18 “Thus says the Lord,
‘Behold, I will restore the [j]fortunes of the tents of Jacob
And have compassion on his dwelling places;
And the city will be rebuilt on its ruin,
And the palace will stand on its rightful place.
19 ‘From them will proceed thanksgiving
And the voice of those who [k]celebrate;
And I will multiply them and they will not be diminished;
I will also honor them and they will not be insignificant.
20 ‘[l]Their children also will be as formerly,
And [m]their congregation shall be established before Me;
And I will punish all [n]their oppressors.
21 ‘[o]Their leader shall be one of them,
And [p]their ruler shall come forth from [q]their midst;
And I will bring him near and he shall approach Me;
For [r]who would dare to risk his life to approach Me?’ declares the Lord.
22 ‘You shall be My people,
And I will be your God.’”23 Behold, the tempest of the Lord!
Wrath has gone forth,
A [s]sweeping tempest;
It will burst on the head of the wicked.
24 The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back
Until He has performed and until He has accomplished
The intent of His heart;
In the latter days you will understand this.
As this chapter turns to the restoration of Israel, we see several things that were accomplished after the seventy years in captivity. There is the city rebuilt (v. 18), and the temple also, which we can read about in Nehemiah and Ezra’s accounts. From those who returned, there was indeed thanksgiving and celebration (v. 19). But what about vv. 20-22, has that all happened?
Specifically, if we look at this idea that their leader would come forth and approach God, I would think it unlikely. For that matter, is was near impossible, since previous kings that had dared to offer sacrifice were struck with leprosy and rebuked for their impudence (Saul and Uzziah as a couple examples). In that light, what ruler would dare to risk his life to approach God?
Well, if we skip forward a bit, we’ll find that there is one who fulfilled this prophecy. That is, Jesus, who was (mockingly, but rightly) called King of the Jews. Not only did Jesus risk His life, but He laid it down on our behalf. He fulfilled the impossible dual role of priest and king. And He isn’t done yet, but we’ll come back to that.
Next, I want to look at these last few verses, as God recounts the days of His wrath. In v. 24 we read, “The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back… until He has accomplished the intent of His heart.” What was that exactly? One might think it was simply to punish Israel for their rebellion, to pound them back into submission. Yet the intent of His heart is bound up in the reality that He sent His Son as a ransom for us.
Not only that, but Jesus did, as we said already, approach God and now sits at the right hand of the Father. There He daily intercedes for us, for you and for me (Romans 8:34). This is an incredible feat, and should indeed move us to celebration and thanksgiving, just as they were so moved by the rebuilding of Jerusalem so many years ago. What then was the “intent of His heart”?
We see it clearly in v. 22, “You shall be My people, and I will be your God.” God has now done everything needed to be our God, all that remains is for us to be His people. It’s summed up pretty well in 2 Chronicles 7, as if God already knew these days of wrath would come (spoiler, He did). If we will “humble ourselves, pray and seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways” then He will hear from Heaven and forgive our sin. Or in the words of the apostle John, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Be God’s people, be His child, that is what His heart yearns for, and it is the very thing, the only thing, that can satisfy the deepest longing of our soul.