Introduction
This second week in Advent traditionally focusses on the prophets, and in particular what they say about the “one who is to come”. This raises a key question: What sort of future?
The future that may or may not have come to fruition before the coming of Jesus
Israel’s future that came to fruition with the coming of Jesus
Our own future that will come to fruition at the Second Coming
Confusing! All three of these possibilities depend on one another.
So …. What is it that we are waiting for in this season of Advent? There are numerous passages that we could consider, but our focus will be on Jeremiah 33.12-17.
And a little historical context … After the great “successes” of David and Solomon, problems arose. Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, reacted harshly to a request to lighten the load placed on people, especially by Solomon, and this resulted (in about 922BC) in a split between the 10 northern tribes (Israel/Ephraim) and the 2 southern tribes (Judah). They remained separate for the rest of their existence. The northern kingdom was ruled by a succession of kings who struggled to make a dynasty, whilst the southern kingdom was ruled by the Davidic dynasty. 1 Kings 12 describes the events that took place to cause the split.
We need to read JEREMIAH 33.1-11 to put things into context:
What was Jeremiah’s situation at this time, and why?
What is the significance of verse 3?
What had happened to the city, and why? (4-5)
Summarise, in your own words, God’s promises (6-9)
Reflect on the contrast between now and then (10-11)
Now we can focus on our key passage, JEREMIAH 33.12-17
What will restoration look like? (12-13)
“A Branch of righteousness” (cf Isaiah 4.2; Isaiah 11.1; Jeremiah 23.5). Jeremiah may not have said a great deal about the coming Messiah, but he provides glimpses of Christ. Look up these verses: 23.4; 31.10; 23.5; 50.34.
“Behold, the days are coming”. Have these days come?
Advent is a time when God calls on us to embrace the message of hope that is the centre of our faith. It is a period of waiting in the darkness. It is a season in which we are caught between joyful expectation and the harsh realities of our present lives while we wait for God’s promises to be fulfilled.
As we look at the world today, with its many problems – personal, national, and international – what is the message that the church has for our world? How might we go about getting that message known?
And a final thought … In this Advent season we can too easily focus our “waiting” simply on the birth of Jesus, important though that is. And waiting is something our society is not very good at in an age of instant gratification.
But what about waiting for Jesus’ return in judgement, power and glory? Do we believe that Jesus will come again? Do we believe in a new heaven and a new earth? The first Christians believed that Jesus would return in their lifetime, but we have now been waiting for over 2,000 years! If we knew that Jesus would return, say, by the end of 2022, would that make any difference to the way we live? If we lived believing that Jesus could return at any time, what difference would that make?
“Without Jesus there is no sense of destiny.” What is our destiny as Christians?
PRAYER
Continue to pray for all that is happening in the life of our church during this Advent season.
Pray for the many preparations that have to be made for our special services/events as we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ birth.
Pray that we might live as people who have a destiny.
Some additional notes:
What was Jeremiah’s situation at this time, and why?
Jerusalem was under siege by the Babylonians during the last years of King Zedekiah. Jeremiah had been imprisoned for preaching that the city would fall (32.1-5)
What is the significance of verse 3?
A remarkable promise at a time when the people of Jerusalem were enduring the terrors of a siege. Judgement was at the very door of the city yet God offered a word of hope and an invitation to faith. God promised to reveal things far beyond human understanding – things that needed divine revelation.
What had happened to the city, and why (4-5)?
Houses had been turned to rubble to try and defend the city against the Babylonians. A most distressing sight, yet God promised restoration! Despite all God’s previous words, delivered by prophets like Jeremiah, the people refused to listen so judgement was inevitable.
Summarise, in your own words, God’s promises (6-9)
Jerusalem was filled with death and destruction yet God promised health and healing. A restoration did take place some years later under Nehemiah and Ezra, but the final fulfilment (new covenant) is yet to come. In this new covenant God’s people (from both northern and southern kingdoms) would be gathered together; sins would be forgiven; the nation would bring honour and praise to God, instead of rejecting him. “The great and unsearchable things are now revealed. Yahweh will bring healing, peace, security, restoration, cleansing and forgiveness.” Cleansing would remove the guilt of sin; forgiveness/pardon would bring people back into a relationship with God.
At the time of Jeremiah’s prophecy the people were full of fear and trembling because of destruction and death. Now they would fear and tremble – because of the greatness of God’s blessing.
Reflect on the contrast between now and then (10-11)
Can you even begin to imagine the terrible sounds in the city – screams, cries, groans and the sound of destruction. And these would eventually be replaced by a terrible silence – a desolate Jerusalem without people and animals. But then the happy sounds, like that heard at the best wedding party ever! People would be praising God for his goodness and mercy and worship would again be heard in the temple.
What will restoration look like? (12-13)
Instead of the chaos and despair of a city under siege, there would be peace and safety. And it would not only be Jerusalem that was restored, but the whole land. It is interesting to note that Targum has a messianic interpretation changing “the one who counts them” to “the Messiah”.
(The Targum was an ancient Aramaic interpretation of the Hebrew Bible)
“Behold, the days are coming.” Have these days come?
Many believe that the words of Jeremiah have been fulfilled in the coming of Jesus, the Messiah. He is Immanuel, “God with us”. He is our Eternal King and great High Priest. And yet Jerusalem does not today live in safety; the world is full of wars and rumours of wars. So there is more to come for God’s promises to be fully implemented – and that will be when Christ returns.
Verse 17 presents a real challenge but here is one interpretation – it has been fulfilled in the person of Christ (Rev 11.15), and the same is true of the priests in that their work has been extended to the royal priesthood of all believers. Of course, when these words were written there was no hint as to how they might be fulfilled – centuries later we can now see that they have been fulfilled in Christ.