V 5. For the time is coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up a righteous descendantfrom King David’s line.
Jeremiah is even allowed a glimpse of the more distant future – the coming of the Messiah who was descended from King David.
God’s purposes stretch beyond the carrying off of the Jews into exile in Babylon, beyond their eventual restoration to their own land, and through to the coming of this righteous descendantfrom King David’s line, a clear reference to Jesus.
We who live beyond even the New Testament times are privileged to grasp a little of God’s purposes for the eternal future, the restoration of the whole of creation to its original beauty and glory, with Jesus on the throne and everything in subjection to Him.
Our lives, as the people of God, have purpose, because we are bound up with Jesus and committed to God’s majestic masterplan for the New Creation. There are times when we might feel like Jeremiah; the world order around us is crumbling, nobody seems to want to accept the truth about God’s rule, and the message of forgiveness and redemption goes unheeded.
But like Jeremiah, we have to keep on announcing the purposes of God for Creation. For all the doom-laden news of today’s media, there is also Good News of reconciliation to God and redemption through Jesus.
As with Jeremiah, God calls us to be His messengers and living examples of hope – that is His purpose for each one of us.