Dear Diane, Nice post Jer. 17:7.Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whos hope the LORD is. I agree with you when you say Hallelujah. * Hallelu JAH* means praise Jehovah God. In the KJV, bible the Name Jehovah had been taken OUT, and replaced with the Capital letters LORD, the original Bible had Jehovah Gods name in the bible over 7,200 times. The new King James version has put the name back in the bible. Jerimiah was a prophet to Jehovahs people at Jer.17:7. I like to know what happened in this scriptures time, lets Consider the setting of Jeremiah’s words. In 740 B.C.E., decades before Jeremiah’s day, Jehovah permitted the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel to be taken captive by the Assyrians. God allowed this calamity as discipline because+ his people+ had taken up sinning in gross ways, ignoring the repeated warnings of his prophets. (2 Kings 17:5-18) Were the people softened by the hardships they experienced in exile, when they were separated from their God and far away from their homeland? Did Jehovah forget all about them? Would he ever welcome them back home? “I Felt Regret” The people came to their senses in captivity and were moved to repentance. Their heartfelt contrition did not escape Jehovah’s notice. Listen as Jehovah describes the attitude and feelings of the exiled Israelites, spoken of collectively as Ephraim. “I have positively heard Ephraim bemoaning himself,” says Jehovah. (Verse 18) He heard the Israelites as they lamented the effects of their sinful course. The phrase “bemoaning himself” can mean “a shaking or rocking motion,” says one scholar. They were like a wayward son ruefully shaking his head as he reflects on the hardships he has brought upon himself and longs for the life he had back home. (Luke 15:11-17) What were the people saying? “You have corrected me . . . like a calf that has not been trained.” (Verse 18) The people acknowledged that they deserved the discipline. After all, they had been like an untrained calf. This simile may mean that they had been like a bullock that would never have “felt the goad if he had not first rebelled against the yoke,” says one reference work. “Cause me to turn back, and I shall readily turn back, for you are Jehovah my God.” (Verse 18) Their hearts humbled, the people called out to God. They had been lost in a sinful course, but now they pleaded for help to find their way back into his favor. One translation says: “You are our God—please let us come home.”—Contemporary English Version. “I felt regret. . . . I became ashamed, and I also felt humiliated.” (Verse 19) The people felt sorry because they had sinned. They accepted the blame and admitted their guilt. As if beating their breast, they also felt disgraced and cast down.—Luke 15:18, 19, 21. The Israelites were repentant. They were filled with sorrow, confessed their sins to God, and turned back from their bad ways. Would their repentance soften God’s heart? Would he let them come home? “By All Means I Shall Have Pity Upon Him” Jehovah had a special attachment to the Israelites. He said: “I have become to Israel a Father; and as for Ephraim,[Israel] he is my firstborn.” (Jeremiah 31:9) How could a loving father refuse to welcome back a son whose heart is filled with genuine remorse? Notice how Jehovah expresses his Fatherly feelings for his people. “Is Ephraim a precious son to me, or a fondly treated child? For to the extent of my speaking against him I shall without fail remember him further.” (Verse 20) How tender those words are! Like a firm but loving parent, God had been obliged to speak “against” his children, repeatedly warning them about their sinful ways. When they stubbornly refused to listen, he let them go into exile—in effect, making them leave home. But even though he had to punish them, he did not forget them. He could never do that. A loving father does not forget his children. How, though, did Jehovah feel when he saw true repentance in his children? “My intestines have become boisterous for him. By all means I shall have pity upon him.” (Verse 20) Jehovah felt a strong yearning for his children. Their sincere repentance touched his heart, and he had a deep longing for them to return to him. Like the father in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, Jehovah “was moved with pity” and eager to welcome his children back home.—Luke 15:20. “Jehovah Let Me Come Home!” What a God Jehovah is to his people,loving and caring. But his children had to be clean from false religion, as he is Holy and Clean, he welcomed them back to him again after 70 years in captivity. It really stirs my heart to. Sincerely Lee
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 17:42:19 +0000
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