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the real eternity

Jeremiah 25:1-14 (JDV)

Jeremiah 25:1 The word that came to Jeremiah about all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon).

Jeremiah 25:2 Jeremiah the prophet spoke about all the people of Judah and all the residents of Jerusalem, and this is what he said:

Jeremiah 25:3 “From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, until this day – twenty-three years – the word of Yahveh has come to me, and I have spoken to you repeatedly, but you have not listened.

Jeremiah 25:4 Yahveh sent all his servants the prophets to you repeatedly, but you have not turned or even listened.

Jeremiah 25:5 He announced, ‘Turn, each of you, from your evil way of life and from your evil deeds. Live in the land Yahveh gave to you and your fathers long ago and permanently.

Jeremiah 25:6 Do not follow other gods to serve them and to bow in worship to them, and do not anger me by the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.

Jeremiah 25:7 ” ‘But you have not listened to me’ – this is what Yahveh declares – ‘with the result that you have angered me by the work of your hands and brought disaster on yourselves.’

Jeremiah 25:8 “Therefore, this is what Yahveh of Armies says: ‘Because you have not obeyed my words,

Jeremiah 25:9 I am going to send for all the families of the north’ – this is what Yahveh declares – ‘and send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will bring them against this land, against its residents, and against all these surrounding nations, and I will completely destroy them and make them an example of horror and scorn, and permanent ruins.

Jeremiah 25:10 I will eliminate the sound of joy and gladness from them – the voice of the groom and the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.

Jeremiah 25:11 This whole land will become a desolate ruin, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.

Jeremiah 25:12 When the seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation’ – this is what Yahveh declares – ‘the land of the Chaldeans, for their violation, and I will make it a permanent ruin.

Jeremiah 25:13 I will bring on that land all my words I have spoken against it, all that is written in this book that Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations.

Jeremiah 25:14 You see, many nations and great kings will enslave them, and I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.'”

the real eternity

The seventy years of exile and desolation may have seemed like an eternity, but it was not. God sent his people into exile, and he would bring them back.

The Babylonians, however, were another story. God used king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon as his servant, to accomplish his will. Afterward, he made the land of the Chaldeans a permanent ruin.

Being God’s child in this generation will probably be a difficult thing to endure, and the trouble you face may make this time seem like an eternity. But it too is only a temporary thing. God plans to restore us to his kingdom as it was intended to be. The real eternity is coming.

Lord, help us to be faithful to you during these difficult times.

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