Sunday, June 08, 2008
Jeremiah 30,31:3 DIVINE LOVE
Jeremiah 30:1 This is]the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord. 2 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “Write down on a scroll all the words that I have spoken to you, 3 for the days are certainly coming”—[this is]the Lord’s declaration—“when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will restore them to the land I gave to their ancestors and they will possess it.” 4 These are the words the Lord spoke to Israel and Judah. 5 Yes, this is what the Lord says: We have heard a cry of terror, of dread—there is no peace. 6 Ask and see whether a male can give birth. Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor and every face turned pale? 7 How awful that day will be! There will be none like it! It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be delivered out of it. 8 “On that day”—[this is]the declaration of the Lord of • Hosts—“I will break his yoke from your neck and snap your fetters so strangers will never again enslave him. 9 They will serve the Lord their God and I will raise up David their king for them.” 12 For this is what the Lord says: Your injury is incurable; your wound most severe.13 No one takes up the case for your sores. You have nothing that can heal you. 14 All your lovers have forgotten you; they no longer look for you, for I have struck you like an enemy would, with the discipline of someone cruel, because of your enormous guilt and your innumerable sins. 17 But I will bring you health and will heal you of your wounds— [this is] the Lord’s declaration— for they call you The Outcast, that Zion no one cares about.
1 At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. 2 Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. 3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
7 For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. 8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither. 9 They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
15 Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. 16 Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. 17 And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.
18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God. 19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. 20 Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.
"The Song of Jeremiah", a beautiful section of hope and confidence in the midst of despair and distress.
Chapters 30-33 are a remarkable and unique section of this book. They constitute a trumpet note of hope and certainty arising out of the midst of deepest despair and distress.
This song really is a dream of Jeremiah, for in Chapter 31, Verse 26, a very strange statement is suddenly introduced. Jeremiah says, "Thereupon I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me." Then he goes back again to the vision he is expounding. So this prophecy evidently came as a dream to Jeremiah in the night, a vision of the restoration and the glory God has promised his people.
“When judgement finally arrived, something remarkable happened. Jeremiah changed his tune. The next several chapters are filled with some of the most wonderful promises in all of Scripture. After twenty-eight chapters of gloom and doom, Jeremiah came bearing tidings of grace and glory.”
These four chapters emphasise the Future prospects of the people of Judah.
They would experience a new exodus (Jeremiah 30:1 – 31:26)
They would experience a new covenant (Jeremiah 31: 27-40)
The people of Judah would be restored to prosperity
“This is what the LORD says: ‘I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings; the city will be rebuilt on her ruins, and the palace will stand in its proper place.’” (Jeremiah 30:18)
The people of Judah would be restored to the Lord
“At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they will be my people.” This is what the LORD says: “The people who survive the sword will find favour in the desert; I will come to give rest to Israel.” (Jeremiah 31:1-2)
The people of Judah would Return to their own land from the ends of the earth
“See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labour; a great throng will return. They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back.” (Jeremiah 31:8-9)
In Dark days there is a song of comfort, a song of coming deliverance.
Jeremiah 30:1-3 Introduction [This is]the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord. 2 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “Write down on a scroll all the words that I have spoken to you, 3 for the days are certainly coming”—[this is]the Lord’s declaration—“when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will restore them to the land I gave to their ancestors and they will possess it.”
Everything is summed up in Jeremiah 31:3 the Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued to extend faithful love to you.
3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
John Ridley prayed about these words: GOLDEN words! Few more golden in the whole of the Old Testament. Best of all, these golden words were uttered by the Lord Himself. Oh, that Thou, Lord Jesus, wouldst repeat them again to my listening ear and longing heart. Yes, appear as "of old unto me," dear Lord, and whisper these golden words of grace to one who ever "thirsts and faints" to know "the greatness of redeeming love, the love of Christ to me."
Like the storm-tossed John Bunyan, I would pray, "0 Lord, I beseech Thee, show me that Thou hast loved me with everlasting love!" "I have loved Thee with an everlasting love." Then, when the tempter comes to me, as to "honest John Bunyan," to break my peace and blight my sense of God's everlasting love, bear me up with the same precious paraphrase as that granted to him - "I loved thee whilst thou wast sinning this sin, I loved thee before, I love thee still, and I will love thee for ever."
A Double Declaration.
The Declaration of Divine Love and The Declaration Of Divine Drawing.
The Declaration of Divine Love
I have loved thee with an everlasting love:
Love, this is the everyday Hebrew word for love,
The family relationship word.
Everlasting Love: the SCOPE of this love. Without Dimension.
As a father whose heart is tender toward his son--no matter how sharply he must reprimand him--so God is tender toward his people. And behind the darkness and the distress is the everlasting love of God. In this beautiful phrase, "I have loved you with an everlasting love," the word everlasting is one of those words which baffle us. We hardly know what it means. Even in the original language it is difficult to define. Everlasting connotes more than duration, means more than merely "eternal"; it has in it an element of mystery. That is, it refers literally to the "vanishing point." Let your mind run back into the past over all the years of history, and you come to a place where finally you just cannot think any further. Yet logic affirms that even beyond this point there has been existence and time, so this is the vanishing point. And this is what everlasting means. Let your mind run into the future, and you come to the same kind of haziness, a place where you no longer can comprehend what the ages mean, where times and durations seem meaningless. That, again, is the vanishing point in the future, beyond which lie experiences for God's people, but which we are unable to grasp. That is the mystery of this word, everlasting. It is a word which means "beyond dimension,» "greater than we can think." This is what Paul is expressing in Ephesians: ". . . that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge. . ." (Eph.3:17b-19a). 'With an everlasting love." Not the love of an hour, or a day, or a year, or a decade, or a lifetime. Nay! This is the love of an Eternity; the love of an Eternal Being; the love of "the high and lofty One that inhabiteth Eternity" (Isaiah 57; 15); the lave of Love Himself. It embraced me in the dateless past; it smiled on me in the mighty moment of my new birth; it covered me with its wings in days of war; it consoled me with its comfort in times of trouble; it carried me in its everlasting arms in hours of helplessness; it imparted pity to my poor soul in the pitfalls of sin; it will prevail over all life's perils, and present me at last a prodigy of everlasting love in "Love's own country." Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, for the benefits and blessings of everlasting love!
I have loved you The SOURCE of this love. Where does the love come from? Why, from the One Who is Love. "I have loved. I have opened the sluice-gate of My heart to permit the flood waters of My love to flow to thee."
I have loved YOU.. " TO ME? Yes, this poor sinner is the SUBJECT of this Sovereign Love. "I have loved thee!" Oh, my Lord, My Lord! how shall I ever repay Thee?
Faber: How canst Thou think so well of us yet be the God thou art, Is darkness to my intellect but sunshine to my heart.
Amazing Love How can It Be that Thou My God shouldst die for me.
It is His nature to love.
Faber “Yet Thou dost think so well of us Because of what Thou art; Thy love illumines our intellect Yet fills with fear our heart.”
Loved with everlasting love, Led by grace that love to know:
Spirit, breathing from above, Thou hast taught me it is so!
Oh this full and perfect peace! Oh this transport all divine!
In a love which cannot cease, I am His, and He is mine. W. Robinson
2. The Declaration Of Divine Drawing.
the STRENGTH of this love. 'With loving-kindness have I drawn thee." This magnetism then is the secret strength of that "Love that wilt not let me go." "I have drawn out continually My loving-kindness toward thee."
“Drawn” leading guiding developing.
Why are we afflicted O Lord? “with lovingkindness I have drawn you here”
Why are we mourning and downcast? “with lovingkindness I have drawn you here”
Why are we hemmed in by our enemies O Lord? “with lovingkindness I have drawn you here”
The people of Judah – the depths of despair
They experienced fear
“This is what the LORD says: “ ‘Cries of fear are heard – terror, not peace. Ask and see: Can a man bear children? Then why do I see every strong man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labour, every face turned deathly pale?” (Jeremiah 30:5-6)
They experienced despair
“This is what the LORD says: ‘Your wound is incurable, your injury beyond healing. There is no-one to plead your cause, no remedy for your sore, no healing for you. All your allies have forgotten you; they care nothing for you.’” (Jeremiah 30:12-14)
They experienced grief
This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more.” (Jeremiah 31:15)
Repentance Is Necessary before Restoration.
People are drawn to repentance.
A) Repentance is the work of God. Jer 31:18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God. 19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. 20 Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD. 21 Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.
turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God.
2 Tim 2: 24 The Lord’s slave must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient, 25 instructing his opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance to know the truth. 26 Then they may come to their senses and escape the Devil’s trap, having been captured by him to do his will.
B. God uses means to get us to repent.
Jer 31:18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke:
Perhaps a disabling illness, perhaps the passing away of someone close to us. Perhaps an unfortunate accident. Perhaps it is the disciplining hand of God. Before we experienced it we were like an ox that would not go under the yoke. We were stubborn and resistant. But He humbles us.
C. Repentance involves mourning Over Sin.
Jer 31:18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus;
I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, cries the prodigal son.
I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.
2 Cor 7: He announced to us your deep longing, your sorrow, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more. 8 For although I grieved you with my letter, I do not regret it—even though I did regret it since I saw that the letter grieved you, though only for a little while. 9 Now I am rejoicing, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance. For you were grieved as God willed, so that you didn’t experience any loss from us. 10 For godly grief produces a repentance not to be regretted and leading to salvation, but worldly grief produces death.
D. Genuine repentance includes Turning to God.
: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God. 19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed,
1 Thess 1:9 For they themselves report about us what kind of reception we had from you: how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.
The place of darkness is the place of singing.
Acts 16:22 Then the mob joined in the attack against them, and the chief magistrates stripped off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods. 23 After they had inflicted many blows on them, they threw them in jail, ordering the jailer to keep them securely guarded. 24 Receiving such an order, he put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
Job God gives songs in the night.
The source of our singing is the everlasting love of God.
