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Chapter 32:36-44 (ESV) - “Now therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.
“For thus says the LORD: Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them. Fields shall be bought in this land of which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ Fields shall be bought for money, and deeds shall be signed and sealed and witnessed, in the land of Benjamin, in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for I will restore their fortunes, declares the LORD.”
Question to consider: What did the LORD mean when He said He would given them one heart and one way?
As I wrote a couple of days ago, the intended goal of all of God’s covenants was always that He would gather a people to Himself. While there was a gathering of the faithful remnant after seventy years of exile in Babylon, this was merely a foretaste or shadow of the gathering that was to happen under the everlasting covenant that the LORD would cut for His people under Christ.
The LORD promised to give them one heart and one way. What does this mean? Jesus proclaimed to be the fulfillment of this promise. “‘Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:1-6, emphasis mine)
Jesus’ words are generally read at funerals, and people think of them as referring to our heavenly rest. While I would not argue against this idea, I would point out that Jesus taking us out of the world is in parallel with the LORD’s promise to take His people out of the nations to which they were scattered. People continually want to separate the LORD’s promise to Israel through the Old Testament prophets from these promises to Christ’s church in the New Testament as if they were two different groups.
The ones who went into exile were the good figs— the LORD’s faithful who were swept up in the judgment of the unfaithful. This remnant would one day become disciples of Christ, and the church at Pentecost was made up from these good figs from every tribe scattered throughout the known world. This “way” was then extended to the Samaritans and Gentiles as the LORD fulfilled His promise to Abraham to be a blessing to all nations.
As I frequently point out with prophecy, the LORD always provided near-term and intermediate fulfillments in order to establish the hope for the ultimate fulfillment in Christ. The LORD fulfilled a land promise to Jeremiah which pointed to the land promise at the end of the seventy years which further pointed to the coming of Christ and His eternal covenant with the world.
The passage ended with this idea being emphasized for Jeremiah. The fulfillment of His words of judgment, and the purchase of his cousin’s land were sufficient evidence that the promises of restoration would come to pass. In this, Jeremiah could find comfort.
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for bringing about all that You have proclaimed. Help us to find rest for our souls in the knowledge that You will never leave us nor forsake us, for we have found grace and peace in Your Son. Amen.