This chapter is a continuation of the previous chapter, as God continues the narrative that He is going to be our God. Here’s the chapter in its entirety: “In that day,” says the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people. I will care for the survivors as they travel through the wilderness. I will again come to give rest to the people of Israel.”
Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel. You will again be happy and dance merrily with tambourines. Again you will plant your vineyards on the mountains of Samaria and eat from your own gardens there. The day will come when watchmen will shout from the hill country of Ephraim, ‘Come, let us go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord our God’”
Now this is what the Lord says: “Sing with joy for Israel! Shout for the greatest of nations! Shout out with praise and joy: ‘Save your people, O Lord, the remnant of Israel!’ For I will bring them from the north and from the distant corners of the earth. I will not forget the blind and lame, the expectant mothers and women about to give birth. A great company will return! Tears of joy will stream down their faces, and I will lead them home with great care. They will walk beside quiet streams and not stumble. For I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my oldest child. (Wow! God remains consistent! What He said long ago...He is still saying today! Thank you, Lord!)
“Listen to this message from the Lord, you nations of the world; proclaim it in distant coastlands: The Lord, who scattered his people, will gather them together and watch over them as a shepherd does his flock. For the Lord has redeemed Israel from those too strong for them. They will come home and sing songs of joy on the heights of Jerusalem. They will be radiant because of the many gifts the Lord has given them – the good crops of wheat, wine, and oil, and the healthy flocks and herds. Their life will be like a watered garden, and all their sorrows will be gone. The young women will dance for joy, and the men – old and young – will join in the celebration. I will turn their mourning into joy. I will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing. I will supply the priests with an abundance of offerings. I will satisfy my people with my bounty. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (Yes, Lord!!!)
Rachel’s Sadness Turns to Joy
This is what the Lord says: “A cry of anguish is heard in Ramah – mourning and weeping unrestrained. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted – for her children are dead.”
But now the Lord says, “Do not weep any longer, for I will reward you. Your children will come back to you from the distant land of the enemy. There is hope for your future,’ says the Lord. “Your children will come again to their own land. I have heard Israel saying, ‘You disciplined me severely, but I deserved it. I was like a calf that needed to be trained for the yoke and plow. Turn me again to you and restore me, for you alone are the Lord my God. I turned away from God, but then I was sorry. I kicked myself for my stupidity! I was thoroughly ashamed of all I did in my younger days.’ (Yes, Lord! Place a spirit of humility within us, so we can recognize our stupidity.)
“Is not Israel still my son, my darling child?” asks the Lord. “I had to punish him, but I still love him. I long for him and surely will have mercy on him.” (Yes, Lord! Thank you!)
“Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Mark well the path by which you came. Come back again, my virgin Israel; return to your cities here. How long will you wander, my wayward daughter? For the Lord will cause something new and different to happen – Israel will embrace her God.” (Yes…our God is the author and the finisher.)
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back again, the people of Judah and its cities will again say, ‘The Lord bless you – O righteous home, O holy mountain!’ And city dwellers and farmers and shepherds alike will live together in peace and happiness. For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing.”
At this, I woke up and looked around. My sleep had been very sweet.
“The time will come,” says the Lord, “when I will greatly increase the population and multiply the number of cattle here in Israel and Judah. In the past I uprooted and tore down this nation. I overthrew it, destroyed it, and brought disaster upon it. But in the future I will plant it and build it up,” says the Lord.
“The people will no longer quote this proverb: ‘The parents eat sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste.’ All people will die for their own sins – those who eat the sour grapes will be the ones whose mouths will pucker.” (Wow! Generation curses will be right-now curses!)
‘The day will come,” says the Lord, “When I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.
“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. “I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their family, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will already know me,” says the Lord, “and I will forgive their wickedness and will never again remember their sins.” (Wow! What a promise! And check out how the Lord is eliminating the teacher. Our faith is not determined by what others teach us. The Lord has planted His ways in each of our hearts; therefore, choosing not to follow Him is choosing to completely go against what your heart knows is right. Wow…what the Lord has done is powerful!)
It is the Lord who provides the sun to light the day and the moon and stars to light the night. It is he who stirs the sea into roaring waves. His name is the Lord Almighty, and this is what he says: “I am as likely to reject my people Israel as I am to do away with the laws of nature! Just as the heavens cannot be measured and the foundation of the earth cannot be explored, so I will not consider casting them away forever for their sins. I, the Lord, have spoken!
“The time is coming,” says the Lord, “when all Jerusalem will be rebuilt for me, from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. A measuring line will be stretched out over the hill of Gareb and across to Goah. And the entire area – including the graveyard and ash dump in the valley, and all the fields out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the Horse Gate – will be holy to the Lord. The city will never again be captured or destroyed.” (Jeremiah 31)
Lord, thank you for your Word today! Thank you for reclaiming us as your children! Thank you for holding us close, and writing your ways in our hearts, for there is no one responsible for our salvation, except ourselves. Help us find humility, so we can rid ourselves of stupidity by choosing you as our Lord and Savior. Lord, we love you!
May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
….AND MAY WE ALL PRACTICE THIS WITH ONE ANOTHER.
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