Jeremiah 31:27-30 – The truth of individual and personal responsibility

God had already made known that He was the source of all the suffering of His people in Israel and Judah. He did it to judge them for their sin and waywardness. He did not do it to destroy them but to align them. Those who would repent, and change could attest to His lovingkindness. He promised to restore them. Here in Jeremiah 31:27-30, God said he would restore their fortune in days to come. There will be a multiplication of both men and beasts. Productivity would be the order of the day when they have learned from their experiences in captivity.

At the onset of his call, Jeremiah was told by God that included in his assignment was the task “to pluck up, to break down, to overthrow, to destroy as well as to build and to plant.” Saying almost the same words as Jeremiah 1:10, God here in Jeremiah 31:28 reiterates that He was behind Jeremiah’s commission watching over them to fulfill it. The first part of plucking, breaking, overthrowing, and bringing disaster was initiated. And now the time of building and planting was nearing, God would be bringing about its fulfillment.  

Verse 29 is a quote of a common byword that the Prophet Ezekiel had also spoken about in Ezekiel 18:2. The people were saying that ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ By this proverb, they were implying that the Lord was unjust. And that He had punished the children for the sins of their forefathers. However, through God’s dealing, the exiles soon realized that they couldn’t blame God anymore. In fact, God had not laid and would not lay the father's guilt on the children. The guilt of every person’s sin was squarely on his or her own shoulder. Everyone would be responsible for their own sin. God declares that “the soul that sins shall die.”  And we shall see that in the New Covenant God would enact with them, He would be dealing with every person individually.

Every covenant God made with men was good. It was the sin of fallen men that had made the covenant look bad. In fact, before the people received the Old Covenant, they had already broken it. Remember what they did at the foot of Mount Sinai? While Moses was on the way down with the Ten Commandments, the Old Covenant, they were already  dancing before the golden calf that Aaron was forced to make for them. Even with the re-dispense set of the Ten Commandments later, the people of God still did not keep their side of the bargain. The problem had never been about the covenant of God, it had been the sin of a fallen people.

God had been and will always be just. We should never blame God no matter how hard life presents itself. Instead, we must stay confident in God knowing that He will never be unjust in His dealing. Let’s hold fast to the admonition of Hebrews 10 35-36. It says “…do  not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God (that includes times of tearing down hindrances), you may receive what was promised. Beloved, God wants us to collaborate with Him so that we can experience the joy of the abundant life He had promised in Christ. Let’s make up our minds and collaborate with Him.