Old Testament - Jeremiah 30 -31 - October 18, 2022

10/18/2022 – Jeremiah 30 & 31

Jeremiah was called to be a prophet at a time when so many of the Israelites had shifted over to following the religious ways of those who worshiped idols. As a prophet, Jeremiah had been called “to root out, and to pull down”. (1:10) But in the same verse, Jeremiah had also been called “to build, and to plant”.  And as the Israelites did not pay attention to Jeremiah, here they are again, with the Lord acknowledging their “lamentation, and bitter weeping”. (31:15) But He also continues to speak of the consolation and hope they would feel if they would only turn back to Him and His commandments: “They shall be my people, and I will be their God.”

But for now, Jeremiah is continuing to call to repentance. He tells them they are heading for a situation of impending doom because of their failure to follow Heavenly Father’s commandments, and yet there is light and wonderful promises if they return to following God’s laws. He tells them to not be dismayed for the Lord “will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.” (30:10).   He continues by telling what can happen: “for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.” (30:11). This seems to be spoken straight to them, but it also seems to be spoked to us who live in these latter days and are seeing things happening now that are reminiscent of those that happened to the Israelites at that time.

In v’s 20-24, He tells them what will come to them as they come back to Him: “And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. Behold the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. And the fierce anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider.” 

Chapter 31’s synopsis tells us that He is now speaking about the last days, when “Israel shall be gathered; Ephraim has the birthrights as firstborn; the Lord will make a new covenant with them, to be inscribed in the heart; then shall they all know the Lord.”

V 1 sets the feeling: I will “be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.” This is to us also, as when we join His church, we are adopted into the tribes of Israel.

This is what Elder Russel M Nelson said in the Oct 2011 General Conference: “When we realize that we are children of the covenant, we know who we are and what God expects of us. His law is written in our hearts. He is our God and we are His people. Committed children of the covenant remain steadfast, even in the midst of adversity. . . . The greatest compliment that can be earned here in this life is to be known as a covenant keeper. The rewards for a covenant keeper will be realized both here and hereafter.”

In v 3 the Lord reminds us all: “…Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Again I will built thee…”. In v 6-7 He is speaking of the later days: “For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God. For thus saith the Lord; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.”

In v’s 8-9 He describes what this will be like: “Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the costs of the earth, and with them the blind, and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither. They shall come with weeping and with supplications, will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.”

In v 10, He tells us to spread the gospel to as many as we can—to those who are living, and to those that have died. That is what President Nelson is telling US today! That is why I spend so much time on my genealogy.

V 12 tells us what the end of our journey will be like: “Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.” 

I love v 17: “And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.”

In v 33 the Lord speaks of a new covenant, one that will be in our hearts: “But his shall be the covenants that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” We cannot merely go through the motions—we must internalize the gospel in our hearts!

And then again He speaks of those who were slow to come back to Him, I love this verse: “…Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (v 34)