©Laura Haverkamp
Chapter 30:1-9 (ESV) - The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the LORD, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”
These are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah:
“Thus says the LORD:
We have heard a cry of panic,
of terror, and no peace.
Ask now, and see,
can a man bear a child?
Why then do I see every man
with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor?
Why has every face turned pale?
Alas! That day is so great
there is none like it;
it is a time of distress for Jacob;
yet he shall be saved out of it.
“And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off your neck, and I will burst your bonds, and foreigners shall no more make a servant of him. But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
Question to consider: Why does the LORD use the metaphor of a pregnant man in this oracle?
Today’s passage begins with an oracle which concludes in chapter 33 with the hope of a new and everlasting covenant. The LORD commanded Jeremiah to write it down so it could be distributed to those who were scattered and put under a yoke of slavery by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. It would serve as a hope which could help the exiles endure the pain they were now suffering.
The LORD posed the question of whether a man could bear a child as an attention-grabbing absurdity. It is incredible that we live at a time when there are people who would answer this question in the affirmative. The rebellion of mankind is so great that we would rather be imbeciles than affirm even the most fixed and obvious truths of God.
Cutting off breast tissue and introducing hormones into your body to grow facial hair and have a deeper voice is an insane and shallow definition of manhood, and it seems exceptionally cruel to subject this regimen to an infant who was surely affected by these chemicals in his development and denied his mother’s milk after birth.
The LORD posed this absurd question in order to emphasize that although the pain and terror they were experiencing was intense, it would be temporary, and it would produce a new generation that would be able to come back into the land and be restored to a covenantal relationship with their creator.
The day in which the yoke would be broken would be at the overtaking of Babylon by the Medes and Persians when the faithful remnant like Nehemiah and Ezra were given permission to go back into the land of Israel and rebuild the city of Jerusalem and temple. The Davidic king who would be raised up for this purpose was Zerubbabel.
The ultimate Davidic king who would break the yoke of slavery to sin for the entire world was Christ Jesus. Jesus also used this metaphor of birth pangs when describing the judgment that was once again coming upon Jerusalem during the generation of His disciples, “And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.” (Mark 13:7-8) The terrible pain and tribulation of that generation would culminate in the destruction of the earthly temple and the birth of the church age which was conceived at Pentecost.
Luke described the healings done in the name of Jesus by the apostles as proof that Christ had ascended to the throne on the heavenly mount Zion described in Hebrews 12:22-24, “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for providing hope and a future to Your people who were exiled throughout the world. May we also find hope in Your written word and assurance that Christ is now reigning at Your right hand and will one day return to fully and finally deal with sin and death. Amen.