Jeremiah 30:8-9   “‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them. Instead, they will serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

    The NCAA tournament field has been narrowed to four teams. That means the true fans of 64 other teams are left to hope for next year. Or some year. “One of these years, it will be our time!” We say those things often, without even the flimsiest hope that it will ever happen. 

    Jeremiah began his book thirty chapters ago with prophecies and warnings. Judah had turned their backs on God and He was bringing judgment. This kind of message did not make him very popular! But at this point in the book, he has been proven accurate. Babylon has come and destroyed Jerusalem and carried the people (most of them) away captive. Their exile has begun. Their dreams of a last-minute reprieve have evaporated. It’s real now. 

    Why did God let this happen? He had told them from the beginning of their time in the Promised Land that their occupation was conditional. They had to serve Him and not the foreign idols. Idolatry had polluted that land before they got there. They were to “Worship the Lord their God and serve Him only.” Sadly, they had not. They had periods of time where they did pretty good, but a lot of the time they ignored God. He had warned them what would happen. And now it has. 

    If it had been us in authority and we had given warning after warning only to be ignor-ed, we probably would be inclined to think, “They’ve cooked their own goose! Let’s see how they like the consequences!” But what did God do? They had hardly walked out of Jerusalem in chains before He instructed Jeremiah to write to them a new message: “In that day…” This was a different kind of message. It was a message of hope! Hope? Hadn’t they been the cause of all of their own problems? Yes! Hadn’t they turned their back on God? Yes! Hadn’t they tried every other god imaginable to solve the problems and desires of their lives? Yes! Then why would God send them a letter of hope? Because that’s the kind of God He is!

    Jesus came to earth with a similar message. In fact, He was the answer to the prophecy about David in today’s and many other verses in the Old Testament. God sent Him to seek and save the lost. He came with a different kind of message. It was a message of hope! He lived a sinless life and died on the cross as payment for our sins. We do not have to suffer the eternal punishment our sins deserve. His resurrection validated everything He had said. 

    He is still offering a message of hope. Hope to those who have been the cause of their own problems. Hope to those who have turned their back on God. Hope to those who have tried every other option imaginable to try to solve the problems and desires of their lives. He is the great answer we all need! I commend Him to you today. Turn to Him and find hope!

Blessings,

Pastor Russ