The North and the South

Isaiah 31:7–9 ESV

For in that day everyone shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you. “And the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of man; and a sword, not of man, shall devour him; and he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be put to forced labor. His rock shall pass away in terror, and his officers desert the standard in panic,” declares the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

Introduction

Beginning today, as we rapidly approach the end of the Church Year, our readings begin to focus on the End of all things. Judgment Day. We are once again introduced to this Day of the Lord by the prophet Jeremiah today. While the world has continued to deteriorate since the time of the Fall, the Church prays for her deliverance and the restoration of all things.

The World is Very Evil

The Bible teaches us that the world is and always has been at enmity with God. It was not designed to be like this, and it certainly grieves the Lord’s heart. But with sin come death, destruction, and hell. None of these things were a part of God’s magnificent plan for the world or for you at the creation. Sin brought these things, not God.

Of course, we remember that despite the condition of the world and the deadness of the hearts of people, God loved this world. Sin and all. He refused to sit back and do nothing, so He sends His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to restore this fallen world to Himself. He claimed you as His own in the Holy Waters of Baptism, where He touched you with the perfect life He has intended for you. By doing so He has given you faith in Jesus Christ, the only One who can save you. He has forgiven you of your sin through Jesus death on the Cross, and He has given you Jesus’ righteousness with His perfect life becoming your own.

Yet sin continues to plague our lives. Death continues to pay its unwelcome visit to us time and time again. Just like in our Gospel, the world and even the disciples tend to dissuade us from bothering the Master, yet it is only in Jesus that we can have healing and hope. Those voices are getting louder today by the minute. “Stay away from Jesus! Don’t bother the Master! Send her away! Block the little children!” Such sentiments abound in the world but also, sadly, in our hearts. We vacillate between holding tight to Jesus’ hand and denying Him in our lives by our sin. Such has been the cycle of life for each of us since we were born. To quote Paul, “Who will deliver us from this body of death?”

Thanks Be to God

Jesus Christ! That is the WHO. His sinless life and the Cross were the HOW. And yet, here we are, in this struggle between the Way of Life and the Way of Death, caught squarely in the middle. How does this cycle ultimately get broken? We go to our text.

Jeremiah 31:7 ESV

For thus says the Lord: “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, ‘O Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’

God’s people are not crying out to Him to just save us now, but to save us! Eternally!

Israel knew this struggle. They had made some really bad choices. They broke the Lord’s commandments. The demanded Kings over God’s system of Judges. All of this led to the ultimate destruction of Ancient Israel, with it breaking into two Kingdoms, the North and the South. The Northern Kingdom consisted of two tribes: Joseph and Ephraim. The Southern Kingdom, referred to in the Bible as Judah, was comprised of the remaining ten tribes. Israel existed this way until the Assyrians took out the Northern Kingdom in 723 BC. Ultimately, the remaining part of Israel would go on for a little less than 200 years when it was taken out by Babylon and those left would enter the Babylonian Captivity. At that point, Israel and its glory, were gone.

One of the things that we do is reminisce. It’s fun to do sometimes. Remembering those who loved us and shaped us. Remembering our history and our past. Remembering the places that influenced our lives, the events that shaped us, the friendships that molded us. Israel could look back on its glory, but it didn’t exist any more in the present at the time of Jeremiah. The memories were just a “hand full of sand.” It was gone. There was no returning to it.

The only time the Lord wants us to look back is when we recount His mercies and deliverance. But God’s people are a foreward looking people. In the words of the Christian comedian and sociologist Tony Campollo, “I don’t want to know where you’re coming from, I want to know where you’re going to...”

Jeremiah shows us where to look

Jeremiah shows us our hope in Christ by looking into the future. By trusting the promises of God. The ultimate promise of God— the only Promise left for Him to fulfill— is Christ’s second coming and our eternal deliverance when it happens. Put your self in this mindset and the words of Jeremiah come to life! Looking back would cause tears, but looking forward causes Jacob to sing, give praise, and cry out for salvation to the Lord.

The Lord begins to show us what will happen:

Jeremiah 31:8 “Behold, I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together; a great company, they shall return here.”

Look at the hope at what the Lord says through this prophet!

First, the North and the South will be reunited. That is a promise of the Restoration of Israel. Not ancient Israel, mind you, but the New Israel that the Lord has created by the Holy Spirit in His Church. Jewish believer and Gentile believer alike will experience this untamed joy.

Then He speaks about the blind and the lame, the pregnant woman and the woman in labor. These are Messianic signs! In that day “The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped.. Then shall the lame dance like the deer. All of these things take place at the Second Coming of Jesus, for all will be restored.

Tears of Joy

Jeremiah 31:9 “With weeping they shall come, and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back, I will make them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble, for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.”

Israel (Judah) and Ephraim (Northern Kingdom) will both be reunited before the Father’s throne.

We live in a time that is full of tears of sadness. Love grows cold. Memories fade. Those who we loved are often gone. Special places exist no more. Looking back can be dreary. But that is why Jesus tells us that “he who puts his hands to the plow and looks back are not fit for the Kingdom of God.” God’s people are foreward looking people. For we look for a kingdom that will never fade or decay, kept in heaven for you.

Let your tears be tears of joy.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.