Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries whither I have driven them, in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely.
Babylon's army had surrounded Jerusalem, and Jeremiah himself sat locked in the court of the prison. Yet God's word to him was not about the siege but about a homecoming, and it raises a question: when will the hand that scattered His people gather them back?
Just before this promise, God told Jeremiah to buy a piece of family land at Anathoth. Everything about that moment argued against buying it.
The capture of the city was near, but Jeremiah said, "The word of the LORD came to me: Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, 'Buy my field that is at Anathoth.'" What a time to buy a field! The city was sure to fall, and the prophet himself was in prison. By his own word, there was no escape from the Babylonian army.
The verse does not say the nations dragged Israel away. It says God drove them, and it stacks up three words for His displeasure. Yet the judgment and the promise come from the same speaker.
Judgment had to fall on their idolatries and their sins. If anyone denies Him, He must deny them. But He stays faithful; He cannot deny Himself. So the Lord, the God of Israel, speaks about this city, the city they said the king of Babylon would take by sword, famine and disease: "I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation."
The consequences were real — a ruined city, seventy years away from home. But this chapter shows what God intends on the far side of them.
This remarkable incident shows one of the most beautiful sides of discipline: grace. It is true that in the way God governs, "whatever one sows, that will he also reap" (Gal. 6:7). Yet even when He governs and disciplines, God acts in grace. Failure may bring consequences that cannot be avoided, like the seventy years of captivity. Still, God's aim is to bless.
A group did come back from Babylon. But commentators test this promise by its own wording, and they say it reaches far past that return.
This is too plain to be mistaken, unless some false system has twisted the mind: Jehovah is speaking of a day still future for Israel. They have never yet been gathered out of all countries. He has never made them dwell safely in their land since they were scattered. Nor have they had one heart and one way, fearing Jehovah always, for their own good and the good of their children after them.
Another writer measures that return against what Nehemiah said about it later:
Do you insist that this chapter applies to the return from Babylon? Then I would quote Nehemiah 9:36-37: "Behold, we are slaves this day… and we are in great distress." That shows how little the return from Babylon fulfilled all these promises we have been reading. Was that restoration the whole heart and the whole soul of God for His people?
Some read such promises as describing the church instead of Israel. One writer answers with three questions.
Is that the church? Has He scattered it in wrath, anger, and fury, into all lands; and is it only at some future restoration to its original place that He will own it as His people? Do you believe it applies to the church?
The gathering in verse 37 is the doorway into what follows: a people owned by God, given one heart, and held by a covenant.
This is a further word of the Lord about the new covenant. It will be an everlasting one. He will never turn away from His people. The Jews have never yet inherited their land under the new covenant, still less under the everlasting covenant. They are to inherit under both titles. The new covenant marks it off from anything that ever was before. The everlasting covenant shows that the new covenant will never go out of date or grow obsolete. It will always hold good for their possession and their blessing.
- Driven — God calls the scattering His own act, done in anger, fury and great wrath.
- Gathered — the hand that drove them out will bring them back, because He stays faithful and cannot deny Himself.
- Safely — He promises settled homes, one heart and one way; commentators say Israel has not seen this yet.
- Sealed — Jeremiah bought a field while the city was sure to fall and he sat in prison; the promise was that certain.
- Everlasting — the covenant behind the promise never expires, so God's discipline ends in blessing.
And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
Jeremiah spoke these words from prison, while Babylon's army surrounded Jerusalem. God's answer to the ruin was a promise: these people would still be His own — but when has that ever been true?
Commentators point first to the timing. God chose the moment of total loss to have His prophet buy a field.
God gave the precious promises in these two chapters at a moment marked out by the imprisonment of His prophet (see Jer. 32:2 and 33:1). At that time the king of Babylon's army was besieging Jerusalem. Zedekiah tried to stop prophetic speech. God was shut out, and everything looked very black — they faced despair and ruin. At such a moment God shows His redemption and grace. He tells the prophet to buy the field of Hanameel, because "the right of redemption" belonged to Jeremiah. Just so it is with God — the right of redemption is His.
The words "they shall be my people" reverse a sentence God had already passed. Through the prophet Hosea He had named a child Lo-ammi, and that name ended the tie.
Secondly, God has disowned them as His people. "Then, said God, call his name Lo-ammi (that is, not my people): for you are not my people, and I will not be your God." (Hosea 1:9.) In all their earlier troubles, God had still owned them as His people. He had owned Himself to be their God. This was, in fact, what made the great difference between them and other nations. But now, in judgment, He set this aside.
Commentators test this promise against history. Nothing so far matches it.
Unless some false system has twisted the mind, this is too plain to miss: Jehovah speaks of a day still future for Israel. God has never yet gathered them out of all countries. They have never lived safely in their land since their scattering. God has not yet reversed the sentence of Lo-ammi. They have not yet had one heart and one way, fearing Jehovah always for their own good and for the good of their children after them.
The promise does not stand alone. It belongs to the new covenant, and Kelly points out how long that covenant holds.
This is a further word of the Lord about the new covenant. It will be an everlasting one. He will never turn away from His people.
The promise also shows how God feels about keeping it.
Jeremiah 32:37-42. A moving passage about the thoughts of the Lord concerning His people! First He gives them promises of blessing in grace, and assures them that He will be their God. Then the Lord says, "And I will plant them in this land assuredly, with my whole heart and with my whole soul. For as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them."
Buying land in a besieged country looks like a waste. Commentators see grace at work in it.
This remarkable incident illustrates one of the most beautiful aspects of discipline: grace. While it is true that, in God's governmental ways, "whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (Gal. 6:7), even in government and discipline God acts in grace. Failure may bring consequences no one can avoid, like the 70 years of captivity. Even so, God's design is to bless.
- Prison — God gave this promise while Jeremiah sat locked up and Babylon's army ringed Jerusalem. He spoke of redemption at the point where everything looked finished.
- Disowned — "They shall be my people" undoes Lo-ammi, "not my people." That name had ended the bond which set Israel apart from every other nation.
- Future — Commentators say this has not happened yet. God has not gathered Israel from all countries, they have not lived safely in the land, and Lo-ammi still stands.
- Everlasting — An everlasting covenant holds the bond, because God will never turn away from His people.
- Wholehearted — He plants them with His whole heart and whole soul. The God who brought the evil promises to bring all the good.