November 4, 2015
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Is That All There Is?

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Lord Jesus, I commit this day to seeking that which delights You. To You be the glory.

Read JEREMIAH 33:1-26

[1] While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time: [2] “This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it-the LORD is his name: [3] ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ [4] For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege ramps and the sword [5] in the fight with the Babylonians: ‘They will be filled with the dead bodies of the people I will slay in my anger and wrath. I will hide my face from this city because of all its wickedness. [6] “‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. [7] I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. [8] I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. [9] Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’ [10] “This is what the LORD says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without people or animals.” Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more [11] the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying, “Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever.” For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the LORD. [12] “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In this place, desolate and without people or animals-in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks. [13] In the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,’ says the LORD. [14] “‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah. [15] “‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. [16] In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteous Savior.’ [17] For this is what the LORD says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel, [18] nor will the Levitical priests ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.'” [19] The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: [20] “This is what the LORD says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, [21] then my covenant with David my servant-and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me-can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. [22] I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.'” [23] The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: [24] “Have you not noticed that these people are saying, ‘The LORD has rejected the two kingdoms he chose’? So they despise my people and no longer regard them as a nation. [25] This is what the LORD says: ‘If I have not made my covenant with day and night and established the laws of heaven and earth, [26] then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them.'”

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

“Come, thou long-expected Jesus, / Born to set thy people free; / From our fears and sins release us; / Let us find our rest in thee” (Charles Wesley, 1707-1788).

The unnamed narrator, whom we shall discuss another day, reappears in chapter 32 to resume the narrative of Jeremiah’s prophetic life. Jeremiah is not merely predicting the future, however. He is announcing what God has revealed to him. Prophecy is not a function of human discernment, nor is this future revelation akin to clairvoyance. It is not read in the stars or any other arcane source of knowledge. Indeed, Christians should be most skeptical and wary of any claim to discern the future outside what God has revealed in Scripture.

Old Testament prophecies normally have multiple trajectories. They may be fulfilled in the short or medium term, but they may also have long-term fulfillment, far beyond the lifetime of the prophet. Some are yet to be fulfilled, perhaps in a future beyond our lives. Again today we read of God’s anger but also of God’s love and faithfulness, which far surpass his anger. The God who hid his face (5) is also the God who will bring “health and healing…abundant peace” (6). With prophecy’s multiple endpoints, we can sense a partial fulfillment of the promise of restoration when the Jews returned from exile in Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1-4), but we also must ask if that is all there is. Such magnificent restoration must be greater than the scrappy return of the exiles, followed by subjection to Greece, then to Rome, and then long millennia not yet ended, when no human descendant of David sits upon the throne of Judah (17).

New Testament writers saw the realization of these prophecies in Jesus. He is the branch sprouting from Jesse’s line (15; Rom. 15:12). He is the descendant of David who will rightly sit on the throne of David in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 5:5; 22:1-5), in the time yet to come when all prophecy will find its true end.

Apply

What are the three things mentioned in verses 6-8 that God promises to do in and for his people? Which one means the most to you and why?

Closing prayer

Lord, I’m grateful You are a God who keeps promises. Great is Your faithfulness! Thank You for eternal life in Jesus, the Promised One.

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