Day 647: Creation's assurance - Jeremiah 33 vs 14 - 26

14-16 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.  In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ 17-18 “For thus says the Lord: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices for ever.”

19-22 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Thus says the Lord: If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night will not come at their appointed time, then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with the Levitical priests my ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of David my servant, and the Levitical priests who minister to me.”

23-24 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Have you not observed that these people are saying, ‘The Lord has rejected the two clans that he chose’? Thus they have despised my people so that they are no longer a nation in their sight. 25-26 Thus says the Lord: If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed order of heaven and earth, then I will reject the offspring of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his offspring to rule over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  For I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.” Jeremiah 33:14-26 (English Standard Version)

Can you see why I gave today's post the title of ‘creation's assurance’, and would you agree?

Verses 14-18 are about God keeping the promise He had made to King David. Speaking through the prophet Nathan, God had said to David: “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me. Your throne shall be established for ever.” (2 Samuel 7:12-13,16) But over the years David's Kingdom had been split, and in Jeremiah’s days the part of it that was left looked doomed. That’s why the people were saying what we see in vs 23-24. How did God go about showing the nation that His promises can be trusted no matter what their outward circumstances were?

He points them to the 'covenants' He made at creation. At creation God established the pattern of day and night. The cleverest scientists in the world can never break that pattern. God also created the stars of heaven and sand of the oceans in numbers that man can never count. (vs 19-22) In fact, the whole universe keeps to an order that God fixed at creation. (vs 23-24) It was as if God made a covenant so that it was obliged to do all He promised it would do. So God says through Jeremiah that His creation shouldn’t only remind them of His awesome power, but also that His promises never fail. His promises are as certain to be fulfilled as day is to follow night.

Do we ever draw comfort from this sort of assurance when we are going through dark times? There's a promise in Psalm 30:4-5 which says: “Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones! Praise His holy name. For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favour lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” The Bible also tells us that: “The heavens proclaim God’s glory, the skies display His craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known. They speak without a sound or word, their voice is never heard; yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.” (Psalm 19:1-4) All of God's creation assures us every day that He keeps His promises. Especially the promise of a Saviour who brings us into God’s righteousness!