“‘But as for you, O Jacob My servant, do not fear, Nor be dismayed, O Israel! For, see, I am going to save you from afar, and your descendants from the land of their captivity; and Jacob will return and be undisturbed and secure, with no one making him tremble. O Jacob My servant, do not fear,’ declares the LORD, ‘For I am with you. For I will make a full end of all the nations where I have driven you, yet I will not make a full end of you; but I will correct you properly and by no means leave you unpunished'” (Jer 46:27-28).
The final chapters of Jeremiah are traumatic. Most of the people of Judah had been exiled to Babylon, and the few who remained decided, against God’s word to Jeremiah, to flee to Egypt. Now God was about to judge the people of Egypt as well (see Jeremiah 40-45). As the people of Judah stood before the growing and darkening shadow of the Babylonian armies, fear understandably overcame them, including Baruch son of Neriah (Jeremiah 45). It felt as though there was nowhere to run and no place on earth that was safe.
The perfectly faithful God of Israel has given us a book filled with promises of a future and a hope.
But in this valley of the shadow of death, Jeremiah reminded God’s people that there was one place where they could find solace, comfort, and relief from their fears: God’s unconditional promises. Jeremiah 46:27 is a verbatim quotation of God’s promise through Jeremiah to make a new covenant with the people of Israel (see Jer 30:10), and Jeremiah 46:28 alludes to God’s promise through Moses to make a new covenant with the people of Israel (Deut 30:1, 4). Armed with God’s promises, the only thing God’s people needed to face their justifiable fears was faith, even if only the size of a mustard seed.
Keeping up with current events in Israel and around the world is not only discouraging but frightening. It feels as if there is no safe place on earth. But just as in the days of Jeremiah, so it is for us today. The perfectly faithful God of Israel has given us a book filled with promises of a future and a hope. He assures us, even in the midst of sorrow, that all things work together for our good. But these promises can never shield us from Satan’s flaming darts of fear unless we combine them with faith.
“In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Eph 6:16).
