August 4, 2022: Day 165 – Jeremiah 28-32 and Psalm 53

An object lesson that is well known because Jeremiah used it is the wooden yoke.  He uses it to describe the captivity of the people of Israel.  Another prophet comes along and says, yes, we will be captive, but it will only be for two years, so here, let me take that wooden yoke and break it.  Jeremiah comes along and this time he has a steel, metal yoke for he tells the prophet and the king that the captivity will last at least 70 years, which we read in the Psalms is the length of a lifetime.  He basically tells the king that it will be the next generation that will be able to leave captivity.  This is very similar to the wandering in the wilderness where it is the next generation that will be able to inherit.

The key verses in this section are found in 31:31-34 where we read that God will establish and create a new covenant in the heart of his people.  It will be a covenant where the people do not have to try to obey and follow the Lord simply because they will want to follow him and love him.  God tells Jeremiah about the people: “For I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.”  We know that this covenant was realized in Jesus.  

Psalm 53 is a lament which has as its content the recognition that no one is worthy to be called a child of God.  But then it ends with another recognition, one that is dramatically different and yet a result of the completion of the years of captivity.  We find the ending of this Psalm a promise of deliverance and restoration.  That’s a great way to end.