“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.” [Jer. 32:17]
OUTLINE OF CHAPTER 32:
1. Vv. 1-5: Jeremiah is imprisoned for
prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem
and the captivity of king Zedekiah.
2. Vv. 6-15: In
these desperate times Jeremiah, by divine command, buys land. God assures him that although times will
be presently tough for Israel, he
will remain in charge of Israel’s future and therefore Jeremiah may buy this
land with confidence.
3.
Vv. 16-25: Jeremiah’s response in prayer, which includes our
text: “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.” [v.17].
It is a great affirmation of faith despite
the fact that things in Israel do
not look good .
4.
Vv. 26- 44:
The Word from God through Jeremiah:
(i)
32:26-35:
Prophesying the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem for their
sins.
(ii) 32:36-44: At the same time he must assure them
that, although the destruction was total, it will not be final. God will restore His people to their land. With this in mind, we now consider the historical situation.
THE HISTORICAL
SITUATION :
Vv. 1-5 : The predicted fall of Jerusalem is now imminent. The events
that led to the fall of
Jerusalem were initiated by Nebuchadnezzar
II, king of Babylon. In 605 BC he defeated
the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho at the Battle
of Carchemish. The Egyptians had been in an alliance with Israel at that point, and so the defeat of the Egyptians opened up
the way for Babylonia to
attack Jerusalem. The first siege
of Jerusalem happened in 597
BC. Following that siege Nebuchadnezzar installed Zedekiah as a vassal
king. However, in time Zedekiah revolted against Babylon, and entered
into an alliance with Pharaoh Hophra, the king of Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar
responded again by invading Judah and began
the second siege of Jerusalem in
December 589 BC, and which lasted until 586 BC. In 586 BC, the 11th year of Zedekiah's reign, Nebuchadnezzar broke
through Jerusalem's walls, conquering the city. Zedekiah and his followers
attempted to escape but were captured on the plains of Jericho and taken to
Riblah. There, after seeing his sons killed, Zedekiah was blinded, bound, and
taken captive to Babylon, where he remained a prisoner until his death.
Thereafter, the Babylonian general, Nebuzaraddan, was sent to
complete the destruction of Jerusalem. The city was plundered, and Solomon's Temple was destroyed.
Most of the Jewish elite were taken into
captivity in Babylon. The city was razed to the ground. Only a few people were
permitted to remain in the land. Gedaliah
was made governor of the remnant of the
people under the watchful eye of a Babylonian garrison stationed at Mizpah. On hearing this news, the
Jews who were in exile in the
territories of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and in
other countries returned to Judah. Gedaliah
was assassinated two months later, and the population that had remained and those
who had returned then fled to Egypt[1]
for safety, taking Jeremiah with them against his will.[2]
According to our text we
find ourselves in 589 BC, at the beginning of the second
siege. The Jews
under king Zedekiah stubbornly offered resistance against the counsel of God by his true prophet. The siege took a long time (11 years). God's judgment came gradually upon them, and whilst
the reality of the siege was
unfolding, the Jews refused
to listen to the true prophet of God. They did not repent. Zedekiah
would not listen. In fact he was highly offended by
Jeremiah– so much that he has him
put into prison for telling the truth.
Zedekiah chose to believe
the false prophets (see Chapter
28; 29:24-32) who were in the majority. A majority is not always
right. It takes
intimacy with God to hear His voice above the popular opinion and
the noise of the world. True believers need to be familiar with the God of
the Word, and the Word of God in order to
discern their times. The prophet Isaiah who
prophesied under similar
circumstances to the northern
kingdom, approximately 150 years earlier,
saw that his people were abandoning the counsel of their God, seeking
the counsel of occultic mediums and necromancers, and he said: “To the teaching and to the testimony! If
they will not speak according to This Word,
it is because they have no dawn” (Isa. 8:19,20).
Vv. 6-15.
And now, whilst in prison, an
extraordinary thing happens. God
commands Jeremiah to buy a
piece of ground from a cousin
named Hanamel in Anathoth, Jeremiah’s home town. Imagine
this. You know that your country
is going to be overrun by an enemy , and yet
you buy real estate! Is this insane,
or what? What moved him to do this? God moved him, although
humanly speaking this seemed to be an irrational move.
A word of explanation is needed here. Property in those days was not available on the open market. Property had to stay in the family. In passing, please note how the
transactions were done in (vv
9-14) with deed of purchase
and placing the deed of sale in an
earthenware vessel to last a long time!
In 70 years (which is a lifetime) things would look very different, and the
property would still be in the hands of the “Jeremiah
Anathoth” family. A good man always makes sure that there is an
inheritance for his children. The time would come when houses, and fields,
and vineyards should be again possessed in this land, and the family would have the title deeds (32:15). And so we read that
his cousin, a kinsman came to offer it to him. It was
not that Jeremiah had wanted it. It came
to him. It may have been a good bargain,
but the point is that he was a family member, and therefore entitled to this
purchase. The right of redemption [3]
belonged to him (32:8), and if he
refused, the next family member might be
approached. But, being a prophet there
was more to the story than meets the eye.
In this context, purchasing land in
desperate times was a statement of faith and a vote of confidence in the sovereignty and trustworthiness of God. “Ah Lord God… nothing is too hard for you.”
And so, Jeremiah leads
the way in word and in deed. He leads in faith and by example. In this he
exemplifies the nature of the Christian ministry.
Matthew Henry
comments: “ It concerns ministers
to make it to appear in their whole conversation that they do themselves
believe that which they preach to others and… impress it the more deeply upon
their hearers, they must many a time deny themselves, as Jeremiah did in both
these instances. God having promised that this land should again come into the
possession of his people, Jeremiah will, on behalf of his heirs, put in for a
share. Note, It is good to manage even
our worldly affairs in faith, and to do common business with an eye to the
providence and promise of God.”
Vv. 16-25 Jeremiah's
Prayer. This brings us to this remarkable prayer of Jeremiah to God. He knows what God is
about to do in the short term and the long term. He knows God. And so, after
putting the deed of purchase into
safekeeping with Baruch, he prays. In this prayer, he begins with:
1.Vv.17-19 - Worship: He gives God the glory due to his name as the
Creator and Sustainer of the earth. Here is a great lesson for us. When faced
with difficult times and situations, we
do not look for worldly
solutions. We look to Almighty God, and we remind ourselves of who He is. He is
the fountain of all being. He has made the
heaven and the earth with his outstretched arm and therefore who can control
him? Who can contend with him? Furthermore, we remind ourselves that with God nothing is impossible. Nothing
is too hard for Him. He is always in
charge. Moreover we remind ourselves that He is the God who knows how to be merciful. “You show steadfast love to thousands…”
(v.18a) but we also remember that He is also the God
of absolute holiness and righteousness, and therefore of inflexible
justice He consistently hates sin,
and He will not gloss over un-atoned sin.
Every generation that refuses to come to
God for free pardon must bear the full fury of His wrath (v.18b). “His eyes are open to
all the ways of the children of man…”. Nothing escapes Him. Such a
God as this is not to be trifled with and argued with. He is to be worshipped… He is to
be bowed down. You will not conquer Him.He will conquer you!
2. Vv. 20-23:
Remembering the Past Works of the
Lord - His faithfulness. He remembers how God had brought His people out of Egypt with
signs and wonders – with an outreached arm.
He gave them this land, which they now stand to lose, because of their rebellion. It is good for us often to reflect upon the
great things that God has done for
us in the past, lest we forget to be thankful in the present.
3. Vv. 24-25
Understanding the Present: History provides us with and understanding of the present. God has
previously redeemed His people against all human odds. He has previously handed
His people over when they had rebelled against Him, as it is now… “The
siege mounds have come up to the city….the city is given into the hands of the
Chaldeans… what you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it”. Please
note that Jeremiah does not argue with God nor
prescribe to God what He should do. He
knows God. He understands that God has an ultimate plan
for good and not for evil (see 29:11). He understands that even in this
situation, as challenging as it is,
nothing is too hard for God (vv.
17,27).
Whatever trouble you are in, personally as individuals or corporately as families or as a nation, know this: God sees
and knows how to bring everything
towards a good end. And so ends the prayer: “ Yet you , oh Lord GOD have said to me, Buy the field for money and
get witnesses- though the city is given
into the hands of the Chaldeans .” God says, “trust
me in this, Jeremiah“.
The rest of
the chapter, from v.36ff shows us how God intends to do it, but we
will keep that for next week … “ I will bring them back to this place, and
I will make them dwell in safety. And
they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” [ 32:37,38]
APPLICATION
1. The immediate application is the historical
situation in 589 BC and the return
approximately 70 years
later in 520 BC under
men like leaders like Nehemiah
and Ezra and prophets like Haggai and Zechariah.
2.
The application with respect to
ourselves are the
timeless principles found here. If the local church becomes faithless,
God removes her lampstand (Rev 2:5), but He does not remove the church. “I will build my church , and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matt
16:18). Many local churches have come and gone over the last 2000 years. Many a modern church no longer holds on to the Word, as false
prophets have taken the true Word of God away from the people. That church will die! But there is always a remnant of faithful
people and they find themselves displaced, as if in exile. But God never
ultimately leaves His people. He remains the God of mercy and wrath.
In time He restores His church, but He is not mocked.
God is
patient. We must be patient. God calls
us to trust Him when things
look less than ideal. We must continue to invest in the kingdom although
things look bleak. We must continue to
build biblical churches in times of
unfaithfulness, even though they are
small.
3. But, in a greater sense Scripture always points towards an ultimate fulfilLment.
There will come a time when all
the sin of the earth will be subdued,
when Christ comes again, and when the
kingdom will be the Lord’s. This is what we aim to focus on next week. Amen!
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