Comfort and Promise

God’s messages of hope are often embedded in warnings of impending judgment. At the conclusion of Jeremiah’s message to the Jewish inhabitants of Egypt, He promised His Chosen People they ultimately will return from captivity:

“Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,” says the Lᴏʀᴅ, “for I am with you; for I will make a complete end of all the nations to which I have driven you, but I will not make a complete end of you. I will rightly correct you, for I will not leave you wholly unpunished” (Jer. 46:28).

God promised, “But do not fear, O My servant Jacob, and do not be dismayed, O Israel! For behold, I will save you from afar, and your offspring from the land of their captivity; Jacob shall return, have rest and be at ease; no one shall make him afraid” (v. 27). It is a message of comfort to Israel, with a promise of a future despite punishment and judgment.

Jeremiah 45 is a parenthetical notation that contains another embedded message of hope. During the challenging years of Jeremiah’s ministry, a faithful scribe named Baruch recorded the unpopular prophet’s messages. At a moment of extreme disillusionment, God spoke comfort to Baruch through Jeremiah as Baruch documented prophecies of judgment. Reminding the scribe of His sovereignty over the nations, God informed Baruch, “What I have built I will break down, and what I have planted I will pluck up….But I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go” (45:4–5).

Sandwiched between a warning to the people of Judah living in Egypt and a word of judgment against the Egyptian empire, God declared His authority to judge those who defy Him. Yet only a loving God would respond to Baruch’s mournful sighing with the comfort that his life would be spared no matter where he lived.

Jeremiah, by then an old man, was taken to Egypt against his will by unbelieving Judeans; and there he probably died. Baruch experienced the horrors of exile in Egypt as God’s judgment was poured out.

Sometimes the righteous suffer with a disobedient generation. But they can be assured that whatever may happen, God is with them; and their hope is secure in Him.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Features

Life From the Inside Out

As I sat in the pew at church a few Sundays ago, the speaker read a verse from 1 Samuel that struck me as the explanation for why we in America find ourselves in the condition...

Introduction to Jeremiah

The prophet Jeremiah ministered from 627 to about 585 B.C., more than 100 years after the trauma of Assyria’s destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C. Yet the consequences...

God’s Everlasting Love Jeremiah 30—31

Parenting is not easy. Over the years we may excuse some infractions, but we must punish our children’s blatant disobedience. So it was in the days of the prophet Jeremiah. The Israelites...

Israel’s Great Assurances Jeremiah 32

The prophet Jeremiah served the Lord prior to and during the Babylonian Captivity, warning the Israelites to avoid idolatry or expect judgment. Chapters 32—33 follow the specific...

Judah’s Fatal Decision Jeremiah 40—43

In 586 B.C. the Babylonians captured Judah, destroyed Jerusalem, and deported the Jewish people to Babylon. Only a remnant of poor Judeans were left in the land to...


Subscription Options

1 Year Digital Subscription

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Download of Current Issue

$9.99 every 1 year

1 Year Digital with Archive Access

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Downloads of Current Issue & select Archives

  • Complete Access to our Growing Archives

$19.99 every 1 year

2 Year Digital Subscription

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Download of Current Issue

$19.99 every 2 years

2 Year Digital with Archive Access

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Downloads of Current Issue & select Archives

  • Complete Access to our Growing Archives

$39.99 every 2 years

3 Year Digital Subscription

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Download of Current Issue

$29.99 every 3 years

3 Year Digital with Archive Access

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Downloads of Current Issue & select Archives

  • Complete Access to our Growing Archives

$59.99 every 3 years