WEDNESDAY
Yesterday we looked at the sad situation that Jeremiah was called to prophecy into. He had a difficult calling that was full of sadness, rejection, and suffering. Yet, in the midst of this God gives Jeremiah messages of hope as well.
As a first message of hope, God promises to be with Jeremiah in his prophetic ministry. He promises to make Jeremiah a “fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall” (1:18) against the leaders of Judah. Then he promises:
Jeremiah 1:19 (NIV) 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
We see here that God will fight for Jeremiah to preserve and rescue him from the leaders of Jerusalem who will try to destroy him because of his message of impending judgment. So, God promises to fight for Jeremiah even in the midst of his suffering and rejection. It may not be what Jeremiah would want in respect to God fighting for him, but God will fight for him—not according to Jeremiah’s will but according to God’s will. When it seems as if God is not fighting for us, we must submit again to his will. We will see this theme tomorrow as well.
As a second message of hope, God promises Jeremiah that after judgment, something more glorious will come. In his call to ministry we read:
Jeremiah 1:9–10 (NIV) 9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
The final two instructions seem out of place in these verses—build and plant. In what is mostly a prophetic message of judgment, God tells him that he will also share a message of building and planting.
We see this message towards the middle of the book, where God gives his people a message of hope after the judgment. In chapters 30-33, God assures his people that after the exile he will bring them back and establish a new covenant with his people that will be better than the first. He will put the law into the minds of his people and write the law on the hearts of his people.
Jeremiah 31:31–34 (NIV) 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.” In this time the promised Messiah will come:
Jeremiah 33:14–16 (NIV) 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.’
Within the message of judgment, God also gives Jeremiah a message of hope. This hope is for a more glorious future that Jeremiah himself would not live to experience. This future glory would be revealed in about six generations.
This is a common theme of lament and suffering—when God doesn’t seem to be fighting for us, he is often revealing his character (just and holy in Jeremiah’s case) and working out a bigger, more glorious salvation in the end. The greatest example of this is Jesus, who we will talk about tomorrow.
Reflection
In your suffering who has God revealed himself to be? A comforter, a friend, a sure foundation, a just and holy God, a compassionate and loving God?
Think back on experiences of suffering in the past. How have you seen God working out a greater salvation through it? Has he formed your inner life to be more like Jesus in your suffering? Has he equipped you to minister to others through your suffering? Has he brought about life change in others? God doesn’t waste our suffering and he is often working out a great salvation through it.