Jeremiah 31

Jeremiah 30–33 gathers prophecies promising restoration after the exile and is commonly called the "Book of Consolation." Chapter 31 continues the promises of restoration begun in chapter 30 and culminates in the promise of a new covenant.

Outline

• Verses 1–6 The LORD declares that He will build Israel again because of His everlasting love. Vineyards will again be planted on the mountains of Samaria, and the day will come when the watchmen on Mount Ephraim cry out, "Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion."
• Verses 7–14 The LORD gathers His people from the north country and from the coasts of the earth and brings them home. Among them are the blind, the lame, and the woman with child. The LORD keeps them as a shepherd keeps his flock and turns their mourning into joy.
• Verses 15–22 Rachel, weeping in Ramah, is promised that her children will return. The LORD has mercy on Ephraim, who bemoans himself and turns back. A new thing is then proclaimed: "A woman shall compass a man."
• Verses 23–30 The cities of Judah will again speak words of blessing, and the prophet says that he awoke and his sleep was sweet to him. The LORD, who had plucked up and broken down, will now build and plant. The proverb "The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge" will no longer be used.
• Verses 31–34 The LORD will make a new covenant, unlike the covenant made at the time of the Exodus. Under this covenant the LORD writes His law on the heart and remembers sin no more.
• Verses 35–40 Just as the ordinances of the sun and moon do not depart, so Israel will not be cast off. The city will be rebuilt from the tower of Hananeel to the brook Kidron and will never again be plucked up.

Key Verses

• Jeremiah 31:3 "I have loved thee with an everlasting love" — shows that the chapter's promises of restoration rest on God's love.
• Jeremiah 31:31–33 "I will make a new covenant … and write it in their hearts" — the source of the new covenant promise, which the New Testament quotes directly.

People and Places

• Rachel: The wife of Jacob. In this chapter she is portrayed as a mother weeping over her scattered descendants.
• Ephraim: A tribe descended from a son of Joseph. Here the name refers to the northern kingdom of Israel.
• Ramah: A town in the territory of Benjamin.
• Samaria, Zion, the brook Kidron (a stream flowing through the valley east of Jerusalem)

Points for Reflection

• The new covenant passage is quoted in Hebrews 8. At the Last Supper, Jesus called the cup the new covenant (Luke 22:20).
• Interpretations differ regarding the fulfillment of this promise. Covenant theology holds that it is fulfilled in Christ and the church. Dispensationalism often also emphasizes a future fulfillment for the nation of Israel.
• In Matthew 2:18, verse 15 is applied to Herod's slaughter of the children of Bethlehem.
• The sour grape proverb also appears in Ezekiel 18.
• The meaning of verse 22 is unclear. Some traditions read it as a prophecy of the virgin conception, while other interpretations understand it as the new thing of Israel returning to God.