Jeremiah 33:4-9 – The effect of sin and the joy of forgiveness

The situation in Jerusalem was looking grim. The Babylonians had built siege ramps all around the wall and were about to break in. Within the city, the people had torn down their houses and  palace to use them as material to fortify the wall. It was a last-ditch attempt in desperation. It was in such a condition that God promised Jeremiah that He would reveal to him divine secrets when he prays. He would know great and mighty things that he was yet to know. It is worth noting that the Bible also tells us that God will make known divine secrets to us when we pray. What a privilege!

Having given Jeremiah the invitation, God went on to reveal the great judgment that was coming upon Jerusalem. There would be great devastation. In His anger, He would deal harshly with the city. Jerusalem would be filled and strewn with corpses of men who died in their battle with the Chaldeans. This was God’s doing, He would slay these people in His anger and wrath because of their wickedness. The first great mighty thing would be the catastrophic judgment at God’s hand. God then went on to reveal to Jeremiah the great restoration plan He had. After the devastation would come a time of healing and restoration to health. The people would once again experience an abundance of everlasting ace and truth.

All that Jeremiah had said here can best be understood when we see it in the light of the coming of Christ. The Apostle Paul calls it a mystery in the book of Ephesians. A mystery is a divine secret. Pauls was given the wisdom to unlock it. The mystery can be defined this way: what was previously unknown had been made known in Christ. God must deal with the sinful nature and the sinful acts that resulted from that nature. True and complete restoration begins with the pardoning of iniquity and then the forgiveness of sins. Christ came to deal with our sinful nature. His suffering and death on the cross dealt with our sinful nature thus facilitating God’s forgiveness of the sinful acts we commit. We did not become sinners because we sin, but we are sinners that’s why we sin. Sin is the root and sinful acts are the fruits. In Christ, God dealt with the root of sin to facilitate the forgiveness of sinful acts. Only when our sinful nature is dealt with can everlasting peace be experienced.  With our sinful nature dealt with at Calvary, every time have committed a wrong, we can confess our sins to find forgiveness. And when we do so we have our everlasting peace restored.  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will cleanse us our unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).”