Comfort in the Wilderness — Suffering and Hope from Jeremiah 31

At that time—declares GOD—I will be God to all the clans of Israel, and they shall be My people. Thus said GOD:The people escaped from the sword,Found favor in the wilderness;When Israel was marching homeward GOD was revealed long ago.Eternal love I conceived for you then;Therefore I continue My grace to you. I will build you firmly again,O Maiden Israel!Again you shall take up your hand-drums And go forth to the rhythm of the dancers. Again you shall plant vineyardsOn the hills of Samaria;You shall plant and live to enjoy the fruit. For the day is coming when watchmenShall proclaim on the heights of Ephraim:Come, let us go up to Zion,To the ETERNAL our God! For thus said GOD:Cry out in joy for Jacob,Shout at the crossroads of the nations!Sing aloud in praise, and say:Save, O ETERNAL One, Your people, The remnant of Israel. I will bring them in from the northland,Gather them from the ends of the earth—The blind and the lame among them,Those with child and those in labor—In a vast throng they shall return here. They shall come with weeping,And with compassion will I guide them.I will lead them to streams of water,By a level road where they will not stumble.For I am ever a Father to Israel,Ephraim is My first-born. Hear the word of GOD, O nations,And tell it in the isles afar.Say:The One who scattered Israel will gather them,And will guard them as a shepherd his flock. For GOD will ransom Jacob,Redeem him from one too strong for him. They shall come and shout on the heights of Zion,Radiant over GOD’s bounty— Over new grain and wine and oil,And over sheep and cattle.They shall fare like a watered garden,They shall never languish again. Then shall maidens dance gaily,Young men and old alike.I will turn their mourning to joy,I will comfort them and cheer them in their grief. I will give the priests their fill of fatness,And My people shall enjoy My full bounty—declares GOD. Thus said GOD:A cry is heard in Ramah—Wailing, bitter weeping—Rachel weeping for her children.She refuses to be comfortedFor her children, who are gone. Thus said GOD:Restrain your voice from weeping,Your eyes from shedding tears;For there is a reward for your labor—declares GOD:They shall return from the enemy’s land. And there is hope for your future—declares GOD:Your children shall return to their country. I can hear Ephraim lamenting:“You have chastised me, and I am chastisedLike a calf that has not been broken.Receive me back, let me return,For You, O ETERNAL One, are my God. Now that I have turned back, I am filled with remorse;Now that I am made aware, I strike my thigh. I am ashamed and humiliated,For I bear the disgrace of my youth.” Truly, Ephraim is a dear son to Me,A child that is dandled!Whenever I have turned against him,My thoughts would dwell on him still.That is why My heart yearns for him;I will receive him back in love—declares GOD. Erect markers,Set up signposts; Keep in mind the highway,The road that you traveled.Return, Maiden Israel!Return to these towns of yours! How long will you waver,O rebellious daughter?(For GOD has created something new on earth:A woman courts a man.) Thus said GOD of Hosts, the God of Israel: They shall again say this in the land of Judah and in its towns, when I restore their fortunes:“ GOD bless you,Abode of righteousness,O holy mountain!” Judah and all its towns alike shall be inhabited by the farmers and such as move about with the flocks. For I will give the thirsty abundant drink, and satisfy all who languish. At this I awoke and looked about, and my sleep had been pleasant to me. See, a time is coming—declares GOD—when I will sow the House of Israel and the House of Judah with seed of people and seed of cattle; and just as I was watchful over them to uproot and to pull down, to overthrow and to destroy and to bring disaster, so I will be watchful over them to build and to plant—declares GOD. In those days, they shall no longer say, “Parents have eaten sour grapes and children’s teeth are blunted.” But every one shall die for their own sins: whosoever eats sour grapes, their teeth shall be blunted. See, a time is coming—declares GOD—when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors, when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, a covenant that they broke, though I espoused them—declares GOD. But such is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel after these days—declares GOD: I will put My Teaching into their inmost being and inscribe it upon their hearts. Then I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No longer will they need to teach one another and say to one another, “Heed GOD”; for all of them, from the least of them to the greatest, shall heed Me—declares GOD.For I will forgive their iniquities,And remember their sins no more. Thus said GOD,Who established the sun for light by day,The laws of moon and stars for light by night,Who stirs up the sea into roari

Jeremiah 31:1–20 is a hinge passage in the book of consolation. Within the same span we hear Rachel's bitter weeping in Ramah (v. 15) and God's promise that those who 'come with weeping' will be led by streams of water on a level road (vv. 9, 13). The text refuses to separate suffering from comfort; it binds them together as a single movement of grace.