Jeremiah 33:14-16
A. INTRODUCTION
We all go through rough patches from time to time; periods when everything seems to go wrong. And that could be for a variety of reasons.
Our health or the health of a family member or friend could have been through difficult times. Financially things might have been a struggle making us wonder how we were going to survive. Family difficulties may have arisen or gone from bad to worse. Or feelings of insecurity may have set in.
What’s more, some of us may be actually going through a bad patch, right now, where we are not just facing the current dilemma, but this is just one more in a series of events where the outlook for the future is for more of the same.
Of course, for some people facing these sort of situations, life can get to too much—their attitude is affected and they take on a much more dismal view of life. Some may even look to the drastic step of ending it all. However, others may have the attitude of accepting their lot in life and get on with living. Which may include looking for hope and, for some, the light at the end of the tunnel.
As a consequence, what I’d like to do is to look at some people who were very good at putting a positive spin on things, even in the midst of disaster. And I’d like to begin with four people who not only had the task of delivering bad news, but were good at giving hope for the future as well.
B. FOUR PROPHETS
1. Isaiah (Judah – 740-681 BC)
And the first person is the prophet Isaiah.
Now Isaiah lived at the time of king Ahaz—a king who had adopted many of the bad practices from the surrounding nations—practices which were legally and morally questionable, practices which had his own interests at heart, and even sacrificed his son in a fire (2 Kings 16).
Life would not have been easy under king Ahaz, and Isaiah had some very harsh words to say. And yet at the crowning of Hezekiah, Ahaz’s successor, he gave these words of hope from God: ‘A child has been born to us—a son has been given to us. Dominion will be on his shoulders, and he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace’ (Isaiah 9:5-6).
Furthermore, some years later, when the people were threatened by destruction by the Assyrians, he added, ‘A branch will come forth from the stump of Jesse. A shoot from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him’ (Isaiah 11:1).
Now, both prophecies were given from the background of disaster, and both prophecies looked to the future to give the people hope.
2. Micah (Judah – 750 BC approx.)
The second person is the prophet Micah.
Now Micah’s job was to tell the people in the northern kingdom that their world was about to end; that the northern kingdom was going to fall to the Assyrians; and that this was to be a punishment by God for not being faithful to him. In other words, Micah was a real prophet of doom and gloom.
Despite that, Micah too provided words of hope. The future was not going to be all bad. And the words of hope from God again: ‘As for you, Bethlehem, you are one of the smallest clans Judah. But from you will come, from me, one who will be ruler over Israel. His heritage will be from former times, from long ago . . . He will stand and shepherd his flock. He will do so in the Lord’s strength, and in the majesty of the name of the Lord, his God. They will live secure, because he will be considered great from one end of the earth to the other. He will be our peace’ (Micah 5:2, 4-5).
3. Amos (Israel – 760-750 BC)
The third person is the prophet Amos.
Now Amos’s job was also to pronounce God’s judgment on the northern kingdom. A judgment they faced because of their disobedience to God, preferring to go their own way.
And he pronounced God’s judgement. But he also added that there would be a day to look forward to. And the words of God: ‘On that day, I will raise up the fallen tent of David. I will repair the breaches in its walls; I will restore its ruins. I will rebuild it as in the days of old’ (Amos 9:11).
4. Hosea (Israel – Mid 8th Century BC)
And the fourth person was the prophet Hosea.
Now Hosea was responding to the northern kingdom’s history, which included getting through six kings in a twenty-five-year period—four murdered, one killed in battle, with only the sixth surviving to be succeeded to the throne by his son.
Hosea was also in the midst of the people at the time when the Assyrians finally attacked the northern kingdom, dismantled it, and took many of its people away.
Despite that he spoke God’s promise: ‘In the last days, the Israelites will turn back. They will seek the Lord their God and David their king . . .’ (Hosea 3:5).
5. Summary
When things go wrong in life and when things look very bleak, with nothing to look forward to, it is good to be given hope. God knew that, and the Old Testament prophets knew it. Yes, for sure, the main messages of the prophets were filled with doom and gloom—punishment from God for being disobedient, for turning their backs on him, and for leading others astray. But God and the prophets did not leave it there.
Even amongst the gloom there was issued a message of hope. Something to hang on to; a promise of better times to come. And that made all the difference to the people as they went through some of the darkest times in their history.
C. JEREMIAH (626-586 BC)
As a consequence, when we get to another prophet, Jeremiah, about one hundred and thirty years later—and this time it’s not the northern kingdom that is facing its doom but the southern kingdom—what do we see? Well, mixed up in this longest book of the bible, with all its negativity of false prophets and disobedient people, there is, yet another message of hope.
Jeremiah’s job was to tell the people that they had not learnt anything from history. As a consequence, they would have to suffer in the same way that their northern counterparts had done. They would have to face punishment for their disobedience to God. (And indeed the impending disaster that they were about to face was so massive that Jeremiah was told by God not to marry or to have children).
Having said that, in the midst of the gloom there was a promise. A promise they could dearly hang on to in their exile. And the words of God: ‘“Look, the days are coming when I will fulfil the good word that I have spoken to the houses of Israel and Judah,” declares the Lord. “In those days, at that time, I will cause a righteous branch to sprout from David’s line. He will execute justice and righteousness on the earth . . . This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord is our righteousness.”’ (Jeremiah 33:14-15, 16b).
D. COMMENT
Hope—and hope for the future—is a very important part of life. Knowing that one has to face disasters and live with great difficulties from time to time is one thing, but having something that is positive—something to look forward to and something to live for—is something else altogether.
When God sent his prophets to his people, then, he didn’t just send them to tell them the bad news—the things that they had to face because of their disobedience—God also provided them with good news. And with that good news, he hoped that it would be the incentive for them to turn their lives around; to catch something of what life was really supposed to be about; and, as a consequence, to give them the strength required to face whatever should come their way.
E. APPLICATION
So, when we are going through a bad patch, and we seem to be without hope, maybe we should remind ourselves of the Old Testament prophets. Because yes, in times when it was not easy to live, they did have messages of doom and gloom to deliver. But they also had messages of hope. And messages that should have helped the people whatever they were experiencing or about to face.
So what was it that the prophets were on about? What were their messages of hope? And how can their messages help us today?
1. Isaiah
Well, when Isaiah spoke his words, after the death of the evil king Ahaz—words about a child being born who would be a mighty counsellor, mighty God, everlasting Father—Isaiah was indicating that Hezekiah would be a good king (and he was).
But Isaiah’s words went further than that. Indeed, Isaiah’s words looked more towards God and a permanent godly rule. In other words, an end to the good king, followed by bad king, followed by worse king scenario—and the inauguration of a time where a kingdom would be established by God in eternity. A kingdom ruled by a god/king born as a baby in this world.
And when the kingdom was faced with destruction by the Assyrians, with Isaiah’s words of hope that King David’s line would somehow continue, with someone full of the Spirit, his words looked well beyond anything experienced in Old Testament times.
2. Micah
When Micah spoke of the hope of a king whose origins were from old, and from ancient times—a king who would shepherd his flock in eternal peace—Micah’s words indicated the expectation of more than just a restored kingdom and a restored human king.
Indeed, Micah’s words were about a king that was beyond history, and a kingdom beyond what was previously experienced. He was talking about a godly eternal king whose influence would spread around the globe and bring a permanent peace to the world.
3. Amos & 4. Hosea
And we could say similar things about Amos and Hosea.
5. Jeremiah
And when Jeremiah spoke of a righteous descendant of king David who would bring righteousness and justice—and, as a consequence, that all would live in safety—Jeremiah was talking beyond the idea of any normal king as well. Indeed, the meaning of his words are that there would be a king to which somehow God would be intimately entwined, and his kingdom would be based on nothing less than the divine order.
6. Summary
The meaning of the words that God gave each of the prophets to speak, then, go well beyond any understanding of what was expected of a godly king. They spoke of more than they could possibly have understood. In the midst of disaster, yes, they gave the people immediate hope. But the words spoken by Isaiah, Micah, Amos, Hosea and Jeremiah were not just about the restoration of their country as they knew it, they were not even just about the restoration of the monarchy by an ordinary earthly king either.
Indeed, the hope those words expressed, was of a time when the world would be remade—and remade permanently. It was of a time when peace and justice would reign in eternity. The new earth would be ruled by someone who was more than an ordinary human king. Indeed, it would be ruled by none other than the Messiah himself.
And of course with the things that they were going through—and were about to face as punishment for their own mistakes and failures—that was very good news indeed.
And just as it was good news for the people of the 8th, 7th and 6th Centuries BC, so it should be good news for us today too.
Because there are many people, even today, who are looking for hope, needing a Messiah to come and rescue them. And Christian’s believe that not only has the Messiah already come, but we are now waiting for him to come again as well.
7. Jesus the Messiah
After all, Jesus is a man who fits the Old Testament prophecies. He was a descendant of King David. He was born in Bethlehem. And in his three short years of ministry he provided all the evidence that he was the Messiah.
He healed the sick, he gave the blind their eyesight (something in Old Testament times that was recognised that only the Messiah could do). He raised the dead. He turned water into wine. He fed five thousand people with five loaves and two small fish. He stilled the storm. He forgave sinners. He taught with authority, that even the authorities recognised. He preached about the kingdom of God. And he died in the way that the Old Testament prophesied he would.
He then rose from the dead, and appeared to many people.
So, when we are feeling down and everything seems to be against us, no matter what we are facing—whether it was of our own making (like in the Old Testament) or not—we all should have reason to live in hope.
The Messiah that the Old Testament prophets talked about who would bring in his eternal kingdom—a kingdom marked by righteousness and peace—has already come. And if we allow God to work in our lives we can experience something of that kingdom here and now.
But more than that, because Jesus came the first time to establish and set up his kingdom, so he is coming again to bring it to all its fullness. Things aren’t perfect yet—and they won’t be until Jesus comes a second time. But when he comes a second time, he and his kingdom will come again for good.
As Peter wrote regarding the ‘Day of the Lord’ in his second epistle. ‘In accordance with his promise, we should be expecting the new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells’ (2 Peter 3:13)
F. CONCLUSION
So, when things look down for us, when things go wrong, and when we seem to be going through a pretty dark stretch in life, we should remember that there is hope. We do have something to look forward to, something to give meaning to life.
God’s people over the years have been through some pretty tough times—and often of their own making—but, as the prophets revealed, even in the depths of despair there can be great hope.
Of course, like God’s people in the past, we’re not perfect today either and God’s judgement may well fall on us too. But the same hope is available to us today, as it was in the times of the Old Testament prophets.
But our hope should be in the establishment of God’s kingdom in a real and permanent way. Our hope should be in God’s son, the Messiah himself. Then, even in our darkest hours we will have reason for hope.
So what we have to do is to accept it and embrace it for ourselves.
Posted: 9th November 2024
© 2024, Brian A Curtis
www.brianacurtis.com.au
