A big part of Jeremiah’s message to the people of Judah – both those already in exile as well as though still fighting or not yet taken into captivity – was that there was HOPE FOR THE FUTURE. God had promised He would bring them back to their land in 70 years. Jeremiah wanted the people to know that they could trust God and that this return to Jerusalem someday was possible because nothing was too difficult for God. What a great message for me to hear today and to enjoy in my morning coffee.
To show the people that he trusted God and fully believed that the promised land would once again be theirs, God told Jeremiah to buy a piece of land that his cousin was going to ask him to purchase from him. As you can imagine, for anyone to purchase land at this point in the battle would appear very foolish yet what Jeremiah was doing was making an investment in the future that God was promising – that’s how much he trusted his God! Do we trust God that much?
Jeremiah 32:17
“O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and the earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!…You have all wisdom and do great and mighty miracles…You performed miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt – things still remembered to this day! And you continued to do great miracles in Israel and all around the world. You have made your name famous to this day. You brought Israel out of Egypt with might signs and wonders, with a strong hand and powerful arm, and with overwhelming terror. You gave the people of Israel this land that you had promised their ancestors long before – a land flowing with milk and honey. Our ancestors came and conquered it and lived in it, but they refused to obey you or follow your word. They have not done anything you commanded. That is why you have sent this terrible disaster upon them. See how the siege ramps have been built against the city walls! Through war, famine, and disease, the city will be handed over to the Babylonians, who will conquer it. Everything has happened just as you said. And yet, O Sovereign Lord, you have told me to buy the field – paying good money for it before these witnesses – even though the city will soon be handed over to the Babylonians” (Jeremiah 32:17-25).
This sounds like a conversation we might have with God at times, pointing out to God how ridiculous it is that He would ask us to do ______________________when we are in the midst of ___________________ (fill in the blanks). Yet God calls us to trust in His promises, just as He wanted Jeremiah to show his trust in God.
Jeremiah 32:26
Then the message came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?”
Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.
And this is what God was promising His people at this time as they were gathering everything they could from within the city of Jerusalem to strengthen the walls against the siege ramps, trying hard to fight the Babylonians and resist captivity:
“Nevertheless, the time will come when I will heal Jerusalem’s wounds and give it prosperity and true peace. I will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel and rebuild their towns. I will cleanse them of their sins against me and forgive all their sins of rebellions. Then this city will bring me joy, glory and honor before all the nations of the earth! The people of the world will see all the good I do for my people, and they will tremble with awe at the peace and prosperity I provide for them” (Jer. 33:6-9).
What battle are you fighting right now that you need to hear God’s promises that He will heal…restore…rebuild…cleanse…and forgive? Enter into the presence of your God and trust that nothing is too hard for Him!
By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, the let us go right into presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him (Heb. 10:20-22a).