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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and
Judah:
“This is what the Lord says:
“‘Cries of fear are heard—terror, not peace. Ask and see: Can
a man bear children? Then why do I see every strong man with his hands on his
stomach like a woman in labor, every face turned deathly pale? How awful that
day will be! No other will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but
he will be saved out of it.
“‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will break
the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will
foreigners enslave them. Instead, they will serve the Lord their God and David
their king, whom I will raise up for them.’”
“‘So do not be
afraid, Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel,’ declares the Lord. ‘I
will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of
their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him
afraid. I am with you and will save you,’ declares the Lord. ‘Though I
completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not
completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only in due measure; I will
not let you go entirely unpunished.’”
Jeremiah 30:4-11
This ends today’s reading
from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
The Israelites had pushed God too far.
Way too far.
Like nearly past-the-point-of-no-return far.
What got them to that spot?
They decided that it was better to worship false gods and
idols, those revered by the pagans, than to give their full devotion to God.
All this despite one of God’s most primary commandments to not have any other
gods before Him (Exodus 20:2).
Frankly, the Israelites had lost their minds completely,
disrespectfully abandoning their God who had invested so much of His time
creating them, protecting them, directing them, correcting them, and loving
them. He was the God who had delivered His people on more than one occasion
from difficult and dangerous circumstances. He was the God who had miraculously
provided for His people when they were in times of need. He was the God who
over and over and over again placed His infinite, magnificent power on display
in plain view of His people.
Yet, despite all this, the Israelites chose to bow down and
worship gods who were as lifeless as the idols which represented them. And in
doing so, they gave God no other choice than to bring His judgment upon them
because He would not stand to be disregarded and dishonored. After all He was
the Lord God Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth and the Master of
everything within.
Yes, the Israelites, through their actions, had gotten
themselves in trouble and experienced first-hand how God is a God of judgment.
But as we see from our scripture passage today and our
continued study of Jeremiah 30, God had another side that His people would
experience, a side defined by mercy and grace and forgiveness and pardon, a
side that brought salvation. Look at these words of the Lord again here:
These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and
Judah:
“This is what the Lord
says:
“‘Cries of fear are
heard—terror, not peace. Ask and see: Can a man bear children? Then why do I
see every strong man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor, every
face turned deathly pale? How awful that day will be! No other will be like it.
It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it.
“‘In that day,’
declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will break the yoke off their necks and will
tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them. Instead, they
will serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for
them.’”
“‘So do not be afraid, Jacob my servant; do
not be dismayed, Israel,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will surely save you out of a
distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again
have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid. I am with you and
will save you,’ declares the Lord. ‘Though I completely destroy all the nations
among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline
you but only in due measure; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’” Jeremiah 30:4-11
The seventy year exile the Israelites suffered as a penalty from
God for their insubordination and disobedience was not going to be a pleasant
time. It would be a time of extreme hardship, a time of enslavement at the
hands of a foreign nation.
But it wouldn’t last forever. We know because God said so.
For after the Israelites had paid the price for their sins,
God promised to save them out of Babylon, breaking the yokes from their necks
and tearing off their bonds. God vowed to set His people free so they could
return him to rebuild their homes, their lives, and their relationship with
Him. They would once again be able to live in peace and security in their
homeland, saved by the Lord who they had once turned away from.
It was an amazing promise of hope, one that had to help the
Israelites through the many days of captivity they would have to endure.
So what does this have to do with us today? What is the Lord
trying to teach us from this Old Testament scripture?
I think it’s pretty simple really.
First of all, we all are in deep trouble in life, sinners
standing before a God who despises and hates sin. And because of that, we have
no hope for survival when we one day will meet God face to face unless we were
provided with someone who could step in and save us.
God knew this and so out of His great love for His people,
He provided a sacrifice, a living sacrifice who would shed His blood in
atonement for all the sins of mankind. That sacrifice was none other than His
one and only Son, Jesus.
Through Jesus, God provided a way for His people to be saved
from the trouble they were all in. All they had to do was place their belief, hope,
and trust in Him as Savior and they would be released from judgment and granted
eternal life.
That’s it. It was as easy as that.
But note that salvation does not come automatically. You
have to decide to give your life to Jesus just as He gave His life to save you,
putting your past life aside to become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17),
living anew in Him as you model the life He lived.
Question: Have you found your way out of trouble and into
salvation?
If not, I urge you to accept Jesus today and accept God’s
pardon.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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