God Restores

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.

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?

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.

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.