Title: Forgiveness of God / Jeremiah 31:27-30
Contents
:27 Continuing from the previous verse. They were forever hopeless because of the wrath of God. They had to give up their ruined lands and were unable to rebuild their homes that had been destroyed. But God promises to re-sow the land they have given up and make them settle in their land.
It should be noted here that the devastated land and the cultivated land are contrasted and emphasized. "This land has been cursed for a while, and it is a wasteland where neither man nor beast can live. But there will be sowing again, and there will also be the grace of sowing again." It is entirely by the grace of God that this happens. No one could restore the land until God Himself plowed it and sowed seeds on it, but now God will make it fertile. It is that the land is not made by human labor or toil, but by God's miraculous power.
Mary Magdalene was saved, Peter became a disciple of Jesus, Paul repented and became a new person, and we were saved by God's grace.
:28 People may say, If God is omnipotent, He would recommend us before disasters like this happen, but it would be too late to say that He saves us only after such sufferings. However, the truth is that it is a misunderstanding that comes from not understanding God's intentions at all. God does not want sinners to be punished and perish, but He wants them to repent and be saved.
Parents who punish their children for wrongdoing are not at ease. It is impossible to say that it would be better if the child had forgiven before chastening just because he disciplined and forgave his child when he did something wrong.
Even though it seems that God ignored them when they were taken to Babylon, you should know that their sufferings were just according to God's hand. None of what they suffered was by chance, or because the enemies were too strong, but because God loved their people. We must understand God's intention, "I will be vigilant, and I will uproot and destroy and subdue and trouble them, so I will build and plant them." God was angry with them for their sins and struck them, but He can heal them. That is, the LORD kills and makes alive; he brings down into the grave, and raises up [1 Samuel 2:6].
The word “destroy” in the text means to destroy. And after these words, God will be vigilant, and he will establish and plant them. The contrast between these two words is that just as God reveals God's power by punishing sinners terribly, so they show God's power by completely saving them.
So God's judgment has two sides. He has the power to judge and punish sinners, and it is God's power that is revealed by thoroughly blessing God's people.
Let us obey God's word and become a people who thoroughly enjoy the blessing of salvation.
:30 The Jews had the same idea that they were punished by God for their ancestors. That is why the proverb became popular among them: "The son's teeth are gnawed because the father ate sour grapes." And they did not repent of their sins. Even though they are being punished by God for committing a sin, they think that the cause is not theirs, but their ancestors or other people, and complain that they are suffering unfairly. That is why they do not repent of their sins and do not think to correct their mistakes. The grapes mentioned here refer to the new grapes called Ompaches.
However, God is not the kind of person who punishes children for their father's wrongdoings without looking at what children do well, even though they are good at it. He is saying that it is their father's fault that they receive such punishment, but rather their own fault. Those who are punished by God will eventually be punished for their mistakes.