Thus says the LORD,
who gives the sun for light by day
and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the LORD of hosts is his name:
36 “If this fixed order departs
from before me, declares the LORD,
then shall the offspring of Israel cease
from being a nation before me forever.”
In Hamlet, Claudius swears his love to Gertrude by saying, “as the star moves not but in his sphere.” He is saying the star would fall before his love would wane. Jeremiah had just given the best promise the people of God could hear. He told them that the old covenant, to which they were unfaithful, would be replaced with one that would be much easier for them to obey. It must have sounded like a scam, like buying the Brooklyn Bridge. Yet here is a pledge similar to that of Claudius with the exception that God is in charge of the stars. Therefore, when God says that there is a better chance that the sun, moon, and stars will cease to perform than that he would break his promise, that was good enough for Jeremiah.
It is good enough for us. His promise to us was sealed with the blood of Jesus. It is as fixed as the movement of the spheres. It is as sure as the tides here in Cape May. Nothing can separate us from the promise of his love once he has saved us. This is the Good News.
Dear Lord, thank you for the New Covenant in the blood of Jesus. Help us to live our lives like one who is in Christ. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church