1 – Note the similarity of chapters 36 & 37 to Jeremiah 31. The promise of God’s great work in restoring, sending the Spirit especially, and giving them new hearts so that their obedience is note an obedience of rote, but of a new heart – desiring new things. These are great and exceedingly precious promises. These are the substance of the New Covenant – the unbreakable one that surpasses the one made with Moses. The one Christ inaugurated. The one we enter into in Christ. For He IS the covenant, the absolute fulfillment of all of God’s promises to those who believe.

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1 – “Now the cistern into which Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck down along with Gedaliah was the large cistern that King Asa had made for defense against Baasha king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.” (Jeremiah 41:9, ESV)

RAF: Our minds, particularly our memories, are reservoirs from which we draw reserves of God’s provision in the dry seasons or when under siege from the Enemy. If we fill our memories with sights and sounds of dead and corrupting things, what will we draw from in times of trial?

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1 – “ These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon…” “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7, ESV)

RAF: So how are Christians to live in this present state of exile, when we are still not yet in the New Jerusalem? Live life. Do not retreat. Do not hide. Build houses, plant crops, marry, have kids, and let your kids get married and have kids – and don’t decrease. And we are seek the welfare of the place where we are. To bless the community around us. To pray for the society in which we find ourselves and do not run from it or curse it. For God has appointed that in its welfare, WE will find our own welfare.

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1 – “ Righteous are you, O Lord, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?” (Jeremiah 12:1, ESV)

RAF: Note this chapter’s 3 sections. a. 1-4 / Jeremiah’s question: How is it that God can be so hard on His people, when the heathen seem to prosper? b. 5-13 / The Lord answers: Because Israel’s sin is a sin of betrayal – of forsaking their relationship with Him. c. 14-17 / The Lord answers more: But don’t forget, I will restore my people. And those who prospered due to my chastening Israel – will pay for it. Heavenly Father, may we live with complete confidence in your love and faithfulness.

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1 – “Thus says the Lord: “What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless? They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that none passes through, where no man dwells?’ And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination. The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit.” (Jeremiah 2:5-8, ESV)

RAF: Whenever we fall into sin, this is the question we must ask ourselves: “What wrong did we find in our God, that we went after what worthlessness. All sin stems from a defect in love. So it is we (like Israel) have some desire, but do not go seeking our God in regard to it. We do not say “Where is the Lord?” But we grow forgetful that He has made us to find our satisfaction in Him. If we remain unsatisfied – it is because we have sought out and obtained so little of Him, not that He does not satisfy.

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1 – “Draw me after you; let us run. The king has brought me into his chambers. We will exult and rejoice in you; we will extol your love more than wine; rightly do they love you.” (Song of Solomon 1:4, ESV)

RAF: As a woman in love longs to be “drawn after” the one she loves – to be led, but led out of love, so the Church. When her heart is truly after Christ, delights to be drawn away and led by Him. It is always a sign that the Church (or individual Christians) are no longer love oriented, when we rebel and seek not to be led, but to lead.

Note too, that our tendency with Christ, as with women since the Fall, is to try and seize the lead over time.

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1 – “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.” (Proverbs 28:1, ESV)

RAF: Unresolved guilt gives the heart no rest. And a guilty heart often produces fearfulness and timidity.

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1 – “The wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.” (Proverbs 16:21, ESV)

RAF: Sweetness of speech is not flattery, lying or failing to deal in complete truthfulness. It is rather the attitude in which our communication is carried out. Would we persuade, or simply hammer our view home? Would we win or keep a friend, or are we simply after stating the case? Jesus never shrunk back from delivering the whole truth – but He was no man’s enemy, even though they were His. Father, teach me this holy skill. How I would rather thunder out my way, than persuade by a heart set on blessing the other. How I want to be right, more than righteous. Deliver me. See: Verses 23 & 24.

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1 – “Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.” (Proverbs 4:5, ESV)

RAF: What becomes increasingly plain in this book is that insight and wisdom have to do with understanding how things are, and how they work – from God’s point of view. It is insight into the divine economy. It is like having sight in a world of blind men. It isn’t that we see things that aren’t there, but see them as they really are. Values are assigned by eternal standards, not temporal. Eternal justice must always be held in tension. God’s sovereignty as well as man’s responsibility have to be kept together. Man’s relationship to God must define his relationship to all others, and to the the universe itself. Heavenly Father, how we need this wisdom. how we plead to you for this insight.

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