Not All Was Lost!

Picture: Not All Was Lost!2TC 231.1

Through His prophets Jeremiah in Jerusalem, Daniel in Babylon, and Ezekiel on the banks of the Chebar, the Lord in mercy made clear His eternal purpose. What He had said He would do for those who proved true to Him, He would surely bring to pass.2TC 231.2

In the wilderness wandering the Lord had made abundant provision for His children to remember His law. After they settled in Canaan, the people were to repeat the divine instructions daily in every home. They were to set these things to music. Priests were to teach them, and the rulers were to make them their daily study. The Lord commanded Joshua concerning the book of the law: “Do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8.2TC 231.3

If they had put this counsel into practice through the centuries that followed, how different Israel’s history would have been! It was regard for the law that gave Israel strength during the reign of David and the earlier years of Solomon’s rule. Through faith in the living word, the nation experienced reformation in the days of Elijah and Josiah. In Jeremiah’s efforts toward reform, he appealed to these same Scriptures, Israel’s richest heritage. He met the people with the plea, “Hear the words of this covenant.” Jeremiah 11:2.2TC 232.1

As the armies of the Chaldeans came for the last time to surround Jerusalem, hope fled from every heart. But God did not leave the faithful remnant in the city to hopeless despair. Even while Jeremiah was under close watch in prison, fresh revelations came to him concerning Heaven’s willingness to forgive and to save.2TC 232.2

By an acted parable, Jeremiah illustrated to the inhabitants of the doomed city his faith that God would ultimately fulfill His purpose for His people. In the presence of witnesses, he purchased an ancestral field in the neighboring village of Anathoth. From every human point of view this purchase of land already under Babylonian control appeared foolish. The prophet himself had been predicting the destruction of Jerusalem and a long period of captivity in Babylon. Already advanced in years, he could never hope to receive benefit from the purchase he had made.2TC 232.3

However, he had a firm conviction that the Lord intended to restore the Land of Promise to the children of the captivity. With the eye of faith Jeremiah saw the exiles returning and reoccupying the land of their fathers. Through the purchase of the Anathoth property he would inspire others with the hope that brought comfort to his own heart.2TC 232.4

Having signed the deeds of transfer and secured the signatures of witnesses, Jeremiah instructed Baruch his secretary, “Take these deeds, ... and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time. For thus says the Lord of hosts ...: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.” Jeremiah 32:14, 15, NRSV.2TC 232.5

Jeremiah Overwhelmed With Temptation to Doubt

After arranging for the preservation of the written records, Jeremiah found his faith severely tested. Had he acted presumptuously? Had he given the people ground for false hope? Could the promises to the chosen nation ever meet with complete fulfillment?2TC 233.1

Perplexed in spirit, the prophet appealed to God for further light concerning the divine purpose. Nebuchadnezzar’s armies were about to take the walls of Zion by storm. Thousands were perishing in a last desperate defense of the city. More thousands were dying of hunger and disease. The siege towers of the enemy’s forces were already overlooking the walls. “Look, the siege mounds!” the prophet prayed to God. “They have come to the city to take it; and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword and famine and pestilence. What You have spoken has happened; there You see it! And You have said to me, O Lord God, ‘Buy the field for money, and take witnesses’!—yet the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” Verses 24, 25.2TC 233.2

God graciously answered this prayer. “The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah” in that hour of distress: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?” Verses 26, 27. Soon the city’s gates and palaces were to be burned; destruction was imminent and the inhabitants were to be carried away captive; nevertheless the eternal purpose of the Lord would still be fulfilled. The Lord declared concerning those on whom His judgments were falling:2TC 233.3

“I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely. They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them.”2TC 233.4

“Just as I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them. And fields will be bought in this land of which you say, ‘It is desolate, without man or beast; it has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ Men will buy fields for money, sign deeds and seal them.” Verses 37-39, 42-44.2TC 233.5

Encouragement When All Seemed Lost

“Concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah, which have been pulled down to fortify against the siege mounds and the sword: ... ‘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 of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities. ...2TC 234.1

“‘Again there shall be heard in this place—of which you say, “It is desolate, without man and without beast”—in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem ..., the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say, “Praise the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for His mercy endures forever.” ... For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,’ says the Lord.” Jeremiah 33:4, 6-8, 10, 11.2TC 234.2

The Church of God Comforted

In this way the church of God was comforted in one of the darkest hours of her long conflict with the forces of evil. Satan had seemingly triumphed, but the Lord was overruling events. His message to the church was, “I am with you, ... to save you.” “I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds.” Jeremiah 30:11, 17.2TC 234.3

In the glad day of restoration, the tribes of divided Israel were to be reunited as one people. The Lord declared, “I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the ends of the earth, among them the blind and the lame. ... They shall come with weeping, and with supplications I will lead them. ... For I am a Father to Israel.” Jeremiah 31:8, 9.2TC 234.4

The New Covenant Will Solve the Problem of Apostasy

Humbled in the sight of the nations, those whom Heaven had once favored above all other peoples of the earth were to learn in exile the lesson of obedience. “I will correct you in justice, and will not let you go altogether unpunished,” He declared. Jeremiah 30:11. Yet before all the nations of earth He would demonstrate His plan to bring victory out of apparent defeat, to save rather than to destroy. God gave the prophet the message:2TC 235.1

“He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd a flock.” ...
They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, ...
their life shall become like a watered garden,
and they shall never languish again. ...
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. Jeremiah 31:10-13, NRSV2TC 235.2

“Behold, the days are coming ... when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Verses 31-34.2TC 235.3