Jeremiah 31 is a Feast of Trumpets message. To this day, the Jews still read this chapter on the Feast of Trumpets. “At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. 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” (Jeremiah 31:1-2). The Moffatt translation uses the word “dungeon” instead of “wilderness.” Israel will soon be taken into captivity and many will still be in dungeons when Jesus Christ returns. God will release them and give them “rest” from sin and suffering! All mankind will be given rest from famine, pestilence, war and nuclear bombs. This is the first time ever that mankind will have real spiritual rest. And it will be forever! Suddenly, there will be peace and rest for all humanity—that lasts forever!
“The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee” (verse 3). Israel will finally see that God never stopped loving it! All of the punishment was designed to bring Israel back to God.
After that, God will begin to shower His blessings upon the people of Israel—the greatest prosperity the Earth will ever know! “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. Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things. 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. 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” (verses 4-7). Israel (mainly the United States and Britain) will lead the world. God will build Israel again, as He has done so many times before. But this rebuilding is the last! Never again will Israel fall. Leading the world in righteousness is what our nations were chosen for—if only we could see it!
The watchmen will see Israel coming back from captivity. They will signal each group to join the procession, saying, “Let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God”! Oh, if only we could see now what God has in store for us! The Church leads Israel to God. Then Israel leads the whole world to God!
The use of “a day” in verse 6 indicates this is a holy day, which most commentaries recognize. This is a Feast of Trumpets message. It is a type of all the holy days.
God will use Israel—the chief of the nations—to lead the whole world to Him, starting with the understanding and proper observance of His holy days. Life is meaningless without God’s master plan, pictured by His holy days. God will galvanize the whole world with an inspiring and thrilling purpose.
Each holy day will have watchmen preparing the people to properly learn God’s plan. The people’s obedience will fill the world with joy and hope.
Who are these watchmen? One of the definitions of the word is “to defend, to preserve from dangers (as God guarding men)” (Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon). The root word means “to shine.” The watchmen will defend people from danger, and therefore they will “shine” for God. They will shine like the stars forever and ever! (Daniel 12:3). The watchmen protect people from losing their eternal glory with God! This majestic goal can only be accomplished if people look to God’s government. The watchmen who help prepare them for God’s Kingdom are the ones who keep God’s holy days today. The firstfruits are being harvested today so they can help Christ harvest the world! It’s such a beautiful plan.
Each holy day is filled with vision. This vision of the World Tomorrow is deeply etched into God’s very elect today. They have a critical watchman role to fulfill in the very near future—for all humanity!
At last, the world is about to have peace. “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” (Jeremiah 31:8). God brings them back from captivity to His own glorious rule.
“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” (verse 9). Ephraim (Britain) is God’s firstborn. Herbert W. Armstrong proved that many years ago. (Request The United States and Britain in Prophecy.)
“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. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. 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” (verses 10-12). What a fabulous future the people of America and Britain have. Imagine, they won’t sorrow any more at all. What a utopian future! What a magnificent message we have for Israel and the world! What godly hope we have for the whole world!
“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. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord” (verses 13-14). What an incredible mission we have. The course of all humanity is about to change! God wants you to be a part of the crusade. Our job is to help Christ turn the mourning of this entire Earth to joy. The whole world is waiting for us!
“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” (verse 18). What is the big problem with the world and God’s Laodiceans? They are unaccustomed to the yoke. That means they reject God’s rule even as they look upon themselves as being very religious.
“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” (verse 20). Now Jeremiah begins to address spiritual Israel also. Only God’s people are sons today. Only they are begotten by the Holy Spirit. Only they have a spiritual Father. Only the Father can beget sons (John 6:44). The nations of Israel and the world are not begotten sons today.
“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” (Jeremiah 31:21). Now Ephraim becomes all Israel (spiritually). The Hebrew reads, “return O virgin Israel to the way you went” or, it could read, “the way you once went.” This virgin could only be Christ’s Bride. Only the cleansing blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit could make any one of us a spiritual virgin. Ancient Israel never fulfilled this role—only God’s Church has. The Bride was obeying Christ, but then turned away. This is the Laodicean rebellion highlighted in many prophecies (read Malachi’s Message to God’s Church Today to learn more).
The “waymarks” and “high heaps” are guideposts. If only all of God’s people would look at the way they once traveled spiritually. The Laodiceans must return to that way and follow what God’s end-time Elijah taught.
Christ’s return is imminent!