“I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good, and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.” Jeremiah 32:40-41

We know that the greatest commandment written in all four gospels and in Deuteronomy is to love the Lord God with all our heart. We will read from Matthew 22:34-40:

Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? And He (Jesus) said to him,
“YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

I have meditated on this truth a lot through the years. Truly the most important commandment is to try to love God more each day with our all. The reason for this commandment is to position ourselves for our Father to reveal His love for us. This is how we have a love relationship with Him above all else. It comes from experiencing His love for us as we seek to know God. To know God is to know true love no one else is capable of giving you. He is love. We can’t know love apart from experiencing the love of a Father who created us and calls us to be His own. He created each of us. It is the way life is to be for us. It is the only way we will ever know true love that is everlasting and does not change. We don’t earn it. There is no way we can. Through His love we find the meaning of grace. We experience unlimited grace.

Until we obey the first commandment we cannot obey the second one. We cannot produce what we have never had. We don’t know what love is until we allow God to love us as we strive to love Him with our all. He is an all the way God, and that is how He loves and desires to be loved. That is why I was so moved when I read Him speaking to Jeremiah when revealing His heart for His rebellious children as He makes this covenant with them.You really must take the time to read the chapter. Devotionals are abbreviated teachings to steer you in the right direction. They are much like appetizers, but for the full course meal you need to dig into the Word of God for yourself. That is how you get to know Him, and how He reveals His heart of love for you.

If you read this chapter you will find the brutal rebellion of the Israelites which represents us as well. We are all created equally at the cross and all struggle with the same sins. God describes Himself as a Father and calls us His children. His children have provoked His anger and wrath by their adulterous hearts and rebellion from His rules and laws that protect them from evil. He made the laws and commandments for our good always. When we disobey we hurt Him deeply because He loves us. And we will suffer the consequences of sin. At this time in history the Babylonians were besieging Jerusalem because Jerusalem had fallen under the wrath and anger of God by their constant rebellion and turning their faces from God.

God’s love will not allow Him to look the other way. He is a holy God. He can be nothing less than what He is. He cannot tolerate evil. Evil will destroy us. His discipline is love, just as He taught us to discipline our own children. If we love our children we will be a strong authority in our children’s lives from a heart of love. We will not please them over pleasing God. We will teach them His ways and not conform to their wants and desires trying to always keep them happy. When we become a pacifier rather than a parent commanded to teach them God’s ways we set our children up for failure and misery. Narcissism destroys what God intended for His creation. The first thing we have to begin teaching a child is that the world does not revolve around them. Frankly we have failed bitterly in most cases today. Selfish ambition and empty conceit consumes us and we teach it to our children. That is why the Bible warns us in Philippians 2:3-4:

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves. Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interest of others. “

In Jeremiah 32 God has told Jeremiah to buy property that the advancing armies of Babylon will siege during judgement. But God tells him the land will be restored and redeemed when Israel returns to their God with repentance.
Jeremiah prays to God after purchasing the land and acquiring the deed in verses 17-19:

“Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You, who shows lovingkindness to thousands, but repays the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O great and mighty God. The Lord of Host is His name; great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds…”

As we continue reading in verse 26 we hear God ask Jeremiah:

“Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, “Behold, I Am the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?”

Perhaps you may hear the Lord as I did asking me the same question. When I allow Him to reveal who He is in His Word I can answer most assuredly,
“No! Nothing is too difficult for You, Lord!”
As we continue reading God tells Jeremiah exactly what He is going to do and why He is doing it. We provoke God by our evil deeds. Please read Jeremiah 29-35 for what has provoked the anger and wrath of God. It is for our own good He steps in with discipline and judgement, before we allow the enemy to completely destroy us. The wages of sin is death. God’s mercy rules even in His wrath. Let us hear from the prophet, Habakkuk 3:2 in NLT:

“I have heard all about you, Lord. I am filled with awe by your amazing works. In this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by. And in your anger, remember Your mercy.”

Now I want us to look closely at the heart of God for His children as we read of His covenant to restore, redeem, prosper and heal them. Let’s read the last verses in this chapter starting with verse 37:

“Behold, I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in my wrath and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell in safety. They shall be My people, and I will be their God; and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good, and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul. For this says the Lord, just as I bought all this great disaster on these people, so I am going to bring on them all the good that I am promising them. Fields will be bought in this land of which you say, “It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” Men will buy fields for money, sign and seal deeds, and call in witnesses in the land of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland and in the cities of the Negev; for I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord. “

God gave me this teaching for my personal life, but it certainly made me see the need of our nation to join Jeremiah and Habakkuk in applying these truths. Of course it won’t happen as a nation until it happens in our families, and it won’t happen in our families till it happens in our personal lives. It starts with individuals willing to seek God and His everlasting truths with all our hearts, minds, souls, and bodies. Are we willing to stop the madness for time alone seeking Him and His counsel and guidance in His Word? In Jeremiah you read of the heart of God through it all if you will take the time to allow Him to speak to you. He did redeem and restore all that was lost in judgement. Nothing is too difficult for Him, and it isn’t for you either when you align yourself with His will for your life and for the life of your family. When we are for God He is for us. His greatest longing is the same longing He gave us which is to love and to be loved. Above all else, place your focus on the greatest commandment and everything else will fall into place.

In His love.

Teresa Roberts

Masterpiece Fitness

www.masterpiecefitness.com

276-237-6680

Clients Marilyn Hanks and Jeff Roberts ran the Apple Dumpling 5k with me in Stuart, Virginia yesterday morning with all their hearts! Marilyn won first in her age group. Jeff won second in his, and I won first in mine. Blessed are those who allow Him to show Himself strong in our weaknesses!🙌