Jeremiah 31:20

18 “I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself:
‘You have ^achastised me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained bull;
^bRestore me, and I will return,
For You are the Lord my God.

19 Surely, ^aafter my turning, I repented;
And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh;
I was ^bashamed, yes, even humiliated,
Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’

20 Is Ephraim My dear son?
Is he a pleasant child?
For though I spoke against him,
I earnestly remember him still;
^aTherefore My¹ heart yearns for him;
^bI will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord.

21 “Set up signposts,
Make landmarks;
^aSet your heart toward the highway,
The way in which you went.
¹Turn back, O virgin of Israel,
Turn back to these your cities.

22 How long will you ^agad about,
O you ^bbacksliding daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing in the earth—
A woman shall encompass a man.”

Future Prosperity of Judah

23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: ^a‘The Lord bless you, O home of justice, and ^bmountain of holiness!’

24 And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and ^ain all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?

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Jeremiah 31:21 >>

What Does Jeremiah 31:20 Mean?

Jeremiah 31:18-21

Notice how different verses 18-19 sound from anything being spoken by the peoples of Israel today. After Jacob's Trouble, Israel will actually grieve and moan due to the correction she receives. She will beg to be brought back to God. Verse 20 shows the unmistakable compassion and feeling that God has for His people, and His determination to lift them out of the pitiful physical and spiritual condition they will be in at that point.

Verse 21 tells of Israel reversing the course of her migration millennia ago, "Set your heart toward the highway, the way in which you went. Turn back. . . ." Israel comes to this condition and pleads for God's restoration before she makes the Second Exodus, just as Israel cried out in Egypt to the God of their fathers, and then God delivered them. If this is correct, the identity of Israel will be recognized sometime during Jacob's Trouble, but before the Second Exodus takes place.

If the patterns of Israel's history remain consistent, God will remind Israel of her obligation to Him, which will include the knowledge of who Israel is. She will not listen—Israel has rarely listened—so God will cause the nations of Jacob to go through such "trouble" as they have never experienced. Though God does not revel in destruction, He knows best what it will take to turn His people around. In the end, the repentant people who remain will be willingly led back to the Promised Land.

David C. Grabbe
The Second Exodus (Part Three)

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Future Prosperity of Judah

What Does Jeremiah 31:20 Mean?

A Verse and a Thought,Every Morning

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