Introduction
‘At that time,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.’ Jeremiah 31:1
This is one of the most significant chapters in the whole of the Old Testament and remember God revealed these wonders to Jeremiah. The first three words, ‘At the time’, link the promises to the remnant and expand it. The time span will be from the return to the Redeemer. He will be the God of all the families of Israel and they will be His people, Jeremiah 31:1.
‘This is what the LORD says: ‘The people who survive the sword will find favour in the wilderness; I will come to give rest to Israel.’ Jeremiah 31:2
The first part of this chapter is a promise to Ephraim in the Northern Kingdom, that they will return to the favour of the Lord, Jeremiah 31:2-22. And the next big portion of this chapter refers to the return of the Southern Kingdom to God’s favour.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘It is impossible to construe those verses, Jeremiah 31:2-26, literally because nothing even remotely resembling these predictions ever occurred in historical racial Israel. The Northern tribe were never restored to ‘their land.’ They were never united with Southern Israel. They never repented. They never returned to the literal Jerusalem to worship God.’
We do know that a few of the people from the Northern tribe returned. Anna, for instance, in the New Testament, Luke 2:36, was of the tribe of Asher. Most scholars believe that every one of the beautiful blessings mentioned in this chapter refers to a future spiritual reality, that is, the introduction of the New Covenant.
Jeremiah 31:2, is looking at the past to establish the future. This verse appears to refer back to the exodus when the people of Israel were in need of rest and rescue but they are going to another ‘Egypt’, the NIV says, ‘will find’, which suggests the future. The RSV has, ‘they found’, which suggests the past.
Some scholars believe this is a reference to the deliverance from Egypt, others believe it refers to God’s people who left Babylon after its destruction. The mention of Ephraim and Samaria later, shows that the Northern kingdom was meant.
‘The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.’ Jeremiah 31:3
God’s love never fails and this is the message that is coming again. God made His love known to Israel a long time ago. It is a far, far greater love now because of the gap between. Whatever view we have, past or future, God’s love is shown, Jeremiah 31:3 / John 3:16.
‘I will build you up again, and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt. Again, you will take up your timbrels and go out to dance with the joyful.’ Jeremiah 31:4
Remember God’s people are often described as adulterers or prostitutes, Jeremiah 2:20-25 / Jeremiah 3:1-9 / Hosea 2:2 / Hosea 2:5, but here, God is looking at them as they were a virgin, In other words God will build them up again and they will be pure again, Jeremiah 31:4. God is going to take them up and set them on the way again.
‘Again, you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; the farmers will plant them and enjoy their fruit.’ Jeremiah 31:5
It is enriching, eating good things will become common again, so plentiful that it will become an everyday thing, Jeremiah 31:5.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘By the law of Moses no man was permitted to eat of the fruit of his vineyard till the fifth year after planting. For the first three years it was considered uncircumcised, unclean, not fit to be eaten; in the fourth year it was holy to the Lord, the fruit belonged to Him; in the fifth year he might use it for himself, Leviticus 19:23-25. But in the time here mentioned the fruit should be considered common-lawful at all times to be eaten.’
‘There will be a day when watchmen cry out on the hills of Ephraim, ‘Come, let us go up to Zion, to the LORD our God.’ This is what the LORD says: ‘Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard, and say, ‘LORD, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’ Jeremiah 31:6-7
There will come a time when the watchman won’t be shouting ‘here comes the enemy.’ He will be saying, ‘Come to the house of the Lord,’ Jeremiah 31:6. They will trust in God again and they will sing with joy for Jacob and shout for the foremost of the nations and they will make their praises heard, and say, God save your people, the remnant of Israel, Jeremiah 31:7.
‘See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers, and women in labour; a great throng will return.’ Jeremiah 31:8
God says He will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth and everyone, the blind and the lame, from the expectant mother to those in childbirth will be happy, Jeremiah 31:8. In other words, they will remember that before this, it wasn’t good to be in these conditions.
‘They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son.’ Jeremiah 31:9
They will come with weeping and they will pray as God bring them back and notice He will lead them beside streams of water, Jeremiah 31:9 / Psalm 23. ‘To lead’ means to cause or to flow, Jeremiah 10:23-24. They are going to be dependent on God again.
God is determined that they will walk in the right way, He will direct their steps. Ephraim here is referred to as ‘my firstborn son’, Jeremiah 31:9 / Exodus 4:22 / Genesis 48:8-22. God is now classed as a father figure, in the past, it was king or ruler. Now it is a more intimate, closer relationship, He is also seen as a husband, Isaiah 54:5.
‘Hear the word of the LORD, you nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’ For the LORD will deliver Jacob and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they. They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD—the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more. Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. I will satisfy the priests with abundance, and my people will be filled with my bounty,’ declares the LORD.’ Jeremiah 31:10-14
The nations were to hear the word of God and they were to proclaim it in distant coastlands, Jeremiah 31:10. God is going to gather them and redeem them, Jeremiah 31:10. When anyone is redeemed, there is a price to pay, Jeremiah 31:11.
The picture here is that they and we today are the ones who are enslaved, captured by our sins and in need of redemption, Matthew 20:28 / 1 Timothy 2:6 / 1 Peter 1:18 / Revelation 5:9 / Romans 3:24 / 1 Corinthians 1:30 / Ephesians 1:7 / Colossians 1:14 / Hebrews 9:12 / Luke 1:68 / Galatians 3:13 / Titus 2:14 / Hebrews 9:15. No wonder that praise is given to God for His blessings, Jeremiah 31:12.
He will bless them in the following ways.
1. Materially, Jeremiah 31:12.
2. Personally, Jeremiah 31:12.
3. Socially. Their lives will be like a watered garden and they will all have joy and comfort, Jeremiah 31:12-13.
4. Spiritually, Jeremiah 31:14.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The care of God for his Church in the New Israel of the Messianic kingdom is depicted here. In that age, there was no better way to enumerate these blessings than we find in the agricultural metaphors which abound in this chapter.’
‘This is what the LORD says: ‘A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.’ This is what the LORD says: ‘Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,’ declares the LORD. ‘They will return from the land of the enemy.’ Jeremiah 31:15-16
God says a voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Jeremiah 31:15 / Joshua 18:25-28 / Matthew 2:17-18. Ramah was town in Judah where the exiles were gathered before being deported to Babylon, Jeremiah 40:1. So this gives us a picture of complete hopelessness, Matthew 4:12-17.
A voice is also heard Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because they are no more, Jeremiah 31:15 / Genesis 35:18-20. Her burial place was near Bethlehem. Bethlehem was allotted to Judah, Judges 17:7-13. In that sense only can Judah be classed as Rachel’s children. God says they are to restrain their voice from weeping and their eyes from tears, for their work will be rewarded, they will return from the land of the enemy, Jeremiah 31:16.
There are two possible interpretations of this.
1. Totally Messianic as explained in Matthew 2:16-18.
2. Dual fulfilment.
a. Rachel, the tribal mother, is seen weeping over her children that have been taken into captivity.
b. Rachel, the tribal mother, is weeping over the wicked killings of Herod.
‘So, there is hope for your descendants,’ declares the LORD. ‘Your children will return to their own land. ‘I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me like an unruly calf, and I have been disciplined. Restore me, and I will return, because you are the LORD my God. After I strayed, I repented; after I came to understand, I beat my breast. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’ Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore, my heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,’ declares the LORD. ‘Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Take note of the highway, the road that you take. Return, Virgin Israel, return to your towns.’ Jeremiah 31:17-21
The children will return to their land again, Jeremiah 31:17. The children massacred during the birth of Jesus didn’t go anywhere, so, this seems to rule out a Messianic message. Note that Herod had all the children, boys, under two years, in Bethlehem killed, hoping to kill baby Jesus, Matthew 2:16-18.
God has surely heard Ephraim’s moaning that God had disciplined them like an unruly calf, Jeremiah 31:18. God has heard them say restore me, and I will return, because God is their God, Jeremiah 31:18. When God’s people strayed, they repented and came to understand, they beat their breast, they were ashamed and humiliated because they bore the disgrace of their youth, Jeremiah 31:19 / Ezekiel 21:12.
God asks is not Ephraim His dear son, the child in whom I delight? Jeremiah 31:20. He says although He often speaks against them, He still remembers them, therefore God’s heart yearns for them because He has great compassion for them, Jeremiah 31:20.
Whether literal or figurative, both meanings for road signs would be needed to direct Israel home, Jeremiah 31:21. Those who were taken in the Assyrian captivities would have been gone from the land of Palestine for almost a century and a half. These returnees would have been several generations removed from their forefathers who were originally taken into captivity.
They thus needed direction in order to return to the land possessions of their fathers. But they surely also needed spiritual direction and encouragement to make their way back to the roots of the law of the covenant and the sacrificial ceremonies of the law.
‘How long will you wander, unfaithful Daughter Israel? The LORD will create a new thing on earth—the woman will return to the man.’ This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘When I bring them back from captivity, the people in the land of Judah and in its towns, will once again use these words: ‘The LORD bless you, you prosperous city, you sacred mountain.’ People will live together in Judah and all its towns—farmers and those who move about with their flocks. I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.’ At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me. ‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD. ‘In those days people will no longer say, ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ Instead, everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.’ Jeremiah 31:22-30
These verses are self-explanatory, how long will the backsliding go on? Jeremiah 31:22. There are three possible meanings of the woman here, Jeremiah 31:22.
1. Simply to emphasise, Israel will cling to God as a wife clings to her husband, Genesis 2:24.
2. The idea of a new thing is that that the Lord has created a woman in his new plan to allow women to lead, direct or teach men, Acts 18:24-26.
3. Taking the whole concept of the promises being made here. The new thing that God will create is equality, neither male nor female, Jew or Gentile, Galatians 3:28.
Henry, in his commentary, says the following, concerning the woman.
‘This refers to the incarnation of Christ.’
When God brings them back from captivity, the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again say ‘The LORD bless you, you prosperous city, you sacred mountain, Jeremiah 31:23. People will live together in Judah and all its towns, farmers and those who move about with their flocks, Jeremiah 31:24. God says He will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint, Jeremiah 31:25.
After receiving this message from God, Jeremiah wakes up and was encouraged by the message of hope, Jeremiah 31:26 / Hebrews 1:1. God says the days are coming when He will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals, Jeremiah 31:27 / Jeremiah 18:7-10.
The Babylonians will invade and destroy Judah three times until Jerusalem falls in 586 BC but now God is going to watch over His people to build and to plant, Jeremiah 31:28. The land is going to be blessed again. It will be a holy land to God, the land of justice. There will come a time when each individual will be judged on his or her own merits, Jeremiah 31:29-30 / Ezekiel 18:1-4 / Ezekiel 18:25-32.
Keil, in his commentary, says the following.
‘In the Messianic age to come, Jeremiah prophesies here that, ‘Men will no more accuse God of unrighteousness, as in the wicked proverb, but they will perceive that everyone has to suffer for his own guilt.’
‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,’ declares the LORD. ‘This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbour, or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,’ declares the LORD. ‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’ Jeremiah 31:31-34
Here we read of the prophetic utterance concerning the new covenant, Mark 1:5 / Mark 9:1 / Psalm 89:3. It allows God to keep His promises. Since these verses are quoted in Hebrews 8:8-12, and Hebrews 10:15-18, as fulfilled when Christ first came, we need to understand what was being promised was being promised to us. Please note this new covenant, Jeremiah 31:31, came into effect with Christ, Luke 22:20 / 1 Corinthians 11:25 / Hebrews 9:15-17.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘There were several covenants that God made. 1. There was a covenant with Noah, Genesis 6:18 / Genesis 9:9. 2. two covenants with Abraham, Genesis 17:2 / Genesis 17:10 / Genesis 15:18. 3. the covenant of salt, Numbers 18:19 / Leviticus 2:13, and 4. the covenant of the everlasting priesthood, Numbers 25:13. However, in Hebrews 8:6-7, this ‘new covenant’ is contrasted with what is called ‘the first covenant,’ or ‘the old covenant,’ indicating that the new covenant would replace not merely those lesser covenants, but it would take the place of that covenant which was so great and comprehensive, overshadowing all others, that God called it the ‘first covenant.’
The days are coming God says when He will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah, Jeremiah 31:31. The first covenant God didn’t break, the people did, Jeremiah 31:32 / Deuteronomy 28:1 / Deuteronomy 28:15 / Deuteronomy 28:58. He was a husband to them but they broke the bond, Jeremiah 31:32, so God lays down the conditions of the new covenant. They will learn the law, He will put it within them. The whole gist of this is a seat of learning.
This new covenant will be different because of the following reasons.
1. It will be written on their hearts, Jeremiah 31:33.
In other words, it will be in the emotions and affections. Not only will they learn the law but they will love it with their whole heart.
2. God will be their God and they will be God’s people, Jeremiah 31:33.
3. Everyone will know it, from the least to the greatest, from the poorest to the rich, Jeremiah 31:34.
In contrast to the old system, which they entered into upon birth, in the new covenant they would first be taught to come to God, Jeremiah 31:34. They would no longer be born in the flesh into the covenant.
Clarke, in his commentary says the following, concerning Jeremiah 31:33.
‘When vision and prophecy shall be sealed up, and Jesus have assumed that body which was prepared for him, and have laid down his life for the redemption of a lost world, and, having ascended on high, shall have obtained the gift of the Holy Spirit to purify the heart, then God’s law shall, by it, be put in their inward parts, and written on their hearts; so that all within and all without shall be holiness to the Lord. Then God will be truly their God, received and acknowledged as their portion, and the sole object of their devotion and they shall be his people, filled with holiness, and made partakers of the Divine nature, so that they shall perfectly love him and worthily magnify his name.’
4. God will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more, Jeremiah 31:34.
Forgive here is like lifting a great weight off of the shoulders of oxen. So, when God says I will forgive, He is saying I will take the whole weight off of them. The old law was a burden, Leviticus 6:12-13, but He will remember their sins no more, Mark 16:15-16 / Acts 2:38-39 / Hebrews 8:8-18 / Hebrews 10:11-14.
DeHoff, in his commentary, says the following concerning Jeremiah 31:34.
‘Under the new covenant of Christ men are taught before they become Christians. Then they obey the gospel. Under the old covenant a child was a Jew as soon as he was born and had to be taught this fact after he was old enough to understand.’
‘This is what the LORD says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD Almighty is his name: ‘Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,’ declares the LORD, ‘will Israel ever cease being a nation before me.’ This is what the LORD says: ‘Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they have done,’ declares the LORD. ‘The days are coming,” declares the LORD, ‘when this city will be rebuilt for me from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. The measuring line will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the LORD. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.’ Jeremiah 31:35-40
God is saying, this is the promise of my new covenant. It will be as sure as the sun shines and the moon rises, Jeremiah 31:35. God’s retaining of His remnant of Israel is as definite as the impossibility of man measuring the heavens, Jeremiah 31:36-37.
The days are coming, God says when Jerusalem will be rebuilt for Him from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate, Jeremiah 31:38. The measuring line will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah Jeremiah 31:39.
The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the LORD, Jeremiah 31:40. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished, Jeremiah 31:40.
It’s sad when people read these verses as literal and believe that God is talking about the physical city of Jerusalem. We know this can’t be true because Jesus said it will be totally destroyed by the Romans in A.D 70, Matthew 24:1-35. He’s speaking about the new spiritual Jerusalem, the church, Galatians 6:16 / Revelation 3:12 / Revelation 21:2.
Keil, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This image of the New Jerusalem forms a very suitable conclusion to this chapter, which combines in one view both the deliverance from exile and the redemption by the Messiah. It announces the formation of the New Covenant in its beginnings when the Christian church was founded, but at the same time points to the completion of the kingdom of God under the new covenant, in order to show the whole extent of the salvation which the Lord prepares for his people who return to him.’