Jeremiah 30 (HCSB)
Restoration from Captivity
1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord. 2 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “Write down on a scroll all the words that I have spoken to you, 3 for the days are certainly coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will restore them to the land I gave to their ancestors and they will possess it.”
4 These are the words the Lord spoke to Israel and Judah. 5 Yes, this is what the Lord says:
We have heard a cry of terror, of dread—there is no peace.
6 Ask and see whether a male can give birth. Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor and every face turned pale?
7 How awful that day will be! There will be none like it! It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be delivered out of it.
8 “On that day”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“I will break his yoke from your neck and tear off your chains so strangers will never again enslave him. 9 They will serve the Lord their God and I will raise up David their king for them.”
10 As for you, My servant Jacob, do not be afraid—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
and do not be dismayed, Israel, for without fail I will save you from far away, your descendants, from the land of their captivity! Jacob will return and have calm and quiet with no one to frighten him.
11 For I will be with you—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
to save you! I will bring destruction on all the nations where I have scattered you; however, I will not bring destruction on you. I will discipline you justly, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.
Healing Zion’s Wounds
12 For this is what the Lord says:
Your injury is incurable; your wound most severe.
13 No one takes up the case for your sores. There is no healing for you.
14 All your lovers have forgotten you; they no longer look for you, for I have struck you as an enemy would, with the discipline of someone cruel, because of your enormous guilt and your innumerable sins.
15 Why do you cry out about your injury? Your pain has no cure! I have done these things to you because of your enormous guilt and your innumerable sins.
16 Nevertheless, all who devoured you will be devoured, and all your adversaries—all of them—will go off into exile. Those who plunder you will be plundered, and all who raid you will be raided.
17 But I will bring you health and will heal you of your wounds—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
for they call you Outcast, Zion whom no one cares about.
Restoration of the Land
18 This is what the Lord says:
I will certainly restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and show compassion on his dwellings. Every city will be rebuilt on its mound; every citadel will stand on its proper site.
19 Thanksgiving will come out of them, a sound of celebration. I will multiply them, and they will not decrease; I will honor them, and they will not be insignificant.
20 His children will be as in past days; his congregation will be established in My presence. I will punish all his oppressors.
21 Jacob’s leader will be one of them; his ruler will issue from him. I will invite him to Me, and he will approach Me, for who would otherwise risk his life to approach Me?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
22 You will be My people, and I will be your God.
The Wrath of God
23 Look, a storm from the Lord! Wrath has gone out, a churning storm. It will whirl about the heads of the wicked.
24 The Lord’s burning anger will not turn back until He has completely fulfilled the purposes of His heart. In time to come you will understand it.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verses 14b-15): For most of my faith walk with You, Father, I have felt “enormous guilt” over the sins I’ve committed throughout my life. There are many that I’ve brought to You for forgiveness over the years, but there are many that I struggled to do so for a very long time due to my own shame and guilt over them. Instead, I decided to just close myself off and attempt to seal those sins, guilt, and shame inside of my heart. Please forgive me for this, Father. Forgive me for thinking I could handle that responsibility myself instead of coming to You with all of it. Forgive me for nit-picking what I bring to You versus what I try to handle on my own. Thank You for always remaining faithful and merciful to me for all that I have brought to You. Continue to work in me, Father, so that I may become better at going to You immediately for any sin I commit, whether internally or externally.
PROMISE (verses 11, 17): In these two verses, You make a promise to Your people that although they are suffering now for many reasons, that the day will come when they will be healed and protected from all of that suffering. That the day will come when You bring Your people back to the promised land for them to live in and glorify Your kingdom thoroughly. That the day will come when all of Your people’s wounds and poor health will be taken away. Thank You for such a bold promise for our future, Father. Thank You for always giving us hope for the future even when it’s often difficult for us to see that hope in the present.
ATTITUDE (verses 14b-15): As I confessed earlier, Father, I do often struggle with guilt and shame due to my sin, both past and present. Please help me to adjust my attitude daily, Father, so that I no longer feel so guilty or shameful about my sin that I end up just bottling it up and try to deal with it on my own. Remind me daily to have an attitude of confession, so that I may always go to You with my issues and stop relying on my broken self. Mold me into someone who constantly embraces an attitude of confession to You, so that through You I can truly gain healing over my mistakes. Help me to also have an attitude of forgiveness. Not only forgiveness of others, Father, but also forgiveness of myself. I often struggle with this more than confession, even though I know that through You all things are forgiven. Help me to embrace an attitude of forgiveness through all things this life and my broken nature may bring to my path.
COMMAND (verse 22): Such a simple command, yet extremely powerful. In this one verse You tell us that we will be Your people and that You will be our God. You say this command to those that are truly Your people making sure to emphasize that not only are they Your people, but at the same time You are reaffirming them that You are their God. Thank You for giving such an amazing command and promise in this one verse, Father. Help me to follow this command by truly being one of Your people, so that I can continue live in and be blessed by the promise You give that You are my God.
EXAMPLE (verse 11): In this single verse, You give us so many examples of You, Father. You tell us that You will bring destruction to all of the corrupt nations of this world one day, but that destruction will not come to Your people. Instead, You will give Your people just discipline, because we cannot be left unpunished. This is just like parents with their children as they’re raising them. Although they are there to protect, encourage, and raise them according to Your will, at the same time when they make mistakes, we must invoke a just discipline on them to ensure their behaviors are corrected. Thank You for being such a perfect Father to us, God. Thank You for not withholding Your just discipline from us, for without that just discipline we would definitely continue in our corrupt ways—at least I know I likely would. Thank You for loving Your people enough to not withhold the discipline that we require in this life, Father.
*DAILY NOTE: I do not know why, but I often need reminders from You, Father, that I should not be living in guilt or shame for the things that I’ve done in the past or even that I will do in the future. You have forgiven me through the blood of Christ, so I need to be better at forgiving myself. I need to go to You more often through those struggles instead of dwelling in my shame and guilt they bring to me which typically puts me in a downward spiral of self-destruction. Thank You for being such a gracious, forgiving, faithful, and comforting Father to me. Thank You for always being there to take away this pain, regret, and shame from all of my shortcomings, Father.
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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