relationships (Jeremiah 31:1-40) Sweet Rest

(Jeremiah 31:1-40) 

“At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”

2   This is what the Lord says:
     “The people who survived the sword 
     Found grace in the wilderness—
     Israel, when it went to find its rest.”
3   The Lord appeared to him long ago, saying,
     “I have loved you with an everlasting love;
     Therefore I have drawn you out with kindness.
4   I will build you again and you will be rebuilt,
     Virgin of Israel!
     You will take up your tambourines again,
     And go out to the dances of the revelers.
5   Again you will plant vineyards 
     On the hills of Samaria;
     The planters will plant 
     And will enjoy the fruit.
6   For there will be a day when watchmen 
     On the hills of Ephraim call out,
     ‘Arise, and let’s go up to Zion,
     To the Lord our God.’”

7   For this is what the Lord says:
     “Sing aloud with joy for Jacob,
     And be joyful with the chief of the nations;
     Proclaim, give praise, and say,
     ‘Lord, save Your people,
     The remnant of Israel!’
8   Behold, I am bringing them from the north country,
     And I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth,
     Among them those who are blind and those who limp,
     The pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
     They will return here as a great assembly.
9   They will come with weeping,
     And by pleading I will bring them;
     I will lead them by streams of waters,
     On a straight path on which they will not stumble;
     For I am a father to Israel,
     And Ephraim is My firstborn.”

10 Hear the word of the Lord, you nations,
     And declare it in the coastlands far away,
     And say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him,
     And He will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.”
11 For the Lord has ransomed Jacob 
     And redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he.
12 “They will come and shout for joy on the height of Zion,
     And they will be radiant over the bounty of the Lord—
     Over the grain, the new wine, the oil,
     And over the young of the flock and the herd.
     And their life will be like a watered garden,
     And they will never languish again.
13 Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance,
     And the young men and the old together;
     For I will turn their mourning into joy 
     And comfort them, and give them joy for their sorrow.
14 I will refresh the soul of the priests with abundance,
     And My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” declares the Lord.

15 This is what the Lord says:
     “A voice is heard in Ramah,
     Lamenting and bitter weeping.
     Rachel is weeping for her children;
     She refuses to be comforted for her children,
     Because they are no more.”

16 This is what the Lord says:

     “Restrain your voice from weeping 
     And your eyes from tears;
     For your work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord,
     “And they will return from the land of the enemy.
17 There is hope for your future,” declares the Lord,
     “And your children will return to their own territory.
18 I have certainly heard Ephraim grieving,
     ‘You have disciplined me, and I was corrected,
     Like an untrained calf;
     Bring me back that I may be restored,
     For You are the Lord my God.
19 For after I turned back, I repented;
     And after I was instructed, I slapped my thigh;
     I was ashamed and also humiliated 
     Because I bore the shame of my youth.’
20 Is Ephraim My dear son?
     Is he a delightful child?
     Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him,
     I certainly still remember him;
     Therefore My heart yearns for him;
     I will certainly have mercy on him,” declares the Lord.

21 “Set up roadmarks for yourself,
     Place guideposts for yourself;
     Direct your mind to the highway,
     The way by which you went.
     Return, O virgin of Israel,
     Return to these your cities.
22 How long will you waver,
     You rebellious daughter?
     For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:
     A woman will shelter a man.”

23 This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Once again they will speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities when I restore their fortunes,

     ‘The Lord bless you, O place of righteousness,
     O holy hill!’

24 Judah and all its cities will live together in it, the farmers and those who travel with flocks. 25 For I give plenty of water to the weary ones, and refresh everyone who languishes.” 26 At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep had been pleasant to me.

27 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of mankind and the seed of animals. 28 And just as I have watched over them to uproot them, tear them down, ruin, destroy, and bring disaster on them, so I will watch over them to build and to plant them,” declares the Lord.

29 “In those days they will no longer say,
     ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
     But it is the children’s teeth that have become blunt.’

30 But everyone will die for his own wrongdoing; each person who eats the sour grapes, his own teeth will become blunt.

31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. 33 “For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord: “I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 They will not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their wrongdoing, and their sin I will no longer remember.”

35 This is what the Lord says,
     He who gives the sun for light by day 
     And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
     Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
     The Lord of armies is His name:
36 “If this fixed order departs 
     From Me,” declares the Lord,
     “Then the descendants of Israel also will cease 
     To be a nation before Me forever.”
37 This is what the Lord says:
     “If the heavens above can be measured 
     And the foundations of the earth searched out below,
     Then I will also reject all the descendants of Israel 
     For everything that they have done,” declares the Lord.

38 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the city will be rebuilt for the Lord from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 The measuring line will go out farther straight ahead, to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah. 40 And the entire valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the Lord; it will not be uprooted or overthrown ever again.”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

How tiring can it be when, in our own strength, and all by ourselves, we try to carry the weight of the world, trying to fix things, get things, keep things, impress people... the list is endless.  And then we try to find rest at the end of the day, or week, or on a vacation, but we struggle with even this.  And then there's trying to maintain all of our relationships!  NOT restful!  People are so much work!  WE - are so much work!  So where can we find true "rest" (find a break, a breather, calmness, comfort, composure, ease, peace, quiet, refreshment, relief, repose, tranquility...  These are only a few synonyms of the word "rest").

When we try to do everything in our own strength, we will fail.  It is impossible for any of us to ever measure up to God's standards, except through the Lord.  Going to Jesus for His salvation and forgiveness of sins is once and for all, because He chooses to no longer remember our sins.  So when we want to find rest, it is only found in His faithful and eternal grace, which is extended to everyone who chooses to have a personal relationship with the Lord.  

Because of God's forgiveness, mercy and grace, He unburdens us from the weight of our sins, guilt and shame, therefore we no longer have to worry about the afterlife, because we have eternal security.  We no longer have to worry or fear anyone or anything, because we can give all our concerns to the Lord.  We no longer have to worry about trying to be perfect, because God works on us from the inside out.  We no longer have to worry about trying to figure things out, because God guides us with His indwelling Holy Spirit, and through His word.  We no longer have to do things on our own, because the Lord is always with us and we can ask Him to help in every situation.  

Working on our relationship with God is so easy, because He does it for us.  And then He helps us work on ourselves, as well as on the relationships with those around us.  Our rest in the Lord is so very sweet, and so very extensive!  All we have to do is remember to keep going to the Lord, our faithful Friend, Lord, Savior and heavenly Father!

relationships (Jeremiah 30:1-24) Love and Discipline

(Jeremiah 30:1-24) 

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book. 3 For behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.’ The Lord says, ‘I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall take possession of it.’”

4   Now these are the words which the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah:

5   “For this is what the Lord says:

     ‘I have heard a sound of terror,
     Of fear, and there is no peace.
6   Ask now, and see 
     If a male can give birth.
     Why do I see every man 
     With his hands on his waist, as a woman in childbirth?
     And why have all faces turned pale?
7   Woe, for that day is great,
     There is none like it;
     And it is the time of Jacob’s distress,
     Yet he will be saved from it.

8 ‘It shall come about on that day,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘that I will break his yoke from their necks and will tear to pieces their restraints; and strangers will no longer make them their slaves. 9 But they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

10 And do not fear, Jacob My servant,’ declares the Lord,
     ‘And do not be dismayed, Israel;
     For behold, I am going to save you from far away,
     And your descendants from the land of their captivity.
     And Jacob will return and be at peace, without anxiety,
     And no one will make him afraid.
11 For I am with you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to save you;
     For I will completely destroy all the nations where I have scattered you,
     Only I will not destroy you completely.
     But I will discipline you fairly 
     And will by no means leave you unpunished.’

12 “For this is what the Lord says:
     ‘Your broken limb is irreparable,
     And your wound is incurable.
13 There is no one to plead your cause;
     No healing for your sore,
     No recovery for you.
14 All your lovers have forgotten you,
     They do not seek you;
     For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy,
     With the punishment of a cruel one,
     Because your wrongdoing is great,
     And your sins are numerous.
15 Why do you cry out over your injury?
     Your pain is incurable.
     Because your wrongdoing is great 
     And your sins are numerous,
     I have done these things to you.
16 Therefore all who devour you will be devoured;
     And all your adversaries, every one of them, will go into captivity;
     And those who plunder you will become plunder,
     And all who plunder you I will turn into plunder.
17 For I will restore you to health 
     And I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the Lord,
     ‘Because they have called you an outcast, saying:
     “It is Zion; no one cares for her.”’

18 “This is what the Lord says:
     ‘Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
     And have compassion on his dwellings;
     And the city will be rebuilt on its ruins,
     And the palace will stand on its rightful place.
19 From them will come a song of thanksgiving 
     And the voices of those who celebrate;
     And I will multiply them and they will not decrease;
     I will honor them and they will not be insignificant.
20 Their children also will be as before,
     And their congregation will be established before Me;
     And I will punish all their oppressors.
21 Their leader shall be one of them,
     And their ruler will come out from their midst;
     And I will bring him near and he shall approach Me;
     For who would dare to risk his life to approach Me?’ declares the Lord.
22 ‘You shall be My people,
     And I will be your God.’”

23 Behold, the tempest of the Lord!
     Wrath has gone forth,
     A sweeping tempest;
     It will whirl upon the head of the wicked.
24 The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back 
     Until He has performed and accomplished 
     The intent of His heart.
     In the latter days you will understand this.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

As a parent, it is critical to train up and equip our children so that they know right from wrong, and know how to live independently from us, but continue being whole-heartedly dependent on the Lord.  We cannot force our children to believe in Jesus, so our job is to pray for them, teach them, and most importantly live what we teach, as an example for them to follow!  

Waiting for our children to become believers, or for them as believers who have gone astray to return to the Lord, can be heart-wrenching.  Also difficult, is trying to be fair in delivering both rewards and discipline.  Especially because we do not have visibility for a lot of the things that happen.  And when they explain to us what did happened... we cannot always (completely) trust what they are saying, because kids will lie.  Even the most "well-behaved" kids will lie.  Let's not delude ourselves! 

I will say, while parenting our children, there were a LOT of prayers asking the Lord for immediate wisdom and insight!!!  As a parent, I knew it was important to apologize when I made a mistake, or when I had done something that wasn't fair.  But I knew not to apologize for the times I had to discipline them, because it was something they deserved, and needed, so that they would learn that there are consequences in life.  I also knew that the discipline needed to fit "the crime", so that their sinful will would turn and change, without crushing their spirit.

God is the same way with us.  We can see in verse 11 that God will not destroy Israel completely.  God does punish those who deserve punishing.  And God does discipline His children, because He cares about us and wants the best for us.  And everything that God does, He does with fairness, justice and purpose.

"That day" - "the time of Jacob's distress" - is the Tribulation.  Because Israel has walked away from God, God will allow them to go through seven years of judgments, which are their signs of Jesus' second coming.  Then they as a nation will see and believe, and they will be saved.  Jesus will come to have victory at the battle of Armageddon, then bring Israel and all those who become believers during the Tribulation, into the Millennium.  

Then "in that day" - the good part of that day - Jesus will set up the Millennial kingdom where He will fulfill all of the covenants with Israel.  They will have their land, seed and blessings, as per the Abrahamic covenant.  Verse 9 promises and prophesies that Jesus (already "having been raised up") will fulfill the Davidic covenant.  As the perfect King sitting on the throne of David, there will be justice and peace to the land.  And being right there to govern and guide all the people in obedience to the Law will fulfill the Mosaic covenant.

The main thought in all of this is to realize and know that God means what He says.  And what He says He will do - will be done.  If we have gone to Him to be saved, and to be healed spiritually, we can actually have absolute confidence in His faithfulness, justice and fairness.  And it is only through the Lord Jesus Christ, because as verse 21 says, no one can go near the Lord and not die - unless - He brings us to Him.  And the only way He can have a personal relationship with us is if we go to Him to be forgiven of our sins, healed and restored!