Jeremiah;- Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob (ch31)

“The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness; when Israel sought for rest” (ch31 v2
This alludes to the promise of Hosea, that the Lord would allure his people Israel into the wilderness “and speak tenderly to her” (Hosea ch2 v14). Hosea was speaking to the northern kingdom, Israel, and “the sword” was that of Assyria.

This chapter (up to v23, when the text returns from poetry to prose) is focussed on the restoration of the exiled northern kingdom, identified by the leading tribe, Ephraim. That could not have been said about the previous chapter, because of the references to Zion and the rebuilding of the city. As a member of the tribe of Benjamin, Jeremiah would have been more touched by the experience of the northern kingdom than the average inhabitant of Jerusalem. Benjamin was regarded as part of the “house of Joseph” (2 Samuel ch19 v20), and abandoned the house of David after the death of Solomon, along with the rest of the northern tribes. One of the later kings of Judah was able to bring Benjamin under his control, but it remained a frontier province.

The Lord tells “Virgin Israel” that he has loved her with an everlasting love and remains faithful to her. She will be able, as the maidens of Israel must have done, to adorn herself with timbrels and join in the merrymaking harvest dances. As a people, she shall again plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria. The watchmen will call upon the people in the hill-country of Ephraim to “Arise and go up to Zion”. Jeremiah says “again”, though the old kings of Israel had tried to discourage those pilgrimages, diverting them to Bethel and Dan.

“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob… The Lord has saved his people, the remnant of Israel” (v7). This will be said because they will be gathered and brought back from “the north country” (which means anywhere reached by heading north from Galilee). This will include even the blind and the lame and the pregnant women, who cannot travel easily. They will return weeping with joy. They will travel comfortably in a straight path, which will not make anyone stumble, and they will walk alongside brooks with plentiful water.

“For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born” (v9). This reflects the dominance of the tribe of Ephraim, indicated by the blessing which Jacob gave to his grandsons (Genesis ch48 vv19-20), and very evident throughout the book of Judges. It is also another allusion to the teaching of Hosea, as in “When Israel was a child I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son” (Hosea ch11 v1).

The Lord promises to keep Jacob “as a shepherd keeps his flock” (v10).

“For the Lord has ransomed Jacob, and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him” (v11).
It is worth observing what is meant by the image of “ransom and redemption”. Despite the implications of the metaphor, nobody receives anything in exchange for the “redeemed” people. The same is true when these terms are used in the New Testament. Jesus does “pay a price” through his death, but there is no need to imagine that anyone receives the price that is being paid. “Redemption” means, as here, God taking his people out of “stronger” hands. Jesus himself puts it that way (Mark ch3 v27).

Then he comes back to the theme of rejoicing over the harvest. The grain, the wine, the oil, and the young of the flock and the herd. Everybody will join in the dance, the maidens and the young men and the old. Their previous mourning will be turned into joy. Their life will be like a “watered garden”. And the priests will not miss out, because these abundant gifts will be shared with the Lord who gave them, as usual, and the priests who offer the sacrifice will get their own portions. In short, “my people will be satisfied with my goodness”.