November 4, 2025

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“‘Their leader will be one of their own; their ruler will arise from among them. I will bring him near and he will come close to me— for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?’ declares the Lord. ‘So you will be my people, and I will be your God.’”

(Jeremiah 30.21-22)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

As the work of the prophet Jeremiah comes to a close, it ends with the complete promise of God to restore the community of faith being made. God said He would do a thing and He did it. God said He would do a thing and He will do it. In today’s verses where God speaks of the true leader/leadership of His people, we are able to discern the messianic promise. We can go back to the very day when God put His favor for leadership on Saul, son of Kish the donkey trader. Saul was the choice of the people. He must have had some reputation for leadership created by a demonstration of his skill and calling. Otherwise, his only qualification was that he stood a head taller than all other men among the nation of Israel. Why was this an important attribute for the people of Israel as they rejected the place of judges in positions of leadership? It was because all the nations surrounding them were led by military “giants” both literally and figuratively. We hear of Goliath and the family of giants he was a part of. The point of that identification was to highlight what was the real problem with the people of the world. People become so fixated on the physical aspects of size and volume as the determination of power, strength and greatness. Look, it is happening even now in the world today. There may not be a physical “giant” in control of a nation or people, but the hope is to have the biggest and most powerful identity to prove the greatness of leadership and its people. Jesus identified in His little apocalypse recorded by Matthew “nation will war against nation.” In the battle for control, one nation must make itself larger than another militarily, terroristically, financially and reputationally. All the while committing themselves to such efforts (or to create an alliance with others and thus compromise their own identity as in the case of Israel) without a true understanding that nothing this world can create will compare to the greatness and power of Yahweh Elohim.

So the counterpoint to the way the world sees power and greatness was a singularity. In the case of Saul and the people of Israel, that singularity was David, a young shepherd. David put his whole faith in God. He trusted in the simple skills of music and slinging stones to defend his father’s flocks. While his brothers went off to war, David was held back. Perhaps it was because of his youthfulness. Perhaps it was because of his shorter stature. More than anything, Jesse needed a great shepherd to keep watch over his flocks by night and day. David fit that bill. Of course, it wasn’t just Saul and the people of Israel who experienced this singularity of God. It would be Goliath of Gad and eventually his brothers and the nations they ruled who would discover that God could not be trifled with. And even when the nation of Israel had borders to defend and could, the size of the country would not be measured so much by its geography or its natural resources. It was known for its God! God Himself is the true singularity. He shows Himself in a still small voice, in a tablet of descriptors of righteousness, in those who physical abilities seem too small for great tasks, in a babe born in Bethlehem, in a cross on Golgotha’s hill, in an empty tomb and even in you. All the while calling for oneness and unity so that all who would dare to believe would not simply be aligned with God but actually one with Him.

God has Jeremiah point this out in the conclusion to his book to be given to all the exiles, foreign and domestic. He speaks of “one” of them who will rise up from among them to lead. What is his singularity? It is simply that we would devote himself to “draw close to God.” It would be that in his own “drawing close to God,” that others would as well. The singularity would become a collective growing one by one with the same distinctive characteristic of “drawing close to God.” It was not in being “godlike.” It was not in being unique based on skill, talent, ability or resource. It was not in a gender, an age, a position or race. It was about “drawing close to God” and surrendering all the qualifiers to Him that His will not theirs, ours, yours or mine would be done. Imagine the simplicity of this singularity. I think Romans 8.31 sums it up nicely, “If God is for us then who can be against us.” It makes sense, right, that if we are all committed to “drawing close to God” then what enemy do we have? What would have saved Saul’s life? Trusting in God alone for all his decisions about how to overcome his fears. What would have saved Goliath’s life? Worshipping and praising the one true God of heaven and earth. What would have saved Israel from her enemies? Standing firm in the promises which God had made to keep them safe and productive by faith. What saved Jesus’ life? It was everything mentioned above. Yes, we cannot focus on His crucifixion and say “God did not save Him.” God saved us through Him and by Him. God did save Him from death and the grave by raising Him to new life and restoring Him to His place of authority and existence. It was in His willingness to die that the singularity was enacted. In His drawing near to God He brought all closer to God. In so doing, He fulfilled and continues to fulfill that promise of “You will be my people, and I will be your God.” There is nothing greater than this!

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.