Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Jeremiah 31:25

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

A new city and a new age (31:23-40)

Jeremiah has a vision of Jerusalem as a city of righteousness and Judah as a land of contentment. It is a vision that gives him the satisfaction of a pleasant dream (23-26). God had been responsible for the devastation of their land in the past, but he will also be responsible for its productivity in the future (27-28). The people by then will have learnt the lessons of their captivity. They will no longer blame their forefathers for their misfortunes, but will realize that people are punished for their own sins (29-30).
The people of Israel had been unfaithful to the covenant that God made with them at Sinai, and therefore they never enjoyed the close relation with God that he intended for them. God now promises to make a new covenant (31-32).
God’s new covenant will not be spoiled by people’s imperfections, because it will not depend upon their obedience to a set of laws. God will change people by working within them, by giving them a better knowledge of his will and the inner strength to carry it out. Instead of priests alone being able to approach God, all will know God. People will not need priests as mediators between them and God, because God himself will deal with their sins. He will remove all barriers and bring them into direct fellowship with himself (33-34).

(This new covenant came into being through the death of Jesus Christ. All who have faith in him receive its blessings. For the New Testament development of Jeremiah’s prophecy see Hebrews 8:6-13; Hebrews 9:15; Hebrews 10:12-18; Galatians 3:14,Galatians 3:28-29.)

As surely as God will continue to control the universe, so just as surely will he restore Israel and Judah to their land (35-37). Jerusalem will be rebuilt and possibly extended beyond its former boundaries. Places around the city that were formerly defiled will be purified, so that Jerusalem becomes a city entirely dedicated to God (38-40).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Yet again shall they use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity: Jehovah bless thee, O habitation of righteousness, O mountain of holiness. And Judah and all the cities thereof shall dwell therein together, the husbandman, and they that go about with flocks. For I have satiated the weary soul, and every sorrowful soul have I replenished. Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me."

"Upon this I awaked" God's revelation of this chapter had apparently come to Jeremiah in a dream, one of the "various means" (Hebrews 1:1) by which God of old spoke to the fathers by the prophets. This explanation was the one accepted by Lindblom.Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1971), p. 152. The particular revelation that resulted in the dream's coming to an end was the prophecy of the return of the remnant of Israel from captivity in Babylon to Jerusalem and Judah and to the prosperity that would ensue. Much of that promised happiness and prosperity never materialized, because of the failure of the returnees to repent and turn wholeheartedly unto God, as revealed in some of the minor prophets, notably Micah.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Sorrowful - Or, languishing Jeremiah 31:12.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

By this verse he removes every doubt, lest any one should reject what he had promised as to the restoration of the people, because the Jews and the Israelites were at the time as dead men. He therefore says, I will water the thirsty soul; some render it “the weary soul;” but נפש עיפה, n upesh oiphe, is often taken metaphorically for a thirsty soul. So in Psalms 143:6, it is said,

“I am as a dry land;”

weariness cannot be suitably applied to land; and in Isaiah 29:8, we have these words,

“As one dreaming he thinks that he eats; afterwards, when awake, his soul is empty: and as one who thinks that he drinks,”

etc. The Prophet employs there the same word, because there is hardly ever weariness without thirst; we contract thirst by weariness. Then the soul is said to be עיפה, oiphe, by a metaphor, not weary, but on the contrary thirsty; and the verb corresponds, which means to inebriate, to irrigate, or to water, and often to satiate. I will then irrigate, or water to satiety, thy dry soul, and every soul which faints, etc., but as דאב, dab, means to be deficient, and sometimes to be wearied, here it denotes a defect, for it follows, I will fill It is then to be taken for a famished soul. ⁽⁴⁷⁾

The meaning is, that though the Israelites should hunger and thirst, and be for a time without food and drink, yet their want would not prevent God from affording them relief, for he had the power and the will to satisfy the hungry, and to give drink to the thirsty, or to those who were fainting on account of thirst. It now follows, —

(47) Both the Sept. and Syr. render the first word “thirsty,” and the second, “hungry,” agreeably with the verbs which precede them. The “weary” and “sorrowful” of our version are no doubt wrong; the first, adopted from the Vulg.; and the second from the Targ.

For I will water the thirsty soul, And every hungry soul will I fill.

“Soul” here means the person, the individual, — “I will water him that is thirsty,” etc. — Ed.

Smith's Bible Commentary

This time shall we turn in our Bibles to Jeremiah 31:1-40 .

Now there are those who say that God has cast off Israel as a nation forever, and that all of the blessings, all of the covenants and all of the promises that God made to this nation are now fulfilled in the church. That we have become Israel after the Spirit and being spiritual Israel, God has forsaken the nation itself and is now pouring out all of the blessings that He had promised through His covenant upon the church. Now this teaching creates all kinds of problems as far as your views of eschatology, because immediately it places the church in the Great Tribulation.

Now as we were in the thirtieth chapter of Jeremiah we found out where God speaks of the nation Israel going to be in the Great Tribulation and experiencing that time of Jacob's trouble. But it is our view and strong conviction that the church will not be in the Great Tribulation, inasmuch as the Great Tribulation is the time of God's wrath being poured out upon the church, I mean, upon the world, and the Lord said that we have not been appointed-that is, the church-unto wrath.

So as we get into chapter 31, it is more or less a continuation of chapter 30. For he said,

At the same time ( Jeremiah 31:1 ),

At what time? As you go back to verse Jeremiah 31:24 of chapter 30, he declares, "The fierce anger of the Lord shall not return, until He has done it, and has performed the intents of His heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it" ( Jeremiah 30:24 ). "At that same time," that would be, then, the latter days.

saith the LORD ( Jeremiah 31:1 ),

When God again restores the nation Israel to a place of divine favor and love. "At that same time, saith the Lord."

will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people ( Jeremiah 31:1 ).

Now, in the ninth chapter of Daniel, Daniel was seeking the Lord concerning the repatriation of the Jews back to their land after the seventy years of Babylonian captivity. The whole ninth chapter of Daniel begins with the fact that Daniel had been reading the prophecies of Jeremiah and he discovered by the words of Jeremiah that the time that God had ordained the Babylonian captivity was seventy years. And realizing that these seventy years were about over, Daniel began to pray unto the Lord confessing his sins and the sins of the nation and the righteousness of God and the judgment and in this period of seventy years that they have been in exile in Babylon.

And as Daniel was in prayer, the angel of the Lord came unto him and declared unto him that he was highly blessed and favored of the Lord. And that the Lord had said unto Daniel to give to him wisdom and understanding as regards to the nation Israel and its future. And He said, "Know and understand that from the time the commandment that there are seventy sevens that are determined upon the nation Israel, to finish the transgressions, to make an end of sin, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to complete the prophetic picture, to anoint the most holy One, or the most holy place, and to bring in the everlasting kingdom," seventy sevens. "But know and understand that from the time the commandment goes forth to restore and rebuild Jerusalem unto the coming of the Messiah the prince will be seven sevens and sixty-two sevens, or sixty-nine seven-year periods or 483 years" ( Daniel 9:25 ). And of course, it was 483 years from the time the commandment went forth to restore and rebuild Jerusalem to the coming of Jesus Christ in His triumphant entry. He came 483 years to the day from the commandment went forth to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.

Now that takes care of sixty-nine of the sevens. But we have one seven-year period unaccounted for. He said, "After the Messiah is revealed, He will be cut off without receiving the kingdom or without receiving anything for Himself" ( Daniel 9:26 ) And the Jews will be dispersed, and that is exactly what happened. Christ came at the appointed time, but rather than being anointed, and rather than ushering in at that moment the everlasting kingdom, and rather than completing all of the prophecies, the Messiah was cut off. He did bring reconciliation for our iniquities by His death upon the cross. He has reconciled us to God. And He did make an end of sin. He did finish sin as far as we are concerned, making that reconciliation for us. But the latter three prophecies were not fulfilled and wait a yet future date for fulfillment. The Messiah was cut off. And then He went on to say, "And the prince of the people that shall come will make a covenant with the nation Israel. But in the midst of that seven-year period, he will break the covenant and establish the abomination which causes desolation. And until the end desolation is determined" ( Daniel 9:26 ).

Daniel then went on, told about the seventieth week, but he did make a definite break between the sixty-ninth and the seventieth week. And there has been a definite break. When Jesus was cut off, not for Himself but for the people, and when He was cut off without receiving the kingdom, the Jews were dispersed and have been dispersed into all of the world until in the past generation the Zionist movement as they've gone back and are going back to their homeland and have established as of May 1948 a homeland.

Now Jesus having made reference to Daniel's prophecy in Matthew 24:1-51 in response to the question of the disciples, "What will be the sign of Your coming and the end of the age?" He said, "Now when you see the abomination of desolation that was spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, then flee to the wilderness" ( Matthew 24:15-16 ). What is the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet? Is when the antichrist, this prince of the people that shall come, will come into the temple and stand in that holy place of the temple and creates the abomination of desolation by declaring that he is God, stopping the daily prayers and sacrifices, and demanding that he be worshipped as God. Paul the apostle speaks of this in the second chapter of Thessalonians, how that he will stand in the temple of God declaring himself to be God and demanding to be worshipped as God.

Now Jesus gave this as part of the sign of the end of the age and His coming. And He is talking again to the Jews and He said, "When you see this happen, and let him who reads understand, then flee to the wilderness. Pray that your flight will not be on the Sabbath day or the new moon. Don't bother to go home to get your clothes, just get out of there as quickly as you can" ( Matthew 24:15-20 ). Of course in Revelation, we are told that God will give them wings of the angel to bear them to the wilderness place where they will be nourished for three-and-a-half years. So there is one seven-year period in which God is going to be dealing with the nation Israel once again. Seventy sevens were determined on the nation; sixty-nine of them have been fulfilled. We are still waiting for the seventieth seven to be determined, or that seventieth seven to be fulfilled. It will not be fulfilled until the church is taken out of here.

Right now God's Spirit is resting upon the church and the church is God's instrument upon the earth. But the Lord is going to take His church out and when He does, then He will put His Spirit again upon the nation Israel and He'll begin to deal with them once more nationally. God has not cast off Israel forever. God is going to deal with them yet and they shall yet become the covenant people of God. The seven years that God is dealing with them will be a time, as Jeremiah writes here in the thirtieth chapter, of Jacob's trouble. It's not going to be an easy period. It's going to be very difficult. They are going to be driven from their land once again. And there's going to be another holocaust, unfortunately, as Satan vents his anger against these people who were God's instrument of bringing the Messiah into the world. And through the antichrist will seek to make war against Israel to destroy these people completely. So at the end of that seven-year period, then Jesus will return again and they will receive, recognize and honor Him as their Savior, as their Messiah, as their Lord, and we will be united with them in the kingdom as we serve the Lord.

So, "At that same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel and they shall be My people."

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. 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 ( Jeremiah 31:2-3 ).

So God speaks of His love for Israel, an everlasting love. And with lovingkindness He has drawn them.

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. Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria ( Jeremiah 31:4-5 ):

Now that's the West Bank. So notwithstanding all of the political hassle that's being made over it, now it's still going to be Israel's. And they're going to plant vines there in Samaria in the West Bank.

the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things. 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 ( Jeremiah 31:5-6 ).

When Christ comes and establishes the kingdom and sits there upon His throne on mount Zion.

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. Behold, I will bring them from the north country [Russia], and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travails with child together: a great company shall return thither. 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 ( Jeremiah 31:7-9 ).

That's an interesting statement for God to declare that Ephraim was His firstborn, because we remember from the story that Manasseh was actually the firstborn. They were twins and Manasseh... or no, they were brothers, Joseph's sons. And Manasseh was the older and yet God said Ephraim is My firstborn. So firstborn does not mean the first to be born as far as a space of time, but it means first in prominence or has the pre-eminence of those that were born. And that causes us to understand other scriptures which are used by the Jehovah Witnesses to try to prove that Jesus is not the Son of God or is not God manifested in the flesh.

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 does his flock ( Jeremiah 31:10 ).

Now this is God's promise. He says, "Proclaim it! I scatter them, but I'm going to gather them again."

For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, there'll be wheat, and wine, and 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 ( Jeremiah 31:11-12 ).

That glorious day when they are received again and joined unto God and to His Son Jesus Christ.

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. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD. Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children and refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not ( Jeremiah 31:13-15 ).

Now Matthew in the New Testament takes this as a prophecy of Herod killing all of the children two years old and under at the time of the birth of Christ, in order that he might destroy the king that was born that the wise men from the east came looking for him. "And Joseph being warned by the angel in a dream to flee to Egypt with the child had left Bethlehem and Herod had ordered all of the children two years and under to be slain in Bethlehem, that," Matthew said, "the prophecy might be fulfilled which declared, 'Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because they are not'" ( Matthew 2:13 , Matthew 2:17-18 ). And so he sees that as a prophecy of this period in which Herod ordered the slaying of the children.

Now I would not in reading through this see that this was a prediction of that event. But I accept that it is, because Matthew by the Holy Spirit declares that it is. And the New Testament is really the best commentary we have on the Old Testament. And it is interesting to me in the prophecies concerning Jesus Christ how these things are just sort of hid here and yet those enlightened by the Holy Spirit suddenly see them and they see their fulfillment in the Lord. And just in reading this in its context we are really talking about a yet future event, and yet, by the Holy Spirit Matthew says this was fulfilled and was a prediction of Herod's slaying of the innocent children.

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 ( Jeremiah 31:16 ).

So God promises the restoration, coming out from the land of the enemy.

And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border ( Jeremiah 31:17 ).

So you've got hope. You're going to be coming back again into the borders of the country.

I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself declaring; 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. 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. 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 will have mercy upon him, saith the LORD ( Jeremiah 31:18-20 ).

Now listen how God speaks about a wayward son Ephraim. Not as this, "I cast him off forever. I'm through with him. I disinherit him. I disown him." But God did speak of the judgment that was going to come upon him. "I spoke against him, but I earnestly remember him still." And actually, "I inwardly am groaning for him. And I will surely have mercy upon him."

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. How long will you go about, O you backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man. 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 ( Jeremiah 31:21-23 ).

This will be again declared, "Oh, the Lord bless thee." And He says, "I will use this speech in the land of Judah in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity, as they declare, 'The Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness.'"

Now, of course, there is also another thing here and that is in this present-day re-gathering into Israel, the use again of the Hebrew language. After they returned from the Babylonian captivity, Hebrew was not the general language in Israel any longer. But they spoke Aramaic and they spoke Greek. But they did not really speak Hebrew. Only the scholars, the scribes and all, spoke Hebrew. All of the children growing up in Babylon in the two generations in Babylon the kids didn't bother to learn the Hebrew language. And so they just were, of course, were in the Babylon schools and playing with their boyfriends and girlfriends and all there in Babylon, and they just picked up the Aramaic and of course that became the language when they returned, the common language. But it is interesting as a part of the modern Zionist movement was when in their return to the land they established again Hebrew as the national language of the land. Everybody learns Hebrew when they go back and they speak Hebrew there. And so they're again using this speech of Hebrew and declaring, "The Lord bless thee," in Hebrew, "O habitation of justice."

And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in the cities thereof together, husbandmen, shepherds who will be going forth with their flocks. For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul. Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house ( Jeremiah 31:24-27 )

As he thought about this, Jeremiah awoke as God was speaking to him these things, and it was just a beautiful thing to realize God's restoration of the people. He was facing... they were facing, then, their destruction. And yet God took him beyond the dark period of history that was right upon them and out to the end really and the glorious restoration of God's grace and love upon the people.

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. 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 ( Jeremiah 31:27-28 ).

Now if you go back to the first chapter of Jeremiah when God is calling Jeremiah to his prophetic ministry, the Lord said unto Jeremiah, verse Jeremiah 31:10 of chapter 1, "See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant." So he was to prophesy that destruction that was going to come upon these people. And now God declares, "I've watched over them to pluck them up, to break them down, to throw them down, to destroy and to afflict, but I will also watch over them to build and to plant." So God's restoration of His work with the nation Israel.

In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be on edge ( Jeremiah 31:29-30 ).

Now they had this proverb, and basically the proverb was trying to blame the fathers for all of the calamities instead of accepting responsibility yourself.

When I was a kid it was all the responsibility for the bad things that went on were laid on the kids. We were held responsible for those things that we were doing. When I became an adult then they changed. They said it was all the parents' fault. So I've got sort of got it both directions. Got it when I was a kid, and now I'm getting it when I'm an adult, as they blamed now the adults for all of the problems with the children. They say that personality equals heredity, environment, and time. And the formula that they use is P=HET. Personality equals heredity, environment, and time. And there's quite a discussion now on how much is heredity, how much is environment, and how much making up your personality. But it always seems that there is that endeavor to throw the blame for my faults onto somebody else. Man does not like to take responsibility for his own actions. And if I can blame someone else for what I've done wrong, I'm always looking for a scapegoat. I'm always looking for someone to blame. For you see, I'm so perfect that if these other environmental things weren't around me, I could be a perfect person. But it's all of these annoyances and all that are around me that create this loss of temper and create these dumb things that I do. It's not really my fault. It's the kids have got the TV on too loud in the other room and that's why I dropped the vase and broke it. It wasn't really that I'm just a clumsy oaf; it was their fault, you know. And we're always looking for someone to blame for our own weaknesses or our own failures.

And so this proverb became a very current, popular thing. And so they say, "Well, you know, my teeth are set on edge because my father ate sour grapes. And so my teeth are sharp and on edge, you know." And blaming their fathers for their problems. He said, "That's a proverb they're not going to be using anymore. Every man's going to be responsible for his own action." And in truth, we are each of us when we stand before God, we're responsible for our own actions. We can't say, "Well, my dad was a mess. I couldn't relate to you as a father because my dad was such a horrible father, you know." That won't go. You're going to have to answer to God for what you've done. You are responsible for what you have done.

Now, there have been religious groups that have tried to take responsibility off of you. And they say, "Well, we'll be your shepherd, you know, and we'll be responsible for you." People really gathered after them like everything because we like to escape responsibility for our own actions. People say, "Well, it's the devil that made you do it, you know." Oh, that's great, make him responsible. No, I am responsible for what I do and I'm going to have to answer to God for what I have done. And when I come before God, I can't say, "Well, my dad ate sour grapes. That's why my teeth were on edge." I'll have to just answer to God for what I am, for what I've done, even as you are going to have to answer to God and you can't find a scapegoat. You can't lay the blame on anybody else. Every man will answer for himself.

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: 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 broke, although I was a husband unto them, saith the LORD ( Jeremiah 31:31-32 ):

I'm going to make a new covenant. Not like the covenant that I made.

Now what was the covenant that He made with them? When they came out of Egypt, they came to mount Sinai and there God gave them the law and God said when He gave them the law, "He that doeth these, he that liveth by these things and doeth them shall be My people." So the covenant that God made with them first was a covenant that was predicated upon their obedience to that law. Now they broke that covenant, God said. They didn't obey the law. God gave to them the Ten Commandments; they broke them. They did not keep them. So God said, "I'm going to make a new covenant with them. In that day I'll make a new covenant. Not like the old covenant that was predicated upon their obedience and their faithfulness to obey the law. And I will be their God and they will be My people, and so forth, if they live by these things and do these things."

But what is the new covenant?

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 ( Jeremiah 31:33 ).

That is, I will give them a change of attitude within. I will give them a change of heart. It will not be an outward law that is forcing me obedience, but now it is a new covenant where God writes His law in my heart by creating in me a new nature. Now that's, of course, exactly what God has done for us. That's what Christianity is all about. Jesus said, "You've got to be born again. You were born of the flesh, but you've got to be born of the Spirit. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Don't marvel that I say you've got to be born again" ( John 3:3 , John 3:6-7 ). You need to have this new nature. And when you have this new nature, God then writes His law in your heart. You have a whole new desire, a whole new... You have such a change. It's from within and the desire for the things of the Lord as He writes His law upon my heart. And this new covenant that God has established with us through Jesus Christ, it's the same thing-the change of nature. Born again by the Spirit, a new nature after Christ Jesus.

And it is so important that we be born again, because we cannot keep that first covenant that God established. The law, we've all broken it. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So God has established this new covenant. The old covenant was established upon man's faithfulness to obey the law. The new covenant is established upon God's faithfulness to justify us by our faith in Jesus Christ. The old covenant failed because it was predicated upon man. The new covenant will stand because it is predicated upon God's work.

And so we have this new covenant that God has established with us and also will establish with the house of Israel in that day. They are still trying to relate to God under the old covenant, but not completely. They no longer have any sacrifice, which was required of God to put away their sins. And so they're still seeking to relate to God outside of the covenant through Jesus Christ whereby our sins are taken away.

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 ( Jeremiah 31:34 ).

What a glorious covenant. God having forgiven our iniquities, not remembering our sins.

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 divides the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: 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 ( Jeremiah 31:35-36 ).

If you will stop the day and the night, the ordinances of the moon and the stars and all, then Israel will cease from being a nation before the Lord.

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. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel even to the gate of the corner. And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall encircle it to Goath. 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 ( Jeremiah 31:37-40 ).

It is interesting these hills and so forth that are described here as being a part of the city of Jerusalem are indeed all within the city of Jerusalem today. The city has been expanded out to these areas that are referred to here in Jeremiah.

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The regathering of Judah 31:23-26

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Judah would experience great unity at that time because the Lord would satisfy the previously weary residents and refresh those who formerly languished.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

For I have satiated the weary soul,.... As sinners are at first awakenings and convictions; when sin is made exceeding sinful and loathsome to them, and becomes an uneasiness, and they a burden to themselves on account of it; when they labour, till they are weary, to get food for their famishing souls; weary in seeking for righteousness to cover them, in working for life to save them, and inquiring after rest; but cannot find neither food, nor righteousness, nor life, nor rest, till they come to Christ; and as all the saints are weary of a body of sin and death, with mourning over it, and groaning under it; weary of Satan's temptations and buffetings; weary of the world, and the men of it, and with afflictive dispensations of Providence in it; and are as weary travellers passing through a waste howling wilderness; these the Lord "satiates", refreshes, and even "inebriates" h, as the word used signifies, with his love; which is very reviving and refreshing, and is a feast of itself; and is very satisfying when it is shed abroad in the heart; when souls have a delightful sense of it, and see their interest in it; particularly satiates with his pardoning grace and mercy, and with food, and fulness of it, in Christ; with righteousness, life, and salvation by him; and with rest, peace, joy, and comfort in him: and this, though a promise and prophecy of what would be, yet, because of the certainty of it, is represented as if it had been done already; as also what follows:

and I have replenished every sorrowful soul; that is sorry for sin after a godly sort, and mourns for it after an evangelical manner; is troubled for want of the divine presence, and is pressed with afflictions inward and outward: these the Lord "replenishes" or "fills" i; that is, with all good, as the Targum adds, and fills them to satisfaction; with Christ, and all good things by him; with peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation; with the Spirit, his gifts and graces; with Gospel provisions, the goodness and fatness of his house; with all spiritual blessings now, and with glory and happiness hereafter. The Septuagint, and all the Oriental versions, instead of "weary" and "sorrowful", render the words "thirsty and hungry"; and such as hunger and thirst after righteousness; after the discoveries of pardoning grace; after Christ, and salvation by him; after more knowledge of him, and communion with him; are, sooner or later, filled with those things they are hungering and thirsting after; see Matthew 5:6.

h הרויתי "inebriavi", V. L. Vatablus; "inebriabo", Piscator. i מלאתי "implebo", Schmidt; "explebo", Piscator; "explevero", Junius Tremellius "implevero", Cocceius.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      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.   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.   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.   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.   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.   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.   24 And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks.   25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.   26 Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.

      We have here,

      I. Ephraim's repentance, and return to God. Not only Judah, but Ephraim the ten tribes, shall be restored, and therefore shall thus be prepared and qualified for it, Hosea 14:8. Ephraim shall say, What have I do to any more with idols? Ephraim the people, is here spoken of as a single person to denote their unanimity; they shall be as one man in their repentance and shall glorify God in it with one mind and one mouth, one and all. It is likewise thus expressed that it might be the better accommodated to particular penitents, for whose direction and encouragement this passage is intended. Ephraim is here brought in weeping for sin, perhaps because Ephraim, the person from whom that tribe had its denomination, was a man of a tender spirit, mourned for his children many days (1 Chronicles 7:21; 1 Chronicles 7:22), and sorrow for sin is compared to that for an only son. This penitent is here brought in, 1. Bemoaning himself and the miseries of his present case. True penitents do thus bemoan themselves. 2. Accusing himself, laying a load upon himself as a sinner, a great sinner. He charges upon himself, in the first place, that sin which his conscience told him that he was more especially guilty of at this time, and that was impatience under correction: "Thou has chastised me; I have been under the rod, and I needed it, I deserved it; I was justly chastised, chastised as a bullock, who would never have felt the goad if he had not first rebelled against the yoke." True penitents look upon their afflictions as fatherly chastisements: "Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised; that is, it was well that I was chastised, otherwise I should have been undone; it did me good, or at least was intended to do me good; and yet I have been impatient under it." Or it may intimate his want of feeling under the affliction: "Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised, that was all; I was not awakened by it and quickened by it; I looked no further than the chastisement. I have been under the chastisement as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke, unruly and unmanageable, kicking against the pricks, like a wild bull in a net," Isaiah 51:20. This is the sin he finds himself guilty of now; but (Jeremiah 31:19; Jeremiah 31:19) he reflects upon his former sins and looks as far back as the days of his youth. The discovery of one sin should put us upon searching out more; now he remembers the reproach of his youth. Ephraim, as a people, reflect upon the misconduct of their ancestors when they were first formed in a people. It is applicable to particular persons. Note, The sin of our youth was the reproach of our youth, and we ought often to remember it against ourselves and to bear it in a penitential sorrow and shame. 3. He is here brought in angry at himself, having a holy indignation at himself for his sin and folly: He smote upon his thigh, as the publican upon his breast. He was even amazed at himself, and at his own stupidity and frowardness: He was ashamed, yea even confounded, could not with any confidence look up to God, nor with any comfort reflect upon himself. 4. He is here recommending himself to the mercy and grace of God. He finds he is bent to backslide from God, and cannot by any power of his own keep himself close with God, much less, when he has revolted, bring himself back to God, and therefore he prays, Turn thou me and I shall be turned, which implies that unless God do turn him by his grace he shall never be turned, but wander endlessly, that therefore he is very desirous of converting grace, has a dependence upon it, and doubts not but that that grace will be sufficient for him, to help him over all the difficulties that were in the way of his return to God. See Jeremiah 17:14; Jeremiah 17:14, Heal me and I shall be healed. God works with power, can make the unwilling willing; if he undertake the conversion of a soul, it will be converted. 5. He is here pleasing himself with the experience he had of the blessed effect of divine grace: Surely after that I was turned I repented. Note, All the pious workings of our heart towards God are the fruit and consequence of the powerful working of his grace in us. And observe, He was turned, he was instructed, his will was bowed to the will of God, by the right in forming of his judgment concerning the truths of God. Note, The way God takes of converting souls to himself is by opening the eyes of their understandings, and all good follows thereupon: After that I was instructed I yielded, I smote upon my thigh. When sinners come to a right knowledge they will come to a right way. Ephraim was chastised, and that did not produce the desired effect, it went no further: I was chastised, and that was all. But, when the instructions of God's Spirit accompanied the corrections of his providence, then the work was done, then he smote upon his thigh, was so humbled for sin as to have no more to do with it.

      II. God's compassion on Ephraim and the kind reception he finds with God, Jeremiah 31:20; Jeremiah 31:20. 1. God owns him for a child and a prodigal: Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a pleasant child? Thus when Ephraim bemoans himself God bemoans him, as one whom his mother comforts, though she had chidden him, Isaiah 66:13. Is this Ephraim my dear son? Is this that pleasant child? Is it he that is thus sad in spirit and that complains so bitterly? So it is like that of Saul (1 Samuel 26:17), Is this thy voice, my son David? Or, as it is sometimes supplied, Is not Ephraim my dear son? Is he not a pleasant child? Yes, now he is, now he repents and returns. Note, Those that have been undutiful backsliding children, if they sincerely return and repent, however they have been under the chastisement of the rod, shall be accepted of God as dear and pleasant children. Ephraim had afflicted himself, but God thus heals him--had abased himself, but God thus honours him; as the returning prodigal who thought himself no more worthy to be called a son, yet, by his father, had the best robe put on him and a ring on his hand. 2. He relents towards him, and speaks of him with a great deal of tender compassion: Since I spoke against him, by the threatenings of the word and the rebukes of providence, I do earnestly remember him still, my thoughts towards him are thoughts of peace. Note, When God afflicts his people, yet he does not forget them; when he casts them out of their land, yet he does not cast them out of sight, nor out of mind. Even then when God is speaking against us, yet he is acting for us, and designing our good in all; and this is our comfort in our affliction, thatthe Lord thinks upon us, though we have forgotten him. I remember him still, and therefore my bowels are troubled for him, as Joseph's yearned towards his brethren, even when he spoke roughly to them. When Israel's afflictions extorted a penitent confession and submission it is said that his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel (Judges 10:16), for he always afflicts with the greatest tenderness. It was God's compassion that mitigated Ephraim's punishment: My heart is turned within me (Hosea 11:8; Hosea 11:9); and now the same compassion accepted Ephraim's repentance. Ephraim had pleaded (Jeremiah 31:18; Jeremiah 31:18), Thou art the Lord my God, therefore to thee will I return, therefore on thy mercy and grace I will depend; and God shows that it was a valid plea and prevailing, for he makes it appear both that he is God and not man and that he is his God. 3. He resolves to do him good: I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord, Note, God has mercy in store, rich mercy, sure mercy, suitable mercy, for all that insincerity seek him and submit to him; and the more we are afflicted for sin the better prepared we are for the comforts of that mercy.

      III. Gracious excitements and encouragements given to the people of God in Babylon to prepare for their return to their own land. Let them not tremble and lose their spirits; let them not trifle and lose their time; but with a firm resolution and a close application address themselves to their journey, Jeremiah 31:21; Jeremiah 31:22. 1. They must think of nothing but of coming back to their own country, out of which they had been driven: "Turn again, O virgin of Israel! a virgin to be again espoused to thy God; turn again to these thy cities; though they are laid waste and in ruins, they are thy cities, which thy God gave thee, and therefore turn again to them." They must be content in Babylon no longer than till they had liberty to return to Zion. 2. They must return the same way that they went, that the remembrance of the sorrows which attended them, or which their fathers had told them of, in such and such places upon the road, the sight of which would, by a local memory, put them in mind of them, might make them the more thankful for their deliverance. Those that have departed from God into the bondage of sin must return by the way in which they went astray, to the duties they neglected, must do their first works. 3. They must engage themselves and all that is within them in this affair: Set thy heart towards the highway; bring thy mind to it; consider thy duty, the interest, and go about it with a good-will. Note, The way from Babylon to Zion, from the bondage of sin to the glorious liberty of God's children, is a highway; it is right, it is plain, it is safe, it is well-tracked (Isaiah 35:8); yet none are likely to walk in it, unless they set their hearts towards it. 4. They must furnish themselves with all needful accommodations for the journey: Set thee up way-marks, and make thee high heaps or pillars; send before to have such set up in all places where there is any danger of missing the road. Let those that go first, and are best acquainted with the way, set up such directions for those that follow. 5. They must compose themselves for their journey: How long will thou go about, O backsliding daughter? Let not their minds fluctuate, or be uncertain about it, but resolve upon it; let them not distract themselves with care and fear; let them not seek about to creatures for assistance, not hurry hither and thither in courting them, which had often been an instance of their backsliding from God; but let them cast themselves upon God, and then let their minds be fixed. 6. They are encouraged to do this by an assurance God gives them that he would create a new thing (strange and surprising) in the earth (in that land), a woman shall compass a man. The church of God, that is weak and feeble as a woman, altogether unapt for military employments and of a timorous spirit (Isaiah 54:6), shall surround, besiege, and prevail against a mighty man. The church is compared to a woman, Revelation 12:1. And, whereas we find armies compassing the camp of the saints (Revelation 20:9), now the camp of the saints shall compass them. Many good interpreters understand this new thing created in that land to be the incarnation of Christ, which God an eye to in bringing them back to that land, and which had sometimes been given them for a sign, Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6. A woman, the virgin Mary, enclosed in her womb the Mighty One; for so Geber, the word here used, signifies; and God is called Gibbor, the Mighty God (Jeremiah 32:18; Jeremiah 32:18), as also is Christ in Isaiah 9:6, where his incarnation is spoken of, as it is supposed to be here. He is El-Gibbor, the mighty God. Let this assure them that God would not cast off this people, for that blessing was to be among them, Isaiah 65:8.

      IV. A comfortable prospect given them of a happy settlement in their own land again. 1. They shall have an interest in the esteem and good-will of all their neighbours, who will give them a good word and put up a good prayer for them (Jeremiah 31:23; Jeremiah 31:23): As yet or rather yet again (though Judah and Jerusalem have long been an astonishment and a hissing), this speech shall be used, as it was formerly, concerning the land of Judah and the cities thereof, The Lord bless you, O habitation of justice and mountain of holiness! This intimates that they shall return much reformed and every way better; and this reformation shall be so conspicuous that all about them shall take notice of it. The cities, that used to be nests of pirates, shall be habitations of justice; the mountain of Israel (so the whole land is called, Psalms 78:54), and especially Mount Zion, shall be a mountain of holiness. Observe, Justice towards men, and holiness towards God, must go together. Godliness and honesty are what God has joined, and let no man think to put them asunder, not to make one to atone for the want of the other. It is well with a people when they come out of trouble thus refined, and it is a sure presage of further happiness. And we may with great comfort pray for the blessing of God upon those houses that are habitations of justice, those cities and countries that are mountains of holiness. There the Lord will undoubtedly command the blessing. 2. There shall be great plenty of all good things among them (Jeremiah 31:24; Jeremiah 31:25): There shall dwell in Judah itself, even in it, though it has now long lain waste, both husbandmen and shepherds, the two ancient and honourable employments of Cain and Abel, Genesis 4:2. It is comfortable dwelling in a habitation of justice and a mountain of holiness. "And the husbandmen and shepherds shall eat of the fruit of their labours; for I have satiated the weary and sorrowful soul;" that is, those that came weary from their journey, and have been long sorrowful in their captivity, shall now enjoy great plenty. This is applicable to the spiritual blessings God has in store for all true penitents, for all that are just and holy; they shall be abundantly satisfied with divine graces and comforts. In the love and favour of God the weary soul shall find rest and the sorrowful soul joy.

      V. The prophet tells us what pleasure the discovery of this brought to his mind, Jeremiah 31:26; Jeremiah 31:26. The foresights God had given him sometimes of the calamities of Judah and Jerusalem were exceedingly painful to him (as Jeremiah 4:19; Jeremiah 4:19), but these views were pleasant ones, though at a distance. "Upon this I awaked, overcome with joy, which burst the fetters of sleep; and I reflected upon my dream, and it was such as had made my sleep sweet to me; I was refreshed, as men are with quiet sleep." Those may sleep sweetly that lie down and rise up in the favour of God and in communion with him. Nor is any prospect in this world more pleasing to good men, and good ministers, than that of the flourishing state of the church of God. What can we see with more satisfaction than the good of Jerusalem, all the days of our life, and peace upon Israel?