The hope of the Christian gospel isn’t just future blessing after we’ve died. Jesus grants us new life in the here and now, as he transforms how we think and live.
Pie in the sky?
Balm of Gilead
When in a terrible situation we long to find comfort from our trials. Here God warns the people of Judah that they will not because their wickedness.
God’s oath
God needs to take no oaths since His words are always reliable. So when He chooses to take one, it’s clearly a moment in history in which He wants us to know with absolute certainty that He will do what He’s said.
In the fire
God is going to send Judah into exile under a foreign empire. Why would he cause such suffering? It’s because the people will not listen to him and that is exemplified in their sacrifices.
Anchored
Abraham started life not knowing God. But in his later years, God called this elderly, childless man to move to Canaan where he would be blessed with family and home. Yet having given Abraham a son – Isaac – God then demanded him back via sacrifice
Don’t go back to basics
Hebrews was written to exhort Jewish Christians living in first century Jerusalem not to let their faith in Christ be overtaken by their native Judaism.