Jeremiah 31:36

36 If these ordinances depart from before me, says the LORD, then the seed of Yisra'el also shall cease from being a nation before me forever.

Jeremiah 31:36 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 31:36

If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord,
&c.] Of the sun, moon, and stars; should these leave their proper course, and not perform their several functions, or do the service appointed for them; should they desert their master, or disobey his orders, turn away from him, and pay no regard to the laws and rules he has set them: [then] the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before
me for ever;
but, as the former is impossible, so is the latter, The Jews ceased not from being a nation through their captivity in Babylon, nor through their destruction by the Romans; they continue a distinct nation and people to this day, though scattered throughout the nations of the world: though this rather refers to the spiritual Israel, the holy nation and peculiar people; Christ will have a seed to serve him as long as the sun and moon endure; his church shall continue to the end of the world; it is built on a rock; and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.

Jeremiah 31:36 In-Context

34 and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD; for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.

35 Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirs up the sea, so that the waves of it roar; the LORD of hosts is his name:

36 If these ordinances depart from before me, says the LORD, then the seed of Yisra'el also shall cease from being a nation before me forever.

37 Thus says the LORD: If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the eretz searched out beneath, then will I also cast off all the seed of Yisra'el for all that they have done, says the LORD.

38 Behold, the days come, says the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hanan'el to the gate of the corner.