JEREMIAH A Devotional Bible Study

SYNOPSIS - JEREMIAH Jeremiah was commissioned as a 'prophet to the nations' even before he was conceived (Jeremian 1:5)! Jeremiah was timid as a young man and reluctant to accept the call to be God's spokesperson. God, however, reached out and touched his mouth, symbolically passing to him the words he would need to speak (Jeremiah 1:9) Jeremiah specifically announced that God would establish a new covenant with Israel. The covenant they had failed to keep was the law given through Moses, Israel's first prophet. That new covenant was the end established by Christ's shed blood. No longer would it be desirable or necessary for an individual to express himself spiritually through a group. Instead, he would be given a personal relationship with God. Under the new covenant, the divine law would be written not upon stone tablets, but upon the believer's heart. Repentance is essential. But it is not 'cheap'. The question is not merely whether we can come back to God; but will God take us back. Only the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ would answer that question with a resounding 'YES'. God will not accept a half-hearted surrender. True repentance for both Israel and Judah is more than simply lamenting the consequences of sin. The people need to reclaim and restore the spiritual 'ground' that they had left idle and unfruitful, abandoned to the thorns. God gives warning of judgment to come in the hope of repentance. Declaring judgment was an act of grace. Even in anger, God continues to long for any other alternative than judgment. If we perish it is ultimately the choice we make, as our persistent sin leaves God no choice but to exercise his own character in its settled and inescapable opposition to all that is evil in his world. God will cure the incurable. At the cross the fierce anger of the Lord, borne by God Himself in his Son, would be the immediate outpouring of the grace of God on behalf of all those from all nations whom he would, through Christ, call my people. This grace does not deny or remove the reality of God's judgment on sin but promises forgiveness and restoration. There is fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ and ultimately in the new creation when Christ returns. In Christ, all God's scattered people are brought together into a new unity. (Revelation 7:4-10) Whereas previously they sought freedom by rebelling against God, now freedom will mean freedom to "serve the Lord" and the promised descendant of David, a king after God's own heart. This promise finds its fulfillment in Jesus' invitation to take up his easy yoke, which contrasts with the harsh rule of Nebuchadnezzar and the unfaithful rules of Jehoiachin and Zedekiah. David’s Greater Son, a descendant of David through Jehoiachin (Matthew 1:12), would be appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!