.... and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know (Jeremiah 33:3). Nebuchadnezzar's army was besieging Jerusalem. King Zedekiah shutJeremiah up in prison for prophesying that the Lord would give the city into Nebuchadnezzar's hand (32:1-3). It was because of Israel's many sins. But the one standing out to me, is causing their children to “pass through the fire.” They were burning children alive as a sacrifice to the god Molech (32:35). The city would be reduced to rubble (33:4), World War II Europe comes to mind. Yet in the midsts of it all, the Lord was looking forward to the time when He would restore Jerusalem and rebuild the city. And God had told Jeremiah to buy property in Jerusalem as a prophetic sign of hope, for this restoration (32:6-15). And then the Word of the Lord had come a second time with this morning's verse.
The God of the Old Testament, who is the same God of the New by the way, gets a bad rap largely because of His judgements. But we need to see that here in the midst of it all, the Lord is showing His heart. In particular, His heart is not for discipline, but rather for reconciliation and restoration. The discipline, though different under the Law than under Grace, is nevertheless for our good. We read “God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. And we need His holiness because without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:10, 14). No His heart is not for discipline, and He is looking forward to the when it's all over and He can “bring the city health and healing; ... and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth” (33:6). At that time Jerusalem “shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honour before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it” (33:9).
There are two things here that I want to point out. The first is that there is nothing so vile, that God cannot forgive. Many of us wonder how God can forgive us, but that is because we don't know Him enough. God so loved you and me that He gave His Only Son to die in our place. Do you think You deserve to die for what you did? He died for you. Do you think that your sin was not bad enough that He needed to die for it? You don't understand the depth of His Holiness. The second thing to note, is that with the restoration comes the full authority to ask and receive all mighty things the the Lord has for us (33:3). In other words the sinner is justified “just as if he had not sinned!” There is no God like our God!
Father, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11). If we find it hard to forgive ourselves, remind us that godly sorry leads to repentance without regret (2 Corinthians 7:10). Give us godly sorry Lord and help us to realize that we needed to go that low, before You woke us up to our need of You. Thank You Lord for Your great love and mercy in Jesus Name Amen
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