PROCLAMATION
“ ‘I am with you and will save you,’ declares The
Lord. ‘Though I completely destroy all
the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only in measure; I
will not let you go entirely unpunished.’ ”
Jeremiah 30:11 (NIV)
EXPLANATION
These
are the words of The Lord God which were spoken to the prophet Jeremiah and proclaimed
to the people of Judah. The Lord God
wanted the people of Judah and Israel to know that the day is coming when He
will bring them back from captivity to the land that He gave to their
ancestors. (Jeremiah 30:1) He said that
He will break the yoke that has been on their necks and He will take off their
bonds. Then He said that no longer would
foreigners enslave them. (Jeremiah 30:8)
He wanted to make it clear, however, that He would save them from
captivity, but first He was going to punish them for their sins.
APPLICATION
We need to understand that some of the bad times that
we go through are the punishment for our previous sinful behavior and that we
brought it upon ourselves. The Lord God is
still with us while we are being punished but He is allowing it to happen. He said that He would never leave us or
forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) He is
merciful, and He will not destroy us, but He will chastise and correct us
appropriately according to our sins. (Proverbs 3:12 and Hebrews 12:6) Our punishment is designed to change our
future behavior. Let us pray for His
help, guidance, and direction so that when He restores us will do that which is
right and just. Better days are coming.
(Psalm 30:5)
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