Jesus, Our Hope

In chapter 31, Jeremiah prophesies the future restoration of the people of God. From glowing predictions of grace and mercy, Jeremiah once again confronts the tragic conditions of his day. He speaks of Rachel at Ramah weeping over the loss of her children (v. 15). An ancestress of the people of God, Rachel was also weeping over the exile of God’s people. The Lord invites Rachel to stop mourning because God would be faithful to restore his wayward people once again (v. 16 – 17).

Matthew quotes Jeremiah 31:15 in Matthew 2:18 when Herod, in an attempt to kill the newborn Jesus, killed all of the infant boys born in Bethlehem. It is impossible to come to terms with the deaths of the infant boys in Matthew 2. But Jesus and his parents escaped this attempt on his life and went to Egypt for a time after having been warned in a dream. In the book of Jeremiah, God took his people through exile, but he eventually brought them back to their home country to live and worship him. Similarly, God brought his Son Jesus through attempted murder, both in Bethlehem and on the cross, to save and redeem the world so that they may live and worship him. In great darkness, there is great hope.

Jesus, as I live in this dark world, it is easy to understand why Rachel wept. Help me to shine brightly in the darkness and to focus on your hope at the end of the tunnel. Amen.