People lose
hope.
Christmas
is the season of joy, peace and celebration.
However, many do not feel joyful during this season. The reasons for this lack of joy are as
varied as the individuals we are talking about.
This year
there will be some going through Christmas without a loved one. Having observed the holiday for years with
the same person, this year the loved one is no longer there.
This year some
will be exhausted by the busyness of the season. Concerts, children’s plays, family
gatherings, church gatherings, shopping, decorating and the endless
expectations rob the season of its joy.
Some do not
have fond memories of holidays past. Family
conflict, splitting holidays between homes and other difficulties mar the
season of joy and peace on earth.
We live in
a world damaged and torn by sin.
Sickness and disease attack our bodies.
Hackers and viruses attack our computers. Thieves steal our identities. Terrorists attack our cities.
Jeremiah
prophesied in Israel during a very dark time.
In Jeremiah 33 verse 1, we find Jeremiah confined in the courtyard of
the guard. He was in prison in
Jerusalem. He was in prison because he
said they should surrender to the Babylonians.
The Babylonians had surrounded the city, and were building siege
works. Inside the city, the Israelites
were tearing down houses and even the king’s palace for materials to strengthen
the walls and fight the Babylonians. It
was a dark time, and Jeremiah spoke for the Lord saying:
You expect to fight the
Babylonians, but the men of this city are already as good as dead, for I have
determined to destroy them in my terrible anger. I have abandoned them because of all their
wickedness. (Jeremiah 33:5)[i]
The Lord is
frank with us about dark days. The Bible
speaks of the wrath of God being revealed against all the ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men. I will not try
to look at all the verses that speak of darkness, but l will use Isaiah 8:20-22
as an example. It says:
20Look to
God’s instructions and teachings! People
who contradict his word are completely in the dark. 21They will go from one place to
another, weary and hungry. And because
they are hungry, they will rage and curse their king and their God. They will look up to heaven 22and
down at the earth, but wherever they look, there will be trouble and anguish
and dark despair. They will be thrown
out into the darkness.
Trouble,
anguish and dark despair describe much of what happens in our world. This darkness makes the message of Christmas
that much brighter. If we were not in
darkness, we would not need light. As it
is, Isaiah 9:2 says, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep
darkness, a light will shine.”
With a backdrop
of deep darkness, Jeremiah says, “The day will come, says the LORD, when I will
do for Israel and Judah all the good things I have promised them.” (Jeremiah
33:14)
Our hope is
in the promises of God. Jesus died for
our sins, but we still wait for the day when we will be sinless. Jesus promised to prepare a place for us, but
we still wait for the day when He comes back to take us home.
God
promised to bless all the nations on earth through Abraham’s seed. We now know that the promise is true through
Jesus Christ our Lord. God promised to
remove our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. We now know that this is accomplished through
the death of Christ on the cross.
The Lord
reminds us of His promises and says, “The day will come when I will do for
Israel and Judah all the good things I have promised.”
Remembering
the promises is the point of the season.
We need not lose hope. God has
triumphed over the darkness.
Jeremiah
33:15 points to the source of victory.
There is one central promise that is the key to all the other
promises. All the promises of God, hang
on this one promise. Jeremiah looks at
the darkness surrounding his city. He
looks at the army getting ready to invade, and says, “We have reason to
hope.” Jeremiah 33:15 is talking about
the great light those living in darkness will see. It says:
In those days and at that time I
will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will do what is just and right throughout
the land.
This
descendant of David is the key to the promises of God in which we hope. This descendant of David is the one on whom
all our hopes rest. From the time of
creation, this was God’s plan, and He made it happen.
When God
created man and woman, He placed them in the Garden of Eden. God placed the tree of the Knowledge of Good
and Evil in the middle of the garden, and forbade them to eat of it. He did this to test them. They chose to eat of the tree bringing down
the curse about which God had warned them.
At that time, God made a promise.
He said, “And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and
between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike
his heel.” Genesis 3:15
This
offspring of the woman is the One we are talking about.
Later, God
chose a man named Abram, who lived
in Mesopotamia. He chose this man and
gave him a promise saying:
“I will bless those who bless you
and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed
through you." Genesis 12:3
These
blessings would come through Abraham’s offspring.
Abraham had
a son named Isaac. Isaac had a son named
Jacob. The family was aware of the
promises God had made to Abraham. So,
when Jacob was on his deathbed he prophesied about his son Judah saying:
The scepter will not depart from
Judah, nor the ruler's staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one
to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor. Genesis 49:10
This one to
whom the scepter belongs is the One we are talking about.
When Israel
was preparing to invade the Promised Land, Balak King of Moab, hired a seer
named Balaam to curse Israel. Looking
out over the camp of Israel from a mountaintop, Balaam was inspired by God to
say:
"I see him, but not now; I
behold him, but not near. A star will
come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.” Numbers 24:7
What he saw
is the star of Jesse, a descendant of Judah.
Many years
after Jacob and Judah had passed and gone to heaven, a descendant of Judah
named David was anointed king over all Israel.
God spoke to David saying:
Your house and your kingdom will
continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever. 2 Samuel 7:16
The songs
of Israel are full of references to this ruler who was to come from David. Just one example of many is Psalm 89:3-4:
“The LORD said, ‘I have made a covenant with
David, my chosen servant. I have sworn
this oath to him: I will establish your descendants as kings forever; they will
sit on your throne from now until eternity.’”
In the dark
days Israel was facing, Jeremiah took them back to these promises.
In those days and at that time I
will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will do what is just and right throughout
the land. Jeremiah 33:15
The birth
of Jesus, the shepherds, the wise men, the manger, the star and the angels are
all about this One who was promised.
For the one
who has lost a loved one, there is hope.
Because of Jesus, we will see our loved ones again.
For the one
fighting sickness and disease, there is hope.
Jesus is our healer, and He promised He would never leave us. He is with us in our suffering.
What about
Peace on Earth? We have peace in our
hearts because of Jesus, but our world is not experiencing peace. What about, “the government shall be on his
shoulders?”
Jesus is
the descendant of David, promised so long ago, but His earthly kingdom will not
be set up until He returns.
Jeremiah
33:16 is about things yet to happen. It
says:
In that day Judah will be saved, and
Jerusalem will live in safety. And this
will be its name: ‘The LORD Is Our Righteousness.’
Do not give up hope. “That day” has not yet arrived. Our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly
await a Savior from there (Philippians 3:20).
Along with
the promises of His birth and lineage, there are many promises still being
fulfilled and yet to be fulfilled. We
will see Him coming on the clouds with glory.
He will set up His throne and rule with truth and justice. Do not give up hope.
The Lord isn't really being slow
about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but
wants everyone to repent. 2 Peter 3:9
Do not let
television, movies, radio, music and the culture define for you what you should
expect from Christmas. There is no hope
in that. Please understand me. I celebrate Christmas wholeheartedly: buying
and giving gifts, decorating, baking, singing, lights, tinsel and candy
canes. And, the reason I celebrate is the
hope that I have in Christ. There is
trouble in our world. Jesus said, “Here
on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.” And, in the same breath he said, “But take
heart, because I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33)
I want to
leave you with two thoughts.
First,
Jesus said:
1“Don’t let
your hearts be troubled. Trust in God,
and trust also in me. 2There is more than enough room in my Father’s
home. If this were not so, would I have
told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3When everything is ready, I will
come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. John 14:1-3
Second,
Paul said:
18Yet what we
suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19For all creation is waiting
eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20Against its will, all creation
was subjected to God’s curse. But with
eager hope, 21the creation looks forward to the day when it will
join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. Romans 8:18-21
[i]
Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New
Living Translation. Copyright © 1996,
2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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