Jeremiah 31:15
Thus says the Lord,
“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.” (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Jeremiah 31:15-22
Let’s begin today by taking a look at Ramah. The Ramah spoken about by the Lord in Jeremiah is Ramah of Benjamin – a town assigned to the tribe of Benjamin just north of Jerusalem. It was the birthplace, hometown and burial site of the prophet Samuel. It is also associated with the burial site of Rachel.
Recall that Rachel is the second wife of Jacob and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. While on their way to Bethlehem, Rachel went into labor and gave birth to Benjamin. However, she died during childbirth and Jacob buried her somewhere outside Bethlehem traditionally believed to be in Ramah.
Ramah is also the place where the Israelite exiles were gathered together to be marched to Babylon. At the time Jeremiah wrote chapter 31, we are still in the fourth year of the reign of King Zedekiah. Jeremiah’s entire life is spent warning Israel that the Babylonians will come for them if they do not turn back to God and repent. About seven years after the prophecy of Jeremiah 31:15, that is exactly what happens:
“The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had released him at Ramah. He had found Jeremiah bound in chains among all the captives from Jerusalem and Judah who were being carried into exile to Babylon. When the commander of the guard found Jeremiah, he said to him, ‘The Lord your God decreed this disaster for this place. And now the Lord has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned against the Lord and did not obey him’” (Jer 40:1-3).
So this prophecy is connected to the exile of the Jews into Babylon. It pictures Rachel, the mother of Benjamin, weeping in her grave in Ramah as she watches her people in the land of Benjamin taken captive. However, this prophecy is also connected to Jesus. Matthew cites in his gospel that this prophecy is fulfilled when Herod orders all the boys in Bethlehem to be killed in an attempt to kill the Messiah who was born in Bethlehem:
“When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
‘A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more’” (Matt 2:16-18).
The rest of Matthew chapter 2 tells us about Jesus fleeing to Egypt to escape this murder plot. By connecting Jeremiah 30 to Herod’s plot to kill the Messiah, Matthew shows us that Jesus’ life is following the same patterns of the nation of Israel. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures and his life mirrors the significant events of Israel. Or maybe better to say that the events that the nation of Israel endured were orchestrated by God to mirror the life of Jesus.
For example, the Israelite Exodus out of Egypt is an event where Moses leads God’s people out of the captivity of slavery into freedom. Jesus is considered the greater Moses (1 Cor 10:1-5, Heb 3:1-6) who led all nations out of the captivity of our slavery to sin and into spiritual freedom. Another example would be the Passover event that led to the Exodus. Every Israelite family was to slaughter a lamb and wipe its blood on the door frame so that the angel would pass over their house and not kill the firstborn inside. Jesus is the greater Passover Lamb who died for our sins so that we would not face eternal death.
So just as Israel was taken captive and exiled to Babylon, Jesus fled Bethlehem to escape Herod and lived in exile in Egypt. Just as Moses escaped death as Pharaoh killed all the Israelite firstborn, Jesus escaped death as Herod killed all the Israelite firstborn. And just as Rachel wept from her grave as her “children” were taken captive at the hands of the Babylonians, Rachel wept for her children as Herod slaughtered all the baby boys in Bethlehem.
As troubling as all these events are to us when it all seems to be orchestrated or at least allowed by our Almighty God, God says to Jeremiah, “There is hope for your future” (Jer 31:17). God will restore Israel one day:
“‘They will come and shout for joy on the height of Zion,
And they will be radiant over the bounty of the Lord—
Over the grain and the new wine and the oil,
And over the young of the flock and the herd;
And their life will be like a watered garden,
And they will never languish again.
Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance,
And the young men and the old, together,
For I will turn their mourning into joy
And will comfort them and give them joy for their sorrow.
I will fill the soul of the priests with abundance,
And My people will be satisfied with My goodness,’ declares the Lord” (Jer 31:12-14).
Christ in the Old Testament 
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