Saturday, June 18, 2016

Jeremiah 33: Looking Beyond The Now

Something that any person of faith must be able to do is look beyond the now and see what God may be up to.  Jeremiah gives us a wonderful example of this capacity.

During Judah's moment of great catastrophe, when the nation faces an existential threat from the forces of Babylon, Jeremiah raises his voice not in despair, but in hope.  It would be so easy to be pessimistic at this instance of calamity, when all seems lost and the barbarians are at the gate.  But Jeremiah has been proclaiming such doom and gloom for years.  Now that the judgment has actually arrived, his tone shifts to look beyond the crisis of the moment and see what God has planned for His people years down the road.

This epic disaster will not last forever.  The people of Jerusalem will be defeated and exiled today, yes.  But God's people will also return to the land someday.  And when they do, God has a plan of blessing in mind.

Jeremiah proclaims the word of the Lord: "I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first.  I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me" (vs. 7-8).  Where everyone else around Jeremiah sees only misery and defeat and death, he sees the page turning to a new dawn of hope.

When you can look beyond the now, the contrast in verses 10 and 11 makes sense.  "Thus says the Lord: In this place of which you say, 'It is a waste without human beings or animals,' in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without inhabitants, human or animal, there shall once more be heard the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord: 'Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!'  For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the Lord."

Is there anything in your life going on where you need to look beyond the now?  Is there a desperate situation which calls for fresh eyes of hope and faith?  While the evidence all around may look bleak right now, know that God has the power to transform and redeem and restore so that even a defeated city about to enter into exile can be seen to one day be the home of the Messiah! 

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