“For I am with you to save you, declares the Lord; I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.” (Jeremiah 30:11)
This verse is rich. I like to break the verse apart to see the details.
- For I am with you to save you, declares the Lord;
God declares He is with Israel.
How can that be if they are in exile? He is not a regional deity; He can be everywhere.
How can that be if they are in trouble? While they may feel abandoned, especially while being disciplined, God has not turned His back on them. God’s purpose is to save Israel. The reason he disciplines them is that he loves them and has plans for them.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. (Hebrews 12:6)
- I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you, but of you I will not make a full end.
Although Babylon conquered Jerusalem and drove Judah into exile, God took credit for scattering Judah among the nations. This gives us a glimpse into God’s ability to use the wicked actions of men to accomplish his purposes.
… “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” (Acts 2:23)
God promises once again that He will not destroy Israel.
- I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”
God affirms that Israel will be punished, but in the appropriate amount.
One of the beauties of God is that while He will destroy the nations that rebel against Him, He offers to graft us into Israel through His son, Jesus.
As John wrote in 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
Paul writes in Romans 9:25-26, “As indeed he says in Hosea, ‘Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’” “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
Father, thank you for your faithfulness to your people and for your generosity toward those who come to you through Jesus. Amen.
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