The oracles against the nations recorded in the last chapters of Jeremiah were recorded for the sake of God’s people for their comfort. These words might not seem very comforting to you or me, but to the Jewish exiles after 586BC they would be very comforting. The greatest concern of the exiles was whether God had finally forsaken his covenant with his people. The question they were asking was: “Have we gone too far to be forgiven?” You might expect the answer to be affirmative. They had gone as far into rebellion against God as could be imagined. Now they were wondering whether the curses that their neighbours (Moab, Ammon, Edom etc.) heaped upon them in their demise were a reflection of God’s attitude towards them. These oracles answer this question. The basic form of the covenant promise is in Genesis 12:2-3. Here God promises that those who curse the people of Abraham will be cursed. The oracles against the nations here show that the covenant promise is still in operation. Jeremiah assures his people that God has heard the curses and ridicule of the nations upon his people and that he will answer them in order to show his justice on the one hand and his covenant faithfulness on the other. And, if God was going to be faithful to one part of his covenant, surely he would be faithful to all of it. God would still bless his people. This shows that God does not give up on us no matter how far we fall.
Thank God for persevering with you through your wayward times.
Read Jeremiah 48 & 49
