Why will “O virgin Israel” be rebuilt, adorn herself and plant vineyards?

An important feature of the next few verses in the poem of Jeremiah 31:2–6 are references that are specific to the northern tribes. He calls his people, O virgin Israel, speaks of the mountains of Samaria, and in Jeremiah 31:6 he refers to the mountains of Ephraim. Jeremiah’s ministry was amongst the southern tribes of Judah, but during the reign of king Josiah, the Lord gives Jeremiah a message concerning the northern tribes of Israel (Jeremiah 3:6–14). King Josiah’s reforms also included the removal of pagan worship in the north in places like Bethel (2 Kings 23:15–20). Clearly, his reforms were based on the assumption that the Lord’s people were supposed to be a united nation in which everyone, from both north and south, would worship the Lord at the temple in Jerusalem. This was certainly the intention of the covenant, and all the Lord’s prophets, including Jeremiah, spoke of the whole nation once again worshipping in this way in Jerusalem (Hosea 1:10–11; Amos 9:7–15; Isaiah 11:12–16; Jeremiah 3:18; Ezekiel 40:1–48:35)¹. So even though these verses refer to northern Israel, their message is for all of the Lord’s people, including Judah. Hearing references to the Exodus in Jeremiah 31:2–3, and then hearing of the restoration of the northern tribes in Jeremiah 31:4–6, would have been a source of great encouragement and hope for the people of Judah who were about to face their own exile in Babylon. The message was clear; the Lord would once again restore his united people in the land despite all that had happened and was still to happen. There is no specific reference in the Scriptures to members of the northern tribes returning to Israel after Jerusalem and the temple are rebuilt. But prophets like Jeremiah and others imply that this did in fact happen. The Assyrian exile took place almost 200 years before the return of the Babylonian exiles so those members of the northern tribes who did return would have been descendants of the original exiles and would have been born in exile themselves.

Another feature of Jeremiah 31:4–5 is the repetition of the Hebrew word od, translated as again.  Three times the Lord says, again, as the Lord describes how he will restore his people to the land². Each repetition describes a different aspect of restoration.

In the first occurrence of the word again, the Lord says, I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel. The mere reference to the northern tribes as O virgin Israel is a message of hope. Before she had been described as faithless Israel (Jeremiah 3:11–12), but now she has been forgiven and is being restored as part of the Lord’s faithful people. The Lord promises to once again build his people in every way. The city and temple will be rebuilt, but the people themselves will be established as a nation, socially, economically and spiritually³. The word build also takes the reader back to Jeremiah’s calling (Jeremiah 1:10). The Lord will do what he has said through his prophet. His word will always be fulfilled.

Secondly, the Lord says, Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers. This speaks of joy once again returning to the land of blessing. Adorn yourself with tambourines may also be part of a bride preparing herself for marriage. The faithless Israel is once again getting ready to go up to the Lord as his virgin bride⁴. This in itself is reason for great joy and celebration.

Thirdly, the Lord says, Again you shall plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant and shall enjoy the fruit. The word plant is also used when the Lord commissions Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:10. It is also used to describe the Lord bringing his people to the land after the exodus (see Jeremiah 2:21; Jeremiah 11:17). Now it speaks of the Lord returning them to the land⁵. In Leviticus 19:23–25 the law of the covenant said that the fruit from a newly planted tree should not be eaten for three years. The fruit in the fourth year was to be given to the Lord as a thank offering. Only in the fifth year could the people enjoy the fruit for themselves. This background suggests that the restoration of Israel to the land would lead to the nation being settled long-term and enjoying the fruit of a harvest planted many years earlier⁶.