D. Scott Meadows
For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he (Jer 31.11).
Jeremiah foretold days of restoration for Israel after she had been decimated by well-deserved discipline for her apostasy. Through Jeremiah, the LORD promised to bring the exiles home and bless them again beyond anything they had ever known. Both the exile of Judah (586 B.C.) and the several waves of returning exiles were yet future; Jeremiah lived to see the first but not the second.
The historical restoration of Israel in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah was a near and local fulfillment of prophecies like these in the Old Testament, but it foreshadowed a much greater and universal saving work of God in the world—the redemptive mission eternally decreed by God the Father, whereby He sent God the Son and God the Spirit in the New Covenant age. Christ’s first advent followed by the Spirit’s outpouring since Pentecost account for the gathering of God’s elect into the Israel of God, Christ’s Church. The New Covenant of Jeremiah 31 is expressly stated by the New Testament to be fulfilled in this way (cf. Heb 8.8–12 with Jer 31.31–34).
Jeremiah 31.11 states the blessed future as if it were past because it is certain to be fulfilled. It brings out redemption’s three parties—the Lord, His chosen people, and our enemies. The simplest way to state it is that God saves us from them.
The Savior (the LORD)
Two parallel verbs in this verse characterize God’s saving activity: “redeemed” and “ransomed.” They are very nearly synonymous; both lexical entries use the other to define the one. The literal sense is to buy back, for example, out of slavery (Neh 5.5); the figurative is to deliver from trouble (e.g., 2 Sam 4.9). Both have strong overtones of liberation from some otherwise inescapable evil like oppressors and death.
The Lord is the ultimate redeemer or Savior (Jonah 2.9). He finally deserves the praise for any and all deliverance, even when He uses human instruments. Jesus Christ alone is the human/divine Savior, both God’s instrument and God Himself acting to save His people. We praise God through Christ, and we praise Christ, for our salvation.
The Saved (Jacob)
Good theology comes from good grammar in our observation and interpretation of biblical propositions like this one. Here, “Jacob” is the direct object of the transitive verbs. The Lord is the active one; Jacob is the passive. The Lord saves; Jacob is saved by the Lord’s sovereign act. Jacob is not even partly responsible for his salvation; it is all God’s doing from beginning to end, and for this reason, all praise belongs to Him.
Bad theology tramples upon these truths and attempts in various ways to teach self-salvation, or at least cooperative salvation. Usually this comes from emphases upon human responsibility to repent and to believe, or from a defense of man’s “free will.” I seem to recall a certain famous evangelist saying that God has done 99% of what is necessary to save you, but the 1% of believing is left to you. Talk like that is unscriptural, perverts the gospel, and robs the Lord of all praise as the mighty Savior of sinners.
The Enemy (him who was stronger than us)
In the Old Testament historical setting, “Jacob” is the nation of Israel personified as one man, its human progenitor of the Genesis record. And the enemy of God’s people is likewise personified as an individual here, “him that was stronger than he.” Historically, this was the Babylonian empire which held the people of Judah captive for seventy years. And just as “Jacob” comes in the New Testament to represent all God’s elect, “Babylon” becomes a figure for the Church’s countless enemies (e.g., Rev 18.10). The world, the flesh, the devil, and death are all more than a match for any sinner.
The point of Jeremiah’s worshipful prophecy is that God’s people are helpless against all our enemies. If the Lord left us to our own strength and devices, we would certainly perish. But in our deliverance, the Lord proves His superiority over them. He does for us what we could never do for ourselves! The Almighty Christ defeats very powerful foes to rescue and gather His weak lambs (cf. the previous verse, Jer 31.10). Our part in God’s plan is to praise Him evermore for His saving mercies. Ω