If you took a time machine back to the chaotic days of our reading from Chronicles this morning, and if you tried to bring comfort to the faithful few lamenting the destruction that devoured Jerusalem after the death of Josiah, I imagine you’d have a hard time drying their tears. As the faithful people watched the throne of David stripped and his sons thrown into bondage, you’d look at those weeping and say, “don’t worry, another Son of David will arise. And He will fulfill all the promises of God.” And they’d say “when? In a year? In ten years?” And you’d look at them sheepishly and say, ‘well, no, in about six hundred.”
Sorrow often arrives in an instant. Comfort takes time. You may pray for healing in your flesh and not receive it until the last day. You may pray for God to drive the anxiety and fear from your heart. And yet those things may remain for every breath you draw in this life. You may pray for the Babylonians, from wicked, evil, destructive people to be driven out of your land. They may keep devouring you until you go into the grave. You may cry out for God to rebuild the throne of David that you see shattered around you. He may do it six hundred or six thousand or six million years after you’ve asked for it.
So comfort comes slowly. But it will come because Jesus Christ has come. The Son of Josiah, the Son of David, the root of Jesse burst forth from the burned over stump of His father’s kingdom. He shed His blood, destroying your sins upon the cross. Jesus Christ rose from the dead, tearing that pretender named Satan off of the shattered remains of David’s throne. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus rebuilt that throne. And through His ascension, He rules you from it. From that throne, He pours out endless healing, forgiveness, mercy, and salvation upon you. And even if you don’t feel it in all its glory, you will on the last day. So don’t give up. Don’t despair. The comfort of God is coming. Don’t let go of your Savior until it arrives.
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