Jeremiah 29-30. Hope for Those in Sin

Jeremiah prophesied about the captivity of the house of Israel, but he also talks about the mercy of the Lord and the promises for the future when the house of Israel is brought out of captivity and returns to the Lord. In these words is a message of hope for all who were once captive by sin and choose to turn their hearts back to the Lord.

Jeremiah 29

Jeremiah tells the Jews in Babylon to prepare for seventy years of captivity—Those remaining in Jerusalem will yet be scattered—Shemaiah prophesies falsely and is cursed.

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord,

thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected ^aend.

12 Then shall ye ^acall upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will ^bhearken unto you.

13 And ye shall ^aseek me, and find me, when ye shall ^bsearch for me with all your ^cheart.

14 And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity,

and I will ^agather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you,

saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

Deuteronomy 4

29 But if from thence thou shalt ^aseek the Lord thy God, thou shalt ^bfind him, 

if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

30 When thou art in ^atribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the ^blatter days,

if thou ^cturn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;

31 (For the Lord thy God is a ^amerciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee,

nor forget the ^bcovenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

The Lord loves us, He wants for the best for us and will help us get it if we will turn our hearts back to him. If we pray to Him, He will hearken to us. If we seek Him, we will find Him. He will bring us out of the bondage of sin and back to our homes and families. We need to seek Him with all our hearts. When we are in tribulation, if we will turn to the Lord and be obedient to His voice to us, then He will be merciful and give us the promises of the covenant.

The following verses tell us that in some future time Israel will not “want” (lack or need) a man to sit and rule on David’s throne, nor will they “want” men to perform sacrifices. 

Jeremiah 30

In the last days, Judah and Israel will be gathered to their own lands—

David, their king (the Messiah), will reign over them.

9 But they shall serve the Lord their God, and ^aDavid their king, whom I will raise up unto them.

Jeremiah 33

Judah and Israel will be gathered—The Branch of Righteousness (the Messiah) is promised—

The Seed of David (the Messiah) will reign forever.

15 ¶In those days, and at that time, will I cause the ^aBranch of righteousness to grow up unto ^bDavid;

and he shall ^cexecute judgment and righteousness in the ^dland.

16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely:

and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness.

17 ¶For thus saith the Lord; David shall never ^awant a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;

18 Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings,

and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually.

They will not need a king, priest, or sacrifices because those needs will be fulfilled by Christ. We find out how Christ has fulfilled those roles in these verses:

Jeremiah 23

4 And I will set up ^ashepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more,

nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.

5 ¶Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto ^aDavid a righteous ^bBranch,

and a ^cKing shall ^dreign and prosper, and shall execute ^ejudgment and ^fjustice in the earth.

6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell ^asafely:

and this is his name whereby he shall be called, 

THE LORD OUR^BRIGHTEOUSNESS.

Luke 1

32 He shall be great, and shall be called the ^aSon of the Highest:

and the Lord God shall give unto him the ^bthrone of his father^cDavid:

 33 And he shall ^areign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no ^bend.

John 18

36 Jesus answered, My ^akingdom is not of this ^bworld: if my kingdom were of this world,

then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

 37 ^aPilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a ^bking then?

Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a ^cking. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world,

that I should bear witness unto the ^dtruth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

3 Nephi 9

 19 And ye shall offer up unto me ^ano more the shedding of blood;

yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away,

for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.

 20 And ye shall offer for a ^asacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit,

him will I ^bbaptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost,

even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion,

were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.

Christ was of the lineage of David and will reign as King of Righteousness. He will execute perfect justice. The Law of Moses used sacrifices to symbolize what Christ would do for us. When Christ came he fulfilled that law and it was no longer needed. He went as a lamb to the slaughter. We now offer a sacrifice of our humble and willing hearts. In the Law of Moses, the priests stood in as proxy for Christ as they sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice on their garments symbolizing His atoning blood that was shed for us.