“The Restoration”

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:1-14

Israel had fallen to Assyria, Judah had fallen to Babylon. Their leadership had either died or was in captivity. The once fruitful land, the wealth and prestige that had been Israel, the blessings that had rested on God’s people – had all become a distant memory. And what was the cause of the people’s great loss? Divergent faith. Both nations had been led away from Jehovah’s way, and they had strayed willingly. And now they were paying the price – regardless of where their subjugation occurred – whether in Babylon, or Assyria, or even as slaves in their own homeland.

For the past 6 weeks, we have followed Israel and Judah’s failure to stay faithful to their Lord, and as the people suffered under the siege and destruction of their land, the realization of their sin must have been settling in. Can you imagine the shock when they finally understood that their defeat and humiliation was completely upon their own shoulders, and that it could all have been avoided – if they had only remained loyal to their Jehovah God?

Was this the end? Had God washed his hands of the disobedient people? Not on your life! God never gives up! As we read last week, the Lord had a plan to bring a new Shepherd into the picture – one who would truly care for, and love, the nation, unlike the self-serving attitude that the former leaders had shown. And it would be a marvelous plan. But did the people understand? Were they prepared for such a Shepherd?

Read Jeremiah 29:1-6

Until now, our examination of Jeremiah’s prophecy centered on the people of Judah who still lived in the Land promised to Abraham. The call had been to turn away from the evil that they were doing, and to return to the grace of the Lord. Now, the prophet’s words are directed to the exiles – to the people who were now experiencing the fate of those who God had allowed to go their own way. Note that this letter was sent to the “surviving elders” in captivity. The implication is that there weren’t all that many who did live to go into exile! The heart and attitude of the survivors was about as low as anything we could possibly imagine. All was lost.

But this letter wasn’t to be one of “I told you so!” – it would be one of encouragement, one of hope. The prophet tells the people that they aren’t to give up hope – that they are to live their lives as though these were the glory years. Hard to believe, isn’t it!
This was to be a time of growth and renewal for Judah - not one of despair and decline. God had ways that had only begun to work within the lives of his people, and he didn’t want them to think that this “setting aside” was his denial of them. It would be a time when the Lord would be working in mighty ways for the benefit of the people. And they were to cooperate in the Lord’s work by living the best lives that they could. Build! Plant! Marry! Have children! Increase! Be all that you can be!

God wanted them to be healthy and prepared to enjoy all that he had in store for them. Isn’t that just like him? That even after we turn against him, even while we are learning those hard lessons of faith, the Lord is always working for our good!
I know that during these past few years, many in the United Methodist Church have felt that we no longer have a divine purpose, that we are no longer in God’s view of the Church. I want each and every person to know that if he continued to work for Israel and Judah after all that they did to demean their Almighty Lord, he will also be working intently to bring about the best in our denomination. It’s just that we haven’t seen how that plan for us is going to play out yet. But with patience and trust, we will.

Read Jeremiah 29:7-10

When all else fails, pray! Well actually, pray before all else fails! Amen? And don’t forget to pray even for those who oppress you. That must have been a hard task for the people – I know that it is for me. And God doesn’t mean that we are to pray for their condemnation – we are to pray that the Lord’s goodness might be theirs - because as others grow and benefit, so will we.

Think about it. What if we began to pray that those who are involved with defiance of the Discipline and scripture might know the Lord’s prosperity and blessings? What if we strived for goodness in their lives instead of their downfall? Jeremiah told the people that if their captives prosper, they will too. This doesn’t mean that we pray that their defiance should succeed, but rather that their lives might be blessed.

And quite honestly, this shouldn’t be such a foreign concept for any of us – after all, Jesus told us that we are to pray for our enemies! (Matthew 5:43-48; Luke 6:27-36) The point in Jesus’ words, and certainly in Jeremiah’s, is that we are to be different than the people of the world – that we are to think and live and love as the Lord does, and not as “they” do. As they prosper, so shall we. And if they decline, we can expect nothing less, either. Remember the old admonition “Be careful in what you pray for! You just might get it.”

A story.

A pastor went to visit a woman from his congregation who was living in a nursing home. She had terrible back pain and was constantly complaining about it. She also told the same story over and over every time he visited. So the pastor prayed for a better, more effective visit.

He walked into the nursing home and the lady was in the cafeteria. After they had talked for a while and the pastor had read the Bible with her, she asked the pastor if he would pray for her to be healed. He was reluctant to do so because he just didn't think, at this woman's age, that it was realistic. God rarely if ever does miracles anymore, he thought. But at the woman's insistence the pastor prayed for her and for healing.

Immediately, she started to try to stand, which made a staff member come running. But she stood up on her own and started to proclaim that her back pain was gone. Everyone ran to see the commotion and she even walked around her wheelchair several times. Everybody oohed and aaahed. It was a miracle!

After a few minutes, the pastor slipped past the crowd and out to his car. He sat down in the front seat and grabbed the steering wheel with both hands. He began to pray. "Thank you God, for healing Mrs. Patrick."

There was a long pause. Then the pastor continued, "But don't ever do that to me again!"

He was encouraged by the miracle, but he didn't like that awkward feeling!

--Thanks to pastor Richard R. Christy of Voice of Hope Church in Wayland, Michigan, for sharing this story with us.

I like to think of this as “the Jonah complex” – he finally did as the Lord asked of him, and the Lord responded in the way he was asked, but the prophet wasn’t very happy with the results! (Jonah 3:10-4:3) And, apparently, neither was this pastor!
Rejoice in the ways of God, and be blessed that he asks us to care and love as he does!

And when the time of growing and learning is complete, the Lord will have a glorious gift ready for those who have learned. And that will never be bad! He gives Judah 70 years to learn the lessons that are most important for their lives. And the prophet cautions the nation to be leery of the false words that come from others, but you may have noticed that God doesn’t offer any words of advice on how to be able to tell the difference between his ways and those of the world! The best way, of course, is to know the Lord’s thoughts and ways first, and to let that become the basis for our understanding. And remember that it was those same old lies that got Judah into trouble in the first place!

Read Jeremiah 29:11-14

The Lord’s plans are always good, whether we see that or not. And it isn’t a matter of his plans being in response to what we are experiencing – they have been in place for us before time began! They aren’t haphazard, they aren’t minimalistic, they aren’t spur of the moment – they are intentional, they are eternal, they are grace and spirit-filled. And they are plans of prosperity and hope.

The gospels are full of this hope. In Luke 6:37-42 and Matthew 18:23-35, Jesus tells us that as we treat others, we should expect to receive the same from him. That alone should encourage us in setting out on the way toward restoration in Christ.

All too often, though, we want the glory of restoration for our own lives, but are reluctant, at best, to seek that same glory for others, and especially for those who have harmed us. Jeremiah reminds us that restoration isn’t just the resumption of goodness and peace in our own lives – it begins with our striving to gain that gift for others first. And when our focus is on loving our neighbor as we have been loved, then restoration, in the way of Almighty God, is ours. (Luke 10:25-37)

God was promising Judah that they would be renewed in him, and that goes far beyond simply knowing goodness and pleasant times. And that is what we are promised in Christ – not that life will be easy, but that it will be in Christ and his promises. And that, my friends, is the Good News.