Saturday, May 5, 2018

Unbreakable



All things in this life are breakable, it seems. We expect that something will break at some point in its use, and we will have to fix or replace it. Even those things that call themselves unbreakable, really can be broken. Promises are broken every day, so that we really no longer rely upon them. However, when God calls something unbreakable, that's exactly what it is. The LORD showed something to His prophet Jeremiah that He described as unbreakable. He starts off by promising Jeremiah, and us, something remarkable:
"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."   Jer. 33:3
The things that God was willing to reveal to Jeremiah were so hidden and secret, that the words in Hebrew imply something kept behind a high wall, so fortified as to make them inaccessible. This prophetic word came to Jeremiah while he, himself, was shut up in an inaccessible place, the king's prison. The king had Jeremiah placed there so the prophet could no longer prophesy Judah's coming defeat and captivity by the king of Babylon. However, no place is inaccessible to God, and His prophets still hear and prophesy His word even in prison. What secret, inaccessible thing did God show Jeremiah that day in prison?
God (YHWH) promised Jeremiah that even though Judah would be conquered and taken into captivity by Babylon, that would not be the end of the story. God would restore them:
"Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth. And I will cause the captives...to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity...and I will pardon...Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it."   Jer. 33:6-9
The miraculous restoration that God would bring to both Judah and Israel after their great defeat would be a testimony to all the nations of the earth. Though the land would become completely desolate, God would work this great restoration, and He would tie that work to His promised Messiah:
"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah: In those days, and at that time, I will cause to grow up to David a Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In those days, Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called:  THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (YHWH TSIDKENU)."   Jer. 33:14-16
The LORD makes this promise based upon His covenant with David (king), who was long dead by this time, and the Levites (priests). He describes this covenant as "unbreakable":
"Thus says the LORD: If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night...then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers."  v. 20-21
To the eye, it would seem that the LORD was breaking His covenant with David and the Levites-the kings of Judah and Israel were dethroned, killed, or exiled, the temple in Jerusalem was looted and torn down, the cities and fields became desolate. Both the people and the nations judged God's covenant with the Israelites to be ended (v. 24). Perhaps even Jeremiah, from his place in prison, wondered the same thing. However, this covenant made by God, and the prophetic promises He made based upon it, are unbreakable. Again, He repeats:
"Thus says the LORD: If My covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth, then I will cast away the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captives to return, and will have mercy on them."  v. 25-26
The thing that made the LORD's covenant with Israel eternally unbreakable, is the fact that the covenant is rooted and created upon the foundation of His Messiah. The LORD's covenant with us is also rooted and founded upon His Messiah, Jesus, sealed by His own blood, and is unbreakable.

Our Father reveals to us the unbreakable covenant in His Messiah.

"Unshakeable"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLW0zV6eqeY

"Ancient Words"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vmTkXNpwzs

"The Promise"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyX-uriW3qk

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