Seder 30: Jeremiah 30---"For I am with you to save you...."

 When Jacob prepared to leave home and go to Haran, God conveyed an important message to him:  "Behold, I am with you and and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you" (Ge 28:15).  

Twenty years later, God repeated this assurance:  "Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred and I will be with you" (Ge 31:3).  And indeed, God guided Jacob and his family safely to Canaan.

Now fast forward over a thousand years to the time of Judah's defeat by the Babylonians in the early sixth century BC.  At that point a number of Jews were taken away to Babylon.  But Jeremiah had an important message for Israel and Judah:  God would one day reunite and restore the nation. As he had been with Jacob in the past, so he would be with Jacob's descendants in the future:  

"Then fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the LORD, nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity.  Jacob shall return and have quite and ease, and none shall make them afraid" (Jer 10:10-11).

Jeremiah's prophecy of restoration includes the promise of the Messiah and the coming of the messianic age (vv 21-22).    

Kyle Kettering gave a sermon on this motif at Church of the Messiah on July 6, 2024.  He carried the motif forward into the New Testament with Jesus' promise to his disciples before his ascension:  "And behold I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Mt 28:20).  

Seder 149: Deuteronomy 18---The Prophet(s) Like Moses

 Moses for forty years had been Israel's teacher, bringing revelation from God.  But what would happen after Moses died?  Moses addressed this subject in Deuteronomy 18:9-22.  

First, Moses made clear that Israel was not to follow the practices of the nations around them.  Other nations tried to manipulate deities, supernatural forces, or spirits of the dead to act in their favor.  But Israel was not to engage in any divinatory practices (Dt 18:9-14).  

Israel would have no need of such practices.  God cannot be manipulated, and Israel was to obey him, not try to control him.  Instead, Moses said, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers---it is to him you shall listen' (v. 15).  

Thinking about Moses and his role, being a prophet like Moses should include 

• a mediatorial role;
• access to God's presence;
• communication with God;
• being led by the Holy Spirit.

Moses also addressed the question of how to identify a true prophet of God (vv 20-22).  True prophets 

1. were loyal to God, not necessarily to a human leader (see e.g. 1 Ki 22);
2. gave messages consistent with the Torah;
3. spoke at God's initiative;
4. spoke only in God's name'
5. gave prophecies that were fulfilled;
6. had authenticating signs (see Ex 4:1-9);
7. were obedient to God (see Jer 29:12-13).

On the other hand, false prophets would come under divine judgment (Eze 13; 1 Ki 18; 2 Ki 10).

Israel indeed did go on to have a series of inspired prophets, including the anonymous prophets of Judges 6:7-10; 10:11-14; Samuel; Nathan; Elijah; Elisha; and the authors of the Bible's prophetic books.  

In some sense, though, all of them fell short of Moses, who had an especially close relationship with God (Num 12:6-8).  Deuteronomy 18:15-18 came to be understood as a prediction that the line of prophets described there would culminate in one great prophet, the Messiah.  We see this interpretation in Deuteronomy 34:10-12, which was apparently written some centuries after Moses.  The book of Deuteronomy ends with the assertion that the ultimate "prophet like Moses" had not yet arrived.  

Kevin Chen points out that there are hints in Deut 18:15-18 that this is a messianic prophecy.  One is the statement that God would "raise up" this prophet (vv 15, 18).  The same language is used in other prophecies that are clearly messianic, like 2 Samuel 7:22 and Jeremiah 23:5; 30:9.  This language hints at the idea that this special prophet would be "raised up" from the dead.   

During the Second Temple Period, a tradition arose in some Jewish circles that inspired prophecy had ceased in Israel (1 Macc 4:46; 14:41), and that the next inspired prophet would be the Messiah.  In the New Testament there are references to Deuteronomy 18:15-18 as a messianic prophecy (Jn 6:1-14; Ac 3:11-26).  In the first century people were hoping for the fulfillment of this prophecy, and the first Christians believed that it was fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth.

Seder 108: Jeremiah 31:22---"A Woman Encircles a Man"

 There is a fascinating sentence in Jeremiah 31:22.  In the context of a prophecy about Israel's eventual  return from exile to the Promised Land, Jeremiah says, "For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:  a woman encircles a man."

Commentators observe that the word for "created" is bara, a word used only when God is creating something with no help from anyone or anything else, as in "creation from nothing."  The word for "man", geber, refers to a mighty man.

This passage has been the source of lots of discussion---see, for example, Charles Lee Feinberg, "Jeremiah 31:22:  Proverb, Promise, or Prophecy?", Bibliotheca Sacra 123 (1966), 315-324; 124 (1967), 16-21.

One popular Christian interpretation sees this as a prophecy of the Virgin Birth.  A number of church fathers---e.g., Jerome---held this interpretation.  Certainly the miracle of the Virgin Birth is an entirely new, unprecedented creation of God, with a "mighty man" encompassed/enclosed/encircled by (the body of) a woman.  Also, it is the work of Jesus on the cross that makes the new covenant (Jer 31:31-34) possible, and there are some references to the Messiah in the previous chapter (30:9,21).  Still, this interpretation doesn't seem to fit the context of Jeremiah 31:22, even with the phrase "virgin Israel" appearing in verse 21.  

A second possibility, more in keeping with the context, has a woman (the nation of Israel) being enabled by God to overcome the power of enemy nations like Assyria and Babylon (the mighty man), surrounding or hemming in those enemies.  John Calvin proposed an interpretation along these lines.

A third possibility has God causing the woman (the nation of Israel) to embrace or cling to God and/or the Messiah (the mighty man) as never before.  This reading connects with the new covenant promise in verses 31-34.  .  

Today's commentators humbly admit that we don't know the meaning of the passage for sure. For example, Michael L. Brown (Revised Expositor's Bible Commentary) remarks, "Certainty of interpretation is highly unlikely here, given the concise nature of the Hebrew expression, and McKane’s comments that this phrase 'has been a happy hunting-ground for aspiring exegetes' should be remembered."

Seder 108: Psalm 21---A Messianic Royal Psalm of Thanksgiving

 Psalm 21 is a royal psalm that can be seen as a sequel to Psalm 20.  Psalm 20 is a prayer for protection and success for the king, while Psalm 21 expresses the king's gratitude for the success that God has granted him.  

Here is one example of the connections between the two psalms:

Psalm 20:4---"May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans!

Psalm 21:2---"You have given him his heart's desire...."

Psalm 21:1-7 shows gratitude for the promises of the Davidic covenant, including

• God's steadfast love (v.7; 2 Sam 7:15);
• God's presence (v. 6; 2 Sam 7:9);
• a dynasty lasting forever (vv 4, 6; 2 Sam 7:13, 16).

In verse 7 the king affirms his trust in God, rather than in horses or chariots(see 20:7).  Then in verses 8-13, the congregation affirms its faith in God's ulimate judgment of enemies and victory over all opposition.  The psalm begins and ends by praising God's strength. 

During the era of Solomon's Temple, this psalm could have been used to celebrate a victory or the anniversary of a king's coronation.  Then during the Second Temple period and beyond, it was natural to see this psalm messianically, especially with its references to eternal life and blessing (vv 4,6) and final victory.  The last half of the psalm reminds us of prophecies that the Messiah will conquer all enemies, including death (Isa 25:7-8; 1 Cor 15:54-57).

The Targum in verses 1 and 7 has "the king Messiah" for "the king,"  and the discussion of this psalm in Midrash Psalms is entirely about how the different parts of the psalm apply to the Messiah. Here are some examples of the discussion in Midrash Psalms:  

• The Midrash connects verse 2 ("you have given him his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips") with Isa 11:4 ("he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked").  
• To explain verse 4 ("he asked life of you"), it is speculated that the Messiah asked God for the resurrection of Korah and his colleagues, who were swallowed up by the ground during Israel's years in the wilderness (Num 16). 
• In connection with verse 6 ("you make him glad with the joy of your presence"), sages mention examples where the Messiah comes into the presence of God (Dan 7:13-14; Jer 30:21).  

Unlike some other royal psalms (45 and 110, e.g.), Psalm 21 is not referenced in the New Testament.  Some verses in Psalm 21 look like good candidates for a prosopological reading, but I am not aware of them being used in this way.  I may look into this question further.

Seder 33: Psalm 20---A Blessing in Time of Distress

 Psalm 20 is classified as a royal psalm.  A possible context:  Israel faces a trial, perhaps an attack from an enemy, and the people pray for the Davidic king.  They believe that the God of Jacob, who delivered Jacob in times of trial (Gen 35:3), would also help their king in leading Israel to victory (Ps 20:1-5). 

They know that it is in God, who rules the whole universe "from his holy heaven" (v 6), who is in charge.  So their trust is in him rather than in the size of their military force (v 7).  

There are different ways to apply this psalm outside the context of Israel's theocracy.  The Davidic king is a forerunner of the Messiah.  Today we pray for the victory of the Messiah and the success and growth of the Kingdom of God.  The "day of trouble" can be any time of distress, including the prophetic Great Tribulation.  

In Jewish tradition this is a psalm that is prayed for a pregnant woman as she approaches the time of labor.  One sage pointed out that the psalm has 9 verses, representing the 9 months of a pregnancy.  

Of course the Great Tribulation mentioned above is likened in Jer 30:6-7 to a time of labor and is referred to in Messianic circles as the "birth pangs of the Messiah."