Whenever something new is introduced we are always skeptical. Jeremiah proclaimed to the people of his time that the Lord would make a new covenant with them. The new covenant would not be like the old one.
For 36 hours, George Mason was locked in a vault with no way out. There was no doorway to freedom, no window, no road to lead him from his personal darkness. Just so, there was no road for the people of Isaiah’s day. They were in a desert wasteland.
A “Far Side” cartoon has God standing in front of one of a gigantic shopping mall map. He is pressing the “where are you” button and the map lights up and says, “You are here, and here, and here, and here, and here.” As Christians we believe that about God.
This chapter of Jeremiah is different from the rest of the book. Most of Jeremiah foretells judgment and wrath. But Jeremiah also spoke a word of grace to those who had been judged and were repentant.
Lots of people today are adrift. That’s the first group the psalmist mentions. The second are those who’ve rejected God. The third are lost in sin. The fourth suffers through no fault of their own. The Good News is that God is faithful to all four groups.
The final months of Kay’s life were hard. Company was sparse. Opportunities for connecting appeared few and far between. Still this period was pregnant with a future. For the one seated on the throne announces: “See, I am making all things new.”
This scripture is God’s promise that he will save his people. I like stories about God saving his people, because I am one of his people. You are his people too. This scripture gives me hope. It should give you hope, as well.
Why? Why did this happen to a gracious, man who had so much to live for? Why did this happen as it did to Angela and Eddie, to Nancy, to all of us? It is natural to ask this question. That we do so testifies to the weight of our loss.
If anybody ever had to give a minority report, Jeremiah did. God called Jeremiah as a young man to deliver a message to the people of Israel that they did not want to hear. It would be a message about judgment and hope.
She said, “Now this is the first turkey I have ever cooked. If it isn’t any good, we’ll just get up from the table and go to a restaurant.” When she returned to with the turkey, her husband and son were seated at the table with their coats and hats on.