A Vision of the Future

September 7, 2014 Background Scripture: Jeremiah 30 Lesson Passage: Jeremiah 30:1 – 3, 19 – 22 Jeremiah had foretold the seventy years of captivity of Israel in a foreign land. The false prophets capitalized on Jeremiah’s prophecy of doom and they predicted a very different outcome than Jeremiah’s prophecy. The false prophets claimed that disaster would be averted and Israel would come through the threat unscathed. The authorities had a choice and many chose to believe the false prophets and they in turn had Jeremiah imprisoned and made a public laughingstock. In today’s lesson, God had a message for His people and it was too important just to speak it. The Lord told the Prophet Jeremiah to write the message in a book (or on a scroll). This written message would be available so future generations would know that God had spoken about future conditions and it came to pass as God had said it would. It was a message of hope. This message of hope must have felt like a breath of fresh air to Jeremiah. In the former days, Jeremiah wept for the people of God because of what would befall them for their sinful ways. He was at that time the prophet of doom. His prophecy was not popular or well received but it was the word of God. But the text of today’s lesson takes a radical turn and Jeremiah becomes the prophet of consolation to Israel. In fact, today’s lesson text reminds me of the slogan “The future looks so bright that I have to wear shades.” There was good news following Jeremiah’s previous prophecies. All would be restored in the land of Zion. Israel would be punished for her sins but God’s punishment of Israel would not last forever. Israel would be restored to the land of Canaan. Although they would spend seventy years in captivity in a foreign land, freedom was on the way. Their freedom was as sure as their captivity. The “weeping prophet” now had a reason to rejoice. Israel would indeed suffer for her sins against God but afterwards her enemy would suffer greater at God’s hand. Israel’s enemy would receive what they had dealt. The one who had devoured would be devoured. The enemy that took Israel into captivity would in turn be captured. The enemy had spoiled Israel by plundering and taking all of her wealth. In the end, the spoilers would be spoiled. Their wealth would be taken from them and Israel would again be prosperous. The enemy had preyed on Israel but the predators would become prey. They would suffer greater than the suffering they had caused God’s people. God’s divine law of reciprocity is unrelenting. Israel’s enemy would reap exactly what they had sown. After Israel’s return to Zion, thanksgiving would again be heard from the lips of God’s people in their own land. The singers would lift up their voices and sing with joy and cause the people to make merry in exhortation to God. The joy of the Lord would be their strength. They would again establish their local government and resume being self-governed within the laws of God. They would no longer answer to foreign governors for they will no longer be oppressed by foreigners. The days of Israel’s captivity would be filled with grief and pain but the vision of her future was glorious and uplifting. Jeremiah prophesied a vision of Israel’s future. Robert C. Hudson August 26, 2014