Current Sermon Series

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INTRODUCTION: 

Continuing our series: Give Thanks! 

READ: 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10

Now, I’ve titled this message: Give Thanks: For the Witness of Others. But I don’t want us to miss that which is most significant, and that is TO WHOM Paul directs his thanksgiving. Verse 2. We give thanks to God. Don’t miss that. We’ll keep jumping back to this foundational point. But understand that Paul isn’t writing a thank you letter to the Thessalonians in the way the world would pen a thank you card. He’s letting them know that he thanks God for them. 

EXAMPLE OF GIVING THANKS

In fact, I believe we can conclude at least a few things just from these first five words in verse 2. One, Paul is giving them an example to model. Paul is giving us an example to model. 

Paul’s also not simply giving thanks. He’s doing something with his words. He’s encouraging the afflicted church in Thessalonica, and he’s modeling a life of thankfulness for them to imitate. Which is especially important if they are to endure the onslaught of afflictions they have. Because as we looked at last week, they need to be able to give thanks in all circumstances. So, Paul is modeling this on the front end of his letter, so that they too might be armed with thanksgiving as the world, the flesh, and the devil seek to make shipwreck of their faith.

ALL THANKS DIRECTED TOWARD GOD

Also, Paul is reminding them, who it is we are always to direct our thanks toward. For our Reformation Celebration a couple weeks ago, we made a lot of mention of Martin Luther. But get this. We weren’t praising Martin Luther. We were praising God. We thank God for the mighty works He did through individuals like Martin Luther to return a large portion of the church back to the faith once and all delivered to the saints. 

Even when we share a simple thank you with another image-bearer—you’re in the drive thru at Chick-fil-a; they hand you your meal; you give the customary, “Thank you!” And you know they’re going to come right back with… (you all know it)… “My pleasure.” It’s a good and right to thank Caleb for his service… especially if he gets your order right! But our every thanksgiving should ultimately flow through Caleb toward God—the God who fashioned Caleb and granted Caleb those exceptional skills to perform his job well. (Picking a bit.) But I hope you get the point. 

DAVID AND ABIGAIL

Just as Steve read from 1 Samuel concerning David and Abigail. David recognizes God’s sovereign grace in keeping him from blood guilt and working salvation by his own hand, and so David praises God. He gives thanks to God for Abigail and her discernment.

PRAYER NOT PRIMARILY REQUESTS

We give thanks to God always for all of you, Paul says. So much so that Paul mentions them constantly in his prayers. Notice, first, that prayer isn’t primarily about a list of requests. I know that’s how most view prayer. Many see prayer as nothing more than a laundry list of wants, needs, and requests. And you better be specific with those requests to make sure God gets it right! 

Listen. God already knows. He knows what you need. And as a good Father, He answers prayer only with good gifts. He’s not going to give you a scorpion when you ask for a fish. He’s not going to give you a stone when you ask for bread. But neither is He going to give you the wrong thing because your prayer wasn’t perfectly precise. To believe such, is to make God’s working in your life primarily dependent on you. 

And if that’s the case, maybe we need to divert some of that thanks away from God and direct it toward you for praying just right. How silly that is. The Spirit helps us in our weakness. Why? Because, Paul will write to the Romans, we do not know to pray for as we ought. The Spirit himself intercedes in our prayers. As such, we thank God even for the prayers of others.

Even in how Paul prays, he models for them that their prayers should be filled with thanksgiving. Our prayers should be filled with thanksgiving. So much so, that it would seem that we never cease to give thanks.

FOR YOU

And what does Paul give thanks to God for? For you. For all of you. He says. 

Our leadership team met yesterday morning. And you know what we did for the first hour before moving on to anything else on our agenda? We prayed. But we didn’t pray concerning just anything. We prayed concerning you. Thanking God for you. Lifting up to God… you. That the Lord would continue to work through you. That He would encourage, strengthen, sustain, fill, and satisfy you. For an hour. And it is such a privilege for us to do so. 

I can’t say it any more simply than this. God has place you… all of you… on our hearts. We love you. I love you. And I thank God for you. And I thank God for what the gospel is producing in you.
That’s what Paul is letting this church know. 

FOR WHAT THE GOSPEL PRODUCES IN YOU

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers—verse 3—remembering before our God and Father, your work of faith, and labor of love, and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, Paul thanks God for their faith that works, their love that labors, their hope that endures. 

FAITH THAT WORKS

Many theologians, liberal theologians that is, like to pit Paul and James against each other. If you recall, Paul is the apostle who claims one is justified by faith apart from works. But as Caleb read, James makes it clear that faith without works is dead, that a person is justified by works and not faith alone. So who’s right? Paul or James. 

For October, both in the gospel reflections found in our weekly newsletter, and for our Reformation Celebration, we focused on the Five Solas, one of which is By Faith Alone. Are we and the Reformers espousing heresy in saying that we’re saved by faith alone? The Roman Church of Luther’s day would suggest so. They’d say we’re saved by faith and works.

Well, I think it’s important that we remember that the epistles are occasional in nature, meaning that they were written to address specific situations. There was an occasion that led to the writing of these letters. So, we need to keep the context in mind. Now, I’m not going to hash out the whole idea of justification by faith alone this morning. But I think it’s quite obvious from our text here that Paul expects that faith, if it is genuine faith, works. Paul is not at all at odds with James.

OUR MICROWAVE

Our microwave went on the fritz recently, so Friday evening I found myself installing a new over-the-range microwave. What happened, is our microwave started working contrary to its design. Rather than coming on when the door is closed, it started coming on with the door open. But close the door, it would do nothing. Well, Chase went to zap a cup of water in the microwave, and it took a couple seconds for him to realize what happened. And o the exaggerated panic from that young man. “I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I have radiation poisoning, and I can feel it.”

Now, if I was Josiah, I would have looked up how to fix the thing. But I don’t have Josiah’s mechanical gifting. So, before we had Chase panic anymore, we ordered a new one.

Now, here’s the thing. The microwaved failed to work as designed. It was broken. But, as you probably have noticed, I’m still referring to it as a microwave. But left as is, that microwave is utterly useless. In fact, even worse, it’s dangerous. The same is true of a faith that doesn’t work. We may refer to it as faith. Others may refer to such as faith. But it’s a faith that is useless; indeed, dangerous. Such a faith cannot save, but rather offers a false sense of assurance which will prove futile… and eternally disappointing.

FAITH HOPE LOVE - EMPHASIS

In other words, the gospel produces something internal: Faith, Love, and Hope. But what is produced internally will naturally express itself externally. We’re all familiar with this triad: faith, hope, and love. But here, Paul has switched up the order from that of 1 Corinthians. Why? Well his focus is somewhat different. The occasion for writing to the Thessalonians is different. 

The Corinthians were struggling to live out their salvation in love. They tended to see their gifting as making them superior over those who may have had less gifting. They needed to be reminded to walk in love in all that they do, whether that be the divisions within the church, the eating of meat sacrificed to idols, how to behave towards one’s spouse, what if such a spouse wasn’t a believer, how to partake of the Lord’s Supper, and even how to see and utilize their gifting. Love tended to be the missing ingredient. 

But for the Thessalonian church, Paul will commend them for their brotherly affection, encouraging them, as you’re already doing, do so more and more. And I would commend this congregation for the same. Your love for one another is evident to all. As you are doing, do so more and more.

Paul commends them for their love. Yet, they were suffering great affliction. Even though they’ve persevered up to now, and Paul thanks God for their perseverance in hope, the final word to them here is that of hope, for the sake of their perseverance.

FROM INTERNAL TO EXTERNAL: LIVED OUT

But these inner qualities needed to be lived out, or they’d pretty much be useless. Not only is a faith without works a dead faith. A faith that doesn’t work isn’t gospel faith. A love that doesn’t labor, isn’t gospel love. A hope that doesn’t endure isn’t gospel hope. But theirs is. The gospel had produced in them a faith that works, a love that labors, and a hope that has remained steadfast. And Paul thanks God for that. Why? Because faith, love, and hope are gifts from God. They didn’t muster up these out of nowhere. 

THANK GOD WHEN YOU SEE THESE QUALITIES AT WORK IN SOMEONE

So, when you see someone working out their faith, give thanks to God for them. When you see someone’s love for Jesus overflow in acts of love to others, thank God for them. When you see someone endure a difficult situation because of their hope in the Lord, thank God for them.

We had a young lady in this congregation who stepped out of her comfort zone to sit at a downtown hospital all day—a good 12 hours—in order to be there for a friend who is enduring a serious trial and a very painful medical procedure.
I thank God for you Haley. I know it wasn’t easy. I know some don’t realize what a huge step that was for you. But some of us do. And we thank God for your witness.

FOR THE EVIDENCE OF YOUR ELECTION

Moving on. Verse 4. For we know, brothers, loved by God, that he has chosen you. 

Now, most of our translations place a couple of periods in our text where there are none, such as the end of verse 3 and again halfway through verse 4. 

Translators add the additional sentence breaks as an attempt to make Paul easier to read. We just want to make sure that we don’t interrupt Paul’s flow of thought. Verses 2-5 is a single sentence in the Greek, all of it one string of thanksgiving to God—an 80-word sentence—which is by no means Paul’s longest. 

I’ve had some Sunday school teachers mention how Paul tends to ramble. Well, if that’s the case, he’s doing so under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Now, some of your are thinking, we’re good with Paul’s inspired ramblings. But we’re not so sure about your rambling Sunday after Sunday. Fair enough. I’m certainly not inspired in the way Paul was. Next Sunday, I’ll invite you up here to ramble for us.

So, Paul’s rambling prayer continues. He’s not only thankful to God for their faith, love, and hope, but also in knowing that they have been chosen by God. This is where we get our word election from. It’s a major biblical doctrine that’s important to understand and affirm.

If you’re here today, and you are trusting Jesus alone for your salvation, know that it wasn’t first and foremost that you chose Him. He chose you. As Jesus himself says in John 6:44, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them. 

Now, many want to argue that such drawing by the Father isn’t an effectual drawing but rather a wooing. The Father woos and pleads, but ultimately you and I are the decisive agents who choose to answer that call or not. Kind of like calling a puppy. I can picture Carmen wooing their not so little puppy to come inside. Here Mish-Mish. Time to come inside. And I bet Mish-Mish listens to her.

But that’s not at all what the word in John means. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them. The word draw is the same word used for drawing water out of a well. You don’t stand at the top of the well wooing the water to come up to you like a puppy. No. You drag that water out of the well effectually. 

It’s also used of fishing. You cast out your dragnet, and you draw it back in. Now, it’s appropriate for Silas to say, when he catches a fish, that he drew it out of the water. But I assure you, Silas wasn’t wooing that fish out of the water. He might have lured it onto the hook with some bait. But when it came to drawing that fish out of the water, that fish was fighting! Silas had to effectually drag the fish out of the water. 

And that word draw is also used of oxen drawing a plow. I can hear the oxen just wooing that thing along, and the plow responding to their lowing by willingly following behind. 

THANKS TO GOD ALONE

Notice, Paul isn’t thanking the Thessalonians for their being chosen. I’m so proud of you for mustering up the faith to answer God’s wooing. NO! Paul thanks God for their salvation, for His choosing them. That Paul thanks God and not the Thessalonians for their election shows that they contributed nothing to their salvation, but that it was all from God. Paul’s not dividing up his thanksgiving between them and God. It all goes to God.

But the world is offended by such a gospel in which God Himself would choose to do as He pleases with that which is His—a gospel in which 100% of the credit goes to God alone. To the glory of God alone. We give thanks and praise to God alone—for our salvation, for the salvation of our kids, our parents, our friends, our neighbors, those individuals who fill churches around the world. We don’t thank them for being dragged out of the water and saved from drowning. We give thanks to the One who rescued them from certain death. 

O but I’ll tell you the kind of gospel the world is okay with. The world will gladly accept a gospel in which we choose God and it’s ultimately up to us, where we’re the ones in the driver’s seat of this whole thing. And since, we’re in the driver’s seat, will determine what’s necessary for this salvation, and what it should look like in our lives. Perhaps I’ll gather with the church. Perhaps I’ll keep my faith private. But I assure you, whatever you want to call it, it won’t be transformative in nature.

Why? Because that’s what we call man-centered religion. It’s a false gospel. It has no power. It’s not the gospel of Jesus Christ. Rather, it’s a gospel where you’re lord. It’s a gospel where I’m lord. And you know what? On the surface, that might seem like good news. Eve sure thought it was. That’s why she reached out her hand, took the fruit, and ate. 

But I’ll just tell you, me being lord, may sound good until the weight of the world—even my own puny world that in my flesh revolves around me—when the weight of the world bears down, when the weight of the world presses upon you. And you realize very quickly that a me-centered man-centered gospel is the furthest thing from good news. None of us truly want that, not when we follow it to its ultimate conclusion.

PAUL’S ASSURANCE

Paul thanks God for choosing to set His special affection upon them. For we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you. Notice the word “know.” For we know. Paul’s not thanking God because these Thessalonians might be saved, and time will eventually tell if they fall away from the faith. Paul’s thanking God for the assurance of THEIR salvation. 

We’re not supposed to live in doubt of our salvation. The entire epistle of 1 John is written so that one may KNOW that they have eternal life. And John offers a series of tests so that you might know and be assured whether you’re walking in the faith or not. 

Well, in the same way, we shouldn’t live in doubt over other people’s salvation! There should be evidence! There should be fruit! Is their faith, love, and hope evident? Is it materialized in their lives?

Paul says he knows God has chosen them, that he is confident in their election. Why? Verse 5. Because our gospel came to you, not only in word, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and with full conviction.

God’s Word didn’t return void. Paul witnessed the power of the gospel among the Thessalonians, that the Holy Spirit regenerated hearts, bringing them under conviction to where there was total life transformation. This is nothing short of the new birth our Lord speaks of—unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of heaven. And to whom does Paul give thanks? You don’t give thanks to the baby for crawling out of the birth canal. You thank God for the delivery!

FOR THE MATERIALIZATION OF YOUR SALVATION

The gospel materialized in the lives of the Thessalonian believers. We don’t have time to go into the details, but verses 6 through 10 express just how the gospel materialized among the Thessalonians. Verse 6. They received the word in much affliction and with the joy of the Holy Spirit. So much so that they became an example to believers in Macedonian and in Achaia. 

Verse 8, the gospel sounded forth from these Thessalonian believers both in word and in deed. In other words, their lives aligned with the gospel they proclaimed. Get this. Part of the evidence that they had been chosen by God, that they had been saved, is they became evangelists. They proclaimed the gospel that saved them!

If you know this grace of our Lord, who saved us out of darkness, how could you not proclaim it to others! But proclamation isn’t enough. Our lives, our faith, needs to match the gospel we proclaim. And theirs did. And Paul thanks God for that.

And verse 9 and 10. You can be sure of one’s being chosen by God when they turn away from the idols of this world and turn to serve the true and living God, showing that their hope is in nothing this world has to offer. It isn’t in any election other than the election of God—God’s electing them. If you find someone’s hope fixed on Jesus’ return, this Jesus who delivers from the wrath to come, you can be assured of their salvation. Give thanks to God for such a witness. 

But for those whose hope is elsewhere, in the things of this world, there’s no assurance. 

HOW TO MEASURE

Sometimes the steps are small. Sometimes one’s faith may be more or less conspicuous. But o how we thank God when one’s faith is evident. We thank God for that assurance.

We live in a culture that likes to measure results. And the church can easily fall prey to such a mindset, to where we give thanks to God primarily for those things we can quantify, such as how many people attended service, how many baptisms, is the giving up or down? And while none of those things are unimportant per se, Paul is far more concerned with those things that can’t be measured quantifiably. Instead, Paul give thanks to God for those realities are not so easy to measure but should no doubt be evident: FAITH, LOVE, and HOPE.

Has the gospel come to you not merely in word but in power, in Spirit, and with full conviction? For many of you it has. And it is evident to many. And I thank God for the work of the gospel in your lives. For others, if I’m honest, I don’t have that same assurance. O I wish I did. 

So, I’ll end with this. The gospel of our Lord Jesus—the only gospel that can save you from the wrath to come.

CHRIST OUR SAVIOR AND EXAMPLE

Paul thanks God for the Thessalonian church’s witness that included their work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. But as we consider the Thessalonian’s witness, indeed the church’s witness throughout the ages, it’s important to recognize that we have not been left without an example to follow. In fact, Paul will go on to commend the Thessalonian church for following the example, not only of those who brought the gospel to them, but for being imitators of the Lord Jesus himself (verse 6). 

While Jesus is much more than our example to follow; he’s never less. We must never lose sight of the fact that our Savior was both truly God and truly man. Jesus is the exact image of the God whom we are to reflect. There has never been a truer more perfect reflection of God than in the Son of God incarnate. Therefore, when we consider what our work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope should look like, we should first look to Jesus.

WORK OF FAITH: The work of Christ was carried out in perfection by nothing less than faith. Jesus entrusted himself completely to his Father’s care, fully obedient to his Father’s will because he trusted his Father perfectly. That’s what faith ultimately is—the confident persuasion to trust a person—which in turn demonstrates itself in action, that of works. Give thanks to God for Jesus’ work of faith, for it is that work of faith that accomplishes our salvation.

LABOR OF LOVE: Jesus didn’t just work our salvation out of faith; he labored for our salvation out of an overflow of love—love first for his Father and then for his own. What compelled the Son’s obedience, even though such would be excruciatingly painful, both physically and emotionally? The first answer is his love for his Father. When the time had come for Jesus to go to the cross, he tells his disciples, “I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.” But while Jesus’ first love is certainly toward his Father, he also went to the cross for his own whom he loved. “When Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (John 13:1). Jesus agonized on the cross as a labor of love for his Father and for his own. Give thanks to God for Jesus’ labor of love for it is Christ’s love that purchases our salvation.

ENDURANCE OF HOPE: Hope may seem like a strange thing to ascribe to the Son of God, but such is to confuse the wishful hope of the world with that of biblical hope, which is grounded in confidence and certainty because it is grounded in nothing less than the character of God. Jesus set his face like flint to go to Jerusalem, not because he didn’t know what would take place but because he knew it led to the cross. The end was not hidden from him. Three times he told his disciples of his impending death. But Jesus knew that death was not the end. The true Son of David knew that his Father would not abandon his soul to Sheol or let His holy one see corruption (Psalm 16:10). And because of Jesus’ confident hope in his Father’s deliverance of his soul, Jesus remained steadfastly obedient, obedient even to death on a cross. Give thanks to God for Jesus steadfast hope, for it is the hope of Jesus that guarantees our salvation.

May we be like the Thessalonian church who became imitators of Christ’s work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope. 

May this gospel come upon you in power, in Spirit, and with full conviction, moving you to faith, love, and hope. 

Thank you, God, for Your gospel, and for what it produces in Your people. To God alone be the glory.

https://youtu.be/BB8uGKUebD8

  1 Thessalonians 5:18 Give Thanks in All Circumstances

INTRODUCTION

We’re beginning a series on Thanksgiving. And we’ll be hanging out in Paul’s letters to the church in Thessalonica for the next few weeks. While we’ll likely be in chapter 1 next week, I decided it would be best to begin in chapter 5 and hopefully set forth, at least in part, a theology of thanksgiving. The plan is not to tackle the whole of Paul’s letters to the church, but rather look at Paul’s theme of thanksgiving in these 2 letters. Today, we’ll focus on a single verse, 1 Thessalonians 5:18. And I what I’d like us to consider this morning is how thanksgiving is a response, a commanded response, a response of worship to God, and that such a response must be distinctly Christian if it is to be biblical thanksgiving.

READ: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

So, just how do you prepare for a message on thanksgiving? Well, like I do for every message, I tend to read a lot. One book I read in preparation was a small little 30-page book by Judith Viorst. Now, Viorst doesn’t claim to be a theologian. Her books are more in the children’s genre. You may have heard of the book: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.It’s a children’s book that took all of 5 minutes to read. It’s not overly theological, but it captures the way kids outwardly respond to things seeming to go awry. And … it also captures how some of us adults tend to respond, even if perhaps a bit more subtly. Well, thanksgiving, at the very least, is a response.

A RESPONSE:

I want us to notice something in verses 16, 17, and 18. Paul is giving 3 imperatives. In other words, these are commands. Paul’s not merely expressing these as options for the Thessalonian believers, nor is he expressing these as the best options in how to live your best life now. Rather, in light of all that Paul has shared previously, he is writing to the church, not merely that they should rejoice always, and pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances, but that they must do these things We’ll look at the background of this letter more in the coming weeks, but it may be helpful to point out that this command is not unique to the church in Thessalonica. To the church in Ephesus, Paul reminds them how they ought to walk—giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. To the saints at Colossae, he writes: Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 

Thanksgiving is a response. And it is the response we are commanded to give in every circumstance, even if those circumstances fall into the category of the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Now, I’m the one up here giving the message on thanksgiving today. And that may lead some to think, well, if he’s giving a message on thanksgiving, he must have this thing down to some degree. Let me just say, that’s not how this preaching thing works.  I’m preaching on thanksgiving because it’s in the Bible, and it’s essential to the Christian life. We’re doing a series on thanksgiving because we desperately need to be reminded of these things that we likely already know, but don’t practice all that well. I’m giving this message because I need it. And if I need it, it’s possible some of you might too.

MY BAD DAY:

Like Alexander, I had my own terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day last week. So, it’s Tuesday. Sherif is giving the message! Bill’s putting together the Hymn Sing! So, I have no pressing deadlines, And I’m pondering this series on thanksgiving, working my regular day job, driving my truck down I-40. And suddenly I hear a ding, and my fuel light comes on. Well, if it was the minivan, no problem, I can get another 40 miles and pull off when it’s convenient. But hauling a 7000-pound trailer, I’d be lucky to get 10 miles. So, I do what I do best. I grumble. 

I pull off the next exit, Briley Parkway. They have a small Philips 66 station just off the ramp. I know it will be tight with my 16-foot trailer, but I’m kind of hoping it won’t be busy, and I can pull in. Well, that’s not the case. Grumble. I have no idea how I’m going to back out of this thing, but I go ahead and pull in and fill up. I’m hopeful, that I’ll be able to back out without any issues. So, backing up just enough, and trying to make the ridiculously tight turn to get out of there and back onto Briley, my trailer tire catches the curb. Grumble.  No big deal. It wouldn’t be the first tight turn where my tire caught a curb. It’s more embarrassing than anything. (PRIDE.) Well, this wasn’t just any curb. It was a curb that had seen a lot of erosion from vehicles cutting the turn just like I did. In other words, inside the curb was a big empty whole. So when my tire went over the curb, it came down hard on the inside. Grumble.  So, I’m back on Briley, checking my sideview mirror to see if my tire’s okay. It looks fine. I think. Nope. Grumble. Grumble. So, I pull immediately back off the road into a small retail parking lot with a Subway. And I’m certain, whoever designed this parking lot never intended anyone to drive a truck and trailer into it. Grumble.  Not a problem. I can change a tire pretty quickly. All I need is a tire. But you know where my spare is? It’s at my house under the deck.  So, I call Jenny. And my incredible wife, who is terrified of dark scary places where there’s even a slight chance of anything creepy crawly, braves going under the deck to bring me a spare.

Now, I have a good 30-minutes to wait on Jenny. So, I’m lightening the trailer, emptying 300-gallons of water, taking off over a dozen 5-gallon cans of driveway sealant, loosening the lug-nuts. … I’m also thinking. I’m pondering the events that just took place, and I’m considering my wife’s gracious and loving response, seeking to do whatever she can to ease my burden, and I’m sifting all of this life data through the counsel of God’s  Word. 

GRUMBLING:

You know what the opposite of thanksgiving is? Grumbling.  As Eli read for us earlier out of Numbers: And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes. (Numbers 11:1) No sooner did Israel set out from Sinai, on their way to the promised land, they grumbled. You know what they grumbled over? They grumbled over God’s provision for them. Oh, that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.

How quickly we tend to grumble over God’s good provision for us. How quickly I tend to grumble over God’s good provision for me.  We’re commanded to give thanks in all circumstances. But instead, I find myself more prone to grumble than to give thanks. Rather than giving thanks that I even have a fuel light that comes on as a warning, I grumble about the fuel light coming on. Rather than giving thanks that there’s a nearby gas station, I grumble over the parking lot.  Rather than being thankful that I have a spare tire less than 30-minutes away, one that’s already paid for, and being brought to me by my loving wife, my heart is prone to grumble about the wait. I need this message as much as anyone here. And a few of you are chuckling. Oh yeah, he does!

A RESPONSE OF WORSHIP:

But thanksgiving isn’t a response to just anyone or anything, it’s to be our proper response toward God, and specifically for His goodness. I would even argue that thanksgiving is central, if not the foundation of our worship. In fact, it’s the lack of thankfulness towards God that leads to idolatry. It was the lack of gratitude in the Garden that led to Adam and Eve’s eating from the tree they were told not to eat from. Rather than giving thanks to God for giving them absolutely everything else, they were displeased that being God was off limits to them—because in essence that’s what the tree represented. 

I’ve given you everything, God says, but as for My throne, My sovereign rule over what is good and what is evil, I can’t give you that. And so they ate from the tree, displaying their ingratitude.

Well, maybe I’m reading too much into the Genesis account. What does Paul say. For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God — and here it is — or give thanks to Him. Instead, they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.

WHAT GOD WANTS

Give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God… meaning this is what God desires from us. Thanksgiving isn’t just foundational to our worship; it is our worship. It is the worship God desires. Now, it expresses itself in different ways, such as joy and exultation, praise and singing, prayer and confession. I would suggest even our contrition is grounded in thanksgiving, because we’re only moved to contrition as a response to God’s mercy, thus out of a response of thankfulness. Thanksgiving is how we are to glorify God. This shows up clearly in the Psalms. Psalm 50: The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies Me. (Psalm 50:23). But the opposite of giving thanks is indifference or ingratitude. Verse 22: Mark this then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver. We can’t glorify God by giving Him anything other than thanksgiving. What could we possibly give Him? It’s all His.  If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls and goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me. 

RECOGNIZES GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY:

In addition to thanksgiving being the proper response to God’s goodness, it also recognizes God’s sovereignty over all things. Which is why Paul can say, In Everything, or In All Circumstances, give thanks. It recognizes, as Josiah read, that every good and perfect gift is from above. And that would include our sanctification and how God works all things to that end for our good in order to conform us to the image of His Son. So, when you have your own terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, you can still give thanks to God in those moments, knowing that He is working these things for your good. In fact, I would challenge you to refrain from weighing your days as good and bad based on your experience and the degree to which things turned out favorable in your eyes. 

Why do I say that? Because it just may be that terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day that drives you to your knees and closer to Christ. It may be that kind of day that drives one of your kids, or relatives, or neighbors to their knees because they have finally reached the end of themselves. And they cry out for mercy and give themselves to the Lord Jesus. 

SOVEREIGN GRACE

Now my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day didn’t end with a tire change. The Lord graciously gave me several hours to let His Word percolate in this stubborn heart of mine. So, I finish my last job in Brentwood about an hour after dark. And I’m thinking of all the ways things could have gone worse, and how thankful I was that everything seemed to turn out just fine. Notice, I’m feeling good about myself, like maybe I’m getting this thankfulness thing down.  Do you ever get like that? The Spirit convicts you of your sin and where you need to grow, and just like that, you master it in a day… or a half a day even! 

So, I get home late, sometime after 8pm, eat a quick dinner, we have our family worship time. And as the kids are getting ready for bed, I fire up my laptop to do some work. … No fire. Well, maybe the battery is drained. So, I’m messing with the plug. And I’m looking at it, and I can tell the usb is bent. And I know what happened. Someone accidentally caught hold of the cord and pulled my laptop off the desk. Now, Jenny, she’s much slower to jump to such conclusions. But I’m insisting that’s what happened. And she’s like, no. The girls know not to play around your desk. I was home most of the day… except for… when I brought you… the tire. So, I call the three of them out. And I ask, “Who wants to tell Daddy what happened while Mommy was gone?” And Christa breaks down, “We were just making a tent!”  Don’t you just love honesty. And she recounts how the laptop met its end. And Friday, Jenny took it to the mortician, and Best Buy confirmed that not only is the laptop dead, but it can’t even salvage the memory. 

It’s funny when you trace the long series of events that began with my failure to check my fuel gauge before hopping on the interstate. Thanks to Sherif preaching, I didn’t have any urgent writing projects. So that took some stress off. And as I look back over the events, I can’t help but see God’s sovereign grace in the details and the timing. But how slow I am to recognize it! How slow I am to remind myself that the God who calls out all the starry host by name, who watches over even the smallest of birds in the deepest of jungles, and who numbers every hair on every head, is working all those details for good.

WORLDLY OPTIMISM IS NOT CHRISTIAN THANKSGIVING:

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God IN CHRIST JESUS for you. 

Now, there’s nothing distinctly Christian about having an attitude of gratitude. The world promotes looking on the bright side of things, that being thankful leads to a happier healthier more fulfilling life than the unthankful alternative. The problem is that thanksgiving—giving thanks—is necessarily directed towards a person. Giving thanks is a response toward someone’s grace toward you—their good favor toward you. That’s what the Greek word means. [Euchoristeo’]. In other words, you can’t thank inanimate objects. You can’t go outside and thank the sun for the beautiful day.  But you also can’t thank animate objects such as your dog. Why? Because there is no volition of good intent taking place in your dog. Persons alone can offer grace, and so thanksgiving must be directed towards a person if it is to be thanksgiving in the truest sense. So when the world removes the Creator from its thanksgiving, they gut thanksgiving from much of its meaning.

DISTINCTLY CHRISTIAN:

Now there’s a danger in doing a series like this, to where this message, this series, could easily turn into one that the world would gladly affirm. There’s nothing distinctly Christian about being thankful in and of itself. But get this. Worldly optimism dressed up in a cloak of thankfulness is not Christian thanksgiving. The optimistic attitude of gratitude the world promotes will prove futile in the end. You see, a positive attitude can lead you straight to hell just as readily as a negative attitude can. You want a portrait of worldly optimism’s end. Perhaps you’ve heard the short poem, The Optimist. The OPTIMIST fell ten stories. At each window bar. He shouted to his friends: "All right so far." 

Proverbs 14 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Oh, the world’s advice, the world’s hope, the world’s idea of thanksgiving sounds promising enough. But ask the souls in hell who were thankful for everything and to everyone except to God! The Christian’s thanksgiving isn’t grounded in being optimistic for the sake of having a positive attitude and feeling somewhat happier than the pessimist. We aren’t thankful simply because it’s a better alternative to being a sour puss. If our thankfulness is rooted in this life only, we of all people are most to be pitied.  But our thanksgiving isn’t grounded in this life only. It’s grounded in something infinitely more promising than anything this world has to offer with all its vain hopes. 

The Thessalonian church was a young fledgling church that was suffering much affliction. After as little as 3 short weeks of sharing the gospel message, Paul was torn away from this new church plant due to the jealous uproar of the Jews.  We’ll look closer at this background next week. But for now, Paul is exhorting them to give thanks, because it is God’s will for them in Christ Jesus. Why? Because God had chosen them for salvation. (Chapter 1, verse 4.) For we know, brothers, loved by God, that He has chosen you. 

HEADING TO OUR PROMISED INHERITANCE

Like Israel of the past, the Thessalonians were headed to the promised land—the true promised land! Now is not the time to grumble over the provisions along the way. That would be like heading downtown to receive a multi-million-dollar inheritance and grumbling over your old beat-up car breaking down a few blocks away. So what! You can get a new car! But if in your frustration, you fail to get to the bank because you somehow feel you’re too entitled to walk the last few blocks, you won’t see the inheritance.

Beloved, some of your vehicles are wearing down. They’ve got decades of miles on them. But you’re almost there! Finish the race. Finish the race with thanksgiving. God has supplied everything we need in Christ Jesus. Let our outer selves waste away. We have new vehicles coming—new glorified vehicles. And we’re going to need them if we are to gaze upon and stand in Christ’s glorious presence. Now is the time to rejoice and give thanks for the assurance of what’s to come! In fact, that’s one of the main themes of Paul’s letters. And such is no less the case here in his letters to the Thessalonians. Jesus’ return is imminent! And we’ll soon be caught up into his glorious presence. 

Now, I’m not about to get into the details of Christ’s return. I know, even in a Bible-believing church like ours, we’re all over the map in our understanding of just how this will play out. But Paul’s point to the Thessalonian believers was not in seeking to give them a detailed play-by-play of Christ’s return! Paul’s point was to assure the church that He's coming! Jesus is coming back! There was concern over those who had fallen asleep, those believers who had died before the Lord’s return, perhaps as part of their current affliction. Does this mean that they missed the promised hope?  Not at all! There’s a great reunion coming, in which, when Christ returns, we’ll all be reunited. But not just that. We’ll be with the Lord Jesus himself, never to separate again.

So the coming of the Lord, the coming Day of the Lord, is given as grounds for their hope, and thus, whatever circumstances may come, they can give thanks.  If you’re in Christ, that is your hope. So whether you’re having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day like Alexander, or things seem to be going well, we can give thanks in every circumstance because our promised hope is not in our present circumstances, but in Christ: His finished work of salvation in justifying us sinners before God, the current work of sanctification He is working in us through His Word and Spirit, and the promised hope of His imminent return and all the glories that come with it.

Our thanksgiving is distinctly Christian, because our hope is in Christ. Give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God IN CHRIST JESUSfor you.

So, our thanksgiving is a response, a response of worship to God for all things, most especially for the favor He has shown us in giving us the most precious gift of all—His Son.

EUCHARIST

I posited a trivia question to go along with our bulletin as to what thanksgiving and the Lord’s Supper have in common. Other than Sherif, does anyone want to take a stab at an answer? It’s the name. The Greek word for thanksgiving is εὐχαριστία. You’re likely familiar with the early church’s term for the Lord’s Supper. εὐχαριστία. Or we might pronounce it as the Eucharist. In other words, the early church called the Lord’s Supper, The Thanksgiving.

Regardless of how your week has been, it may have been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week in the world’s eyes. But in Christ Jesus, because of His finished work on the cross, it is a day of thanksgiving. As we partake of this Supper, we come to the table, not an altar, because the work is complete. We come to the table, where we give thanks to God for the indescribable gift of His Son, who through His broken body and poured out blood, He has made a way for us to enjoy true communion with Him.

Our thanksgiving is a response. It is our expected response of worship toward God for His goodness. Our thanksgiving is distinctly Christian because it is grounded in Christ’s glorious work on the cross. And our thanksgiving is a meal, where we feast on Christ, who became true bread and true drink for us. 

And, Jesus says, whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me… Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.

https://youtu.be/P70wis1PEy4

Jeremiah 33:1-13 Great and Hidden Things

CONTEXT

Now, if you recall last week, the context of chapter 32 carries over into 33. Jeremiah’s still imprisoned in the court of the guard. This word would be after the previous word when Jeremiah purchased the field and prayed for understanding. Jeremiah’s prayer was met with assurance that this New Covenant would indeed be an everlasting covenant in which the Lord would put the fear of Him in His people for their good so that they would no longer go astray. 

So, why a second word? Well, Jeremiah, I want to alleviate your doubts and fears because I’m about to tell you some wondrous inaccessible truths, which, as is often the case, include both judgment and mercy. (A reminder that God never compromises on His Word!) We discussed last week that Jeremiah’s prayer began with recognizing what’s most fundamental, that God is God, and that the Lord’s reply to Jeremiah began in the same manner, reminding Jeremiah of what he already knows to be true. Here, at the beginning of this second revelation, the Lord begins in a similar manner, but this time with a 3-fold use of His holy name. Verse 2. Thus says the Lord who makes, the Lord who forms it to establish it, the Lord is His name.

Just to make sure we’re all on the same page, when your Bible reads capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, that is God’s self-disclosed name, formed off the verb, “to be.” The Israelites even hesitated in speaking the name YHWH, so if you ever listen to someone reading the Hebrew, instead they will say Adonai, which we also translate Lord, but with just the “L” capitalized. In our English translations has followed suit by not writing YWHW but L-O-R-D.  In verse 2, the 3-fold use of Lord is the Lord’s name, Yahweh. Now, many of our translations have inserted “the earth” into the text where we have at best an implied direct object. There’s been great debate over what direct object should be. Is the text referring to the earth such as the cosmos, or Jerusalem (as Calvin suggests), or the promises, or even the Word the Lord is presently speaking? The verbs “make” and “form” are used regarding creation, so it’s understandable why many translators inserted the earth as the implied direct object.

Well, let me help us out by suggesting that all of these options fit nicely with the text, and God certainly transcends all things and does whatever He wills. And I believe that is the point. The focus is on the participles, not the direct object. In other words, the text expresses that the Lord is the One who makes and does; the Lord is the One who forms, the Lord is the One who establishes. This is another way of saying, “Is anything impossible for the Creator of all!” The Lord does whatever He wills, and nothing can hinder His plan. Nothing!

CALL TO ME

Verse 3. Call to me! Inquire of me! Look to me for understanding the events taking place, what they mean, what the final outcome will be. Reading the paper, watching the news may tell you something about the events taking place, but they can only exegete those events so accurately. Why? Because they deny the Lord of Creation. You want to understand reality, look to the One who is ultimate reality. Imagine CNN or Fox covering the Babylonian Invasion. Do you really think they’re going to say, God’s hand brought the Chaldeans against this people as an act of judgment? The reporters will miss what’s most foundational to the story. Quit looking to the papers, or NBC, or your social media feed, or even your neighbors as your source of truth! God’s Word discloses truth. God alone unveils the mystery of why and how.

So, Jeremiah, here’s a story for you to print. Here’s the inaccessible truth that the rest of the reporters, the false prophets, are missing. Verse 4. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, you know those houses you tore down to use the lumber as a defense against the siege and as protection against the sword. Rather than warding off the Chaldeans, they’ll simply serve as burial grounds for all those I am about to strike down in my wrath. Why? Because I have hidden My face from this city because of their evil. That’s the story no one’s printing Jeremiah. O the pulpits are filled with those who want to proclaim, popular news. But Jeremiah, things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. Those in rebellion against me are doing all they can to stave off destruction, but to no avail. Because such destruction isn’t so much from the Babylonians. It’s from Me! And wars and tribulation will continue, Jesus himself declares, until He returns! When? Matthew 24:29 says, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days, when He comes to gather His elect.”

GOD’S HIDDEN FACE

Judgment has come upon this people, and the whole earth, due to its evil. How is this judgment expressed? God hiding His face! This is a reminder that every good and perfect gift is from above, from the Father of Lights. The greatest judgment is not the physical consequences that arise from evil, but in the removal of God’s favor, the hiding of God’s face. Because all the physical turmoil and devastation follows from a lack of God’s glorious manifest presence. Hell will be hell precisely because God’s face will be hidden in fullest measure forever. Not even His shadow will be evident. Hence, hell will be void of anything good, because it will be void of God Himself. Which is why the opposite of judgment, that of blessing, is expressed in the Lord making His face to shine! Not to go off on an unnecessary tangent, but it might be helpful to consider: “Why the Fall?”

WHY THE FALL

Without the Fall, we would know God as Creator and sustainer and provider, and we would worship Him as such. We would know the beauty of His glorious face in a very real sense, but not in the fullest sense. You see, without the Fall, we wouldn’t know God as Just. We wouldn’t know God as merciful. We wouldn’t know Him as Redeemer. We wouldn’t know the ministries of Prophet, Priest, and King in their fullness as these offices are filled up in Redemption history, and in particularly in Christ. In other words, our knowledge of God’s beauty and worth, the goodness of basking in the light of His glorious face, would not be complete without knowing the darkness of His face hidden. God sovereignly ordained the Fall for our fullest good in knowing Him in a way we would have never known Him. One of many great places to see this is in Ephesians. God had predestined these things, and in particular, our redemption in order that we might praise Him not solely for His glory but specifically His glorious grace.

Now since the Fall, we’ve been prone to wander in sin. Why? Well, in part, because we don’t see God’s face shining upon us. Our sin has hidden his face from us, which further compounds our dilemma.

LIGHT OF HEAVEN

But in heaven, you know why we won’t sin anymore? Well, in part, because God’s glorious presence will shine with a fullness we’ve not known on this side of glory. Revelation 21 reminds us that the New Creation won’t need the light of the sun because God Himself will fill Creation with the Light of Himself. And the Lamb, Jesus Christ will be its Lamp. In other words, we’ll walk in the fullness of light because the face of God revealed in Christ will be plain for all to see. And His face will forever shine upon us. 

But before we get to heaven, basking in the light of God’s glorious face to such a degree, we need healing here. We need God’s face to shine on us here, offering us restored health and wholeness and cleansing from the guilt of our sin and rebellion here. Verses 6-8. Behold, I will bring health and healing, and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth. I will turn away their captivity and I will rebuild them as at first. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they sinned against me, and I will forgive them of all their iniquity by which they sinned and rebelled against me. Despite all the judgment that God’s people deserve… that we deserve… God promises health and healing. And that healing will come through only one means—that of comprehensive forgiveness. It’s not that the people will suddenly become righteous and thus turn God’s wrath away. Rather, God turns His wrath away because He has forgiven His people, and through such forgiveness, has made them positionally righteous in Christ.  As Paul writes in Philippians, not a righteousness of my own, but a righteousness which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God himself on the basis of faith. 

TRANSFORMATIVE GRACE

But even though this is a positional righteousness, meaning we are counted righteous in Christ, that act of forgiveness that is granted to us through faith, does indeed transform God’s people to become ever more righteous in their being, to where His people, verse 9, become a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all nations. How does such forgiveness transform? Well, considering again the blessing of God’s face shining upon His people, we see the beauty of God’s face shining upon us with such favor, in a way never before experienced. 

As we read the gospel, hear the gospel, the eyes of our heart are opened to see the gospel, what do we see? We see Jesus’ face, with those eyes of love, condemned to my cross, carrying my cross, nailed to my cross, hanging from my cross, being reviled from my cross, gasping for breath on my cross, his blood running down my cross. And that crown of thorns, that was the crown, I demanded for myself when I sought to usurp the authority of God Almighty. What did such rebellion produce? A creation full of thorns and thistles, laden with suffering and pain and sorrow and death. And Jesus took that despicable crown and had it placed on His own head to bear the shame of it in my stead. But understand. The Lord didn’t do any of this begrudgingly. His face wasn’t scowling or glaring at us from the cross. No. Far from it. That was the God-man’s finest hour. Jesus’ face shown with such glory, oh veiled glory to be sure, but for those whose eyes have been opened, we’ve never seen greater glory, because we’ve never seen such an act of love.

WITNESS

This people who were anything but a joy and praise are being restored to become just that to where (second half of verse 9) all the nations of the earth shall hear of all this good that I have done for this city. And they shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace which I have done for this city. The nations shall be witnesses of God’s great acts of kindness toward His people—His covenant faithfulness—and they shall be in utter awe at the reversal of fortunes. This will lead to 1 of 2 outcomes. The first, and that which as believers we are most hopeful for, and should be praying for, is that those who witness God’s kindness toward us, displayed in our living out a hope that is otherworldly, that they would come and join us! Joining in the worship and praise of the Lord.  But for those who don’t join in this glorious choir of praise and thanksgiving, the church’s witness will serve as added fuel to the fire as they reject this hope for themselves. In other words, as the world looks upon the true church and its witness of joy and praise to the Lord, people will either be moved to seek this same salvation we enjoy, or in their rejection of this hope, they will store up greater wrath for themselves. The fear of the Lord, God promises to put within His people for their repentance and obedience, will be laid before the nations. The nations will tremble. Many will be moved to repentance. But many won’t. 

TRANSFORMATIVE PORTRAITS

Now what the Lord is going to do with these next 4 verses is offer Jeremiah 2 portraits of what this transformation looks like. Recall verse 3. These are part of the great and hidden things, Jeremiah, that you have not known. These portraits seem unfathomable. Judah has become a wasteland, and the few strongholds that remain are about to be breached. How can this city ever again become a joy and a glory? Who will be left to declare the Lord’s praise? 

Presenting portrait #1

Verse 10. Thus says the Lord: In this place of which you say, “It is a waste without man or beast,” right here in these cities and in the streets of Jerusalem that are utterly desolate without man or inhabitant or beast, there shall again be heard the voice of rejoicing and the voice of gladness and the voice of bridegroom and the voice of bride, and the voice of those who sing, bringing thanksgiving into the house of the Lord, “Praise the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.” And why will their be such voices of praise and joy and thanksgiving? For the Lord will turn back the captivity of the land as at first, says the Lord.

It's hard to imagine such voices of praise at this time Jeremiah. But it’s coming. Of course, Jeremiah won’t see it in his lifetime. He will only get to witness the utter desolation. Such will be so horrific, that what follows Jeremiah is Lamentations.  Now, we’re not certain of the authorship of Lamentations. The book itself doesn’t bear the author’s name. But Jeremiah is certainly the best contender. And such a lament is certainly representative of Jeremiah. We’ve already seen such in working through this book. But whether Jeremiah or someone else, this most sorrowful book bears one of the most beautiful passages of hope in all of Scripture. (And remember, it’s in the background of darkness that the light is seen most brilliantly.) The author of Lamentations goes on to describe the horrors of the city, the seeming hopelessness. And I imagine it to be Jeremiah, looking at such devastation, looking back over his ministry, part of him thinking it was all for not. Why? Because the people never repented. With all the warnings, exile and destruction still came.  And the prophet laments, I have become the laughingstock of all the peoples, the objects of their taunts all day long. The Lord has filled me with bitterness; He has sated me with wormwood. He has made my teeth grind on gravel and made me cower in ashes; my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.”

And if left to experience, if left to the media’s narrative of what’s taken place, there would be no reason to hope at all. This isn’t like hurricane Helene and hurricane Milton ravaging cities. Jerusalem experienced the storm of the wrath of the Lord. And there is nothing left. No neighbors a few towns over to bring aid and water. No FEMA. No Samaritan’s Purse. An entire people given over to sword, famine, and pestilence. And the few that remained, we’re carted off into exile. But this prophet, I like to think it’s Jeremiah, recalls something he won’t find on the news feed. And it causes him to cry out. Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me…But this I call to mind… this I call to mind… and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

It may seem utterly hopeless right now. I don’t know what trials many of you are going through. I don’t know the secrets of your heart that you wrestle with when it’s quiet and dark and lonely and all distractions that you use to numb the pain are turned off. Whether you’re thinking about a prodigal son or a daughter. Maybe a marriage is falling apart, and you’re trying to hide it and pretend everything’s fine. Maybe you’ve damaged a relationship, and you don’t see any hope in it ever being restored. Or maybe it’s an ongoing sin that’s wrecking your intimacy with the God who paid for that sin with the death of His Son.  I don’t know what it is. But I assure you, you won’t find any hope out there in the world. This is the only place you’ll find it. And I’m not talking about Grace Bible Church, I’m talking about the Lord who is being proclaimed right here and now! Cling to Christ and hold on for the morning, for those new mercies! Why? Because the prophet continues, The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I will hope in Him. Is He your portion? Is He your portion? Or are you looking for something else, someone else to pull you through. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Are you waiting for Him? Are you seeking Him? In Christ, we will endure. Wait for this salvation. Wait for this redemption to come to fruition. It’s coming!

VOICES OF JOY

There will be voices of joy and gladness beyond anything we’ll hear here. My family’s going to Louisville next Wednesday for a concert—Matt Boswell and Matt Papa performing many of our Hymns of the month. Cheyenne’s school will be the choir singing along with them. Now, I’m confident it will be glorious. But it won’t compare to the voices singing around the table at the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. Can you imagine the joyful voice of the Bride when we finally get to hear the voice of our beautiful Bridegroom! Hold out for that day. It will be worth the wait.

PORTRAIT 2: SHEPHERDS AND SHEEP

One last illustration, portrait number 2. Verse 12. Thus says the Lord of hosts: In this place that is a waste without man or beast, and in all of its cities, there shall again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks. In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephelah,and in the cities of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, and around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, flocks shall again pass under the hands of the one who counts them, says the Lord. Jeremiah, the land is desolate. I know. But sheep will once again fill the land. And not just a few! Here we have a picture of shepherds who actually care for the flock instead of devouring the flock—caring to the point of counting them so that none are missing! 

Listen beloved. When you’re missing, when you’re not here, it’s noticed! Now would be a good time to mention something in regard to meaningful church membership versus simply attending. The shepherds, if they are to count, they need to know whom they are accountable for. Here at Grace, we covenant with one another for the health of the body. If you want to know more about that, see me after service. This isn’t a message on church membership, so I’m going to move on so we can wrap up. 

Part of the reason for Israel and Judah’s demise was the shepherds that led the people astray, shepherds that devoured the flock instead of caring for the flock, shepherds that were caught up in their own affairs neglecting to make sure all the flock was accounted for. Now, after generations of faithless shepherds, it seemed as if all the sheep had been lost. But the Lord assures Jeremiah that flocks will again pass under the hands of the One who counts them. Our Great Shepherd has come. Our Lord, Jesus, is not like the failed shepherds of Israel’s past. You know one of the things that’s going to make the rejoicing in heaven as tremendous as it will be? Because not one of our Lord’s sheep will be missing! He will go and search after every last one of His sheep who had gone astray. And He will find them. All will be accounted for. He will lose none of whom the Father has given Him. Not a one. So, continue your praying for the wandering prodigal. Continue pleading with him or her to turn or return to Christ. But also, rest assured, you can sleep in peace tonight, because it is not ultimately up to you. The Lord is counting His sheep. We can entrust them into His faithful hand.

And this counting of sheep also applies to you. Because if you’re anything like me, there are times you wonder, ”Am I truly going to finish this race?” Why? Because the race is long, the race is arduous, and many dangers, toils, and snares seek to trip us up and lead us off course.Perhaps it’s a seed of bitterness that seeks to take root. Maybe it’s lust, envy, anger, covetousness. The world, the flesh, and the devil want nothing more than to drag you away from Christ and this glorious salvation He promises. And just to remind all of us, we are responsible for putting to death the sinful deeds of the body through the power of the Spirit. Now, I’ve said before that the pithy “Once Saved Always Saved” is to sad way of expressing the Doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints. Because only those who persevere to the end will be saved. Not the one who walked an aisle, or said a prayer, or got wet in a baptismal, whether as an infant or later in life. The ones who perseveres to the end of the race, and only those who persevere to the end shall be saved.

But… the doctrine of perseverance is as much about preservation as it is about perseverance. The Lord will preserve His sheep. None can snatch them from His mighty hand. And though such a multitude will be beyond our ability to number, our Great Omniscient Shepherd knows each and everyone of His sheep by name.'

The assurance of salvation isn’t in you or even in your faith that you somehow seemed to muster, but in the Shepherd who, in grace, first planted that seed of faith within you. He will see you to the end, even if that means He has to leave the 99 on the hill to come find you.  And the mighty roar of heaven’s choir will be all the more glorious because our Lord will account for all His sheep. Not one will be missing, for He is faithful.

https://youtu.be/hqbP3ebSAwM

 Jeremiah 32:1-44 The Seeming Insanity of Faith Grounded in the Fear of the Lord

What do you do when God asks you to do the seemingly absurd, seemingly unprofitable, that which seems to make absolutely no sense, holds no promising benefit that you can discern, and yet it’s costly to you? What if it costs you everything? We’re looking at Jeremiah 32 this morning and The Insanity of Faith. Now, the past few weeks, we’ve looked at the New Covenant with and emphasis on transformed affections. Jeremiah 32 seeks to balance any misunderstanding of the New Covenant, reminding us that faith is grounded in a proper fear of the Lord. And while Jeremiah’s purchase of a field might not seem the costliest of transactions, what you and I are called to might be. Since Steve so helpfully read the first part of our text, I’m going to refresh our memory by reading from verse 9. 

READ (Jeremiah 32:9-16)

IILUSTRATION: BUYING OUR HOUSE

18 years ago, while Jenny was pregnant with Cheyenne, we began looking at buying our first home. Ironically, we had found a place off Coles Ferry here in Lebanon, but since I was in downtown Nashville several days a week, the extra hours on the road, along with the gas, led us to cross that one off our list pretty quickly. We knew we wanted to live as close to Davidson County as possible, but we didn’t want to pay Davidson County property taxes. Homeschooling wasn’t even on our radar yet, so we wanted to be near good schools. Keegan flew in and out once a month, so we wanted to be on the east side of Nashville close to the airport. And of course, we wanted close access to certain amenities and shopping. What do all those things have in common? The first 3 rules of real estate: location, location, location!

Now, when Jenny first walked into our current home, she said she knew. Open floor plan. All 3 bedrooms close together (I could touch all 3 bedroom doors at once!) which was important to us, since we were just starting to have kids. A bonus room added a little extra living space. A somewhat level lot for the kids to play. It was exactly what we were looking for. But take that same house or even our dream home and put it in Nome! Well, you get the point. Location absolutely matters. It is the first factor! Every other factor we can find a way to work with. But with Jeremiah’s purchase of a field, location seemed to be the problem!

CONTEXT

To back up and give some context (verses 1-5), Jeremiah was imprisoned in the court of the guard for merely speaking an unpopular message, that judgment was coming against the land, and King Zedekiah himself would be given into the hands of the king of Babylon. Now, this wasn’t Jeremiah’s message. Jeremiah was faithfully sharing the Word of the Lord. And he was imprisoned because he appeared to be a traitor, always speaking against his own people. But Jeremiah wasn’t against his own people. To the contrary, he was for his people. And you and I, if we are truly for our family and neighbors, in love, we will speak against those things that are contrary to the Lord and warn them of the ensuing consequences, so that they might turn to the Lord and find mercy. And we will speak this unpopular news even to our own temporary hurt. Just as Jeremiah shared his unpopular news to his own temporary harm.

FEARFULLY MOTIVATED

You see, temporary harm is key! Jeremiah feared the Lord! Any harm man brought upon him would be short lived. But the judgment of God, that’s something to fear. We don’t like that idea, but that is the proper motivation here. Yes, we don’t want to discount the motivation of love. But so many people, because they disdain the fear of the Lord, tend to treat their relationship with God as some kind of chummy love. But such is to discount God’s holiness. We love God reverently, or we don’t love the God of the Bible. To treat God, and I’m including Jesus, as a cool dude, is an attempt to bring God down to our level! God is so holy; He condescends from infinite heights so that we can enjoy a relationship with Him. But such condescension never removes God’s holiness, EVER!!! This fear of the Lord grounds Jeremiah’s obedience which ultimately lands him in prison. But what is prison compared to coming under the wrath of God? Because Jeremiah feared the Lord, when he is instructed by the Lord to buy a field from his cousin Hanamel, Jeremiah heeds, not worldly reason, but God. 

INSANE TRANSACTION

You see, the whole nation is under siege. It is war torn. And Jeremiah has been preaching for decades that God is giving the land and its inhabitants into the hand of the king of Babylon. Purchasing this field from his cousin would be like buying land in Northern Ukraine or in Gaza—a completely insane proposition. And being shut up in the court of the guard, Jeremiah can’t go inspect the property. He can’t pull up photos of it on the web. He can’t do any of the things you and I would likely do before making such a transaction. But none of that ultimately matters. This was from the Lord. The truly insane thing to do would not be purchasing the field but go against the clear Word of the Lord. So, verse 10. Jeremiah buys the field. He signs the deed, seals it, gets witnesses, weighs the silver on the scales, then takes the sealed deed of purchase containing the terms and conditions, as well as the open copy of the deed. 

Verse 12. And I gave it to Baruch… in the presence of my cousin, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard.  Notice, Jeremiah’s act of faith is not some private matter. I can only imagine how crazy everyone must have thought Jeremiah was. What could Jeremaih possibly have to gain from this purchase of a field in a war-torn land while he is under custody? Odds are he might never even see this piece of land he bought. Why do you think his cousin’s unloading it. He’s trying to get out of dodge because the whole country’s going south! From the world’s point of view, this act of faith is utter insanity. 

What does Jeremiah have to gain from the purchase of this field? Absolutely everything! And that’s true whether the field costs 17 shekels or his entire earthly fortune; whether it costs him ridicule or his entire reputation; whether it costs him time in prison or his very life. Because genuine faith marked by obedience to the One True and Living God lays up for oneself eternal treasure. So valuable is this purchase, Jeremiah charges Baruch in the name of the Lord (verse 14) saying, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both the sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the Gode of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.

FAITH GROUNDED IN ESSENTIALS

Now, Jeremiah didn’t understand the reason for this seemingly insane transaction. So, he’s going to pray for understanding. But before we dive into this next section beginning at verse 16, I want us to notice. Jeremiah’s act of faith didn’t entail he had all the answers.… only the most important ones… that God is God. Or we might say, Jeremiah acted on the most fundamental doctrine of all: the Doctrine of God. And he begins his prayer with this recognition. Beginning at verse 16. (Read 16-23)

Jeremiah first recognizes God as Creator of all that is. Nothing is too hard for Him. And let me pause for those in here who may have doubts regarding certain accounts in the Bible. If God created all things ex-nihilo, meaning He made all things out of nothing; He simply spoke them into existence, then what can’t He do? God isn’t subject to any laws of nature. He created them, and He can bend them or break them or do away with them any time He pleases. God transcends all things. He is not subjected to anything. So, whatever the Lord’s plans are for this field Jeremiah purchased, Jeremiah recognizes, nothing is beyond God’s ability. God is omnipotent and absolutely sovereign over all things. Then, in verse 18, Jeremiah recognizes God’s loving kindness and terrifying justice. Realize that the fear of the Lord is not at odds with God’s great love. 

While the Lord has given us creation as a witness to His majesty and power, which should engender within all a proper fear of the Lord, God has displayed His mighty works in history, with the most prominent of all being the Exodus from Egypt, in which He brought out the people of Israel with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and with great terror. 

Someone might say: Yeah, but I wasn’t there to see it! So, what! Neither was Jeremiah! He read the account of Israel’s history. He recognized that such aligns with the Creator of the Universe. And Jeremiah feared. He trembled. And what about Rahab! Before Jericho’s walls fell, she had only heard the reports. The Gibeonites, they only heard the reports. Nations trembled before Israel because they heard the reports. Right now, you are hearing the reports. You should tremble. Josh, that’s not what the fear of the Lord entail. The fear of the Lord is about respect and reverence. God is love. We aren’t supposed to tremble before Him. Well, then you’re reading a different Bible than I am. This is from Isaiah 66. Thus says the Lord… this is the one upon whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit… and trembles at my Word. We tend to downplay the fear of the Lord, and hence, sanctification is severely stunted. But you should tremble in order that holiness might be wrought in you. Because without holiness, no one will see the Lord.

God redeemed a people out of bondage. Showed amazing kindness by giving them this very land in which Jeremiah found himself imprisoned. Why? Verse 23. Because the people did not obey the voice of the Lord or walk in His Law. So, Jeremiah and other prophets were raised up to speak against their ways that they might repent before disaster overtakes them. But to no avail. Disaster has come. Jeremiah understands all of this. What he doesn’t understand, is why buy this field. (Verse 24.) Behold, the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and because of sword and famine and pestilence the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke, Lord, has come to pass, and behold, you see it. (Verse 25.)  Yet you, O Lord God, have said to me, “Buy the field for silver and get witnesses”—though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.”

It's okay not to understand. And it’s certainly appropriate to pray for understanding. But realize, God’s Word is given to us that we might understand many things plainly. So much of this Word is readily accessible to the average reader. And yet, no one on this planet will ever mine the depths of this Word. But get this! We’re not faulted for failing to act on what we don’t understand. But we are responsible for failing to respond in faith to those things that are most evident. 

And just so we’re clear, negligence and willful ignorance in not seeking to understand is inexcusable. You claim to be a Christian and you don’t regularly pour over this Book. I’ve got to ask. Do you truly believe this to be God’s Word? Because if you did, you’d devour this thing for life! You would eat this Word up more than the finest gourmet meal the world could offer. You see, faith always acts on the greatest realities it believes to be true. Now, I don’t have time to tease that out for you today. But understand. You and I always act according to our most deeply held beliefs, those things we most trust in and are persuaded by. And there’s an awful lot of suppression of truth—willful suppression—that leads one to believe disobedience to God’s ways somehow promises a better future than obedience does. We’re not called to understand everything before acting in the obedience of faith. God has made known to us what’s most essential, and such renders disobedience inexcusable. The faith it took for Jeremiah to purchase the field wasn’t at all insane. Unbelief is what’s truly insane.

YAHWEH’S RESPONSE

Now, it’s important to know, that just because we pray, doesn’t obligate God to give us an answer. The Lord didn’t owe Jeremiah an answer. And yet, the Lord delights in answering genuine questions asked in faith. Now, before reading the Lord’s response, let me be clear. Don’t think the Lord is going to answer your questions if you don’t have the faith to pick up His Word to find the answer!!! I’m just saying. God’s revelation is complete. You aren’t going to find the answer apart from this Word. You need the Holy Spirit to be sure. But the Holy Spirit reveals what we need to know through this Word. So, what’s the Lord’s response? Beginning at verse 26. (Read 26-35)

First, the Lord affirms what Jeremiah already knows. Nothing is too hard for the Lord! God Himself reminds Jeremiah of what is most fundamental. The whole world knows, and so it’s without excuse. I hope you grasp the importance of this. When you share the good news with your unbelieving friend or neighbor, begin with the fundamentals. We’re in such a biblically illiterate society, there’s really no other place to start. Begin with the doctrine of God.

Second, God’s Word to buy the field with the assurance of future hope doesn’t preclude the coming judgment. God’s previous Word isn’t revoked. Why? Because He’s just! And the people have proven themselves to be wicked beyond even God’s imagination in sacrificing their sons and daughters to the fires of hell. And that’s not hyperbole! You are familiar with the Valley of the Son of Hinnom by its Greek name, Gehenna, which is the word Jesus uses multiple times for hell. Speaking on the fear of the Lord, Jesus says, “Do not fear those who can kill the body, but fear Him who can you into Gehenna!” Don’t tell me the fear of the Lord is done away with in the New Testament! Judgment is coming. And for those who sacrifice their children to the fires of hell, God Himself will cast them into Gehenna. 

And don’t think we are beyond the horrors that were taking place in Jeremiah’s day. Right here in the U.S. we promote abortion on demand so that nothing hinders one’s pursuit of the American dream which is by no means the hope Jesus offers. Well, what about that little one’s pursuit, not of some ridiculous American dream, but simply of a future. We teach kids that they can disregard biology and God’s design of male and female, causing countless thousands to mutilate their flesh, further marring the image of God in their lives. Don’t think people who promote such godlessness won’t face judgment. O that Christians would be bold enough to warn them that they might tremble in fear and repent. You see, all of this devastation came upon Israel, and will soon come upon the entire world, because they did not fear this God who has displayed His terrible power. Hundreds dead from a storm that came in from the gulf. But that’s just a faint whisper of God’s mighty breath. The storm of the Lord is coming! And who will be able to stand!

But God’s message isn’t all doom and gloom, all that’s certainly the backdrop due to sin and rebellion. The Lord holds out hope! Judgment isn’t the final Word! Verse 36. Now therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the city of which you say, “It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence; (which it most certainly is!). 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. Make them dwell in safety. What safety? Safety from Babylon? Remember. Babylon was but a tool in God’s hand by which He dispensed His wrath. Not safety from Babylon, but from God’s wrath. That’s the only kind of safety any of us truly need. And yet we seek safety in all the wrong places. Continuing at verse 38. (Read 38-41.) 

First, we have the covenant formula. They shall be my people, and I will be their God. Now, what’s going on here? I don’t think this is a different covenant than that of the New Covenant we looked at the last couple weeks. Here, we’re given the New Covenant in parallel terms. Here it’s not called new, but an everlasting covenant. Rather than putting the Law within and writing it on hearts, the Lord will put the fear of Him within and give His people one heart and one way that they might fear me forever for their good. So, again, the fear of the Lord isn’t done away with. Our problem is never that we fear God. Our problem is we tend to fear anything but. And because everyone fears anything but God, the world is a mess, full of chaos, violence, and destruction. The only way peace will over come about is when everyone worships and fears the same God. Then, and only then, will we live in unity. This is why world peace talks and times of peace will always prove short lived. But when everyone fears the Lord, peace will happen. Righteousness will happen. 

Notice. This is an everlasting covenant in which God’s people will always fear Him. Why won’t we sin in the New Creation? Because we will see God as He is—in the fullness of His majesty and terror—and we will tremble in both our fear and joy. Fear, knowing we would never want to find ourselves in opposition to this great God. But joy over how truly wonderful His great love is. The joy of the Lord and the fear of the Lord, while there’s tension, they aren’t at odds when we recognize the holiness of God. And get this. (Verse 41.) The Lord will rejoice in doing His people good. In verse 41, the Lord says He will again plant them in the land. Where at in this land? Well, Jeremiah, in the field you just purchased. And not just your field. Verse 44. More fields are to be bought in this land. And those deeds will be signed, sealed, and witnessed. Bought how? Not with silver but with faith, more precious than your 17 shekels, more precious than any amount of gold you could possibly muster. 

PRESCRIPTIVE?

Now, I don’t know what finally happened to Jeremiah’s piece of real estate. I don’t think it matters. Why? Because the transaction wasn’t about a field. It was about faith. Faith rooted in the fear of this awesome God who promised Jeremiah a future. Jeremiah’s purchase of the field revealed his faith. What about us? What do we do with a passage like this? Are we all supposed to run out buying up fields destined for destruction as a display of our faith. Well, we cover often that not every description is meant to be a prescription. I mean, it’s not like God’s suggesting that we should all buy a field as an expression of our faith, is He? I think that’s exactly what we’re called to do. As Chase read for us earlier, Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy, he went and sold all that he had and bought that field. 

Here’s how the gospel works. You see God’s righteous wrath displayed in full on the cross. And you realize, that’s what I deserve. Hence, a restored fear of the Lord and a realization of your need to flee for safety. But where to? And then you realize that the man on the middle cross, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, He did nothing to deserve such a death, that He was hanging up there receiving not the penalty for His sin, but yours. He took your judgment upon Himself. Moved by the fear of the Lord you flee to refuge. Moved by love you fall into His embrace. Moved by joy, you let go of everything else so that you might enjoy this treasure forever.

CONCLUSION

I mentioned the 3 rules of real estate are location, location, location. Why are you willing to give all you have to acquire this particular piece of real estate—this specific field? Because it’s the kingdom of heaven. It’s where God dwells. My Savior lives here. That’s where I want to be. I don’t care what the weather’s like, or how far the airport might be, or the property taxes, or any of the amenities. It’s the only place where I get to dwell with Jesus! Let it be Nome Alaska or Death Valley California. I don’t care so long as Jesus is there. 

That’s the faith we’re called to. But let me ask, the deeds for this transaction are sealed and witnessed. For the early church, that was a public profession of faith displayed in baptism. Like Jeremiah, there’s a sealed deed and an open deed, one is readily available for all to see, kept in an earthenware vessel, or a clay jar, as it were. At any given time, the world should be able to see whether you’ve truly sold all you have in order to purchase this field. In other words, your faith should be evident for all to see. But the day is coming, when the One who can open the seal on this deed, shall reveal the truth before all. And in Revelation, there is great increasing terror up until the moment when that final seal is removed, and those written in the Lamb’s Book of Life are revealed. So terrifying is the climax, that there is utter silence at the breaking of the seventh seal. 

Will your name be found there? Is your deed any good? Did you try to purchase entrance into the kingdom by something other than faith? Only faith grounded in the fear of the Lord can purchase this deed. And for those who have, they have nothing left to fear. How awesome it will be dwelling in the presence of this terrible awesome glorious merciful God, and the Lamb.

https://youtu.be/fl2rOJzIm3E

Jeremiah 31:27-34 The Intimacy of the New Covenant

INTRODUCTION

I mentioned how Jeremiah is not only the longest book of the Bible, but also one of the least cited books in the New Testament. And yet, the longest quote found in the New Testament comes from this very passage on the New Covenant. Hebrews quotes the entirety of verses 31-34.
It’s impossible to overstate the importance of this New Covenant.

So, the question becomes: 1) Why a new covenant needed?  2) What’s so new about the new covenant?  Of which, we’ll look at 4 aspects that make the New Covenant qualitatively better than the Old. The first 3 go together. The Law’s New Location, Genuine Covenant Relationship, and Community Wide Knowledge. And the last, Foundational Forgiveness.

READ (Jeremiah 31:27-34)

NEW COVENANT SEED

ILLUSTRATION: I have a friend, Ben, who sells grass for a living. Now, before jumping to the wrong conclusion, this is all on the up and up. He doesn’t sell weed. He sells weed killer and grass seed. We were doing some work for Ben’s neighbor, and they just went on and on about how incredible his lawn looks. They then proceeded to explain what he did to get his lawn looking as good as it does. Since it was pretty much weed infested, he torched it, grass, weeds, and all. He burnt his lawn until everything was pretty much dead, and the ground was barren. Only then was his lawn ready to be reseeded.

That’s not unlike what the Lord had done with Israel. Due to her unfaithfulness, she needed to be removed from the promised land, because, while there may have been some good seed here and there, such as David, and Josiah, for the most part, the land had become weed infested. So, through famine, sword, and exile, Israel was removed from the good land the Lord had given her. But verse 27. Behold, the days are coming declares the Lord, when I will sow her again. I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and beast. And just as the Lord had watched over them to pluck up, and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so now, the Lord would watch over them to build and to plant. Make no mistake, the text makes clear that the disaster that came upon Israel and Judah was from the Lord. God plucked them up and tore them down. God set His face against them for harm. And justly so. But in the same way God cleared the polluted ground, as it were, he would now sow new seed.

Consider the Flood. The Lord had cleared the land because of the wickedness that filled the earth. But afterwards, He replanted with the seed of Noah, and the animals with him in the ark. But if you recall, the seed of Noah didn’t provide for a nice, manicured lawn. Rather, it too produced weeds. And it wasn’t long before the world needed another cleansing. But due to God’s covenant, that cleansing has not yet taken place. But it’s coming. This time, however, the weeds will be cast into the fire, and the wheat will be gathered into the barn. The seed of the New Covenant will need to be planted in better soil than the hardened hearts of the past. And it will need to be sown with better seed.

NEW COVENANT HEAD

Verse 29. In those days they shall no longer say: “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

A few things need to be said here. First, it is true that the Lord visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation. But never unjustly. Adam sinned. And since, all his offspring have been guilty of the same. Sown with the seed of Adam, we tend to bear the same fruit of sin Adam bore. It’s also true that the failure of covenant leaders led the people astray. As went the prophets, priests, and kings, so too the people. Hence, the New Covenant will need a more intimate, community wide knowledge of the God of the Covenant so the people no longer stray. Which means, there’s a need for a new covenant head, a more truthful prophet, a more faithful priest, and a more righteous king to lead the people in truth, faithfulness, and righteousness.

It would be utterly false, however, to say the people died for their fathers’ sin. This parable the people recited as they went into exile implied that God was unjust in sending them into exile. But such was far from the case. The problems with this parable are exposited at length in Ezekiel 18, where the Lord makes clear, the soul of the righteous shall live, regardless of the sins of the father. It had always been the case that each man dies for his own iniquity. God doesn’t put to death the righteous for the sins of the wicked. All have sinned! And thus, all have died. And yet, behold, the days are coming, when a righteous One will indeed be put to death for the sins of the wicked.

So, if it’s not already obvious, God’s people need to be sown with pure seed. God’s people need a covenant head who is most intimate with God, knowing God perfectly, if He is to lead the people to know God intimately. And God’s people need a forgiveness that far surpasses anything the blood of bulls and goats could accomplish, a forgiveness that can only be transacted through the death of the righteous for the sins of the wicked. In other words, the New Covenant will require foundational forgiveness if any are to be spared. Why? Because all have broken the former covenant.

WHERE THE PROBLEM LIES

Verse 31. Behold the days are coming declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 

Why a new covenant? Because they broke the covenant God made with them at Sinai when He had brought them out of Egypt! And here’s that husband language that comes up again and again—even though I was their husband—which is so foundational for us understanding the stress that is placed on faithfulness.

Now, it’s not that there was something wrong perse’ with the Mosaic Covenant. Rather, it was deficient to deal with the sinful human heart. Hence the need for a better covenant. Paul makes clear that the law is holy and righteous, and good. And the same is said in Deuteronomy, to the second generation. Just before they are to cross over into the promise land, Moses assures them, “this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you.” The problem isn’t the commandments. The problem isn’t even the people’s physical ability to carry out the stipulations of the covenant. The problem is and always was the heart. Since Adam, we haven’t lacked a physical ability to uphold the law of righteousness; we’ve lacked a moral ability to do so. Why? Because our hearts were hardened toward God. And they’ve been that way ever since a snake led our first parents to question God’s goodness, especially God’s goodness toward us.  As such, the New Covenant is aimed directly at the heart in order to remedy this heart disposition that is prone to doubt God’s goodness.

CATEGORICALLY NEW

So, let’s look at what makes this New Covenant categorically new. Or we might say, what makes this covenant qualitatively better.

LOCATION OF TORAH

First, is the location of God’s law. Verse 33. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. It’s not so much a new law, but a new medium on which the law is transcribed. Before the law was written on tablets of stone. But now it will be written directly on human hearts. God’s instruction will now be internalized. Under the Mosaic Covenant, the covenant members were circumcised outwardly. Under the New Covenant, all members, not just males, are circumcised inwardly. But not only is the Law put within the believer, but the very Author of the Law takes up residence within. Notice, the text doesn’t say the law has changed. It’s not that the commandments are no longer relevant or applicable. In fact, the text says the exact opposite. The Law or Torah that was once chiseled on tablets of stone will now be inscribed on human hearts.

UPHOLDING THE LAW

I don’t think that this entails only the moral law, as if the law can truly be broken down into the so-called tripartite division of moral, civil, and ceremonial. At the same time, while the law will be written on our hearts, we aren’t under the law, but under grace. In fact, it’s that we are released from the letter of the law that kills, that believers are finally able to uphold the character of the law. How? As with the rest of the Old Testament, the Mosaic Law was a shadow of the perfect Law of God. As such, we, as believers, uphold and fulfill what those shadows pointed to. 

For example: thou shall not murder, Jesus demonstrates to be but a shadow of something more fundamental that takes place in the heart. When we hate someone in our heart, even just a moment of hatred towards a person, we have already murdered them in our heart, even if we haven’t carried out the physical deed. But under the new covenant, the Spirit of Christ within enables us to live in conformity to Christ, living out the fulfillment of the Law of Christ, which is nothing less than the anti-type of the Law of Moses—LOVE.

The reason we don’t abuse the New Covenant, sinning all the more so that grace may abound is because the Spirit of the Law-Giver dwells in us, leading us to greater righteousness through faith. If you live according to the flesh, you will die. Why? Because it’s a sign that Christ isn’t in you, that the law hasn’t been written on your heart. Which means, you aren’t under grace, but still living under the law. Why? Because grace, when truly received as such, necessarily transforms.

GENUINE COVENANT RELATIONSHIP

The second aspect of this New Covenant making it qualitatively better is that of a genuine covenant relationship. Second half of verse 33. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Now, it’s not coincidence that the first time this covenant formula — I will be their God — shows up is in Genesis 17. And being the excellent Bible scholars you all are, I’m confident most of you know this is where Abraham is given the covenant sign of circumcision.

But as we just saw, outward circumcision failed to provide any kind of lasting covenantal relationship. From the time God brought Israel out of Egypt, they immediately went astray. No sooner did the Lord give the covenant law at Sinai, did the people turn and make the golden calf. 

Which takes us back to the “husband” reference. Israel pretty much committed adultery with her new Husband on their very honeymoon! They broke the covenant before even leaving the honeymoon suite at Sinai. Circumscribed with the covenant sign in their flesh made no difference. It was like wearing one’s wedding ring to an affair. You see, no wedding ring—no outward covenant sign—is able to prevent adultery, especially when defined as Jesus defines it. Sure, the ring that circumscribes one’s finger should serve as a reminder. But here’s the thing. If the wedding band is worn around one’s heart, if the heart is encircled (remember last week, a woman encircles a man), if the heart is encircled, you don’t need an outward reminder of the covenant. It’s internalized. It marks the very affections of the covenant parties.

This New Covenant promises genuine covenant relationship, a relationship that has been the entire goal of creation: I will be their God, and they will be my people. And that’s exactly the relationship the gospel purchases for us. In fact, there’s no greater promise in the Bible. If you’re here today, and this aspect of the covenant seems somewhat hollow, not all that exciting, it’s likely you don’t yet know this God I’m referring to. But hang with me until the end, because I want you to see, I want you to know what this God is like, and His great love for you.

COMMUNITY WIDE KNOWLEDGE

The third way in which this New Covenant is qualitatively better is that there will be community wide knowledge. Verse 34. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, form the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord.

After the first generation who came out of Egypt perished in the wilderness due to their unbelief, Joshua takes the second generation into the promised land. But as soon as Joshua dies, we read this at the beginning of the Book of Judges (2:10). Along with Joshua, all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. Now listen. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord. 

Israel had been a mixed community of those who knew the Lord and those who didn’t. Most didn’t. That’s why they went into exile. Remember, earlier in Jeremiah, the Lord told Jeremiah, find just one righteous man that I might pardon the whole of Jerusalem. But how many did he find? None. The New Covenant community, our text says, won’t be a mixed community of those who know the Lord and those who don’t, for they shall all know me, from the least to the greatest. This verse is one of the reasons I lean heavily toward believers’ baptism. There’s no being born into this covenant, at least not physically. Only those who are born from above make up this covenant community.

INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE

Now because our text has already reminded us of the emphasis on the Lord being as a Husband to His people, it’s important to address this word “KNOW.” They shall all know me. The Hebrew can simply mean know in the way we most often use the term. (Examples: I know what day it is. I don’t know how to fix anything mechanical. But I know Josiah does. So, I’ll call him. I know the color of this shirt I’m wearing. Well maybe not. My family doesn’t seem to think I can distinguish between blues and greens. But in my mind, I at least think I know what color my shirt is.) 

But this word also implies intimate familiarity, such as Adam knew Eve. And it’s not just the Hebrew. When Gabriel tells Mary she’s going to bear the Messiah, how does she respond? Most translations read, “How will this be since I am a virgin?” But that’s not the best translation. Why? Because it misses something Scripture is trying to convey by the way it uses certain terms. What the text really says is “How will this be since I do not know a man.” Knowledge carries the idea, not simply of information, but intimate familiarity. God says under this New Covenant, they will all know me, as a Husband knows his bride, and as a bride knows her Husband. This is not about having some information about God. 

I hear people say all the time. Well, I’ve always believed in God, as if that benefits them in the least. Well, so do the demons, and they shudder. But they don’t know God intimately or affectionately. They don’t have the close familiarity that comes with delightfully spending time together. You want to know what happened to mankind’s intimate knowledge of God? Rather than being intimate with God, they became intimate with evil by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Same word. Now, having become intimate with evil in all its forms, mankind has had a rough, if not impossible time, finding intimacy with their Creator. We hide ourselves behind fig leaves. And because of our impurity, God wraps Himself in darkness like a cloud to spare us of His intense incinerating glory. It’s like a married couple sleeping in separate rooms. That’s not how the relationship was designed to be. But let me assure you. God isn’t the One who chose the separate rooms. We first moved away from Him. And because of our sin, there is a dividing wall, a great big curtain separating us. How is the relationship ever to be restored.

FOUNDATIONAL FORGIVENESS

That takes us to the last item on Jeremiah’s list that makes the New Covenant qualitatively better, and that’s the Foundational Forgiveness it offers. End of verse 34. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Now, the first thing I want you to notice is that little word “for.” This conjunction tells us this clause, I will forgive and remember their sin no more, is the foundation for what came before, each of the other three aspects of the New Covenant we just looked at, each dealing with that of intimacy. In other words, this forgiveness is the basis for the rest of the covenant, making the rest of this covenant of intimacy possible. 

What was the greatest weakness in the Mosaic covenant? It was impotent to deal with our greatest problem. Therefore, it was impotent to provide us our greatest good, a restored intimate relationship with God. The New Covenant, however, is founded on better promises. What better promises? The New Covenant offers the complete remission of sin through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. The Mosaic Covenant required the ongoing slaughter of innocent beasts to temporarily atone for particular unintentional sins. But rather than taking away sins, the blood of bulls and goats served as a constant reminder of sin. Now how is intimacy supposed to be restored when there’s a constant reminder of unfaithfulness laid out between the two parties? Husbands and wives struggle with this often. You show me a spouse who keeps a record of wrongs, constantly waving them before the other, I’ll show you a couple that most assuredly doesn’t enjoy any intimacy. Forgiveness is foundational to restore intimacy—any intimacy.

This constant burning of animal flesh before the Lord’s tabernacle, while pointing to other beautiful truths in Christ, would also be like a husband keeping a bottle of another man’s cologne as a reminder of his wife’s past adultery. Reconciliation is never going to happen. But the New Covenant… I will remember their sins no more! All past adultery, and I use that term because that’s how the Bible most often portrays idolatry, all past adultery forever removed. Even the horrid scent of our idolatry is covered over by the beautiful aroma of the sacrificial costly forgiveness of the Husband Himself. Every sin completely forgiven and remembered no more. But on what basis? On the basis of the perfect once for all sacrifice of the Son of God. The barrier of our sin, that kept us in separate rooms, unable to enjoy intimate fellowship with our Maker, was torn down in the flesh of Jesus Christ so that intimacy could be restored.

Now, I hope you see how this forgiveness is truly the foundation for God’s law being written on our hearts and intimacy at last being restored.

You see, it’s not like God took out an iron tool and started etching His Law on our hearts of stone. He took an iron tool and had it driven into the Jesus’ palms. And with each blow of the hammer, the ice around our hearts chipped away.  And as the eyes of our heart were opened to see my Savior hanging on the tree in my place, paying the penalty for my sin, for your sin, something began to happen. All those doubts I had concerning God’s goodness, concerning God’s goodness towards me lost their firm cold grip around my heart. The serpent’s lie was finally exposed.  And with a gaze of the deepest of affection, those tender eyes that are described as flames of fire—burn through to the very core of your being branding your heart very simply with the word “love.” Do you know this love?

What makes this new covenant new? The Law hasn’t changed. And the expectation to keep the law hasn’t changed. But what is categorically different is that the ability to keep the law has changed. Imperfectly in this age, but perfectly in the age to come. And what is behind this ability to keep the law that had once been utterly impossible? Our understanding of God’s love, displayed in the undeserved, costly forgiveness that transforms duty into delight.

https://youtu.be/UKmDNs9z5dM

Jeremiah 31:22-26 Restoration of Blessing

INTRODUCTION::

Before jumping into our text, let me draw your attention to the outline on back of your bulletin. Mourn No More, Chastening Compassion, a Highway Home, Basking in Blessing, Sweetly Slumber. Let these headings serve as guideposts as we work our way through the text.

MOURN NO MORE (v.15-17)

If you recall from the Jacob narrative in Genesis, Rachel bore Jacob two sons. Joseph and Benjamin. In Genesis 35, we read the account of Benjamin’s birth. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into hard labor. And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for you have another son.” And as her soul was departing, for she was dying, she called his name Ben-oni (which means, son of my sorrow.) But his father called him Benjamin. So, Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). And Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day.

The predominant understanding of verse 15, is that this location for Rachel’s tomb was likely near Ramah. When the exiles were carted off, the departing captives would march through Ramah. We see this in Jeremiah 40:1. So, what we have is a portrait of Rachel weeping over the exiles as they march by her tomb, with Rachel serving as a personification of all the grieving mothers watching their sons go off into exile. Rachel’s tears are that of a mother weeping over the demise of her sons, what looks to be the death of a nation.

Rachel labored to the point of death! Now it seemed as if she had been bearing children for nothing more than exile and destruction! Was all of Rachel’s labor in vain? That’s the question! For it certainly seemed that way. The nation of Israel seemed to have bore children for nothing more than exile and destruction. All seems lost! What comfort could there be. It’s a picture of utter hopelessness… But God!

Verse 16. Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears for there is a reward for your labors.The situation may look hopeless due to Israel’s rebellion. Yet the Lord assures them of a future, in which sons shall return. 

While the promise isn’t for every specific individual, it is no less a hope worthy of drying our tears and taking up the task to which we’ve been called. 

There’s a general application here. While there’s no guarantee that all your gospel labors will bear direct fruit, keep planting and watering, for your labors aren’t in vain.

But what I find even more helpful is that just because a son or a daughter, or those with whom we have intimate ties has gone astray doesn’t mean all is hopeless. Don’t cease praying. Don’t cease reminding them of the gospel. Don’t cease showing gospel fruit in your own life. Some will return. Don’t believe me? Consider your own return to the Lord. Are you going to tell me you’ve always walked the straight and narrow and never venture from the path? 

I’ve heard some of your testimonies. Steve… like me, you came to faith much later in life. How many must have thought you were a hopeless case, and yet they continued praying, continued proclaiming and living out the gospel before you. Mark… you’ve shared portions of your testimony. It hasn’t all been straight and narrow, has it? Jenny and I were in our 30s. 

I can’t help but wonder how many people looked at some of us and thought their labor was all in vain. But you know what? The people in this room are proof that it wasn’t. None of our labors in Christ are in vain. None of it! It all glorifies Christ. And one day, we will see the fruit if we do not give up. Be patient.

Now, there’s a balance here. Paul spoke of being sorrowful yet always rejoicing. This same Paul who exhorted believers to be anxious for nothing, speaks of his daily anxiety for all the churches. We recognize that there is an appropriate grief on this side of eternity. But to continue in endless despair over things beyond us is not the response of faith. 

This nation was indeed as good as dead. But this God raises the dead to life! Take comfort in His promise of a future, that there is life beyond what seems to be a dead-end grave. Unbelief necessarily despairs, but faith necessarily comforts. Trust the Lord that there is a reward for your labors in Christ.

CHASTENING COMPASSION (v.18-20)

From a grieving mother to a grieving son / grandson. Where Rachel personified Israel’s grief as a mother who seems to have labored over her children in vain, now Ephraim personifies Israel as the disciplined son. (Read 18-20.)

Exile was never intended as an end but as discipline. If God had utterly forsaken His children, He would have skipped exiling them to foreign lands and instead made them like Sodom and Gomorrah. The same is true when Adam and Eve were exiled from the garden. The fact that they weren’t consumed right then, demonstrates that while God’s holiness requires justice, His holiness also entails compassion. 

Now there is an exile from whence there is no hope of return. But every other exile, so long as there is breath in one’s lungs, there’s hope. In Ephraim’s case, exile served as the necessary discipline to bring about true lasting restoration. Discipline is intended to be restorative, or it isn’t discipline.

Maybe you’ve encountered those parents who practice what’s called positive discipline. No negative consequences, only positive affirmation. Not only is that antithetical to biblical discipline, rather than producing any kind of repentance, all it produces is entitlement. You know what I’m talking about. Show me an entitled brat, I’ll show you parents who don’t believe in discipline.

Biblical discipline is restorative in nature. It restores by moving the one to repentance. That’s what’s going on here. The Lord’s discipline leads his son, Ephraim, to long for restoration, to plead to the Lord to bring him back that he might be restored.

Someone might say, Well, I don’t discipline my kids because I love them too much. Really? So, what you’re saying is that because God disciplines, He obviously must not love His children as much as you love yours. I’ll tell you the real reason you don’t discipline or didn’t discipline your kids. It wasn’t because you loved them too much, but because you were afraid they might not love you. Which ultimately means you love yourself too much, not them.

The Lord doesn’t discipline due to a lack of compassion. The Lord chastens His children because His heart yearns for them. Is Ephraim not my precious son? Is he not my delighted child? And if Ephraim is the Lord’s beloved, why would we ever view God’s actions toward him as anything other than love? 

The Lord disciplines those He loves. And that discipline is intended to restore them to health and healing, instead of allowing them to destroy themselves.

In Christ, we are adopted sons of the Most High. So, why would we expect anything less than the Lord’s loving discipline? Hebrews says, If you are left without discipline, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. God disciplines you because He loves you and refuses to leave you feeling comfortable in the sin that will destroy you!

How often we mistake the Lord’s discipline for a lack of compassion, as if He’s somehow against us? Let’s be clear. For those outside of Christ, sin evokes God’s holy wrath. Yet, even in exercising His wrath, God is patient, allowing ample opportunities for repentance. But in Christ, we’ve been brought into the family as beloved sons and daughters. Rather than being carried out against the person, God’s wrath is now carried out against our sin. 

Consider a father whose son has been diagnosed with cancer. The disease is killing his son. Don’t think the loving father isn’t angry. The father hates this disease eating away at his son. The father's anger isn't directed at his son; it's directed at the disease. Because he loves his son, he is willing to inflict the pain of chemotherapy or any other medical treatment in order to eradicate the cancer. O the father aches over the suffering the treatment causes, but the father hates even more the disease seeking to destroy his beloved son. 

That’s a picture of our heavenly Father’s compassionate chastening of us. Out of love, He will inflict the necessary medicinal regimen to destroy the disease of sin in our lives, so that the sin doesn’t destroy us. 

Yet we’re so often tempted to think that the Lord is more compassionate when we have our act together. Likewise, He must have less compassion for us when we stumble in sin. But is that truly the case? When your child stumbles, is your heart not moved all the more with compassion for her? 

When my four-year-old races down the blacktop and trips, scraping her knees and hands, and she’s wailing, how do you think I’m going to respond? I’m going to rush to her and scoop her up in my arms. Now suppose I told her not to run. Does that make me any less moved to compassion for my daughter? 

So too, when we stumble in sin, God doesn’t have less compassion for us, as if He’s up in heaven shaking His head saying, “It serves you right.” Rather, His heart runs to us. He aches over the pain sin causes, which is so much greater than any discipline He might inflict. Out of an overflow of compassion, He will render whatever form of loving discipline is necessary to turn us back to the embrace of His outstretched arms. Only in those mighty nail-scarred hands will we find true comfort from the pains of sin.

HIGHWAY HOME (v.21-22)

From a grieving mother, to a disciplined son, to the return of an estranged daughter. Israel is now personified as the straying daughter. But it’s helpful to read this not referring to Israel as Yahweh’s daughter, but this daughter, as Yahweh’s bride. It’s not a daughter who has strayed from her father, but a daughter who has strayed from her husband. (Read 21-22.)

Now some have read this as a sort of Hansel and Grettel going into exile. Rather than dropping breadcrumbs, Israel is told to erect some pillars and put up some guideposts along the way, so they might find their way home once the 70 years are completed.

But there’s a word play taking place here. The word “guidepost” in verse 21 is written exactly as the word “bitter” in verse 15. They aren’t the same words. Both are derived from different roots, one meaning bitter, the other post or palm tree. But in the text, Jeremiah has used a derivative of each of these words so that they perfectly match. We need to ask. Why? 

Perhaps the guideposts are the bitter reminders of the consequences of sin, living in a way contrary to God’s design, and contrary to God Himself. How do you know the way home? When sin itself finally becomes bitter. When what you once thought would lead to joy and happiness has proved futile and you realize that all your sinful pursuits had led you away from true joy.  Rachel’s bitter weeping is indeed a guidepost that she is on the right track.

Consider well the highway, the way by which you walked. Why? Because the Highway Home is quite simple. Turn around. The path is certainly worn well enough. How many times have you trekked the same worthless path. In our sinful pursuits, our feet have trodden down all the fruitful vegetation leaving nothing but barrenness along the paths of sin. 

We certainly know the path away from God. That’s why in verse 22, virgin Israel is referred to as faithless daughter. She has strayed from her husband. Yet, the Lord pleads. O virgin Israel. How long will you waver? For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth; a woman encircles a man. 

The end of verse 22 is one of the most difficult phrases in Jeremiah, not because it’s difficult to translate, but how to interpret it. A woman encircles or simply a woman surrounds a man. The word encircles simply means to surround.

First, whatever this encircles entails, it’s something new that the Lord is creating. There are textual clues that harken back to Genesis 1, suggesting that what’s in mind has to do with New Creation. So that’s a starting point.

Some have seen this verse as pointing to the incarnation. While the word surrounds isn’t used elsewhere in such a manner, I’m slow to rule out this interpretation completely. Partly because the word man most often refers to a warrior or mighty man, and the adjectival form is used in reference to the coming Christ child in Isaiah 9. You know the passage. Unto us a child is born… and he shall be called… Wonderful Counselor… Mighty God. That’s our word: mighty. So, I don’t think this view is by any means far-fetched.

But perhaps surrounds refers to that of embrace. The once unfaithful Bride now embraces her husband from whom she estranged herself, the Bride, of course, being virgin Israel, and the mighty man, the Lord. That certainly fits the context. And when we consider the Bride being a people, it’s likely this embrace, in the context of new creation, is that of a new camp of Israel surrounding the Lord. 

God hasn’t prepared a crooked, difficult, treacherous, cumbersome, laborious road for His people to follow in order to make their way back to Him. He’s prepared a highway. The only obstacles are the same wayward affections that led to His people’s estrangement. But now, something truly new is about to take place. The Lord’s love will at last be reciprocated. The estranging bride will now embrace her Husband, rather than the other lovers she once pursued. The highway back is not so much to the land of Judah and Israel, but to the embrace of the faithful, unrelenting love of the mighty Husband. 

Our confessional assurance was from 1 John 1:9. And one of the things I love about that verse is that it’s such a simple reminder. There’s a highway home. Just turn. Confess your sins, for He is faithful and just to forgive.

As you make this Christian pilgrimage, the reality is that you’re going to go off course. They’ll be times you stray off the clear straight and narrow path. It’s important you remember, God has provided a highway for your return, marked by the bitter guidepost of the cross. You want to find your way home, look to the cross. Look to this highway of forgiveness.

BASKING IN BLESSING (v.23-25)

With the camp of the saints restored as a portrait of a Bride embracing her husband, then once again will Aaron’s blessing in Numbers 6 be pronounced over the people. The Lord bless you… You see, it’s likely this embrace is a portrayal of the restored camp of Israel found in the Book of Numbers, and later referred to as the camp of the saints in Revelation. 

In Numbers, we see the mighty men would be arranged around the tabernacle which represented the Lord dwelling in the midst of the people. The camps were arranged by their standards according to that of the patriarchs, of which Ephraim and Judah represented two of the four standards. After the arrangement of the camp, in Numbers 5, we’re given the account of the estranging or straying wife, and the waters of bitterness that establish whether she had indeed strayed. In contrast to the straying wife, Numbers 6 takes up the Nazarite vow of those wholly devoted to the Lord. Once everything is arranged in order, the Lord gives this blessing for Aaron to pronounce over the people. The Lord bless you and keep you. 

With the estranged wife now wholly devoted to her husband, blessing man now be enjoyed. (Read 23-25.)

First let’s deal with a minor translation difficulty. Then, hopefully, you’ll see why I think this is an allusion to Aaron’s blessing in Numbers 6. Look at the end of verse 24. “Those who wander with their flocks,” is better translated “those who set out with the flock.” There’s no possessive to go with flocks. And flocks isn’t necessarily plural. Also, Jeremiah has used this word for flock a few times to refer to the flock of the Lord. In fact, it was used in verse 10 of this very chapter of the Lord shepherding his gathered flock.

But most importantly, the word here translated wander occurs 146 times. Well over half of those occurrences are in the Book of Numbers and it has to do with the camp of Israel setting out to follow the fire-cloud, or the Lord’s shekinah glory. It’s a picture of both dwelling in God’s blessing, and also moving with God’s blessing. 

In the restored camp, God’s people will no longer set out apart from Him. No more wandering and going astray. Why? Because the Lord has satisfied the weary soul. He replenishes every languishing soul. 

Now, let’s look briefly at this blessing. Similar to that of Numbers 6, which is our benediction today, it begins, The Lord bless you. Then it continues, o habitation of righteousness, o holy mountain. I prefer mountain for the translation here, because it’s a picture of Zion. 

Notice something about this restoration. Remember our series title. The Uncompromising Word of the Lord. God’s restoration of His people never negates the need for righteousness. The expectation of righteousness is never diminished. There’s no compromise in God’s plan to restore sinners. Now, it’s going to take nothing less than the New Covenant to remedy this, which we’ll begin looking at next week. But never confuse God’s compassion and grace as permissiveness for you and me to continue in our waywardness. This is a habitation of righteousness. We’ve been brought back to the mountain of the Lord, the new Eden to live righteously as we dwell in God’s holy presence.

This restored camp of Israel points to the New Jerusalem in which God will dwell in the midst of His people, who will in turn bask in the blessing of the Lord forever. This is certainly a vision that should help you sleep well tonight, which takes us verse 26.

 SWEETLY SLUMBER (v. 26)

At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me. Unlike most of Jeremiah’s ministry which was full of heartache and lamentation, this vision that covers the bulk of chapters 30 and 31 was pleasant. It may have been one of the few nights of sweet slumber Jeremiah enjoyed since beginning his ministry.

The Lord’s goal for us is to be at peace. But that peace only comes from our being at peace with Him. When we rest in the Lord, we need not fret over those things that are beyond us. Whether that be the upcoming elections, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, an increase in school shootings, we know that the Sovereign Lord is working all things for good… for the good of His people who love Him, even if we can’t comprehend it, even when such appears contrary to the fact. 

CONCLUSION

That’s what we covered Wednesday in the Joseph narrative. Which is perhaps a good way for us to wrap up. You see, verse 15, Rachel weeping for her children, is one of the few verses from Jeremiah that are directly quoted in the New Testament. But before it reaches forward to Matthew’s gospel, it reaches back to exile and the assumed death of Joseph. 

As Chase read for us earlier in Genesis 37, when Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt, they made their father believe that Joseph had been devoured by a fierce beast. Now look at our verse 15 and see if these words sound familiar as I read from Genesis 37. Jacob’s sons and daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. Why? Because as far as he knew, his son was no more. 

Matthew applies this to Jesus’ infancy narrative and Herod’s slaughter of the baby boys in Bethlehem. It would have seemed to those who didn’t know better that King Herod had succeeded in removing the threat to his throne, just as Joseph’s brothers sought to remove the threat of Joseph ruling over them. 

But just as God guarded Joseph while he was in exile in Egypt, and just as God watched over the remnant of Israel who were carried off into exile, so too, the Father watched over the True Son, Jesus, when he went into exile. This includes, not just his childhood exile in Egypt, but the far greater exile of his death on the cross. Yet when all seemed hopeless, he rose victorious. All authority is His. We can indeed sleep sweetly tonight. 

So, let me ask. If you’re in Christ, what can truly happen in the here and now that the resurrection and new creation can’t rectify? What reasons do you have not to trust this Sovereign Lord who will indeed fully restore and satisfy all those who trust in Him?

And if you’re not in Christ, but rather, you’ve just been going through the motions playing church. Let me ask you. Don’t you want that kind of peace? It can begin now. Life abundant doesn’t begin in the age to come. It begins, in part, now… because restoration to the Lord begins, as soon as you repent and turn to Him. 

Perhaps you’re in Christ, but like me, you’re prone to wander. Well, that’s why we proclaim the gospel week after week. We never outgrow the good news of the cross. Our call is to repent. 

Wherever you are, whatever areas of life you find yourself stumbling in, mourn no more, receive the chastening compassion of the Lord and return to Him. God has prepared a highway home, the HIGH-WAY of the cross. The cross is the lone bitter guidepost that leads us home to the embrace of the God who loves us that we might once again bask in His blessings and sleep sweetly knowing He holds our very souls in the palms of His nailed scarred hands.

https://youtu.be/mZgjwxGNuqo

Jeremiah 30:18-24  A Place to Call Home

If I asked you, “What is your greatest hope and longing,” how would you honestly answer? Don’t give me your best Sunday School answer. Be honest with yourself. We’re continuing this Book of Hope that Jeremiah penned at the Lord’s instruction. I wonder if this is your hope. Follow along.

READ (Jeremiah 30:18-24)

A RESTORED DWELLING PLACE

ILLUSTRATION: Home

We had a family stay with us a few years back, a mom and two of her kids. For various reasons, they were going through a bit of a rough patch and needed a place to stay. So, we moved some things around, and for the next several months, they made our upstairs bonus room their home. Only, it wasn’t. It wasn’t actually home. You see, it was just where they slept and kept their luggage. But it was also where our sole T.V. lived. So, if we wanted to watch something as a family, or if the kids wanted to watch something, it would be upstairs in the bonus room, where Robin and her kids’ beds were. There also wasn’t a door or any added privacy. It was an open family room.

I remember Robin making the point on more than one occasion, that she just didn’t have her own space, that as thankful as she was, it wasn’t home. And she was exactly right. For her, it was a temporary place to live, even if such meant six months or longer.

God’s people, while in chapter 29, they were instructed to build houses and live in them, those houses weren’t home. Babylon wasn’t their homeland. Now temporary shelter, even a 70-year shelter satisfies the God-given desire home. Look at verse 18. Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob and have compassion on his dwellings; the city shall be rebuilt on its mound, and the palace shall stand where it used to be.

God’s people would return home. Jacob’s tents would be restored; the city rebuilt. There’s a sense in which this began to happen when Cyrus signed the decree for the exiles to return. In fact, Ezra even states that Cyrus’ decree was so that the Word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled. But this return was not the fullness of that fulfillment, but only a shadow. As G.K. Beale states, this return could be seen as a beginning of a fulfillment but nothing more. It’s a beginning that soon stalls out, anticipating a truer, more perfect fulfillment to come. 

Here’s the problem. A physical location doesn’t ultimately make a home. 

Israel had returned to the land promised them, but always under foreign rulers, foreign kings. So long as they were under the rule of foreigners, Jerusalem wouldn’t truly be home, not the home they desired. 1942 Dunedin Drive may be home for my family, but that exact same location wasn’t home to Robin and her family. So long as they lived under the rules of our house, our house wouldn’t be home to her.

This world, so long as it’s under foreign occupation, will never be home for the believer, at least not in the truest sense. Yes, we speak often of our citizenship being in heaven, and that’s true, because that’s where Christ is seated. But our final hope isn’t heaven, though it’s close. Our hope will only be fully realized when all foreign oppression is eliminated and the new earth is under the realized reign of Christ. That’s when we’ll truly be home. That’s the dwelling for which our hearts truly long.

There’s a sense in which every person presently on this planet is in exile. Why do I say that? Well, as believers, we are exiles in the physical sense. We are left here for a time for two reasons. 1) that we might long all the more to be with Christ—at home with the Lord, Paul says (2 Corinthians 5:8). and 2) that we might be witnesses to the rest of the world as to our hope for such a home. 

But unbelievers are also in exile. They are in spiritual exile, spiritually separated from God. They may feel at home in the world, but that’s because they have no desire to be with God. By the way, if you feel at home in the world, that might be a warning sign. 

If you find yourself thinking that some political party could potentially fix this country to where, I could spend eternity right here if given the chance, then you are very much at home in the world. If you’d be content to build your forever home here, the place just needs to be tidied up a bit, that’s a sign that you’re in spiritual exile.

The desire for a place to call home is a good desire, a godly desire, a desire that God embedded within the fabric of our being. The question is where we truly find such a home. And I’m by no means discounting the right sentiment of our families being home. But that’s just a shadow, a taste of the greater home God has for us in the family of Christ.

Because even the deepest of family affections have their limits. But not God’s. Even Jesus had difficulties with His earthly family. Even his brothers didn’t believe in Him. But Jesus recognized that His true family were those who did the will of His Father in heaven. 

How many live in such broken families that it’s difficult to even call them such. Well regardless of how broken your family may or may not be, even should your entire household abandon you, the Lord is happy to welcome you into His. Psalm 27 the psalmist writes, My father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in. 

If you’re looking for a home, and all your searching for a place to belong has come up short again and again, Well, as C.S. Lewis puts it, that’s because you were made for another world. Rejoice that you haven’t found your forever home here. Because that emptiness has prepared you to come to the Lord’s house and find your home with Him.

That’s why, as believers, there should be no place you and I desire to be more than with the family of Christ. I get it. No church is perfect. Even here, we’re far from it. But this—right here—is as close as you and I will get to tasting heaven on this side of glory. Not some mountaintop. Not at the coast on some beach. Not in your garden. Not in someone’s bed. Not at the gym or on the sports field or in front of the TV or any other screen. 

Home is a people, and most specifically a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

A GLORIOUS CHOIR

This restored dwelling in turn leads to praise and worship. Verses 19. Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving, and the voices of those who celebrate.

Again, we see the partial fulfillment of this when the people return and rebuild the temple. You can read about it in Ezra, and in particularly in chapters 3 and 6. When the foundation of the new temple is laid, the people worship. This worship, however, is also mixed with tears of sorrow and remorse. But when the temple is finally complete, they dedicate the house of God with great joy.

Now, a few things regarding this glorious choir envisioned in Jeremiah. What takes place in Ezra is but a taste; it’s only a shadow. Here’s why:

First, look at the second half of v. 19. I will multiply them, and they shall not be few. But those who returned from exile were few. They were only a remnant. And as we read on into chapter 31, even as early as verse 1, we see that the restoration anticipated was to be a restoration of all the clans of Israel. We’ll look at what this truly is next week, but for now, understand that this initial return, for the most part, only included the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, along with some Levites. Where were the other clans? They had become mixed with the nations. 

Second, the people quickly go astray. Just read Nehemiah. He leaves Jerusalem for a stint to request a longer leave from his position as Artaxerxes cupbearer, and upon returning, the people had reverted to their old ways. Nehemiah’s so frustrated with this people, we read in a single verse, that he quarreled with the people to the point of cursing them, he beat some, and even pulled out the hair of others. And my concern is that we don’t practice this enough. If we had a bit more hair pulling in the church and beating those who step out of line… well, maybe Nehemiah 13 isn’t meant to be prescriptive. But let me just ask, in case it’s maybe not obvious enough. Do you really think this was the glorious restoration Jeremiah foresaw? Not even close.

Third, and most significant, when the second temple was erected, it was missing something vital. You know what it was? The dwelling presence of God Himself. God’s shekinah glory was absent. In fact, God’s shekinah glory would never enter this temple, at least not until Jesus the God-man walks in to overthrow the tables of the money changers.

The end of verse 19 says, I will make them honored, or I will glorify them, and they shall not be small. That phrase, they shall not be small, is best translated, they shall not be lightly esteemed,because that’s the point. They will be glorious, and no longer dishonored. But what makes God’s people glorious? Certainly not the building itself, and it never was. Even as beautifully ornate as Solomon’s temple was, it wasn’t the temple that made God’s people glorious, but the glorious presence of God Himself dwelling in their midst.

That’s the same for the church. What makes us, as God’s people, glorious? It’s not the massive buildings, the stained glass, the tall steeples, the grand cathedrals. What makes the church glorious is not the impressive architecture, but the presence of the Architect. Yes, the people are the precious living stones with which Christ is building His church. But remove Christ, you remove the glory. Because the only thing glorious about us is the Christ who dwells in us.

This choir of believers, of which GBC is a small portrait, is a glorious choir pointing to the coming choir of the New Creation, that forever sings, Alleluia, the Lord Almighty Reigns. And this—in here, right now, regardless of the number of voices, regardless of the skill set, as talented as Robert and Kathy are, is only glorious due to Who it is we worship—Who it is who resides in us, in this temple.

Verse 20. Their children shall be as they were of old, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all who oppress them.

This will be a people, a congregation, a choir established by and before the Lord. That word established carries the idea of being made firm. Nothing will be able to ultimately unsettle or remove us from God’s glorious presence. For the Lord Himself fights for His people and will punish all who oppress them. 

A MAJESTIC PRIEST

This restored dwelling where the Lord will tabernacle with His people, and the establishing of this glorious choir is made possible only because of the Majestic Priest announced in verse 21. Their prince shall be one of themselves; their ruler shall come out from their midst; I will make him draw near, and he shall approach me, for who would dare of himself to approach me? 

This prince or majestic one will be one of the people. He won’t be a foreign ruler. He’d be one of them. Now almost every commentator rightly understands this to be the coming Davidic King. But notice the second half of the verse. He’s a king who draws near to God as a priest. This is loaded with Day of Atonement imagery. Only one person was granted to directly approach God within the Holy of Holies, and only once a year at that. And this approach was for a specific purpose. You know what it was? To atone for the people’s sin. 

But not just anyone could take on this role or office. It had to be a priest. And Hebrews 5:4 tells us it had to be according to God’s choosing. Hence, the end of verse 21, who would dare of himself to approach me. To approach apart form God’s extended welcome could be fatal. Why? Because in our impurity, we’d be consumed by God’s holiness. 

We tend to think it a small thing to come into God’s holy presence, but time and again, the Scriptures seek to warn us otherwise. Take two strong men in the Bible, Uzzah and Uzziah, who might not have been all that strong, but that’s what their names mean. Uzzah thought it to be a small thing to approach the Lord when he sought to steady the ark to keep it from falling onto the filthy ground. So, Uzzah was struck down on the spot. Why? Because the ground from which God fashioned us isn’t filthy, our sinful flesh is. The ground never rebelled against God. The ground does exactly what God has designed it to do. In fact, all of creation does what God has created it to do. All of creation except us.

Uzziah, was one of Israel’s kings, very much like the figure in our text. Uzziah was a righteous king. In fact, the chronicler even tells us that Uzziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and that he was instructed in the fear of the Lord. 

So, Uzziah got the idea that he could come into the temple and serve as one of the priests offering incense to the Lord. Let me tell you how that ended for Uzziah. He was struck with leprosy for the Lord had struck him! And all of Uzziah’s many years of accomplishments ended with this little tag on his life: They said, ”He is a leper.”

Uzziah, Uzzah, Nadab, Abihu, Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and the list goes on, didn’t fear the Lord as they should have. They didn’t hold God’s holiness in as high esteem as they ought. They each thought it was a small thing to approach this holy God, and they paid the penalty for it.

O how many people fill pews and churches that have the same mindset of Uzziah? How many outside the church think it a small thing to approach this holy God? O how we tend to have a small view of God and a high view of ourselves. Don’t believe me? Just think of how, on certain social issues, people seem to think they can be more righteous than God. Take the whole tolerance crowd, seeking to affirm that which God detests. But we’ll decide what righteousness looks like. We’ll improve on God’s righteousness, as if His decrees weren’t clear enough. That this form of sexuality, well it’s only wrong outside the context of a monogamous relationship.

While most won’t contract an immediate case of leprosy, or find themselves incinerated like Uzzah, there will be a day where every person will be brought before God’s holy throne and made to approach Him for judgment. And without some covering—that’s what the word atonement means—without some covering, you will be consumed, no matter how righteous you may think you are. Only Jesus’ righteousness will suffice to cover you from God’s justice. Nothing else can. 

Who would have the audacity to approach this holy God themselves? That’s pretty much what this text is saying. It should read as shocking. The people aren’t in exile for no reason. They’re in exile because of their low regard for who God is and their lack of reverence. Now, we’re told a king will come, one from among this sinful people, and approach God on high as only the high priest was permitted to do. The people very well remember what happened to Uzziah. This can’t be just any king! 

The religious leaders saw Jesus as audacious, as arrogant, as blasphemous in his approach towards the things of God. Why? Because they failed to recognize who He is—the very Son of God, who shares the same holiness as His Father. But understand. Jesus never approached His Father casually, and certainly not in arrogance, but with the utmost reverence. So why would we ever think of approaching the Father without the same reverence? Jesus came as our Majestic High Priest to offer the necessary atonement so that we too might approach God.

A RESTORED PEOPLE

And what’s the purpose of atonement? A restored people. Verse 22. And you shall be my people, and I will be your God. This verse is truly the goal of creation. God created a people for Himself that He might be His.

Now, many have a distorted understanding of verses like this, as if God was somehow lonely and in need of companionship, or perhaps He needed a people to rule over in order to appease His ego. Such is a very low and irreverent view of the Holy God who is absolute perfection and lacks nothing. Yet out of His perfect goodness, He creates, so that a people might enjoy His perfections. God doesn’t gain from this relationship. We do! We are the ones who have something to gain! 

But o how our pride likes to flip this on its head, thinking, You know God, I could really do without You, but since it seems You somehow need me, let me give You the stipulations of our relationship. Now, that’s arrogant! But when we’re outside of Christ, that’s us. And even in Christ, if we’re honest with ourselves, while we’d never put it quite in those terms, our attitudes and actions tend to express that very disposition. O how we are in need of atonement!

How may professing Christians would be content simply with the first part of our passage, a restored home and something to celebrate, but could care less about being restored to God Himself. How many even think in such terms as being restored to God? O my house is broken, my health is broken, my finances are broken, my happiness if broken. But how much consideration do you give to whether your relationship with your Creator is broken?

And yet, that’s the one thing that ultimately matters! Every other restoration will be short lived at best, if even restorable without a restored relationship with the One who made us. The true restoration Israel needed was not being restored to the land. It never was. Israel needed the same restoration we need—a restored relationship with the Lord. And that restoration only comes through the Majestic Priest who makes atonement for us.

THE EXAUSTION OF WRATH

Which brings us to our final point, the exhaustion of wrath. Verses 23 and 23. Behold, the storm of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intentions of his heart. In latter days, you will understand this. 

In order for this restoration to take place, and somehow last, something has to be done with evil itself. Evil won’t simply go away. It must be punished, and it must be destroyed. God’s wrath can’t be set aside until evil is fully dealt with.

Here’s something we need to grasp, and this is getting deeply theological for some of you, but it’s important if we are to understand God’s wrath, that of hell, and most importantly the wrath Jesus absorbed in our place. 

The Bible never holds evil up as a small thing, as if there are acceptable forms of evil. Even though we tend to act as if there are acceptable forms of sin, the Bible never does. There are not minor offenses against God. Now, most of us understand, or at least we’ve heard it enough times, that every sin is first and foremost against God. But it’s important to grasp that it’s not so much the act that’s the problem. The physical act does damage. It harms God’s creation and most specifically His image-bearers. Behind the behavior is the sinful human heart. Or as our Lord says, out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. It’s the evil within that’s the underlying problem.

And it’s the human heart that’s ultimately at enmity against God. 

God not only has a right, but a duty to destroy everyone of His enemies. Otherwise, there will never be true peace within His Kingdom. That’s one side of the equation. Evil must be destroyed for this restoration we’ve discussed to be realized.

But for God to be righteous, justice must be carried out in full, meted out according to the crime or offense. But the problem is that every crime, no matter how big or small we may see it, is a crime against an eternal God and therefore worthy of an eternal consequence. That’s why hell is eternal. Anything less fails to bring about justice. 

But here’s where Jesus comes in, and why no one else will do. No one else is able to pay for the penalty of our crimes of treason. No one else is able to atone. This is why it was necessary for our Savior to be truly God and truly man. Because man must pay the penalty. But only God is capable of covering that penalty. 

But Jesus doesn’t simply meet the needed qualification. Jesus’ life is of such preciousness, of such infinite worth, His single payment for sin, when He approached the Father as our High Priest, giving His life as a ransom for ours, was sufficient to cover the penalty for the sins of the whole world—each worthy of an eternal sentence in hell. 

On the cross, the fierce anger of the Lord was emptied and exhausted on the Son, instead of on us. Jesus alone turns back the anger of God in order that we might be restored to Him, find our home in Him, have our worship restored to its rightful place—a glorious choir singing the praises of the Lamb.

PRAY

https://youtu.be/F2FZLaGkn4o

Jeremiah 30:11-17 Healing the Incurable  

I invite you to turn to Jeremiah 30. (READ: Jeremiah 30:8-17)

According to the calendar, we still have over a month of summer left. Just curious, how many of you have already begun thinking about Christmas? To be honest, I’m not very good at planning that far in advance. I tend to be a very last-minute planner. And just so you know, my wife hates that about me. But that’s just how it is in our house. So, I’ve been attempting to be a little more diligent in thinking about things ahead of time.

So, yesterday, for our leadership meeting, we discussed what our Christmas calendar might look like. We even reached out to Katie to see if her family wanted to get deathly ill again this year, or if she’d be willing to organize a couple of events.

Well, as mentioned last week, Jeremiah 30:11 is about as close to a Christmas text as we get in the book of Jeremiah. For I am with you to save you, declares the Lord. This is Jeremiah’s version of God with us. 

Maybe I’m reading too much into the text. Because it’s not Immanuel. It’s more like: אׅתְּךׇאֲנׅי (ith-te-ka-a-ni). Doesn’t sound too Christmas-y to me. 

But perhaps, if we understand that it is the Lord, Yahweh Himself, saying He will be with His people, not merely in a general way, but in a salvific way—a saving way—we might recognize just how Christmas-y this text actually is. 

Try to track with me on this. Where do we find the name Immanuel in the New Testament? Only one place. The beginning of Matthew’s gospel. Matthew 1:23 to be exact.

But two verses earlier, we read that this Son who is to be born to Mary, conceived by the Holy Spirit, is to be named Jesus. Why? Because he will save his people from their sins.

Now, look back at Jeremiah, verse 11. Yahweh says, I am with you to do what? To save you. He is to be named Jesus, why? Because he will save you.

Now, here’s what you can’t see in the Hebrew, but that’s okay, because we’ve already made the connection. This verb in Jeremiah, to save, is the very word from which Jesus’s name is derived: יָשָׁע. 

This passage in Jeremiah has everything to do with Christmas. The promise here is that the Lord is with His people to save them. While the people may have turned and forsaken the Lord. He hasn’t forsaken them. Yes. He sent them into exile, to discipline them. But He hasn’t left them. 

Let me say, if you’re here today, and you have wandered away from the Lord, chasing after other gods, other affections. God hasn’t wandered away from you. He is with you to save you. Jesus has come near to do just that. You don’t need to wander anymore.

FULL END TO THE NATIONS

Continuing on in verse 11. I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you, but of you I will not make a full end. 

The day is coming when all the kingdoms of this world will come to an end. The United States, as great and powerful of a nation as it may be, will one day be no more. Civilizations as ancient as Egypt will one day be no more. Carmen, God has a better kingdom prepared for you. I know you know that. But it’s important that we regularly remind ourselves of this. Only one kingdom, one people will remain. Those who belong to the kingdom of God, who serve under the righteous reign of King Jesus. 

God will indeed save His people. But get this. Salvation doesn’t exclude discipline. Verse 11 continues. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.

Jesus has come to save us from our sin, by taking the eternal penalty for those sins. But putting away our sin doesn’t negate every consequence.

Speaking of King David, one reason we know that the text is speaking of a true and better David is because we need a David who isn’t overcome by temptation. After being confronted with his sin of taking Uriah’s wife Bathsheba, and putting Uriah to death by the enemy’s sword, David acknowledges his guilt. I have sinned against the Lord. 

In fact, those were the only words David could utter. He had no defense. He was entirely guilty. Every mouth will be stopped when we give an account before the Lord.

But God is so gracious. Do you recall what Nathan the prophet says next? The Lord has put away your sin. You shall not die.The Lord put away David’s sin. That was David’s only hope. That is our only hope. The Lord spared David from the penalty his sin justly deserved. But Nathan’s not finished. He continues. Nevertheless, because by this deed, you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die. 

APPLICATION

Our sin, while Jesus has paid the full penalty, taking upon himself God’s righteous wrath that we alone deserve, our sin still has consequences. Because our sin leaves behind a wake of brokenness. We can’t unscramble the mess our sin makes. Yes, God works it all for good… ultimately. But we aren’t fatalists, as if our sin doesn’t matter. The Bible still calls sin for what it is, and brokenness for what it is. 

This corrects a common misunderstanding of salvation. God’s mercy doesn’t exclude justice. In Christ, when you and I sin, that sin still has real consequences. One consequence is the fracture in the relationship, between the sinner and the sinned against. And of course, our every sin is first and foremost against God. In our sin, that sweet fellowship isn’t all that sweet. But in Christ, God has granted us repentance so that that sweet fellowship might be restored. 

And the same is true with our human relationships. When we sin against one another, our sweet fellowship is fractured. But the believer, moved by the mercy and forgiveness we have in Christ, moves to reconcile with his brother and sister whom we sinned against, or who sinned against us, so that our fellowship among one another might be restored. It’s truly a portrait of the kingdom. And something I’m not too sure we practice very well. 

PERSONAL ILLUSTRATION

In our leadership committee meeting yesterday, a couple of us had a Paul and Barnabas sharp disagreement as to whether we should take John Mark along or not. And I did not handle it very well. So, I needed to make some apologies to these men of whom I think very highly.

Have I ever told you your pastor is a sinner, very much in need of the same grace you need. (Some of you are thinking, actually Josh, from the sound of it, you might need quite a bit more! And you’d be right.) See, I’m not up here preaching because I’ve got this thing down. I need this every bit as much as anyone else. 

But this is what I know. This Word has power. And I might not deliver it very well. I might tend to go too long on this or that point. I might bring up matters that you completely disagree with or even find offensive. And if I haven’t yet this morning, the message isn’t over, so there’s still time. 

But please understand. It’s not what I have to say that ultimately matters. It’s this Word, this Book applied rightly to our broken spiritual condition that brings us to the healing we so desperately need. So, you have a responsibility. And that is to weigh what I share from up here with what’s in the text. And to the degree that this Word is applied rightly, we can either let the Word do its job in disciplining us. Or we can reject the Lord’s discipline. But get this. The Lord disciplines those whom He loves.

LOVING DISCIPLINE

Sticking with verse 11, the Lord is going to make a full end of all those who don’t belong to Him. But if you’re in Christ, He’s not going to make a full end of you. O He plans on making a full end of your idolatry, a full end of your sin, a full end of every aspect of you that doesn’t conform to the image of Christ. Why? Because He loves you. 

Find comfort in this. This God loves you that much! He’s willing to do the hard things that we so often aren’t. He’s willing to say the hard things that we don’t want to hear. Because true love isn’t afraid to discipline. True love refuses to leave you as you are.

OUR INCURABLE PENALTY

This loving discipline is part of God’s program to heal in us that which is unhealable, to cure that which is incurable. Verse 12. For thus says the Lord: Your hurt is incurable, and your wound grievous. There is none to uphold your cause, no medicine for your wound, no healing for you.

Now, in one sense, the incurable affliction referred to here is that of the punishment the Lord Himself has afflicted His people with in delivering them over to exile and ruthless kings. Look at the second half of verse 14. For I have dealt you the blow of an enemy, the punishment of a merciless foe. End of verse 15. Because your guilt is great, because your sin is flagrant, I, the Lord, have done these things to you.

In other words, the incurable nature of Israel’s predicament is due to God’s uncompromising justice regarding sin. In our sin, we are facing a terminal disease that leads to an eternal separation from God and all the good that flows from Him. And there is absolutely nothing you and I or anyone else can do to remedy it. God’s justice must be upheld.

OUR INCURABLE WAYWARDNESS

The second aspect of our incurable wound is that we are unable to bring ourselves out of our own waywardness. This goes against the Arminian position that suggests man is basically good and simply needs a little direction, that man, in himself, can and will choose the path of light if it’s shown to him and he understands it.

Well, is that true. Is man basically good? Is man ultimately able to right this disease of sin on his own? Does he really just need a bit more illumination, a bit more truth? Can we honestly say that mankind is truly just doing the best he can?

First, let us take the U.S. as an example. This nation has more access to the light of God’s Word than at any other time in history. Book form, digitally, you can listen it on audible, or hear it read at countless churches—even the ones that flat out reject what the Word says!

The problem isn’t that light isn’t available. The problem is that people love darkness rather than light because their works are evil. (John 3:19). And the more that light is made available, the faster people run to the darkness. Don’t believe me? 

ABORTION

Take the matter of abortion. How much light do you need to know that killing an innocent defenseless human-being is wrong? But, we’ll argue, that a woman should have a right to do with her own body as she sees fit. Well, not if your body causes harm to another person’s body.

If a man… I’m sorry… if a person with XY chromosomes does what he wants with his body by swinging his arms, and they deliberately hit a person with XX chromosomes, we tend to call that assault and battery—that is, unless your in the Olympics. Then it’s somehow celebrated. 

But the whole world knows that I don’t have the right to do with my body whatever I want. I have obligations of what I’m required to do with my body and restrictions concerning what I am not to do with my body. 

If I have kids in my car on a hot summer day, and I want to run into the gym. My body is obligated to remove those kids from the hot car and take them into the gym with me. I have a responsibility to care for my neighbor. How much more the little ones entrusted to my care.

The same is true for a pregnant mother. She can’t simply say, I don’t want to go through the hassle of taking them into the gym. They’ll interfere with my personal goals I have for my life. She doesn’t get that option. It’s not a fundamental right. It’s not a right at all. And yet, much of our nation has gone mad on this idea that such is a fundamental right.

And let me simply say, the pregnant mother has a responsibility to care for that child regardless of how he came to be in her womb. She doesn’t have the right to hold someone else’s sin towards her and turn around and sin against another. That’s not passing your fallen neighbor by on the other side of the road. That’s taking a knife to the throat of the neighbor who would cry out for you to help him.

How much more light can be shone to expose the horrors of this mindset? With today’s technology, we can view images of babies at 12-weeks in their mommy’s bellies sucking their thumbs. Yet, with all this light, mankind still chooses darkness, thinking it perfectly fine to discard this precious gift from God as if it’s nothing more than a clump of cells. 

And if you’re not already aware, we have a platform running for office that wants absolutely no restraints on this evil. You can kill the baby in the womb at 12 weeks. You can murder him at 40 weeks. You can murder him while he’s most of the way out of the birth canal. How dare those Christians try to impose their morals on us. 

Our brokenness is incurable indeed. And the world celebrates it. God won’t. No. God can’t allow such evil to go unpunished. Not if He’s a righteous God, which He is. Kind must be paid back in like kind. Justice requires it.

Turn to Exodus, second book in your Bibles, Exodus 21 with me for a minute. I want you to lay eyes on this because it is such a pressing issue for our day. This chapter falls on the heels of the Ten Commandments. So, immediately after laying out the Big Ten, God gives Moses a series of examples for how these commandments are to be applied in real life.

Listen to this. Exodus 21, verse 22. When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman. (And I take that this hitting the pregnant woman would not have been intentional.) When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him. And he shall pay as the judges determine. Now listen. But if there is harm, harm done to the child in the mother’s womb, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

Don’t think God doesn’t care for the unborn. The first instance of the Lex Talionis is found with regard specifically to the most vulnerable and innocent of all. Justice will be done for every single child that never had the privilege of seeing the light of day due to the selfish decisions to pursue whatever idols. 

And those who sought to deceive these women or coerced them into these decisions, well, Jesus says it best. It would have been better for them to have a millstone hung around their neck and be thrown into the sea and drown.

GOAL OF HOPE

Now stay with me. Because maybe you have found yourself a participant in this evil. Let me be clear. This is one example of the incurable brokenness our sin causes. My goal is not to make you feel guilty but to give you hope. 

PHYSICIAN

The goal is never to leave us hopeless. That’s not the thrust of the text. But understanding our guilt and coming to terms with the diagnosis of our condition must come first before the possibility of healing can even begin. Otherwise, we’ll reject the medical regimen prescribed by the Physician. We’ll even reject the Physician who diagnosed us because we don’t like the diagnosis. But the One Physician who is honest enough to tell us the truth rather than what we want to hear is the only Physician able to perform the surgery on our hearts we so desperately need. 

But isn’t that how we often are? We don’t like someone’s diagnosis of our circumstances, so we’ll seek out someone who will tell us, “Everything’s just fine, we’re just fine, you know, that really isn’t your fault. He should have treated you better. She should have paid you more attention. You just gave her a dose of her own.”

But God never sugarcoats the situation. In this passage of hope and promise, God doesn’t suddenly act as if His people are all that. The Bible never minimizes our sin and rebellion against God. It tells us flat out that we are sinners, and it doesn’t make light of such, like we sometimes do. O I’m a sinner, as if it’s some kind of joke. 

The Bible is the One Word, the One Book written that isn’t afraid to tell us the whole truth about ourselves, our dilemma, what we deserve for our rebellion, and how abhorrent we have made God’s beautiful likeness. 

And that’s good news. Good news? Are you nuts Josh? You just went on about how we trashed God’s image, and you’re calling that good news. No. I’m saying that the truthfulness of God’s Word is good news, in that it doesn’t seek to flatter but calls out the fact that there is absolutely nothing attractive in us that would cause God to set His affections on us. 

Track with me. There is nothing in us that made us desirable to Jesus! Nothing beautiful, nothing appealing whatsoever, nothing we could give to Him that He should delight in us, other than His sovereign grace. 

Great Josh! You sure know how to build us up. Well, perhaps not. In all honesty, I’m not very good at flattery. Just ask my wife. But I promise you, this is good news. Because if there was something about you that caused God to choose you, to heal you, to save you, to love you, how on earth could you or I possibly carry such a weight of maintaining whatever it is that caused God to be drawn to us? 

Look at verse 14. All your lovers have forgotten you; they care nothing for you. All you lovers loved you based on something they could gain from you. Not God!

I remember when I first saw Jenny. How she caught my eye. There was something about her walk and the way she smiled that made me want to get to know her a little more, and a little more, and well now it’s been 23 years since she captured my affections. 

But God didn’t set His affections on you because He kind of liked your walk and your smile. But the exact opposite. He set His affections on you despite your walk, because there was nothing about our walk that was pleasing to Him in the least. In fact, our walk was abhorrent to God, because we walked contrary to His ways. 

And it sure wasn’t our smile. We didn’t smile at God. We scowled at God. We were hostile to God. And the Lord set His love on us, nonetheless. So what would make you think you could ever lose such divine love.

All of Israel’s lovers deserted her once she had nothing left to offer. Marriages and relationships break up every day because one party no longer pleases the other. But God is not like those lovers. You’ve done nothing to gain God’s affection. So, there’s nothing you can do to keep it… or even lose it.

But get this. Even though we weren’t lovely when He first set His affections on us, He is indeed making you something beautiful through His loving discipline. He’s preparing the whole of us, His Church, as a beautiful Bride adorned for our groom, King Jesus. 

And because He loves us this much, He will protect our honor with a fierce vengeance. Verses 16 and 17. Therefore, all who devour you shall be devoured, and all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity; those who plunder you shall be plundered, and all who prey on you, I will make a prey. For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord, because they have called you an outcast: Zion, for whom no one cares!

Our Lord isn’t fighting for the honor of a Bride who has proven herself faithful. He laid down His life for a Bride who most certainly wasn’t.

Now, tell me, which of your former lovers even comes close to loving you that much? Your treaties and alliances with the world, do you really thing they’ll have your back when you have nothing to offer them? When the Lord removes His good gifts that we’ve devoured and offered as favors to our various idols?

O, but I have 3000 friends on Facebook! Hashtags and hyperlinks won’t console you when your world crumbles around you! I don’t care which emojis they send you.

Our wound, our brokenness, is incurable. But as Silas read for us at the beginning of service, Jesus didn’t come for the healthy, for those who had some other means of healing. He came for the infirmed, for those who had nowhere left to turn, whose outlook was utterly hopeless. That’s who comes to Jesus. So long as you think there are other possible options, you won’t fall on your knees before this Physician pleading, Lord, if you’re willing, You can make me well.

Jesus didn’t come for those who never had an abortion, or never coerced a woman to get one, or for those who by God’s grace, just so happened to avoid some other form of evil. Jesus didn’t come to call the righteous. He came for sinners and only sinners, to make us, who were once unlovable, lovely beyond measure, that we might be His beautifully adorned Bride… adorned, not with a righteousness of our own, but His.