Jeremiah Chapter 31
Verses 1-3: God’s “everlasting love” for His “people” is accompanied by infinite patience. For “loving-kindness” (see the notes on 1 Sam. 20:14-17 and Jer. 2:2).
Jeremiah 31:1 “At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.”
“At the same time”: Equated with the latter days (in 30:24). In this chapter, prophecies of the restoration of the nation are continued.
We know that this is speaking of all the 12 tribes of Israel, but as I have said before, Israel includes all the believers in Christ as well. Look with me in the following Scripture who becomes sons of God.
John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:”
This is a fact that all who will be His people are His family. He will be their God. Another way of saying this is whosoever will. There are a number of things that are required for Him to be our God. The first thing is to believe. The next thing we must do is turn our will over to His will. We must be obedient to our God.
Verses 2-14: Here are messianic kingdom conditions.
Jeremiah 31:2 “Thus saith the LORD, The people [which were] left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; [even] Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.”
God confirmed the aforementioned promises, and his people’s hope and faith in them, by minding them of what he had anciently done for this very people. Though God did, in the journey which the Israelites had from Egypt to Canaan, cut off many of them by the sword for their iniquities. Some by the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8), and some by the swords of their brethren for the idolatry they committed about the golden calf (Exodus 32:28). Yet those that survived that and other judgments found favor in God’s eyes while they were going to Canaan, the land of rest. Or while God, going before them, brought them into Canaan. God paralleled his future providences and gracious purposes with his past gracious providences.
During the Babylonian attack, many were left that were not killed by the sword. They were able to live in the wilderness because of the grace of God. It really does not matter whether the wilderness here is speaking of the wilderness wanderings of Exodus from Egypt, or whether this is speaking of the exiles who escaped capture by Babylon. In both cases, God took care of His people in the wilderness. This is probably speaking of the 10 tribes of Israel as well as the two tribes of Judah. We Christians are in our own wilderness, headed for our own Promised Land, heaven. God’s grace is sufficient to see us through. God has prepared a place of rest for us. The hardships now are nothing compared to the wonderful rest we will have with Him.
Jeremiah 31:3 “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, [saying], Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
Restoration would follow the judgment of exile because the Lord loved Israel with “an everlasting love” for them. The word lovingkindness literally means “loyal love”, the kind of love that never ends (Mal. 1:2). Paul also affirms that nothing can “separate us from the love of God” (Rom. 8:39).
God’s love is the agape type of love. You and I love because of something. God loves in spite of the fact we do not deserve to be loved. While we were yet in sin, God sent the Savior. God’s love is unconditional love. God’s love for mankind is a mystery. His love is just as strong for us today, as it was the day He created us. God draws us to Him. The Holy Spirit woos us or draws us, because God wants to save us. This is what Jesus says about that drawing.
John 6:44 “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Jeremiah 31:4 “Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.”
The same with “all the families of Israel” (Jer. 31:1). Who, when converted, will be espoused to Christ as a chaste virgin. Have a sincere affection for him; unfeigned faith in him, and purely worship him. Receiving the pure doctrines of the Gospel, and submitting to the ordinances of it. And then will the church, comparable to a building consisting of lively stones, laid upon the foundation which is Christ. Which is fallen down, and lies in ruins, be rebuilt, and none shall hinder it. And a glorious building it will be, and will continue so, when its stones are laid with fair colors. Its foundations with sapphires; its windows made of agates; its gates of carbuncles; and all its borders of pleasant stones (Isa. 54:11).
“Thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets”: Or timbrels, instruments of music, such as women used at times of public joy and mirth (Exodus 15:20). Which became them, and were very ornamental to them. And their playing on these was usually attended with dancing. Hence it follows:
“And shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry”: Phrases expressive of spiritual joy, which will be in the hearts of the saints, and expressed by the behavior of them at the time of the conversion of the Jews. Which will be the marriage of the Lamb. And when the bride will be ready, being adorned with the robe of Christ’s righteousness, and with the graces of his Spirit. And be brought into his presence, accompanied with a chorus of virgins her companions. Undefiled ones, having harps in their hands, singing the Lamb’s new song (see Rev. 14:2).
For the term “virgin of Israel” (see the note on 18:13).
The physical house of Israel had been the wife of God. The virgin is speaking of the chaste virgin that Jesus is coming back for. The virgin is spiritual Israel, who worships God and does not worship false gods.
2 Corinthians 11:2 “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present [you as] a chaste virgin to Christ.”
We become new creatures in Christ. It would be possible to be a spiritual virgin then. In other words, God starts all over with them and us again. He has forgiven them and started all over with them. They will be happy and dance in victory because they are forgiven and given new lives.
Jeremiah 31:5 “Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat [them] as common things.”
Samaria was the metropolis of the ten tribes, called so from Shemer, who owned the hill. Omri, king of Israel bought it and built Samaria upon it. Mountains in many places are judged the most convenient places for vineyards, being free from shades, and most exposed to the sun. God promised them a liberty to plant, and that they should enjoy their plantations, eating them as common things. Which they could not do till the fifth year, as appears from (Lev. 19:23-25). The three first years it was to be accounted by them as uncircumcised, that is, unclean. In the fourth year it was to be holy to the Lord. In the fifth year, they might eat the fruit of it, as any common thing that was not unclean, nor yet devoted and consecrated to the Lord.
Samaria was the northern kingdom. God is just saying, He will make this a fruitful area where they will be able to plant, and God will grow for them to eat.
Jeremiah 31:6 “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.”
In addition to the natural sense (as her), of being those who were stationed on hilltops and walls, or in watchtowers, or were on duty in the city or field, especially to warn of possible danger and give protection to the people, prophets were often called “watchmen” (see the note on 6:17).
The 10 tribes had broken away from the two tribes, and they had not worshipped together after that. This is speaking of a time when Ephraim will come back to God. Whether this is speaking of the temple, and they are to go up at festival times; or whether they come to Christ and His church (ZION), is uncertain. Whichever this is, they recognize the LORD as their God. Sometimes “Ephraim” symbolizes the Gentile believers.
John 11:54 “Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.”
Jeremiah 31:7 “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.”
The “remnant” here refers to a believing Israel in an eschatological setting (compare 23:3; Isa. 10:20-22; 11:11, 16; Rom. 11:5).
This remnant of Israel is spoken of many times in the Bible. These are those who have not bowed their knee to Baal. These are those who have not committed spiritual adultery. Those who sing with gladness are all who love Him, both Jew and Gentile. This is like saying hurry and send our Savior (Jesus).
Matthew 1:21 “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”
Matthew 18:11 “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.”
Israel was chosen of God as His favorite nation.
Jeremiah 31:8 “Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts 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.”
The vision of restoration continues, and the prophet sees in the spirit, the great company of those that return. Even those who are commonly left behind in such an expedition, as encumbrances hindering its march, the blind, the lame, the women with child or in the very pangs of childbirth, will be seen in that company. None shall remain behind. They are to come from the land of the North. The wide range of the term covering the exiles both of Judah in Babylon and of Israel in the cities of the Medes. For “the coasts of the earth” (see note on Jer. 25:32).
“Shall return thither”: I.e., to the land of Israel, as the goal of the company of travelers.
The North Country here is probably speaking of Babylon, but the coasts of the earth speak of many nations around the world. This just explains that all of God’s people shall return, from the weakest to the strongest.
Jeremiah 31:9 “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.”
Some think that it had been better translated, “they went weeping”. For though the verb be the future tense in the Hebrew, yet that tense hath often the signification of the beyond perfect tense. Thus, it answered (Psalm 126:5-6). But there is no need of it here, for there is a weeping for joy, as well as for sorrow. As we have it in the instances both of Jacob and Joseph (Gen. 29:11; 43:30). And thus, the text corresponded with that (Zech. 12:10). Weeping also here may be understood for their past sins.
“I will cause them to walk, by the rivers of waters”: And they shall have no want as they had when they came out of Egypt, through the wilderness, where they often wanted water.
“In a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble”: Neither shall they have any rough ways, nor turn backward and forward, as God made them to do in their passage through the wilderness.
“For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born”: For as I have the affection of a father for all Israel, so will I show the care and kindness of a father to them, and use them as a man uses his first-born. So God anciently called the Jews (Exodus 4:22), they being the first of all nations, whom God owned and took into covenant, and who owned God, and worshipped the true and living God only.
“Weeping” speaks of repentance. “Supplications” in this particular place means prayers or petitions. The “straight way” is the straight and narrow path of righteousness. The “rivers of water” speak of the Spirit of God. They will walk in the Spirit. The Light of the Lord Jesus Christ will light their way so they will not stumble. When Ephraim and Manasseh were brought before their grandfather for their patriarchal blessing, Ephraim received the spiritual blessing of the right hand. The right hand blessing was generally given to the first born. This was not a mistake, but a deliberate act. Jacob was spoken of as Israel, when he blessed the boys. I believe this was speaking of the spiritual blessing of all the believers in Christ who receive the right hand blessing. Jacob made the sign of the cross, when he crossed his hands to bless the boys. “Ephraim” means double fruit. I believe somehow Ephraim symbolized all believers, Jew and Gentile. Israel speaks of the natural Jew as physical Israel and spiritual Israel as all believers in Christ.
Jeremiah 31:10 “Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare [it] in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd [doth] his flock.”
The Gentiles: who are called upon to hear the word of the Gospel. The word of peace, reconciliation, and salvation by Christ. Sent among them by him, for the calling and conversion of them, that they might believe in him, and profess his name.
“And declare it in the isles afar off”: Having heard, received, and embraced the Gospel themselves, it became them to make it known to others. Not only to those upon the continent and the isles adjacent, but to those afar off from it. Where, blessed be the Lord, this Gospel has been declared to the conversion and comfort of many, and to the glory of Christ.
“And say, he that scattered Israel will gather him”: That is, the Lord that hath scattered the Jews throughout the nations of the world, and even in the isles afar off, will before long gather them together, and bring them into their own land. This may be understood of the spiritual Israel, be they Jews or Gentiles, the children of God scattered up and down in the world. And who, by reason of sin, and while in an unregenerate estate, are alienated from God, and at a distance from him. But are gathered together in one head, Christ, when he died for them, and redeemed them. And in the effectual calling, when they are gathered to God and Christ, one by one; and afterwards to more near communion with them. And, at last, to glory, and which is the sum and substance of the Gospel to be heard and declared.
“And keep him as a shepherd doth his flock”: So that they shall be scattered no more, as the Jews have been. Nor any of them lost, as God’s elect were in their first head Adam. They are Christ’s flock, given him by the Father, and purchased with his blood. And having gathered them as above, he will keep them in his hands, from whence none can pluck them. And preserve them by his almighty power unto salvation. Which doctrine of the saints’ perseverance is a most comfortable doctrine of the Gospel to be published and declared.
(See the note on 23:4).
God scattered them because of their unfaithfulness to Him. He will bring them back, because they have repented of their sins, and called out to Him again. This has to be speaking of the gathering that is going on now, because the Jews were not scattered too far off on islands in the time of Jeremiah. God’s grace and mercy causes Him to seek the sheep of His flock.
Jeremiah 31:11 “For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of [him that was] stronger than he.”
Because of the certainty of Divine prophecies and promises, things in them are often said to be already done which are not to be fulfilled until many years after. The sense is, God will as certainly do it as if he had already done it. For whether it be understood of a deliverance from Babylon, or of the salvation of the gospel by Christ, which by a metaphor is often also called redeeming and ransoming. It was to be accomplished long after this time.
“From the hand of him that was stronger than he”: Some understand the Chaldeans, others understand the devil (interpreting the text of the spiritual redemption of God’s people by the blood of Christ, being the ransom given for them). But undoubtedly the text is literally to be understood of their deliverance from Babylon, though (as the apostle saith), all these things happened to them in a figure. In their deliverance, as well from Babylon as Egypt, they were types of the deliverance of God’s people from spiritual Babylon and Egypt by Christ. As well as in their entering into Canaan they were as the apostle proved (Heb. chapters 3 and 4), types of the saints entering into heaven, of which Canaan was a type.
Jesus is the Redeemer of all mankind. He ransomed (purchased), us with His shed blood. Jesus defeated Satan on the cross. Satan may have been stronger than we are, but he was not nearly as powerful as God. He is a defeated foe.
Jeremiah 31:12 “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.”
The particular phrases in this verse are signifying but one thing. The happy and prosperous state the Jews should be in after their return from the captivity. Both as to their religious and civil state.
“The height of Zion”: May either signify Jerusalem, or the temple more especially. Where those that returned, as well those of the ten tribes as those strictly of Judah, should come and sing praises to God. And should there come to beg of God good things upon the account of his goodness, owning him as the God of their mercies, whether of a spiritual or temporal nature. Such as corn, wine, oil, and an increase of their cattle, both flocks and herds. And they should be a beautiful, flourishing, growing people.
“And their soul shall be as a watered garden”: A watered garden that looks cheery, and in which things grow and thrive (for soul doth not seem here to be taken for men’s spiritual and immortal part, but for the whole man). And they shall be sorrowful no more in that manner as they have been, and for that age and generation were. Or many years (see Isa. 35:10). Some think that under these expressions is also promised the spiritual joy which the true Israel of God should have under the gospel. And the eternal joy they shall have in heaven, when, and not before, all tears shall be wiped from their eyes. For in a strict sense it was not fulfilled to the Jews, who at the taking of their city by the Romans, sixty years after Christ, met with more sorrow than they had ever before met with.
This sounds so much like the following Scripture.
Revelation 21:4 “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
Home is very much like heaven. These exiles have made it home. Not only home physically, but they are back in their holy place as well. Wheat symbolizes the believers. The “oil” symbolizes the Holy Spirit. There is a river that flows from deep within man. This is the water of the Spirit, which washes the soul.
Jeremiah 31:13 “Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.”
This verse contains only a further variety of expressions, all signifying the same thing. In other words, their happy state for some time after the captivity. We may understand the dancing here of all sorts of people. Either of their religious rejoicing in their holy festivals. For under the Old Testament in their religious rejoicing they used these external expressions of joy, as appears from (Psalm 150:4), and from David’s dancing before the ark. Or of their civil joy, where dancing was more usual.
This speaks of a time of great joy, because they have been redeemed. This is old and young, male, and female all rejoicing together. They are dancing in joy of their homecoming.
Jeremiah 31:14 “And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD.”
Meaning either the ministers of the Gospel, who should not only be liberally provided for as to their maintenance. Which is too low a sense; but filled with spiritual good things. With the doctrines of the Gospel, and a comfortable experience of them, that they may be able to feed others with knowledge and understanding. Or since, under the Gospel dispensation, there is no such distinct order of men under the name of priests, but all the saints are made kings and priests to God. They may be here meant, as follows.
“And my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord”: To which they are said to flow (Jer. 31:12). But, lest it should be thought that there would be no manner of trouble and affliction in those times, two instances as follow are given. The one at the beginning, and the other towards the close of them, expressive of distress; one on temporal, the other on spiritual accounts.
The word “satiate” means bathe, make drunk, fill, satisfy, water, or soak. This just means that the priest’s soul will be filled. The people will not go looking for other gods, they will be satisfied with the LORD.
Jeremiah 31:15 “Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, [and] bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they [were] not.”
“A voice … in Ramah”: The reflection, for a moment, is on the distress of an Israelite mother for her children slain in the Babylonian invasion. This was a backdrop for the many contrasting promises of restoration to a joyful time (as verses 12-14, 16-17), in the messianic day. Matthew saw the same description of sadness as apt, in principle, to depict something of the similar weeping of Jewish mothers when King Herod had babies slain at Bethlehem in a bid to kill the Messiah as a child (Matt. 2:17-18).
The comparison of the grief of Israel in exile to that of “Rachel weeping for her children”, points forward to Herod’s massacre of the Israelite babies in the days of Jesus (Matt. 2:18). The conditions of exile would carry over into the time of Jesus, even though Israel was back in the land, Jesus came to deliver the people of Israel from their exile, first by redeeming them from their sins and then ultimately at His second coming by delivering them from all their enemies (Rom. 11:26-27).
Matthew finds in Herod’s killing of the infants (Matt. 2:16-18), an analogy with Jeremiah’s depiction of “Rachel weeping” for those who had been lost at the fall of Samaria and those who would yet face a similar fate in the fall of Jerusalem (in 586 B.C.).
This is speaking of the time when Herod would kill all of the children under two years old while trying to kill Jesus.
Matthew 2:16-18 “Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Beth-lehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.” “Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,” “In Ramah was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping [for] her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.”
Jeremiah 31:16 “Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.”
Though sorrow on such an occasion may be lawfully indulged, yet it ought to be moderated. And attention should be given to those things which may serve to relieve under it, and especially when they come from the Lord himself. Then a stop is to be put to the mournful voice, and wet eyes are to be dried up.
“For thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord”: In bearing these children, and bringing them into the world, and expressing such an affectionate and tender concern for them. Signifying, that the trouble of bearing and bringing them into the world, and nursing them the time they did live, should not, as it might seem, be fruitless, and to answer no end. But it should be seen hereafter, that all this was not in vain. Nor should they think it so; but that they have an ample recompense of all their sorrow and trouble.
“And they shall come again from the land of the enemy”: Meaning either Joseph and Mary, and Jesus; who, by the warning of an angel, went into Egypt. The land of the enemy, where the Jewish fathers were once evilly entreated, just before this barbarity was committed. Where they stayed till all danger was over, and then returned (see (Matt. 2:13; compared with Hosea 11:1). Or rather the murdered children, who, in the resurrection morn, shall return from the grave, the land of that “last enemy”, death, which shall be destroyed (1 Cor. 15:26). And so, Rachel, and the Jewish mothers she represents, are comforted with the hopes of a better resurrection (Heb. 11:35).
This is another Scripture that declares the fact that babies that die, live again in the resurrection. The land of the enemy would be death in this instance. These babies live eternally in heaven with God. Rachel’s reward is the assurance of her children’s eternal life.
Jeremiah 31:17 “And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.”
Or, “hope for thy posterity”; for their children that had been massacred, that these should rise again, and enjoy a blessed immortality, as the next clause seems to explain and confirm it.
“That thy children shall come again to their own border”: Either to the border of the land of Israel, as Joseph, Mary, and Jesus did (Matt. 2:21); or rather to the borders of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, where this cruel murder was committed. And so the intimation is, that they shall rise again, and stand upon that very spot of ground where their blood was spelt. And not only so, but enter into and dwell upon the new earth in the Jerusalem state. And also enter into the heavenly Canaan, and dwell with Christ for evermore, on whose account their lives were taken away.
The hope of all who believe is of the resurrection.
Verses 18-20: “I shall be turned”. Jeremiah wrote of Israel (the 10 tribes called Ephraim), as finally recognizing, in humility, the need for the Lord to move them to repentance and forgiveness. (Compare Psalm 102:13-17), for the relation of Israel’s restoration to their prayers (see also 24:6-7; Lam. 5:21; compare John 6:44-45).
The Lord’s judgment would finally cause the people to confess their wrongdoing and turn from their sinful behavior. The purpose of the Lord’s judgment was discipline and correction, not destruction (Acts 3:26; Heb. 12:5-11).
Jeremiah 31:18 “I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself [thus]; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed [to the yoke]: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou [art] the LORD my God.”
A first step in repentance is confession of sin and a prayer for the Lord’s effective enablement in the believer’s life. True repentance involves the work of the whole person in recognizing and sorrowing over sin, and renouncing it so as to turn to God in full heart’s devotion to His lordship (compare chapters 32 and 51).
The beautiful message in this is the helplessness of man to change himself. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 6:23).
God provides a way in Jesus Christ for all to be saved. Since we cannot save ourselves, God did it for us in the person of Jesus.
Jeremiah 31:19 “Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon [my] thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.”
Repentance in the full sense follows, not precedes, our being turned to God by God (Zech. 12:10). The Jews’ “looking to Him whom they pierced” shall result in their “mourning for Him.” Repentance is the tear that flows from the eye of faith turned to Jesus. He Himself gives it: we give it not of ourselves, but must come to Him for it (Acts 5:31).
“Instructed”: Made to learn by chastisement. God’s Spirit often works through the corrections of His providence.
“Smote upon … thigh”: (Ezek. 21:12). A token of indignant remorse, shame, and grief, because of his past sin.
“Bear … reproach of … youth”: “because the calamities which I bore were the just punishment of my scandalous wantonness against God in my youth”. Alluding to the idols set up at Dan and Beth-el immediately after the ten tribes revolted from Judah. His sense of shame shows that he no longer delights in his sin.
After God stopped him and turned him around, he repented. His sins were a bad memory to him. The beautiful part of salvation is that God puts our sins in the sea of forgetfulness. Our sins are abolished when washed in the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ.
Jeremiah 31:20 “[Is] Ephraim my dear son? [is he] a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.”
The question implies that a negative answer was to be expected. Who would have thought that one so undutiful to His heavenly Father as Ephraim had been should still be regarded by God as a “pleasant child?” Certainly, he was not so in respect to his sin. But by virtue of God’s “everlasting love” (Jer. 31:3). On Ephraim’s being “turned” to God, he was immediately welcomed as God’s “dear son.” This verse sets forth God’s readiness to welcome the penitent (Jer. 31:18-19), anticipating his return with prevenient grace and love. Compare Luke 15:20: “When he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion”.
“Spake against”: Threatened him for his idolatry.
“Remember”: With favor and concern (as in Gen. 8:1; 30:22).
“Bowels … troubled for him”: (Deut. 32:36; Isa. 63:15; Hosea 11:8). Namely, with the yearnings of compassionate love. The “bowels” include the region of the heart, the seat of the affections.
Ephraim in this represents all who have been shown the mercy of God and saved. The very reason that Jesus gave His body on the cross for the sins of the world, was because He loved us. He loved us so much that He provided a way for all to be saved and forgiven.
Jeremiah 31:21 Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, [even] the way [which] thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.
It will be noted that the figure is changed, and that instead of “Ephraim, the dear son,” we have Israel, the “back-sliding daughter.” The idea of the return of the exiles is still prominent, and she, as represented by the first group of those who came back, is called on to set up “heaps of stones,” after the manner of Eastern travelers, as waymarks for those who followed (compare Ezek. 39:15). The way which she had trodden when she was led out into captivity was to be re-trodden in the fullness of joy on her return. She was to pass in her joy through the self-same cities that had then seen her in her shame.
The “waymarks” are markers to show the way. They are to be set up on high heaps so that they will not be missed. The “highway” is speaking of that narrow way that we must walk. The wife of God is physical Israel as we learned in a previous lesson. The virgin is speaking of all believers in Christ (Jew and Gentile), who make up the church. The fact that they are virgins means they have not worshipped other gods. This is saying return home to the true church.
Jeremiah 31:22 “How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.”
“Backsliding” (see note on 2:19).
“A woman shall compass a man”: Here is one of the most puzzling statements in Jeremiah. Some see the virgin birth of Christ (but “woman” means a woman, not a virgin, and “encompass” or “surround” does not suggest conceiving). Possible it refers to the formerly virgin Israel (verse 21), who is now a disgraced, divorced wife (verse 22; 3:8). She will one day in the future re-embrace her former husband, the Lord, and He will receive her back, fully forgiven. That would be “a new thing in the earth”.
Going about is straying from that path (of verse 21). To be backslidden one must have been saved. This just means those who are weakening in their faith. The natural thing in the earth is for the woman to be weaker than the man. The man is protective of the woman. It seems this new thing God created is a power of the woman over the man. This power is in the spiritual realm. We see in this that the man (in verse 22), is symbolic of Babylon (the world). The woman is symbolic of the church. This is saying, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ will overcome the world. Even though the church seems weaker (woman), the church will overcome the man (world). Remember God created this situation.
Jeremiah 31:23 “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The LORD bless thee, O habitation of justice, [and] mountain of holiness.”
The Governor of the whole world, the Lord of armies above and below. And yet has a peculiar regard to Israel, his spiritual Israel, whose covenant God and Father he is. And is to be believed in what he after says, the fulfilment of which may be depended on.
“As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah, and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity”: Not the Babylonian captivity, but their present one. For, upon their return from Babylon, though there was a reformation among them, by means of Ezra, and Nehemiah, and others. Yet not so great a one as is here suggested. When, by way of salutation and prayer, the following words will be said by all that know them, and wish well to them, as had been heretofore.
“The Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness”: For now, Jerusalem will be the habitation of righteous men, and every pot or person in it, and in “Judah, shall be holiness to the Lord” (Zech. 14:21). And so, shall be blessed of God, and pronounced blessed by men, by all good men, among the Gentiles, who will rejoice at their conversion, restoration, and reformation.
“Speech” in the Scripture above is speaking of the spoken Word of God. Jerusalem has been the habitation of justice in the literal sense. In the spiritual sense, the believers are the habitation of justice. Jesus is Justice. Christ in us the hope of glory means that the justice of Christ dwells within every Christian. The mountain of His holiness in the physical is speaking of mount Zion in Jerusalem. The mountain of His holiness in the spiritual, is wherever His followers are. The tabernacle of God is with men. It is not only with men, but in men as well. Possibly the mountain of holiness for the believers, is the house of worship where we go to fellowship with God.
Jeremiah 31:24 “And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they [that] go forth with flocks.”
In peace and unity, in great concord and harmony.
Husbandmen, and those that go forth with flocks”: Husbandmen and shepherds; meaning such not merely in a temporal sense, but in a spiritual one. Ministers of the Gospel, laborers with God, and under him, in the husbandry of his church. Pastors after his own heart, to feed his people, his flocks, his sheep and lambs, with knowledge and understanding. Who shall agree in their ministry, teaching the same doctrines, and administering the same ordinances, according to the rule of the word.
In the physical realm, this is speaking of the shepherds (nomads), moving around tending their herds of sheep. Husbandmen were those who cared for the vineyard. In both instances, the spiritual meaning of the vineyard and the sheep shows the Christians and their great relationship with God.
Jeremiah 31:25 “For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”
“I have” here is of the same significance with I will, as ordinarily in prophetical promises. Which are the words of Him who called the things that are not as if they were. And would have his people look upon the things which he hath promised to do as certain as if they were already done. The words are only a promise to the same sense as before. That God would give his people abundance of ease and plenty, and wipe all tears from their eyes.
“Satiated” in this verse means watered abundantly. The water is the Spirit of God. They have the Spirit abundantly watering the weary soul. Sorrow will be no more. God will wipe away all tears and sorrow.
Jeremiah 31:26 “Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.”
“My sleep was sweet”: The hope of Israel’s restoration brought a moment of peace in Jeremiah’s otherwise tumultuous ministry.
God had been speaking to Jeremiah in a dream. This was not a nightmare but a pleasant dream. This kind of dream from the Lord leaves us refreshed.
Jeremiah 31:27 “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.”
Or, “are coming”; and will be here shortly.
“That I will sow the house of Israel, and the house of Judah, with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast”: That is, will multiply both man and beast, so that there shall be a great increase. Whereas, through war, famine, pestilence, and captivity, their number was greatly reduced. The allusion is to the sowing of a field with seed, which in due time springs up, and produces a large increase. Some understand this of the spiritual blessing of regeneration. But that is not of corruptible seed, such as is here mentioned, but of incorruptible seed, by the word of God. Though this may be a type of the fruitfulness of the church in Gospel times; since afterwards an account is given of the new covenant, which should take place in those times.
This is an entirely new message from God here. It is not the same as the dream that ended (in verse 26). Sowing indicates broadcasting of seed for a big crop. This just means they will be multiplied greatly and their animals will be very productive as well.
Jeremiah 31:28 “And it shall come to pass, [that] like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD.”
“Build and … plant”: The Lord repeated what He at first told Jeremiah (in 1:10), regarding His two works of judging and blessing. The latter is in two images, architectural (build), and agricultural (plant).
The LORD is the Watchman who sees all that goes on. He deals with each thing in its proper time. It was God who sent the destruction as a chastisement on His people for their unfaithfulness. In fact, He saw that each detail of the punishment was carried out properly. Now that He has forgiven them and brought them back into the land, He will be just as careful to see that each of the blessings are proper also. God is like a father who is interested in the welfare of his children.
Jeremiah 31:29 “In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”
“Eaten a sour grape”: This was apparently a proverb among the exiles’ children born in Babylon, to express that they suffered the consequences of their fathers’ sins rather than their own (Lam. 5:7; Ezek. 18:2-3).
In the past, sins had been carried down from generation to generation. Sometimes a child suffered for the wrong a parent had done (read Exodus 20:5). This will not be true from now on. Each person will be responsible for his own sin.
Jeremiah 31:30 “But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.”
His own personal iniquity; and not a corporeal death only, but an eternal one, which is the just wages of sin. It seems to intimate, that after the Babylonish captivity, no public calamity should come upon them for the sins of their fathers and their own jointly, but for their own iniquities singularly. So their last destruction by the Romans was for their personal disbelief and rejection of the Messiah (see John 8:24). And the calamities upon them ever since have been for the same reason. Indeed, they caused a curse of their blood upon their children, and upon their children, and so it is. But then, their children are under the power of the same sin of unbelief, and will remain so, until the veil is taken away, and they turn to the Lord. After which it will still be a clearer case that everyone shall die for their own iniquity.
“Every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge”: Sin, though it may be esteemed a sweet morsel, is a sour grape, and will prove so in the issue. And will give a man as much trouble and disquietude, when he is convinced of the evil of it, or suffers the punishment of it. As when a man’s “teeth are set on edge”; and indeed, the consequence of it will be weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.
One of the best examples of this in the Bible is in Ananias and Sapphira. He lied to the Holy Ghost, and was killed for it. Later His wife comes in not knowing of her husband’s death. She lies to the Holy Ghost and is killed for her lie, not because of his lie. Jesus set us free. Each will stand before the Judge of all the world. We will stand there one at a time, and give an account. We will be judged by our own actions not by our parent’s actions.
Verses 31-34: The “New Covenant” is the culmination of God’s covenant-making with Israel. It may be viewed as a document of God’s prophetic program and of His policies of administration. Served as the manual of procedure from carrying out the moral, civil and ceremonial regulations relative to national Israel in the pre-Christ era (compare Deut. 7:6-11; Heb. 8:7-13). Some features of the old covenant are carried over into the New Covenant:
(1) There is in the New Covenant a stress on the importance of the unchangeable principles of God’s “law”. However, these will now be written not on stone but in the “hearts” of Gods people. They will become part of their “inward” code for living, and will conform in all respects to the moral law of the Scriptures. Accordingly, the idea that the Old Covenant called for (compare Deut. 6:6; 10:16 30:6), in external commandments, will be internalized under the terms of the New Covenant.
(2) With the establishment of the covenant at Sinai, Israel had become nationally God’s “people” (Exodus 6:6-7; 19:5-6). As such, they were to be a faithful and obedient people, reflecting His standards in their lives (Deut. 14:1-2; 26:16-19). In a far greater way, the intimacy of the believer with God makes the realization of God’s relation to His people under the terms of the New Covenant to be a full and living experience. Moreover, not just Israelites but all believers (those who “know” God, verse 34), are now called under the New Covenant “my people” (see 2 Cor. 6:16; Gal. 3:6-9; 15-18; 26-29; Titus 2:14). These feature of vital inwardness and a universality of the knowledge of God stand out as the two great distinctive elements in the New Covenant.
(3) A third feature that represents continuity with the Old Covenant, yet superiority under the New Covenant, is the matter of forgiveness. Although God is said to “forgive their iniquity” under the administration of the Sinaitic covenant (Exodus 34:6-7; Num. 14:18; Deut. 5:9-10; compare Psalm 86:15; Joel 2:13), in the stipulations of the New Covenant, God will “remember their sin no more”. This feature is a reminder that men in Old Testament times were saved in anticipation of the finished work of Calvary. Under the old economy, believers approached God in their worship experience through human mediators (Exodus 20:19). But with the completed redemption by Christ the members of the family of God now have direct access to God (compare 1 Tim. 2:5-6; Titus 2:11-14; 3:5-7; Heb. 9:1 to 10:22).
Where full forgiveness has been granted there is no more remembrance of sin. Positionally and experientially, with the living reality of both God’s law in the heart and the indwelling Christ (Col. 1:20-27). In the believer, there is not only full and continuous forgiveness of sin (1 John 1:8-9), but full provision for faithful and victorious living.
As a document of prophetic promise, like the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants, the New Covenant is unconditional. In form, it corresponds to the royal Grant Treaties of the ancient Near East. As to subject matter, by comparing (Jeremiah 31:31-34), with the other formulations of the New Covenant (e.g., 32:37-44; 33:14-26; Isa. 55:1-3; 61:1-11; Ezek. 34:22-31; 36:22-38; 37:21, 28), it may be seen that the New Covenant assimilates the elements of the promises made to Abraham and channeled with progressive light through David (see the note at 2 Sam. 7:12-16), and brings them to full realization.
Thus, the final blessing of Abraham’s seed will find fruition in Israel’s possession of the Promised Land in perpetuity under the rulership of Christ, the Greater Son of David, the Seed “par excellence” (compare 33:26; Ezek. 37:25-27; Micah 7:19-20 with Luke 1:68-78; Acts 3:25-26; Rev. 11:15).
Further, by faith in Christ, Gentile believers also become the spiritual seed of Abraham and members of the family of God (compare Isa. 45:22-25; Rom. 4:18-25; Gal. 3:26-29; Eph. 2:1 to 3:6; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Peter 2:9-10). Although the New Covenant is now operative (Matt. 26:27-28; 2 Cor. 3:6; Heb. 8:6-13), and is attended by the ministry of the Holy Spirit who is resident in believer’s’ lives (Acts 2:14-37; Rom. 8:23; 2 Cor. 1:20-22; 5:1-5; Eph. 1:13-14; 1 Thess. 5:19), the full realization of the New Covenant, as the capstone of all the covenants, awaits the second coming of Christ. He will give to Israel the promises distinctive to that nation, and will rule over the earth in an unprecedented period of universal peace (Isa. 2:4; Ezek. 34:25; 37:26), prosperity (Isa. 61:7-8; Ezek. 34:26-27), and the full knowledge (verse 34), of the abiding presence of God (Ezek. 48:35; Joel 3:21).
Jeremiah 31:31 “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:”
In this prophecy Jeremiah foresees the new covenant (“testament”), that God will make with mankind by extending His grace to the Gentiles. Under this new covenant, God will call out a people for Himself from all the nations of the earth to form the bride of Christ (Rev. 21:1-9). This new and unconditional covenant is better than the old covenant because it rests on the efficacy of Christ’s atonement for the sins of mankind (Heb. 8:10-12; Luke 22:17-20; Eph. 1:10).
This is the covenant of grace. Salvation will come through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, not by works.
Galatians 2:16 “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
The old covenant made with Abraham was an everlasting covenant based on faith in God. The law was given to Moses for the people because of their sins.
Jeremiah 31:32 “Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day [that] I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith the LORD:”
Our familiarity with the words hinders us, for the most part, from recognizing what must have seemed their exceeding boldness. That the Covenant with Israel, given with all conceivable sanctions as coming directly from Jehovah (Exodus 24:7-8), should thus be set aside, as man repeals an earthly law. The man who could say this without trembling must indeed have been confident that he too was taught of God. And that the new teaching was higher than the old.
“Although I was a husband unto them”: The words declare the ground on which Jehovah might well have looked for the allegiance of Israel (see notes on Jer. 2:2; 3:20).
Verse 32 is speaking of the law that was given to Moses for the people at Mount Sinai. One big difference is the law of the old covenant was written on tables of stone. The new covenant is written on the hearts of the believers. The first covenant was based on man’s obligation to God. The second covenant was based on the unmerited favor God showed to man. God did it for us. We just accept His great gift to us. God was a husband to them in the sense of His protection. He fed them miraculously. He guarded them. He opened the way for them at the Red Sea. He was everything a good husband should be. Mankind failed God in that he did not obey God. Man broke the covenant not God.
Jeremiah 31:33 “But this [shall be] the covenant 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.”
The Lord would solve the problem of a corrupt heart (17:1, 9), by writing His laws on the hearts of His people. In other words, by the indwelling Spirit of God, the laws of God would move from being an external to an internal reality (Ezek. 11:19). This provision of the New covenant was instituted through the blood of Christ (Luke 22:30). The unconditional covenants God made with Israel secure her future blessings, and the blood of the New Covenant secures all those who are in Christ (Heb. 8:7-13; 10:14-18).
Jeremiah 31:34 “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 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.”
In the New Covenant, every individual would truly “know” the Lord through a direct personal relationship rather than one that was mediated primarily through priests and prophets (Hab. 2:14).
The new covenant is one of the heart. God’s love poured out into man. Christianity is of the heart. Christianity is not a keeping of the law, but of loving the Lawgiver. Hebrews says it best.
Hebrews 8:10-12 “For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:” “And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.” “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”
None of us want the justice of the law, when we can have the mercy of the covenant of grace.
Verses 35-37: These verses emphasize the certainty with which Israel can expect God to fulfill the New Covenant (compare 33:17-22, 25-26).
All of the earth and all the “ordinances” that hold them together would have to cease before God ceases to acknowledge Israel as a nation.
Jeremiah 31:35 “Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, [and] the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts [is] his name:”
As he did at first, and still continues it. And which is a wonderful gift of nature he bestows on men, unworthy of such a favor (Matt. 5:45).
“And the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night”: Which have a settled regular order and course, in which they move. And whereby they impart the light they borrow from the sun, to enlighten the world by night. Which is another favor to the inhabitants of it (see Gen. 1:16).
“Which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar”: Some refer this, as Kimchi, to the dividing of the Red sea for the Israelites to pass over. But it rather respects an action more frequently done; and should be rendered, which “stilleth”, or “maketh the sea quiet”; which best agrees with what follows. When it is tumultuous, and threatens the loss of ships and men’s lives, and attempts to pass its bounds, he “rebukes it”. So the Targum; and makes it calm; he stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves (Psalm 65:7).
“The Lord of hosts is his name”: That has all the armies of heaven and earth at his command, and can do whatever he pleases. He, and he only, can do the above things, and does them; and he that can do them, is able to make good the covenant he has made with the house of Israel, and fulfil the promises of it. Of which there is an assurance; as well as he is able to secure an interest and a church for himself unto the end of the world, as the following words show in the next scripture.
God spoke the Word and they were created. Each thing God created was for a purpose. The sun shone light on the earth in the day. The moon was signs to Israel. Each full moon was a new month. The moon controls the tides of the sea. The LORD of hosts and the Word of God are the same. They are both Creator God.
Jeremiah 31:36 “If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, [then] the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.”
Of the sun, moon, and stars. Should these leave their proper course, and not perform their several functions, or do the service appointed for them. Should they desert their master, or disobey his orders, turn away from him, and pay no regard to the laws and rules he has set them.
“Then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before me for ever”: But, as the former is impossible, so is the latter. The Jews ceased not from being a nation through their captivity in Babylon, nor through their destruction by the Romans. They continue a distinct nation and people to this day, though scattered throughout the nations of the world. Though this rather refers to the spiritual Israel, the holy nation and peculiar people. Christ will have a seed to serve him as long as the sun and moon endure. His church shall continue to the end of the world. It is built on a rock; and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.
As long as the sun and the moon exists, Israel will be a nation in the sight of God. We will get into the two sticks which make up Israel in our study on Ezekiel. For now, I will just say that physical and spiritual Israel make up this nation (family), of God.
Jeremiah 31:37 “Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.”
Either the space between the highest heavens and the earth. Or the extent of the heavens, from one end of them to the other, which cannot be done by man. So the Targum, “as it is impossible that man should know the measure of the heavens above;”. Otherwise it is measured by the Lord, for he hath “meted out heaven with a span” (Isa. 40:12).
“And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath”: So as to be known what they are, or on what they are fastened, since the earth is hung upon nothing (1 Job 38:6).
“I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord”: As the former cannot be, so neither the latter. When there was a very great rejection of the Jews for their disbelief of the Messiah, they were not all cast off. The Apostle Paul was an instance to the contrary, and so were others: “the remnant according to the election of grace”. And there is a time coming when all Israel shall be saved. Nor shall any of the spiritual Israel be cast off by him, or cast away from him, so as to perish. The Israel, whom God foreknew, is chosen, redeemed, and whom he calls by his grace. No, not for all the sins and transgressions they have been guilty of, however they may deserve it. The reasons are, because of his unchangeable love to them. His unalterable covenant with them; the satisfaction his son has made for them; and the free and full pardon of their sins, which he has granted to them.
This is speaking of the absurdity of thinking that God would do away with Israel. The important word in this is “all”. He does destroy many of them because of their sins, but always keeps a remnant.
Verses 38-40: The tower was in the northeast corner of the city (compare Neh. 3:1; 12:39). When New Covenant promises are ultimately fulfilled to Israel in its regathering to its land, rebuilt Jerusalem will meet certain specifications. The “Gate of the corner” is at the northwest corner (2 Kings 14:13; 2 Chron. 26:29). The “measuring line” marks out the area for rebuilding. It will point over the hill Gareb and then toward Goah; both places are impossible to identify today. The “valley of… dead bodies” is the valley of Hinnom, a place of refuse and burning fires (compare 7:13, and see note there). The “Horse Gate” was at the southeast corner of the temple courts (2 Kings 11:16; Neh. 3:28).
Jeremiah 31:38 “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.”
Since the Jews never suffered any additions to the Bible. Jarchi says this prophecy refers to future times in the latter redemption, and never was fulfilled in the second temple. And indeed, under the figure of rebuilding Jerusalem, seems to be intended the building of the Gospel church, which was to continue to the end of time. For both holiness and perpetuity are ascribed to it.
“That the city shall be built to the Lord”: The city of Jerusalem; which was to be rebuilt upon the return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity, as by the order, and under the direction and protection of the Lord, so for his service and worship. The temple in it should be built up again, and divine worship restored. And both that and the city, with the inhabitants of it, be devoted to his service. A type of the Gospel church, built up a habitation for God, where he is worshipped, feared, and glorified.
“From the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner”: Of the tower of Hananeel mention is made in (Neh. 3:1). The Targum calls it the tower of Pikkus. Lightfoot places it on the south side of the city, bending to the east. But most place it on the east side of it. Here probably the building of the city began in Nehemiah’s time, and proceeded to the gate of the corner, which lay northeast; of which (see (2 Kings 14:13). Jerom interprets the tower of Hananeel the tower of obedience, or of the grace and gifts of God, which latter is not much amiss. And the spiritual building of the church proceeds from the grace of God, upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ being the chief corner stone (Eph. 2:20).
Jeremiah 31:39 “And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.”
Rather, straight forward unto the hill Gareb. The hill of Gareb is not mentioned elsewhere. Its meaning is probably “Leper’s Hill.” It must, of course, have been outside the city, and may be identified (after Schleussner and Hitzig), with “the fourth hill, which is called Bezetha”.
“To Goath”: Rather, to Goah. But the reading of the Peshito, “to Gibeah,” should probably be adopted.
Jeremiah 31:40 “And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, [shall be] holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.”
A valley so called (as some think), from the multitude of Sennacherib’s army slain there. Or, (as others think), from the bodies of malefactors put to death at Golgotha (which was near), cast or buried there.
“And of the ashes”: So called (as is thought), from the ashes of the sacrifices carried thither. Some think that the horse gate had its name from the king’s horses led out at it. The sum is, the whole city shall be built.
“Shall be holy unto the Lord”: All these places shall be parts of the holy city, and God’s name shall be sanctified, and he shall be worshipped in them all. And the city for a long time shall abide, and not be plucked up, nor thrown down. For we know after many years it was plucked up by the Romans. If we interpret the word for ever of a perpetuity, the church of God must here be understood, against which the gates of hell shall never prevail, as Christ hath promised.
This just has to be the New Jerusalem. This will be a city of truth and righteousness. Jesus will be the Supreme Ruler or King. There will be no more ruin, or death, or sorrow. Jerusalem had been destroyed many times but this says it will never be destroyed again. This is that permanent holy city. The area marked off is for the temple of God. Look with me at that true temple.
Revelation 21:22 “And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.”