Much mourning was experienced by the people of God, both Israel, and Judah. In the discipline dished out by God they suffered intensely. So severe was God’s dealing with them that Rachael was said to be refused to be consoled. She was heard to lament and weep. This was by way of saying that the people of God were subjected to the great intensity of suffering at the hands of their captors – both from Assyria and Babylon. However, there would be hope for them. God had a plan to restore and replace their misery so that they could rejoice in their hope again.
Jeremiah
31:16-17 admonished His people not to wallow in their depression. Why? For in God’s
plan for them, the hope of a restoration awaited the nation. God promised that
their children would return home from exile, and they would once again possess their
promised land. But first, they had to repent. Verses 18-19 said that God saw the
grieving of the people of Ephraim, the people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel
as they suffered under the weight of their chastisement. In repentance, they acknowledged
their sin and that the punishment they had to endure was justified. They knew
that God had not unjustly dealt with them. So with an attitude of humility, the
nation repented with contrition. Verse 20 said that God had not forgotten Ephraim.
As far as God was concerning the nation was still very much His dear Son. They
as a people were still very much loved and remembered. In fact, God deeply yearned for them in His heart and would
forgive them and restore their relationship with Him.
Throughout
their journey, we have seen how constantly God had urged His people to set up
memorials so that they could look back and realign their bearings. One instance was
during the time of Joshua where stone memorials were built. Joshua 4:6-7 has
this to say concerning the purpose of the stone memorial built in the middle of
River Jordan. “Let this be a sign among you, so that when your
children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the
Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the
waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become
a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.” Here in Jeremiah 31:21-22, we see the prophet urging the
people to build markers on the way to enable them to recalibrate their bearing and
find their way home. The nation of Israel referred to as unfaithful daughters, would return home, as a cleansed and purified bride. God was going to rechart
their course.
In God, we are not without hope. He deals with us
with the purpose of getting us on track.
As He deals with us, we must remember to journal them so that we will not commit
the same error again. God's ultimate purpose in dealing with us is to complete and
mature us. In His dealing, He will cleanse and remove the dross from our lives.
We can never glorify Him with a life full of impurities. God chastens us to
bring the very best out of us.
No comments:
Post a Comment