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."
31:8 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.
31:9 With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back, 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.
31:10 Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, "He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd a
flock."
31:11 For the LORD has ransomed Jacob, and has redeemed him from hands too strong for
him.
31:12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant
over the goodness of the LORD, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young
of the flock and the herd; their life shall become like a watered garden, and they shall
never languish again.
31:13 Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old
shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them
gladness for sorrow.
31:14 I will give the priests their fill of fatness, and my people shall be satisfied
with my bounty, says the LORD.
Good one to couple with the Ephesians for the service I'm working on - Covenant renewal, reaffirmation of baptismal vows, and Holy Communion. The idea is about new life, conforming to Christ - or, in the case of Jeremiah, being delivered from doom and gloom. Mourning will be turned into joy, sorrow to gladness...
The watered garden, oil, wine and grain offer nice sacramental images.
Sally in GA
Part of a poem celebrating the return from exile, this passage makes it clear that those who are blind and lame are among those who receive God's gracious consolation.
vs. 31:8 -- The people who are brought back will include those who were considered as nothing in the eyes of that culture - the physically handicapped and women. Even in the time of the exile, long before Jesus came to earth, God gave special thought to those others would discount.
KyHoosierCat
Like the prophets who announce homecoming and salvation in the book of Isaiah, Jeremiah announces the wondrous homecoming of God's people from exile. Once again the Lord enters in human history to fulfill the covenantal promise made during the exodus fro Egypt so long ago: "I will be your God, and you will be my people."
The prophet paints a picture of the future by describing a great dancing and singing throng, including all manner and situations of people. Together, the exiles return, weeping with joy, lovingly gathered by God. This is a powerful encouragement to keep imagining and working towards a better day for all, despite what we see around us that might be discouraging.
What struck me is verse 7: "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.'"
Here is the contradiction of the faith: How could one sing with gladness and shout out praises when in reality, only a handful of remnant were left? (I will save the theology of theodicy for another day...)
This passage spoke to my soul. For the last couple of days, I was very burden. Sometimes, I am not so sure if I operated out of faith or out of desperation. Remember that scene out of Matrix Revolution? Those guys in the robot warriors, shooting their guns upward to battle the on-slaught incoming sentinels which came to anihilate the human remnant. Were they operated out of faith (in Neo), or out of desperation? For me, looking at the remnant around me, and the bleak situations of dead people, split-churches, etc. sometimes I saw myself grinding my teeth in desperation: "I will stand my ground, and die here if I have to, but I won't give up!"
But that's not what the Lord had commanded. He didn't want desperation. He wants hope, and faith. He asked us to sing, with gladness. He asked us to shout and proclaim, to the nations (who may have been laughing at us all along til now). He wants us to give praise, when we plead Him to save.
The question is "How?" - the answers are...
1) Using our eyes of hope, look into the future, to what God will do, and not in the present situation: "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." (v.8)
2) (v.9) Using our eyes of faith, we will see God lead people return in repentance (weeping, he provided consolation, in no-stumbling straight path), in reconciliation (God have become a father, Ephraim His firstborn...)
3) (v.10-11) Our voice to proclaim God must focus on Him, not the dire-strait situatation of the church, in humility we must recognize that He "scattered" us, and He "will gather" us back. Out of God's action of saving us, the nations will see Him as the Redeemer, since the enemy's "hands to strong" for us.
v.12-14 continue with the vision of restoration and of hope.
Ofcourse, some skeptics could cite another Matrix Reloaded scene for objection: When Morpheus delivered his vision of hope message, and enticed the whole remnant to dance and rave; does anything change in reality at all? Or was it just false hope, poison to the people?
The answer is grounded in reality itself. If Exodus did not happened, then Jeremiah's words were pure poison to the mass. But Jesus resurrected from the dead - a historical fact. The church resurrected from the Roman persecution, revival broke out numerous times in history. And more recently, concretely, we have seen guys in our congregation who turned their lives around from drugs to Christ, from addition to seminary. Would that be enough evidence to put our hope in the imminent restoration of the remnant?
If we believe, then I would act up on that belief. I would sing, I would shout, I would proclaim, and I would give praise - even in the midst of this remnant reality.
Coho, Midway City
