“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers.” (Jeremiah 16:14–15, ESV)
I recently finished a book that my daughter gave me titled, “The Forgotten 500.” It is about the greatest rescue mission of World War II. During WWII, many of the allied aircraft were shot down by the German Luftwaffe in air operations over German occupied territories. As such, over 500 airmen who bailed out before their crippled planes crashed as they flew in missions to attack oil fields in Romania. The airmen discovered that the Serbs in German occupied Yugoslavia would hide them from the Germans. While the title of the book, “The Forgotten 500,” indicated that they were forgotten men, they were not. The Allied Forces did not forget them and planned a rescue mission.
The Serbs and the Airmen build an airstrip in the German occupied territory totally undetected by the Germans. Then when everything was ready, C-47 cargo plans were sent in landing and rescuing over 500 stranded airmen. This was the greatest rescue mission of WWII. Yet, there is a greatest rescue mission to come.
Here the Lord gives Jeremiah an intermission in His declaration of Judgment on Judah. He speaks of the great rescue of the Nation of Israel. This rescue will come to begin the Millennial reign of our Lord. Earlier in the book of Jeremiah we see this time was already prophesied.
“In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers for a heritage.” (Jeremiah 3:18, ESV)
Isaiah also records of this time.
“He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” (Isaiah 11:12, ESV)
The point is that God fulfills all that He has promised. He made a covenant with Abraham to give his descendants the land of Caanan as a permanent possession. “for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.” (Genesis 13:15, ESV)
We must remember that at the time of Jeremiah, the Northern Kingdom of the Jews had already been conquered by the Assyrians in 722B.C. The destruction of the Southern Kingdom, Judah, by the Babylonians was coming soon. Many from Israel would be dispersed. Only a small remnant of the Jews from Judah would be carted off to Babylon. Yet the Lord indicated that He would gather the dispersed peoples back and again occupy the land.
What does this mean to us? The Lord our God is our great rescuer. He keeps His promises. He never fails His people. We who have believed in Jesus have experienced the greatest rescue plan in all history. We have been rescued from sin, its power, and the wages of sin which is eternal punishment. It happened by the work of Christ on the cross and we were rescued through faith in Jesus Christ.
Moreover, we have an expectation of a glorious future. We will someday enter our heavenly home. There we will experience perfect rest, peace, and glory.
We will also participate in the Millennial Reign of Christ. When He establishes His reign on earth, we who have believed will reign with Him.
“Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:6, ESV)
Be of good cheer. God has a great and awesome future planned for everyone who has received eternal life by faith in Jesus.
Renewing the Heart 