29.3 The Lord Will Forgive And Restore Israel

(Jeremiah 3:11-18)

Then the Lord told me that, even though Israel had turned away from him, she had proved to be better than unfaithful Judah. He told me to go and say to Israel, “Unfaithful Israel, come back to me. I am merciful and will not be angry; I will not be angry with you forever. Only admit that you are guilty and that you have rebelled against the Lord, your God. Confess that under every green tree you have given your love to foreign gods and that you have not obeyed my commands. I, the Lord, have spoken.

“Unfaithful people, come back; you belong to me. I will take one of you from each town and two from each clan, and I will bring you back to Mount Zion. I will give you rulers who obey me, and they will rule you with wisdom and understanding. Then when you have become numerous in that land, people will no longer talk about my Covenant Box. They will no longer think about it or remember it; they will not even need it, nor will they make another one. When that time comes, Jerusalem will be called ‘The Throne of the Lord,’ and all nations will gather there to worship me. They will no longer do what their stubborn and evil hearts tell them. Israel will join with Judah, and together they will come from exile in the country in the north and will return to the land that I gave your ancestors as a permanent possession.”

29.2 God Forgives All Sins

(Isaiah 43:22-25)

The Lord says, “But you were tired of me, Israel;
you did not worship me.
You did not bring me your burnt offerings of sheep;
you did not honor me with your sacrifices.
I did not burden you by demanding offerings
or wear you out by asking for incense.
You didn’t buy incense for me or satisfy
me with the fat of your animals.
Instead you burdened me with your sins;
you wore me out with the wrongs you have committed.

And yet, I am the God who forgives your sins,
and I do this because of who I am.
I will not hold your sins against you.

29.1 God Will Save Even If Only 10 Are Just

(Genesis 18:20-31, 32b)

Then the Lord said to Abraham, “ There are terrible accusations against Sodom and Gomorrah, and their sin is very great. I must go down to find out whether or not the accusations which I have heard are true.”

Then the two men left and went on toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham. Abraham approached the Lord and asked, “ Are you really going to destroy the innocent with the guilty? If there are fifty innocent people in the city, will you destroy the whole city? Won’t you spare it in order to save the fifty? Surely you won’t kill the innocent with the guilty. That’s impossible! You can’t do that. If you did, the innocent would be punished along with the guilty. That is impossible. The judge of all the earth has to act justly.”

The Lord answered, “If I find fifty innocent people in Sodom, I will spare the whole city for their sake.”

Abraham spoke again: “Please forgive my boldness in continuing to speak to you, Lord. I am only a man and have no right to say anything. But perhaps there will be only forty-five innocent people instead of fifty. Will you destroy the whole city because there are five too few?”

The Lord answered, “I will not destroy the city if I find forty-five innocent people.”

Abraham spoke again: “Perhaps there will be only forty.”

He replied, “I will not destroy if there are forty.”

Abraham said, “Please don’t be angry, Lord, but I must speak again. What if there are only thirty?”

He said, “I will not do if I find thirty.”

Abraham said, “Please forgive my boldness in continuing to speak to you, Lord. Suppose that only twenty are found?”

He said, “I will not destroy the city if I find twenty.”

… “What if only ten are found?” The Lord said, “I will not destroy it if there are ten.”

28.5 Trust In God Alone

(Psalm 62)

I wait patiently for God to save me;
I depend on him alone.
He alone protects and saves me,
He is my defender, and I shall never be defeated.

How much longer will all of you attack a man
who is no stronger than broken-down fence?
You only want to bring him down from his place
of honor;
you take pleasure in lies.
You speak word of blessing,
but in your heart you curse him.

I depend on God alone; I put my hope in him.
He alone protects and saves me; he his my defender,
and I shall never be defeated.
My salvation and honor depend on God;
he is my strong protector; he is my shelter.
Trust in God at all times, my people.
Tell him all your troubles, for he is our refuge.

Men are all like a puff of breath;
great and small alike are worthless.
Put them on scales, and they weigh nothing;
they are lighter than a mere breath.
Don’t put your trust in violence;
don’t hope to gain anything by robbery;
even if your riches increase,
don’t depend on them.

More than once I have heard God say
that power belongs to him
and that his love is constant.
You yourself, O LORD, reward everyone
according to his deeds.

28.4 Return To Your Redeemer

(Isaiah 44:21-23)

The LORD says, “remember this;
remember that you are my servant.
I created you to be my servant,
and I will never forget you,
I have swept your sins away like a cloud,
Come back to me; I am the one who saves you.”

Shout for joy, you heavens!
Shout, deep places of the earth!
Shout for joy, mountains, and every tree of the forest!
The LORD has shown his greatness
by saving his people Israel.