“The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah. For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, ‘Why do you prophesy and say, “Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it; Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye. And he shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I visit him, declares the LORD. Though you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed?”’
“Jeremiah said, ‘The word of the LORD came to me: Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, “Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.” Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the LORD, and said to me, “Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.
“‘And I bought the field at Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy. And I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. I charged Baruch in their presence, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time. For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.”
“‘After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying: “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. You have shown signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day. You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and with great terror. And you gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. And they entered and took possession of it. But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them. Behold, the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and because of sword and famine and pestilence the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it. Yet you, O 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.”’
“The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: ‘Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me? Therefore, thus says the LORD: Behold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall capture it. The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city shall come and set this city on fire and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, to provoke me to anger. For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth. The children of Israel have done nothing but provoke me to anger by the work of their hands, declares the LORD. This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, so that I will remove it from my sight because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke me to anger—their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them persistently, they have not listened to receive instruction. They set up their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
“‘Now therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, “It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence:” Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. 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. 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. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.
“‘For thus says the LORD: Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them. Fields shall be bought in this land of which you are saying, “It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” Fields shall be bought for money, and deeds shall be signed and sealed and witnessed, in the land of Benjamin, in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for I will restore their fortunes, declares the LORD.’” [1]
To make money, it is necessary to spend money. This is a concept that most people understand intuitively. When we invest in a company through buying stock in that company, we invest in anticipation that we will receive a return on what we have invested. We anticipate dividends paid out on a regular basis and we anticipate that the company will grow as the it prospers. Through the power of compounding, we can grow our investment to provide a means by which we may provide a future income.
We lend money to a company, or perhaps we lend money to a municipality or a province or even to the nation, in anticipation that those to whom we loaned the funds will pay reasonable rates of interest for the use of our monies. In effect, these funds are loaned to the entity in the form of bonds. We anticipate that these bonds will yield a steady return on what we have lent to the entity.
Again, we place money in a savings account offered through our bank, anticipating that the bank will pay a small amount of interest for the money being available to the bank to invest or to loan to clients, earning much bigger amounts of money for the bank. In each of these instances, we are surrendering control over what we hold in the expectation that we will gain something in return.
It is not only the fiscal realm that requires us to invest in order to receive a return, but the spiritual realm also pays a return only when we have invested in spiritual matters. I’m not going to waste time arguing about the perverted concept of “seed money” that has been popularised by televangelists. It is enough to recognise that this concept is horribly distorted, and thus deserves the condemnation it has received from the Lord. This concept encourages giving money to the particular televangelist in hopes of receiving a fiscal return. Candidly, these charlatans have distorted the act of investing in the spiritual, twisting the concept of blessing into a means of personal enrichment for themselves. The televangelists and their ilk are so focused on material gains than they are ignorant of the richness of divine blessing that is for all eternity. They are living for this moment, this dying life, without thinking of eternity. They are sacrificing the permanent on the altar of the temporary. Such people are, in short, pitiful fools.
I speak to people whom I love and for whom I have been appointed to serve. I am encouraging you to think of what lies ahead after this transient, ephemeral moment we know as life. I am urging you to consider the consequences of real life, eternal life, preparing you for what God has promised. And part of that promise leads you to look ahead of the immediate, seizing what leads to eternal glory both for you and for those over whom your presence has influence. I am urging you to make an investment in hope.
A STRANGE COMMAND — “The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah. For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, ‘Why do you prophesy and say, “Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it; Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye. And he shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I visit him, declares the LORD. Though you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed?”’
“Jeremiah said, ‘The word of the LORD came to me: Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, “Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.” Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the LORD, and said to me, “Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.
“‘And I bought the field at Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy. And I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. I charged Baruch in their presence, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time. For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land”’” [JEREMIAH 32:1-15].
What a strange command! The world’s sole superpower of that day was even then besieging Jerusalem. Apart from divine intervention, the situation for Israel was hopeless. Jeremiah, God’s prophet, had been prophesying for years that Israel would be conquered and the people sent into captivity. Now, in the midst of what was apparently fulfillment of divine judgement, the LORD instructed Jeremiah to purchase land! Priorities would demand that anyone in Israel should be divesting himself of all real property, exchanging it for something convertible, such as gold or silver!
The message which Jeremiah was charged to deliver to Israel was difficult for him to bear. It has always stuck me how the translators that provided us with the King James Version of the Bible identified the prophets when they spoke as delivering the burden of the LORD. [2] At one point, God instructed Jeremiah to speak of his burden. It is instructive to note how the people saw what the Prophet was saying and what God had to say concerning their casual observation.
“When one of this people, or a prophet or a priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the LORD?’ you shall say to them, ‘You are the burden, and I will cast you off, declares the LORD.’ And as for the prophet, priest, or one of the people who says, ‘The burden of the LORD,’ I will punish that man and his household. Thus shall you say, every one to his neighbor and every one to his brother, ‘What has the LORD answered?’ or ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ But ‘the burden of the LORD’ you shall mention no more, for the burden is every man’s own word, and you pervert the words of the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God. Thus you shall say to the prophet, ‘What has the LORD answered you?’ or ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ But if you say, ‘The burden of the LORD,’ thus says the LORD, ‘Because you have said these words, “The burden of the LORD,” when I sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The burden of the LORD,’” therefore, behold, I will surely lift you up and cast you away from my presence, you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers. And I will bring upon you everlasting reproach and perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten’” [JEREMIAH 23:33-40].
God’s message to Jeremiah was truly a burden for the prophet. However, though the prophet spoke of the message as a burden, the term was not to be tossed around lightly by those about the prophet. When the LORD’s professed people spoke in a casual fashion of “the burden of the LORD,” God was deeply offended. The LORD was offended because His will was not thought of as something that could burden a people who were obviously self-willed, a people who valued their personal comfort more than they valued doing the will of the Living God!
The offence that was exposed in that day continues to this day. Whenever a people profess to love God, though their lives speak of privilege and personal comfort rather than longing to fulfil the will of God, the Lord God is offended! Whenever people treat the Faith as optional rather than mandatory, the Living God is offended! Whenever people pretend to care what God wills while pursuing their own interests, though those interests conflict with the will of the Lord, God is offended!
As we read the text, though the populace were treating the will of God as optional, for Jeremiah the burden of the LORD was becoming personal. The man of God was commanded to hazard what little he possessed of this world’s wealth to secure land. It was obvious that Judah would shortly be conquered, and the people would be sent into captivity. In that environment, God was instructing His prophet to buy land—land that he would likely never enjoy. Wouldn’t you agree that this is a strange command?
For a long while, Jeremiah had been prophesying that the southern Kingdom would be invaded and conquered, and that the people would be sent into exile. God’s prophet pleaded with the people, pleas marked with many tears, pleading with the people to turn again to the Lord, turning from pursuing the sins they had embraced and that had contaminated their lives. At last, the dreaded invaders had come, and the prophecy was unfolding before the eyes of the nation. It was at that precise moment, that the LORD commanded Jeremiah to purchase the land that his cousin would offer for sale.
WALKING BY FAITH — “‘After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying: “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. You have shown signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day. You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and with great terror. And you gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. And they entered and took possession of it. But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them. Behold, the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and because of sword and famine and pestilence the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it. Yet you, O 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.”’
“The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: ‘Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me? Therefore, thus says the LORD: Behold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall capture it. The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city shall come and set this city on fire and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, to provoke me to anger. For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth. The children of Israel have done nothing but provoke me to anger by the work of their hands, declares the LORD. This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, so that I will remove it from my sight because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke me to anger—their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them persistently, they have not listened to receive instruction. They set up their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin” [JEREMIAH 32:16-35].
It could not have been an easy thing for Jeremiah to obey the Word of the LORD, especially in this instance. There is something weird, even insane, about someone who is insensible to danger. To act as though nothing untoward will happen when the threat is real and immediate is the height of stupidity unless an individual has inside information. As is true for the rest of society, the servant of God is not insensible to the conditions in which he lives. Of necessity, he knows when the society in which he lives is threatened. In fact, he is likely more aware of the imminent peril in which society stands than are others living within that society. And you may be certain that he knows when the culture within which he serves is inviting divine judgement.
At such times, when society is threatened by outside forces, the servant of God does not have the luxury of fleeing from what is coming upon the people. Because he is God’s spokesman, he will remain where the Master has placed him until the Lord removes him, pleading with the people and calling them to repentance. The man of God is a servant of the Lord appointed to serve the people of God. He will share the judgement that will engulf society, including those who know and love the LORD. Unquestionably, this was the case for Jeremiah as Judah faced invasion and sure defeat. He would not run from the danger because he had been appointed by the Living God to be in that society at that precise time. He would remain, and he would continue warning the nation of the judgement that was looming over the land. Jeremiah would stay at his appointed task, though what was coming caused him unbearable pain.
Jeremiah grieved for His people, at one point even crying out,
“Oh that my head were waters,
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night
for the slain of the daughter of my people!”
[JEREMIAH 9:1]
He wept so long that he had no more tears. His eyes were red and swollen, but no more tears could roll down his cheeks.
At yet another point during his ministry before the Lord GOD and to the people, we witness Jeremiah’s broken heart as he cried out,
“If you will not listen,
my soul will weep in secret for your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears,
because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.”
[JEREMIAH 13:17]
It is one thing to claim to walk by faith when all the bills are paid, when the fridge is filled with food, when the van is gassed and serviced and ready to go, when the children are all healthy and life is defined by rich blessings. It is quite another thing to actually live by faith when the physician says, “This illness is chronic; you will have to deal with this condition for the remainder of your life.” It is quite another thing to aver you are living by faith when there is not enough money to pay the hydro bill and the water bill arrives the same day. It is definitely untenable to say, “I’m living by faith,” in a breezy voice when God is telling you to pull up roots and move to a foreign country. When there isn’t enough money to make the trip, and yet, the Lord is definitely instructing you to leave, the concept of living by faith becomes real. When God is demanding that you step out on faith and terra firma appears to be falling away under your feet, living by faith is more than an abstract concept.
Do you suppose Abram found it easy to leave Mesopotamia and journey to a distant land in which he had no ownership? When the evangelist Philip was in the midst of a great revival, do you suppose he found it easy to obey the angel of the Lord who instructed him, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza” [ACTS 8:26]? Do you think that Saul of Tarsus found it easy to live by faith when the Lord said to him, “Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles” [see ACTS 22:21]?
I can only imagine how challenging it was for the Apostle to continue his trip toward Jerusalem after hearing the prophecy Agabus delivered. You will recall that scene as presented by Doctor Luke. “When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for one day. On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied. While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, ‘Thus says the Holy Spirit, “This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.”’ When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, ‘What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus’” [ACTS 21:6b-13]. In each of these instances, the command of the Lord was disruptive, requiring those whom God ordered to take what appeared to be considerable risks. There is nothing easy about following Him Whom we call “Master!”
Allow me to speak more personally of the journey of faith Lynda and I shared. When we moved to Canada, everything seemed to be against that move; and yet, we were certain that God was leading us to move from the comfort of our life in Dallas. I had agreed to come to a church that had been reduced to five people in attendance each Sunday morning. The denominational leader that first approached me about accepting this charge asked me to accept the challenge of revitalising that congregation. The denominational leader was adamant that he did not want me to go on deputation to raise support; he felt that such would embarrass the denomination. He insisted that the denomination would guarantee support for three years, though I estimated that after the years of neglect, it would require at least five years to overcome the past inertia.
After considerable prayer, Lynda and I determined that moving to Canada so I could pastor a dying congregation was the Lord’s will. It made little sense; but it was indelibly imprinted on our hearts. I resigned my position at the college where I was then engaged in preparing students for service to the Lord. The president and the academic dean pleaded with me to stay; they assured me that I was throwing away a golden opportunity to accomplish something great for God by moving to Canada. A colleague offered to give me a house in a good section of Dallas if I would agree to stay and continue teaching. However, Lynda and I had heard the voice of the Lord, and we were determined that we should obey Him.
When we were interviewed at the Canadian Consulate in Dallas, the official with whom we met informed me that on a scale of one to ten, the need for preachers in Canada was “zero.” Nevertheless, and in spite of his opposition to our immigrating, we were approved for immigration and all our papers were eventually in order.
For almost a year, I flew between Dallas and Vancouver so I could preach each Sunday morning and evening. Despite not being in residence, I witnessed some people saved and added to the church. Then, a little more than one week before we were to move, the denominational leader that had asked me to move to Burnaby phoned to inform me that there was no money, after all. He thought he might be able to scrape together a small amount of support for six months, but that was all. Lynda and I were stunned, but we prayed and were assured that the Son of God had called us to move.
As we prepared to move our family, Mount St. Helens erupted, making the journey across the western states by the route we had selected questionable at best. The trip meant that we would drive through heavy volcanic ash that blanketed several states. During a good portion of that trip, the ground was so white that it appeared that the area was blanketed with snow, and the dust swirled about like a foggy day as we drove. However, there had been no snowstorms, it was just the ash from the volcano.
When we arrived, the people were friendly enough. But one man immediately let me know that he opposed my presence. He was the treasurer of the church. For two years, each week he had the same story, “We’re broke. No money. We can’t pay you.” “It’s all right, Bill,” I would say each time, “God has called us, and He will provide. If He cannot, then He is not worthy of my best service. However, because He called us, we will trust that He will care for us.” It is obvious by looking at me that I haven’t missed many meals, and I can testify that God honours His Word. God was and is faithful. I’ve said all this to say that it is not an easy thing to live by faith! Nevertheless, the God who reigns in Heaven is well able to provide for those who seek to honour Him. God never promised us a life of ease, but He has promised that He will provide.
BEYOND THE MOMENT — “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence:’ Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. 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. 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. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.
“For thus says the LORD: Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them. Fields shall be bought in this land of which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ Fields shall be bought for money, and deeds shall be signed and sealed and witnessed, in the land of Benjamin, in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for I will restore their fortunes, declares the LORD’” [JEREMIAH 32:36-44].
You have heard me urge you who would follow the Christ to live for eternity. By that, I don’t mean that we who believe are to ignore the moment, mimicking the benighted souls who neglected to care for family and homes during the days preceding the formation of the Seventh Day Adventist cult. What I do mean is that we who are redeemed must focus on what God has promised, not allowing our love of the moment to dissuade us from pursuing the will of the Lord now. Jeremiah’s response to the LORD’s command provides a perfect example of living in light of eternity.
I find it interesting to review the Master’s words concerning the Rapture of the faithful. Jesus said, “Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” [MATTHEW 24:40-42]. One woman will be taken while she is working. One man will be taken while he is working. The point of this observation is that the Lord anticipates that those who are to be received will be busy right up until the moment they are called away. God expects His people to be engaged in doing His business at all times, even when the time is near!
Purchasing the land his cousin offered made no sense at all in light of the judgement Jeremiah had prophesied for so long. From the human perspective, the prophet would spend his money and never get to enjoy what he had purchased. Jeremiah might well have applied Solomon’s axiom,
“He who observes the wind will not sow,
and he who regards the clouds will not reap.”
[ECCLESIASTES 11:4]
Living for this life would dictate that Jeremiah protect what he had. This was not a time to reach out, to take a risk. There was no risk involved in purchasing this land—purchasing the land was sheer madness.
The child of God lives in the moment, but because he is a child of the Living God, he does not live for the moment. The follower of the Christ always lives in the light of eternity. The redeemed individual walks in hope because his heart is filled with the knowledge of Christ as victor. Because our Lord is victorious, we who believe always share in His victory. Indeed, we who share in the victory of the Master exult, shouting, “Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere” [2 CORINTHIANS 2:14].
In the few moments that remain for this message, may I encourage all who follow the Risen Lord of Glory to look forward to what lies ahead for us. The world is an increasingly dark place. We worry for our children and for our grandchildren. What sort of world will they live in? I’m not a prophet, but I do suggest that the world will grow increasingly dangerous, increasingly hostile to the cause of righteousness. I believe that wickedness will continue to permeate society, as people become ever more tolerant of deviancy. Wicked people will become ever more insistent that the people of God be silent as they parade arrogantly, defying the Most High God.
How should we respond to such provocation? Shall we rail and attempt to overcome evil in our own strength? That has never prevailed, and it would not prevail in this instance. We are charged to be righteous and holy, living with our eyes fixed on the eastern sky as we await the return of our Master, Jesus, the Son of God. We are charged to declare the message of life, knowing that some will respond to this message of grace. We are charged to be ready for the return of the Lord, Jesus Christ.
Jesus spoke to His disciples of those final days. Perhaps His words will encourage some today. Jesus said, “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” [LUKE 21:20-28]. Keep on doing the work of Christ the Master, and live in anticipation of His return. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] E.g. see ISAIAH 30:27 (KJV); EZEKIEL 12:10 (KJV); ZECHARIAH 9:1; 12:1 (KJV)
