The Hope of the World

Jeremiah 17: 1 "Judah's sin is engraved with an iron tool,
inscribed with a flint point,
on the tablets of their hearts
and on the horns of their altars.
2 Even their children remember
their altars and Asherah poles[a]
beside the spreading trees
and on the high hills.
3 My mountain in the land
and your[b] wealth and all your treasures
I will give away as plunder,
together with your high places,
because of sin throughout your country.

The bearer of bad news! Who enjoys that? Reading these historical cataclysmic prophecies of Jeremiah would make anyone sad. If this book was a TV show you would turn the channel. Why does God go on and on with doom and gloom?

This lengthy book, in legal terms, is Gods enumerated indictment, His court of conviction, and His guilty sentence.The hosts of crimes that Israel is charged with were meticulously listed and indefensible.

From a Christian viewpoint I always try and take messages from the OT such as this one and examine how it applies to us. It's evident we live in a different day and time. God hasn't changed...so what's different? The difference is the cross.

The cross is the great divide of life. It even splits the bible into. Because of the cross of Christ, the punishment for sin was atoned. Christ bore our guilt. He paid the debt. Gods disgust and loathing of transgression still exist...but Christ took our punishment. He bore our shame and sorrows.

Isaiah 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

That's why he's our SAVIOR. He saved us from our sins. Christ delivered us from the punishment of our own offenses. He did this to redeem us, buy us back, for God. Through the cross, you and I have access to the father. Hallelujah...what a savior.

1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

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