“And I will bring them back, and they shall dwell in the middle of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.” (v.8)
The promise of a transformed, prosperous, safe Jerusalem seemed a little too fantastic to believe when the city was half-built and the walls wouldn’t be completed for another 60 years. Just because it seemed too big in the eyes of man, it was not too marvelous for the LORD (v.6) Yet, few among the exiles returned to the Promised Land.
However, God promised a gathering from an exile to come that would far surpass the present gathering, “I will save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west” (v.7). The gathering God promised would not just be a geographic gathering, but also a spiritual gathering. It won’t just be that their address changed, but it would be their hearts also, as we see in our text (v.8).
God being faithful to His everlasting covenant brought the Jewish people back into the land, who reconstructed the temple and returned to their worship. The foundation of this Second Temple was laid in 535 BC and finally finished (after delays) on March 12, 515 BC, His promise fulfilled.
The Truth: “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” (2 Corinthians 1:20)
