Saving Grace
Jeremiah 31:7-9
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Key Verse: Jeremiah 31:7 –
For thus says the LORD: “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, ‘Save, O LORD, your people the remnant of Israel.’”
Have you ever felt like giving up hope? All of us may have felt beyond hope at some point, but we didn’t give up. Even in the worst of times, as long as we wish for a good future, or pray – or even complain – we are expressing hope for better days.
The prophet Jeremiah had a lot to say about judgment, believing that God had already exiled the northern kingdom of Israel, and would soon bring the Babylonians to defeat the southern kingdom of Judah and send them into exile, too. [DD][DD] He had no patience with people who violated their covenant with Yahweh and turned to other gods, or who failed to keep the law by mistreating one another.
Jeremiah lived to see Jerusalem destroyed and several waves of leading Hebrew citizens forced to leave their homes and take up residence in Babylon. The prophet Ezekiel, who was also a priest, had been carried away among the exiles, and did not begin his prophetic career until he arrived in Babylon.
Jeremiah had counseled submission to the Babylonians as God’s will, and possibly for that reason the Babylonian “captain of the guard” allowed him to choose whether he would stay or go. Jeremiah remained in the land with the new governor Gedaliah for some time, but a rebellious cabal assassinated the governor and made plans to lead many remaining Judeans to Egypt. Jeremiah encouraged them to stay and submit to the Babylonians, predicting trouble if they went to Egypt. The rebels would not listen, however: they not only migrated to Egypt but forced Jeremiah to go with them, where he continued to prophesy (Jeremiah 40-44). [DD]
A prayer (v. 7)
Today’s text is only three verses long, but they are fairly lengthy verses, and they constitute a self-contained oracle. In context, it is found in a hopeful section of Jeremiah sometimes called the “Book of Consolation” (Jeremiah 30-31, 33). The text is sandwiched between two other oracles promising that God would not forget those who remained from Israel and Judah, but would look past their former rebellion and return them to the land of promise. [DD]
The oracle begins in typical fashion: “For thus says the LORD …” One of the marks of a true prophet was the belief that they heard from God directly and related God’s word without altering it. There is no indication as to how Jeremiah received such revelations, but the prophet clearly believed his message had come straight from God.
And what was that message? It began with a call to “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations” (v. 7a). Jacob was remembered as the one whose name was changed to “Israel,” and whose sons who gave rise to the twelve tribes.
“Chief of the nations” seems an odd way to describe Israel, which at that time was no nation at all, at least from a political standpoint. Still, there was a bond that held the people together, an ethnic heritage with one another despite being scattered across the known world, and a covenant connection with the God they believed ruled over all. From a theological or covenant perspective, then, Jeremiah could speak of the dispersed Israelites as the “chief of the nations.”
The point was that God had promised to return them from exile and bring them back together as a people: Jeremiah called the scattered exiles to “proclaim, give praise, and say, ‘Save, O LORD, your people, the remnant of Israel” (v. 7b).
His oracle, then, begins with a call for hope and trust that God would reverse their fate and redeem them from captivity, instructing the people to pray for that very thing to happen. The prayer, which calls upon God by the covenant name Yahweh, is a reminder that the remnant had been exiled, but not excommunicated: they were still Yahweh’s people, and Yahweh was still a God of steadfast love.
In the previous oracle, Jeremiah declared that Yahweh had appeared to Israel, saying “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you” (v. 3). Jeremiah’s oracle is a plea that the people should cry out in repentance and hope in a God who would not let them go.
A promise (v. 8)
Have you ever longed for good news, and rejoiced when it came? Have you ever imagined what it would be like to be held captive, but finally told that you would be freed? Verse 8 is the good news the exiles had been waiting for. Speaking for Yahweh, Jeremiah declared “See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, those with child and those in labor, together; a great company, they shall return here.” [DD]
Babylon was slightly north, but mostly east of Jerusalem. One could not journey from one to the other in a straight line, however, because the great stretch of the Arabian desert could not be crossed, even with camels. Travelers from Babylon to Palestine used roads that followed the “Fertile Cresent” north along the Euphrates River, and east toward Phoenicia before turning south to the narrow land bridge that Israel had occupied.
Since both armies and peaceful travelers from the east arrived from the north, Jeremiah sometimes referred to Babylon as the “land of the north” – but he did not stop there. While exiles from Judah had been relocated to Babylon in the early 6th century, and some (including Jeremiah) had migrated to Egypt, they were not the only Hebrews.
The northern kingdom of Israel had been conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BCE, with its people scattered across a wide area: the Assyrian practice was to shuffle conquered peoples among other defeated territories, not just bringing them all to Nineveh.
Jeremiah believed God cared about all descendants of the Hebrews, and would “gather them from the farthest parts of the earth.”
God’s promise did not extend to the strong alone: those who returned would include the blind and the lame, women who were pregnant and even in labor – people one would not expect to set out on a long and arduous journey by foot.
Jeremiah’s promise offers hope to anyone who feels distant from God. We may sometimes think of ourselves as spiritually blind or crippled, or so burdened by other things that we can’t see through the fog to find God. This verse assures us that no one is so far from God or so handicapped by circumstances that God cannot find us when we cry out with Israel, “Save, O LORD, your people …”
A return (v. 9)
Jeremiah believed that God’s promised deliverance would take place in connection with the repentance of God’s people. “With weeping they shall come,” Jeremiah said in Yahweh’s behalf, “and with consolations I will lead them back” (v. 9a).
While one might imagine joyful tears at the prospect of returning home, Jeremiah had in mind the sorrowful weeping of people who had realized the gravity of their sins and grieved over them. Later, he spoke of Ephraim (the largest of the tribes) pleading with God, admitting past wrongs, and repenting in shame (vv. 18-19).
Thus, the prophet saw God offering consolation to the sorrowful, penitent people, assuring them of forgiveness and hope for a new day.
Indeed, God would ease their journey, Jeremiah said: “I will let them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn” (v. 9b).
There is no straight path along brooks of water between Babylon and Jerusalem, so we must read Jeremiah’s promise as a metaphorical vision of God leading the people directly home, providing for them and encouraging them along the way.
The NRSV’s “for I have become a father to Israel” may appear misleading, as it seems to imply that God has only recently adopted the people. A more literal translation is “because I am Israel’s father” (NIV 11, NET, HCSB, KJV, and NASB 95 have variations on this).
It was God who had called Abraham to begin a new nation, and God who had entered into a covenant relationship with Israel. Stories in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers describe how God had brought Israel through the desert wilderness and into the promised land: now Jeremiah saw God bringing the exiles through another desert and back to their homeland.
The reference to Ephraim as “my firstborn” is metaphorical: Ephraim was one of Joseph’s two sons. A tradition in Gen. 49:22-26 has Jacob giving a special blessing to Joseph’s sons. Ephraim became the most populous and influential tribe in the northern kingdom, and its territory encompassed the capital city of Samaria.
Jeremiah does not suggest that the descendants of Ephraim will get special treatment over others, or that the northern kingdom of Israel will dominate the southerners from Judah. Here, as in vv. 18-19, Ephraim is a metaphorical stand-in for all of the Hebrew children that God would bring back home.
For all who feel isolated from God, exiled by sinful choices or overwhelmed by circumstances, today’s text offers hope for forgiveness and a renewed fellowship with God, whose steadfast love never changes.
Adult Teaching Resources
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This PDF contains the Teaching Guide, Digging Deeper, and Hardest Question pages.
Read Scripture online: Jeremiah 31:7-9
Youth Teaching Resources
Parent Prep
Our students have the opportunity to be more connected now than ever. The devices that we carry allow us to contact anyone, at any time, at almost any place. They can not only hear someone else’s voice, but they can see them as they talk with them. Distances can be shrunk down to how close you want to hold your phone to your face. But, our students can also feel very alone. They can feel isolated because they don’t have real friends, or that their friends only care about them so they can be “followed back.” Be aware of your students slipping off into isolation. Be present.
Additional Links/Resources
Read Scripture online: Jeremiah 31:7-9
Download the PDF for youth teaching resources using the button below. This PDF contains the Teaching Guide for this lesson:
Video
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“Furnace Scene” from Home Alone
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“Kevin and Mom ‘Hug’” from Home Alone
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