Jeremiah Chapters 31-33

31:2 - There are some really beautiful promises in today's passages...here we see that the people are promised that after the pas through the initial judgement, the pain, the suffering...they will be able to see the grace of God at work. Isn't that true? There are times when we go through painful "desert" experiences, where we question what God is doing. But on every occasion where I have experienced something like that, I have come to see the grace of God and the way He was shaping me through the situation.

31:3 - No matter what your misconceptions about God's nature in the OT are (Some people think He is mean, cruel, angry, etc.), we are told plainly over and over what the reality is: God's love is everlasting and steadfast...though His people reject Him over and over, He is always faithful to His promises.

31:13-14 - As always, after the promises of punishment are the promises of future peace and restoration. God allows the people of Israel to be exiled so that thy will eventually draw closer to Him.

31:15 - This is another prophecy from Jeremiah about the life of Jesus. This prophecy is fulfilled in Matthew 2:18 when the Jewish children were slaughtered in a failed attempt to kill Jesus.

31:22 - Now this is a verse that is often very confusing to people. What does it mean - "now a woman encircles a man?" Well, this has a lot to do with the concepts of the New Covenant and the Old Covenant. I can't tell you how many Christians I know that believe that Jesus ushered in a New Covenant that completes makes the Old one meaningless. I know people who feel no need to spend time in the OT because they have the NEW Testament. What we need to understand is that Jesus did not come to usher in a new covenant, meaning something completely different...he made the covenant "new", as in - he restored it to what it was really supposed to be all along. Jesus himself said he did not come to abolish the Law and prophets, but to fulfill them. Maybe we should listen to Jesus on this one. God is an everlasting, never-changing God and His covenant is the same. So why did I say all that? Because we have to see that God's intentions for relationships with His people even in the OT are so world and culture shattering it is amazing! Jeremiah is writing to an ancient culture of people that have a very twisted understanding of the role of women in the world. They believe that women are supposed to be subservient and ancient societies generally did their best to oppress women (Even the Jewish people). What is awesome is that Jeremiah, in the OT, shows us that God's real covenant with the people will shake up even the roles of women in society. Women will not just be looked at as helpless individuals who exist to serve/please men, but they will once again take on the role of guide, protector, "helpmate" for men as was originally intended (In the garden). That is radical, revolutionary teaching from the OT and it came thousands of years before human cultures began t actually treat women as people of true worth. How cool is that? And when I think about my relationship with my wife...this passage just comes to life. She is a wise woman and often steps into my life to "protect" me from experiencing the fallout of acting on my impulsive nature. She is always there to offer encouragement, but also good advice and I have no idea what I would do without her.

31:25 - Love that beautiful promise. Replenish my soul God, please.

31:33-34 - As I read this, I see future prophecy about Jesus Christ buried here. When Jesus gave his life as a sacrifice for our sins, human beings for the first time since the fall of man in the garden were able to connect themselves to the Spirit of God. That sacrifice cleanses us and makes it so that the Holy Spirit can dwell within us. Why do you think it was so hard for the Israelites to remain faithful to God? They didn't have the resources that we have - they didn't have the very essence of God living within them and working on them. We have that! You hear Christians all the time wishing that they could see God at work like they did in the OT...they wish they could hear God speak out of a burning bush, see God part the Red Sea, etc. We think Moses was so fortunate to experience God like that, but if Moses was here, he would be jealous of us. He would probably say, "You get to have the Spirit of the living God dwell within you? WOW!"

32:14-15 - Here is another powerful illustration from Jeremiah. Though an army is literally besieging the city, Jeremiah goes out and buy some property...buys a vineyard. That is crazy...why would he do that? It is all going to be captured and destroyed soon. He buries the deeds to the property in an urn, to stand as a symbol that one day this land will again be worth something. God will bring His people back and restore them to their promised land. Jeremiah's message is to remain faithful.

32:35 - Why does the punishment of the Israelites seem so harsh? Captured and taken from their homeland for 70 years - whoa! Well, this verse may give you some clues as to why - the people have begun to live lives of utter depravity. God's chosen people are sacrificing their own babies to false idols. God has to destroy the wickedness that exists in His people. Instead of asking how God can be so harsh, we should be asking how He can be so merciful over and over.

32:41 - God cannot wait to get back to the place where He and His people are unified again. Kinda like a father who had to punish His child (Because he loves him) and cannot wait until it is all over, so they can once again play together with joy.

33:6-9- Here we see more promises of future healing while the people are in the midst of pain.

33:15-16 - The true branch that rises from the stump of Jesus - the line of David - is Jesus. Jesus absolutely embodied this promise that "the Lord is our righteousness." God came to earth as a man, showed people what humanity is really supposed to look like by example, and then gave himself as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. The only way sinners like you and me could ever be righteous is through the blood of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the Lord is our righteousness, literally.