Major Prophets · Chapter 30 of 52

Jeremiah 30

God tells Jeremiah to write in a book His promises of restoration. Though the day of Jacob's trouble is terrible and Judah's wound seems incurable, God will save His people, break the yoke of their oppressors, and raise up David their king. He will heal their wounds, rebuild the city, restore joy and honor, and renew the covenant so they are His people and He is their God, while judgment falls on their oppressors.

What happens in Jeremiah 30

God commands Jeremiah to write all His words in a book, for the days are coming when He will restore Israel and Judah and bring them to their ancestral land. He describes the time of Jacob's trouble, so severe that strong men clutch themselves, yet Jacob will be saved out of it. In that day God will break the yoke and burst the bonds of the oppressors, and His people will serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom He will raise up.

He urges Jacob not to fear, for God will save him and give him rest. Though their wound is incurable and God wounded them for their sins, He will restore their health and heal their wounds. He will punish those who devoured them, rebuild the city, multiply the people, restore honor, raise up a ruler who draws near to God, and renew the covenant, so they are His people and He is their God.

Jeremiah 30 in context

Chapter 30 opens the Book of Consolation, chapters 30 to 33, a collection of restoration promises amid Jeremiah's largely dark message. Likely gathered as Judah faced or endured exile, these words looked past the coming devastation to future hope.

The phrase the time of Jacob's trouble names a season of unequaled distress from which God nonetheless saves His people. The promise of David their king revives the hope of a restored Davidic rule.

Main themes of Jeremiah 30

Jeremiah 30 (KJV)

1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. 3For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. 4And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. 5For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. 6Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? 7Alas! 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. 8For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: 9But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them. 10Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy 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. 11For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished. 12For thus saith the LORD, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous. 13There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines. 14All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased. 15Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee. 16Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey. 17For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after. 18Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. 19And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. 20Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them. 21And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the LORD. 22And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. 23Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. 24The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.

Verses to carry from Jeremiah 30

“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.”Jeremiah 30:7

“But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.”Jeremiah 30:9

“For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.”Jeremiah 30:17

Reflection

When your wound feels incurable and your trouble unlike any other, hear God's promise to heal what human help cannot and to save His people through their darkest hour. Fix your hope not on failed powers but on the promised King, Jesus, the Son of David, through whom God restores His people and calls them His own.

A prayer from Jeremiah 30