Growing with God: A daily devotional with Tonia Slimm.
Jeremiah 31:40 (NIV)
“The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the Lord. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.”
Jeremiah 31:40 (MSG)
“The whole valley to the south where incinerated corpses are dumped—a death valley if there ever was one!—and all the terraced fields out to the Brook Kidron on the east as far north as the Horse Gate will be consecrated to me as a holy place. “This city will never again be torn down or destroyed.””
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“And the whole valley (Hinnom) of the dead bodies and [the hill] of the ashes [long dumped there from the temple sacrifices], and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the Lord. It (the city) will not be uprooted or overthrown anymore to the end of the age.”” -AMPLIFIED
“When Israel is restored under the Lord’s guidance, Jerusalem will have a larger footprint than its current one, and the entire city will be called “holiness to the Lord”.” ~Melissa Beaty
Yesterday, we learned about God’s measuring line, which will be used to measure the New Jerusalem:
“A measuring line will once again stretch out straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn toward Goah.” -Jeremiah 31:39 (CSB)
As we close out Jeremiah, chapter 31, we find the Lord making these declarations about the New Jerusalem, it will be holy, and it will never be destroyed again. God’s Message:
“The valley of Ben-hinnom where the dead bodies and ashes from the sacrifices were thrown, and all the terraced fields leading out to the Kidron Valley, and as far east as the corner of the horse gate—all of these most defiled and polluted areas will again be made holy to the Eternal. The city will never again be uprooted or destroyed.” -(VOICE)
The bottom line, the relevance and significance of this final verse in Jeremiah chapter 31 is clear. The city of Jerusalem, the New Jerusalem, though it has experienced horror and pain, will one day be restored. And at that time, it will be consecrated to the Lord, and it will be considered holy. Most importantly, it will never again be torn down or destroyed, for Adonai will protect it.
We have looked to the book of Zechariah before and found references of the New Jerusalem, some bear repeating. Zechariah records for us a few descriptions of the New Jerusalem, given to him from the Lord:
- “The sun and moon and stars will no longer shine, yet there will be continuous day! Only the Lord knows how! There will be no normal day and night—at evening time it will still be light. Life-giving waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half toward the Dead Sea and half toward the Mediterranean, flowing continuously both in winter and in summer.” -Zechariah 14:6-8 (TLB)
- “And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day there shall be one Lord—his name alone will be worshiped.” -Zechariah 14:8 (TLB)
- “All the land from Geba (the northern border of Judah) to Rimmon (the southern border) will become one vast plain, but Jerusalem will be on an elevated site, covering the area all the way from the Gate of Benjamin over to the site of the old gate, then to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. And Jerusalem shall be inhabited, safe at last, never again to be cursed and destroyed.” -Zechariah 14:10-11 (TLB)
- “In that day the bells on the horses will have written on them, “These Are Holy Property”; and the trash cans in the Temple of the Lord will be as sacred as the bowls beside the altar. In fact, every container in Jerusalem and Judah shall be sacred to the Lord Almighty; all who come to worship may use any of them free of charge to boil their sacrifices in; there will be no more grasping traders in the Temple of the Lord Almighty!” -Zechariah 14:20-21 (TLB)
“It shall not be plucked up or thrown down anymore forever: The restoration promised to Israel is not only spiritual; it is also material, extending to the city itself and its permanence.” ~David Guzik
“And the entire city, including the graveyard and ash dump in the valley, and all the fields out to the brook of Kidron, and from there to the Horse Gate on the east side of the city, all shall be holy to the Lord; it shall never again be captured or destroyed.” -(TLB)
“The personal happiness of every true believer, as well as the future restoration of Israel, is secured by promise, covenant, and oath. This Divine love passes knowledge; and to those who take hold upon it, every present mercy is an earnest of salvation.” ~Matthew Henry
We can look to the book of Revelation and learn much more about the New Jerusalem, the city of God.
In the book of Revelation, John gives us a description of the vision he saw of the New Jerusalem.
“Then I saw a new earth (with no oceans!) and a new sky, for the present earth and sky had disappeared. And I, John, saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. It was a glorious sight, beautiful as a bride at her wedding. I heard a loud shout from the throne saying, “Look, the home of God is now among men, and he will live with them and they will be his people; yes, God himself will be among them. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. All of that has gone forever.” -Revelation 21:1-4 (TLB)
John also gives us a description of the immense size and beauty of the city:
“When he measured it, he found it was a square as wide as it was long; in fact it was in the form of a cube, for its height was exactly the same as its other dimensions—1,500 miles each way. Then he measured the thickness of the walls and found them to be 216 feet across (the angel called out these measurements to me, using standard units). The city itself was pure, transparent gold like glass! The wall was made of jasper, and was built on twelve layers of foundation stones inlaid with gems: the first layer with jasper; the second with sapphire; the third with chalcedony; the fourth with emerald; the fifth with sardonyx; the sixth layer with sardus; the seventh with chrysolite; the eighth with beryl; the ninth with topaz; the tenth with chrysoprase; the eleventh with jacinth; the twelfth with amethyst. The twelve gates were made of pearls—each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure, transparent gold, like glass.” -Revelation 21:16-21 (TLB)
John also tells us that in the new city, there is no need for a Temple, for the Lord will be worshiped everywhere.
“No temple could be seen in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are worshiped in it everywhere.” -Revelation 21:22 (TLB)
Then if we turn over a chapter, we learn the reason behind something that Zechariah could not grasp, light without the sun, moon or stars:
“And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will be their light; and they shall reign forever and ever.” -Revelation 22:5 (TLB)
And in Revelation, chapter 21, we find another description of the Lord being The Light to all the nations of the earth, and also the fact that at that time, no evil will be permitted.
“And the city has no need of sun or moon to light it, for the glory of God and of the Lamb illuminate it. Its light will light the nations of the earth, and the rulers of the world will come and bring their glory to it. Its gates never close; they stay open all day long—and there is no night! And the glory and honor of all the nations shall be brought into it. Nothing evil will be permitted in it—no one immoral or dishonest—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” -Revelation 21:23-27 (TLB)
“My friend, Jesus is the way to the Celestial City. He has gone before us, and He is preparing an eternal home for all of us who have become children of God through faith in His name.” ~J. Vernon McGee
My friend, keep your eyes on the end goal, which is spending an eternity with our Lord and Savior. May we always keep in mind something Jesus told His followers when He was here on earth: “Don’t get lost in despair; believe in God, and keep on believing in Me. My Father’s home is designed to accommodate all of you. If there were not room for everyone, I would have told you that. I am going to make arrangements for your arrival. I will be there to greet you personally and welcome you home, where we will be together.” -John 14:1-3 (VOICE)
“New Jerusalem is a city that Christ will present to His Bride, the church, when He recreates the heavens and the earth. Believers will live there for eternity in the presence of God and will no longer have to suffer from earthly struggles or the memories of the effects of sin upon the world. New Jerusalem will have the common attributes of a city, but will also have attributes that are not found in any other city. New Jerusalem is a perfect place like nothing we could ever imagine and should inspire us to share Christ with others so that they too can live there forever.” ~Michael L. Williams
My Prayer:
Adonai Elohim, my Great Lord, help me to remember that this world is not my home. My home is with you. I am just a pilgrim passing through this place. Home sounds so wonderful, and I can hardly wait to finally arrive. Help me not to become weary or discouraged as I journey home to you. I am reminded of something Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” -Galatians 6:9 (NIV) Help me to faithfully press on, Lord. Please, continue to always be my refuge and my strength. Thank you for being my Ever-Present Help. You are so good to me. ❤
Growing with God 