Jeremiah - Lesson 31A

• Chapters 1-23 Review:

  • The LORD called Jeremiah as a prophet to the nations during the last five kings of Judah.

  • The LORD’s warning to His people is to stop worshipping false gods or He will judge them by destruction and exile using a nation from the North, Babylon.

    • The judgment will include the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem.

    • The people are to repent from their evil ways; the leaders are specifically called out for their rejection of the LORD’s covenant and the shedding of innocent blood; the false prophets are called out for misleading the people to believe the LORD would not bring judgment on them.

    • Jeremiah is reviled by the leaders and the people of Judah, but the LORD will protect him.

  • The LORD promises there will not be a complete destruction of His people, as He will provide a Messiah and will bring His people back into the Promised Land in a future time, never to be removed.

  • The words of the LORD are always fulfilled as He is sovereign over His creation.

• Chapters 24-29 Review:

  • Good figs are used to represent the Jews who go into exile and will ultimately be those who become the Jews brought back into the land at a future time. The bad figs represent those who rebel against the judgment the LORD has brought on them through Nebuchadnezzar to last for seventy years.

  • Hypocrisy and false teaching and prophecy plague the LORD’s people justifying the LORD’s judgment on them.

  • Jeremiah continues to experience persecution for bringing the LORD’s truth to His people (like planning to stay for a long time in Babylon) and calling out false prophets. Some of the false prophets are dealt with immediately.

• Chapter 30 Review:

  • The LORD speaks of a future for Judah and Israel that includes a time of Jacob’s distress, tribulation, followed by a time of regathering followed by a time with fortunes in the Promised Land; this is an overview of the Tribulation for Israel followed by the Millennial Kingdom ruled by the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Jer. 31:1 “At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”
Jer. 31:2 Thus says the LORD,
“The people who survived the sword
Found grace in the wilderness —
Israel, when it went to find its rest.”
Jer. 31:3  The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.
Jer. 31:4 “Again I will build you and you will be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
Again you will take up your tambourines,
And go forth to the dances of the merrymakers.
Jer. 31:5 “Again you will plant vineyards
On the hills of Samaria;
The planters will plant
And will enjoy them.
Jer. 31:6 “For there will be a day when watchmen
On the hills of Ephraim call out,
‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
To the LORD our God.’”

• Verse 1 The LORD identifies what is to happen ‘At that time’

  • This time was detailed beginning in Jer. 30:8.

Jer. 30:8 ‘It shall come about on that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘that I will break his yoke from off their neck and will tear off their bonds; and strangers will no longer make them their slaves.

• The emphasis is on the process of bringing Israel out of bondage.

  • The end is described in Jer. 30:24.

Jer. 30:24  The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back
Until He has performed and until He has accomplished
The intent of His heart;
In the latter days you will understand this.

• The LORD clarifies first He does not stop pouring out His fierce anger until the purposes have been accomplished.

  • Those purposes are the intent of His heart.

  • The fierce anger was described first with His judging His people Israel and then judging the world for how they treated Israel.

    • The LORD’s people are judged during the time of Jacob’s distress, the Tribulation.

    • The LORD’s wrath is also poured out on the world during this time.

  • The judgement of the world continues after the Tribulation as the LORD judges the world for how they treated Israel during this time.

    • This was detailed in Matt. 25:31-46 covered in the last lesson.

• Jer. 31:1The LORD continues to address what will happen after the judgments have been completed for His people declaring, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”

  • The distinction is made of the families of Israel compared to the tribes of Israel.

  • This is similar to how the land distribution was allocated in the book of Joshua.

  • The personal nature of this new relationship is displayed.

• Verse 2 The LORD speaks to the people who survived the sword.

  • This group who survived the sword are detailed in Zech. 13:8-9

Zech. 13:8 “It will come about in all the land,”
Declares the LORD,
“That two parts in it will be cut off and perish;
But the third will be left in it.
Zech. 13:9 “And I will bring the third part through the fire,
Refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are My people,’
And they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”

• Verse 8 This group is left in the land.

• Verse 9 This group is refined.

  • They are His people, Israel.

• Jer. 31:2 The added detail is that this group found grace in the wilderness.

  • They were not in Jerusalem.

  • The reason this group left for the wilderness was to find its rest.

  • They were escaping being cut off and perishing.

    • This is also demonstrated in Rev. 12:6.

Rev. 12:6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

• The woman here is Israel during the Tribulation.

  • Israel will flee into the wilderness.

  • In the wilderness God has prepared a place for Israel to find refuge, a place of safety from the enemy and the supplies needed to survive there for one thousand two hundred and sixty days. (42 months)

    • The reason Israel (the woman) needs to flee is given in Rev. 12:13-14

Rev. 12:13 And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.
Rev. 12:14 But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.

• Verse 13 Satan is cast down from heaven to earth and he will persecute Israel (the woman who gave birth to the male child)

• Verse 14 There is the reference to the woman flying into the wilderness where she will be nourished.

  • The time and times and half a time is a calculation of three and a half years. The same as the time given in verse six (one thousand two hundred and sixty days)

Jer. 31:3 The LORD will appear to Israel from afar, a distance.
He will say to them He has loved them with an everlasting love.
Because the LORD loved them in this way, He has drawn them to Himself with lovingkindness.
The word lovingkindness is a way to express the covenant the LORD has with HIs people.

Deut. 7:12  “Then it shall come about, because you listen to these judgments and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you His covenant and His lovingkindness which He swore to your forefathers.

2Chr. 6:14 He said, “O LORD, the God of Israel, there is no god like You in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and showing lovingkindness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart;
2Chr. 6:15 who has kept with Your servant David, my father, that which You have promised him; indeed You have spoken with Your mouth and have fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day.

• The covenant (word) is the promise, and the lovingkindness (action) is the keeping of the promise.

  • Verse 4 The LORD refers to Israel as a virgin, from the LORD’s perspective at this time Israel is seen as pure, as her sins are forgiven and her harlotry will be remembered no more.

  • The LORD promises to rebuild Israel so they will make music and dance, they will be joyful.

• Verse 5 Israel will again plant and enjoy the crops they produce in their own land.

• Verse 6 The watchmen of the people of the land will call out for them to go up to Zion, Jerusalem to worship their God.

  • Jerusalem began as a settlement on the southeastern slope of a mountain the Bible calls Mt. Zion.

  • The term watchmen was used in Jer. 6:17.

Jer. 6:17 “And I set watchmen over you, saying,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not listen.’

• In this context the LORD sent watchmen to the people to sound the alarm of coming judgment, but the people chose not to listen. These watchmen would be all the prophets sent to both the northern tribe called Israel and well as Judah.

  • Jer. 31:6 The watchmen are those sent with a message to all Israel.

  • The emphasis of calling out on the hills of Ephraim is to note that those of what was the northern kingdom of Israel are no longer separate and there is one nation Israel called to worship the LORD from one location, Jerusalem.

Jer. 31:7 For thus says the LORD,
“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
And shout among the chief of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise and say,
‘O LORD, save Your people,
The remnant of Israel.’
Jer. 31:8 “Behold, I am bringing them from the north country,
And I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth,
Among them the blind and the lame,
The woman with child and she who is in labor with child, together;
A great company, they will return here.
Jer. 31:9 “With weeping they will come,
And by supplication I will lead them;
I will make them walk by streams of waters,
On a straight path in which they will not stumble;
For I am a father to Israel,
And Ephraim is My firstborn.”
Jer. 31:10 Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
And declare in the coastlands afar off,
And say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him
And keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.”
Jer. 31:11  For the LORD has ransomed Jacob
And redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he.
Jer. 31:12 “They will come and shout for joy on the height of Zion,
And they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD —
Over the grain and the new wine and the oil,
And over the young of the flock and the herd;
And their life will be like a watered garden,
And they will never languish again.
Jer. 31:13 “Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance,
And the young men and the old, together,
For I will turn their mourning into joy
And will comfort them and give them joy for their sorrow.
Jer. 31:14 “I will fill the soul of the priests with abundance,
And My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” declares the LORD.

• Verse 7 The LORD speaks to the leaders of the nations, in this time, to rejoice with Israel and praise the LORD for saving this remnant of Israel His people.

• Verse 8 The LORD is going to bring His people from the north country and from the remotest parts of the earth back to their land.

  • Those who are included are all His people.

  • Those who might be seen as those excluded like the lame and blind will no longer be excluded.

  • This phrase ‘lame and blind’ comes from a term used when David came to conquer Jerusalem. 2 Sam. 5:6-8

2Sam. 5:6 Now the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, and they said to David, “You shall not come in here, but the blind and lame will turn you away”; thinking, “David cannot enter here.”
2Sam. 5:7 Nevertheless, David captured the stronghold of Zion, that is the city of David.
2Sam. 5:8 David said on that day, “Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him reach the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul, through the water tunnel.” Therefore they say, “The blind or the lame shall not come into the house.”

• Verse 6 The leaders mockingly tell David even the blind and the lame could prevent David from defeating them.

• Verse 8 After David successfully breaches the walls of the city, he tells the troops they are to strike the lame and blind as a response to what was declared about them earlier.

  • The saying that exists after this is that the blind and the lame shall not come into the house.

  • They were excluded.

• Jer. 31:8 The LORD clarifies through Jeremiah all the Jews will be included in this regathering, none of them will be excluded, like groups from the past were considered excluded.

  • The second group identified as being included in those brought back into the land are the women with their children. The mention of women in labor extends the regathering to those children who have yet to be born in this day.

  • These all will return to the land and will be saved.

• Verse 9 They will come weeping and by the LORD’s supplications, or encouragement.

  • The LORD will provide for them, by streams of water.

  • The LORD will make a path for them, because He is their Father and they are His sons.

• Verse 10 The nations will be witnesses to this miracle as the LORD gathers His people like a shepherd gathers his flock together; there will not be one missing and they will be brought together into a safe place. Mic. 2:12

Mic. 2:12 “I will surely assemble all of you, Jacob,
I will surely gather the remnant of Israel.
I will put them together like sheep in the fold;
Like a flock in the midst of its pasture
They will be noisy with men.

• The LORD will also make provisions to sustain His people like a shepherd over a flock. Mic. 5:4.

Mic. 5:4 And He will arise and shepherd His flock
In the strength of the LORD,
In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God.
And they will remain,
Because at that time He will be great
To the ends of the earth.

• Jer. 31:11 The LORD provided ransom for Israel.

  • The ransom paid for Israel was the life and death of her Messiah, Jesus.

  • The ransom is provided for His people.

    • The ransom is now applied to His people and this is how they are redeemed. Romans 11:12, 25-29.

Rom. 11:12 Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!

Rom. 11:25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery — so that you will not be wise in your own estimation — that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;
Rom. 11:26  and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,
“THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION,
HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.”
Rom. 11:27 “THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM,
WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.”
Rom. 11:28 From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers;
Rom. 11:29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

• Verse 12 If the hardening of Israel’s heart opened the door of salvation to the Gentiles how much more will the salvation of Israel bring riches to the Gentiles?

  • Verse 25 When the fullness of the Gentiles has come then the LORD will save all Israel in that day.

    • This completion happens at the end of the Tribulation when the power of the Gentiles ceases to control Jerusalem and the Promised land.

• Verse 26 The one who is their deliverer comes from Zion, their deliverer is a Jew, born in the Promised land.

  • He will possess the way to remove all the sin from His people Israel.

  • This is Jesus, the Christ, their Messiah.

• Verse 27 This was the promise in the covenant the LORD made with Israel.

  • This promise was predicated on a time ‘when’ the LORD will take away their sins.

  • This is a specific point in a historical timeline.

• Verse 28 From God’s perspective this time will fulfill its intended purpose because it is God’s choice to love them in this way.

  • God is sovereign in all His ways and controls all of history.

  • This was a love established for the sake of the fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

• Verse 29 Every promise (gifts and calling) made by the LORD will be fulfilled.   

• Jer. 31:11 Israel is redeemed from one who was stronger than they are.

  • The fact Israel needs to be redeemed demonstrates they need to be saved from this one.

  • This strong one is their enemy, Satan.

    • If the LORD does not intervene on Israel’s behalf the enemy will destroy them. Rev. 12:15-17.

Rev. 12:15 And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood.
Rev. 12:16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth.
Rev. 12:17 So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

• Verse 15 Satan (the serpent) will go after the remnant of Israel in her place of safety in the wilderness to try and destroy her (he might cause her to be swept away).

• Verse 16 Satan fails to destroy Israel.

• Verse 17 Satan leaves this remnant of Israel and goes out to make war on the other Jews (her children) who are not in the place of safety (went off) and are believers in Jesus as their Messiah.

  • The LORD brings a physical protection of this remnant of Israel from her enemy the serpent

  • This protection lasts for three and a half years.

  • The redeeming of His people begins in a physical sense so that He can redeem them in the spiritual sense later.

    • This spiritual redeeming is what was detailed in Romans 11:25-29.

• Jer. 31:12 This verse begins by speaking of Israel coming and shouting for joy.

  • The time frame has moved from the events associated with the Tribulation to the time after that known as the Millennial kingdom.

    • Israel will shout for joy from the height of Zion, Jerusalem.

    • They will bask in the overwhelming provision of the LORD, this includes the grain, wine, oil and cattle.

    • Everything they need to flourish will be brought to them like the plants in a well-tended garden.

• Verse 13 The people will all be filled with joy that has replaced their mourning and sorrows.

• Verse 14 The priests of the people will have full souls and the people will be satisfied with the goodness of the LORD. They will all be spiritually filled with no longing for anything else.

  • An observation that can be made in this chapter is the promises described are for a literal nation of Israel, not a symbolic Israel, as is taught by many in the church today.

  • This doctrinal teaching is known as replacement theology (supersessionism,) and purports that the nation of Israel rejected their God and in His judgment God has rejected them permanently.

    • The interpretation then of Old Testament scriptures, where promises are being made to Israel, must be fulfilled by an entity other than physical descendants of Israel. The entity purported to inherit these yet fulfilled promises was the church which is defined as spiritual Israel.

  • This is a form of spiritualizing scriptures or symbolizing instead of understanding scriptures with a literal interpretation.

  • This has led many in the church universal to embrace antisemitic views and resulted in significant harm within the church as well as bringing devastation to Jews for millennia, often at the hands of those of the church.

    • This is one example of why it is important to understand doctrine; the way we interpret scriptures matters and can change the way we live our lives.

• There is another area of doctrine that can be seen demonstrated in the study of this chapter of Jeremiah. In verse eleven the reality of God providing a ransom for His people is mentioned.

  • The teaching in Romans 11:26 about, ‘all Israel will be saved’ has brought some confusion to the church over the years. The wrong interpretation is to say all Jews from all history will eventually be saved. This would be counter to so many other scriptures regarding the need for repentance and confession of belief in a Messiah.

  • The Old Testament saints needed to have faith in the word of God promising them He would send a Messiah.

    • After the Messiah was revealed the response to faith was that Jesus was the Messiah and His death provided the sacrifice for our sin and when we accept that we receive the Holy Spirit and the promise of eternal life.

    • The same grace the LORD pours out on people now bringing redemption is the grace He will pour out on Israel as a nation when He gathers them together and then pours out His Spirit on them.

  • The work of salvation is a spiritual miracle done exclusively by God.