From: Jeremiah 3:14-17
Call to conversion
[15] “’And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with
knowledge and understanding. [16] And when you have multiplied and increased
in the land, in those days, says the LORD, they shall no more say, “The ark of
the covenant of the LORD.” It shall not come to mind, or be remembered, or
missed; it shall not be made again. [17] At that time Jerusalem shall be called
the throne of the LORD, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the
LORD in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart.
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Commentary:
3:14-18. The fall of the city to the armies of Nebuchadnezzar and the deporta-
tions that followed (587 BC) marked the depth of Judah’s misfortune; her repea-
ted infidelity was the sole cause. Here, as in the previous oracle, the prophet
says that God is ready to receive Israel and Judah back, provided they seek his
forgiveness (3:12-13).
The oracle is full of hope; the future will never have any reason to hanker after the
past. An entirely new situation will be created. Up to this, the ark of the Covenant
was considered to be the foremost evidence of God’s presence. According to the
Bible, the ark was made in the wilderness on Moses’ instructions, in line with the
Lord’s specifications; it was to be the centerpiece of the sanctuary (cf. Ex 25:10-
22). The ark stayed with the people all the way to the land of Canaan and, after
being kept in various places, it was solemnly placed by Solomon in the temple
of Jerusalem. It contained the Covenant that the Lord made with Israel when he
brought it out of the land of Egypt (cf. 1 Kings 8:21). With the fall of Jerusalem
to Nebuchadnezzar and the looting of the temple, there is no further mention of
the ark of the Covenant. That event marks the end of the old situation, Jeremiah’s
oracle seems to say. In the future it will be the whole city of Jerusalem that evi-
dences the presence of God (vv. 16-17).
As is true of other oracles from Jeremiah, even though in the first instance they
refer to the restoration of Judah after the exile, his words have a wider applica-
tion, reaching out to the renewal that will take place when the Messiah comes.
The Covenant to which the ark bore witness has been broken by Israel (cf. 11:
6-8), and its place will be taken by a New Covenant to which the hearts of men
shall bear witness (cf. 31:31-37) and which will have a new priesthood (”shep-
herds”: v. 15).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.