Our hope for a lost world

Jeremiah had a pretty depressing job.

He was preaching to a nation that was being judged for their sin, and God had outright told him to stop praying for the nation. That even if Moses or Samuel prayed for Israel, God would not listen. (Jeremiah 15:1)

What was the nation’s problem? They couldn’t even recognize their own sin. (16:10)

Namely, they had:

1. Abandoned the Lord.
2. Followed and worshiped other gods.
3. Followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. (Jeremiah 16:11-12)

And yet there was still a sliver of hope. Though God would punish his people, he would bring them back. (Jeremiah 16:14-15)

The interesting thing is that right after saying that, God said he would send fishermen to fish for the Israelites, and hunters to gather them in.

That was actually a word of judgment. The Babylonians would gather in the people of Israel and the Israelites would pay for their own sin by suffering exile for 70 years.

But hundreds of years later, after God kept his promise and graciously returned his people to their land, Jesus came and called his first disciples, saying,

“Follow me…and I will make you fish for people.” (Matthew 4:19)

This time, though, he would send out fishers not to punish people, but to save them.

Why was that possible? Because Jesus himself would be punished in our place. He took all of God’s wrath toward us upon himself.

And now, he calls all of us as his disciples to fish for people.

So let us go out and do that.

And especially in this time when fear seems to reign, let us pray for the nations.

Pray as Jeremiah did. I’m an American, living in Japan. But feel free to adjust this prayer to wherever you live.

Lord, my strength and my stronghold,
my refuge in a time of distress,
the nations will come to you from the ends of the earth.

Japan will come to you.
The U.S. will come to you.
All the nations.

And they will say,
“Our fathers inherited only lies,
worthless idols of no benefit at all.”

O God, can one make gods for himself?
People have tried, worshiping all manner of things.
But these things are not gods. Forgive them.

Lord, through us, inform them
and make them know your power and might.
Then they will know that your name is Yahweh.

(Based on Jeremiah 16:19-21)