Thomas Aquinas Commentary Jeremiah 30:12-22

"For thus saith Jehovah, Thy hurt is incurable, and thy wound grievous. There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines. All 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 greatness of thine iniquity, because thy sins were increased. Why criest thou for thy hurt? thy pain is incurable: for the greatness of thine iniquity, because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee. Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that despoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey. For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith Jehovah; because they have called thee an outcast, [saying], It is Zion, whom no man seeketh after. Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will turn again the captivity of Jacob`s tents, and have compassion on his dwelling-places; and the city shall be builded upon its own hill, and the palace shall be inhabited after its own manner. And 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. Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me; and I will punish all that oppress them. And their prince shall be of themselves, and their ruler shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is he that hath had boldness to approach unto me? saith Jehovah. And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God." — Jeremiah 30:12-22 (ASV)

Here, the prophet promises liberation from destruction—from the great affliction they had endured. Concerning this, there are two points.

1. He speaks of the preceding destruction, showing its greatness. The magnitude of the destruction was so great that it could not be repaired by human strength. The breach speaks of a disruption of continuity and signifies the destruction of people or cities. It is incurable because of its greatness in itself (although God could heal it), and grievous because of its depth. Your wound is great like the sea; who shall heal you? (Lamentations 2:13).

   He also excludes the intervention of human help, whether through a just judgment rendered by a judge for the injustice they sustained: there is no one who can judge against the enemy, to bind up the wound, just as those who cure wounds bind a plaster on them. The Lord saw, and evil appeared in his eyes, because there is no judgment (Isaiah 59:15). Or, regarding the effect of an intervening friendship: you have no useful medicines, that is, from your friends, because you have offended the true physician. All her friends have spurned her, and have become her enemies (Lamentations 1:2).

   He also shows the fairness of the punishment by giving its cause: for the wound of an enemy, who struck mortally, it is incurable; it is cruel because it is deep. For the multitude of your iniquities—for this reason, it had to be a great wound that would encompass all their corruption. It was hard with regard to their obstinacy, and therefore it was fitting for it to be grievous and deep, penetrating to the inmost parts. The Lord has become as an enemy, he has cast down Israel, he has cast down all her walls, he has broken up her bulwarks, and has multiplied in the daughter of Judah the afflicted, both the men and the women (Lamentations 2:5).

   And he excludes the complaint of those who murmur: Why do you cry out? This is a cry of murmuring. For they cannot be healed except by the most bitter effort, by which I must cut away rotten and incurable flesh. Why has a living man murmured, a man suffering for his sins? (Lamentations 3:39).

2. He promises liberation.

   1. He promises the benefit of aid through a judgment of vengeance for the injustice committed against them, for there is no one else who can free them. He promises vengeance against those who eat you—that is, kill you—and against your enemies, who take you captive. As it says above: all who swallow him up transgress. Evil shall come upon them, says the LORD (Jeremiah 2:3). He also promises vengeance for the injustice committed against their goods: against those who lay you waste (referring to immovable goods) and those who plunder you (referring to movable goods). Woe to you who spoil, shall you yourself not also be spoiled? (Isaiah 33:1).

      Regarding the friendly disposition of the healer, he speaks of healing: I will restore health to you, and I will heal you of your wounds. This means, “I will cure you so completely that not even a trace of your former wound will appear.” Who heals the broken heart, and binds up their wound (Psalms 147:3). These events occurred under Zerubbabel when the Babylonians and Chaldeans laid waste to the Assyrians (that is, Nineveh) and were themselves laid waste by the Medes and Persians. And then the scar is covered over . And he gives the reason: because they have called you an outcast. This was said by the enemy. Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart exult in his ruin, lest perhaps the Lord see, and it displease him, and he take his wrath away from him (Proverbs 24:17–18). For the enemy's reproach is a cause for divine mercy.

   2. He shows the manner of this assistance, beginning with, Thus says the LORD:

      1. Regarding the manner of assistance: behold, I will turn back the captivity of Jacob’s tents.

      2. Regarding the manner of vengeance: Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD, his fury going forth, a rushing storm (Jeremiah 30:23).

      Concerning the first point, he promises a restoration of all buildings.

      1. In general: I will turn back the captivity, that is, I will restore to their original state, the tents, meaning the houses. They shall build up the wildernesses of the peoples, and shall raise up ancient ruins, and they shall restore cities deserted and laid waste for generations (Isaiah 61:4). And specifically regarding the princely places: and the city shall be built, that is, Jerusalem. I who say to Jerusalem, you shall be inhabited, and to the cities of Judah, you shall be built; and to your waste places, I shall raise you up (Isaiah 44:26).

      2. He promises human prosperity. This includes joyfulness of heart: and praise shall go forth from them. Joy and gladness shall be found in her, and thanksgiving, and the voice of praise (Isaiah 51:3). It also includes a multitude of people: I will multiply them, and they shall not be diminished, as far as it depends on me, unless it happens because of their own fault. I shall count them, and shall multiply them more than the sand of the sea (Psalms 139:18). Alternatively, this should be understood to concern those who are converted to Christ.

         And it includes the exaltation of the people: and I will glorify them (Jeremiah 30:19), either bodily or spiritually, with regard to the sanctity of virtue. And their children shall be as they were in the beginning, that is, like their holy fathers, living before me in cleanness of life. And I will punish all that oppress them, meaning I will defend and avenge them. Who shall give me that I may be as in former months, and as the days when the Lord kept me? (Job 29:2).

      3. He promises the goodness of their rulers.

         1. He speaks of their kinship, for they are from the same lineage: and their leader shall be one of them. This refers to Zerubbabel, or it refers to Christ. I shall give them vinedressers from the same place (Hosea 2:15).

         2. He speaks of their holiness: and I will bring him near, and he shall approach me, through justice. For who is this that sets his heart to approach me? This question shows the author of this drawing near, for no one draws near unless drawn by God. No one can come to me, unless my Father, who sent me, draw him (John 6:44).

         3. He touches on the benefit of this justice: and you shall be my people. As the ruler of the city, so the inhabitants thereof .