“I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.
God has just judged the false shepherds and promised one Shepherd over His flock. Now He binds Himself by a covenant — so what is this peace, what are the "wild beasts," and how can a people sleep safely in open country?
The Shepherd Comes First
The covenant does not stand alone. One writer ties it to the one Shepherd: the peace is theirs only through Him.
Numerical Bible NotesHe is to take up David's place and office in a more glorious way. David's Son is also David's Lord, "the Beloved," as His name means. Our hearts recognise Him in this way: "He shall feed them, and He shall be their Shepherd." And only in this way can Jehovah be their God. Only in this way will "the covenant of peace" be theirs. It is peace by a covenant that can never be broken. As a result, all nature is at peace with them and the evil beasts are gone: "They shall dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods." Eden, but a better Eden, has come for them.
Who Does the Promising
The verse opens with "I will make." One writer notes how often that phrase repeats in these chapters, and whose voice it is.
Frank WallaceNo mortal man, political party or decision of nations will ever change Israel's condition, but God can and will. Notice the often repeated expression in chapters 34 and 37, "I will." That is the language of omnipotent deity… God will not chastise His people any more. He will establish a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant, and God will be their God and they will be His people.
The Ground of the Peace
What did such a peace cost? One writer names the price, and what God promises along with it.
Numerical Bible NotesSo the "covenant of peace" shall be made with them — "He has made peace by the blood of His cross." So it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and "I will bless them," says the Lord, "and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore."
What the Wild Beasts Are
Commentators differ here. Some read the beasts as real animals, whose nature God will change. One writer also rules out reading these promises as a picture of the church or the gospel.
William KellyIt is absurd from every point of view to interpret these prophecies of the church or of the gospel. Then the very beasts will have their nature changed, and the earth will yield its increase. It will be the day for which creation waits. Creation groans still and is in pain, but then God will deliver it from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.
Another writer reads the same beasts as world empires. He ties the covenant to the moment Israel accepts the Messiah it long refused.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinWhen the Lord is doing all that He promises here, and the remnant has accepted the long rejected Messiah-King, a covenant of peace and blessing will follow… The evil beasts are the Gentile world powers (Dan. 7). They will no longer devastate the land. All will be peace and safety, so that they can sleep peacefully in the woods.
Safe in the Very Places That Were Dangerous
God does not promise safety behind walls. He names the wilderness and the woods. One writer shows why those places matter.
A J PollockIn the day of our chapter Jehovah will set up one shepherd over His earthly people — His servant David, that is Christ, their Messiah. In that day God will make a covenant of peace with them. Evil beasts will cease out of the land. The sheep of His hand shall dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods — exactly in the places that would have been dangerous and unsafe in former times.
Something to Live In Now
The promise waits for a coming day. Yet one writer sees it foreshadowed now in God's people, and says that enjoying it depends on a Person.
Alfred E. BouterThis covenant of peace for days to come (Ezek. 34:25; 37:26) is, as it were, foreshadowed in God's heavenly people as they live in this world. But this practical realisation depends on the Prince of peace. All comes from Him, all will be for Him.
Summary
- Shepherd — The covenant follows the Shepherd. Only when David's Son shepherds the flock can Jehovah be their God and this peace be theirs.
- Promise — The repeated "I will" of these chapters is the language of omnipotent deity. No man, party or nation brings this about.
- Price — The peace is not sentiment. It rests on One who "made peace by the blood of His cross," and so the covenant is everlasting.
- Peace — God removes the danger itself. Commentators differ: are the beasts animals whose nature God changes, or the empires that devoured the land?
- Place — Watch where the sheep sleep: wilderness and woods, the very spots that once meant death. Eden has come back, but a better Eden. God's people already foreshadow that peace, and it depends on the Prince of peace.