“At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.”

Application

When we say the word “dream,” it can refer to the perplexing images that invade our sleep or to our innermost desires. Either it refers to the uncontrollable nighttime messages in our mind or to the apex of our life’s goals.

In Jeremiah chapter 31, God reveals to Jeremiah the apex of His goals for Israel. He shows him in his sleep a new covenant and a time when the enmity between Israel and God is ended. They will be His people and He will be their God. A day when every knee bows and every tongue confesses. A day when the world is returned to what God had intended in the garden – a people that puts God above all other things and enjoys His bountiful blessings as a result. This stands in stark contrast to the rest of Jeremiah’s ministry which is marked by the pronouncement of judgment on Judah.

With little or no converts, beatings, and attempts on his life by the sinful people that comprised his audience, there is no doubt that Jeremiah dreamed of a day when peace would reign, when hearts would turn toward the Lord. Every preacher of God’s word longs to see it bear fruit in the lives of people. It’s goes beyond the selfish desire to be productive to a righteous dream to see God glorified in the lives of people.

When Jeremiah awakes from this vision he says, “and my sleep was pleasant to me.” His response shows his agreement with God’s good plan. God gives Jeremiah the great reassurance that His plans for the nation are good and will one day come to fruition. Jeremiah experiences that very rare occasion when his own waking dreams of a responsive audience become a vision from God brought to him in the night.