seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Jeremiah 33:1 While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the Lord came to him a second time: 2 “This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name: 3 ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ 4 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege ramps and the sword 5 in the fight with the Babylonians[a]: ‘They will be filled with the dead bodies of the people I will slay in my anger and wrath. I will hide my face from this city because of all its wickedness.
6 “‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. 7 I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity[b] and will rebuild them as they were before. 8 I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. 9 Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’
10 “This is what the Lord says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without people or animals.” Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more 11 the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying,
“Give thanks to the Lord Almighty,
for the Lord is good;
his love endures forever.”
for the Lord is good;
his love endures forever.”
For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the Lord.
12 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In this place, desolate and without people or animals—in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks. 13 In the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,’ says the Lord.
14 “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
15 “‘In those days and at that time
I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;
he will do what is just and right in the land.
16 In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it[c] will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’
I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;
he will do what is just and right in the land.
16 In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it[c] will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’
17 For this is what the Lord says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel, 18 nor will the Levitical priests ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.’”
19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 20 “This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, 21 then my covenant with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. 22 I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.’”
23 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 24 “Have you not noticed that these people are saying, ‘The Lord has rejected the two kingdoms[d] he chose’? So they despise my people and no longer regard them as a nation. 25 This is what the Lord says: ‘If I have not made my covenant with day and night and established the laws of heaven and earth, 26 then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes[e] and have compassion on them.’”
a. Jeremiah 33:5 Or Chaldeans
b. Jeremiah 33:7 Or will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel
c. Jeremiah 33:16 Or he
d. Jeremiah 33:24 Or families
e. Jeremiah 33:26 Or will bring them back from captivity
This is from bible-studys.org.
The promises of future restoration must have seemed especially hard for Jeremiah to believe while he was imprisoned in the midst of the Babylonian crisis, and so the Lord encouraged him to pray with the promise that He would do “Great and mighty things, which thou knowest not”. The promises of God are certain, but He still calls on His people to actualize those promises through prayer. God wants to be involved in people’s lives, to be asked to help. People must call upon Him so He can answer them (Psalm 91:15; Isa. 55:6-7).
Jeremiah certainly did not know all there was to know of God. The closer Jeremiah (or any of us), will draw to God in prayer the more of Himself God will show. There is nothing impossible to God. God reveals Himself to those who obey and follow Him.
This is from enduringword.com.
Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know: God invited Jeremiah and all who heard to come to Him in faith-filled prayer, confident of His answer. This promise is especially remarkable considering the circumstances: enduring the terror of a siege and the soon fulfillment of promised judgment. As the judgment was even at the door, God spoke of word of hope and invitation and faith to Jeremiah and Jerusalem.
Yes.... I know this is about the descendants of Jacob [Israel]. While I know God knew all about me and my troubles.... even back when Jeremiah was in prison back in the day.... and while I know that these verses were written for everyone.... and at the time they were transcribed.... God had a lot more important stuff than my restoration to think about..... I take Jeremiah 33:3 as my personal restoration verse. God told me to ask Him and I did. God told me He would answer and He did. I own this verse.... it gets me through the worst stuff.December 3rd, I put my daughters on a plane to Maryland..... that continues to be the darkest day of my life. I married a man I thought was a kind and funny guy..... turned out he did things the church definitely did not like. This man claimed to be saved during a revival that took place in Kissimmee, Fla.... but I knew what he had done.... and I know that the church to this day.... condemns this man and says that he will never be saved. By the time I learned of his "sinning ways" I was already married to him. My mother said marriage was forever and I had to stay. "No daughter of hers was going to shame the family with divorce". Three children later..... the man hadn't changed.
The preacher from the church there in Kissimmee found out what that man was doing. I don't know how he found out.... he shouldn't have crossed paths with anyone who would tell him.... but he knew. He showed me a verse in Jude that would allow me to leave the man.... and retain my faith. I didn't leave right away.... I had been told by a "psychologist" [or so he claimed to be].... that if I left that man.... he would probably commit suicide and that death would be on me. I was stuck.... until the night he tried to throw me out of a car while moving full speed on the interstate..... so I wouldn't tell his secret.
I left him that night.... I took the kids, under police protection, and left. I had nowhere else to go but back to my parent's house. That man told me he would starve me out if I didn't come back..... I ran to Washington State so he couldn't find us..... with the kids. We went broke.... a man came to turn off the electric and I almost beat him up..... Salvation Army didn't even have a chicken to help us out at Thanksgiving..... and Christmas was on the way. The kids were going without.... we were soon going to be homeless..... I could not do it..... so I sent my son to my father.... who said he would raise him.... and my dad was a Christian.... so I knew my son would learn to be a Christian..... I sent my daughters to that man.... he wanted his kids... he wouldn't hurt them....
That night.... all alone.... in a friend's guest room..... I begged God to tell me why I had to go on...... I don't know the whole story.... God gave me a peek.... so that I would be encouraged..... that was almost 40 years ago..... my dad raised my son...... I haven't seen him in a few years.... he has five children. That man wasn't so nice to my oldest daughter.... he broke her tooth hitting her in the mouth.... she came back to me about 8 years later. My youngest daughter is estranged from me to this day. She refuses to hear the reason I left..... and her father deserves one child who loves him undeniably.... he gave up his "sinful" ways to raise her..... why should I force her to listen to why I left.... it would only hurt her more.
It turns out.... God doesn't hate that man. Yes.... he did things that were not normal.... his addiction to porn was a big part of it..... but back in the day.... the church told me that God hated him.... and he would never change.... I and I should get out... and save the kids. And I was wrong.... and the church was wrong.... and my son and my daughter think I never loved them..... which couldn't be further from the truth.
I asked God that night..... "why" and He answered me. The church was wrong..... everything I was ever taught about right and wrong was totally off kilter.... but it turned out ok. My son is a great father.... he learned it from my dad. My daughter is a marvelous mother and she has a good husband.... my oldest daughter has a great family too. I am remarried.... Saturday it will be 35 years..... and we raised a daughter who got married to a good boy just a few days ago.
God had a plan. I had to forgive that man. I had to forgive my mom. I had to forgive the church. I don't know what the whole plan is.... but I know He showed me snippets of the plan so I could work towards them. God loves my kids.... He has kept them safe. God loves me. God loves that man.... and I know that man deserves one child, at least, that loves him for who he is..... and what he did to raise her.
Ask.... God will talk to you..... even if you don't like the answer.
