Jeremiah 3:12-17

¹² Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever. ¹³ Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord. ¹⁴ Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: ¹⁵ And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. ¹⁶ And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. ¹⁷ At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.

Jeremiah speaks the words of God, telling Israel to return. In this chapter, God describes how grave a betrayal it is that his children, Israel, have turned their backs on Him. But even though it is so horrendous, there is still hope. God tells them if they return to him, he will be merciful and not keep his anger. Even after Israel has done something so grave as to be compared to an unfaithful wife who has cheated on her husband, God is calling them back and promises to be merciful. He goes on to speak of a promise of bringing them to Zion, where Jerusalem is the throne of God. He speaks of the promise of a new and holy place where we will be free of sin and the ultimate peace and happiness. A place, I think, we do not even realise how great it will be. This promise was for Israel, but it is for us all. The best promise we can ever have…an eternal life of the happiness and peace for which our soul longs. A life free from the sorrows and brokenness of this world. A life free of pain, disease, suffering and evil.

Our God promises this to us even when we have gone so far away from him. He is that husband waiting at the door of the house for us to return to his love, safety and forgiveness. And this is not a human-like forgiveness that still comes back up someday; no, this is a complete kind of forgiveness where he will forgive us and allow us a brand new start. He wants to take us back, and he wants to restore unto us life eternal.