Good day Saints in Christ Jesus. You are all welcome to another new day. Glory to God for the gift of life.
- I declare concerning those reading this message, you will not lose any of your loved ones and nobody will mourn in your family, in Jesus name.
- The power of God will keep on multiplying your blessings by giving you more and more ideas and creative solutions to solve problems for humanity, in Jesus name.
- You are protected from harm. Afflictions shall not rise anymore in your life, in Jesus name.
- Things are turning around for your good for you in Jesus name.
In our today’s episode 521 of studying and understanding the Bible, we shall be examining Jeremiah Chapter 31 titled:
Israel’s Restoration, A Shadow of The New Covenant In Christ
This chapter is a continuation of the promises made in the previous chapter and it’s absolutely a shadow of what Christ came to do for humanity. If you notice Jeremiah’s method of conveying the prophecy, he was referring to a distant period and not just after 70 years of servitude in Babylon, by the Israelites.
So, Jeremiah used Israel’s restoration back to their land to foreshadow a bigger event that would take place in the nearest future. You will find this in verses 1 to 5 and God did this because He loved us even before we knew about it.
Just as the watchmen of Israel will no longer need to sound warnings about the approach of the enemies, instead they will be sounding a shout of rejoicing and celebrations, declaring their season of total freedom (verse 6). In the same way, on the last day, when the final restoration of the Kingdom of God will be effected, people will no longer be afraid of the devil, our ultimate enemy, because he and his agents would be finally cast into eternal damnation and every believer will be totally free. Believers won’t have to worry about the devil, sin or death anymore.
That’s why Apostle Paul was saying in his epistle in 2 Cor 1:10 that God rescued us from terrifying encounters with death and that He will still deliver us again as we fasten our hope on Him.
Then, in verse 15, there appears to be a slight change of scene which gives a picture of Rachel crying bitterly in Ramah, because of the loss of her children. Many scholars liken this picture to the terrible massacre of innocent children by King Herod in Matthew 2:18. Alas, the word Ramah mentioned makes it looks confusing as Ramah is located in the northern part of Israel belonging to Rachel’s children, while Bethlehem is in the south belonging to Leah’s children.
However, when you read Genesis 35:16-20 you will see an account of Rachel’s death while giving birth to Benjamin on their way from Bethel (north) to Bethlehem (south). As they were about to enter Bethlehem, she began to have contraction and her baby came forth. Lo and behold, Benjamin was born, but unfortunately, Rachel could not make it and right there at Zelzah, she was buried. If you travel to Jerusalem today, you will see the tomb of Rachel, located about a mile away from Bethlehem. Hence, the reason her crying was linked to the massacre of the innocent children in Bethlehem. It’s also happening in Africa where we are told the spirit of some forefathers are crying over what is happening to their children on earth.
Never forget that Jeremiah’s prophecies were all pointing toward future Salvation of mankind by using Israel’s deliverance as a shadow of what to come and Jesus Christ being the Messiah didn’t settle down well with king Herod, who thought that Jesus was coming to take over physical kingdom from him and then he sought to kill Him while he was still a baby.
It was his failure to have Him killed that led to the annihilation of those innocent children and according to the writer of the book of Matthew, he quoted Jeremiah 31:15 in Matthew 2:18 as a fulfilment of Jeremiah’s prophecy.
At the end of the day, in the prophecy, we see how Rachel was comforted that although she might thought she had lost her children physically, but then, they would return and all of them would be fully restored.
This has two meanings, one immediate and the other future.
Immediate fulfilment is for the children of Israel taken captive, that they would return to Jerusalem and the future fulfilment is that of every believer who will be gathered with Christ on the last day, including those who have died – they will all be resurrected. We may think we have lost them physically, but then they have been saved and we shall meet again in the Kingdom of God.
To be continued…stay tuned and stay blessed.
Let us pray:
- I declare concerning those reading this message, you will not lose any of your loved ones and nobody will mourn in your family, in Jesus name.
- The power of God will keep on multiplying your blessings by giving you more and more ideas and creative solutions to solve problems for humanity, in Jesus name.
- You are protected from harm. Afflictions shall not rise anymore in your life, in Jesus name.
- Things are turning around for your good for you in Jesus name.
Bible Readings For Today: Reflection time on all the chapters you have read so far from the past six days and covering of missed chapters.
I call you blessed now and always.
Monday August 31, 2020 (DDMI)
