God Turns Mourning to Joy
13 Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy;
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
14 I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,
and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,
declares the LORD.”
In Jeremiah 31 we have the prophet telling the nation of Israel of a future time. He is letting them know that all the gloom and doom he has been prophesying (chapters 27-30) will be reversed and blessings will come to the remnant. In the above lines we are seeing the end of an oracle spoken specifically to the remnant that remains faithful. The priest, mentioned above, are not the same priest who have been blasted by Jeremiah for their false worship and leading the people into sin. These priest were of the faithful remnant. God is going to allow those who are faithful to the end to experience “abundance.” He wants them to know that He will provide joy and dance instead of mourning and shame. God has brought discipline on them for their past sins. But, in this prophecy He speaks through Jeremiah about a time of blessing and rejoicing. This is how God’s discipline works. Notice how the writer of Hebrews states it:
5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”
7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
When God disciplines us, it is for our benefit. Those who allow that benefit to take place yield peaceful fruit of righteousness. This is the message Jeremiah is delivering. God wants to give us blessing through the discipline. Faithful people, who hold to the end, experience that benefit of discipline.
No comments:
Post a Comment