The Restoration Promise

Saturday January 24, 2015

Uncle Mark (not his real name) had his big toe removed because his arteries had become blocked after years of smoking 60 cigarettes a day. My husband and I used the traumatic event to talk to our children about the consequences of destructive habits. We realized just how much Uncle Mark´s story had impacted them when a few days later we heard our son telling another family member to quit smoking or his big toe would need to be cut off!

The nation of Israel was about to suffer the consequence of destructive habits. They had wandered far from God, were unfaithful to His laws and had chosen to worship other gods (Jeremiah 2-3, 5, 9). They had built altars to Ball and sacrificed their children in the fire as offerings (19:4-5). The prophet Jeremiah warned that Judah would soon face famine, be plundered and the people would be taken captive to a foreign land (10-11). Jeremiah exposed the sins of the people - sins which would ultimately lead to their captivity and destruction by the Babylonian army (1-2, 5:19).

Anyone who´s tried to defy gravity by leaping from too high of a perch has known the painful consequences of trying to break the laws of nature. In the same way, the price we pay for breaking God´s laws is high. Now, God´s kindness can turn us away from our willful disobedience (Romans 2:4), but sometimes it´s the consequences of our sin that finally leads us to right living (Hebrews 12:3-17).

God longs for us to turn away from our stubborn disobedience so we can know Him as our merciful and gracious Father (Jeremiah 24:7). He reinforced His faithful commitment to Judah and promised to restore them to Himself. And, by His grace, He does the same for us today (32:39-40). - Ruth O'Reilly-Smith.

Read
Jeremiah 32:37-44
I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them : I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.
"This is what the Lord says : As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them. Once more fields will be bought in this land of which you say, 'It is a desolate waste, without men or animals, for it has been handed over to the Babylonians.' Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, because I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord."

Ezekiel 36:26-27
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; i will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

Question to Ponder
What has God revealed about your distance from Him? 
What will you do today to draw closer to Him?

**Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Dec 2014 - Feb 2015