What is the meaning of Jeremiah 23:7? So behold “Behold” is God’s way of saying, “Pay close attention.” It signals a fresh, history-shaping announcement, much as it does when the coming of the Righteous Branch is introduced earlier in the chapter (Jeremiah 23:5). The Lord is about to reveal a rescue so significant that His people must not miss it. the days are coming This phrase marks a fixed future, not a vague dream (Jeremiah 31:31; Amos 9:13). For Jeremiah’s first audience it pointed to the literal return from Babylon after seventy years (Jeremiah 29:10). Yet the wording also stretches to the ultimate restoration under Messiah, when Israel will dwell securely forever (Ezekiel 37:21-28). God’s calendar is certain; His promises arrive right on time. declares the LORD The declaration rests on God’s own authority (Isaiah 55:11). Jeremiah isn’t offering a personal forecast; the covenant-keeping “I AM” of Sinai (Exodus 20:2) is speaking. Because the speaker is the LORD, the fulfilment is as sure as His existence. when they will no longer say Israel’s common oath had long anchored national identity to the Exodus (Jeremiah 16:14). God announces that this saying will fade, displaced by a far greater act of redemption. Customs only change when something weightier pushes them aside; here, redemptive history is about to take a monumental leap forward. ‘As surely as the LORD lives, Oaths were sworn by the living LORD to underline His vitality and sovereign rule (Deuteronomy 6:13; 1 Samuel 14:39). Idols are lifeless (Psalm 115:4-7); the God of Israel acts in real history. By retaining the oath-formula while changing its content, God shows His character is constant even as His works multiply. who brought the Israelites up out of the land of Egypt. The Exodus was the defining salvation event (Exodus 14:30-31), celebrated in psalms (Psalm 78) and woven into the Law (Leviticus 25:38). Yet God says an even greater rescue is coming—first the return from Babylon (Jeremiah 23:8), then the climactic ingathering and spiritual renewal under Christ (Romans 11:26-27). The original Exodus remains literal and foundational; it simply becomes the overture to an even grander deliverance. summary Jeremiah 23:7 promises a future act of God so remarkable it will eclipse the Exodus in Israel’s collective memory. Spoken by the LORD Himself, the prophecy guarantees a literal rescue that begins with the post-exilic return and culminates in the end-times restoration under Messiah. God’s saving works grow larger, yet His character stays the same, inviting every generation to trust the living LORD whose promises never fail. |
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