The Intent of YHVH’s Heart - The “IT?”

 

“The fierce anger of YHVH will not turn back until He has done it, and until He has performed the intents of His heart. In the latter days you will understand [perceive, discern] it” (emphases added). These are the concluding words of Jeremiah 30 (verse 24).  The question is, what is “the it”? 

If we are now living in what the prophet is calling “the latter days”, then we should be able to see or perceive and understand what the “intent of YHVH’s heart” is.  This chapter reveals to us that one aspect of the "it" has to do with the restoration of the house of Israel and the house of Judah and their return to the promised land: ”For behold, the days are coming,' says YHVH, 'that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,' says YHVH. 'And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it’” (Jeremiah 30:3).  The "it” is a time during which YHVH pours out His “fierce anger” upon all the nations where the house of Jacob (the Jews and the lost tribes of Israel) are residing. The "it” is a day about which it says: “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” (Jeremiah 30:7). 

In this chapter Jeremiah describes what it will be like during this tribulation period: "For thus says YHVH: 'We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.  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?’” (Jeremiah 30:5-6).  John the Revelator caught a glimpse of what the time will be like when Elohim pours out His wrath on the earth, one bowl at a time (see Revelation 16). Obviously, it is not going to be pleasant, but the promise that Jacob will be saved out of "it" is a tremendous assurance and hope for YHVH’s people.  Elohim is not calling Israel, nor Judah, to be removed from this world, but rather, to return to the land of their forefathers and to restore it (both physically and spiritually).

Many of YHVH’s people are of the opinion that these “end time” scriptures were fulfilled upon the return of the Jewish people to the land. This of course is true, but only partially so.  Reflecting back on Israel's exile, the one component that brought Elohim’s wrath and curse upon the land, in the first place, was the condition of His people's hearts. Because of their idolatry and adultery, they were cast out into the nations and the land became desolate. In order for the land not to be defiled again by the spiritual condition of YHVH's people, they, especially the lost tribes of Israel, will have to come back with a circumcised heart, while the necessity of this heart transformation also applies to those already in the land. The above will be fully accomplished as is delineated in the next chapter, which begins with “At that time…” (31:1). And what time is that?  “In the latter days”, when the intent of the heart of YHVH for the whole house of Israel/Ephraim is to be fulfilled, during a time of His judgments. Here is the rest of verse 1: “…Thus says YHVH, ‘I will be the Elohim of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people’" (31:1 emphases added). But how will this come about? “I will make a New Covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah” (31:31). We already know what it cost the Father in order to establish this covenant. How much more will it mean to bring it to its completion, as recorded by almost every prophet of the house of Israel/Ephraim and the house of Judah!

Turning back to chapter 30 and the days of YHVH’s wrath, YHVH declares immediately following Jacob’s trouble and its positive aftermath, that Israel and Judah will be freed: “For it shall come to pass in that day,' says YHVH of hosts, 'that I will break his yoke from your neck, and will burst your bonds; Foreigners shall no more enslave them” (Jeremiah 30:8). Even though a remnant from both houses has received the “Good News” of their redemption, living in this present world and in foreign nations has its challenges. There are yokes that are still keeping us tied to the ‘Babylonian beast’ and the harlot that is riding on its back.

Unlike the physical bondage placed upon our ancestors in Egypt we, today, are under mental and emotional stress and pressure to succeed, perform and serve the beast of prosperity, prestige, and self-preservation. But just as it was in the days of the first Exodus, when YHVH’s judgments brought the release of the Hebrews from the oppression of their masters, so too the judgments that will be released by YHVH on the nations of this world will liberate us to be free to serve Him and His Messiah.

YHVH’s promise to His redeemed remnant is found in Jeremiah 30: 9-11:  “But they [the redeemed] shall serve YHVH their Elohim, and David their king, Whom I will raise up for them. Therefore do not fear, O My servant Jacob,' says YHVH, '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.  For I am with you,' says YHVH, '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'" (Jeremiah 30:9-11 emphasis added).  The prophet Ezekiel echoes these words in chapter 37 of his book, in another great end-time prophecy.

One of the main signs of what is termed ‘the latter days is the restoration of the two houses of Israel (Isaiah 8:14). Anyone who does not see these two ensigns will not be able to fully understand and have a grasp of the latter days.  “He will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:12 emphasis added).

What makes these latter days so exciting and worth waiting for, is found in the following excerpts from Jeremiah and Ezekiel:

“They shall serve YHVH their Elohim, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them” (Jeremiah 30:8-9).  "Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all… they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again…  “Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children's children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever” (Ezekiel 37:21-22,25).