The Coming Messiah
The Book of Jeremiah • Sermon • Submitted
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· 1 viewWhen all hope is lost, is when God shows up with a message that changes everything.
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Introduction
What do you say when you have lost all hope? What do you do when you just do not know if you can take it any longer? What do you do during those season of burnout and desperation? What we must learn to do is rest and trust in the Lord. For it is in these seasons that God can reveal Himself in ways that we just do not comprehend.
Focus Passage
1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.
2 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and [driven them away,] and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.
3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock [out of all] countries whither I have driven them, and will [bring them again] to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
4 And I will [set up] shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.
5 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which [brought up] the children of Israel [out of the land] of Egypt;
8 But, The Lord liveth, which [brought up] and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and [from all] countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
Outline
The Unfaithful Shepherds (vv.1-2)
Jeremiah brings a word from God to the unfaithful shepherds, leaders of God’s people, saith the Lord…thus saith the Lord God of Israel. The message that Jeremiah brings to these unfaithful shepherds is not a message of encouragement but is a message of woe, Woe be unto the pastors…the pastors that feed my people..
God declared the results of the unfaithful shepherd’s leadership - ‘...scattered my flock and driven them away...’
The kings and priests had forgotten who they were leading. This was their first problem. They were leadings, shepherding the people of God, the sheep of my pasture. As the prophet Ezekiel writes...
31 “As for you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, you are mankind, and I am your God,” declares the Lord God.
As the Psalmist writes...
3 Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
The results of their unfaithful leadership, that is leading them in sin against God and transgression of His law and the worship of idols, was two fold...
The unfaithful shepherds had caused the people to wander from God - ‘...to driven them away...’
The unfaithful shepherds had caused the people to lose their place - ‘…scattered my flock...’
God declared the heart of the unfaithful shepherd - ‘…and have not visited them...’
At the heart of the unfaithful kings and priest was a lack of care. The word says that they were unconcerned about them. They showed no oversight. They showed no care. Sheep require lots of care, lots of oversight, lots of attention. Yet, these kings and these priests showed no care for the people that God had deposited into their care. Jesus during his Good Shepherd discourse identifies this type of shepherd as a hired hand.
12 He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters the flock. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and does not care about the sheep.
The church today, as the people of Israel then, cannot afford to be lead by a hired hand. We are to be led by the Spirit of God. God declares that we are to care for one another. We are to be obedient to His Word.
God declared the unfaithful shepherd will give account - ‘…I will visit upon you the the evil of your doings...’
God’s plan (v.3)
3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock [out of all] countries whither I have driven them, and will [bring them again] to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
Despite the destruction brought by the unfaithful shepherds, God had a plan.
God’s plan was based off His actions - ‘And I will...’
God’s plan was for restoration - ‘…will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries whither I have driven them...’
God’s plan was for a blessing - ‘…they shall be fruitful and increase...’
The blessings that would come, when God restores His people and restores them to their land, would exceed the memory of God delivering His people from Egyptian bondage, a memory ingrained into the heart of His people.
7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which [brought up] the children of Israel [out of the land] of Egypt; 8 But, The Lord liveth, which [brought up] and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and [from all] countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
The Coming Messiah and Faithful Shepherds (vv.4-6)
4 And I will [set up] shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord. 5 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
The text before us is eschatological in nature. It reveals truth and results of the first incarnation and also Jesus’ 2nd return. It is within this text, that Jeremiah finds hope. He sets back and looks through the telescope of time and sees through the darkness and is encouraged by the light on the other side. We see a glimpse of this light to come when after 400+ years of silence between the Old and New Testaments, John the Baptist states...
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven [is at hand.]
The coming Messiah - ‘…I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth...’
Jesus called for and left faithful shepherds to tend to the people of God - ‘...I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them...’
The results of these faithful shepherds would be far different than the unfaithful shepherds. Whereas the unfaithful shepherds caused the people to wander and be dispersed, the faithful shepherds will cause the people to no longer be fearful, no longer be disoriented, and no longer be away from their king.
God’s people will eventually be regathered under the salvation of Christ - ‘...In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS...’
10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and [it shall come to pass,] that in the place where it was said [unto them,] Ye are not my people, there it shall be said [unto them,] Ye are the sons of the living God. 11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be [gathered together,] and appoint themselves one head, and they shall [come up] [out of] the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.
Conclusion
As we face uncertain times. As we face desperate times. Let us be comforted in knowing that while the present may look bleak, God has a far greater promised future lying ahead for His people. As the apostle Paul wrote...
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.