SOUR GRAPES?
Opening Prayer
Lord, we rejoice in the knowledge that You are a restorer of what has been destroyed.
Read JEREMIAH 31:27–40
27 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. 28 Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the Lord. 29 “In those days people will no longer say,
‘The parents have eaten sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
30 Instead, everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.
31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,”
declares the Lord.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
35 This is what the Lord says,
he who appoints the sun
to shine by day,
who decrees the moon and stars
to shine by night,
who stirs up the sea
so that its waves roar—
the Lord Almighty is his name:
36 “Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,”
declares the Lord,
“will Israel ever cease
being a nation before me.”
37 This is what the Lord says:
“Only if the heavens above can be measured
and the foundations of the earth below be searched out
will I reject all the descendants of Israel
because of all they have done,”
declares the Lord.
38 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this city will be rebuilt for me from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 The measuring line will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. 40 The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the Lord. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.”
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
Passing the buck is the first act of fallen humanity (Gen. 3:12,13). The buck was still being passed in the days of Jeremiah (29).
Think Further
Three times the Lord says, “The days are coming…” (27,31,38). Each time he brings a message of hope. First, the land which was divided and depopulated will be united and repopulated (27). The intentionality with which the Lord has brought disaster will be matched by his determination to build and to plant (28). The proverb of the exiles in Babylon (29) was a complaint that they were suffering for the sins of their ancestors—but it was misguided. God’s judgment, when it comes, is just (30). We are responsible only for our own sin, and he will hold us to it!
The second message is that “the days are coming” when the Lord will make a new covenant (31). The covenant had been broken—and restored—before (32). So was anything going to change? Yes it was! Rather than their sin being engraved on their hearts, God’s law would replace it (33). In place of an external law on stone would be an internal law in their hearts and minds. This renewed covenant “will be a warm delight to the people, not a cold prescription.” God will be known by them personally—individually and as a community—and will forgive and forget their sins (34).
The third message is one of hope for the city—Jerusalem will be rebuilt (38), not just as a home for the returning exiles but for the Lord (38,40). Here is a prophecy whose ultimate fulfillment would be greater than anyone could imagine. The city of God, the New Jerusalem, will never pass away, and it will be eternally holy to the Lord for there will be no more death, no more sin, no more curse. What message of hope does your city or country need now?
Apply
Pray for anyone you know who is in danger of losing hope, that their hope might be renewed through knowing Christ.
Closing prayer
Lord, Your people joyfully anticipate what You have in mind for our planet as we await the consummation of all things.
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