Growing with God: A daily devotional with Tonia Slimm.
Jeremiah 31:28 (NIV)
“Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the Lord.”
Jeremiah 31:28 (MSG)
“And in the same way that earlier I relentlessly pulled up and tore down, took apart and demolished, so now I am sticking with them as they start over, building and planting.”
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“It will be that as I have watched over them to uproot and to break down, to overthrow, destroy, and afflict with disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant [with good],” says the LORD.” -AMPLIFIED
“I will watch over them to build and to plant: Earlier in Jeremiah, God gave the prophet the commission to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant. Much of the Book of Jeremiah to this point has been a work of plucking up and breaking down; yet God promised to also build and to plant.” ~David Guzik
As we looked at yesterday’s text, we were reminded that God does the planting:
“Look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of people and the seed of animals.” -Jeremiah 31:27 (CSB)
Adonai-Tzva’ot, the Lord of Hosts, goes on to say that He, the Master Gardener, who has watched over and cared for them in the past, will continue to do so. God’s Message to Israel and Judah:
“Just as I watched over them in order to uproot and stamp out, to upend and destroy, and to bring disaster from the north, so now I will watch over them as I rebuild and replant them. This is what I, the Eternal One, declare.” -(VOICE)
Allegories are often used in Scripture for the purpose of helping us better understand a lesson. In this case, we find the Lord using the image of a Gardener, watching over and caring for His plants.
Back in Jeremiah, chapter 1, verses 9-10, we found the Lord telling Jeremiah that he would be God’s voice as He began to rebuild and replant. God’s Message:
Eternal One: “Look, I have placed My words in you. You will know what to say now, for you will be My voice. This very day I appointed you to speak with My authority over nations and kingdoms. Your word—My word—will have the power to uproot and stamp out; it will destroy and upend. And then your word—My word—will rebuild and plant anew.” -Jeremiah 1:9-10 (VOICE)
“As Yahweh directed the breaking down of His nation, so He would oversee its building up.” ~Thomas Constable
Make note, Israel and Judah were always carefully watched over, cared for and tended by the Master Gardener personally. Nothing happened to them by accident.
Just as a gardener will carefully care for their plants, pulling the weeds, in order to give the plant room to grow, fertilizing and feeding the plants, so they can reach their full potential, so too does God, the Master Gardener care for each plant in His garden.
“In the past I painstakingly destroyed the nation, but now I will carefully build it up.” -(TLB)
“What a black list of words we first have here! God’s way of dealing with his people when they wander away from him is very stern. They must be brought back, but it will be over a very rough road. The Lord says that he “watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict;” and in the same measure he now declares that he will watch over them to do them good. As our tribulations abound, so also shall our consolations abound by Christ Jesus. If you have been bitterly convinced of sin, you shall be sweetly convinced of pardon. The deeper God digs the foundation, the higher he means to build the house. Those who are brought to him in great affliction very often afterwards know more of Christ and more of the love of God than any others.” ~Charles Spurgeon
God’s Word was given to us, to help us learn God’s ways; to help us grow into the people that God wants us to be. Scripture often uses allegories to help us better grasp and understand lessons that we should be learning. The image of the Master Gardener is used often. In fact, Jesus refers to The Father as The Gardener in the book of John, and Jesus tells us that The Gardener takes great pain in His care for us in order to help us bear good fruit:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” -John 15:1-8 (NIV)
Make note of what Jesus said in that passage, God will often prune us in order to make us more fruitful. Ouch! We have a tendency to shy away from being pruned. It hurts and it can be very painful. But James gives to us this bit of advice:
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” -James 1:2-4 (NIV)
“One day I looked out and saw the gardener chopping up my beloved bougainvillea bushes. Branches flew everywhere until all the leaves and most of the branches were in a pile. My first thought was that we had hired the worst gardener in history. I quickly found my wife, Gloria: “Have you seen what the gardener is doing? He is destroying everything!” It upset me that all the beautiful branches and flowers lay wilting on the ground. Obviously, I never took Gardening 101. To my ignorant eye, this butcher of the bushes was killing my flowers; but to the knowing eye, he was a wise vinedresser. He knew that a bush’s life actually increases with pruning.” ~Dave Furman
And Jesus told His followers that their job was to bear fruit, good fruit. Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit will grow fruit in us, and he tells us what that fruit should be:
“The Holy Spirit produces a different kind of fruit: unconditional love, joy, peace, patience, kindheartedness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. You won’t find any law opposed to fruit like this.” -Galatians 5:22-23 (VOICE)
And if we do not bear good fruit? Jesus told His followers what happened to those who fail to do so:
“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” -Matthew 7:19 (NIV)
Remember this too, not every plant is treated the same. Each requires different care, so too are we, because we were created to be different God cares for and gives us exactly what we need, in order to encourage us to grow and to reach our full potential.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” -Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)
“When it’s clear that your way hasn’t worked for you and you find yourself covered in dirt and surrounded by weeds, there is a gardener with a graceful heart and gentle hands who longs to pick you up. As a once-withered branch myself, I’m immensely grateful for the kind of gardener God is. He saw me in the dirt, gently picked me up with graceful hands, cleaned me off, and placed me where I could grow and experience life once again.” ~Kyle Idleman
My friend, the Master Gardener is at work in each of us. Sometimes He is weeding things out of our lives, and that can be painful. Sometimes He is fertilizing us and watering us, those times are refreshing. The point is, He is watching over us, caring for us, encouraging us to reach our full potential. And I want to encourage you with this: “I am confident that the Creator, who has begun such a great work among you, will not stop in mid-design but will keep perfecting you until the day Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, returns to redeem the world.” -Philippians 1:6 (VOICE)
“All of our Christian life, we’ll have growing pains. But growth comes from being in His Word; from knowing He’s working in us; and from the Spirit convicting us, growing us, and then taking us all the way home.” ~Jack Wellman
My Prayer:
Adonai Elohim, my Great Lord, You are The Master Gardener. You know exactly what needs to be done in your garden. You watchfully tend to the plants there, knowing what each one needs and when it is needed. If pruning is needed, you prune. If it is watering or feeding, you know when and how much. Under your watchful eye, your garden grows, and it produces fruit, hopefully good fruit, because that is what you intend. Lord, help me to grow the fruit that you desire of me to grow. Help me to reach my full potential for your glory. I realize that you, The Master Gardner know what is best for each plant, so help me to be receptive to your tender loving care. Thank you, Lord.
Growing with God 