NOTES for Jer 31:1-22
We are often inclined to perceive our relationship with God according to the principle of "crime and punishment" or "stick and carrot." That is, if we behave well, then God will help us in life: He will let us live this life well and then take us to Himself in paradise. But if we make a mess of things in this life, He will punish us. This principle of religious relationships goes back to hoary antiquity. In many ways, such was the moral theology of the Israelites in the period before the Exile, and, for some reason, of most Christians past and present. One could still explain that Israel went into exile for the sin of idolatry, but why did the best people, those most devoted to the Lord, end up in captivity?
This mystery is revealed to the prophet Jeremiah, and to other prophets: the Lord does not work by the stick and the carrot. He is guided only by fatherly love for His people and, in general, for all people. He permits the exile only for the correction of the people, for their cleansing from paganism, while loving Israel with an everlasting love that does not depend on their "behavior and diligence." The God of the Bible is the God of unconditional love; God is love.