OUR HOPE IN JESUS WILL GET US THROUGH
Jeremiah 23:1-8 “Wow to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord. “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will rise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteous. “So then, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt.’ but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”
This prophecy was one that the Jews of Jesus day were hoping to be fulfilled by their Messiah. They had been under Roman rule for some time and they were wanting their freedom in spite of all the good things that Rome had brought to them. There had been many men who had claimed to be the Messiah that would deliver Israel from all their oppressors and many other that would follow Jesus. In some ways many like his own disciples expected Jesus to use his supernatural powers to defeat Rome and bring peace and independence back to Israel. When Jesus didn’t do this many became discouraged and left his following. Now we know that the first time Jesus came he it was to conquer sin and bring reconciliation between man and God. When he comes again he will be the conquering Messiah that will deliver Israel from her enemies.
Hope is something that we really don’t hear preached about very much. We hear many sermons regarding the consequences of sin, righteousness, repentance, obedience, gifts of the Holy Spirit, service, giving, witnessing, sacrificing and the list goes on and on. We hear messages that are focused on spiritual matters and ones that try to help us in our everyday life. There are messages that are from the Bible and some that are not. Some that make us cry and others that make us happy, but for some reason not too many about hope. Hope is important. We see it in I Cor 13:13. We can have all kinds of wisdom, knowledge and insight, but if we do not have hope sooner or later we will want to give up, because everyone goes through tough times. The Hebrews had been judged by God and found lacking in their commitment to him. They had turned from the Lord and begun to worship idols. Their homeland had been ravaged and their pride in Jerusalem was totally destroyed. It had been burned down and even the stone that made up their walls were scattered. Their people killed and those left were scattered throughout the Babylon Empire. Families were separated and enslaved. If things could have gotten worse for the Hebrews I am sure that they couldn't have imagined it. They had become like a drowning person willing to grab at a straw for some sign of hope. When we no longer have hope, we lose all will to even live let alone have some sort of purpose or happiness in our life.
It was never God’s intention to destroy Israel, but rather to help them repent of their idol worship and return to him. As severe as God’s punishment was, God always meant it in a positive way. If it was not he could have easily had them all killed. To help them get through their great sorrow and knowledge of the 70 years of exile, God gave them hope. God knew that if we have hope we can get through almost anything. This is why God told them through Jeremiah that their punishment would be for 70 years. While this is a long time and the adult generation that had been sent into exile would not return to their Promised Land, some of their children and grandchildren would. There was light at the end of the tunnel. And God was faithful to his word. King Cyrus of the Medes and Persians Empire would let any Hebrew that would like to return back to the land of Israel could. God keeps his promises and that is not only good news, but it give us a hope we can believe in and trust.
In our life we all experience problems, sorrows, defeats and the like, but because of Jesus and what he has brought into our life through his atonement for us, we can have hope that is true and sure that will help us to keep on keepin on. We know from I John 4:4 that greater is he (Jesus) in us than he that is in the world, but there are times even for mature Christians that we just feel like giving up. Even John the Baptist questioned if Jesus was the Messiah that he had affirmed to the world. John 6:66 tells us that after Jesus telling his followers that unless they ate his body and drank his blood they could not have any part of his kingdom many no longer followed him. Without hope people will give up and turn even from Jesus. This is one reason why I tend to think that the mark of the Beast being 666 is a statement or declaration of separation of denouncing or leaving Jesus. Through signs and wonders the false prophet will encourage even Jesus’ followers to trust in the antichrist for hope. The problem is it will be a false hope that will only lead them to tragedy and disappointment. This is the reason why God has given us prophecy like today’s passage in Jeremiah as well as many others that point to hope in Jesus. As long as we hope in Jesus and keep our eyes on him he will get us through anything including death itself. God’s promises to us are not a matter of maybe. God’s promises can be trusted in and that gives us hope.
Are you going through some hard times? Well, remember for those that put their trust and hope in Jesus he will be there for us and not let us down. Promises, promises, God keeps his promises!
Prayer: Holy Spirit, please help us not to give up on trusting in Jesus. Please help our hope in him be ever strong and sure. We ask this in Jesus name.
