20/06/2023 - THE ETERNAL PURPOSE WILL RETURN

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You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant and eat them as ordinary food. Jeremiah 31.5

When the Bible talks about the weeping lasting all night (Psalm 30.5), this is not a hypothesis, but a truth, for God is love (1 John 4.8). However ungrateful we may be towards Him, He will love us again. A simple touch of the Lord in our heart is enough to remind us how happy we were when we walked by His side. This is a sign that forgiveness awaits us, and therefore, we must pray and confess our mistakes in order to obtain God’s forgiveness.

Because they have not been taught about it, many think that the deviant are lost. Yes, deviation takes a person away from the Creator, but He declares: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you (Isaiah 49.15). Why let the devil undermine your heart with vain thoughts when God says that He will not forget you? Come back to the Lord!

The Israelites of the Northern Kingdom gave themselves so much to the enemy that the Lord allowed the evil one to oppress them under the hands of Shalmaneser – the evil king of Assyria who destroyed the kingdom of Samaria and scattered the children of Jacob throughout the Land. These, because they did not seek the Most High, never returned home (2 Kings 18.9-12). Similarly, those who turn away from the Lord continue on the downward trajectory which will end in the abyss!

However, when God’s people pray and ask for mercy, soon the divine plan is put into action, bringing all who believe back home (2 Chronicles 7.14). According to today’s verse, vineyards will still be planted on the hills of Samaria. Jesus is the true Vine (John15.1), and those who love Him will plant in people’s hearts faith in God. Then they will begin their way back. Jeremiah prophesied to Judah, but in this context he was used to speak to Israel.

The mountains of Samaria are waiting for those who know how to plant faith in those who are lost, for the Father has already given the yes (2 Corinthians 1.20). Moreover, the Son said: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16.15,16). Many have already returned to the fold of the Good Shepherd, but there are still those who have not been reached. It is our obligation to present to them the Way of salvation.

Although we do not understand our responsibility to the lost, the prophecy cannot fail to be fulfilled. Jesus commands us to go into the world and preach the message, planting the Good Seed in empty hearts, especially in the straying sheep of the House of Israel. In response to the disciples’ pleas about attending the Syro-Phoenician woman, the Master declared: I was not sent but to the lost sheep of the House of Israel (Matthew 15.24).

Many times, people’s requests are not answered, because they have not taken their place in the mission fields. Now, the mountains of Samaria are unclean because of the works of darkness carried out there, but this will all change when the vineyards of the Lord are cultivated there. Then its fruits will be eaten!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares