The Context of “Rest”
“Thus says the LORD, “The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness – Israel, when it went to find its rest.” Jeremiah 31:2
The Context of “Rest”
Rest – Did Israel go into the wilderness to find rest? Or did the people go into the wilderness to find fleeting endurance? Unfortunately, the true sense of this verse in Jeremiah may never be known since the Hebrew word raga has both contradictory meanings. Scholars have struggled for years to find a common thread that would explain this unusual situation. Bible translations take very different approaches to handling this difficult word. In some cases, they actually ignore the word entirely. In others they translate the word according to the best interpretation of context. But there is no uniformity about its use. So, we are entitled to ask, “Is this verse in Jeremiah about “rest” or about “momentary action”?
Jeremiah 50:34 uses raga as “rest”, but Jeremiah 50:44 uses raga as “stir up”. And so it goes throughout the occurrences in the Old Testament.
What does this verse in Jeremiah really suggest? Did Israel go into the wilderness after surviving the sword in order to find rest? Or did they go thinking that they would find momentary reprieve? Did they go looking for fleeting life, a quick end to their troubles? Or did they go searching for permanent and lasting calm?
We are pressed by the same linguistic confusion. Why do we go into the desert? Are we there searching for a quick end to our pain, hoping that fleeing to the land where no man can stand will bring about the termination of the life we can no longer live? Are do we go to the wilderness because we realize that God’s grace in desperate places is the only source of real rest and peace?
If I were to guess, I would say that Jeremiah suggests that we do not seek the desolate places because we know God will meet us there. I would say that we seek the places where no man can live because we are ready to give up, to end it all quickly. We are looking for an instant solution, even if that means the end of life. We want it over.
That’s why we find grace only in hindsight. We didn’t go there expecting God to arrive on the scene. We went looking for the final way out, and God gave us grace to endure. We discovered “rest” was not termination. It was submission.
Why did you go to the wilderness?
