HOPE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“‘But all who devour you will be devoured; all your enemies will go into exile. Those who plunder you will be plundered; all who make spoil of you I will despoil. But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the Lord, ‘because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.’”

“This is what the Lord says: ‘I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings; the city will be rebuilt on her ruins, and the palace will stand in its proper place. From them will come songs of thanksgiving and the sound of rejoicing. I will add to their numbers, and they will not be decreased; I will bring them honor, and they will not be disdained. Their children will be as in days of old, and their community will be established before Me; I will punish all who oppress them. Their leader will be one of their own; their ruler will arise from among them. I will bring him near and he will come close to Me—for who is he who will devote himself to be close to Me?’ declares the Lord.”

Jeremiah 30:16-21

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

After the word “love”, perhaps there is no more important four letter word in the English language than the word “hope”.

If you doubt that, then ask yourself what a person’s life might look like without it.

What would your life look like?

I can tell you because there were a few times in my life when I felt hopeless and I wouldn’t wish those times on anyone. They were dark times full of despair, misery, and depression, terrible times when I felt so bad I didn’t see any joy in anything.

This is where hopelessness takes you.

I think the Israelites may have been feeling that way in the midst of their captivity in Babylon. Their sinful worship of false gods and idols in direct violation of God’s command had led to His judgment coming upon them, a judgment that included seeing their homes, towns, cities, and land ransacked and left in ruins by the invading Babylonian forces before they were taken away to a foreign land for a seventy year exile. Everything the people of God had was gone and instead of being free, they found themselves enslaved and oppressed.

It’s into this scene that we find the words of the Lord entering in and bringing light into the gloomy darkness of the Israelite’s plight, hope into their anguish. Look again at His words here:

“‘But all who devour you will be devoured; all your enemies will go into exile. Those who plunder you will be plundered; all who make spoil of you I will despoil. But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the Lord, ‘because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.’”

“This is what the Lord says: ‘I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings; the city will be rebuilt on her ruins, and the palace will stand in its proper place. From them will come songs of thanksgiving and the sound of rejoicing. I will add to their numbers, and they will not be decreased; I will bring them honor, and they will not be disdained. Their children will be as in days of old, and their community will be established before Me; I will punish all who oppress them. Their leader will be one of their own; their ruler will arise from among them. I will bring him near and he will come close to Me—for who is he who will devote himself to be close to Me?’ declares the Lord.”  Jeremiah 30:16-21

What did God’s people have to look for?

1. Retribution for their assailants.

“All who devour you will be devoured; all your enemies will go into exile. Those who plunder you will be plundered; all who make spoil of you I will despoil.”

2. Restored health and healed wounds.

“I will restore you to health and heal your wounds.”

3. Restored fortunes.

‘I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings.”

4. Rebuilt cities and structures.

“The city will be rebuilt on her ruins, and the palace will stand in its proper place.”

5. A return to times of thanksgiving and rejoicing.

“From them will come songs of thanksgiving and the sound of rejoicing.”

6. An increased population.

“I will add to their numbers, and they will not be decreased.”

7. Restored honor.

“I will bring them honor, and they will not be disdained.”

8. Protection.

“I will punish all who oppress them.”

9. New leadership from within their ranks who would be close to God.

“Their leader will be one of their own; their ruler will arise from among them. I will bring him near and he will come close to Me.”

Yes, the Israelites were in the midst of hardship and difficult circumstances. God’s punishment was not meant to be easy but to lead people to never repeat their sins again. But note that even in the midst of severe consequences, God gave His people something to look forward to.

He gave them hope.

Today, He’s still doing the same for us, no matter what this world brings our way but the hope we have need only be traced to one person, God’s only Son, Jesus. For through Him, we don’t just have hope for the moment but an eternal hope that no one can take away from us. In Jesus, we all have a promise of salvation that no one can take away and anyone who is in Him is a person of victory because Jesus made them that way when He conquered death and the grave.

Friends, life can often be hard and sometimes very hard, hard to the point where we can feel our spirit and joy being drained away. In those times, draw near to Jesus, remember the salvation promise you have in Him, and find your way back to hope.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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