Read
The Lord Will Rescue Israel
1-2The Lord God of Israel said, “Jeremiah, get a scroll and write down everything I have told you. 3Someday I will let my people from both Israel and Judah return to the land I gave their ancestors.”
4-5Then the Lord told me to say to Israel and Judah:
Screams of terror are heard,
with no word of peace.
6Can men give birth?
Then why do I see them
looking so pale
and clutching their stomachs
like women in labor?
7My people, soon you will suffer
worse than ever before,
but I will save you.
8Now you are slaves
of other nations,
but I will break the chains
and smash the yokes
that keep you in slavery.
9Then you will be my servants,
and I will choose a king for you
from the family of David.
* 10 Israel, you belong to me,
so don't be afraid.
You deserved to be punished;
that's why I scattered you
in distant nations.
But I am with you,
and someday I will destroy
those nations.
11Then I will bring you
and your descendants
back to your land,
where I will protect you
and give you peace.
Then your fears will be gone.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
The Lord Will Heal Israel
12The Lord said:
My people, you are wounded
and near death.
13You are accused of a crime
with no one to defend you,
and you are covered with sores
that no medicine can cure.
* 14Your friends have forgotten you;
they don't care anymore.
Even I have acted like an enemy.
And because your sins
are horrible and countless,
I will be cruel
as I punish you.
15So don't bother to cry out
for relief from your pain.
16But if your enemies try to rob
or destroy you,
I will rob and destroy them,
and they will be led as captives
to foreign lands.
17No one wants you as a friend
or cares what happens to you.
But I will heal your injuries,
and you will get well.
The Lord Will Rescue Israel
18The Lord said:
Israel, I will be kind to you
and let you come home.
Jerusalem now lies in ruins,
but you will rebuild it,
complete with a new palace.
19Other nations will respect
and honor you.
Your homes will be filled
with children,
and you will celebrate,
singing praises to me.
20It will be just like old times.
Your nation will worship me,
and I will punish anyone
who abuses you.
21One of your own people
will become your ruler.
And when I invite him
to come near me
at the place of worship,
he will do so.
No one would dare to come near
without being invited.
22You will be my people,
and I will be your God.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
23I am furious!
And like a violent storm
I will strike those
who do wrong.
24I won't calm down
until I have finished
what I have decided to do.
Someday, you will understand
what I mean.
Reflect
Chapters 30-33 have been called “The Book of Consolation” because they speak of the restoration of the Jews. They would one day return to the Promised Land. Jeremiah sees something even more important in their future: a new relationship with their God, which he will describe in chapter 31.
Chapter 30 is confusing to us. Doesn’t God say “I will protect you . . . ” in v 11? Then why does he say in verses 12 and 14 “You are wounded and near death . . . I will be cruel . . . ”? It’s worse in the NIV and ESV translations, more literal than the CEV:“This is what the Lord says: ‘Your wound is incurable, your injury beyond healing”(NIV)!
There are two things to notice here. One is that the book of Jeremiah is constructed differently from the way we would write. It does not proceed logically and smoothly. Things are not recorded in chronological order. The other is that Jeremiah has several different horizons in view. One is the immediate horizon: the people will be taken into exile, and there is no avoiding that. But beyond the exile there will be restoration, first literally, when the Jews return to the promised land, and beyond that God has a new covenant in mind.
Even now, as we live under the new covenant which Jesus made with us, there is still suffering in the present and restoration in our future. The Gospels teach us that “in this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33), but also see into the far future, when “a sign will appear in the sky. And there will be the Son of Man. All nations on earth will . . . see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. At the sound of a loud trumpet, he will send his angels to bring his chosen ones together from all over the earth” (Matthew 24:30,31).
What Jeremiah does not say is “Don’t worry. You are God’s chosen people. Everything will be all right.” Exile was to be a discipline for the Jews, the result of their disobedience. God disciplines us too (Hebrews 12:3-11). We live with the tension: for now there is suffering, pain and discipline, but one day God will make everything right.
Respond
Help us, Lord, to listen when you discipline us. Thank you that you do this not to punish us but to make us more like Jesus. Help us too to remember your promise that one day there will be no more tears when you finally make all things right. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.
Annabel Robinson
Annabel was born in Kew, near London, England. She committed her life to Jesus Christ at a Scripture Union camp when she was 16, and immediately found joy and peace. At Oxford she was active in the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, where she met her husband, Reid. They emigrated to Canada in 1965, where she taught Classics at the University of Regina until 2007. She has two children, Heather in Oslo and Alasdair in Calgary.