Most folks like the bottom line. when they go in to buy a new car or appliance, they want to get to the financial details and know what the bottom line is, how much does it cost? When you think about it, that's how the mind works. What am I going to lose here, or have to give up, or work harder for? How is this going to change my life in other words? That's the deal, isn't it? Change?

God offers Judah the bottom line here.

 ²² " 'So you will be my people,
       and I will be your God.' "

This is what we call covenant language. We can call it the language of love if you like. Trouble is, Israel didn't believe it. You know the way it goes. You tell someone that they did a great job and they deflect the compliment away to someone else. Or they try to be modest and say, aw, it was nothing. They act like their contribution is of little or no value. At the heart of this kind of thinking is disbelief and free floating guilt. How can God be my God, I am so ungodly? He can't really love me and commit to me like he says. Why would He?

I don't know the name for this behavior but I see it a lot. God had to tell His people over and over that He was their God and He loved them and if they would stay with Him, He would stay with them. I wonder how many times God has told someone over and over that He loves them? Could we count the times, we would be exhausted.

This covenant love is not till death do us part, but forever. We have no human model to understand this love. It is somewhat alien to our lives and culture. But it is real and permanent. It is God's most far reaching characteristic. He doesn't simply love us so that He can use us, He loves us so that we can use Him as well. God is useful. In fact, without God, life unravels into uselessness. What's the use?

The bottom line is relationship. a costly one to be sure, but an amazing and unique one. God offers Israel the chance to renew their relationship with Him. He does the same with us everyday.

Jeremiah 30

Restoration of Israel

 ¹ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD : ² "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. ³ The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity ^[a] and restore them to the land I gave their forefathers to possess,' says the LORD."

 ⁴ These are the words the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah: ⁵ "This is what the LORD says:
       " 'Cries of fear are heard—
       terror, not peace.

 ⁶ Ask and see:
       Can a man bear children?
       Then why do I see every strong man
       with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,
       every face turned deathly pale?

 ⁷ How awful that day will be!
       None will be like it.
       It will be a time of trouble for Jacob,
       but he will be saved out of it.

 ⁸ " 'In that day,' declares the LORD Almighty,
       'I will break the yoke off their necks
       and will tear off their bonds;
       no longer will foreigners enslave them.

 ⁹ Instead, they will serve the LORD their God
       and David their king,
       whom I will raise up for them.

 ¹⁰ " 'So do not fear, O Jacob my servant;
       do not be dismayed, O Israel,'
       declares the LORD.
       'I will surely save you out of a distant place,
       your descendants from the land of their exile.
       Jacob will again have peace and security,
       and no one will make him afraid.

 ¹¹ I am with you and will save you,'
       declares the LORD.
       'Though I completely destroy all the nations
       among which I scatter you,
       I will not completely destroy you.
       I will discipline you but only with justice;
       I will not let you go entirely unpunished.'

 ¹² "This is what the LORD says:
       " 'Your wound is incurable,
       your injury beyond healing.

 ¹³ There is no one to plead your cause,
       no remedy for your sore,
       no healing for you.

 ¹⁴ All your allies have forgotten you;
       they care nothing for you.
       I have struck you as an enemy would
       and punished you as would the cruel,
       because your guilt is so great
       and your sins so many.

 ¹⁵ Why do you cry out over your wound,
       your pain that has no cure?
       Because of your great guilt and many sins
       I have done these things to you.

 ¹⁶ " 'But all who devour you will be devoured;
       all your enemies will go into exile.
       Those who plunder you will be plundered;
       all who make spoil of you I will despoil.

 ¹⁷ But I will restore you to health
       and heal your wounds,'
       declares the LORD,
       'because you are called an outcast,
       Zion for whom no one cares.'

 ¹⁸ "This is what the LORD says:
       " 'I will restore the fortunes of Jacob's tents
       and have compassion on his dwellings;
       the city will be rebuilt on her ruins,
       and the palace will stand in its proper place.

 ¹⁹ From them will come songs of thanksgiving
       and the sound of rejoicing.
       I will add to their numbers,
       and they will not be decreased;
       I will bring them honor,
       and they will not be disdained.

 ²⁰ Their children will be as in days of old,
       and their community will be established before me;
       I will punish all who oppress them.

 ²¹ 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.

 ²² " 'So you will be my people,
       and I will be your God.' "

 ²³ See, the storm of the LORD
       will burst out in wrath,
       a driving wind swirling down
       on the heads of the wicked.

 ²⁴ The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back
       until he fully accomplishes
       the purposes of his heart.
       In days to come
       you will understand this.