By Bob Bunn
Scripture reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 36:24-30, Ezekiel 36:33-38, Ezekiel 37:25-28, Hebrews 8:6
In the summer of 2024, I suffered a pretty serious injury. A fall tore three of the four tendons that hold my quadriceps muscles to my kneecap. As you might expect, I had surgery to repair the tendons. But that wasn’t all.
If you’ve had a similar operation, you know what came next. My surgery was on Monday, and by Thursday, I found myself eye-to-eye with a physical therapist. As she carefully explained the benefits of physical therapy, one question kept running through my mind: How long?
As it turned out, the answer was “about three months.” For the better part of twelve weeks, I worked hard almost every morning at home and worked even harder once or twice a week with the therapist. Slowly but surely, my range of motion improved. I would follow up with the doctor a few times during that stretch, but I crossed my finish line the day my therapist released me for good.
Honestly, the work was grueling and monotonous at times, but the wait was even worse. Like a kid anticipating summer vacation, I counted the days clicking off the calendar. It was only as I looked back that I realized that my patience and hard work had paid off.
The prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel ministered to a people forced to wait. The nation of Judah had rebelled against God. Instead of caring for the weak and serving the Lord alone, the majority of Israelites had chosen to oppress the less fortunate and worship any idol that promised whatever they wanted to hear. Time and again, the prophets warned them. Time and again, they refused to repent.
So eventually, God did what He said He would do: He exiled them to Babylon. And the prophets’ messages shifted from “repent” to “wait.” It would be hard. It would be long. It would be grueling. But God said “wait,” so they did.
Of course, part of the waiting involved focusing on the time when they would be allowed to return to their homeland. But God also used the exile as an opportunity to remind them that something even bigger was on the way. As Jeremiah shared, “a new covenant” was coming (Jeremiah 31:31–33).
The people had failed miserably to honor the old covenant given through Moses. That’s how they ended up in Babylon. But the Lord gave them hope that this new covenant would be a different story. The ultimate restoration of Israel (and the world) had less to do with geography and everything to do with a Messiah who would rewrite history.
During this Advent season, we celebrate what the Israelites were waiting to see. They looked for the Messiah, for the new covenant to be established. And Jesus proved to be worth the wait. And because God kept His promise more than 2,000 years ago, we can know that He still cares and that He is still at work in the world today.
That’s the message of the Messiah. That’s the message of Advent.
Written by Bob Bunn
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