Jeremiah 3:1-25
Sunday, 28 March 2021
At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. -Jeremiah 3: 17
The God of the Bible is a faithful God and we have numerous references in the Bible in support. Deuteronomy 7:9 says that “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments”. Also Psalm 89:14 says, “Righteousness and justice are the foundations of your throne. Mercy and truth stand in front of you.” Our God is a God of faithfulness, righteousness, justice, mercy and truth. And from the New Testament we see that “God is love” (1 John 4:16) Such a good God has been taking care of Israel and Judah, but they failed to understand God’s good intentions for their own sake and chose to disobey and be unfaithful to Him.
It would have been very easy for God to obliterate all these stiff-necked people (as Bible calls them) who strayed away but God didn’t because of His true “agape love” which was yet to be revealed on the cross of Calvary. Out of this indescribable love for His own people God asks like a heart-broken parent... Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols. (Jeremiah 2:11). In Jeremiah 13:17 God again says “If you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears, because the LORD's flock will be taken captive.”
Even when Israelites were taken captive (which the righteous God allowed when they sinned), God was waiting for them to acknowledge their unwise ways and turn to Him, so that He could bring them back from their captivity and bless them. Other than turning away from God, when God loses the first priority in our lives, God may allow us to pass through difficult situations which help us to focus on Him and become His strong disciples. From the Old Testament we see what happened to Abraham after Isaac was born to him and he became more important than God. God allowed Him to pass through the agony of giving up his precious child to test his faithfulness towards Him. But the Loving Father God didn’t allow Abraham to lose his son but provided a lamb to be sacrificed in place of Isaac and was blessed for his faithfulness.
The lamb that God provided at the mount of Moriah was a shadow of the true Lamb of God who became the Greatest sacrifice for the sin of all of us. This was to pave the “way” for us to turn to God from our unwise ways. Then only would we be able to live in His truth and attain eternal life, which is knowing Him – Jesus Christ (cf. John 17:3). All who have found this way will be part of the Church—the new Jerusalem – and they will be His people and He will be their God and they will not walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
So if we turn back to God we have His favour always with us! Let it be now, today- for today is the day of Salvation!
Think on: ‘For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation’ -2 Corinthians 6:2