O Lord, the Hope (Mikveh) of Israel, all who forsake You shall be put to shame; those who turn away from You shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water. Jeremiah 17:13
The prophet Jeremiah reminds the people of Israel that God alone is their hope. The word translated hope in this passage has the same root letters in Hebrew as mikveh. In fact, the Jewish translation[1] states clearly, “Hashem (used for God’s name), the Mikveh Yisrael, …”
As illustrated by mikveh, what is the hope of Israel?
That God provides a way to become clean. It is through Him alone,
We are unclean and in need of becoming clean. Spiritual cleanliness or purity is required to come to God and we are unable on our own.
Mikveh is a picture of the purification process. God is our Mikveh. Jesus is the Living Water and His blood cleanses us from our sin. If we turn to Him, we no longer need to live in shame. He is our Hope, our only hope.
Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:2
[1] Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)
