This morning I was thinking about the promise of the Messiah, how man thought it would look, in contrast to how God fulfilled His word. As an example here are a few verses from Jeremiah, written to the Jews who had been carried into captivity in Babylon.
Jeremiah 30:8-10 NIV:
[8] “ 'In that day,' declares the Lord Almighty, 'I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them.
[9] Instead, they will serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
[10] “ 'So do not be afraid, Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel,' declares the Lord.
'I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid."
The Jews had several times where they were under foreign oppression, and I think that verses like these were what they held onto for hope, and as a promise of a Messiah. In these verses, Jeremiah points to David their king - not literally but as promised to David, one from His family. God will break off the yoke, and tear off their bonds of slavery, and restore them. Read carefully it is God who will do these things, not the Messiah, but read together it creates a thought of what God's intervention will look like - a restoration of nation, free from any foreign enslavement or occupation, a King restored, and God's blessings. It is no wonder the Jews thought, during Jesus' time, that the Messiah would throw off the Roman oppression and reestablish the Kingdom.
The thought that grabbed my attention this morning, was that the Jews were concerned about the temporal situation, their land, their fortune, their government, their political and religious freedom. These are all good, and God cares about them, but His bigger concern was their spiritual situation and their relationship with and understanding of God the Father, those were the things the Lord focused on most. He did proclaim the Kingdom of God, but the effective demonstrations were not against the Roman rule, but instead setting them free from the bonds of sin, sickness, demons and death. My thought was that in God's eyes these were far more important than the oppression of Roman rule.
John wrote the following concerning the reason Jesus came to earth, "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work." (1 John 3:8b) The author of the Letter to the Hebrews said this about Jesus, "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." (Heb 1:3). Jesus said the following about Himself, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matt 9:12-13). Jesus also said this, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
I could quote hundreds of other verses all pointing to the same basic themes, that Jesus came to set us free, not necessarily from oppressive political regimes, or foreign oppression, but rather from that which is far more important, sin and death. He came to give us eternal life, not possessions and wealth. He is a good Lord and He knows we need those things (See Matt 6:25-34) but His greater concern is our eternal salvation, and freedom from the lies and deception of the enemy and all his works. The Lord desires relationship with us, and has opened the way to the Father, and made Him known to us. Jesus prayed these words, as some of the last words before His death - John 17:1-8 NIV:
[1] "After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. [2] For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. [3] Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. [4] I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. [5] And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began."
[6] “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. [7] Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. [8] For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me."
Amen!
So this morning I am encouraged to see things from God's perspective, to put proper priority on things. While our temporal situation is important, elections and political power changes and such, of far more importance to God are the continued struggles against sin, sickness, the works of the enemy and our salvation and relationship with Him. I am choosing to advance those things that are important to Him, rather than worry about those temporal things. As Jesus said, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matt 6:33 NIV).
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