Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 31:6
For there shall be a day, [that] the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God.
6. watchmen ] giving signals for the pilgrimage.
let us go up to Zion ] for the schism between the Northern and Southern tribes is at an end.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
This verse anticipates a time when the schism caused by Jeroboam is over. Ephraimite watchmen equally with the tribe of Judah watch for the new moon that they may go up to Jerusalem to keep the appointed Feasts.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Jer 31:6
Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God.
The watchmans message to Israel
I. The message of the watchmen.
1. The Jewish people had been overthrown, taken captive, and dispersed. They were therefore to all appearance a forsaken people, their land bereft of its inhabitants was desolate, and they were removed from all they held most dear to them on earth, from the glory of their former national independence, and from the temple in which they and their fathers had worshipped through many generations. But they were to be restored to their old places, to the land of all others they held most sacred, to their former worship with all its wondrous beauty, and to the national distinctions and privileges which had so long marked their history. Some effort on their part was however necessary, they were to arise and then go up to Zion unto the Lord their God. And in Him too we find the motive of all our efforts to arise from thoughtlessness and folly, and the object worthy of our lifes battle and of our lifes journey. We pray you to think upon this. When you are asked to awake out of spiritual sleep,–when you are told the night is far spent and the day of Gods judgment is fast coming,–when any public or private duty is urged upon your attention,–when we utter warning voices, in the midst of homes and friends, at the most gladsome times,–it is that you also should arise, and go–not unto the priest alone, not unto the altar alone, not unto the Church alone, but that you first and chiefly should go unto the Lord your God.
2. It is true this message may be regarded in a prospective point of view. For, it is said, there shall be a day, &c. To us the message is a present one. At the birth of Christ a new era of life and liberty commenced for the Gentiles and for all the families of earth. We live amid the ruins of our own inherent depraved nature. We have the evidence within and around us that we are in bonds. But the cry of the watchman is sent to us now: and if we will be only wise enough to exercise our common senses, and rouse ourselves up from our spiritual lethargy, and seek for Gods help and mercy, we may arise, and go up among the congregations of His people, and realise in our hearts the great blessedness of His personal favour and presence of love.
II. Lessons.
1. One lesson to be inferred is the groundwork for the present aspiration of the Jew, and we may add, in another sense, the present aspiration of the Christian. The testimony of the prophecies of the Old Testament is supported by the testimony of providence. Even if the Jew should care but little, if anything, about the ancient prophecies, yet he is moved by the signs of the times. And more, he is influenced by feelings which he cannot account for, but which, when examined by the light of prophecy, receives an explanation in God s interposition by some means either direct or indirect. The Christian knows in a thousand ways that this earth, with all its gold, and honours and pleasures, is not our rest, and therefore how natural, like the Jew, that he should turn the eye of his faith to the city of his love, even in the heavens, the place which God has promised him for evermore. It is but reasonable that he should long for that.
2. Another lesson we are taught by the text is, namely, that the Almighty and Eternal Saviour of His people is to be found in the use of the ordinances of His Church. (W. D. Horwood.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 6. For there shall be a day] Literally, for this is the day, or the day is come. The watchmen-the prophets.
Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion] Let both Israelites and Jews join together in the worship of the Lord.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
That
Mount Ephraim was a part of the lot of the ten tribes is out of question. Whether by
watchmen be to be understood state sentinels set to give warning of dangers approaching, or keepers of vineyards, seemeth not much material. It is said they should call upon men to go up to Zion, that is, to the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, to worship the Lord. The only question is, what time tills prophecy was fulfilled. For though Judah returned from the captivity of Babylon, yet the ten tribes (that we read of) never returned. Some think that it was fulfilled in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, when though the body of the ten tribes returned not, yet many particular persons of those tribes did return and join themselves with those who returned out of the captivity of Babylon, and rebuilt both the city and the temple. Besides, it appeareth from Josephus, 1.13. cap. 5.8, that the Demetrii gave Samaria, Galilee, and Perea to the Jews. But the best interpreters judge that this prophecy was fulfilled under the gospel; for both Galilee and Samaria received the gospel, as appeareth from Act 8:1,5,9,14; 9:31.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. The watchmen stationed oneminences (types of the preachers of the gospel), shall summon theten tribes to go up to the annual feasts at Jerusalem (“Zion”),as they used to do before the revolt and the setting up of the idolcalves at Dan and Beer-sheba (Eze 37:21;Eze 37:22).
Mount Ephraimnot onesingle mountain, but the whole mountainous region of the ten tribes.
our Godfrom whom weformerly revolted, but who is now our God. An earnest of thatgood time to come is given in the partial success of the gospel inits first preaching in Samaria (Joh 4:1-42;Act 8:5-25).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For there shall be a day,…. The whole Gospel dispensation is “a day”, made so by the bright rising of the sun of righteousness; here it seems to design some certain fixed period of time in that dispensation, when the light of the Gospel will break out most gloriously, and it will be a clear day; as it will be when the Jews will be converted:
[that] the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim; the same with the mountains of Samaria; for Samaria was the head or metropolis of Ephraim, Isa 7:9; and these are the watchmen that kept the vines there, Jer 31:5; for the allusion is not to watchmen of states and cities, but to watchers of vineyards, and to such the ministers of the Gospel are compared, So 1:6. Grotius thinks there is an allusion in the word “Notzerim” to the title of Nazarenes, given to Christ and his followers; and Abarbinel the Jew on the place observes, that the prophet, by the Holy Ghost, foresaw that the Romans would believe in Jesus of Nazareth, and therefore would be called Nazarenes from him; see Ac 24:5; so that Christian ministers may be well thought to be here intended: who
shall cry, arise ye; lift up their voice like a trumpet, and cry aloud to persons as asleep, or in dead and lifeless frames, to awake, arouse, and rise up, and shake off their sloth and indolence, saying:
and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God; to the church of God, to attend the word of God, his worship and ordinances; to which sometimes there is a backwardness, arising from sloth, from a lukewarm frame of spirit, from a love of the world, and a vain conceit of their own sufficiency and knowledge; and it is the business of Gospel ministers to stir up persons to frequent the house of God, and attend public worship in it; since it is not only their duty, but their interest and privilege; here they have true pleasure, and real profit; and it is to their honour to continue here, and not forsake the assembling of themselves together: but they should not rest here, trusting to, and depending on, these things; but should go “to the Lord [their] God”; not only seek and pray unto him, but should be desirous of hearing of him, and from him; of seeing him, his power and his glory, and him in his beauty; and of having communion with him; and should exercise faith upon him as their own God. Christ seems to be intended; going to him is exercising faith upon him, for righteousness and strength, peace, pardon, life, and salvation; and saying, as Thomas did, “my Lord, and my God”, Joh 20:28.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Prophet here amplifies the kindness of God, because he would not only restore the tribe of Judah, but also the ten tribes, who had previously been led into exile. He then promises here a full and complete restoration of the Church. The Prophets do not always speak in the same manner of the liberation of the people; sometimes they confine what they say to the tribe of Judah, as though the rest were in a hopeless state, but often they extend their prophecies to the whole body of the people. So in this place Jeremiah includes, together with the tribe of Judah, the ten tribes, and the half tribe of Benjamin, for some of the tribe of Benjamin had remained and had never revolted from the family of David. But they usually call the kingdom of Israel the ten tribes, and denote the kingdom of Judah by the name of that one tribe: thus the tribe of Benjamin, divided into two parts, is not mentioned.
The meaning, then, of the Prophet is, that when God redeemed his people, not only Judah would return, but also the Israelites, of whom there was hardly a hope, because they had been in exile for a long time; and as they had rejected the pure and legitimate worship of God, they might have been thought to have been excluded from the Church, for by their own perfidy they had shut out themselves, so that they were unworthy of so honorable a distinction. So the Prophet here declares that God’s favor would surpass the wickedness and perverseness of the people of Israel.
Hence he says that the day would come in which watch-men would cry on the mountain of Ephraim, etc. By Ephraim, as it is well known, are often to be understood the ten tribes, and that on account of Jeroboam, who first reigned over them. But we ought ever to remember, that under one tribe, in this case, are included all the ten tribes. When, therefore, the Prophet speaks of watchmen on Mount Ephraim, he means all the watchmen, placed on their watchtowers, through the whole kingdom of Israel. But the contrast ought to be noticed, for Jeroboam had closed up every passage by which the Israelites might ascend to Jerusalem; for he feared lest they should there hear of God’s covenant which he had made with David and his posterity. He was in at ease with himself, because he had obtained the kingdom by sinister means. God had, indeed, by his Prophet commanded him to be anointed a king; but it does not hence follow, that as to himself he had obtained the kingdom justly. It is true that God intended to punish Rehoboam and also the people; but he who had been the author of the revolt was perfidious in seeking to establish a kingdom for his posterity; he forbade any one to ascend to Jerusalem, and therefore he built altars in Dan and Bethel. (1Kg 12:29) On this account the Prophet Hosea complains that they besieged the ways like thieves, and that many who ascended to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to God were slain; and some were plundered and sent home. (Hos 6:9) The contrast then is worthy of being noticed, when the Prophet says,
“
Yet cry shall watchmen on Mount Ephraim, Arise, let us ascend to Zion to our God.”
For though in appearance they forsook only the posterity of David, they yet at the same time renounced the true and pure worship of God; and the religion which they followed under Jeroboam was spurious; for they ought to have offered sacrifices to God only in one place, for it is often found in the Law,
“
Thou shalt come to the place which the Lord thy God shall choose.” (Deu 12:26)
But they having despised the place which God had appointed for himself, built altars elsewhere. Then their worship was nothing but superstition; and though they multiplied sacrifices, they did nothing but provoke God’s wrath; for it is not lawful for us to devise anything beyond what is prescribed in the Law.
The Prophet therefore says, Cry shall watchmen, Arise, let us ascend into Zion; that is, there will not be such a division among the people as there was formerly. For a few only worshipped God in the Temple which had beell built by his command, and the rest gave themselves up to numberless superstitions; but now they shall again unite in one body. In short, Jeremiah here teaches us, that all the children of Abraham would return to a fraternal agreement, and that there would be a bond between them, a unity of faith, for they would together unite in offering sacrifices, and no one would invent a god for himself. (25)
Now this passage is especially useful; for we may hence learn what is the right state of the Church; it is when all agree in one faith. But we must, at the same time, see what is the foundation of this faith. The Papists indeed boast of this union, but yet they pass by what ought to hold the first place, that is, that all must have regard to the only true God, according to what they are taught by his word. Hence the Prophet here mentions Mount Sion, which had been chosen by God, that he might shew that no unity pleases God, unless men obey his word from the least to the greatest, and not follow their own imaginations, but embrace what he teaches and prescribes in his Law. This is the import of this passage. The Israelites shall then call him their God, from whom they had before wickedly departed. It follows —
(25) The verb for “cry” is either in the past tense or in the imperative mood. As there are so many imperatives in this passage, it seems that this is an imperative too. It appears that the latter part of the last verse, this verse, and that which follows, contain what would be addressed to the people after their return. In no other way can the verbs be grammatically rendered. The whole address is as follows, —
“
Plant, O ye planters, and eat the fruit;
6. For come is the day: Call ye, O watchmen, on mount Ephraim, ‘Arise, and let us go into Sion, to Jehovah our God;’
7. For thus has Jehovah said, Shout ye, ‘To Jacob there is joy,’ And cry it aloud amont the chief of the nations; Publish, exultingly proclaim, and say, ‘Saved hath Jehovah thy people, The remnant of Israel.’”
The passage is a sort of an episode. What follows seems well connected with the former part of the 5 verse (Jer 31:5).
“
Eat the fruit,” is the meaning, and not the literal version, which can hardly be given: it is so rendered by Blayney. “Call ye,” or, proclaim, or, give the invitation. The news was to be made known “among the chief of the nations,” as it is evident from the 10 verse (Jer 31:10). “Saved,” etc., so the Sept. and the Targum, and more consistent with the context than “save;” but both have “his,” i.e., God’s, instead of “thy people,” i.e., Jacob’s. The verb הללו means not only to praise, but also to boast, to exult, and here evidently to proclaim with exultation or triumph. It is rendered here “sing ye,” by the Vulg. and Syr.
It is worthy of notice, that in this episode the particulars, mentioned in the 4 verse (Jer 31:4), and the beginning of the 5, are referred to in their reversed order. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) The watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry . . .The special fact is given as the ground of the previous prediction. The two kingdoms should be united, and therefore the possession of the vineyards should be undisturbed. The city of Samaria stood on one of the mountains of Ephraim. The watchmen may be either the sentinels stationed in the towers of the city, or, more probably, those that were on the look-out for the first appearance of the crescent moon as the signal for the observance either of the Passover or the new-moon festival. What follows is all but decisive in favour of the latter view. What is implied is that the rival worship in Bethel and in Dan, which had so long kept the ten tribes of Israel from the Temple at Jerusalem, should cease, and that from the mountains of Ephraim there should be heard the cry which, with a solitary exception in the reign of Hezekiah (2Ch. 30:11; 2Ch. 30:18), had not been heard for centuriesLet us go up to Zion. The long schism which had caused the ruin of the nation would at last be healed. Unity of worship, at once the ground and symbol of national unity, should be restored.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. Watchmen That is, for the new moon, as marking the beginning of the religious festival. Mount Ephraim is mentioned as another representative section of the territory of the ten tribes. That the cry should be heard here. Let us go up to Zion, betokens a restored unity.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 31:6. The watchmencry Though the first reference may be to the leaders and teachers of the Jews returning from Babylon; yet, in the full completion of the prophesy, by watchmen the preachers of the Messiah, or of the Gospel, are to be understood; for the Jews apply the Hebrew word notsrim, expressly to this purpose. The phrase, Arise ye, alludes to the Jewish custom of going to Jerusalem at their three annual festivals.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 31:6 For there shall be a day, [that] the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God.
Ver. 6. The watchmen upon the mount Ephraim. ] Such as are set to keep those vineyards. Jer 31:5
Shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
there shall be = there is. Hebrew. yesh. See note on Pro 8:21, and Pro 18:24.
mount = hill country.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
a day: Jer 6:17, Isa 40:9, Isa 52:7, Isa 52:8, Isa 62:6, Eze 3:17, Eze 33:2, Hos 9:8
upon: Jer 50:19, 2Ch 13:4, 2Ch 30:5-11, Act 8:5-8
Arise: Jer 50:4, Jer 50:5, Ezr 1:5, Ezr 8:15-20, Isa 2:2-4, Isa 11:11-13, Hos 1:11, Mic 4:1-3, Zec 8:20-23
Reciprocal: Psa 84:7 – in Zion Psa 122:1 – Let us go Isa 2:3 – Come ye Isa 30:19 – dwell Isa 40:6 – Cry Jer 8:19 – the Lord Jer 31:18 – Ephraim Jer 51:10 – let us Eze 33:7 – I have Hos 3:5 – seek Mic 4:2 – and say Zec 9:12 – Turn Luk 15:18 – will arise
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 31:6. The tribe of Ephraim included the capital of the kingdom of Israel and their people did not go to Zion (or Jerusalem) for worship because they had revolted from the kingdom of Judah. This verse predicts that after the return from captivity they all will go to the original headquarters in order to meet with the Lord. It indicates that Israel will be a united kingdom after the return from captivity.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 31:6-7. For there shall be a day, that the watchmen shall cry By the watchmen are meant Gods prophets, or the ministers of his word, giving notice of his dispensations, and calling upon men to act suitably under them. The first reference may be to the leaders and teachers of the Jews, returning from Babylon, or to the general summons throughout all the ten tribes, for which Ephraim is put, to repair to Jerusalem, and join themselves to the true church, from which they had been so long separated; but, doubtless, in the full completion of the prophecy, by watchmen the preachers of the gospel are to be understood. The phrase, crying upon mount Ephraim, alludes to the custom of persons that had to publish any proclamation ascending to the top of some high hill, from whence their voice might be heard a great way off. See Jdg 9:7; 2Ch 13:4; Isa 40:9. The phrase, Arise ye, let us go up to Zion, &c, alludes to the Jewish custom of going in companies to Jerusalem at their three annual festivals. For thus saith the Lord, Sing with gladness, &c. When ye see some dawning of these blessed times, express your joy for the restoration of Jacobs posterity in the most public manner that can be; and shout among the chief of the nations Namely, among the most potent nations from whence you are to be gathered. Or, persons belonging to the chief nations of the earth are here called upon to congratulate the Israelites on their restoration to their own land, and their conversion to the church of God, as Moses predicted, Deu 32:43, and the apostle exhorts, Rom 15:10, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people; for when the promises made to the fathers are accomplished, the Gentiles shall glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause will I confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name, Rom 15:8. Publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people Publish these good tidings with the highest expressions of praise and glory to God; and likewise pray that he, who hath begun so glorious a work, would proceed and complete it.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
31:6 For there shall be a day, [that] the {i} watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to {k} Zion to the LORD our God.
(i) The ministers of the word.
(k) They will exhort all to the embracing of the gospel, as in Isa 2:3 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Watchmen in the Northern Kingdom would again summon their fellow countrymen to make pilgrimages to God’s chosen city, Jerusalem, to worship Him there. After the kingdom divided, the northern Israelites worshipped at Bethel and Dan, not at Jerusalem. Thus a reunited Israel is in view.
Jer 31:4-6 picture God’s restoration of Israel as a time of renewed joy (Jer 31:4), peace and prosperity (Jer 31:5), and renewed commitment to Yahweh (Jer 31:6).
"This restoration reverses at least six aspects of the judgment suffered by Israel and Judah: no resting place in exile, a nation torn down, celebrations silenced, vines and plants uprooted, watchmen announcing the invading conqueror, and the temple destroyed. The poem also introduces an Israel transformed from a desperate adulteress (Jer 4:30) to a joyful maiden on her way back to God." [Note: Ibid., pp. 109-10.]