Musings on Jeremiah

I'm currently in the middle of studying Jeremiah. I read chapter 27 the other day and was particularly blown away, old lesson, different angle...here are a few of my thoughts on it...

Jeremiah 27- Quick summary- Judah is strategizing to overthrow the rule of Babylon, which they have recently come under. God speaks through Jeremiah and tells the people that it is His WILL that they are under the rule of King Nebudchadnezzar and Babylon and they will be for some time. It won't last forever, but they must not fight back or they will be punished.

How amazing that God reveals a piece of His plan to Judah here. How needed it was as well...His plan was completely OPPOSITE of the people's natural instinct: Big Bad Babylon (Triple B) takes over=people fight back to reclaim their freedom, God says "Nope, stop, it's my will that you are under Triple B's thumb for now. Obey and submit". Whoosh- the sound of every person in Judah gaping at the Lord, "You want us to do WHAT!? How in the world does that accomplish anything!?"...Oh yes, God's grace all over this one- the people NEVER would have thought- "Ooh Triple B has conquered us, let us smile sweetly and offer our services to Triple B." God needed to show His plan to keep His people from getting into trouble (ie the promised punishment if they did not submit to Babylon's rule). He knows just what information we need to know, even though sometimes we can't see the reason or purpose for it. His mercy stretches even further when He tells them it will not be forever...he doesn't give a timeframe, just not forever. Think how we are in the same situation. Let's start big:

1) Big picture- Christ's return- we know its coming, but we don't know when. We are told to wait patiently and trust
2) Smaller picture- Our continual santification and eventual reward of heaven. We don't know when we will die, but we know it's coming, what's coming afterward, and are told to press on and trust
3) Smallest picture- the season of life that we are in. We don't know when the next will begin, we are told to press on and trust.

Nice to see that our God is consistent eh? He revealed a bit of his plan to Judah and told them to press on and trust. He reveals a bit of His plan to us and tells us to press on and trust. And, if read on, God is faithful to Judah, so guess what that means to us? Yep, you guessed it, God will be faithful to us. Love it.