“Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.”
My Notes
What Does Jeremiah 33:24 Mean?
God responds to the accusation that he has rejected his people: considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.
Considerest thou not (halo raita — have you not seen, have you not observed) what this people have spoken — God calls Jeremiah's attention to a specific accusation circulating among the people. The have you not seen is not a question about Jeremiah's awareness. It is a frame for what God is about to address: the people are saying something that requires divine correction.
The two families which the LORD hath chosen — the two families are the two kingdoms: Israel (the northern kingdom, scattered by Assyria) and Judah (the southern kingdom, exiled to Babylon). Both were chosen (bachar — elected, selected) by God. The two families designation acknowledges the division that split the kingdom after Solomon while maintaining that both remained God's chosen people.
He hath even cast them off (maas — to reject, to refuse, to spurn) — the accusation: God has rejected both kingdoms. The people (or the nations watching) conclude that the exile means God has abandoned his covenant people permanently. The chosen are cast off. The elected are rejected. The conclusion seems logical: if both kingdoms are destroyed and scattered, God must have given up on them.
Thus they have despised my people (am — my people, the covenant designation God still uses) — the despising follows the accusation. If God has cast off his people, then the people are worthless — despised (naats — to treat with contempt, to spurn, to disdain). The accusation of divine rejection produces human contempt: if God rejected them, they deserve contempt.
That they should be no more a nation (goy — a nation, a distinct people) before them — the ultimate consequence of the despising: Israel ceases to be a nation. The identity is dissolved. The distinctiveness is erased. The people who were a nation before God become no nation before men.
God's response (v.25-26) is devastating in its certainty: if my covenant with day and night fails — if the sun and moon stop operating — then I will also cast away the seed of Jacob. The covenant with Israel is as certain as the covenant with creation. The day-night cycle is the guarantee: as long as the sun rises, Israel remains God's people. The accusation that God cast them off is answered by the permanence of the sunrise.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does God still calling them 'my people' — during the exile — communicate about the persistence of the covenant relationship?
- 2.How does the accusation 'he hath cast them off' reveal the logic that produces contempt for God's people?
- 3.How does the day-night covenant (v.25-26) function as the guarantee that God has not rejected Israel — and what does every sunrise prove?
- 4.Where have you heard — or believed — the accusation that God has given up on his people, and how does this verse answer it?
Devotional
The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off. The accusation: God gave up. Both kingdoms — Israel and Judah — are destroyed, scattered, exiled. The logical conclusion: God rejected his own people. The chosen are cast off. The election is revoked. The covenant is over.
Thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation. The accusation produces contempt. If God rejected them, they are worthless. If the election is revoked, the people are nothing. The contempt follows the theology: tell me God abandoned them, and I will treat them as abandoned. The despising of God's people is rooted in the belief that God despised them first.
My people. God's response begins with the possessive: my people. The designation has not changed. The exile has not revoked the ownership. The scattering has not dissolved the relationship. They are still my people — God's claim on them has not been released, regardless of what the accusers say.
God's answer (v.25-26): if my covenant with day and night can be broken — if the fixed order of creation can fail — then I will cast away the seed of Jacob. The guarantee is the sunrise. The covenant with Israel is as permanent as the covenant with creation. As long as there is a day and a night — as long as the sun rises in the morning and the stars appear at night — Israel remains God's people. The exile does not change it. The scattering does not end it. The accusation that God cast them off is answered by every sunrise.
The sun rose this morning. The day-night cycle has not failed. The fixed order of heaven and earth continues. And the covenant with Jacob continues with it — as permanent, as reliable, as unbreakable as the dawn.
Have you heard the accusation? God gave up on his people. God abandoned the church. God's promises have failed. The answer is the sunrise: look outside. The day came. The night will follow. And the God whose covenant with creation holds is the God whose covenant with his people holds. The two are equally permanent. And both are active this morning.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Considerest thou not what this people have spoken,.... The words are directed to the prophet by an interrogation, if he…
Considerest thou not - literally, Hast thou not seen, i. e., noticed? This people - i. e., the Jews. Thus ... - Or, and…
Three of God's covenants, that of royalty with David and his seed, that of the priesthood with Aaron and his seed, and…
this people If the words be right, they must indicate the sceptical part of the nation. But the subsequent context, as…
Cross References
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