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Commentary on Jeremiah 31 verses 35–40
Glorious things have been spoken in the foregoing verses concerning the gospel church, which that epocha of the Jewish church that was to commence at the return from captivity would at length terminate in, and which all those promises were to have their full accomplishment in. But may we depend upon these promises? Yes, we have here a ratification of them, and the utmost assurance imaginable given of the perpetuity of the blessings contained in them. The great thing here secured to us is that while the world stands God will have a church in it, which, though sometimes it may be brought very low, shall yet be raised again, and its interests re-established; it is built upon a rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Now here are two things offered for the confirmation of our faith in this matter - the building of the world and the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
I. The building of the world, and the firmness and lastingness of that building, are evidences of the power and faithfulness of that God who has undertaken the establishment of his church. He that built all things at first is God (Heb 3:4), and the same is he that makes all things now. The constancy of the glories of the kingdom of nature may encourage us to depend upon the divine promise for the continuance of the glories of the kingdom of grace, for this is as the waters of Noah, Isa 54:9. Let us observe here,
1.The glories of the kingdom of nature, and infer thence how happy those are that have this God, the God of nature, to be their God for ever and ever. Take notice, (1.) Of the steady and regular motion of the heavenly bodies, which God is the first mover and supreme director of: He gives the sun for a light by day (Jer 31:35), not only made it at first to be so, but still gives it to be so; for the light and heat, and all the influences of the sun, continually depend upon its great Creator. He gives the ordinances of the moon and stars for a light by night; their motions are called ordinances both because they are regular and by rule and because they are determined and under rule. See Job 38:31-33. (2.) Take notice of the government of the sea, and the check that is given to its proud billows: The Lord of hosts divides the sea, or (as some read it) settles the sea, when the waves thereof roar (divide et impera - divide and rule); when it is most tossed God keeps it within compass (Jer 5:22), and soon quiets it and makes it calm again. The power of God is to be magnified by us, not only in maintaining the regular motions of the heavens, but in controlling the irregular motions of the seas. (3.) Take notice of the vastness of the heavens and the unmeasurable extent of the firmament; he must needs be a great God who manages such a great world as this is; the heavens above cannot be measured (Jer 31:37), and yet God fills them. (4.) Take notice of the mysteriousness even of that part of the creation in which our lot is cast and which we are most conversant with. The foundations of the earth cannot be searched out beneath, for the Creator hangs the earth upon nothing (Job 26:7), and we know not how the foundations thereof are fastened, Job 38:6. (5.) Take notice of the immovable stedfastness of all these (Jer 31:36): These ordinances cannot depart from before God; he has all the hosts of heaven and earth continually under his eye and all the motions of both; he has established them, and they abide, abide according to his ordinance, for all are his servants, Psa 119:90, Psa 119:91. The heavens are often clouded, and the sun and moon often eclipsed, the earth may quake and the sea be tossed, but they all keep their place, are moved, but not removed. Herein we must acknowledge the power, goodness, and faithfulness of the Creator.
2.The securities of the kingdom of grace inferred hence: we may be confident of this very thing that the seed of Israel shall not cease from being a nation, for the spiritual Israel, the gospel church, shall be a holy nation, a peculiar people, Pe1 2:9. When Israel according to the flesh is no longer a nation the children of the promise are counted for the seed (Rom 9:8) and God will not cast off all the seed of Israel, no, not for all that they have done, though they have done very wickedly, Jer 31:37. He justly might cast them off, but he will not. Though he cast them out from their land, and cast them down for a time, yet he will not cast them off. Some of them he casts off, but not all; to this the apostle seems to refer (Rom 11:1), Hath God cast away his people? God forbid that we should think so! For (Jer 31:5) at this time there is a remnant, enough to save the credit of the promise that God will not cast off all the seed of Israel, though many among them throw away themselves by unbelief. Now we may be assisted in the belief of this by considering, (1.) That the God that has undertaken the preservation of the church is a God of almighty power, who upholds all things by his almighty word. Our help stands in his name who made heaven and earth, and therefore can do any thing. (2.) That God would not take all this care of the world but that he designs to have some glory to himself out of it; and how shall he have it but by securing to himself a church in it, a people that shall be to him for a name and a praise? (3.) That if the order of the creation therefore continues firm because it was well-fixed at first, and is not altered because it needs no alteration, the method of grace shall for the same reason continue invariable, as it was a first well settled. (4.) That he who has promised to preserve a church for himself has approved himself faithful to the word which he has spoken concerning the stability of the world. He that is true to his covenant with Noah and his sons, because he established it for an everlasting covenant (Gen 9:9, Gen 9:16), will not, we may be sure, be false to his covenant with Abraham and his seed, his spiritual seed, for that also is an everlasting covenant. Even that which they have done amiss, though they have done much, shall not prevail to defeat the gracious intentions of the covenant. See Psa 89:30, etc.
II. The rebuilding of Jerusalem which was now in ruins, and the enlargement and establishment of that, shall be an earnest of these great things that God will do for the gospel church, the heavenly Jerusalem, Jer 31:38-40. The days will come, though they may be long in coming, when, 1. Jerusalem shall be entirely built again, as large as ever it was; the dimensions are here exactly described by the places through which the circumference passed, and no doubt the wall which Nehemiah built, and which, the more punctually to fulfil the prophecy, began about the tower of Hananeel, here mentioned (Neh 3:1), enclosed as much ground as is here intended, though we cannot certainly determine the places here called the gate of the corner, the hill Gareb, etc. 2. When built it shall be consecrated to God and to his service. It shall be built to the Lord (Jer 31:38), and even the suburbs and fields adjacent shall be holy unto the Lord. It shall not be polluted with idols as formerly, but God shall be praised and honoured there; the whole city shall be as it were one temple, one holy place, as the new Jerusalem is, which therefore has no temple, because it is all temple. 3. Being thus built by virtue of the promise of God, it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down, any more for ever; that is, it shall continue very long, the time of the new city from the return to its last destruction being fully as long as that of the old from David to the captivity. But this promise was to have its full accomplishment in the gospel church, which, as it is the spiritual Israel, and therefore God will not cast it off, so it is the holy city, and therefore all the powers of men shall not pluck it up, nor throw it down. It may lie waste for a time, as Jerusalem did, but shall recover itself, shall weather the storm and gain its point, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
“If laws of day and night cease to speak before my face, says the Lord, then the descendants of Israel cease to be a nation forever.” It is impossible that the world order established from the beginning would change, that is, movement of stars, change of seasons. Therefore, without doubt, the promise given to David would not be left unfulfilled, and his kingdom and his seed would not cease before God’s face. Although this prophecy was fulfilled in its own time for Zerubbabel, who ruled over David’s kingdom, it was more completely fulfilled in our Lord, as even the angel said, “The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign in the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”And the prophet repeats and confirms later on what is said here about the spread and eternity of Christ’s kingdom by saying, “Just as the heavenly stars could not be counted and the sands of the sea could not be measured, so I will increase the seed of David,” that is, the seed of his Word (Logos), son of David, priests and the Levites of the new covenant. According to their dignified status, the prophet depicts the gospel and the church of Christ in the image of the powers of heaven (stars) and their spread in the image of the sands of the sea, because thus it should be that the gospel and the church would become known to all the ends of the universe and that all nations would believe in them.
(Verse 35, 36) Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day, the order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar: The Lord of hosts is his name. If these laws (or statutes) depart from before me, says the Lord, then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before me forever. And in the beginning of Genesis, we read that the sun was placed in the sky for light by day, and the moon and stars for light by night (Gen. 1). And in the psalm it says: Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge (Psalm 19:2), meaning that night and day succeed each other. Just as, he says, the order of things, especially the celestial spheres, cannot be changed, and the waves of the sounding sea roll toward the shore, and the terrifying noise of the swelling waves is heard, but it cannot go beyond what is commanded by God, according to that: You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth (Psalm 104:9). Similarly, he says, the offspring and lineage of Israel will be perpetual by the will of the Lord, and will never fail. However, here the laws are not to be understood as Mosaic, but as the constitution and order of nature. Let us ask the Jews, if the heavens will perish, and all will become old like a garment; and to the Lord it is said: But thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail (Ps. CI, 28), how can the seed of Israel be perpetual? For if the heavens perish, the seed of Israel will perish; but if it is perpetual, then the heavens will not perish. But if the Scriptures cannot lie, and the heavens are perishable, then the seed of Israel will perish as well, especially since Jacob speaks to his sons, saying: Come, and I will tell you what will happen in the last days (Gen. XLIX, 1). When it is said, in the last days, therefore the world will cease to exist, and there will be a different arrangement of things (or dispensation). This is against them. Furthermore, the Gospel also shows that this world is not everlasting, saying: Heaven and earth will pass away (Matth. XXIV, 35). And behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world (Matt. XXVIII, 20). Let us also say it differently: As long as this world exists, the seed of Israel and the Jewish nation will remain, not in those who are now unbelievers, but in those who believed with the Apostles and through the Apostles, so that the remnants may be saved.
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SUMMARY
Jeremiah 31:36 stands as a profound declaration of God's unwavering faithfulness to His covenant with Israel, asserting that the nation's perpetual existence is as immutable and certain as the fixed laws governing the cosmos. This verse provides an absolute guarantee that just as the established order of the sun, moon, and stars will never cease, so too will the lineage of Israel never cease from being a distinct nation before the Lord, offering immense hope and assurance amidst the despair of exile and the questioning of divine promises.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Jeremiah 31:36 employs several potent literary devices to convey its message of divine assurance and the immutability of God's promises. It primarily functions as a Conditional Statement, but one where the condition ("If those ordinances depart...") is demonstrably impossible, thereby making the consequence (Israel ceasing to be a nation) equally impossible. This rhetorical technique is a powerful form of Hyperbole or, more precisely, an Adynaton (a figure of speech in which hyperbole is used to state that something is impossible), emphasizing the absolute certainty of God's promise by linking it to an event that defies the very fabric of creation. The phrase "saith the LORD" functions as a Divine Oath or Assertion, stamping the entire declaration with the unassailable authority and reliability of God Himself. The verse also implicitly uses Analogy, drawing a profound parallel between the steadfastness and reliability of the natural order—governed by God's unchanging decrees—and the steadfastness of God's covenant with Israel, reinforcing the idea that the Creator who upholds the cosmos is equally capable and committed to upholding His people.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Jeremiah 31:36 is a cornerstone of biblical theology, powerfully affirming God's immutable faithfulness and the enduring nature of His covenant promises. It underscores that God's character is unchanging, and His word is utterly reliable, providing an eternal anchor for His people's hope. This verse connects deeply with the broader biblical narrative of God's election of Israel and His commitment to them, demonstrating that His purposes for His chosen people are as fixed and certain as the laws by which He governs the universe. It highlights the unconditional aspect of God's covenant, where His faithfulness is not dependent on human performance but on His own steadfast nature, ensuring that His redemptive plan will ultimately prevail through His chosen instruments, guaranteeing the preservation of Israel as a distinct entity in His sight.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Jeremiah 31:36 offers profound comfort and a robust foundation for faith in every generation. In a world characterized by change, uncertainty, and often broken promises, this verse reminds us that God's commitments are as unshakeable as the sunrise and sunset. It calls us to place our trust not in fleeting circumstances or human strength, but in the unchanging character of the Almighty God who upholds the cosmos by His word and who is utterly faithful to His covenant people. This truth should inspire a deep sense of security and peace, knowing that if God's promises to Israel are so steadfast, His promises to us, His adopted children through Christ, are equally sure. It encourages perseverance in faith, even when circumstances seem to contradict God's word, because His ultimate plan and promises will never fail, guaranteeing our eternal hope and security in Him.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What are the "ordinances" mentioned in Jeremiah 31:36?
Answer: The "ordinances" (Hebrew: chuqqot) refer to the fixed, established laws and decrees that God has put in place to govern the natural world. As clarified in the preceding verse, Jeremiah 31:35, these include the "ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night," as well as the sun for light by day and the boundaries of the sea. They represent the dependable, unchanging order of creation, which God Himself upholds. The verse uses the absolute reliability of these cosmic laws as a metaphor for the absolute reliability of God's covenant promise to Israel.
Does this verse mean that the physical nation of Israel will exist forever?
Answer: Yes, the verse explicitly states that "the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever" only if the cosmic ordinances cease. This is a powerful affirmation of the perpetual existence of Israel as a distinct national entity in God's sight. Theologically, this promise has been understood in various ways, but it fundamentally assures the continuity of the Jewish people throughout history, despite immense persecution and dispersion. While the New Testament reveals that the "true Israel" includes all who believe in Christ, both Jew and Gentile Romans 9:6-8, this verse in Jeremiah specifically addresses the physical lineage and national identity, affirming God's enduring purpose for them. It highlights God's faithfulness to His original promises, which are irrevocable Romans 11:29, ensuring their continued role in God's redemptive plan.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Jeremiah 31:36, with its profound assurance of God's unwavering covenant faithfulness to Israel, finds its ultimate and most glorious fulfillment in Jesus Christ. The "New Covenant" declared just verses earlier Jeremiah 31:31-34 is precisely the covenant established and mediated by Christ through His atoning sacrifice and resurrection Hebrews 8:6-13. In Him, the "seed of Israel" takes on its fullest and most expansive meaning, as Christ Himself is the ultimate "seed" to whom the promises were made Galatians 3:16. Through union with Christ, both believing Jews and Gentiles become part of the spiritual "Israel of God" Galatians 6:16, inheriting the promises of an eternal relationship with God. The permanence of God's "ordinances" in creation serves as a powerful analogy for the absolute certainty of God's promises in Christ; just as the sun rises daily, so too are "all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen" 2 Corinthians 1:20. Christ's kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His reign will never cease Luke 1:33, embodying the ultimate and eternal fulfillment of God's covenant faithfulness to His people, ensuring their perpetual existence in Him.