‘Behold I will gather them from out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely. They shall be my people and I will be their God. Then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’ “For thus says the LORD: ‘Just as I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them. . . .’ Jeremiah 32: 37-42, NKJV.
Father in heaven. How excellent is Your name in all the earth – for Your mercy is from everlasting to everlasting! In the midst of our sorrows help us never to forget Your heart of love. In the blessed name of Jesus Christ we humbly pray. Amen.
It has been quite a while since we heard the bad news – so the Good News is way overdue. I tried to make our Scripture for today as short as I could but it was impossible to decide what to include and what to exclude of God’s promises. They are filled to overflowing with such an abundance of good will!
Let us take a few minutes to look at what these promises reveal of God’s great heart of love:
Behold I will gather them from out of all countries where I have driven them. A complete recall from exile. Because of Israel’s sins God had allowed His people to be taken captive to other lands. And even before we hear the children of Israel repenting of their sins the mercies of God are voiced loud and clear: “I will gather them. . .” What an amazing, great and wonderfully kind and merciful Abba we serve! Before we have the strength to find our way home Abba comes to our rescue and gathers us up in His arms of love to carry us home! Hallelujah! Thank You Lord!
I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely. Israel’s behavior had no doubt caused God much grief. He had driven them away in His anger, fury, and great wrath. But His displeasure can never outdo His love! He, not another, will gather them, bring them back, and keep them safe! His Grace has nullified the wrath their sin caused , and He will remember their transgressions no more (Micah 7: 18-20). Praise God!
They shall be my people and I will be their God. This promise, standing all by itself would have been sufficient for Israel. But our God is a god of abundance! Abundant in love, abundant in forgiveness, abundant in mercy. So His promises overflow in their abundance of good will. You will once again be My “special treasure” upon the earth and I will be your God! And the blessings continue:
Then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. Isn’t this absolutely wonderful? The children of Israel were constantly failing to keep their part of the covenant with God. Why? For the same reason we fail in our walk with God: We forget that God is the One making the covenant with us; that He will provide the way for us to be faithful; and that only He can keep us from departing from Him! As he recalls them He reminds them!
Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’ Then our Heavenly Parent will “with all [His] heart and with all [His] soul’ ” take the greatest delight in doing them good. Hallelujah! You see this was to be an everlasting covenant. As far as God was concerned they would never be carried away from their land – ever. He was planting them in their homeland with no intentions of rooting them up!
“For thus says the LORD: ‘Just as I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them. . . .’ Thank You Lord for such loving kindness and tender mercies! You see our tears. You hear our groans. You enter into our pain. And Your parent heart is moved with tender compassion. In the same manner in which the night of weeping was allowed, now You will allow the morning of “joy” to break forth. For the Son of Righteousness will arise with healing in His wings! This is Good News! And the half has never been told!