“I Will Cleanse Them” (Jeremiah 33:8)
Today, we're looking at a prophecy that's over 25 100 years old. It hasn't come to pass yet, but god will ensure that it does. The prophecy is about the restoration of 2 nations, Israel and Judah. Now you might remember that, together, they made up the descendants of Israel. Remember that group of people that made a covenant with God at Mount Sinai in which they promised to obey him and do what he says?
Kendrick Diaz:But long story short, they didn't. They did not hold up their end of the deal. They utterly failed to be faithful to the covenant. So what did god do? 1st, he orchestrated the demise of the northern kingdom of Israel.
Kendrick Diaz:He said, okay, you don't want to obey me? Here you go. And he sent the Assyrians to conquer them and drag them into captivity. And the southern kingdom of Judah, instead of learning from their sister kingdom's mistakes, they were unfaithful too. And so god was in the process of raising up the Babylonians to conquer them just as he did with the Assyrians.
Kendrick Diaz:God was about to punish the nation of Judah, and that's the context of this prophecy. And yet as difficult as it might have been for them to hear what was going to happen, god said something through Jeremiah that was truly remarkable. He was gonna bring them back from captivity and restore them. So this is what it says in Jeremiah chapter 33 and verse 8. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against me.
Kendrick Diaz:God promised both Judah and Israel forgiveness. Now that hasn't happened yet for Judah and the modern descendants of Israel. Now just as an aside, most people don't realize that all the tribes of Israel are still around today, and they just don't know who they are. So if you want to know more about their identities, please click the link in the show notes for our booklet called the United States, Britain, and the Commonwealth in Prophecy. In the future, god is going to wipe away Judah and Israel's sins.
Kendrick Diaz:He's gonna give them a totally clean slate. But this prophecy alone doesn't tell us the full story of how that all happens. We have to use other passages to fill in some of the gaps. Zechariah chapter 12 and verse 10 deals with the same future period of time and it provides some more context, so I'll read it. And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication.
Kendrick Diaz:Then they will look on me whom they pierced. Yes. They will mourn for him as one mourns for his only son and grieve for him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day, there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem. Widespread repentance, that's what precedes this national forgiveness that God promises over in Jeremiah.
Kendrick Diaz:They're gonna be so torn up because they will finally realize that their sins killed Jesus Christ. Now today, most Jews don't accept even the significance of his death. Many think, oh, he was just another teacher and he had some interesting ideas, but he was no messiah. Yes, he was the messiah. He fulfilled every single prophecy about the first coming of the messiah in the Hebrew scriptures right down to the letter.
Kendrick Diaz:So they'll come to realize that, and they'll repent and be forgiven. But, you know, that's not even the best part about these prophecies in Jeremiah and Zechariah. Other passages tell us that what happens in Jerusalem is only a microcosm of what will happen for the whole world after Christ returns. The cleansing and forgiveness god offers first to Judah and Israel will eventually be offered to every nation on earth. Let's get this straight.
Kendrick Diaz:Christ died because of sin and the book of Romans tells us that all have sinned. So therefore, everyone is guilty. Jew, non Jew, man, woman, whether you're young or old, everyone needs forgiveness. At the core of this prophecy in Jeremiah 33 is the wonderful message of god's mercy, and yet you don't have to wait to experience that mercy. If you repent of your sins, then God can say to you now what he will later say to Judah, Israel and everyone else.
Kendrick Diaz:He can say, I will cleanse you from your iniquities and your sins, and I will pardon you. One day, the world is going to hear that. But you can hear that today.
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