Jeremiah 33 Selected Verses
3 ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’……..
. 6 Behold, I will bring it [Israel] health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth. 7 And I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first.
Jeremiah was a Prophet of the Lord and told the people what God wanted to say to them. The people of Israel and Judah did not listen and chose to go their own way, not honor God by following His word. God had promised that He would be with His people if they obeyed Him. They did not! Because of their disobedience, God scattered the people. The nation was split and Judah and Israel eventually fell to Babylon. Human nature is such that we turn to God when in trouble but turn to our own ways when all is well and prosperous as if we were the ones who improved our situation. Do you thank God in all things?
Even though God withdrew from His people (separation), He did not forsake them. He did incline His ear to them though scattered among the nations. For God still had good plans for His people. He knew that they would return to Him once they saw how their own plans worked out. Like a good parent, God let them have their own way to see how things would work out. It is sort of like Dr. Phil’s question- “How’s that working out for you?” It was not working well at all. But God had plan B and C and D and so on!
Jeremiah told them what God said “Call to me, and I will answer you…” God heard their call, their cry and He answered. At that time in history, God gathered them back from Babylon after 70 years in captivity. However, the Bible speaks in many planes. It is a living, breathing document. Israel had gone through many cycles of disobedience. God also heard their cry at a later time in history. This time, He decided to write His laws on their hearts in a totally new way. This time, He would make a permanent way for His people to return to Him and keep the path open. This time, He would enter our world in human form and destroy sin and death forever. And He would do that by offering Himself as the ransom once, for all!
When you become fearful about your situation, remember, He heard you and came running to save and redeem you! He loves you beyond all you can ask or imagine. He loves you with an everlasting love. So much so that He tasted death on your behalf. He is coming again for you (us) to rebuild what was lost. Are you ready? Will you wait with me?
Thank You Lord that You love and care for us. Thank You that You are patient and offer us mercy instead of justice. Thank You that You are coming to us in our hour of need. Come Lord Jesus! Amen!