Jeremiah 31:16

Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. THY WORK - thy parental weeping for thy children (Rosenmuller). SHALL BE REWARDED - thine affliction in the loss of thy children, murdered for Christ's sake, shall not be fruitless to thee, as was the case in thy giving birth to the "child of thy sorrow," Benjamin. Primarily, also, thy grief shall not be perpetual; the exiles shall return, and the land be inhabited again (Calvin). THEY SHALL COME AGAIN - ()....

_Refrain, _he says, _thy voice from weeping _The word is בכה _beke: _as he had mentioned this word before in the second place, “lamentation, the weeping of bitterness,” so he now repeats the same here, “Refrain thy voice from weeping,” that is, cease to complain and to bewail the death of thy children, _and thine eyes from tears _The meaning is, that the lamentation of Rachel would not be perpetual. We have said that a dead woman is introduced, but that this is done for the sake of solemnity and effect, so that the Jews, having the matter set as it were before their eyes, might be more touched and moved. But if we wish to understand the meaning of the Prophet without a figure it is this, — that the lamentation would not be perpetual, because the exiles would return, and that the land that had fallen to the lot of the children of Benjamin and of Joseph would again be inhabited. And he say...

10-17 He that scattered Israel, knows where to find them. It is comfortable to observe the goodness of the Lord in the gifts of providence. But our souls are never valuable as gardens, unless watered with the dews of God's Spirit and grace. A precious promise follows, which will not have full accomplishment except in the heavenly Zion. Let them be satisfied of God's loving-kindness, and they will be satisfied with it, and desire no more to make them happy. Rachel is represented as rising from her grave, and refusing to be comforted, supposing her offspring rooted out. The murder of the children at Bethlehem, by Herod, Matthew 2:16, in some degree fulfilled this prediction, but could not be its full meaning. If we have hope in the end, concerning an eternal inheritance, for ourselves and those belonging to us, all temporal afflictions may be borne, and will be for our good....

Verse Jeremiah 31:16. _THEY SHALL COME AGAIN FROM THE LAND OF THE ENEMY._] This could not be said of the _murdered innocents_ at Bethlehem; they never came again; but the Jews, who had gone into captivity, did come again from the _land of their enemy_ to _their own border_....

The religious character of the restoration of the ten tribes. Chastisement brought repentance, and with it forgiveness; therefore God decrees their restoration. Jeremiah 31:15 Ramah, mentioned because of its nearness to Jerusalem, from which it was distant about five miles. As the mother of three tribes, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh, Rachel is regarded as the mother of the whole ten. This passage is quoted by Matthew (marginal reference) as a type. In Jeremiah it is a poetical figure representing in a dramatic form the miserable condition of the kingdom of Ephraim devastated by the sword of the Assyrians. Jeremiah 31:16 Rachel’s work had been that of bearing and bringing up children, and

EXPOSITION JEREMIAH 31:1 The promise of Jeremiah 30:22 is expressly declared to apply to both sections of the nation. Jehovah thus solemnly declares his purpose of mercy, and dwells with special Madness on the happy future of Ephraim. JEREMIAH 31:2 THE PEOPLE which were LEFT OF THE SWORD, etc.; literally, _the people of those left of the sword. _The expression clearly implies that the Jews at the time spoken of had escaped, or were about to escape, in some great battle or some other kind of slaughter. Hence the finding grace in the wilderness cannot refer to the sequel of the passage through the Red Sea, an

THUS SAITH THE LORD, REFRAIN THY VOICE FROM WEEPING, AND THINE EYES FROM TEARS,.... Though sorrow on such an occasion may be lawfully indulged, yet it ought to be moderated; and attention should be given to those things which may serve to relieve under it, and especially when they come from the Lord himself; then a stop is to be put to the mournful voice, and wet eyes are to be dried up: FOR THY WORK SHALL BE REWARDED, SAITH THE LORD; in bearing these children, and bringing them into the world, and expressing such an affectionate and tender concern for them; signifying, that the trouble of bearing and bringing them into the world, and nursing them the time they did live, should not, as it might seem, be fruitless, and to answer no end; but it should be seen hereafter, that all this was not in vain; nor should they think it so; but that they have an ample recompense of all their sorrow a...

Jeremiah 31:1. _At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people._ During the Israelites' banishment to Babylon, God's covenant with them had been as it were in abeyance, but in this promise of their restoration he brings it to the front again, and he gives a peculiarly gracious turn to it: «I will be the God of all the families of Israel.» What a mercy it is to have a family God, and to have our whole family in Christ! Brethren, you have a family Bible, and you have, I hope, a family altar; may your whole family belong to God! Jeremiah 31:2. _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._ Pharaoh tried to kill

CHAPTER 31 _ 1. The home-going of the nation (Jeremiah 31:1) _ 2. The joy of salvation (Jeremiah 31:10) 3. The preceding tribulation, sorrow and repentance (Jeremiah 31:15) 4. Assurance (Jeremiah 31:22) 5. The new covenant (Jeremiah 31:27) 6. The everlasting nation (Jeremiah 31:35) Jeremiah 31

Jeremiah hears Rachel (the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, Genesis 30:24; Genesis 35:16 ff.) weeping at (her grave near) Ramah, for her children, the northern exiles. He bids her refrain, in the certainty of their restoration. Their penitence is described (Jeremiah 31:18 f.). Yahweh expresses wonder (Jeremiah 31:20) at His own enduring love for this very precious son, this child of delight; He is moved to deep emotion, and, in spite of all, cannot abandon him. Let Israel indicate and note the way of return (Jeremiah 31:21), and persist in it ...