The Hope of Israel

In Rome Paul showed the Jewish leaders his chain. He said, “for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain” (Acts 28:20). What was the hope of Israel?

A name for God. Long before Paul, the prophet Jeremiah prayed, “O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble” (Jeremiah 14:8). Jeremiah used the Hope of Israel as a name for God Himself.

A dry land. Jeremiah prayed this when no rain had fallen in the land. The ground was dry and cracked, and there was no grass for the animals (14:4-6).

Honest about sin. Jeremiah did not pretend the people were good. He prayed, “For our backslidings are many, We have sinned against You” (14:7). Backsliding means sliding away from God again and again.

Hope in a Person. The people had sinned, yet Jeremiah still called God their Hope. Their hope was not in how good they were. It was in the Lord, who saves.

Not far away. “Yet You, O Lord, are in our midst, And we are called by Your name; Do not leave us!” (14:9). In our midst means right here among us.

Only God. “Are You not He, O Lord our God? Therefore we will wait for You” (14:22). No idol could send rain. Only the Lord could help them.

The fountain. Later Jeremiah prayed again, “O Lord, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You shall be ashamed” (17:13). To forsake means to leave. He also called the Lord “the fountain of living waters” (17:13). Leaving God is like walking away from fresh water in a dry land.

Heal me, save me. “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, For You are my praise” (17:14). When God saves you, you are truly saved.

A promise. God promised to send Israel a Savior. Paul called this “the promise made by God to our fathers” (Acts 26:6).

The hope came. That promised Savior is Jesus. The Lord who was Israel’s hope came to earth as a man to save His people.

Why a chain? Paul told everyone that Jesus had died and risen from the dead. He would not stop saying it, so he was a prisoner in Rome.

Your hope. People put their hope in many things: being strong, having money, having friends. Those things can let us down. The Lord never does.

The gospel. Like Israel, we have all sinned. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Everyone who trusts Him is saved, just as Jeremiah prayed: “Save me, and I shall be saved.”

What to do. Pray Jeremiah’s words this week: “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed.” Tell God that He is your hope.

Paul wore a chain in Rome, but his hope held steady (Acts 28:20). The Bible gives us a picture of that kind of hope: an anchor.

What an anchor does. An anchor is a heavy hook tied to a boat. Sailors drop it into the water, and it grips the ground below. Then the boat stays in one place.

An anchor for the soul. “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Hebrews 6:19). Your soul is the real you inside. Sure means it will not fail. Steadfast means it stays in place.

Fastened in heaven. Our hope “enters the Presence behind the veil” (6:19). The veil was the curtain in front of the Most Holy Place, where God was present. Our anchor holds on in heaven, close to God.

Jesus went first. It is the place “where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus” (6:20). A forerunner runs ahead to open the way. Jesus died, rose again and went into heaven ahead of us.

For us. Hebrews says Jesus went in “for us.” He is there on our side. Hebrews also calls Him our “High Priest forever” (6:20).

A young person’s hope. “For You are my hope, O Lord God; You are my trust from my youth” (Psalm 71:5). Youth means when you are young. You do not have to wait until you are grown up to hope in God.

All the time. “But I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more” (71:14). Continually means all the time, on good days and hard days.

Young and old. The same psalm says, “O God, You have taught me from my youth” (71:17). The writer prayed to keep telling God’s strength “to this generation” even when he was old (71:18).

My hope is in You. Another psalm prays, “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You” (Psalm 39:7). You can pray those words too.

When things are hard. Paul’s hope held steady even with a chain. If something at home or at school feels too heavy, tell God, and tell a parent or a trusted grown-up too.

The gospel. We have all sinned. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). When we trust Him, our hope is fastened to Jesus Himself.

What to do. Draw an anchor this week. Next to it, write, “My hope is in You.” Put it where you will see it every day.