Preached by Gregory W. Lee
3 December 2006
I. Introduction
-- turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah 33
10. "This is what the LORD says: `You say about this place, "It is a desolate waste, without men or animals." Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither men nor animals, there will be heard once more
11. the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying, "Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever." For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,' says the LORD.
12. "This is what the LORD Almighty says: `In this place, desolate and without men or animals--in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks.
13. In the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,' says the LORD.
14. "`The days are coming,' declares the LORD, `when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.
15. "`In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line; he will do what is just and right in the land.
16. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.'
-- as Conklin and Wayman point out, when someone dedicates their life to Christian service, there is an all too-human expectation that this should afford them certain protections or priviledges -- because they have dedicated their life to God -- because of the sacrifices they have made -- they should expect their life to be free from the daily trials and tribulations that seem to plague the inhabitants of this earth -- after all, by serving God, surely God will make their life easier
-- but when this doesn't happen -- when this proves to be untrue -- when trials and tribulations roll in on the tide -- when loved ones get sick and die -- when financial pressures mount -- when faced with the evils of violence or crime or war -- then the resulting crisis of belief does one of two things -- either it leads the believer into a deeper, more mature understanding of God and life or it causes them to lose hope and turn away from God in anger
-- in the M. Night Shamalyn movie, "Signs", Mel Gibson plays a man facing just such a crisis of belief in his life -- after losing his wife in a senseless accident, Rev. Graham Hess retreats from God and the world and hides in an isolated farmhouse with his two children and his younger brother -- Rev. Hess is angry -- he's angry at God and he's angry at himself for trusting God
-- and, as the movie opens, you can sense his frustration with the situation in which he finds himself -- why? -- why did this happen to him? -- why would God allow his wife to be taken from him when he had dedicated himself to serving God? -- Why was there nothing good in his life?
-- these very same questions form the framework of this passage from Jeremiah 33 that we opened with on this first Sunday of Advent
-- God had called and set apart the nation of Israel to be His people in this world -- He had rescued them from the hand of Pharoah in Egypt -- brought them across the Red Sea and into the Promised Land -- and He had established their kingdom from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea
-- He had raised up leaders and kings from within their midst and had made them a mighty nation -- which was just as they had expected it to be -- as God's people, shouldn't they be protected? -- as God's people, shouldn't they have the priviledges that come with serving Him?
-- but now, years later, as they have drifted away from their first love -- as they have left behind the true worship of Yahweh and prostituted themselves with idols, they find themselves in the middle of an unimaginable nightmare -- conquered by a pagan nation and living in exile in Babylon -- forced back into slavery and servitude and taken away from the Promised Land -- and they don't understand what's going on
-- the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem are a desolate waste -- deserted and uninhabited by either men or animals -- even though this was the city of God -- even though they were the people of God -- they appear to have been abandoned and forgotten by God Himself -- where was their divine protection? -- where were their divine priviledges? -- why had this happened?
-- this is a situation that many of us can relate to -- there are times in all of our lives when we are confronted with situations that appear to be hopeless -- perhaps it's in the midst of a lingering sickness of a loved one -- perhaps it's in the midst of grief after the loss of a family member or friend -- perhaps it comes through the rebellion of a child -- perhaps it's just frustration with just scraping by paycheck after paycheck even though you are working yourself to the bone
-- maybe it's not even the personal things in life -- maybe you just find yourself overwhelmed with the violence and the crime and evil in our world today -- you get up in the morning and the papers are filled with stories of gloom and doom and despair -- wars and rumors of war -- natural disasters -- terrorism -- violence in the streets
-- years ago Anne Murray had a song out called "A Little Good News" -- and in this song she talks about watching the news on t.v. and hearing all the sad stories of life -- fighting in Lebanon -- Senators squawking about the bad economy
-- and then she sings, "There's a local paper rolled up in a rubber band -- one more sad story's one more than I can stand -- just once how I'd like to see the headlines say -- Not much to print today -- can't find nothing bad to say -- because nobody robbed a liquor store on the lower part of town -- nobody OD'ed -- nobody burned a single building down -- nobody fired a shot in anger -- nobody had to die in vain -- we sure could use a little good news today"
-- the nation of Israel sure needed a little good news -- they were living without hope -- feeling abandoned by their God -- and it seemed like things were never going to get any better
-- they needed to know that God was going to step in and make things right -- that God was going to keep their world from falling apart -- they needed hope in their lives
-- the dictionary defines hope as "a desire for something to happen, while being confident that it will come true" -- hope means believing that something is possible even though there is evidence to the contrary
-- the people of Israel had a great desire for something to happen -- they wanted to see their nation restored -- they wanted to see the cities and towns of Judah restored -- they wanted to walk down the streets of Jerusalem in peace once again -- but they didn't see how that was ever going to happen
-- in those times in our lives when we feel isolated and abandoned from God -- when we feel like our prayers just bounce off the ceiling and never make it to His ears -- we can feel hopeless and feel like God just doesn't care about us
-- that's exactly the way that Rev. Hess thought in the movie "Signs" -- he had turned from God in anger when his wife died, and was trying to live life in his own strength -- as the movie progresses, we learn that aliens have invaded the earth and have actually entered Rev. Hess' own home -- Rev. Hess is faced with a situation that seems hopeless -- there was absolutely nothing that he could do to fix this situation -- there was absolutely nothing he could do to save his family
-- but it took that hopeless situation to help Rev. Hess come back to God -- in his despair, he cried out to the God he had turned away from -- and God intervened -- showing him that his wife's death had not been senseless -- that in all things God is working for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purposes -- and God showed Rev. Hess how to conquer the aliens and how to save his family and, in the process, the faith of Rev. Hess was restored
-- living in exile in Babylon -- knowing that their cities and nation were desolate -- uninhabited by people or by animals -- the people of Israel needed hope -- like Rev. Hess, their hopeless situation drove them to their knees -- they cried out to the God they had taken for granted -- to the God that they had turned away from -- and God spoke to them through the prophet Jeremiah
-- look back at verse 10
10. "This is what the LORD says: `You say about this place, "It is a desolate waste, without men or animals." Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither men nor animals, there will be heard once more
11. the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying, "Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever." For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,' says the LORD.
12. "This is what the LORD Almighty says: `In this place, desolate and without men or animals--in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks.
13. In the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,' says the LORD.
14. "`The days are coming,' declares the LORD, `when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.
-- God tells them, "You may think Israel is a desolate waste -- you may think that the towns of Judah and the streets of Jersulaem will never be restored -- but I tell you that I am going to do a great work -- I am going to bring forth restoration and salvation and I will fulfill the promise that I made to you -- your Deliverer is coming -- and He will make all things new"
-- the words of God coming to the nation of Israel were like a light shining in the darkness -- they brought hope to a people clinging to life
-- look at verse 15
15. "`In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line; he will do what is just and right in the land.
16. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.'
-- in this passage, God promises the coming of His Messiah -- the One who will save Israel from their sins -- who will save the world from their sins -- and who will reign forever in the city of Jerusalem
-- in the fullness of time, God promises to bring forth a righteous Branch from David's line -- a King descended from David, the man after God's own heart -- this Branch will be a righteous ruler who will sit on the throne in Jerusalem
-- the nation of Israel had had many leaders -- they had had many kings -- but they had had very few righteous kings -- kings who had done what was just and right in the land -- God was promising the people of Israel that just such a King was coming -- that He would make all things right once again -- and that through this King, Judah would be saved and the nation would experience peace and safety once again
-- in addition to promising the deliverance of the Messiah, these verses point to His dual nature -- He is to be fully man -- born of the line of David -- and He is to be fully God -- He will be called "The Lord Our Righteousness" -- the word "Lord" used in this passage is the English translation of the divine name "Yahweh" -- "I Am" -- the name that God used to describe Himself when He appeared to Moses in the burning bush
-- we recognize this dual nature of Christ every Sunday when we light the two candles on the altar -- one candle represents the fact that Christ was fully God -- the other candle represents the fact that Christ was fully man
-- these verses are the promise of God's deliverence through His Messiah -- but the key words to keep in mind here are "In those days" and "at that time" -- this was a promise from God -- it was not something that was going to happen immediately -- it was going to happen in the future, when the times were right
-- God spoke these words to the Israelites to give them hope -- to give them something to long for -- something to desire -- while they remained in captivity in Babylon -- and He gave them the confidence that it would come to pass
-- He was telling them, "Even though the days seem dark -- even though it seems like the world is falling apart around you -- I am with you -- nothing is happening which I haven't seen and ordained -- nothing is happening without my knowledge and without my permission -- and though it may seem senseless to you -- though you may not understand it -- know that it is all part of my plans for you and for this world -- in all things, I work for the good of those who love me, those who are called according to My Name"
Closing
-- the Bible tells us that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see -- the season of advent is a season of faith and hope -- of longing and waiting
-- during the days of Jeremiah, the nation of Israel waited in faith for the restoration of Jerusalem and the return of the people -- they longed for the coming of the Messiah -- the righteous Branch of David who would rule His people forever
-- in this season, we recall the longing of the world for the One who would come to atone for our sins -- the long wait for the child who was born at Christmas -- and we join with the people of Israel as we wait for the second coming of Christ
-- right now, it is easy to get discouraged -- it is easy to lose hope -- we look around us and we see little to encourage us -- we are surrounded with chaos and despair -- but the Promise of God -- the hope of God -- the good news of God -- is that Christ is ever present with us -- redeeming and restoring us as we walk in faith with Him -- and that His return is ever nearer
-- so, as we start our advent season, let us look to the heavens and trust with hope that God's promise will be fulfilled, and that Christ will be returning soon
-- let us pray
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