God Restores
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God Restores
Jeremiah 31:1-30
Main Idea: God restores fully what was devastated completely.
- Invitation: God Is Husband (31:3-6).
- Provision: God Is Father (31:7-9).
- Protection: God Is Shepherd (31:10-14).
- A Heart of Responsive Obedience (31:15-22)
Some regard the hymn “The Love of God” to be one of the greatest hymns ever penned.
The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.
Refrain:
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song!
When years of time shall pass away
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.
This third verse is recognized as one of the most profound hymns of all time.
Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky. (Lehman, “The Love of God”)
It almost seems strange to talk about love in the book of Jeremiah. Yet, after chapters and chapters of judgment, there is a shift from condemnation to consolation. If you are thinking that it’s like a parent disciplining a child, then you are right, but there is more. This is not a subtle shift; it is a massive shift, like the shifts we observed in chapter 30. The shift in the way God feels about them is concisely stated in verses 1-2:
“At that time”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”
This is what the Lord says:
The people who survived the sword
found favor in the wilderness.
These are the people who found favor with the Lord. So what is the favor of the Lord? It is not based on natural giftedness or worthiness. If you look at the favor God showed to Joseph or to Ezra, you see that his favor is a divine decree. He simply chooses to bless one person. That’s clear enough. However, if you look at the lives of people on whom God’s favor rested, you notice that while it is powerful, it is also fragile. The people who had the favor of God sustained throughout their lives are people who recognized this and honored God with their obedience.
Joseph had the favor of God, and he was faithful to God during dark times. Ezra had the favor of God, and he sought God when the times were the most difficult. So God’s favor is at the sovereign discretion of God, yet it seems it often rested on those who had active faith to seek favor from God. In other words, the favor of God is God’s favor. It is not ours. It belongs to him. The people who recognize that favor belongs to him are the people who enjoy it the most. This is fascinating. The people who think it is their favor often do not have it ultimately. This is the position Israel is in. They had the favor of God for a time, and they thought it was theirs by right. God then turned against them because of their sin and withheld his favor for a season. Now he is showing his favor to them again.
The text helps us understand how to respond to God when he turns his favor toward us. So how is God turning his favor toward Judah?
Invitation: God Is Husband
Jeremiah 31:3-6
The new language that is used is startling. Even though they are far away from the physical place they called home, God is still present. “Removal from God’s land did not mean removal from his love” (Huey, Jeremiah, Lamentations, 269).
The love that is expressed in verse 3 is both poetic and lavish. He uses the language of a husband’s love for his bride. He loves them “with an everlasting love.” His love has never ceased and will never cease. They did not initiate the love of God, nor did they ever deserve it. It was initiated by God, and he will consummate the love. It will never go away.
But there is more. He references “faithful love” (Hb chesed). This is the strongest expression of God’s love for Israel. It is his love and his faithfulness together. There is nothing subtle or implicit here. The mood of the text is initiation. God is doing something different from what he has done before. Yet this is not a completely new thing; it is a return.
What God envisions in the ensuing verses is nothing less than a restored Israel. They will return from exile and, more importantly, their love for God will be restored.
God is their husband. It’s a new day.
Provision: God Is Father
Jeremiah 31:7-9
Beyond the initiation of the love relationship, God then promises that the nation of Israel should be celebrated because God is going to gather the people together, even the most vulnerable among them, and he will console them. This is the spirit of this poem: consolation. And the consolation is not simply emotional. God will console them with provision. They will come back and find that they have water and a smooth path.
Note that the metaphor switches. In the first passage God was the groom to the bride. In this passage he is the Father of his firstborn.
Again, this seems like an astonishing reversal. If you are reading through the book of Jeremiah in one sitting, something that is highly recommended, you will find the contrast shocking. God is the one who was saying there was no more hope. It’s all over. It’s done. Now he is saying he will be the Father to his firstborn.
God as Father is a helpful mental image. Imagine a son in his late adolescence who rebels to the point that he distances himself from his parents. It is done. Their relationship is destroyed. When the son initiates repentance, the parents, perhaps cautiously at first, reciprocate with trust and affirmation. No one blames them for being cautious. They do not want to be taken for granted again, and they do not know, ultimately, how this will work out.
Unlike that scenario, God knows exactly what will happen. His spokesman prophesies as much. Yet God is not initiating a new chapter in their relationship like the parents in that story; he is returning to the way things always were. In fact, this is similar language to that which God commanded Moses to use with Pharaoh in Exodus 4:22-23:
And you will say to Pharaoh: This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son. I told you: Let my son go so that he may worship me, but you refused to let him go. Look, I am about to kill your firstborn son!
God is still a husband who loves his bride, and he is still a father who provides for his children. It’s a new day.
Protection: God Is Shepherd
Jeremiah 31:10-14
God as Father will not only provide for his children, but he will protect them as well. God is like a shepherd who guards his flock. A part of this blessing is protection.
As a result, their mourning will be turned to joy. The nouns in this passage are telling: joy, consolation, happiness, abundance, and goodness. God is going to bless them, and he is going to bring all of this to pass. This is wonderful consolation.
Notice that he is like a shepherd in verse 11 because “the Lord has ransomed Jacob and redeemed him from the power of one stronger than he.” This makes perfect sense. If the sheep could take care of themselves, then they would not need a shepherd. They would be on their own. They would be fine. If the enemies of the sheep were other sheep—which is both unlikely and comical—they would be fine. However, the enemy is greater than they are, and they lack the means to take care of themselves. God is going to deliver them from the hand of the Babylonians. It will be accomplished in a way they never could have predicted. It will be glorious, and they will return home.
Shepherding is a difficult task. A shepherd not only needs to work hard; he must be discerning as well. He needs to know when and where to lead the sheep to water, when and where to lead the sheep to greener pasture. He cannot be too demure with the errant sheep, and he cannot be too deferential with the sheep that are easy to love. He must strike the balance of a tender warrior. He is to take up the challenge with both compassion and vigor.
God protects them. It’s a new day.
When God loves, provides, and protects, how are we to respond?
A Heart of Responsive Obedience
Jeremiah 31:15-22
For the first time in the poem, there is dialogue. There is a remarkable twist in this passage, namely, the response of Israel to this new development. Read this telling response in verses 18-19:
You disciplined me, and I have been disciplined
like an untrained calf.
Take me back, so that I can return,
for you, Lord, are my God.
After my return, I felt regret;
After I was instructed, I struck my thigh in grief.
I was ashamed and humiliated
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.
What you see, for the first time, is a broken heart. God has been railing against his people for having hard hearts—for having hearts that are turned toward false gods. Now for the first time their hearts are sensitive to the Lord.
God loves like a true husband, provides like a father, and protects like a shepherd. The thing is, these characteristics have always been true of him. What has not been true, to this point, is that the heart of the people can be moved. Finally, they are beginning to respond to God.
Conclusion
This passage reminds us of Micah 6, where God, frustrated by the rebellion of his people, says that he will put them on trial before the whole world. In Micah 6:1 God says,
Now listen to what the Lord is saying:
Rise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your complaint.
God then asks in verses 2-5 just precisely how he has offended them. What exactly has he done? Then in verses 6-7 they respond that perhaps they should do something dramatic to appease God and restore their relationship. The people in the mock courtroom respond,
What should I bring before the Lord
when I come to bow before God on high?
Should I come before him with burnt offerings,
with year-old calves?
Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams
or with ten thousand streams of oil?
Should I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the offspring of my body for my own sin?
That might do it! What if we bring bulls or calves or something dramatic like this? Then God brings them back to reality by saying,
Mankind, he has told each of you what is good
and what it is the Lord requires of you:
to act justly,
to love faithfulness,
and to walk humbly with your God. (v. 8)
In other words, you know what to do. You know. You know that I do not want some elaborate response to my call. Rather, I want a heart of responsive obedience.
So there is a shift in the passage. However, the shift is not so much in God’s posture but in Israel’s posture. God is not changing the way he feels; he is simply verbally remembering the way he has always felt. The real change comes in the people who are finally affirming their love for God. Their hearts are soft. They are tender. Or to say it in the language of the chapter, they are ready to be loved, to be fathered, to be the sheep to the Shepherd. For the first time in a long time, they are ready to receive the love God has always had for them.
Reflect and Discuss
- What are the three metaphors used to describe God in Jeremiah 31:2-30? In what ways do these metaphors portray God’s character?
- The love that is expressed in verse 3 is both poetic and lavish. Did Israel initiate this love, or does the love emanate from God?
- Why is there a shift from condemnation to consolation in this passage?
- What is the favor of the Lord? How does Jeremiah understand this term? How should we interpret it today?
- Is God’s favor based on human merit, natural ability, or self-worthiness?
- What kind of love does God give to Israel in this passage?
- What is the spirit, or emotive tone, of the poem in 31:7-8?
- When God loves, protects, and provides, how are we to respond?
- Why does God value a heart of obedience over religious performance and activity?
- Is there a thematic connection between Jeremiah 31 and Micah 6? If so, what is the connection?