Jeremiah 32:17-19

 

"Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you. You show steadfast love to thousands, but you repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts, great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds."

Jeremiah is known as the "weeping prophet", and he did have much to weep about.  He was a prophet charged with warning Israel, particularly the southern kingdom of Judah, that their practice of idolatry and injustice will soon earn them destruction and exile. This will be the third wave of captivity, (the first included Daniel) and will include the destruction of Jerusalem.   Babylon's attack is imminent, Jeremiah warns, but the people are unwilling to listen.  Chapter 32, where our verses today are found, happens during the 10th year of king Zedekiah's reign (The destruction and captivity take place in his 11th year. 😓) The king takes Jeremiah as prisoner to try to shut him up.  He says "Why are you telling us all this bad news?  You're saying Jerusalem will fall and I will be taken captive! And you are claiming it's a word from God?!?!?" Jeremiah answers the king by telling him about some land he bought.  🤔  He hid the deed to the new land in a time capsule; and then prayed to understand why he, a prisoner, would be instructed to buy land. Jeremiah recounts the history of Israel, starting with the foundation that God built with stubborn, unwavering, ardent, single minded love, justice, and mercy.  He says, like so many others have, that Israel has been given miraculous rescue and a beautiful inherited land, but they've squandered it in disobedience.  It's a disaster.  God agrees, saying the Israelites have been terrible since almost day one.  (vs 30) God has taught them persistently, and they have persistently ignored Him.  The wheels are already set in motion for their punishment, but also for their rescue! God says "I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety.  They shall be my people, and I will be their God.   I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them." (vs. 37-39) 

I think if I would take a poll to see what is the most popular verse from Jeremiah, there would be one landslide winner--Jeremiah 29:11.  Although it's quoted a lot, especially this time of year to graduates, it is actually a promise meant for this rebellious people we've been reading so much about the last several weeks.  God is speaking to the first groups of exiles, telling them to settle in this foreign land-- to build houses and plant gardens, marry and have children.  God KNOWS the plans He has for them, a future and a hope.  My heart is changed by Jeremiah's faith in the message that's been entrusted to him.  God has taken Jeremiah through the wringer to give them clear pictures of the future.  And in return, he buys property in a doomed land, because he knows, he KNOWS God will bring them back.  I want to invest in the things of God, even when it seems foolish to the world, because I KNOW the returns are my inheritance in Christ--redemption and eternal possession.  💓