Chizuk Emunah Under the Microscope: Chapter 25

“Though our iniquities testify against us,

act, O Lord, for your name's sake;

for our backslidings are many;

we have sinned against you.

O you hope of Israel,

its savior in time of trouble,

why should you be like a stranger in the land,

like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?

Why should you be like a man confused,

like a mighty warrior who cannot save?

Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us,

and we are called by your name;

do not leave us.” (Jeremiah 14:7-9)

The question regarding this passage is: does this apply to Jesus? Troki says that it is not a good prooftext for the status of Jesus as Messiah, and I agree with him on that. He quotes Hosea 13:4 stating that there is no savior besides Yahweh. Since Jesus is Yahweh, the God of Israel, I see no problems with this.

The point of the passage is that God should be helping Israel, and not acting like a stranger (the word here is גָּר ger which, once again, does NOT mean convert) in a strange land. A stranger in a strange land cannot help the populace, and this is the point of the passage. Jeremiah is begging God for help.

In a similar vein, Jesus was like a stranger in a strange land. He used Israel as a dwelling place for a while, before later sending off his followers to preach to all the Gentiles.