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"I will pluck them out"

Text: Jeremiah 12:14

AN IMPORTANT WORD TO ALL CONCERNED

The Lord gave an important word to all. The addressees were the conquerors and the children of Israel.

“Thus says the LORD:
‘Against all My evil neighbours who touch the inheritance
which I have caused My people Israel to inherit—
behold, I will pluck them out of their land
and pluck out the house of Judah from among them.
Then it shall be, after I have plucked them out,
that I will return and have compassion on them and bring them back,
everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land.
And it shall be, if they will learn carefully the ways of My people,
to swear by My name, ‘As the LORD lives,’
as they taught My people to swear by Baal,
then they shall be established in the midst of My people.
But if they do not obey,
I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation,’ says the LORD.”
Jeremiah 12:14-17

1. Addressing the conquerors

“Against all My evil neighbours who touch the inheritance
which I have caused My people Israel to inherit”

a) The enemies were identified as “evil neighbours”.

b) They had touched (God’s) inheritance given to His people.

2. Action foretold

“Behold, I will pluck them out of their land
and pluck out the house of Judah from among them”

a) The phrase “pluck out”:

i) To take out of.

ii) To take away.

b) Word of warning:

i) God can pluck them out of their own homeland.

ii) God can pluck Judah out of the foreign land to which they were exiled.

3. Addressing the future of Judah

“Then it shall be, after I have plucked them out,
that I will return and have compassion on them and bring them back,
everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land”

a) God had plucked Judah out of the land of Israel:

i) Because they had forsaken God.

ii) Because they had become idolatrous.

b) He can pluck them out of the land to which they were exiled.

c) He will, in fact, bring them back to their original homeland (Canaan).

i) They will get back their inheritance.

ii) They will regain their lost properties.

4. Addressing the conquerors again

“And it shall be, if they will learn carefully the ways of My people,
to swear by My name, ‘As the LORD lives,’
as they taught My people to swear by Baal,
then they shall be established in the midst of My people”

a) If the conquerors learned carefully:

i) The ways of God’s people.

ii) If they honestly swear by God’s name.

iii) The formula of making a solemn oath: “As the LORD lives”.

b) The foreigners in the land.

i) They will be established in the midst of Israel.

ii) This was a very gracious offer of blessing to the conquerors.

iii) They may have started as “evil neighbours”.

iv) They can end up being established by God.

v) But they must learn the way of God’s people.