shall plant and eat them as ordinary food. For there shall be a day when the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim. Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the LORD our God.
The planting of vines in Samaria is a sure and symbolic approval of the Israel-people. The return will be huge and God will “lead them”
Chapter 31 is the chapter of the New Covenant! I quoted Jer. 31: 31-34 from Hebrews 8. He took away the first covenant that He might establish the second covenant.
Hebrews 10:9: Then said He, lo, I come to do your will, O God. He takes away the first that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God; From hereafter expecting till His enemies be made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that He had said before, this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them (Jeremiah 31:33.) And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.
The New Covenant replaced the old one made at Sinai which Judah had broken. This time God will remake them from within, giving them the power to do His will (Rom 8: 1-6; 11 Cor. 5: 17-21).
Jer. 31:7-10: For thus says the LORD, sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations. Publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD save your people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travails with child together: a great company shall return here. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
I want to spend some time on “Ephraim is my firstborn.” We must consider 31:18: I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself saying, “Restore me and I will return, for You are the Lord my God.
31:15: Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.
31:20: Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a pleasant child?
31:9: For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn.
Ephraim is not Judah. Judah was addressed specifically and separately in Jeremiah 31: 23-25. Judah had a NOW kind of hope.
We will start with Chapter 31 next week.
Throughout this chapter the prophet now continues dealing with the issues of Jehovah’s recovery. He first described the restoration of the city. He then turned to the surrounding nations, and declared to them the fact that Jehovah had ransomed and redeemed Jacob. The next movement tells of the passing of sorrow. He then broke in on the poem with an urgent appeal to the people to turn from backsliding and into the path of God’s restoration. Taking up the song again, he celebrated the new contentment which would take possession of the people in the day of return. Jeremiah then described the new covenant out of which this new peace and security would grow. It would no longer be like the external one made with the fathers, but spiritual and internal; and based upon an intimate knowledge of Jehovah. The last movement of the Song consists of the prophet’s statement of the oat of restoration in which Jehovah appealed to the signs in the heavens and repeated His promise of deliverance.
31: 37-40: If those ordinances depart from before Me, says the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me forever, thus says the Lord, if heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, says the Lord. Behold, the days comes, says the Lord, that the city shall be guilt to the Lord from the tower of Hananeel (God Grace) as the gate of the corner.
Taught by: Carolyn Sissom
Scripture from K.J.V.
I entered into the labors of Principles of Present Truth by: Kelly Varner; the Road to Captivity by: Dr. C. R. Oliver.
Comments and conclusions are my own