Who are the people who “survived the sword” and “found grace in the wilderness”?

Jeremiah 31:1–40 continues the theme of restoration for the Lord’s people that started in Jeremiah 30:1–24. Like the previous chapter, this one also appears to be a collection of sermons from different periods of Jeremiah’s ministry which have been brought together here, because they all speak of the promised restoration of Israel¹. The high point of Jeremiah 31:1–40 comes in the next passage (Jeremiah 31:23–40) which focuses on the announcement of a new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31–34).

The current passage (Jeremiah 31:2–22) includes many images found in the later chapters of the prophet Isaiah where he too speaks of Israel’s restoration (Isaiah 60:1–62:12; Isaiah 65:17–25; Isaiah 66:7–14, Isaiah 22:1–23:18). It is clear that Jeremiah was not only familiar with, but deeply influenced by (and in harmony with) Isaiah’s message². The passage has three smaller sections (Jeremiah 31:2–6; Jeremiah 7:1–9:26; Jeremiah 10:1–14:22) which all develop different aspects of the Lord’s people returning from exile. These are followed by a section in Jeremiah 31:15–17 which expresses the pain of exile which is then followed by an acknowledgement by the people that it was their sin that led to their exile (Jeremiah 31:18–20). The final section speaks of the Lord’s initiative in bringing his people back (Jeremiah 31:21–22). Much like in Isaiah, the language used points to a restoration that is much greater than the historical return from Babylon. It speaks of a more eschatological restoration in which the Lord’s people are gathered in the New Jerusalem³.

The first section (Jeremiah 31:2–6) is a poem declaring that the Lord will restore his people because of his everlasting love. It begins with the Lord speaking of the people who survived the sword and found grace in the wilderness. This language is used to describe Israel’s rescue from Egypt and from Pharoah’s army at the Red Sea (see Exodus 14:1–31; Exodus 15:1–27) and from the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8–16)⁴. The Hebrew phrase masa hen, translated as found grace is used five times in the story of Israel’s wanderings in the desert after the Exodus (Exodus 33:12–17)⁵. However, reference to the sword is the language Jeremiah has used to describe the Babylonian invasion, and it would also apply to the Assyrian invasion of northern Israel in 722 BC⁶. It seems therefore that Jeremiah is deliberately using the language of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt to describe the Lord bringing his people back from exile in Babylon. Coming up from Egypt and coming back from Babylon involved not just crossing similar physical terrain, but also learning similar spiritual lessons (Isaiah 40:3–5)⁷. It also means that those returning from Babylon could hope to find rest the way their forefathers did, when he brought them out of Egypt and took them to the land⁸.