Seder 30: Jeremiah 30---"For I am with you to save you...."

 When Jacob prepared to leave home and go to Haran, God conveyed an important message to him:  "Behold, I am with you and and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you" (Ge 28:15).  

Twenty years later, God repeated this assurance:  "Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred and I will be with you" (Ge 31:3).  And indeed, God guided Jacob and his family safely to Canaan.

Now fast forward over a thousand years to the time of Judah's defeat by the Babylonians in the early sixth century BC.  At that point a number of Jews were taken away to Babylon.  But Jeremiah had an important message for Israel and Judah:  God would one day reunite and restore the nation. As he had been with Jacob in the past, so he would be with Jacob's descendants in the future:  

"Then fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the LORD, nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity.  Jacob shall return and have quite and ease, and none shall make them afraid" (Jer 10:10-11).

Jeremiah's prophecy of restoration includes the promise of the Messiah and the coming of the messianic age (vv 21-22).    

Kyle Kettering gave a sermon on this motif at Church of the Messiah on July 6, 2024.  He carried the motif forward into the New Testament with Jesus' promise to his disciples before his ascension:  "And behold I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Mt 28:20).  

Seder 67: Psalm 119:89-86---A Word We Can Count On

 Psalm 119 praises God through praise of his word.  The twelfth of the twenty two sections of the psalm compares the order and reliability of creation with the dependability of God's word and his faithfulness to his promises.  We know that the sun will rise and set tomorrow, and when the next full moon will be.  Similarly, we know that God's word is sure (vv 89-91).  

The psalmist is undergoing trial and affliction. His life is in flux, but through it all he can depend upon God's word.  Where would he be without it?  It has been a source of life (vv 92-93).  Affirming his loyalty to God's word (and therefore to God), he prays for deliverance. 

This section concludes with another strong statement about God's word in verse 96:  "I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad."  Commentator Daniel Estes (NAC) paraphrases the verse this way: 

"Even the best human efforts reach their limits.  By contrast the Lord's command has no limit so it transcends all that humans can accomplish or even attempt" (p 437 of the NAC commentary on Ps 73-150).   

Another commentator, Derek Kidner, has described this verse as an apt summary of the message of the biblical book of Ecclesiastes.

What is affirmed about God's written word in this psalm is also true of God's incarnate Word, Jesus the Messiah, a perfect life giver upon whom we can depend.  We can count on the promise that he gave to his disciples in Matt 28:20:  "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Seder 8 Sermon: Show Yourselves!

In his sermon at Church of the Messiah on May 2, 2020, Kyle Kettering took his title from the reading from the prophets in Isa 49:9, where God says to the prisoners, "Come out," and to those who are in darkness, "Appear."

This seems to be a fitting text for a time when we are trying to find a balance between protection from the Coronavirus and returning to a more normal life after a period of staying at home.

Kyle observed that when Noah's family went out from the ark, his children were tasked with restarting the world (Gen 9:18-19).   Similarly, the next generation plays a crucial role in carrying on a witness for God in the world, so our work in making disciples (Matt 28:19-20) begins with our young people.