God Our Fortress and Hope

Hey, hey, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This morning we get the gospel of God in the book of Jeremiah. Let's have some coffee, we'll pray, and we have an amazing passage to get to today. Father, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for the hope of salvation that you offer to us. Lord, even as there's a dark curtain of our backdrop of sin and death that we've just looked at before, Lord, you are still merciful and gracious. So Father, we pray that your Holy Spirit would please help us to read and understand, believe and live. In Jesus' name. Amen. Here we go.
Jeremiah chapter 16, beginning at verse 14 through 21. Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that it shall no more be said, the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt, but the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where he had driven them, or I will bring them back into their land, which I gave to their fathers. Behold, I will send for many fishermen, says the Lord, and they shall fish for them. And afterward, I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill and out of the holes of the rocks. for my eyes are on all their ways.
They are not hidden from my face, nor is their iniquity hidden from my eyes. And first I will repay double for their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled my land. They have filled my inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols. O Lord, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of affliction.
The Gentiles shall come to you from the ends of the earth and say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, worthless and unprofitable things. Will a man make gods for himself which are not gods? Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know. I will cause them to know my hand and my might, and they shall know that my name is Jehovah."
Well, what an amazing passage. We need to ask ourselves, A, what's this about? B, what's the best verse to summarize this? And C, what are we called to do? What is this about? God is saying, my people used to be called those who were redeemed out of Egypt, no longer. Now they're going to be called those who are brought out of exile, out of the north, from all the different countries they were exiled. He's going to bring them back. But it's not just going to be the exiles. This is the amazing thing. the Gentiles are going to turn to. This is what he's getting at, right? He's going to have these fishermen who go get his people, the hunters who go find them, out of every hill and out of all the rocks, for my eyes are on all their ways, and they are not hidden from my face, nor is their iniquity hidden from my eyes.
First, I will repay double for their iniquities and their sins, because they have defiled my land, and they have filled my inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols." So the Lord's going to punish them, but he's going to bring them back. He takes sin seriously, right? They defiled the land, but he's going to bring his people back. And then notice this, it's just, that's amazing. It reminds me of Psalm 117, this amazing section of 19 through 21.
Oh Lord, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of affliction. The Gentiles shall come to you from the ends of the earth and say, and they're just gonna say, our gods are worthless. The idols taught us nothing. They're going to come to the Lord. Therefore, behold, I will this one cause them to know. I will cause them to know my hand and my might. And they shall know that my name is the Lord, Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh, the divine covenant name. God's not going to let his people suffer forever. And the Gentiles will know his might and his strength, his redeeming arm. they will turn from their idols and turn to Him. God has an even bigger plan than just the destruction of Jerusalem, not just the cleansing of the land, but He's got a big plan to care for His people, to love them.
This is what the Lord's doing. It's marvelous in our eyes. This is what He has done. So what's the best verse to summarize this? Well, I have in my Bible verse 17 single underline and verse 19 double underline. That's what I have in my Bible. What would you underline in your Bible as the best verse to summarize this? Well, last seat calling.
What are we called to do? Is He our fortress? Is He our strength? Is He our refuge in the day of affliction? Do we sing Psalm 46? Can we say that God is our refuge and our strength? Is He our shield and our tower? Is He the rock of our fortress? Is He the one to whom all the nations will come and bow before? Do we worship Him?
I'm a Gentile. I'm not Jewish by birth. Yet by faith I'm engrafted into the family of God. This is a beautiful thing here, right? The Gentile saying, you know, I chased after all the worthless idols of my own people. I've seen your redeeming hand. I've seen your strength. I've seen your right arm and I trust in you. Do you hold that same faith? Have you seen God rescue you from your sins in Christ Jesus? Do you trust in Him? Love Him? Hold to Him?
This is the hope. This is what God is doing as Jesus sent His disciples out first in Jerusalem and then Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth that all the nations might be discipled, teaching and learning all which He had commanded them, being baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is what's happened. This is what is happening. It's marvelous in our eyes. God's redeeming all sorts of people. He's got a great plan, even in affliction. We trust that the Lord knows what He's doing.
Let's pray. Father, sometimes we are so myopic, we're so short-sighted, we don't know why you're doing what you're doing, but we trust in you, Lord. And even as we can only imagine the devastation of what happened to Jerusalem in your judgment, as you were purifying the land from its abominations, Lord, they could not have imagined then how many people would go and start reading your word. I don't think Jeremiah could have imagined that thousands of years later, in countries they didn't know about, in lands that were far off, continents that were beyond their imagination, that there would be millions and millions of people who would read his words and know that you are a mighty God, able to save. Father, please, let us trust in you.
Rejoice our hearts in you, Lord, for even in affliction you are our stronghold and our fortress. In Jesus' name, amen. May God bless you with peace, no matter what the affliction is you're going through. May you cling to Him as your strength and your fortress, knowing that He cares for you and His plans are perfect. I'll see you next time. Bye.