The period of exile in Babylon is also called the Babylonian
captivity. The people of Israel were captives of the most
powerful empire of their time. To them the situation must
have seemed hopeless. Yet the prophet Jeremiah proclaims
the power of God that will free Israel even from such a
mighty master: “The Lord has ransomed Jacob, and has
redeemed him from hands too strong for him.”

Many powers can enslave us. But none is mightier than
the past. Against any other master, we can rebel. But the past
we cannot change, which makes our feelings of failure so
overwhelming. Years have gone by, and we are powerless
to undo what we did or even to recover the time we lost
when we failed to do what we ought to have done. We may
try to undo the consequences of our past—and in most cases
we should. But the past itself we cannot undo. It is there,
apparently forever, with a givenness we cannot challenge.
Despite our best efforts, we cannot undo it. It is a far mightier
master than the Babylonians were to Israel. Just as Jacob
(Israel) was bound by “hands too strong for him,” so are
we burdened by the weight of a past we cannot change. But
the God who ransomed Jacob from “hands too strong him”
can also ransom us from whatever binds us—no matter how
strong—even from the weight of the past

That is the meaning of forgiveness. God ransoms us from
the power of our sin, from the shame of our failures, from
the weight of the past. Thus, as we approach new work,
we can do so with joy similar to that reflected in Jeremiah’s
words. Read them again, and rejoice with him!

By Justo L. González from The Upper Room: 60 Days of Prayer for General Conference