Is all hope lost? Of course not. God is God and God is good. God is still their God. He had not forgotten his people and his promises. In due time he would provide good leaders, bring his people back, restore the city walls, and rebuild the holy temple.

God has done more for us than all that. In Jesus he gave us a King after his own heart to establish the forever kingdom. When Jesus preached, his first sermon was this: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:15). Jesus established God’s everlasting kingdom in a surprising way. He showed how a good king should live by loving God first and best and by loving his neighbor as himself. He suffered and died as God’s King. Then he rose again from the grave and now reigns in power in heaven. One day he will return and take his people home with him. Together we will live forever in his perfect kingdom. What a good God! Like Judah of old, we deserve curses instead of blessings. Instead, for all who are in Christ, we receive blessing after blessing after blessing.