Jeremiah 30:18-22  ¹⁸ Thus says the LORD: I am going to restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob, and have compassion on his dwellings; the city shall be rebuilt upon its mound, and the citadel set on its rightful site.  ¹⁹ Out of them shall come thanksgiving, and the sound of merrymakers. I will make them many, and they shall not be few; I will make them honored, and they shall not be disdained.  ²⁰ Their children shall be as of old, their congregation shall be established before me; and I will punish all who oppress them.  ²¹ Their prince shall be one of their own, their ruler shall come from their midst; I will bring him near, and he shall approach me, for who would otherwise dare to approach me? says the LORD.  ²² And you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

            The above prophecy of Jeremiah is another one of the texts that can be “messianic” in nature.  It speaks of a restoration of God’s home, Jerusalem, and the restoration of his people as well.  It is easy for Christians to look on these Old Testament prophecies and see that they are talking about Jesus, whether they are or not.  To some extent, we have the church to blame for that thinking, simply because with the use of the lectionary cycles, we hear these texts in the church seasons that lend to this thinking.  For example, being as we are in Advent, many of the texts that are from the Old Testament can be easily taken out of their context and fitted to the coming Messiah.  However, whether this is right or wrong, it is also important to know what exactly is going on in the text in question.

            Jeremiah’s text is much like Isaiah’s in that it speaks of the Israelites being in exile during the Babylonian Captivity.  The restoration of the people and the temple then is pointing to the rebuilding of the temple and Jerusalem by Nehemiah, who served as Governor after the return of the exiles.  Nehemiah was indeed a ruler who came from within the people, and along with Ezra, they dared to listen to God and do his bidding.  He had several intimate moments with his God, and by following God, the city was rebuilt, along with its walls, temple worship was restored, and the people began acting like God’s people.

            We are now half way through our Advent season, and as we continue to move towards Christmas, I encourage you to take a moment and meditate on the texts that we are given on Sunday mornings.  While they hold special Advent preparation meanings, they also can give us a glimpse of how to live now, as they offer us valuable lessons about living as God’s people.

In our prayers this week:  Norm, Jane, Jane’s parents, Mary Schaeffer, Karl Jones, Ann, and Scott.

God’s Peace,