Verse for the week of November 30th:
The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
(Jeremiah 33:14)
What is the promise to the house of Israel and the house of Judah?
If you keep reading in the book of Jeremiah, the prophet proclaims that the promise is that: ‘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. 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.’
Thus, proclaiming that one of David’s descendants will be raised up and save Judah and keep Jerusalem safe.
Kathryn Schifferdecker, an Old Testament Professor at Luther Seminary writes about this text in Jeremiah, ‘One of the chief tragedies of the Babylonian Exile, of course, was the end of the Davidic dynasty. For nearly four hundred years, descendants of David had occupied the throne of Judah, and God had promised that it would always be so (2 Samuel 7; Psalm 89). But the Babylonians destroyed David’s city, burned Solomon’s temple, and took David’s heirs into exile. The promises of God seemed to have come to an end.
To a people devastated by loss, Jeremiah’s prophecy offered hope: “The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah” (33:14). All might seem lost, but God still is faithful. The house of David might be cut down, but God is able to bring life out of death. A branch will sprout.’
This new branch is of course, the coming of Jesus of Nazareth, thus fulfilling the promise that God makes to His people through the prophet Jeremiah.
This weeks marks the beginning of Advent—a time devoted to the coming of Jesus. Celebrating Jesus’ first coming (the incarnation); as well as anticipating the second coming of Jesus (which is still to come).
Jesus’ coming is a sign of hope and a fulfillment of God’s Word.
The real question for you during Advent is: How are you preparing for Jesus’ coming? What are you doing to celebrate Jesus coming as the fulfillment of prophecy? How has Jesus’ coming made a difference in your life today?
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