Baruch sees the glory of Jerusalem in the same way that John
saw it in the Revelation he was given.
All roads may have led to Rome at one time but in the end all roads will
lead to Jerusalem. She will be glorious
because she will be the dwelling place of God.
The heavenly Jerusalem will be the place into which all the kings of the
nations bring their glory. Jesus will be
the lamp through which the light of God is distilled. Sometimes we just need to get out of the muck
and mire of life and raise our sights heavenward looking for the coming of the
King of kings and Lord of lords in order to give us some real perspective. Baruch is trying to give that perspective to
the exile community, those who have gone out from her will come streaming back
from the places they have gone and she will again be filled with people, He has
not forsaken her.
Matthew provides us with a genealogy for Jesus that is
hardly fit for a Messiah. It is a messy
thing to see a Canaanite prostitute, Rahab as the mother of one of the most
righteous men in Scripture, Boaz the husband of Ruth, the Moabite woman who was
the great grandmother of David. Moabites
were a despised people, born of an incestuous relationship between Lot and one
of his daughter who had gotten him drunk and had sex with him. It includes also the son of David by
Bathsheba, a relationship born in adultery.
Finally, it comes down to two nobodies, Joseph and Mary, and an
incredible story of a virgin birth. It
reveals that God is sovereign in a way that a clean line could never do, that
He has brought all this mess together for His glory that no one could take
credit for purity, that He can make something amazing out of whatever raw
materials He chooses.
Only one person could have annulled the covenant between God
and Abraham, God. Remember when the
covenant was made it was not contingent on Abraham's obedience but on his
faith. Abraham didn't have to walk
between the pieces in the sign that if he broke covenant he would die and the
covenant be annulled. Only God walked
through the pieces, the covenant is contingent only on His lovingkindess and
faithfulness. The cross speaks the same
message to us, that the covenant is in His blood not ours, it is based on
faith, the faith that Jesus is righteous, without sin, that God has accepted
His sacrifice for sin and nothing can be added to it. It is based in the sovereignty of God for all
eternity, He alone can give us life, not based on our performance but on His
grace and mercy, His lovingkindness and faithfulness. In Jesus we have been grafted into that
eternal covenant. Should we not rejoice?
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