Jer 31:2-17 | TNotes | STEP | 31:2 The Lord directed his message to those who would survive the coming destruction at the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC .

31:2 ^a The Lord directed his message to those who would survive the coming destruction at the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC.
31:3 ^b Long ago, the Lord had revealed himself during the Exodus (see Exod 15:13 ^c; 20:6 ^d; 34:6-7 ^e; Num 14:18-19 ^f; Deut 5:10 ^g; 7:7 ^h, 10 ⁱ, 12-13 ^j; 10:15 ^k, 18 ^l).
31:4 ^m In their homeland, the Israelites had been guilty of “adultery” with false gods. The restored community would be like a virgin, as though the people had never forsaken the Lord. The happiness and joy of their celebrations would manifest this transformation.
31:5 ⁿ Samaria was located in north-central Israel.
31:6 ^o In the fully restored nation, the kingdom would no longer be divided (1 Kgs 12:16-29 ^p; Ezek 37:16-22 ^q).
31:7 ^r The remnant refers to those who were living in exile.
31:8 ^s The Lord promised to gather the surviving exiles from wherever they were scattered without overlooking the weak and helpless.

• The great company of exiles who returned in 538–536 BC numbered 49,697 (Ezra 2:64 ^t).
31:9 ^u Those returning to their homeland would cry for joy, knowing the Lord as their shepherd (Ps 23:1-3 ^v) and feeling secure (see Isa 35:10 ^w) with God as their father.
31:10 ^x The Lord promised to gather his people from the nations of the world and be their shepherd in place of the wicked shepherds who had led Israel and Judah astray.
31:11 ^y The Lord alone could accomplish the people’s release from exile.
31:12 ^z The restored community would enjoy the Lord’s good gifts. The people could expect abundant crops to spring forth in the fields with no appeal to Baal. The sorrows of their exile would be cast off, and the returnees could expect to be fruitful, like a watered garden.
31:13 ^aa The Lord would replace mourning, a daily experience in exile, with his comfort and a continual outpouring of rejoicing (see Isa 40:1-3 ^ab; 61:3 ^ac).
31:14 ^ad The priests and the people would enjoy abundance because the people would pay their tithes rather than robbing God (Mal 3:8-12 ^ae).
Summary for Jer 31:15-40: 31:15-40 ^af The Lord expanded on his future project of rebuilding a new nation out of a people who had suffered greatly during their lengthy captivity. 31:15 ^ag Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife, was the mother of Joseph (father of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh in the northern kingdom) and Benjamin (whose descendants were in the southern kingdom). She represented the mothers in all Israel whose children were taken into exile.

• Matthew 2:18 ^ah quotes this verse in relation to the slaughter of the young boys in Bethlehem.
Summary for Jer 31:16-17: 31:16-17 ^ai Rachel should not weep, because the Lord promised to bring her exiled children out of captivity and back to their own land.