Southern Cross Presbyterian Church

Jer 49:23-50:46

What goes around comes around… or perhaps you can not reject the Lord forever.

Babylon, the vessel which God had been using to exercise his judgment, now comes into the firing line of that same righteous judgment.

The guilty verdict is read:

²⁴ I set a trap for you, O Babylon,
and you were caught before you knew it;
you were found and captured
because you opposed the LORD. 50:24

Repay her for her deeds;
do to her as she has done.
For she has defied the LORD,
the Holy One of Israel. 50:29

The Lord is clear on his plan for the people of Babylon, judgment is planned, but glimmers of hope also emerge:

¹⁸ Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
“I will punish the king of Babylon and his land
as I punished the king of Assyria.

¹⁹ But I will bring Israel back to his own pasture
and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan;
his appetite will be satisfied
on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.

²⁰ In those days, at that time,”
declares the LORD,
“search will be made for Israel’s guilt,
but there will be none,
and for the sins of Judah,
but none will be found,
for I will forgive the remnant I spare. 50-18-20

Hope begins to emerge for Israel:

³³ This is what the LORD Almighty says:
“The people of Israel are oppressed,
and the people of Judah as well.
All their captors hold them fast,
refusing to let them go.

³⁴ Yet their Redeemer is strong;
the LORD Almighty is his name.
He will vigorously defend their cause
so that he may bring rest to their land,
but unrest to those who live in Babylon.

Babylon will face judgement.

The people of God will not be rejected forever, they will wait for their strong redeemer.

I realised coming back from holidays that i am a bit behind (I forgot to pick up a term 3 booklet!) but i believe we’re up to Jeremiah 43 – 46…

In today’s reading, one thing that stuck out was the word “disaster” (or “great disaster”). Jeremiah was prophesying God’s judgment raining down upon Israel and Judah for their rejection and rebellion against him. God sent Jeremiah to bring the news of this disaster but with a glimmer of hope, that they needed to humble themselves and turn away from burning incense to other gods. The people rejected this word from God and continued to commit detestable things.

It ends with God declaring…

‘ “Do not fear, O Jacob my servant, for I am with you, ” declares the Lord. “Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only with justice; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.”

God’s people will be disciplined so that they turn back to him and live for him and his glory. Where ultimately is this hope found…? In Jesus, restoring us to him, taking the punishment that we deserved. God’s justice is fulfilled in Jesus’ sacrifice.

Jeremiah 39-42

These chapters recount a very significant time in the history of Israel/Judah – the siege and sacking of Jerusalem and the exile to Babylon, all just as God had said it would happen through his servant, the prophet Jeremiah. The incredible thing to me is how even after all that happened, proving Jeremiah to be a faithful messenger of God’s word, yet still the people would not trust him and listen to the Lord. Still they listened to their own fears and what their itching ears wanted to hear.

Dear friends, I fear that far too often we are just like this. We choose not to listen to God’s plain word and do what it says. Instead we  justify and rationalise and twist God’s straight word to suit our own desires and to convince ourselves that we are in fact good Christians. Listening to God’s word and doing what it says will often, probably even usually, seem like the harder path. But we need to trust that the author of our salvation knows what is good for us and provides us with the resources we need to do his will.

Jeremiah 19-22

If anyone’s reading, sorry! I completely missed Tuesday (well, not the whole day – mainly just my scheduled post!) but it looks like everyone else has taken a break too (Safari recovery, baby recovery etc.) so I can still post for Tuesday’s reading today…

Well it sounds like it won’t be long until the long-anticipated axe of God’s judgment falls on Jerusalem and its inhabitants. How does it make you feel reading of the impending judgment? Do you feel sorry for them?

I don’t. It seems right for God to judge, and it is. As Jeremiah 22:9 says,

“they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other Gods”.

And yet, even at this late point, God still shows mercy to any who would be willing to accept it, 21:8-9:

“See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; he will escape with his life.”

The same is true today. God’s judgment on unrepentant sinners will fall but there is a way out, through Jesus who has taken the judgment for us if we are willing to accept it. I couldn’t help thinking of the judgment that fell on Jesus as I was reading today’s passage (19:8):

“I will devastate this city and make it an object of scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds”

God is more merciful than me.

And that’s good news.