Second Sunday after Christmas (C)
January 4, 1998
Take Me Back
Jeremiah 31:7-14
This past spring, the lives of thousands of residents of the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys were turned upside down by floods. On the second day of March reporters said that the town of Falmouth, Kentucky had already broken records for rainfall for the entire month of March. When the flood waters subsided, those whose houses were left in place from the flood had the unenviable job of cleaning the mud, goo, and stench of the flood out of their houses. What a dreadful task that would be!
Jeremiah witnessed a different type of flood. It was not a flood of water that drove the residents of Jerusalem from their homeland. Rather, it was a flood of God's wrath being poured out upon their sin and rebellion. That flood of wrath would manifest itself in years of Babylonian captivity. It was traumatic for the Jews. As the Psalmist asked, "How can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?" If the temple represents for you the very dwelling place of God and you are a thousand miles from that temple, can you sing the praises of God?
That adds that much more poignancy to the promise of God's restoration. As flood victims clean the debris out of what is left of their lives, the period of exile served a purifying effect for the people of Israel. God's judgement was not without reason. It was not merely a capricious venting of Divine anger. Judgment has the purpose of "bringing God's people around" to the purpose for which they were made.
Jeremiah is able to speak of a time when God's wrath will be satisfied and He will be able to bring His people home. Jeremiah prophesied, both in word and deed, that the exile of his people would not be permanent. In 31:3 and 4, he reassures the people of God's love for them and of His covenant faithfulness.
In verses 7-14, there is a liturgical formula, of sorts in which the people are encouraged to praise God and to pray for the salvation and deliverance of their people. As God's Spirit prompts them to pray for their salvation, He is promising their deliverance.
From all of the corners of the globe, a great multitude will return. It is understandable that a multitude will be coming from the north -- that is the direction that one would come if traveling from Babylon back to Jerusalem. A promise of restoration from the ends of the earth, however, speaks of something even greater than the restoration in Jeremiah's time.
The restoration Jeremiah speaks of here will not be for those who are the "conquering heroes" in the traditional sense of that word. Instead, they are those who cannot do for themselves. It's amazing how many people think the phrase "God helps those who help themselves" is in the Bible. (It's not, by the way). A more correct statement would be, "God helps those who cannot help themselves (and know they cannot help themselves.)
The blind and lame will come along a way that has been prepared for them by the Lord Himself. It will be level and there will be ample springs of water. The Good Shepherd is leading the way. Isaiah, and John the Baptist after him, speak of preparing the way for the Lord. Jeremiah speaks of the Lord preparing the way for His people.