Month: April 2020

235. Hope in your End

Jeremiah 31:17 And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.

No matter how black, dark and bitter life in Exile seems to be right now there is hope in the end. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and the light is Christ and His eternal kingdom, the homeland to which we belong and to which we will return. Your end, your future, your destiny, is bright and hopeful. You are going somewhere beautiful; it is the bright and glorious end for which you have been redeemed. When we remember this glorious promise and when we know the hope of eternity we have the strength for dealing with the present.

The immediate promise, of course, is for the Jews, that they will in the end be brought back from Babylonian Exile and their future generations will dwell in the Home of the Promised Land.  But, the promise is also for NT believers in Christ who will be brought out of this world (Babylon) back into the home of the Father’s kingdom, which is the Promised Land. This Land is our Land. We are going back to the Paradise from which we were expelled. This is your end.

This future hope is so real that it lives in our present, alongside the “valley of the shadow of death.” The hope of the end is the reality of present truth; it lives in the heart of the believer; the sufferings and troubles of this present exile from our Paradise Promised Homeland will not take over our lives and take us away from our Hope that is Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. It is potentially possible that we could lose everything, but we can never lose our Hope. Our end is sure, and if it is, then our present is secure. 

Hope is the present reality of a future (and as yet unseen) promise. Jesus is the reason for the hope that is within us. It is seen by faith. Faith takes hold of the promise. The Holy Spirit gives this kind of faith through the preaching and ministering of the Gospel.

234. Work Rewarded

Jeremiah 31:16 Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.

You don’t have to cry and weep. If it seems your work and service is not noticed, if no one thanks you for what you do, if it feels like your giving and serving is not doing anything to make a difference, if your life appears useless and worthless, if you feel like you are the only one who gives and serves and works, then remember the promise that God is counting and noticing, and He will give just rewards for every small or great act of kindness and love. God will reward your work. Jesus says that even giving a cup of cold water will not go unrewarded. God is just and He will definitely reward a genuine good work done out of faith.

Of course, if you do the work in the flesh and by your own effort, reason and strength there is no reward for it. If you do a good work just for a reward and for selfish motives there is no reward. A good work that is noticed and rewarded by the Lord is a work that God has done in you and through you. When you do a good work from faith and because of the love of God, He notices, He counts and He rewards. It is important that we believe that every work done by God using us has a reward. No one else has to notice if we know that God does. This works for us during times of persecution and suffering: God notices and He rewards. So hang on.

The other part of this promise refers to the Jews in Exile in Babylon: they shall come again from the land of the enemy. This is a Biblical promise that applies spiritually to believers in Jesus Christ. The Lord brings us again from the land of the enemy. “The land of the enemy” is the world (Babylon), where the Enemies of the soul (Sin, Death, Devil) rule and take over our lives. Sin rules, Death reigns, and Satan usurps authority as the prince of the power of the air. But by faith in Jesus we will come again from the land of our Spiritual Enemies. He returns us to our proper Home, which is with God in His eternal life and presence (heaven). Jesus has made His home in the heart, and that is where you belong, safe and sound. In the Home of God are many countless rewards. Count on it!

233. Comfort and Joy

Jeremiah 31:13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

Joy is an oft-repeated promise in the Scriptures. Joy comes as a result of the Spirit’s working in our lives, as a part of the fruit of the Spirit. The true joy we have is the joy of the Lord. Joy is a result of faith in Christ. Maintaining our faith and being reminded of God’s goodness and mercy through the Gospel keeps us in the joy of the Lord no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in.

When Messiah comes, and when Jesus comes into the heart, joy comes with Him. We shall rejoice in the dance, young and old together. God promises to turn our mourning into joy and to make us rejoice from our sorrow. We don’t have to seek sorrow: we just live, and sorrow is present. It is always there, ready to bring us down. Something is always dying; something is always not completely right. Sorrow is present for all sinners who live in a sinful world. The promise says that in place of the sorrow joy is also present. It is always within us, always near, by faith. In our sorrow we may rejoice. We rejoice by repentance and faith, by receiving forgiveness, life, and love from Jesus; we rejoice by giving thanks in all circumstances, for the circumstance of Jesus being present to and living within is always true. So we thank God for everything. I may consciously and willfully rejoice, but I realize it is God’s doing: He is making me rejoice, when I look at Him and listen to Him. Mourning will happen, but the Lord does the work of turning mourning into joy.

God gives joy and peace in believing. God will also comfort; in the midst of sadness, sorrow, and mourning He comforts. Believe that the comfort is more powerful than the sorrow. Let the Lord come and wipe away the tears. He smiles on you to make you smile. Whether you feel like it or not, smile; whether you feel it or not, rejoice; whether you sense it or don’t, let yourself be comforted in the Lord and His promises. He will do what He says. You are not faking the smile or the joy or the comfort because it is truth, and it is a present promise. “O Tidings of Comfort and Joy!”

232. Fertility, Abundance, Joy

Jeremiah 31:12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.

The promise of the Messianic Age is that when Messiah comes there will be a time of fertility and abundant growth. God’s people will come to Zion, the Church, and will flow to the goodness of the Lord. The plants of the field, orchard and vineyard will blossom and flourish, the wheat, wine, and oil. The flocks of sheep and the herds of cattle will produce young lambs and calves in abundance. The symbols of wealth, fertility, growth and abundance in the physical world show the abundance of the spiritual life that Jesus will bring in for the believers. The kingdom grows in the heart producing abundant and eternal life. The promise came true when Jesus came to earth as Savior and Lord.

The soul of the believer will be like a watered garden, producing verdant fruit. The soul that believes in Jesus is nourished and fed by the Holy Spirit, who causes the fruit to grow a beautiful garden in the inward and outward life. The fruit of the Spirit, love, peace, joy, etc., is a natural product of the Spirit within. It is not the works of the flesh or the efforts of the self. The glory goes to God; there is no credit to the self. We did not make a beautiful watered garden of our life; God did and does it all. We enjoy the benefits of God’s labor. There is a hint in this promise of a return to Eden, the Paradise from which we came from and were intended for. We dream of this return, and we remember it because we were in Adam both before and after he sinned. Jesus makes the dream come true.

The last part of the promise is: “they will not sorrow any more at all.” This foreshadows the fulfillment in Revelation 21:4: “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Sorrow is gone, for there is no more pain and loss through Death. Suffering is gone, for there is no more Sin. Trouble and temptation has disappeared, for there is no more presence of the Evil One. This will be the state in which we will live permanently one day. And the unbelievable promise is also that this blessed state (no sorrow) is ours now by faith when we believe. Sure, for now sin and sorrow remain with us, but we have a greater reality within. Can you believe it?
“We shall not sorrow any more at all.”

231. Build, Adorn, Make Merry

Jeremiah 31:4 Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with the tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.

The promise of the Lord for the Exiles of Jeremiah’s day is that they will return from Exile and life will return to the normal of God’s design. Through Biblical extension, the generalized promise for all believers in Christ says that we shall return to the Land and to the Lord: when we are saved God will build us, adorn us with musical instruments, and we will dance and make merry. This comes true for us when Jesus was born, lived, died, and rose for us.

The profound change that occurs in the life of those who repent and believe the Gospel shows itself in expressions of strength and joy. First the Lord builds us up, and when He does it we are indeed built. In the Kingdom He restores everything to order, peace, and safety. The building goes on in the heart. The Spirit takes what has been lost and broken down and puts it all back together into the strong building and safe home that God created for every man. Through Christ, the Lord restores each of us to the former glory and strength of the Creator’s original purpose of life.

The Lord will adorn us with tambourines, that is, He provides music and dancing and worship and praise, for we have been brought back and redeemed. When the Prodigal Son returned his father prepared the fattened calf to eat and celebrate with a feast of dancing and music. So there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. The father, the angels, and all who are with you celebrate and make merry.

Every time we hear the Gospel and repent and believe it we make merry in our hearts to the Lord. This is what being broken and built, lost and found, dead and alive is all about: More Joy. Receive the good news of great joy and go on your way rejoicing. Make merry; celebrate with a party in the heart. Repent and believe daily to keep the party going without end.

230. Your God and My People

Jeremiah 31:1, 3 At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

The oft-repeated promise, “I will be your God and you will be my people,” is given here as a result of the love and the lovingkindness of God. God draws us with His lovingkindness, loves us with an everlasting love, and becomes the God of all the families of His people, and the believers become God’s people.

“The Lord is our God” is a promise that the very Lord Jesus Christ, who gave His life on the cross to pay for our sins and rose from the dead to give us eternal life, is the One who is my God. The God who loves and gives life is our God. We are happy to look to Him for every good thing we need for the sustenance of our physical and spiritual life. As God He is able to do for us what needs to be done. As our God He wants to do for us what needs to be done for our welfare and wellbeing. 

“They shall be my people” is a promise that obligates the Lord to be responsible for us and for our good. We are irresponsible to care for ourselves in the right way; we are not able to provide the good and right things for ourselves and our families; we may want to care and do the right things, but we get lazy, selfish and uncaring; we are not wise enough to see what we really need. If I were my own person under my own control I would make a mess of things, but if I am His then I can trust Him to straighten everything out and do for me the right thing. “I am His and He is mine.”

229. Correction

Jeremiah 30:11 For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.

We are grateful for God’s promises to be with us and save us. Are we also grateful for His promise to correct us in measure? God will correct us; that doesn’t sound like a promise we can rejoice in. But it is. We desperately need correction, discipline and guidance. We must admit we are sinners, and thus we are born with tendencies toward bad and destructive behavior. We do not have all wisdom and we often do stupid things. All parents know their children need correction and discipline. Our parent, God the Father, knows this also about His children whom He greatly loves. 

God’s love demands correction, because if we were left to ourselves alone to make good decisions and behave wisely we would certainly mess it up. And we have done so mostly because we resist the correction of the Lord. Accepting God’s loving discipline leads to repentance and faith, which leads to life and salvation. Life is better when we submit to our loving Father. Listening to God means receiving both Law and Gospel with grace and faith.

“Do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves.” Correction is a good thing. Discipline proves the love of God. If we aren’t disciplined we are not loved. But God is love; therefore, He corrects. “He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness [Hebrews 12:10].” Whatever the Lord allows to happen to us may be a correction and God can always use it for our good. It takes grace from God to believe this. Discipline produces humility and faith, but if not received graciously it will produce pride and unbelief.

So we thank God for this promise. An important aspect of this promise is that the discipline is “in measure.” God knows just the right length and severity of discipline we need. Trust God: He will never overcorrect or under-correct. Trust Him to always do the right thing at the right time in the right way. That’s the promise.

228. Rest, Quiet, Unafraid

Jeremiah 30:10 Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord, neither be dismayed. O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return,and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.

The immediate promise of God for the Jews of Jeremiah’s day in Exile is that they will be saved from a far country and the land of their captivity, and they will return. The broader promise to all believers in Christ is that they will be saved from afar, a long way from Home with God, and from their captivity to sin, death, and the devil. This salvation is secured for us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He returns us to our Homeland, the kingdom of God.

In the kingdom of God we will be at rest. Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Believing is rest after toil and trouble, striving and struggle, fear and anxiety. And, after death, we shall enter into the Sabbath-Rest. “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, for they shall rest from their labors.” “Cease striving (relax), and know that I am God.” We may enter Rest now by faith in the Gospel.This true spiritual rest affects our souls and bodies with comfort and peace. The Good Shepherd does this.

And we shall be quiet. “Quiet” in this context means safe and secure, free from fear and danger, resting comfortably in His love. “Quiet” also means not loud, noisy, complaining, and carrying on because we are not being treated fairly. “Peace and Quiet” is a state of mind that we actually work for and strive after, or at least, dream about. Quietness settles into the soul when we know forgiveness and salvation, a future and a hope.

And nothing and no one shall make us afraid. How many times does the Lord say to us, “Fear not!?” Whom shall I fear? What should I be worried about? The Lord is with me and I am with Him, comfortably resting in His loving and strong arms. I have come home to the safe place where I belong.

227. Possess the Land

Jeremiah 30:3 For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.

God promises the Jews in Exile in Babylon that He will bring them out of captivity and return them to the land. This prophecy came true. The promise in Scripture is also spiritually true for all of God’s people who believe in Jesus. He will bring us out of captivity and return us to the Land where we belong. We belong in the Eternal Promised Land, the Kingdom of God, brought to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

And the added promise given here is that “they shall possess it.” We believers will possess the Land, that is, the Kingdom is ours; it belongs to us. It is so close to us that it is in us, within our very hearts and lives. We have it, we own it, we possess it, and no one can take it away from us. Sin, Death, and Satan cannot snatch it away from us, for we possess it, for Jesus possesses us.

The spiritual uplift of this promise is powerful: we possess it! Faith takes hold of this promise and makes it our own. Every time we hear the Gospel we have eternal life in us. Grace gives it to us, earned by Jesus Christ, gifted by the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom is within; Jesus is in you as the hope of glory; the Spirit of God dwells within our spirit. The Enemy no longer holds us captive. We are free to live with God in His Kingdom. 

In our busy world with its many distractions we are prone to forget, and even ignore, the fact that God belongs to us and we belong to Him. We need constant reminders of whose we are and where we live. The Gospel tells us so, often if we go to church weekly and read the Bible daily. The evil enemies (Sin, Death, Satan) tell us the lie that we are captive and we belong to them. But Truth overcomes the Lie every time. We live in the Truth of the Gospel; we live in the Life of God. We actually possess the Land, the Truth, and the Life.

226. Turn away Captivity

Jeremiah 29:14 And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

This promise is true for all of us, not only for the Jews of Jeremiah’s day. Jesus has come to turn away our captivity. Our enemies have taken us captive, and they are still trying to bring us into captivity daily. Sin continually captivates us, Death is ever making us captive by its threats, and Satan relentlessly attempts to bring us under His captive control. But Jesus has come to set us free and bring us back to the true and abundant life. Jesus proclaimed that He is come to set the captives free, and He has.

The Holy Spirit calls us by the Gospel and gathers us from the kingdoms of the world, which would deceive us daily. Just like the Lord drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, so our sin has caused Him to drive us out of our Paradise Home. He gathers us into His kingdom, the invisible church, our true homeland, and our eternal inheritance. This is our promise.

The Lord will bring us again into the place from which He carried us away captive. The Lord fulfilled His promise and brought the Jews back again to the place. The “place” is that place that Jesus went away to prepare for us. The truth is that we live in exile in this present world under the power of the prince of the world. Jesus set us free with His death and resurrection; the Spirit brings us to faith in Christ and brings us into the place Jesus prepared. We need to believe two things: 1) I am in captivity; 2) Jesus turns away my captivity. He brought me, and continues to bring me, back to the place where I belong, with the Lord. And I will be with Him forever in Paradise. This is my “place prepared.” We may enter in every day by repentance and faith in the Gospel.