God has just spoken to the mountains of Edom, now He addresses the mountains of Israel. The enemies of Israel thought that they had won, that they would now take over the land, and note that Israel has suffered severe judgement from God because of her sin. There may be times when everything seems to be going wrong in our lives, sometimes even deservedly so, and many, including our own thoughts, may proclaim our defeat. This is not so. The Lord's plans for our lives are beyond understanding, and we should never give up.
In fact, the greater glee with which others declare our defeat, the greater the blessing from God will actually be. For God states clearly here that the nations that gloated over Israel will suffer and will see the Lord restore Israel.
Moreover, Israel will become fruitful. Now they were in exile, and they had to go into exile in order to learn the lessons of the heart, but their fruitfulness would come when they returned to their home. Multiplication and prosperity will be theirs.
See what God is doing here. The land of Israel had become a wasteland, a place of desolate towns and villages. Why? Because of the sin of God's people, because they failed to follow His ways. So God took the people out of the land, He did a work in their hearts, and then sent them back to the land, so that the land would then become prosperous and fruitful. God wants us to bring fruitfulness and prosperity to the land we live in, the neighbourhood we inhabit, the family we are in, the place where we work or study. And when our hearts are right with God, then the earth will work in harmony with us (verse 12).
You see again, the circumstances were not the problem. The land had been depriving them of children, but the land was not the problem. The heart of the people of Israel was the problem. In areas of our lives where we experience barrenness the circumstances are not the problem, the solution lies in letting God work in our hearts.
In fact, the greater glee with which others declare our defeat, the greater the blessing from God will actually be. For God states clearly here that the nations that gloated over Israel will suffer and will see the Lord restore Israel.
Moreover, Israel will become fruitful. Now they were in exile, and they had to go into exile in order to learn the lessons of the heart, but their fruitfulness would come when they returned to their home. Multiplication and prosperity will be theirs.
See what God is doing here. The land of Israel had become a wasteland, a place of desolate towns and villages. Why? Because of the sin of God's people, because they failed to follow His ways. So God took the people out of the land, He did a work in their hearts, and then sent them back to the land, so that the land would then become prosperous and fruitful. God wants us to bring fruitfulness and prosperity to the land we live in, the neighbourhood we inhabit, the family we are in, the place where we work or study. And when our hearts are right with God, then the earth will work in harmony with us (verse 12).
You see again, the circumstances were not the problem. The land had been depriving them of children, but the land was not the problem. The heart of the people of Israel was the problem. In areas of our lives where we experience barrenness the circumstances are not the problem, the solution lies in letting God work in our hearts.
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