Jeremiah 31:3 - The Virgin of Israel | Speak His Word Only

I Have Loved Thee with an Everlasting Love

“The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” — Jeremiah 31:3 KJV

Jeremiah 31:3 is one of Scripture's most beautiful declarations of God's covenant love and restoring mercy. Yet its beauty becomes even greater when we remember its context.

God originally speaks these words concerning Israel, a people who had experienced judgment, scattering, sorrow, and the consequences of covenant unfaithfulness. Jeremiah 31 is therefore not merely a general statement about love. It is part of God's promise to restore, gather, rebuild, and renew His people.

“The LORD Hath Appeared of Old Unto Me”

Jeremiah begins:

“The LORD hath appeared of old unto me…”

The expression translated “of old” can carry the sense of distance—whether distant in time or from afar. The emphasis reminds Israel that God's relationship with His people did not begin with their present circumstances.

Israel's circumstances had changed.

Kingdoms had risen and fallen.

The people had experienced judgment.

But God's covenant purpose had not disappeared.

Sometimes present circumstances can make people question what God previously said. Jeremiah directs Israel beyond the present trouble to the character and promise of God.

“Yea, I Have Loved Thee”

Then God speaks personally:

“Yea, I have loved thee…”

Before God speaks about rebuilding Israel in verse 4, He speaks about love in verse 3.

That order matters.

Restoration flows from God's covenant faithfulness.

Israel had not earned this declaration through perfect obedience. Jeremiah had spent many chapters exposing the nation's rebellion and idolatry.

Yet God says:

“I have loved thee…”

His love does not mean that He ignored Israel's sin. The exile itself demonstrated that covenant rebellion had consequences.

God's love is not sentimental indulgence.

He can correct the people He loves and still remain faithful to His covenant purposes.

“With an Everlasting Love”

God describes His love as:

“an everlasting love…”

The Hebrew expression conveys enduring, age-lasting love. The emphasis is upon a love that extends beyond the immediate moment.

Human affection can change when circumstances change.

God's covenant faithfulness is different.

Israel had experienced a season that looked like rejection, yet Jeremiah announces that judgment was not the final chapter.

God still had a purpose for His people.

This is why Jeremiah 31:4 immediately declares:

“Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel…” — Jeremiah 31:4 KJV

Notice the word:

Again.

There had been tearing down.

But there would be building again.

There had been sorrow.

But joy would return.

There had been scattering.

But there would be gathering.

The everlasting love of God was working toward restoration.

“Therefore”

One small word connects God's love with His action:

“therefore…”

Because God loved, He acted.

His love was not merely spoken.

It produced lovingkindness.

This principle appears throughout Scripture: God's love is demonstrated by what He does.

For the believer, the supreme revelation of divine love is found in Christ:

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” — Romans 5:8 KJV

Biblical love acts.

“With Lovingkindness”

God says:

“therefore with lovingkindness…”

The Hebrew word is ḥesed, a rich covenant term associated with kindness, mercy, steadfast love, and faithfulness.

This is more than temporary kindness.

God is demonstrating covenant faithfulness toward a people who desperately need mercy.

Israel's restoration would not testify to Israel's greatness.

It would testify to God's faithfulness.

“Have I Drawn Thee”

Finally God says:

“have I drawn thee.”

The Hebrew verb translated “drawn” (mashak) carries the basic idea of drawing, pulling, extending, or leading.

This is especially beautiful when read alongside Hosea 11:4:

“I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love…” — Hosea 11:4 KJV

God's lovingkindness draws His people back toward Himself.

Israel had wandered.

God draws.

Israel had departed.

God calls them home.

Israel had experienced scattering.

God promises gathering.

Jeremiah 31:10 declares:

“He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.”

Love That Restores

Jeremiah 31:3 cannot be separated from the restoration surrounding it.

God's everlasting love leads to:

gathering the scattered,
rebuilding what was broken,
comforting those who mourned,
leading His people home,
and renewing covenant relationship.

This is why later in the same chapter God declares:

“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:” — Jeremiah 31:31 KJV

Jeremiah 31 begins with restoration and ultimately reaches the great promise of the New Covenant.

Love Does Not Mean Absence of Correction

There is another important lesson in this passage.

Because Jeremiah 31:3 speaks of everlasting love, we should not interpret God's love as meaning that He never corrects His people.

Israel had experienced severe discipline.

But discipline did not mean God had abandoned His covenant purposes.

Jeremiah 31:18 records Ephraim saying:

“Turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God.”

Then repentance follows.

God's love calls wandering people back to Himself.

True love does not encourage us to remain in rebellion.

God's lovingkindness draws us toward repentance, restoration, and renewed fellowship.

Personal Application

There may be seasons when circumstances make God's love difficult to see.

You may experience loss.

You may experience correction.

You may walk through a season of rebuilding.

You may even recognize that you have wandered from where God wanted you to be.

Jeremiah 31:3 reminds us that God's character must not be measured only by our present circumstances.

He says:

“I have loved thee with an everlasting love…”

And then:

“with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”

When God draws you back, come back.

When He corrects you, receive His correction.

When He calls you away from something that has taken your heart from Him, return.

When He begins rebuilding what has been broken, trust His hands.

The God of Jeremiah 31 is the God who can take a people who have been scattered and say:

“Again I will build thee.”

His everlasting love is not permission to wander.

It is a reason to return.

God's lovingkindness draws His people toward Himself, and His covenant faithfulness reminds us that He is able to restore what sin, disobedience, sorrow, and judgment have broken.