Listening for the Lord’s voice
by Rachael Stelzer
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The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness’ (Jeremiah 31:3).
Today’s Bible passage is one of contrasts. The people of Israel have been defeated by the Babylonians and exiled from the Promised Land. Jeremiah has had many harsh and difficult things to say to the people. But in this passage, God comforts and promises to restore Israel.
God speaks gently and encouragingly through Jeremiah to ‘Virgin Israel’. God promises that they will dance once again with timbrels, that their farmers will again plant vineyards and enjoy their fruit, and most importantly, that they will once again be able to go to Zion, the holy mountain, to meet with God in the temple there.
Perhaps the hardest thing for the people is understanding God’s plan in all this devastation. God reminds them in this passage, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness’ (Jeremiah 31:3). On the face of it, God seems to have had a funny way of showing this! It is easy to fall into the trap of seeing the God of the Old Testament as vengeful and harsh – a total contrast from our New Testament understanding.
But throughout the history of God’s people, God has always shown his everlasting love – not just for them, but for all people. God’s master plan, the plan of salvation, has been coming to fruition. At times, it has taken disaster and generations of displacement and grief for the people to turn back to the Lord, but God has always been enacting his sovereign plan. And now they are recalling God’s words of everlasting love.
The people waited for their restoration, for their salvation. And we wait for our restoration also. At times, it feels like we will never make it, and the many voices of our world compete for our attention. But we cling to the God who has loved us with an everlasting love, came to be one of us and will come back to restore all things. Thanks be to God!
Dear God, help me see you in every circumstance, loving me with an everlasting love, drawing me with unfailing kindness. Teach me the joy of waiting on you. Amen.
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