The Lord Will Turn Mourning to Joy
At that time, declares the Lord, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
-Jeremiah 31:3
The Lord would again build up Israel. They could adorn themselves with tambourines and go forth in the dance of the merrymakers. They would plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria, and they would eat and enjoy the fruit. There would be a day when watchmen would call in the hill country of Ephraim, ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.’
For thus says the Lord:
“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
‘O Lord, save your people,
the remnant of Israel.’
-Jeremiah 31:7
The Lord would gather His people from the north country and from the farthest parts of the earth. All kinds of people, and they would return. With weeping they would come, and plans for mercy they would be led back.
They would walk along the brooks of water in a straight path so they would not stumble. The Lord is father to Israel, and Ephraim was His firstborn. Therefore, He who scattered Israel was now gathering him. He would keep them as a shepherd keeps his flock.
The Lord ransomed Jacob and redeemed him from hands that were too strong for him. They would come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they would be radiant over the goodness of the Lord. Their life would be like a watered garden, and they would languish no more.
Then shall the young women rejoice in dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy;
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
-Jeremiah 31:13
I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,
and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,
declares the Lord.
-Jeremiah 31:14
Thus says the Lord:
“Keep your voice from weeping,
and your eyes from tears,
for there is a reward for your work,
declares the Lord,
and they shall come back
from the land of the enemy.
-Jeremiah 31:16
There is hope for your future,
declares the Lord,
and your children shall come back
to their own country.
-Jeremiah 31:17
I have heard Ephraim grieving,
‘You have disciplined me,
and I was disciplined,
like an untrained calf;
bring me back that I may be restored,
for you are the Lord my God.
-Jeremiah 31:18
Is Ephraim my dear son?
Is he my darling child?
For as often as I speak against him,
I do remember him still.
Therefore my heart yearns for him;
I will surely have mercy on him,
declares the Lord.
-Jeremiah 31:20
How long will you waver,
O faithless daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:
a woman encircles a man.
-Jeremiah 31:22
And Judah and all its cities would dwell there together, and the farmers and those who wander with their flocks.
For I will satisfy the weary soul,
and every languishing soul I will replenish.
-Jeremiah 31:25
The days were coming, declared the Lord, when He would sow the house of Israel and Judah with the seed of man and of beast. It would come to pass that God had watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm; so He would watch over them to build and to plant.
The New Covenant
The days were coming when the Lord would make a covenant with the house of Israel and Judah. Not like the covenant that was made with their fathers on the day they were taken out of Egypt, because that covenant they had broken, though God was their husband.
The Lord would make a new covenant and would put His law within them, and write it on their hearts. He would be their God, and they would be His people.
No longer they would teach each other saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they would all know God, from the least of them to the greatest. He would forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.
Thus says the Lord,
who gives the sun for light by day
and the fixed order of the moon
and the stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar–
the Lord of hosts is his name.
-Jeremiah 31:35
Thus says the Lord:
“If the heavens above can be measured,
and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,
then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel
for all that they have done,
declares the Lord.”
-Jeremiah 31:37
Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege
At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah.
Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned Jeremiah because of his prophesy about Zedekiah not being able to escape from the hand of the Chaldeans and would be given into the hand of the king of Babylon.
The word of the Lord went to Jeremiah and he was told to buy a field. So he bought a field from his cousin for seventeen shekels of silver. He signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on the scales.
Then he took the deed of purchase with the terms and conditions and it was put in an earthenware vessel so that it would last for a long time. The Lord said that houses, fields, and vineyards would again be bought in that land.
Jeremiah Prays for Understanding
Jeremiah spoke to the Lord and said,
‘Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you. You show steadfast love to thousands, but you repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts, great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.
You have shown signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day. You have brought your people out of Egypt with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and with great terror.
You gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. They entered it and took possession. But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing that you commanded of them. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them.’
The word of the Lord went to Jeremiah and he said again all the terror that would come upon the people for their sins and disobedience. The people had turned their backs to the Lord and not their faces. And even though He had taught them persistently they did not listen to receive instruction.
They Shall Be My People; I Will Be Their God
The Lord said that the city was given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, famine, and pestilence; but he would gather them from all the countries to which He had driven them to in His anger, wrath, and great indignation.
He would bring them back to that place, and make them dwell in safety, and they would be His people and He would be their God. He would give them one heart and one way, that they may fear God forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them.
He would make an everlasting covenant with them, and would not turn away from doing good to them. He would put fear of Him in their hearts, so they would not turn away from Him. He would rejoice in doing them good, and would plant them in that land in faithfulness, with all His heart and soul.
The Lord continued saying just as He had brought all that great disaster upon His people, he would bring upon them the good that He had promised. Fields would be bought in the land, and deeds would be signed and sealed and witnessed. And the Lord would restore their fortunes.