1The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the guard: 2 “Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: 3 Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known…
14 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
17 “For thus says the Lord: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, 18 and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices forever.”
REFLECTION:
God will rebuild Jerusalem, not because of the cry of the people, but because this is the work of His eternal plan. The disaster brought by Babylon could not change God’s will for His people at all. Although Jerusalem will be destroyed, there must be a day of reconstruction. God assured Jeremiah that as long as he calls to God, God will answer him. God is always listening to our prayers. The problem is that you have to pray to Him and ask Him for help. It is true that even if we do not ask Him for help, He will take care of our needs. However, we prayed to Him to admit that He alone is God, and that we cannot accomplish things that belong to God by our own strength. The Davidic Covenant was finally fulfilled in Christ. Christ not only fulfilled the role of king, but also fulfilled the role of priest, becoming the mediator between the people and God, maintaining the communion relationship between God and His people. Through the blood that He shed for us, all believers today are priests of God, so we no longer need the Levites to sacrifice for us, but can come directly to God and pray to Him. When we pray to Him, we must be humble, let go of our will and worries, and obey His will wholeheartedly. Prayer is never in vain, but not many people have truly experienced the power of prayer, so that they do not cherish the right to pray to God. As children of God, have we grasped the right to pray to God?
PRAYER:
Let go of all your burdens and worries and come pray to God. Pray for God to make you cherish the right to pray directly to God and spend more time in prayer every day to get close to God. Pray for God to make your prayers more deep and powerful. This depth and power come from letting go of all your mind and thoughts. Discern God’s will wholeheartedly and live in God’s will.
36 “Now therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: 37 Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. 38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. 40 I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.
42 “For thus says the Lord: Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them. 43 Fields shall be bought in this land of which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ 44 Fields shall be bought for money, and deeds shall be signed and sealed and witnessed, in the land of Benjamin, in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord.”
REFLECTION:
God’s purpose in allowing the Israelites to suffer disaster is to make them know God better and live a life that is pleasing to God, so that they can receive all the blessings that God has promised. Just as a stern and loving father spanks his own child in order to make the child have an upright and good character, so as to conform to the father’s good intentions and receive the father’s blessing, God will also use His righteous power to supervise and command His people to fulfilled His will, even if it means His people will suffer pain. Today, God also won’t let you do whatever you want to do, but will let you do what He wants, even if doing so will make you feel painful and difficult. We must realize that the meaning of trusting God is not in asking God to grant your wishes, but in taking God’s will in everything. Today, as God’s children, God also wants us to have “one heart and one way” (v39) and be focused on Him. We must understand that everything is done according to God’s will, and we should strive to love God more than anything else with all our heart.
PRAYER:
Pray for God to strengthen your soul so that you can concentrate on looking to God’s will in all the adversities of life. Pray to God for your current difficulties, not to ask God to get you out of trouble immediately, but to ask God to make you discern and perceive God’s will in troubles, so that you will have the confidence to act according to God’s will. Moreover, ask God to make all your plights an opportunity for your growth and a path to blessing.
1“At that time, declares the Lord, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.”
2 Thus says the Lord:
“The people who survived the sword
found grace in the wilderness;
when Israel sought for rest, 3 the Lord appeared to him from far away.
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. 4 Again I will build you, and you shall be built,
O virgin Israel!
Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines
and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers. 5 Again you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters shall plant
and shall enjoy the fruit. 6 For there shall be a day when watchmen will call
in the hill country of Ephraim:
‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God.’”
REFLECTION:
God wants all peoples to be His people, not limited to one nation and one tribe. This promise of God is not only to the tribe of Judah, but to the tribes of Israel, including all those who trust in the Lord. They will return and rebuild. God’s love will never change. Today, when we encounter all kinds of hardships and difficulties, do we still have faith in His promise? God always treats His people with deep love and kindness, and as long as we are willing to accept it, He will give us the best. Jeremiah has repeatedly proclaimed warnings about sin, but here he speaks of God’s deep and wide love, which is undoubtedly like a breath of fresh air, rejuvenating and refreshing the soul. The message of God that Jeremiah wanted to convey was that God’s justice and mercy should go hand in hand. When we think of God, we should not only be in awe and trembling, but we must also carefully observe how God draws us to Him with love on the path of our growth. God’s will is to build up our lives, so that we can enjoy abundance. May we be able to appreciate God’s will every day, live happily in God’s justice and love, and bear the fruit of life.
PRAYER:
Come to God with a grateful heart, review your journey of faith, and count the blessings of God especially for your experience of being led by God’s cords of kindness and bands of love when you are far away from Him. Ask God to give you spiritual vitality and alertness so that you will be more sensitive and alert to sin, and desire for God’s guidance and enlightenment.
