Jeremiah 31:18-20

4. The despondent (Jeremiah 31:18-20)

TRANSLATION

(18) I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning him self, You have chastened me and I was chastened, like a calf that would not be taught; restore me that I might be restored, for You are the LORD my God.
(19) For after I strayed, I repented; and after I learned my lesson, I slapped my thigh; I am ashamed and embarrassed, for I bore the reproach of my youth. (20) Is Ephraim My precious son? Is he My darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I longingly think of him. Therefore MY heart yearns for him; I surely will show compassion to him (oracle of the LORD).

COMMENTS

Not only does the prophet hear Rachel weeping for her children he also hears despondent Ephraim lamenting his waywardness. Like a calf which would not submit to the yoke, Ephraim went his own rebellious way and thus incurred the chastisement of the Lord. Finally the prodigal son came to himself and cried out unto God to help him repent: Turn me that I may return! (Jeremiah 31:18). That prayer was answered. Through the discipline of exile Ephraim came to recognize his miserable condition. He was confused and confounded, utterly ashamed of the reproach of his youth, the sins committed in the earlier history of the nation. He smote his thigh in consternation and contrition (Jeremiah 31:19). This sets the stage for one of the most beautiful verses in the Book of Jeremiah. God asks the question IS Ephraim My dear son? Is he a pleasant child? literally, a child of delights i.e., one in whom a parent takes intense pleasure. It is as though God is expressing surprise at His own mercy for wayward man. Ephraim had certainly been unworthy of the love of the heavenly Father. He had not been the kind of child in whom a parent could delight. But as often as God speaks of Ephraim He remembers the close relationship which in the past existed between them. His bowels (the seat of the emotions in Hebrew thought) yearn (literally, sound, moan) for the wayward son. God must exercise mercy on behalf of Ephraim! (Jeremiah 31:20).