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Devotional thoughts (Monday through Thursday mornings) from the pastor of Exeter Presbyterian Church in Exeter, NH // Sunday Worship 10:30am // 73 Winter Street

Monday, February 25, 2008

Jeremiah 30

One of the great mysteries of the Old Testament is the seemingly irreconcilable and contradictory achievement of two ends, both of which God had committed himself to accomplish. First, God would somehow send forth the fury of His wrath upon the wicked. Second, God would somehow forgive His people and restore their fortunes, though their record clearly established that they were among the wicked that deserved to be punished by God. Both of these truths are considered in this chapter which concludes with a statement that “In the latter days you will understand this.”

Before the appearing of the Son of God in His ministry as a sacrifice for sinners, it was very difficult to understand what the solution might be to this apparent dilemma. But now we live in those latter days, for the Son of God has come, and the Spirit of God has been poured out. Now in the shining light of the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ, we can honestly say that we understand this, and it is very good news.

God instructed Jeremiah to write these things down in a book, surely for our benefit. There in the book of his prophecies, he was to write all that God had spoken to him. This included a prophecy of great restoration and joy for people that were about to go off into captivity, people who would witness the destruction of their city, and of everything that they considered holy and dear. Before the siege had even taken place, Jeremiah was recording the message of a bountiful restoration after a given time of divine discipline.

How bad would the trouble be for Judah? Men would be in such pain of soul over the destruction and defeat all around them that they could be compared with women in labor. It would be a day of great distress. Yet when a woman is in labor, eventually the baby is delivered. She may eventually forget the pain because of the overwhelming joy of the gift of new life in the face of her child.

Would there be any joy for God’s people that could more than compensate for their horrible time of distress? Yes, a day would come when the yoke of foreign powers over the Lord’s people would be broken. They would serve the Lord God, and David their king. Imagine the joy of being gathered from the nations to which they were once scattered! When His discipline of His people was completed, He would then make a full end of these other nations who were for a time, agents of His discipline.

Are we supposed to assume that God’s kindness to His people is a result of the fact that they are relatively better than their oppressors? No, it is clear that God’s own people have a wound that is incurable. It would appear that the Lord is going to heal what by all rights cannot be healed. This is the Old Testament mystery. There is no medicine for their wound, there is no healing them, because their guilt is great from their flagrant sins, yet God will restore their health and heal their wounds.

This will not be some meager restoration. Even the return of the people from the Babylon is not enough of a blessing to be the complete fulfillment of all the great things that God has promised to His people. It appears that there is still more that is in view. Yes the temple will be rebuilt, and yes even the palace of the King will again be seen. However there will be more than this. This Jerusalem will be filled with celebration. There will be a great fruitfulness and growth. The people will be a congregation of worshipers. They will be honored children and a well-established assembly. They will have a ruler from their midst who will draw near to God. Best of all, this communion with the Almighty will not only be for the King, but for all His subjects, for the Lord promises that they shall be His people, and He will be their God.

All of this does not change the fact that the storm of God’s wrath goes forth and bursts upon the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back until the fullness of His righteous anger is expressed. Knowing that we might be confused about this, God reassures us that one day we will understand.

That day has now come. The Lord has provided a lamb to stand in our place. The perfect sacrifice was offered when Jesus took the fullness of His Father’s wrath for us, so that we who are recipients of His kind mercy would receive a joy so abundant that the celebration could begin even now. This is what we have been given despite the fact that our wound from our deep sin was incurable. God has healed what could not be healed. He did this through the miracle of the gift of His Son. Through Him and through Him alone, God is able to be both just (punishing sin) and the Justifier of him who has faith in Jesus Christ. It is only through the cross of Christ that the mystery of the Old Testament is solved. The day of understanding has now come for the people of God. Even today we are enabled to enter into the joy of our Father’s heaven through hope in the sure promise of the Lord.

posted by Pastor Magee @ 7:00 AM

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