1“At that time,” says Yahweh, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”
2Yahweh says, “The people who survive the sword found favor in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.”
3Yahweh appeared of old to me, saying,
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love.
Therefore I have drawn you with loving kindness.
4I will build you again,
and you will be built, O virgin of Israel.
You will again be adorned with your tambourines,
and will go out in the dances of those who make merry.
5Again you will plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria.
The planters will plant,
and will enjoy its fruit.
6For there will be a day that the watchmen on the hills of Ephraim cry,
‘Arise! Let’s go up to Zion to Yahweh our God.’”
7For Yahweh says,
“Sing with gladness for Jacob,
and shout for the chief of the nations.
Publish, praise, and say,
‘Yahweh, save your people,
the remnant of Israel!’
8Behold, I will bring them from the north country,
and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth,
along with the blind and the lame,
the woman with child and her who travails with child together.
They will return as a great company.
9They will come with weeping.
I will lead them with petitions.
I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters,
in a straight way in which they won’t stumble;
for I am a father to Israel.
Ephraim is my firstborn.
10“Hear Yahweh’s word, you nations,
and declare it in the distant islands. Say,
‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and keep him, as a shepherd does his flock.’
11For Yahweh has ransomed Jacob,
and redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he.
12They will come and sing in the height of Zion,
and will flow to the goodness of Yahweh,
to the grain, to the new wine, to the oil,
and to the young of the flock and of the herd.
Their soul will be as a watered garden.
They will not sorrow any more at all.
13Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance,
the young men and the old together;
for I will turn their mourning into joy,
and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
It’s true that Jeremiah is probably not the most positive book in the bible. His mission is one of warning, and of calling the people to a place of repentance. We already know the people ignore him and the inevitable happens. Just as Jeremiah warned they are defeated and carried off into captivity. Now at this stage Jeremiah could have just said I told you so, retired and washed his hand of the whole lot of them. Undeterred by their exile he continues to pursue the people of God. Prior to exile his message was one of repentance, after the exile his message was one of return. Return your hearts to God and return home.
After everything, their refusal to listen, or change, or even acknowledge the Almighty, God still loved his people. Listen to the beauty of Jeremiah’s words from God. “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love, I have drawn you to myself. I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel.”
God’s love never stopped even in their rebellion, it never failed even in their failures. God never stopped calling and pursuing despite that fact that they had stopped listening. His plan was to rebuild and restore even through all that brokenness.
God’s story hasn’t changed, take heart through all our fears and failings his love is everlasting. Even when we have turned our backs on him, his relentless love continues to pursue us. No matter the devastation, or brokenness that we find ourselves in, his plan has always been and still is now to restore and rebuild.