Jeremiah 32:36-41 (ESV)
They Shall Be My People; I Will Be Their God
“Now therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.
As Jeremiah records these words from God he is held captive by the king. Why?
Jeremiah 32:3 (ESV)
For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it;
Jeremiah’s prophecy is the equivalent of someone today telling their nation they are going to be taken captive by another nation. It was not a populist message. Jeremiah was the lone person saying all this. So King Zedekiah canceled him by putting him in prison. But that did not keep Jeremiah from speaking the truth. Most of the truth was along the same lines that Zedekiah feared; that God was going to punish them all.
However, the above lines are one of the few in the book where Jeremiah outlines God’s favor on Israel. In fact, in the previous chapter God even instructed Jeremiah to buy land from his cousin. He bought the land and put the deed in a jar. This was a vivid picture to the king and Israel that God was still going to be faithful to His convent and bless Israel. There would be a remnant that God would bless.
God had made a covenant with David and nothing was going to break that covenant. Note:
Jeremiah 33:19-22 (ESV)
The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: “Thus says the LORD: If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night will not come at their appointed time, then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with the Levitical priests my ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of David my servant, and the Levitical priests who minister to me.”
God was going to put this covenant into the hearts of Israel. He did that when Jesus, His Son, died on the cross. God fulfilled the covenant with David through His Son, Jesus. He has placed faithfulness into the hearts of those who believe in Jesus by giving us the Spirit of God. God fulfilled His covenant in no way the nation thought it would be fulfilled. God fulfilled His covenant in our hearts.
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