2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
You will remember that we have been examining the citations which balance Jeremiah’s dire warnings to the Jewish people before they were taken into captivity due to their sinfulness. These citations offer hope, the same hope we are offered today, and reveal God as Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our Righteousness. He continues to pilot us along this path. Because we sometime get mired in our own problems, Satan tries to make us forget the righteousness of our Lord and the eternal hope He offers us. That is why these citations are as important to us today, as they were to the Jews in OT times.
JER 32: 40, “I will make an eternal covenant with them. I will never stop doing good things for them and I will make them fear [have reverence for] Me with all their heart, so that they will never turn away from Me.” I will never stop being awed by the consistency of God’s messages to us nor with His long-standing patience repeating them over and over again throughout mankind’s history. RO 8: 28, a citation that supports this, is an example of His tenaciousness in repeating this message. “We know that in all things God works for good with those who love Him, those whom He has called according to His purpose.” Here’s one more example, JER 29: 11-13, “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for. Then you will call to Me. You will come and pray to Me, and I will answer you. You will seek Me, and you will find Me, because you will seek Me with all your heart.”
There are so many ways that God expresses His love for His children (no matter what time in human history they lived or are living). EZK 36: 26-27, “I will sprinkle clean water on you and make you clean from all your idols and everything else that has defiled you. I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart.” This was another example of His love message to Israel which has some very important implications for today’s traditional Jews. To best understand these let me give you two citations that will round out the picture that there is no way that God is forever finished with the Jews. ZECH 13: 8-9, “And throughout the land two-thirds of the people will die. And I will test the third that survives and will purify them as silver is purified by fire. I will test them as gold is tested. Then they will pray to Me, and I will answer them. I will tell them that they are My people and they will confess that I am their Lord.” In that citation, Zechariah is referring the Jews who must endure the Tribulation in our future. This explanation wouldn’t be complete without RO 11: 25, “There is a secret truth, my brothers, which I want you to know, for it will keep you from thinking how wise you are. It is that the stubbornness of the people of Israel is not permanent, but will last only until the complete number of Gentiles come to God.” These are compelling reasons to reject replacement theology which tries to teach the lie that God is through with the Jews, and has replaced them with the Gentiles. RO 11; 16-24 contains the metaphor of the grafted olive tree, which I hope you will read. Those verses seal in truth what I have said here.
There is another passage in Jeremiah which deals with hope for the future that is precious to us. JER 23: 1-6, “How terrible will be the Lord’s judgment on those rulers who destroy and scatter His people! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the rulers who were supposed to take care of His people: ‘You have not taken care of My people; you have scattered them and driven them away. Now I am going to punish you for the evil you have done. I will gather My people from the countries where I have scattered them and I will bring them back to their homeland. They will have many children and increase in number. I will appoint rulers to take care of them. My people will not longer be afraid or terrified, and I will not punish them again. I, the Lord, have spoken.’ The Lord says, ‘The time is coming when I will choose a King, a righteous Descendant of David. That King will rule wisely and do what is right and just throughout the land. When He is King, the people of Judah will be safe, and the people of Israel will live in peace. He will be called the ‘Lord of Our Salvation.’” Once again, we see Jesus Christ in the OT. I can’t tell you how that comforts me. In the face of my traditional Jewish friends and family who object strenuously to what I do with my time, I can know that there is hope. I have a prayer request for you. Will you join me in making it your personal commitment to pray each day for those who still haven’t accepted Christ as their personal Savior? I know that God needs to hear this prayer countless times, so that He will know that this matter is important to us, just as it is to Him.
PRAYER: O Lord, in Your wisdom, You want us to see both sides of the picture. You want us to be duly warned that sinfulness will lead to spiritual death. At the same time, You offer us Your love and hope. From as long ago as OT times, You have promised us deliverance and the establishment of Your Kingdom if we choose to be faithful. You want us to know You as Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our Righteousness, so that we will be motivated to endure the hardships, opposition, illness, temptation, and other evils of man-centered world we are in to gain Your approval and further our sanctification. No human being possesses all of Your goodness and attributes. However, we can learn to strive toward them and make Your Son our model. His servanthood and obedience is remarkably revealed in LK 22: 42, “’Father,’ He said, ’if You will, take this cup of suffering away from Me. Not My will, however, but Your will be done.’” You have also given us hope that people who are still lost, including many traditional Jews, will come to faith. For that and so much more, we humbly approach You today to offer You our adoration, worship, loyalty, trust, obedience, honor, glory, praise, and thanks. We acknowledge that Your love for us is profound and dedicate ourselves to allowing it to strengthen our faith. In Christ’s holy name, we pray. Amen.
The Lord has given me more to say on this subject, including some wonderful citations that will give us a deeper appreciation of Him as Jehovah Tsidkenu than we have ever had before. That will be the subject of tomorrow’s message. Bask in the aura of our Lord’s love for each of us today, and know that He is always there to support the faithful in the spiritual warfare they must wage. We need never feel alone or unloved another day in our lives. Peter and I send you our love too.
race Be With You Always,
Lynn