Punished Not Punished

Jeremiah 30:11 “For I am with you to save you declares the LORD… I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”

The Hebrew for “leave you unpunished” is two-fold. Simply put God is saying they will be “punished not punished” through His salvation. The first part of this verse offers the Hope that leads into the second part which is the Promise. There is no easy means of salvation. The preposterous though of a painless salvation makes light of the immense evil which is sin. We think it is avoidable, this harsh punishment, but God clearly states that judgement is not. His first response to sin in the garden was to kill an animal, to shed blood; so, why should it be any easier after so many generations of sin? There is no easy (or unpunished) way of salvation! Yet, there is grace (30:11a). It is through this grace which we were “punished not punished” by way of the death of His Son. The punishment of Himself was in the most horrific and ghastly way known to mankind at that time in order that our punishment would rest upon His perfect shoulders. The way to salvation was not easy, but the way of grace is! Praise God that he took our punishment! However, we are called to remember our state as “punished not punished” as “sinner yet saved”. We deserve full punishment, BUT He is with us to save us! Praise HIM!