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30. Restoration of Israel

¹ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ² “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. ³ The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel and Judah and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the LORD.”

⁴ These are the words the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah: ⁵ “This is what the LORD says:

   “‘Cries of fear are heard—
   terror, not peace.
⁶ Ask and see:
   Can a man bear children?
Then why do I see every strong man
   with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,
   every face turned deathly pale?
⁷ How awful that day will be!
   No other will be like it.
It will be a time of trouble for Jacob,
   but he will be saved out of it.

    ⁸ “‘In that day,’ declares the LORD Almighty,
   ‘I will break the yoke off their necks
and will tear off their bonds;
   no longer will foreigners enslave them.
⁹ Instead, they will serve the LORD their God
   and David their king,
   whom I will raise up for them.

    ¹⁰ “‘So do not be afraid, Jacob my servant;
   do not be dismayed, Israel,’ declares the LORD.
‘I will surely save you out of a distant place,
   your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,
   and no one will make him afraid.
¹¹ I am with you and will save you,’
   declares the LORD.
‘Though I completely destroy all the nations
   among which I scatter you,
   I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you but only in due measure;
   I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’

¹² “This is what the LORD says:

   “‘Your wound is incurable,
   your injury beyond healing.
¹³ There is no one to plead your cause,
   no remedy for your sore,
   no healing for you.
¹⁴ All your allies have forgotten you;
   they care nothing for you.
I have struck you as an enemy would
   and punished you as would the cruel,
because your guilt is so great
   and your sins so many.
¹⁵ Why do you cry out over your wound,
   your pain that has no cure?
Because of your great guilt and many sins
   I have done these things to you.

    ¹⁶ “‘But all who devour you will be devoured;
   all your enemies will go into exile.
Those who plunder you will be plundered;
   all who make spoil of you I will despoil.
¹⁷ But I will restore you to health
   and heal your wounds,’ declares the LORD,
‘because you are called an outcast,
   Zion for whom no one cares.’

¹⁸ “This is what the LORD says:

   “‘I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents
   and have compassion on his dwellings;
the city will be rebuilt on her ruins,
   and the palace will stand in its proper place.
¹⁹ From them will come songs of thanksgiving
   and the sound of rejoicing.
I will add to their numbers,
   and they will not be decreased;
I will bring them honor,
   and they will not be disdained.
²⁰ Their children will be as in days of old,
   and their community will be established before me;
   I will punish all who oppress them.
²¹ Their leader will be one of their own;
   their ruler will arise from among them.
I will bring him near and he will come close to me—
   for who is he who will devote himself
   to be close to me?’ declares the LORD.
²² “‘So you will be my people,
   and I will be your God.’”

    ²³ See, the storm of the LORD
   will burst out in wrath,
a driving wind swirling down
   on the heads of the wicked.
²⁴ The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back
   until he fully accomplishes
   the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
   you will understand this.

As this verse and what occurs in the first verse of the next chapter are materially the same, they shall be both explained here. God then says that the Jews would become a people to him, and that he would become a God to them. This mode of speaking is what we meet with everywhere in the Prophets; and it is very expressive, and includes the whole of true happiness. For when have we life, except when we become the people of God? We ought also to bear in mind that saying of the Psalmist,

“Blessed are the people whose God is Jehovah.”
(Psalm 144:15)

It confirms what I have just said, that a happy life is complete in all its parts, when God promises to be a God to us and takes us as his people. The Prophets, therefore, do not without reason so often inculcate this truth; for though nothing else might be wanting to us that could be expected, yet until we feel assured that God is a Father to us, and that we are his people, whatever happiness we may have, it will only end in misery.

But the Prophet expresses himself more fully, when he says, At that time, that is, when God restored his Church, will I be a God to all the families of Israel They had been so scattered, that they were not one body; but God promises the gathering of that Church, from which the ten tribes had fallen off, when they revolted from the family of David. I cannot proceed farther now.