When we read the word “tell,” we think of the verb. Telling is sharing information. But, “tell” can also be an important noun for the archeologist. A tell is a large mound, often with a flat plane, like a tree trunk sawed close to the ground.  

Inside are the broken pieces of people’s lives from long ago. Houses fell apart, cities were destroyed, and kingdoms crumbled. The up-and-comers just pushed the rubble off and built again, and again, and again. Some 5,000 tells exist today in Jordan and Israel, and who knows how many more all around the Middle East.  

587 BC was a horrendous year. King Zedekiah asked Jeremiah for advice as the Babylonians pounded the walls, and the people starved. The prophet said, “I know it sounds strange, but God says surrender. If you do, you will survive, and the people you lead will live. All of this is God’s plan.” But Zedekiah continued to kick the problematic decision down the road, hoping for a miracle.  King Zedekiah was as weak as a decaffeinated cup of Folders.

In this time of national despair, God gave Jeremiah a message of hope starting in chapter 30, what commentators call the Book of Consolation.

Jeremiah 30:18 – This is what the Lord says: “I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings; the city will be rebuilt on her ruins and the palace will stand in its proper place.”

A restoration was in the future. “The city will be rebuilt on her ruins.” Interestingly, the Hebrew word for “ruins” is tel. The tells of ancient times are a lot like our modern-day landfills. Mountains of once usable and important stuff, now smashed to smithereens and piled in a heap, the story of our yesterdays: the projects, purchases, and the garbage.  

We all have our tells, the stuff buried in our past: broken dreams, failures, bad decisions, and sins that we like to keep together in a pile in our hearts.

But the Lord said, “I will rebuild the city on her ruins (tel).” In the same way, Jesus said he can restore our lives. The ugly landfill, which no one wants to see in their backyard, can become an attractive place. For example, there’s Mount Trashmore, in Virginia, Beach. A team with a creative vision buried the trash with dirt and planted grass. The old scab became one of Virginia’s most beloved parks with an unbelievable view. Over 1 million people visit there every year.

We don’t have the time or energy to sort through our mound of broken pieces. But our Savior knows every shard. Psalm 56:8 says, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”

Jesus is the great artist who can take shattered pieces and make them beautiful and useful for his glory. Our “tell” becomes an attractive work of grace that draws others who are curious to hear our story.

But the restoration of Jerusalem was something much more significant than an extreme architectural makeover. Before going there, Jeremiah points out again the severity of their loss.

Jeremiah 30:12-13 – This is what the Lord says: “Your wound is incurable, your injury beyond healing. There is no one to plead your cause, no remedy for your sore, no healing for you.”

Notice the sequence of words: wounds, incurable, injury, beyond healing, no remedy. The hammer blow of judgement in 587 BC left a devastating wound. The fall of Jerusalem was a crushing blow to their collective psyche that decimated their future hopes. As the Babylonian army pulled out, and trailed off into the sunset, they left atop Mount Zion a massive, untreatable, bleeding sore.  

But wait.  In a stunning turn of events, the Lord would say…

Jeremiah 30:17 – But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds…

What is impossible with man is possible with God. Jeremiah 32:17 says, “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” There is a healing balm. The incurable wound will be healed.  

What does this mean for us today? More to follow…