CHAPTER 3

(630 B.C.)

WOE TO SINFUL JUDAH

¹Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city! (Woe to her is now pronounced against Jerusalem. The phrase, That is filthy and polluted, has to do with idol worship and all its attendant filth, i.e., both male and female prostitution. Such polluted the city.)

²She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God. (The love that throbs in these words, her God, is pathetic. Proud and polluted as Jerusalem was, yet God said she was His, and that He was her God. The following are the charges:

1. She obeyed not the voice;

2. She received not correction;

3. She trusted not in the Lord; and,

4. She did not draw near to her God.)

³Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow. (Princes, judges, Preachers, and Priests were workers of iniquity and teachers of falsehood. They gnaw not would be better translated: They defer not till tomorrow to gnaw the bones. Ravenous wolves gnaw the bones, immediately they have devoured the flesh.)

⁴Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the Sanctuary, they have done violence to the Law. (Her prophets are light and treacherous persons, referred to false prophets, who had no true mission from God. The word light means that they were frivolous and empty boasters.

Her priests have polluted the Sanctuary, actually means they polluted what was holy. They have done violence to the Law, means that they abrogated the Law of Moses by distorting its meaning, neither observing it themselves nor teaching others to keep it.)

⁵The Just LORD is in the midst thereof; He will not do iniquity: every morning does He bring His Judgment to light, He fails not; but the unjust knows no shame. (Jehovah, as the Just Judge, is here contrasted with the unjust judges of Verse 3.)

⁶I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passes by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant. (I have cut off the nations, respects all the many nations that God defeated in the past relative to protecting Israel. This was well known to all the people of Judah, and should have served as a dire warning to the people. However, Judah felt themselves above the heathen and would not believe the True Prophets, even though the Lord repeatedly spoke through them respecting coming Judgment. In other words, they felt they were in a class unto themselves, and that the Lord would not require of them what He required of the heathen.)

⁷I said, Surely you will fear Me, you will receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings. (So their dwelling should not be cut off, respected the Lord not desiring at all to bring Judgment. In fact, He made every effort to bring the people to Repentance, but to no avail! Howsoever I punished them, speaks of chastisements which were ignored.

The phrase, But they rose early, and corrupted all their doings, means that they hardened their hearts and ignored the warnings of the Prophets. Consequently, the Lord was left with no choice, because the light within them had been turned to darkness.)

THE LAST DAYS: ARMAGEDDON

⁸Therefore wait you upon Me, says the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for My Determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them My Indignation, even all My fierce Anger: for all the Earth shall be devoured with the fire of My Jealousy. (This Passage actually has to do with the coming Battle of Armageddon, which will precipitate the Second Coming [Rev. 16:13-17].)

CONVERSION OF ALL NATIONS

⁹For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the Name of the LORD, to serve Him with one consent. (The Hebrew for pure language is barar sepheth, which means cleansed or purged lips or speech in contrast with unclean lips [Isa. 6:5]. That they may all call upon the Name of the LORD, refers to the entirety of the world calling upon God in the Name of Jesus, with all other religions, idols, and false ways of worship done away with.

To serve Him with one consent, constitutes the fulfillment of what is referred to as the Lords Prayer [Mat. 6:10].)

¹⁰From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My suppliants, even the daughter of My dispersed, shall bring My offering. (The idea of the Verse is: respecting the particular nations in which the Jews are ensconced, the Gentiles will help get them to Israel, and gladly so. This will be at the outset of the Kingdom Age.)

JUDAH PURGED OF REBELS

¹¹In that day shall you not be ashamed for all your doings, wherein you have transgressed against Me: for then I will take away out of the midst of you them who rejoice in your pride, and you shall no more be haughty because of My Holy Mountain. (In that day, refers to the beginning of the Kingdom Age, when Christ will reign supreme over the entirety of the world, and do so from Jerusalem. At that time, Israel will be the supreme nation on the face of the Earth. Then, the haughty spirit of Israel will be broken, because Israel will have accepted Christ as Saviour, Lord, and Messiah.)

¹²I will also leave in the midst of you an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the Name of the LORD. (The afflicted and poor people spoken of in this Passage portrays the Jews who have come through the fire of the Great Tribulation, and who have allowed it to refine them and make them poor in spirit. It means their self-confidence has been abolished, with trust being placed solely in the Lord.)

¹³The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. (The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies, actually addresses false prophets, who will no longer be in the land. Zechariah also mentions this [Zech. 13:2]. The last phrase, For they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid, proclaims the total security of Israel in that coming Glad Day, when the Lord will be their Shepherd. This, they could have had all along, if they had only obeyed, because it was promised to them in the Law [Lev. 26:5-6].)

MESSIAH REIGNING IN ZION

¹⁴Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. (Beginning with Verse 8 through the remainder of the Chapter, the Restoration of Israel is promised. It was a Restoration they could have had at the First Advent of Christ, but brutally refused by murdering their Messiah. When they finally do accept Christ, which will be immediately after the Second Coming, there will be great joy in Israel.)

¹⁵The LORD has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of you: you shall not see evil anymore. (The LORD has taken away your judgments, refers to Divine Chastisements being halted. This will be in the Kingdom Age, when Israel will have accepted Christ. You shall not see evil anymore, refers to the terrible judgments that came upon Israel in the past, which now will never happen again, because the Lord resides in the midst of her, with her gladly serving Him.)

¹⁶In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear you not: and to Zion, Let not your hands be slack. (For nearly 2,000 years now, the Jews have lived in fear. Considering the terrible persecution over many centuries, they have had just cause to fear. In the coming Kingdom Age, Jerusalem will be, in essence, the capital city of the world. One might well call it, Jerusalem, D.C., i.e., Davids Capital.

And to Zion, Let not your hands be slack, means that they must make up for all the time that has been lost. This they shall do, and more, because Christ reigns among them.)

¹⁷The LORD your God in the midst of you is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest in His Love, He will joy over you with singing. (Verse 17 contrasts with Verse 5; the latter is past; the former, future. In Verse 5, He was in the midst of rebellious Jerusalem offering Himself as a Righteous Judge able to correct its evil; in Verse 17, He will reside in redeemed Jerusalem mightily to prevent any evil.)

RESTORATION OF ISRAEL

¹⁸I will gather them who are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of you, to whom the reproach of it was a burden. (The corruption of Israel and the consequent reproach leveled at it by the heathen were, and are, burdens upon the hearts that lived in fellowship with God. The reproach in that coming day will be ended!)

¹⁹Behold, at that time I will undo all who afflict you: and I will save her who halts, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame. (After Israel accepts Christ, she will be restored to her rightful place as the leading nation of the world; then, the shame will be forever ended!)

²⁰At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the Earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, says the LORD. (Concerning Israel, this is one of the greatest Promises of all! In the Prophets eye, the restoration from captivity and the times of the Messiah are synchronous. The former is so closely connected in idea with the latter that he speaks of both under one set of terms, applying the same imagery to both.)