• events/messages from the siege to the fall of Jerusalem
• object lesson of the Rechabites: “symbolic action”

• instructions concerning the Rechabites (2 Kings 10:15-27)
• intensity of the assessment

• commandment of Jonadab
• careful obedience to a long-dead ancestor

• instructions concerning Judah and Jerusalem
• argument from lesser to greater
• painfully apparent contrast

• obedience acknowledged
• blessing pronounced (Neh. 3:14)
• searing rebuke

• Because He is the living God and means what He says, obey the LORD’S commands.
• connections to Christ: Phil. 2:8, John 14:15, 1 John 5:3
• “Sometimes secular loyalties to some cause or person put to shame the loyalty of God’s people to Him and His commands.” (Huey)
• The depth of your declaration of dependence is displayed through your obedience.
• “Jesus, too late I Thee have sought; how can I love Thee as I ought? And how extol Thy matchless fame, the glorious beauty of Thy name? Jesus, my Lord, I Thee adore; O make me love Thee more and more.” (Collins, “Jesus, My Lord, My Life, My All”)

• the people “get it” (31:15-22)
• a more explicit commentary on 29:11

• reassurance of restoration
• revelation through a dream
• repudiation of a well-known saying

• noteworthy repetition
• not like the previous covenant
• notice the LORD’S initiative

• internalized word (Matt. 5-7)
• personal God
• personal instruction
• permanent forgiveness

• Because the LORD can restore fully what was devastated completely, trust Him to do a new thing in your life.
• connection to Christ: Heb. 8:6-12; 1 Pet. 2:9-10
• “But the faith, needed by Israel to believe in what would come, is the faith I need to believe in what has already come.” (S. Smith)
• “God of the covenant, Lord God Almighty, marvels of mercy adoring we see: calling from sin and from darkness a people bonded to Christ by a timeless decree.” (J. Webb, “God of the Covenant, Lord God Almighty”)

• yoke of servitude to Babylon and the folly of false prophets (28)
• Jeremiah’s letter to Jewish exiles in Babylon (29:1-32) and the immediate context (29:1-3)

• emphasis on the LORD’s sovereignty/providence: displaced but not misplaced
• addressed to exiles
• settle down and thrive personally
• pursue peace and pray

• note the repetition
• untrue prophecies from unsent prophets (28:3, 11; 25:11-12)

• revelatory accuracy
• emphatic assurance: not to hurt but to help
• personal access and inexhaustible promise (Deut. 4:29; 30:1-5)

• Because of the promise of deliverance in the future, thrive by God’s grace in the present.
• NT connections: Luke 4:18, Heb. 6:19-20; 11:8-10, 1 Pet. 1:3-9
• Aim to align your life with the reality of biblical hope.
• “There is a hope that lifts my weary head, a consolation strong against despair, that when the world has plunged me in its deepest pit, I find the Savior there! Through present sufferings, future’s fear, He whispers ‘courage’ in my ear. For I am safe in everlasting arms, and they will lead me home.” (S. Townend, “There Is a Hope”)

• “leaves” from the last years of Judah (21-26): a misruled and mistaught people
• contrast: scattering and gathering shepherds (Ezek. 34:31, John 10:11)

• the LORD’s attention to the inattentive
• identification of “shepherds”
• gathering of the remnant

• messianic prophecy: raise up for David a Righteous Branch (33:14-16)
• salvation and security as a result of His administration (Isa. 52:13)
• His identity: The LORD is our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30-31, Phil. 3:8-11)

• significance of “As the LORD lives…”
• parting the Red Sea of political tape
• pointing to a greater exodus

• Assured that He gets all of His sheep safely home, rely on the LORD’S provision of the ultimate Shepherd.
• Consider the connection to Christ: Matt. 9:36, 1 Pet. 5:4, Heb. 13:20-21, Lk. 15:3-7
• “Scripture is composed with a specific purpose: to show the glory of God through the exaltation of Christ as He reconciles man to God.” (Smith)
• “Perverse and foolish oft I strayed, but yet in love He sought me, and on His shoulder gently laid, and home, rejoicing, brought me…And so through all the length of days Thy goodness faileth never; Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise within Thy house forever.” (Baker, “The King of Love My Shepherd Is”)

• sin of Judah (17), Judah fit to be smashed (19), Jeremiah persecuted (20)
• vessel still in the making and appeal for repentance (18)

• prophetic formula followed by a command
• ceramics and sovereignty (Gen. 2:7)
• as it seemed good to the potter…

• recognizing the limitations of analogy
• the LORD’S freedom to act with judgment and mercy without compromising His character
• when the LORD relents (Isa. 29:16; 64:8)

• warning of disaster preparation
• appeal to turn from evil
• blunt refusal: forsaking that which never fails

• Because the LORD is both sovereign and merciful, trust Him to bring wholeness out of your brokenness.
• “Have Thine own way, Lord. Have Thine own way. Thou art the potter. I am the clay. Mold me and make me after Thy will, while I am waiting, yielded and still.” (G. Stebbins, “Have Thine Own Way, Lord”)
• “This text is all about remaking-for better or worse…He is a craftsman and no plodding amateur; His touch has the boldness and resource of the true artist.” (D. Kidner)
• Repent and persevere!