Jeremiah 33 offers us another mixture of condemnation and promise for Israel and Judah. The chapter starts with condemnation, for the unfaithfulness of the people. Yet, once again the LORD promises to restore the land and to bring the people back to both Israel and Judah. He makes an amazing declaration about the unconditional and eternal covenant He has made with the house of David: He tells us that if He breaks His covenant with the day and night, so that the day and the night do not come, so the covenant with David might be broken. He speaks once again of the righteous “Branch” that will come forth from David, and He reminds Jeremiah of His own steadfast love and faithfulness. We must always remember: No matter what we might be experiencing in the current moment, the LORD’s steadfast love and faithfulness never fail.
In Jeremiah 34, the LORD tells Jeremiah that the siege against the city of Jerusalem will result in many dying by the sword, pestilence, and famine, but King Zedekiah would be carried off by King Nebuchadnezzar into Babylon. Zedekiah would live there in peace, and ultimately when he died, the people living in exile would remember and memorialize him as they had kings before him. The chapter continues with more affirmations of the people’s defeat, and their future return to the land. The theme has been expressed and restated throughout Jeremiah’s prophecies, but each chapter has nuances that make it worth reading. Each chapter reminds us those who reject the LORD will ultimately be rejected, and those who trust the LORD will ultimately be redeemed. This is not a short-term truth, but a long-term reality.
Jeremiah 35 shows us that in every era, the LORD reserves those who live in obedience to Him. The example we find are the Rechabites. They made a vow never to drink wine, and never to build houses or plant vineyards, but to live in tents. Because of the siege of the Babylonians against all Israel and Judah, the Rechabites had been forced to move into the city of Jerusalem. The LORD told Jeremiah to go to them and offer them wine to drink, but they would not drink it. They would not break the vow they and their ancestors had made before the LORD. As a result, the LORD made this promise to them through Jeremiah, “The Rechabites will never lack a man to stand before the LORD. Would that each of us were as the Rechabites, making commitments to the LORD that we and our children live out regardless of the test or challenge.
As we return to Matthew 6, we find ourselves in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount. The chapter contains teaching on four important matters: almsgiving, prayer, fasting, and stewarding all the LORD has entrusted to us. As Jesus taught about almsgiving, prayer, and fasting, He offered a common theme: do not practice these disciplines as a show for people to see and be impressed. Rather, practice them as to the LORD alone. When He sees that kind of faithfulness, devoted to Him, He rewards it. The prayer we call the Lord’s Prayer comes to us in this chapter. Jesus presents it and then underlines the truth of the necessity for us to forgive those who sin against us. Our forgiveness of others keeps the flow of the LORD’s forgiveness to us going. Finally, Jesus devotes a major portion of the chapter to reminding us of the importance of storing our treasure in heaven rather than on earth. In addition to this vital truth, Jesus tells us not to worry about provision for our lives, so long as we put the Kingdom of God and its righteousness first. When we do that, the LORD will provide us everything we need. The key is putting Him first!