Grace In The Wilderness
Jeremiah 31
Introduction
One of the most unusual men in the Bible is a man of God / prophet named Jeremiah.
Let me run through some of the facts of his life before we get into the subject of today’s message.
1. He was born a priest in a small town north of Jerusalem.
2. He was chosen to be a priest before he was born.
3. He was called to be a prophet while very young.
Jer 1:4-10
4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
4. He was told not to marry because of the terrible times in which he lived.
5. In all the years that he preached – he never made a convert.
6. His message broke his heart.
7. He wanted to resign but God wouldn’t let Him.
He was a prophet commissioned by God to proclaim a message of judgment.
Why would God commission a man who had a mothers heart – a trembling voice – and tear filled eyes, to deliver a harsh message of judgment. The message that he gave broke his heart.
Jeremiah is known as the “weeping prophet”. He was a man of tears most of the time.
To proclaim this message of judgment God could have sent:
1. A man as mighty as Elijah – but he didn’t.
2. A man as eloquent as Isaiah – but he didn’t.
3. A man as seraphic as Ezekiel – but he didn’t.
Instead he sent a tender-hearted man like Jeremiah.
Two things characterized Jeremiah’s life – Loneliness and weeping.
The book of Jeremiah is a book about judgment – about impending judgment.
But in the midst of this preaching is a Psalm – a song. A Song of Hope found in Chapters 30 – 33. In the center of this song is a Promise or Promise of a future.
Jeremiah Chapter 31
J. Vernon McGee calls this the “I will” chapter because 15 times God says “I will”.
There are several passages in this chapter that are awesome.
This is the situation: the army of Nebuchadnezzar was outside the walls of the city of Jerusalem and they meant business. This time Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, will destroy the city and burn the Temple. Jeremiah had been arrested and was in jail. The false prophets of the day had announced that Nebuchadnezzar would be overthrown and defeated. Jeremiah had proclaimed that Babylon would be victorious and that this was God’s judgment upon their sin and rebellion. Yet the nation refused to heed the Word of God and kept on in their Sin.
Can any hour be darker or any circumstance be more despairing? Yet at this time Jeremiah’s message turns from judgment to Hope.
I. Jeremiah’s Message Was A Message of Grace In The Midst Of Judgment. Vs 2
Jer 31:2 - Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.
Grace in the Wilderness.
1. Life is filled with “Wilderness” experiences. What is the “Wilderness”?
a. To some the Wilderness is the reaping for their sins.
b. To some the Wilderness comes because of someone else’s sins.
c. To others – They were born in the Wilderness.
Handicaps – Blindness – Poverty – Dysfunctional homes Fanny Crosby
d. To many the Wilderness is a long illness or a time of sorrow. Joni Erickson
e. To still others they are in the Wilderness for the Glory of God. Job
2. Grace in the Wilderness – That says it all.
Those that were left of the sword found grace in the Wilderness.
Mephibosheth – II Samuel 9 When David found Mephibosheth he was in Lodebar which means “Wilderness”.
What do we find in the Wilderness. -- A Table A Table means provision - Can God provide for you.
Ps 78:19 - Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?
II. Jeremiah’s Message Was A Message Of Everlasting Love Vs. 3
Jer 31:3 - The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
There are many passages in the Bible that illustrate the love of God for Us. This passage tells us so much about
God’s love for us.
1. God’s love is Premeditated. Vs. 3 “Yea, have I loved thee...”
a. The word premeditated means to think out or plan beforehand.
b. It isn’t only that he does love Us. “while we were yet sinners” he loved us.
2. His love is Personal. Thee “you...”
When Jesus died on the cross You were on his mind.
3. His love is a Persistent Love. “...with an everlasting love;”
Real love is everlasting. It is Unchanging. God’s love is everlasting. It’s enduring.
4. God’s love is Powerful. “therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn you...”
God wants you to experience his Love.
a. He draws you.
b. You must choose to enter his Love. The entrance into god’s love is: Jesus .
III. Jeremiah’s Message was a Message on the Promises of God. Vs. 31-34
This message is about Hope. Hope in the midst of suffering and despair. Hope in the Promise of a Better Covenant. – A New Covenant. Not based Upon the Law but upon Grace.
Jer 31:31-34
31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Illustration - Hasidic Jews
If you get lost in Brooklyn, New York, and wander into the section called Williamsburg, prepare yourself for a surprise. Boys playing baseball look rather odd... long, uncut curls of hair trail from above their ears down to their chests. Men in black, with long, untrimmed beards, coach from the sidelines. All the women you see wear wigs because they have shaved their heads.
You might wonder if this a new cult from California or the latest punk fashion from London. Actually, you have stumbled into a community of Hasidic Jews. They live, not by the latest fad, but by ancient rules based on Old Testament laws. They follow complicated dietary regulations. They keep one set of bowls for meat, and another for dairy products. Young men devote long hours of study to the Hebrew Old Testament.
Though they are Americans, living in New York, their cultural focus points to Mount Sinai, where God gave Moses the Law. The Old Covenant.
3 examples of a covenant:
Law 1) Patriarchal history 2) The Ten Commandments 3) Stone tablets God wrote on.
Marriage 1) Bride and Grooms history 2) The pronouncing of the vows 3) Sealed with a ring.
Salvation
1) The Bible (Humanity and God)
2) We make a vow and a commitment of our heart and life at our conversion experience to serve God
3) Our covenant is sealed with the Holy Spirit
Conclusion
The great missionary Adoniram Judson once said in regard to the future of the mission field of Burma which he had pioneered.
“The future is as bright as the promises of God.”
