Jeremiah 30:8 – A Day Is Enough

8
‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
‘That I will break his yoke from your neck,
And will burst your bonds;
Foreigners shall no more enslave them. Jeremiah 30:8, New King James Version

"Your love is wild," celebrates Amanda Cook in her song "Pieces." it's unashamed. Your love is proud, it's unashamed to be seen with me."

The same power, unchecked by hesitation over the past, is on display in Jeremiah 30:8. Israel and Judah's correction has been long in coming. Jeremiah and his prophetic ancestors rose morning after morning to warn them about it. Gradually, by sclerosis of the spirit, they listened less. Meanwhile, it took time to maneuver statecraft so that the right actors were in position to enact the punishment God deemed appropriate.

Just so, it takes time to forge bonds. It takes time to fashion yoke. Yet, with a day of correction is at an end, when grace is to win, God's language is vigorous. It, freedom, Jubilee, shall come in that day and no calculations over the depth of sandwich deserved this reproach will cause hesitation. The yoke will be not just removed but broken. The bonds, not slipped, but burst to be used no more. They won't remain in the corner as a reminder of what could happen again. The difference experienced between the reproaches of the old heart and the enthusiasm of the new will be reminder enough. Who would want to go back?

With this power on display, do we still calculate? Do we still measure tensile strength of the steel circumstances which seem to bind us and wonder if even God could, or would want to, act here? At first, this seems like deep holiness, like how ready we are to expound on the depth of our deserved guilt. Really, these are self-forged chains of pride, as though we pay with our confinement, with our refusal to look to the horizon with hope, what Christ could only pay with His perfect sacrifice undertaken for the joy set before Him.

I wonder if our attempt to be spiritual actuaries, to estimate the length of time until we experience true freedom, forestalls emotional retraining which could be taking place here and now. If I think my chains will need to be chiseled off gradually and that I will be able to perceive the beginning, the middle, and the end of the process, we can prepare our hearts as circumstances begin to change, as we begin to SEE a reason for our hope. If, however, our bond-bursting God could, at His fiat, call us to know more of His Presence even more quickly than Joseph in Genesis rocketed from Potiphar's prison to Pharaoh's throne room, we should seek to prepare my heart today.

Spurgeon reminds us in Morning and Evening that our true position is not confined, whatever our sins deserved. He harrumphs of Christ, "There is a fulness of efficacy in His resurrection from the dead, for by it 'we are begotten again unto a lively hope." This lively hope can give light even to the dungeon-like aspects of our existence. This light, the wood gloaming compared to the light of Christ's glory which is to come, can allow us to see beyond our own confinement, to see facial expressions as Joseph did in prison. By God's penetrating grace, we can know when those around us are especially downcast. We can minister to them because of the hope that is within us, ever bubbling up.

Monitoring, we can recognize when our hearts and our facial expressions are, as in the verses leading up to Jeremiah 30:8, dwelling on intervening difficulties rather than God's ultimate victory. In serving Christ Who beat death itself, the Christian has the ultimate confirmation that He Who has begun a good work in us will be faithful to complete it. Our hearts can dwell on that. Our faces can radiate that – even while our members experience some of the just consequences of sin, ours and man's in general. At a Word, they will be struck off. At a Word, we will go from convicts to kings. Even in the dungeon, we are in training for reigning.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Enthusiasm, Even If We Have To Work At It

On Fixer Upper, a real estate renovation show, perpetually upbeat contractor Chip Gaines faces the usual list of hassles incumbent in his work with the reflection that his father's greatest gift to him was to show him that work could be fun. Conversely, as I asked my usual questions of a new acquaintance in Bible study about what he looks for in new hires, he shared separately that enthusiasm can't be trained. I can't, he said, teach you to have fun at your job. The two insights are not necessarily contradictory. Chip's father had a prolonged impact on his attitude toward work at a time when Chip's child heart was as flexible as the body of an infant who can peacefully fall asleep in postures an adult would find uncomfortable if not crippling. The cafeteria manager spoke to the rest of us who either were not presented with that inspirational outlook or who have been distracted from that by work's more aggravating aspects. For those of us who don't come b
Read more

A Hobby Or A Habit?

Chris is a firefighter's firefighter.  He is passionate about the equipment. He is passionate about the people he gets to help. He is passionate about the honor of a career in the fire service. He is passionate enough to attend a training to sharpen his skills on his vacation time. When a college kid at the same training referred to firefighting as a hobby, Chris was not passionate in affirming that kind of divided enthusiasm. Would he have my back, Chris questioned? Would he rescue someone on the second floor if doing so involved in some personal risk?   Chris didn't have a chance to ask these questions or confront this attitude during the brief training. Perhaps someone else in a more long-standing relationship with this kid will have the opportunity fo model professionalism and to extend it to confrontation where necessary. If not, the progression is predictable, and extends far beyond firefighting. Observing a similarly nonchalant attitude in a young pitcher, Michael Lew
Read more

The Next "Why" Determines the Next "How"

"You don't remember me, do you?" is a loaded question. Often the answer is no. Saying this aloud is a confession that I don't prioritize people over my own thoughts. Nevertheless, this time the answer was a "yes" that was both emphatic and reluctant. This figure, tall, deep-voiced, and with a calm that could have been command presence was memorable, indeed. Twelve years ago, I hung my hopes on him in pumped full with the helium of heady optimism. As I was bringing my work gifts recognized, finally, and three years of experience into a new chapter in life in which I was also getting married, he stood in for a nice supporting role in my projected happily-ever-after narrative. He was a military veteran who, after retirement, had transitioned into the same human services field in which I worked. Since I was not physically built for military service, there was already, before I met him, masculine validation in the fact that we were going to be working toward the
Read more