Israel’s living as captives in Babylon. Even after all the covenants God has made with
Israel, all the promises and guidance through the gift of the Law, the gift of
the Promised Land, God still has to step in because the people with power,
wealth, and influence keep using it against the weak, poor, widows, and orphans
for their own benefits rather than treating each person with respect and honour
as fellow image bearers of God. The saddest thing is that you see so much of
that still happening today; we don’t learn very well. God allows Babylon to
defeat Israel and take her best and brightest into captivity. God punishes and
allows the consequences of our sin play out in their painful ways, but he refuses
to give up on or abandon his people. Ezekiel shows us the Spirit leaving the
temple and heading east since God goes with his people, Ezekiel 11, “Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside
them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
The glory of the Lord went up from within the city and stopped above the
mountain east of it. The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in
Babylonia in the vision given by the Spirit of God.”
It’s early in Israel’s exile. Yet they deeply
long for their punishment to come to an end. In Israel’s case, the punishment’s
going to last a while yet, so God tells Jeremiah in 29:5–7,
“Build
houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have
sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in
marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number
there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to
which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it
prospers, you too will prosper.”
Covenant has been broken and Israel’s facing the
consequences. But, as Pastor Stan Mast
reminds us, “There
was that business of the Promised Land that goes all the way back to Abraham
and is renewed here in verses 27 and 28… “I will be
your God and you shall be my people,” … That covenant relationship
will continue. Even the horror of the Exile did not break that
relationship, though it seemed that God had forsaken them.”
God doesn’t allow them to wallow in sorrow or fear. He tells Jeremiah,
“When I bring them back from
captivity, the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use
these words: ‘The Lord bless you, you prosperous city, you sacred mountain.’
People will live together in Judah and all its towns—farmers and those who move
about with their flocks. I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”
But there are other prophets who don’t like what Jeremiah’s saying and they
trash him, telling the people that Jeremiah doesn’t know what he’s talking
about. The Lord steps in and promises to punish the prophets Hananiah and
Shemaiah for their rebellion. The Lord will bring his people home, but it’s not
going to happen anytime soon. Covenant’s been broken, yet God always remains
faithful to his people.
The Lord has allowed Israel to be torn down as a
people and nation. Because God is a
God of covenant and has fully committed himself to his people, he promises to
build them up again, “The days are coming when I will
plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of
animals. Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow,
destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant.”
The Lord’s going to bring them home, he’s watching over them, he’s going to rebuild
them, plant them, help them grow again; grow in relationship with God, grow in
their understanding of who God is, and who they are as his people. God is
promising to invest in them and help them flourish again.
The Lord allowed Babylon to crush Israel. Israel is now able to experience what the nations are
really like under their gods, helping them realize just how much the Lord has
done for them, how the Lord has always stayed in relationship with them, even
though they keep drifting away; attracted to the ways of the other nations. The
Lord’s now showing them the depth of his commitment to his people, staying true
to his side of the covenants, even as he allows them to experience the
consequences of trusting in alliances and covenants with other nations. What
alliances and groups do you place your trust, who commands loyalty in you that
should rest in Jesus alone? Our hearts are easily drawn to the promises of
others, causing us to forget Jesus’ promises and call on our lives.
Now the Lord says something that sounds kind of
strange. “In those days people will
no longer say, ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth
are set on edge.’ Instead, everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats
sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.” We hear an echo back
to Deuteronomy 5
where the Lord tells Israel, “You
shall not bow down to idols or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a
jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and
fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand
generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” This acknowledges that parents’ sins often create
pain for their children. We saw a little of this at Synod where churches who
have declared themselves churches in protest because of the decisions of the
past few years, have been placed in discipline, even if not every person in the
congregation agreed with their council’s decision.
Now the Lord moves closer to his people, into a more intimate relationship with his people. Now each person will
be responsible for their walk with God. When you go your way instead of God’s
way, Jesus’ way, you’ll experience the consequences of your choices and
actions. This doesn’t mean that someone else’s sin and wrong choices won’t
affect you; that happens way too often, even today; it doesn’t mean that your
parents’ bad decisions or sin won’t impact you in hurtfully or even harmful
ways. Abuse, greed, lust, anger and more are such a part of the world that many
of you have been hurt by others, yet this is because of their choices, not
because God is punishing you through their sinful choices.
God tells Jeremiah that he’s going to make a new
covenant with the people. “The days are coming when I
will make a new covenant with my people…. This is the covenant I will make with
the people of Israel after that time, I will put my law in their minds and
write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No
longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I
will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” This
is covenant given in a new way. Unlike the covenant at Mount Sinai that was
written on stone tablets, this covenant is going to be written on the peoples’
hearts so they can’t forget. The covenant at Sinai was rooted in laws showing
the people how to live with God and each other, and show us the character of
God as a holy, righteous God who cares about justice and the flourishing of all
his people, not just the wealthy and powerful. Now the laws will be right in
the hearts and minds of the people. God gets deeply intimate with us here.
Pastor Stan Mast writes, “God’s people will
actually have that law written on their hearts. “I will put my law in
their mind and write it upon their hearts… the new covenant does not reject
God’s law. Instead that law is injected into God’s people.” The Lord shows
what that looks like in Ezekiel in 36, “I will give you a new heart and put a new
spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart
of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and
be careful to keep my laws.”
Jeremiah and Ezekiel point ahead to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross where his blood washes us clean from our
sin, and to the gift of the Holy Spirit Jesus gives us after he rises from the
grave and returns to heaven. Jesus’ Spirit now lives in our hearts, pointing us
constantly to Jesus and leads us into lives that reflect the fruit of the
Spirit in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Are you embracing
the guidance and movement of the Holy Spirit, are you allowing yourself to be
shaped in this new covenant into a deeper relationship with God? The new
covenant calls us to say “Yes!” to Jesus each day, always remembering his
commitment to us! Say “Yes!” to Jesus today, and every day!
