Jer 31:1-3 1 At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. 2 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. 3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, ....

From verse 1, I get the idea that "at the same time" God told Jeremiah to write all the prophecies he had received in a book, God gave him THIS prophecy also.

The prophecy includes a great encouragement to all of those who are faithful believers. God says He WILL BE the God of all the families of "Israel," and that they WILL BE His people.

Even though they will face the "sword" some will find "grace in the wilderness." The wilderness here (in verse 2) reflects the bondage and slavery to which they will be subjected in Babylon. Even we Christians are enslaved to Babylon in a spiritual sense today. For we are all under the "yoke" of corrupt governments.

But God has "appeared" saying some very positive things.

saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. 4 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. 5 Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things. 6 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. 7 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.

First God assures His people that His love is an EVERLASTING love! God's love NEVER ENDS! And with "lovingkindness" God has "drawn" us to Himself. God's MERCY has looked beyond our sin and seen our need. He has provided the one and only sacrifice for the payment of our sins. And He has, by His Holy Spirit, brought conviction and convincing upon every soul that we should come to Him for forgiveness. These things are done by "lovingkindness" or GRACE!

God has also assured us that even though the world tears us DOWN, He will build us UP again (verse 4). There IS a day in the future in which God will cause His people to sing, shout and even dance with joy at His EVERLASTING LOVE!

8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither. 9 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.

For the physical Israel of that day, the special time would come when God returned them from Babylon to Judah and Jerusalem. They would be led in a "straight" way (upright and pleasing way) because God is a LOVING FATHER to His children.

For the spiritual Israel of today, that special time will come when God takes us from the world of sin and corruption and brings us to His glorious heaven. Then we will walk perfectly in an upright and pleasing way because all sin will be ERASED from our being! PRAISE GOD!

10 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 doth his flock. 11 For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. 12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for 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. 13 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. 14 And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD.

This news of God gathering His people in His EVERLASTING LOVE is of such magnitude that it deserves to be published in all the world (verse 1). Though God, at times, causes His people to be scattered, He will one day gather them all to Himself. Perhaps one reason God "scatters" His people today is so that the gospel of Jesus Christ will be published in all the world.

God will turn believers "mourning into joy" (verse 13). Today, all Christians MOURN for sin-sickness. We go to God weeping and begging forgiveness everyday. And, yet, everyday we continue to FALL SHORT of what we should be for our Lord. Thus we MOURN for our sin-sickness.

But one day, the God of EVERLASTING LOVE will turn our "mourning" into JOY! God has given Christians great joy today because He has saved us from the PENALTY and the POWER of sin. But one day, He will bring us to His everlasting "Haven of Rest" and we shall no longer be under the PRESENCE of sin!

What great REJOICING we shall have in that day!!

15 Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. 16 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. 17 And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.

It has been said there is no greater grief than for a parent to lose a child. There is grief when a parent loses a child to rebellion also!

Consider this: God has lost ALL His children to rebellion! But the "work" of salvation brings reward to the Father in heaven because SOME will RETURN from rebellion through surrender to Christ.

There is "reward" in teaching children of Christ today. There is "hope" in the "end" that those children will choose Christ over rebellion. And though we may sow in tears, we shall surely reap in JOY!

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.

God hears and sees the "moaning" of saved souls over sin-sickness. He chastises us for our sin, but He also puts a "yoke" upon our rebellious necks and leads us in the RIGHT way.

Even though we "repent" we still try to run our own lives at times, and that is sin. It is a constant STRUGGLE! But God HEARS and SEES, and is FAITHFUL with His "everlasting love!"

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.

A faithful parent will speak "against" a rebellious child in order to turn that child back to the RIGHT way. God is a FAITHFUL Father! He spoke "against" Israel (Ephraim) by taking them into captivity for the sin of idolatry. But God "remembers!" He remembers all those who are surrendered to Him, and He will "have mercy upon" them!

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.

To set up "waymarks" means to mark the path for return. A hunter will do this when he is in woods unfamiliar to him.

Friends, we are in the "woods" (and wilderness) of sin! We need to set up "waymarks" which cause us to return to the RIGHT path! Actually, God has SET those "waymarks," we just need to CHOOSE to USE them!

WAYMARK: Bible study. The more we study the Bible, the less we'll study the world.
WAYMARK: Prayer. The more we pray, the less we'll be in the clutches of temptation.
WAYMARK: Fellowship with Christians. The more time we spend with faithful Christians, the less time we'll spend with wayward sinners.
WAYMARK: Church attendance. The more time we spend in church, the more we will learn about how we are to apply what God teaches us in Bible study.
WAYMARK: Witnessing to others. The more time we spend TELLING people about Jesus, the less time we'll spend in foolishness.

You see, God has SET "waymarks," we just need to CHOOSE to USE them.

We are often "backlsiding daughters." Hosea 4:16 refers to "backsliding heifer(s)." A backsliding heifer is one that is being led on a rope by her master; but chooses to plant her back feet and begin to PULL AWAY!

But there is a way of RELEASE from the backsliding nature! That is for the "woman" to "encompass" Christ! We Christians are considered the "woman" - the bride-to-be of Christ. We should then surrender our wills continually to Him, and allow Him to lead us correctly. Perhaps this is what Christ meant when He said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." (Luke 9:23)

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.

God's promise is EVERLASTING love. The God of love will surely return His people to their eternal home. He will "bring again their captivity." And we will sing about His wonderful "habitation of justice," His "mountain of holiness."

God HAS "satiated" the weary and "replenished" the sorrowful souls. It is DONE! God has done it in Christ!

Do you have that satisfaction and replenishing that comes from knowing Christ as your Lord and Savior?

26 Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me. 27 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. 28 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. 29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge. 30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.

As Jeremiah awakened from the vision, he heard God say some more. God had a special time set for physical Israel. It was the time they would return from the Babylonian captivity.

No longer would the children suffer because of the sins of the parents' idolatry. But if a person sinned, he would suffer himself because he KNEW better!

Friends, when we repent of living for ourselves and begin to live for Christ we KNOW better than to return to worldly ways.

31 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: 32 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 brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33 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. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, 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.

The "new covenant" spoken of here in Jeremiah 31 is ALREADY made! Christ has come and made this "new covenant." He fulfilled all the obligations of the law as a man. Then He gave Himself upon the cross as the ONLY worthy sacrifice for our sins.

And if any person will surrender to Christ then God will begin to write His "word" in that person's heart. When a soul surrenders to Christ then He has an INWARD teacher - the Holy Ghost.

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (John 14:26)

35 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 divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: 36 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. 37 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.

Just as God's LOVE is everlasting, so is His WORD! His WORD of creation still holds the stars and planets in their perspective places. The universe ENDURES because God's WORD is EVERLASTING.

And, my friend, if God has given you His WORD about your salvation, then you need NEVER doubt it! It is WRITTEN! It is sealed, signed and delivered in the blood of Christ and assured by His resurrection!

Have you repented from life YOUR way, and turned to life GOD'S way? If so, you have been ADOPTED, SEALED and WILL BE delivered!

38 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner. 39 And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath. 40 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.

There is coming a day when God will rebuild Jerusalem. In that day (the millenium) Christ will cause ALL of that area to be HOLY unto God. It will be in that day that Christ Himself will reign for 1,000 years from Jerusalem.

There is also coming a day when God will plant His people in a Holy Heaven! That heaven will be TOTALLY HOLY! Everything in it will be WITHOUT sin! Never again will God's people have to struggle with sin-sickness.

God's love is an EVERLASTING LOVE!!

PLEASE CONTINUE WITH US IN BIBLE STUDY TOMORROW.