Listen:  136.2

Let’s read Jeremiah 33:1-3, Moreover the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying, Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name; Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”  There are two proper and profitable ways to think about this verse.  First, we can consider the situation that Jeremiah was in when we received this comforting and encouraging message from the Lord.  Secondly, we can consider how this verse might apply to us today.

 

Let’s look at Jeremiah’s situation.  Jeremiah was a prophet of the Lord who prophesied about and lived during the time of Israel’s 70 year captivity of Babylon.  Jeremiah is known as the ‘weeping prophet’.  He was deeply grieved at Judah’s departure of faithfulness from Jehovah.  He was also grieved at being the one to prophesy the judgment of God upon His people.  Because of his warning and prophesies to the Lord’s people, Jeremiah suffered from the hands of the very ones he was trying to help. 

 

In Jeremiah, chapter 32, Jeremiah was imprisoned by Zedekiah, the king of Judah.  Although Zedekiah was put in power by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, his loyalties were to the land of Egypt.  When Jeremiah prophesized against that, he was imprisoned, as we read in Jeremiah 32:3-4, “For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes.”  There is so much rich history in this book of Jeremiah.  I encourage you to study this fascinating book.  However, for time’s sake we will now try to limit our thoughts to the question at hand.

 

Now, in Jeremiah, chapter 33, we find that Jeremiah, still in prison, received a word of encouragement from the Lord.  Let’s read Jeremiah 33:3once more, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”  The Lord announces to Jeremiah that He will restore Israel and Judah; He will return their freedom; He will bless them spiritually and physically.  In addition to, and above all that, we read in Jeremiah 33:14-15, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.”  The Lord here affirms the coming Messiah, the ‘Branch of righteousness’.  He goes on to say in Jeremiah 33:16, “In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.”  What a remarkable revelation the Lord gave to this faithful, yet grieving prophet. 

 

What wonderful and marvelous blessings await us when we call upon the Lord!  The Lord’s promise to the psalmist in Psalms 50:15was, “…call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”  The Lord’s promise to us today is found in Hebrews 13:5, “…I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”  To those who know the Lord Jesus Christ as savior, we have the promise of His unending presence to keep and guide us.  We are assured in Matthew 6:8that, “…your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.  We are promised in Philippians 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”   Ephesians 3:20tells us that our Lord, “…is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think…”  My dear fellow believer, we have called upon the Lord to receive His wondrous gift of eternal life through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  May we all realize the blessings of calling upon Him daily to have all our needs met, so that we might glorify Him.  May we all learn the blessed privilege of living our lives in complete dependence upon Our blessed redeemer.  (136.2)