Israel Restored: The Prodigal Forgiven (Jeremiah 31)

Scripture reading – Jeremiah 31 

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* Please note that words and phrases in brackets are the author’s amplification.

After recording the LORD’s prophecies of judgment against Judah and Israel for their wickedness, Jeremiah 30 concluded with the Second Coming of Christ and the great slaughter at the Battle of Armageddon (Jeremiah 30:23-24).

Jeremiah 31 

A Promise to Restore Backslidden Israel (Jeremiah 31:1)

Beginning with the phrase “At the same time” (Jeremiah 30:24 identified that time as “the latter days”), Jeremiah recorded the LORD’s promise to restore “the families of Israel” to their homeland after 70 years of exile in Babylon. Like a loving father who longs to restore a prodigal to his family, the LORD longed for Israel to turn to Him. He then promised, “At the same time, saith the LORD, Will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they [would] be [His] people” (Jeremiah 31:1).

A Promise of Reconciliation (Jeremiah 31:2-14)

Jeremiah 31:2-6 foretold the LORD’s paternal and perpetual love for Israel, both as a nation and as a people. With a promise of peace and rest from strife and war (Jeremiah 31:2), Jeremiah proclaimed God’s grace, everlasting love, mercy, and compassion for His people (Jeremiah 31:3). Although Israel was far from home, the LORD promised a day of restoration. The nation would be rebuilt, and the air would be filled with “the dances of them that make merry” (Jeremiah 31:4).

God’s people will return and “plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria” (the capital of the ten tribes of northern Israel) and enjoy the fruits of their labor (Jeremiah 31:5). Once again, watchmen will cry from “the mount Ephraim” (another name for northern Israel) and say, “Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God” (Jeremiah 31:6).

Though living in captivity, the people of Israel and Judah were promised that the day would come when the remnant of God’s people would once again “sing with gladness” (Jeremiah 31:7). On that day, the LORD promised He would gather His people from the nations and that no one would be left behind (Jeremiah 31:7-9). The blind, the lame, and women in labor would all return to the land of Israel (Jeremiah 31:8). What a glorious promise! Like a father holding a small child’s hand, the LORD promised to lead Israel home. He declared they would not stumble, “For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn” (Jeremiah 31:9).

Who is the LORD? He is the Shepherd of Israel (Jeremiah 31:10), the Redeemer of Jacob (Jeremiah 31:11), and the Supplier of all their needs (Jeremiah 31:12). He is the reason for rejoicing, for He promised, “I will turn their mourning into joy, and comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow” (Jeremiah 31:13). The people would never again go wanting, for the LORD promised, “I will satiate the soul of the priest… and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness” (Jeremiah 31:14).

Rachel’s Lamentation for the Dead (Jeremiah 31:15-18)

If Jeremiah 31:15 sounds familiar, it is because it is a Messianic prophecy fulfilled at the birth of Jesus Christ. After hearing the wise men ask, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:1-2), King Herod ordered the slaying of all the sons in Bethlehem “from two years old and under” (Matthew 2:16). In the New Testament, we read: “Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, ¹⁸In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not” (Matthew 2:17-18), thereby fulfilling Jeremiah 31:15.

Ramah served as the deportation station for the Jews removed from Judah and taken to Babylon. The people were overwhelmed with sorrow, yet Jeremiah was to tell them to stop weeping. Why? Because the LORD promised He would restore them to their homeland (Jeremiah 31:16b). Stop crying, Israel, for “there is hope in thine end…thy children shall come again to their own border [land]” (Jeremiah 31:17-18).

The Cry of Ephraim (Jeremiah 31:18-21)

So much more could be addressed in Jeremiah 31, but I close today’s Bible study by inviting you to consider Jeremiah 30:18-21. Here, the LORD heard the cries of Ephraim (i.e., Israel), and the people acknowledged that He had chastened them as His people (like a father chastens a son whom He loves, Hebrews 12:5-6). Because He chastened them, they acknowledged their sin. They repented, saying, “I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, Because I did bear the reproach of my youth” (Jeremiah 31:20).

Loving and compassionate toward sinners, the LORD confessed to those He chastened for their sins, “I do earnestly remember him still: Therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord” (Jeremiah 31:20).

Closing thoughts –

The closing verses of Jeremiah 31 record the LORD’s promise to establish a “new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah” (Jeremiah 31:31). While the old covenant (the Laws and the Commandments given to Moses) was written on stone tablets, the LORD promised to establish the “new covenant” and to put His “law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be [His] people” (Jeremiah 31:33).

What was the “new covenant”? The “new covenant” was, in fact, the “renewed” covenant, established through the blood and sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross (Matthew 26:27-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20).

I close with an invitation and an assurance for all who place their faith in the LORD. He has promised: “I will be their God, and they shall be my people…I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:33-34; also quoted in Hebrews 8:6-13; 10:14-18).

What a blessed promise! When a sinner believes and accepts Christ’s sacrifice for their sins, the LORD promises that they are not only His child but also that He will forgive their sins.