A Season of Promises
The Promise of His Coming
Jeremiah 33:6-18
Introduction
This month we will be focused on the season - season of promises. Many faith families regard this time of year as Advent - a time to slow down and experience the season of expectation as we wait. Advent calls us to not be so caught up in the Christmas rush that we fail to remember two important truths:
-God’s people waited expectantly for Messiah to come.
-God’s people await for Messiah to come again.
Today we will spend time with the prophet Jeremiah - the weeping prophet - as he reminds us that God is not through - even when the times appear to be dark. He writes in a bleak time for God’s people. The prophecy was written in the midst of exile. The people were warned and remained unfaithful: they now have “reaped what they sowed”, yet their suffering and despair is real and cannot be ignored. “Many people … must have believed that Yahweh had rejected his people. The events of 587 B.C. made their pessimism all the more severe.” (Thompson)
The judgment of God- Exile- is deserved, yet is still so awful that even God joins the people’s lament and dreams of restoration. People are waiting for the promise to be fulfilled.
It might be hard for us to identify with God’s people at this time, but living in dark times and wondering when God will intervene is not.
- We pray for the children of the world in Palestine, Israel, Ukraine, any anywhere in the world.
- We pray for the lost, left behind, overlooked, mistreated, hated
- We pray for those fighting their way through addiction, disease, grief.
- We await the coming of Christ who brings the promise of hope, healing, and renewal to the earth.
Into a time of darkness, God speaks. Jeremiah 30-33 is known as “The Little Book of Comfort”.
1. The Promise of Healing (33:6-9)
Israel was certainly a people in need of healing - and it would come eventually, after a period of Babylonian captivity.
Malachi 4:2 LSB “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.”
We know that in his earthly ministry, Jesus was a healer of hurts and disease. Even now Jesus is bringing healing and hope to those who are hurting - through grace, forgiveness, and answer to prayer.
In our ultimate destination, Revelation 22:2 “On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”
God’s promise of healing is needed in our broken and hurting world … and in our own personal worlds.
2. The Promise of Joy (33:10-11)
Israel probably couldn’t imagine finding joy again. When we are in the darkness of despair, joy seems far away.
When Jesus was born, the announcement was one of joy. Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people." Only in Jesus can we find joy when it cannot be found anywhere else.
3. The Promise of Comfort (33:12-14)
Our Father speaks to Israel and offers comfort to them in the knowledge of what they will endure because of their
unfaithfulness. Kegel: Jeremiah had pleaded with the people for thirty-eight years but Israel would not listen. They ignored God’s prophet, they mocked him, drove him out of his own house, threatened him and finally tried several times to kill him. Finally, Jeremiah came to understand that if there was to be healing for such a people, it would have to come from God Himself. He knew that only Yahweh could restore Israel to wholeness and faithfulness.
He uses the imagery of a shepherd - an image that Jesus adopts for himself as our Good Shepherd.
Matthew 9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
All of the healing, joy, comfort will be experienced in a limited way when the exiles return from captivity and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and the temple, but they find full expression in the life and ministry of Jesus.
4. The Promise of Messiah (33:15-18)
The Righteous Branch (15) “Righteous Branch” looks to the future coming of Christ when all will be made new. But it also reminds us that the risen Christ is living now in our lives and brings hope and light into our lives we would not have otherwise. “The Messiah, Jesus Christ, is spoken of as the righteous branch coming from David. This figure of speech is prominent in God's unfolding plans for His people”. (Keesee)
Ruffcorn: There will be a time when love will prevail over hate and acts of kindness will replace any angry words and discord. When the righteous branch takes root, poverty will cease and everyone will have enough (the rich won’t have too much). People who experience tragedies will be cared for. Our prayers will be answered—God’s kingdom will come and God’s will shall be done on earth and in heaven. Until the time when the righteous branch sprouts and grows, we, as followers of Jesus, are called to bring the love, forgiveness, and grace into the world. Through our words and deeds we take up Jesus’ ministry and care for the sick, feed the hungry, clothe the naked and bring peace to our families, communities, nation and world.
Salvation and safety (16) “The Lord Our Righteous Savior”- This message seemed strange to the people hearing
Jeremiah. On the brink of disaster from invading countries. Babylon would overtake Judah and it would be a long time before the exile was over.
“A human community that goes by the name "the Lord is our righteousness" understands itself to be delivered, redeemed, and cared for by the Lord. That community understands itself to be committed to all those ways God has defined as right living in relationship with God and neighbor.” Patrick D. Miller
Conclusion
“Jesus is the answer for the world today. Above Him there’s no other, Jesus is the way.” All of the healing, joy, comfort and promise we find in Jesus. We need to hear the message of Jeremiah afresh and know that God is still the keeper of His promises … and that’s what fills our hearts with hope today. There was hope during the exile and there is today because God promised there would be. Five hundred years after God saved the Judeans from their Babylonian exile, a child would be born, and his parents would name him “Yeshua,” or “Jesus,” meaning “God
saves.”(Wrenn)
Jeremian 33:3 God told Jeremiah, Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know”.
The Lord wanted His prophet to trust in Him and to seek Him for guidance. God also wants us to call on Him in prayer today. He can hear us wherever we may be.
1 Peter 1:13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.
This season of promise is the promise of healing, joy, comfort - the promise of His Coming!
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Good illustration I didn't use:
Kelly Flanagan relates a Christmas memory: Several years ago, when my son Quinn was in kindergarten, he opened a present on Christmas morning, and he was not happy with what he saw. He set it aside, looked up at me, and declared, “We’re gonna need a receipt for that one.” I made a mental note to start working on gratitude with him as soon as the wrapping paper was all picked up. Yet, at the same time, I heard in his words the ordinary wish of the masses of humanity: We are given this gift called life and, oftentimes, as we unwrap it, there are parts of it we would like to return. He goes on to write, “... faith in the future does not erase our pain about the present.”
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Discussion Questions
1. Why was this message of restoration significant for the people of Israel?
2. What does this passage reveal about God's relationship with His people? How does God's faithfulness shine through despite the challenges faced by the Israelites?
3. What specific promises does God make regarding the restoration of His people in this passage? How do these
promises reflect God's character and His relationship with His people?
4. Verse 15 talks about the promise of a righteous Branch. How does this anticipation of a coming Messiah play into the overall narrative of the Bible? In what ways do Christians today live in anticipation of the fulfillment of God's promises?
5. In what ways can we actively participate in the process of spiritual restoration in our own lives and communities? How can the themes of restoration, healing, and God's faithfulness in this passage be applied to our lives today?
6. In what ways do we experience God's restoration and healing in our spiritual journey? How does this passage
inspire hope in times of difficulty or challenge?
7. How can we encourage one another to trust in God's promises, even when circumstances seem bleak?
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Resources
Clements, R.E. Interpretation: Jeremiah. John Knox Press, 1988
Donovan, Richard Neil. Biblical Commentary. https://sermonwriter.com/biblical-commentary-old/jeremiah-3314-16/
Flanagan, Kelly. The Most Wonderfully Painful Time of the Year
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/december-web-only/christmas-most-wonderfully-painful-time-of-year-grit.html
Keesee, Dayton. Truth for Today Commentary: Jeremiah 26-52 and Lamentations. Resource Publications, 2011.
Kegel, James https://sermonwriter.com/sermons/old-testament-jeremiah-3314-16-time-of-fulfillment-kegel/
Kruger, Melissa. How You Can Have Genuine Joy and Hope This Christmas. https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holidays/how-you-can-have-genuine-joy-and-hope-this-christmas.html
Miller, Patrick D. The New Interpreter's Bible Commentary, Volume IV. The Book of Jeremiah. Abingdon, 2015.
Pulpit Fiction https://www.pulpitfiction.com/narrative-notes/2-13
Ruffcorn, David https://asanefaith.com/fulfilling-a-promise/
Thompson, J.A. NICOT: The Book of Jeremiah. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1980.
Wrenn, Rachel. Working Preacher Commentary.
https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/narrative-lectionary/promise-of-the-messiah/commentary-on-jeremiah-3314-18
