Signposts' Mystery

 Jeremiah chapter 31 is packed with prophetic information, especially as it pertains to the House of Israel/Ephraim. The references to this house range from "a people" (am, v. 1) to "watchmen" (v. 4), to "virgin daughter" (of Israel, v. 21), through to Ephraim as an individual (v. 20) and more.  Each of these metaphors is related to another aspect of this House's future destiny.

Among the many details enumerated in this outstanding chapter, the process of salvation, redemption, and restoration to the land is also depicted, with repentance being a major phase in this process.

One particular aspect of the return (i.e., restoration to the land) is described in verse 21, where Israel is addressed as "a virgin": "Set up for yourself roadmarks, place for yourself guideposts; Direct your mind to the highway, the way by which you went. Return, O virgin of Israel, return to these your cities". The word for "roadmarks" in Hebrew is "tzi'yu'nim" (singular - "tzi'yun"), a word that is reminiscent of "tzi'yon" – Zion. But even more striking is the word for "guideposts", which is "tamrurim" (singular – "tamrur"). A few verses above, we read:  "Thus says YHVH, 'a voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more'" (Jeremiah 31:15). In Hebrew Rachel's "bitter weeping" is… "b'chi (weeping) tamrurim (bitter)", being the same word we just encountered for "guideposts". "Tamrurim' are also found in Hosea 12:14, where it says: "Ephraim has provoked to anger most bitterly [tamrurim]; Therefore his Lord [in Hebrew "his adon"] will leave the guilt of his bloodshed upon him, and return his reproach upon him".

This serious charge against Ephraim is reversed in Jeremiah 31 with, firstly, Rachel's bitter ("tamrurim") weeping over her captive and lost sons, but about whom Elohim says: "Restrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; For your work shall be rewarded,' declares YHVH, 'and they shall return from the land of the enemy.  And there is hope for your future,' declares YHVH, 'and your children shall return to their own territory'" (Jeremiah 31:16-17). Secondly, the next verses (18-19) express Ephraim's deep repentance, with the following verse (20) being the most endearing and loving address of Abba toward this returning prodigal.

But now we must ask ourselves, how is it that at this stage "tamrurim" – "bitterness" – transitions into "guideposts"? As we saw above, the call to the Virgin Daughter of Israel is to "Direct your mind to the highway, the way by which you went. Return, O virgin of Israel, return to these your cities". The "guideposts" are supposed to lead the now-redeemed Israel to turn back, retrace her steps, and return by the way in which she went. This path of repentant return is, therefore, to be replete with an awakening, even to the point that the forgetfulness that characterizes Joseph's children (being in a state of "Menashe" – forgetfulness) is to be erased, giving way to a revival of memories of not only the sins committed against YHVH in the land of Israel, but also in the sojournings of each respective historic diaspora/land of exile. Abba is well able to revive and jar one's memory, ancestral history and annals, to fill the void of 'no-memory' and lack of historical background.

Unlike Judah, whose wanderings among the peoples are well-documented and etched in their souls, so to speak, Ephraim/Israel is devoid of such documented history (other than the Bible, of course). Without knowledge of the past, one's present identity is often unclear. But is it possible that in Ephraim's mandatory bitter weeping of repentance, Abba is saying that the journey back to Him, to his brethren, and to the land can and will be led by literal and historical "guideposts" necessary for the restoration to be complete? To reiterate, the "bitter weeping" of repentance, leading to the unveiling of one's past, is the path of Ephraim-Israel-Virgin-Daughter's gradual return.

Through Messiah's grace, Mother Rachel's bitter weeping intercession has ended. But not so for her children. In their season of awakened memory, bitter weeping becomes a guide to the roads that lead to Zion.