Jeremiah 31:1-6: a reflection

1“At that time,” says the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.” 2The LORD says, “The people who survive the sword found favor in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.” 3The LORD 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 the LORD our God.’”

In the middle of Jeremiah, a book heavy with judgment, comes one of the tenderest declarations of love in all of Scripture. I have loved you with an everlasting love, God says to his people; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness. I will build you again, and you shall be rebuilt; you shall again take up your tambourines and go out in the dance of the merrymakers. To a battered, exiled people, God speaks not of their unworthiness but of his everlasting love.

Notice the nature of the love God declares: everlasting. Not a love that depends on their performance, that comes and goes with their faithfulness, that could be exhausted by their failures, but an everlasting love, a love without beginning or end, unchanging. And it is this everlasting love that explains everything else: therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness. God's drawing of his people, his patient pursuit, his promise to rebuild them, all flow from a love that does not end.

That is an anchor for the soul. If God's love for his people depended on their worthiness or performance, it would be as unstable as they are. But it is everlasting, rooted in his own unchanging character, not in their goodness. If you belong to God, this is the love with which he loves you: not a fluctuating, conditional affection, but an everlasting love that drew you and will not let you go. When you doubt his love, or feel unworthy of it, hear this: I have loved you with an everlasting love. His love for you does not end, because it never depended on you in the first place. Rest in the everlasting love that drew you and holds you.

Lord, in the midst of judgment you spoke tender words: I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness. Thank you that your love for me does not depend on my worthiness or performance, but is everlasting, rooted in your unchanging character. When I doubt your love or feel unworthy, remind me that it never depended on me and so cannot end. Draw me, rebuild me, and hold me in your everlasting love.