I Will Bring Back from Captivity My People Israel and Judah

The main theme here is the restoration, where God declares that the people of Israel and Judah will be returned from their captivity to the Promised Land. There is mention of a time when the suffering is so great that it will be like a woman in labor. It is called a 'time of Jacob's trouble', but His people will be saved from it. Could this be also referring to the Tribulation times?

Although the purpose of the captivity is judgement, God states clearly that He will continue to look after His people while they are in captivity. During the time of this judgment on His people, there will be others who will take advantages of them, but God states that these people wold also be accountable for their deeds toward Israel.

The judgment is described as God's whirlwind of fury. He will punish those in power who oppresses His people. Then when His people are restored, there will once again be much thanksgiving and making merry.



Jeremiah 30
Restoration of Israel and Judah

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. 3 For behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’”

4 Now these are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah.

5 “For thus says the Lord:

‘We have heard a voice of trembling,
Of fear, and not of peace.
6 Ask now, and see,
Whether a man is ever in labor with child?
So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins
Like a woman in labor,
And all faces turned pale?
7 Alas! For that day is great,
So that none is like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble,
But he shall be saved out of it.

8 ‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
‘That I will break his yoke from your neck,
And will burst your bonds;
Foreigners shall no more enslave them.
9 But they shall serve the Lord their God,
And David their king,
Whom I will raise up for them.

10 ‘Therefore do not fear, O My servant Jacob,’ says the Lord,
‘Nor be dismayed, O Israel;
For behold, I will save you from afar,
And your seed from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet,
And no one shall make him afraid.
11 For I am with you,’ says the Lord, ‘to save you;
Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you,
Yet I will not make a complete end of you.
But I will correct you in justice,
And will not let you go altogether unpunished.’

12 “For thus says the Lord:

‘Your affliction is incurable,
Your wound is severe.
13 There is no one to plead your cause,
That you may be bound up;
You have no healing medicines.
14 All your lovers have forgotten you;
They do not seek you;
For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy,
With the chastisement of a cruel one,
For the multitude of your iniquities,
Because your sins have increased.
15 Why do you cry about your affliction?
Your sorrow is incurable.
Because of the multitude of your iniquities,
Because your sins have increased,
I have done these things to you.

16 ‘Therefore all those who devour you shall be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity;
Those who plunder you shall become plunder,
And all who prey upon you I will make a prey.
17 For I will restore health to you
And heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord,
‘Because they called you an outcast saying:
“This is Zion;
No one seeks her.”’

18 “Thus says the Lord:

‘Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents,
And have mercy on his dwelling places;
The city shall be built upon its own mound,
And the palace shall remain according to its own plan.
19 Then out of them shall proceed thanksgiving
And the voice of those who make merry;
I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish;
I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.
20 Their children also shall be as before,
And their congregation shall be established before Me;
And I will punish all who oppress them.
21 Their nobles shall be from among them,
And their governor shall come from their midst;
Then I will cause him to draw near,
And he shall approach Me;
For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ says the Lord.
22 ‘You shall be My people,
And I will be your God.’”

23 Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord
Goes forth with fury,
A continuing whirlwind;
It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.
24 The fierce anger of the Lord will not return until He has done it,
And until He has performed the intents of His heart.

In the latter days you will consider it.

Restoration of the Temple

The returned exiles rallied behind two leaders, Jeshua (Jewish pronunciation of Jesus) and Zerubbabel, to built the altar of the Temple. There was fear among them of the other nations, since they were probably at the mercy of the Persians to protect them against other enemies. Nevertheless, once the altar was completed, they started the burnt offerings again, along with other customs, like the Feast of Tabernacles.

The main  work of the restoration of the Temple began in the second year after their return. Even when Temple was being worked on, their was organized praising and singing organized by the priests and Levites. There was incredible joy when the work was finished but those of the older generation who had seen the first Temple wept. Perhaps we cannot understand how they felt, for the Temple was more than just a national icon. The Temple would have reminded them of the presence of God and that the Living God had been with them throughout their history.



Ezra 3

Worship Restored at Jerusalem

 1 And when the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak[a] and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brethren, arose and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 Though fear had come upon them because of the people of those countries, they set the altar on its bases; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening burnt offerings. 4 They also kept the Feast of Tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings in the number required by ordinance for each day. 5 Afterwards they offered the regular burnt offering, and those for New Moons and for all the appointed feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and those of everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering to the LORD. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, although the foundation of the temple of the LORD had not been laid. 7 They also gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the permission which they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

Restoration of the Temple Begins
 
8 Now in the second month of the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak,[b] and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began work and appointed the Levites from twenty years old and above to oversee the work of the house of the LORD. 9 Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of Judah,[c] arose as one to oversee those working on the house of God: the sons of Henadad with their sons and their brethren the Levites.
10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests stood[d] in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD:

      “For He is good,
      For His mercy endures forever toward Israel.”[e]
   Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.
12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off.

Job’s Repentance and Restoration

In all the book of Job, most of it was about Job or his friends arguing or lamenting. It is not until this final chapter that we see the full restoration of Job and in fact he had greater blessings than before. A few points to note that when God at last spoke to him, Job realised he had spoken without understanding and in the process said wrong things about God. He admitted the sovereignty of God, and repented of his complaints.

In this short chapter, it is easy to gloss over the blessings upon Job after his repentance. Looking at the details, we see Job's restoration to the point that he became an intercessor / priest where God chosen him to present the burnt offerings from his friends to God. This shows God's deep relationship with Job. This spiritual restoration would have pleased and satisfied anyone, but God also chose to bless and restore Job materially.

To be specific, Job was blessed with more than he had before the disasters. His farm business thrived. Being older, he still was able to have another seven sons and three daughters, exactly the same number before the disasters. No doubt it was still painful for him to lost the first 10 children, he had the pleasure to raise another ten. Also note that the new ten children did not seem to indulge in themselves as much as the first ten. Job got to see his children for four generations. Another unusual aspect was his three daughters getting an inheritance in a time when it was usually given to males only.

Job 42

 1 Then Job answered the LORD and said:
 2 “I know that You can do everything,      And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.
 3 You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
      Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
 4 Listen, please, and let me speak;      You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’
 5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,      But now my eye sees You.
 6 Therefore I abhor myself,      And repent in dust and ashes.”
7 And so it was, after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.
8 Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.”
9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD commanded them; for the LORD had accepted Job.
10 And the LORD restored Job’s losses[a] when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.
11 Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before, came to him and ate food with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the LORD had brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold.
12 Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys.
13 He also had seven sons and three daughters.
14 And he called the name of the first Jemimah, the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-Happuch.
15 In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.
16 After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations.
17 So Job died, old and full of days.