Restoration

Jeremiah 33:7-8 states:

⁷ I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. ⁸ I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. 

We've been reading for quite some time about the impending doom of the people of Judah. We've already read about it with the Northern Kingdom, and we're about two days away from reading about Jerusalem's fall to Babylon. We've also read about how God will restore Israel, but we haven't spent  as much time on that.

When a punishment is imposed, there are two possible motives:

1. Punitive--whatever was done is so wrong that a penalty needs to be inflicted

2. Rehabilitive--whatever was done is still wrong, but the belief exists that with the proper motivation and behavior modification, that negative behavior can be changed for the better.

Earlier in today's reading, we read about a punitive punishment in the way in which God dealt with Egypt. Their pride was so great that God had no intention of allowing them to repent or atone for their ways--they're were punished, and that's that. Judah, on the other hand, was clearly told that their punishment was neither more than they could bear or the final word on the matter. God would restore the nation of Israel and used the Babylonian captivity to help them understand and reflect on their atrocious behavior and their utter and complete ignoring of his word. Granted, 70 years is a long time, but it's not forever--there was light at the end of the tunnel.

We have the same promise today. We're no less stubborn, arrogant or prideful than the people of Judah were, we simply have the benefit of the message of Christ and the full gifts of the Holy Spirit to assist us and build us up when we stray. We're sinners just the same as the people of Judah were, and we justly deserve the temporal and eternal punishment that our behavior merits. But, just as  the people of Judah, we're forgiven through no efforts of our own. As we hit the home stretch of our time in the Old Testament, we're about to three stages of preparation:

1. Preparation for the restoration of Israel

2. Preparation for Christ's coming

3. Preparation for US for Christ to come again

EVERYTHING that is being prophesied from here on out is just as applicable for us today. The circumstances haven't changed, and we need to be prepared at all times for Christ's return. I won't presume to speak for anyone else, but for me, Christ can come back any day he wants, and I'll go with sooner over later.

Scott