Powerful messages ring through today’s readings; God’s indescribable love for those he created, his commitment to the promises he made and his tireless efforts to ensure they would not perish.

We meet the Israelites, 800 years after they settled in the promised land, now exiled, weeping at the riverbanks of Babylon for the life and land they had squandered through sin, arrogance and complacency. Religiously paying lip service to generational rituals but not spiritual, blatantly discounting God’s attempts to gather them near.

God demonstrates that he will always be true to his word. Displayed today is his follow through to instructions given out in Leviticus 26 and again in warnings through the prophet Jeremiah (25:11). God also follows through on his promise in Jeremiah 29:10 to restore them. God’s love for his created people is such that he was willing to raze to the ground all that he prepared and consecrated to himself in the promised Land of Judah so that this stubborn generation will not perish. Generations later, God goes further by sending his only Son to make the ultimate sacrifice so that through him all generations before and after will be reconciled with him. Jesus lived among us and died taking on our sin because God loved us first. I am struck by the realisation that we may be thousands of generations down the timeline after the chosen generations of Israel. Yet we are
the chosen generation of gentiles, for we have been made children of God through Jesus. God is God yesterday, today, and forever. Doesn’t that hold us to account to follow and live in God’s ways? Do we recognise ourselves in the generations that were exiled to Babylon? Ritual following people but not spiritual? Living on our own understanding of God’s commands? Deciding for ourselves which rules are outdated and which ones are to be kept? Living our religious life on our terms and understanding?

Perhaps if we find ourselves mourning as the people of Judah, mourning the loss of luxury, health, peace and comfort, we should remember that Jesus died and was raised up for all generations, so that we too could cast our eyes on him and embrace salvation and healing. Perhaps we could come out of life in the shadows and embrace the Lord.

PRAYER: Abba Father, help me to seek your plans and trust in your ways. Amen.