The Glorious Future of Judah
But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. Joel 3:20
But Judah shall... Judah will include all the children of Israel from all the tribes in that day, for all will be there (Eze. 37:1-28; 48:1-29); and Jerusalem will be their eternal city (Eze. 48:30-35). The security and prosperity portrayed in Joel 3:17-18 will never again be interrupted. Judah and Jerusalem will be inhabited forever (cf. Amos 9:15, Zec. 14:11). The converted Jews shall dwell in their own land for ever, to the end of the world and never more be carried captive (Eze. 37:25), shall continue evermore, and never more be disturbed by any enemies. They shall dwell safely and peaceably to the end of time.
This is in reference to Christ’s millennial kingdom on earth, which is yet to be fulfilled.
But Judah...
יְהוּדָה
yehûḏāh
A proper noun designating Judah:
A. The fourth son of Jacob through Leah (Gen. 29:35; 35:23). He married a Canaanite woman and bore two sons by her (Er, Onan). Er died and then Onan his brother died, leaving Tamar, Er's wife, without a child. Judah, heartlessly, refused to allow his third son to have a child by Tamar. Judah then committed an unwitting, but heinous sin with his daughter-in-law by hiring her as a prostitute and unwittingly fathered twins by her (Gen. 38). His lack of compassion is evident in the story. Judah himself bore many other sons (Gen. 46:12). Jacob prophesied of the high-status Judah and his descendants would have among the patriarchs (Gen. 49:8-12). He and they would be above their enemies, their own kinsmen; he was compared to a lion. He would have royal prerogatives scepter, rulership; he would be prosperous and powerful in appearance (cf. also Deut. 33:7). From Judah would come the Star out of Jacob and Israel (Gen. 24:17).
B. The territory of Judah ran north-south from north of Jerusalem and Aijalom and south to Kadesh Barnea. Its eastern border ran from Gath south to the El-Arish River of Egypt. Its eastern border was the Dead Sea and a boundary running from the Brook Zered southwest to Kadesh Barnea. Jerusalem, Hebron, and Bethlehem, all important cities in Israel and the Old Testament, were within its boundaries.
The tribe took its territory in Canaan rather forcefully (Jdg. 1:1-9) but could not totally capture Jerusalem. Judah seems gradually to have become isolated from the northern tribes (Jdg. 4; 5).
Under David, Judah became powerful. David was crowned king in Judah at Hebron and then captured Jerusalem to consolidate Judah and to attract the other tribes to Jerusalem as the central capital and worship center of the nation (2Sam. 5:1-16). Solomon attempted to consolidate the nation further, but through poor politics, poor economics, oppressive taxation, and megalomaniac building projects, he forced those outsides of Judah into a subordinate, almost slave-like position toward Judah and Jerusalem (2Sam. 8-12). As a result, Israel split off from Judah after Solomon's death in 930 B.C. The nation of Israel went into exile in 722 B.C., while the nation of Judah, with the Davidic covenant and royal line intact, lingered on with a few good kings (Asa, Jehosophat, Joash, Hezekiah, Josiah) until she too was destroyed because of her religious and moral corruption (2Kgs. 25).
Within Judah, God had chosen a king and established an eternal covenant (2Sam. 7). The tribe of Judah went into exile in 586 B.C., as predicted by Jeremiah, but likewise returned in 538 B.C. according to the prophet's word, still bearing the promised royal seed. The tribe was a mere shadow of itself from then until the end of the Old Testament. The high priest became dominant, for no kings were permitted in Judah, now a province of Persia, then Egypt, Syria, and Rome.
C. A Levite who had intermarried with the foreign people of the land in Ezra's day (Ezra 10:23).
D. A district or sectional director in Jerusalem over its newly returned residents from exile or the surrounding region (Neh. 11:9).
E. A leading Levite who returned from exile from Babylon under Zerubbabel (Neh. 12:8).
F. A priest who took part in the procession celebrating the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem (Neh. 12:34).
shall dwell...
יָשַׁב
yāšaḇ
A verb meaning to sit, to dwell, to inhabit, to endure, to stay. Apparently, to sit is the root idea, and other meanings are derived from this. The subject of the verb may be God, human, animal (Jer_50:39), or inanimate matter. The word sometimes emphasizes the location of persons, whether they were sitting under a tree (Jdg. 6:11; 1Kgs. 19:4) or in a house (2Kgs. 6:32). It could also reflect a person's position: one sat as a judge (Prov. 20:8; Isa. 28:6); as a widow (Gen. 38:11); or on a throne as king (Exo. 12:29; 2Kgs. 13:13). Sometimes it indicated one's companions; one sits with scoffers (Psm. 1:1); or with the elders of the land (Prov. 31:23). The word may signify to dwell, either temporarily (Lev. 23:42) or in a permanent dwelling (Gen. 4:16; Zeph. 2:15). Sometimes the word means that an object or person stays in a limited area (Exo. 16:29); or abides for a period of time (Lev. 12:4-5; 2Sam. 6:11); or for eternity (Psm. 9:7,8; Psm. 102:12,13; 125:1). The years are even said to sit, that is, to pass (1Kgs. 22:1).
for ever...
עוֹלָם
‛ôlām
A masculine noun meaning a very long time. The word usually refers to looking forward, but many times expresses the idea of looking backward. It may cover a given person's lifetime (Exo. 21:6; 1Sam. 1:22); a period of many generations (Jos. 24:2; Prov. 22:28); the time of the present created order (Deut. 33:15; Psm. 73:12); time beyond this temporal sphere, especially when used regarding God (Gen. 21:33; Psm. 90:2; Dan. 12:2, 12:7). The term also applies to many things associated with God, such as His decrees, His covenants, and the Messiah (Gen. 9:16, Exo. 12:14; Mic. 5:2,1). This word describes the span of time in which God is to be obeyed and praised (1Chr. 16:36; Psm. 89:1,2; 119:112). In the age to come, there will be no need for sun or moon, for God Himself will be the everlasting light (Isa. 60:19-20; cf. Rev. 22:5).
and Jerusalem from... Shall dwell so in like manner, age after age; that is, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who shall see and enjoy peace and prosperity, both temporal and spiritual, as Jerusalem signifies.
Zec. 8:8 "And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness."
Rev. 21:3 "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God."
יְרוּשָׁלַםִ
yerûšālam, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם
yerûšālayim
A proper noun designating Jerusalem, the city mentioned most often in the Old Testament and Israel's capital and most important city. After Israel was split into two parts, it was the capital of Judah, both before and after the exile (Ezra 1-2). Its name appears in written texts outside the Bible and in the Bible that recall a city predating Israel or the Hebrews in Egypt, throughout the nineteenth and eighteenth centuries B.C. The name means "height or foundation of peace." An appropriate meaning for God's goal with and for His people is "shalom," "peace, well-being." The traditional meaning of the name is "city of peace." Jerusalem was the city of the Jebusites (Jdg_19:10) for many years. Even earlier, we hear of a Melchizedek, king of Salem (Jerusalem) functioning there (Gen. 14:14; Psm. 76:2,3). It was to be a city of righteousness but became a city of oppression. It was to be a city of peace but was torn apart. It was to be "the Holy City" (Isa. 52:1), but it was corrupted (Eze. 8). Its holiness was based on God's presence in its midst (1Kgs. 6-8). God's presence over His ark (2Sam. 6:1-15) sanctified the city, and His presence (Exo. 33:15-17) and made the people holy (Eze. 48:35). Since David conquered the city, it could thereafter also be termed "the city of David" (2Sam. 5:6-16). In 2Sam. 5:7, it became associated with the designation "Zion," a powerful fortress or stronghold. It is called Ariel "lion of God" several times (Isa. 29). Ezekiel saw a new purified and cleansed city and Temple in his vision and appropriately named the new city "the Lord Is There" (Eze. 48:35). The Arabic name for the city is "the Holy (City," el-Quds). Mohammed visited it (by tradition). It was and is the holiest city of Jews and Christians and the third holiest of Islam.
The security and prosperity portrayed in Joel 3:17-18 will never again be interrupted. Judah and Jerusalem will be inhabited forever (cf. Eze. 37:25; Amos 9:15; Zec. 14:11).
from generation...
דּוֹר
dôr
A masculine noun meaning generation, period of time, posterity, age, time, setting of life. In general, the word indicates the time from birth to death; the time from one's birth to the birth of one's first child; the living adults of a certain time or place; a period as it is defined through major events, persons, behavior, and the spirit of the age. It also marks a duration of time. There is no agreed-on length of time which may stretch from twenty to one hundred years, but the word is also used figuratively to mean an indefinite or unending length of time in the past or future. These basic observations can be illustrated from various passages and contexts: the generation of Noah was characterized by wickedness and violence, yet he was a righteous man in his generation (Gen. 7:1); Moses spoke of a crooked generation in his day and in the future (Deut. 32:5); however, the psalmist spoke of a generation of righteous people (Psm. 14:5) and a generation of people who seek the Lord (Psm. 24:6). These generations will be blessed by God (Psm. 112:2). Generations come and go without interruption (Ecc. 1:4).
Time can be measured by the passing of generations, as when the great deeds of the Lord are passed on from generation to generation, in effect forever (Psm. 145:4; Isa. 34:17); God's throne lasts forever, from generation to generation (Lam. 5:19). Likewise, God's judgments can endure forever (Jer. 50:39). The closing of an era can be marked by the death of all the persons belonging to that generation (Exo. 1:6; Jdg. 2:10), but persons can be taken from their own proper age, dwellings, or circles of existence, as Hezekiah nearly was (Psm. 102:24,25; Isa. 38:12), and a subgroup, such as fighting men, can pass away from an era (Deut. 2:14). On the other hand, God's length of days spans all generations without end (Psm. 102:24,25).
The generation or generations mentioned may refer to the past, present, or future. Noah was perfect during the time of his contemporaries (Gen. 6:9); the generations extended into the future when God established His covenant with Abraham and all future generations (Gen. 17:7, 17:12; cf. Lev. 25:30) or when He gave His name as a memorial for all generations to come (Exo. 3:15). The word often refers to past generations, such as the generation of the fathers (Psm. 49:19,20; Isa. 51:9). God's constancy again stands out, for His days span all past eras as well as all future generations (Psm. 102:24,25). Israel was encouraged in Moses' song to remember the past generations of old (Deut. 32:7) when God effected His foundational acts of deliverance for Israel and gave them the Law at Sinai. Present generations are to learn from past generations (Deut. 32:7) and can affect future generations by declaring the Lord's power (Psm. 71:18).
Certain generations were singled out for special note: the third and fourth generations of children are punished for the sins of their fathers (Exo. 20:5; 34:7); the infamous generation that wandered in the wilderness for forty years experienced God's judgments until everyone in that generation died (Psm. 95:10). Yet the love of God is not bound, for, in a figurative sense, it is passed on to thousands of generations (i.e., without limitation) forever and to every person (Exo. 20:6; 34:7).
to generation... same as above.
The security and prosperity portrayed in Joel 3:17-18 will never again be interrupted. Judah and Jerusalem will be inhabited forever (cf. Eze. 37:25; Amos 9:15; Zec. 14:11).
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