The book of Jeremiah has been an interesting read so far. More than prophecies, in it I find the heart and burden of a prophet, I see the predicament of what it means to be chosen and I see glimpses of the heart of God. The setting of the book of Jeremiah is during a time when the people of Judah are declining in their worship of God, they are rebellious and they are about to go into exile unbeknownst to them (although forewarned by God many times). This week, I had the privilege of camping in chapters 32 and 33 of Jeremiah and as a result I saw four observations from both chapters that I would like to share with you. The first three observations will be taken from chapter 32 and the last one will be taken from chapter 33.
The first observation is that obedience to the Lord will bring hardship
In chapter 32, we learn that Jeremiah has been put in prison for prophesying that Judah would be taken captive by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar and that Zedekiah, king of Judah would not escape this ordeal. The king of Judah had itching ears and so not hearing what he liked from the mouth of Jeremiah he put him in prison. This act alone made me think, the king understood the power of the words that came from the mouth of prophets so putting Jeremiah in prison would probably stop him from prophesying or it would stop the people from listening to him. Judah was in a position they had been before with the king of Assyria during the time of Hezekiah. In those days, the Lord had rescued them miraculously so it is not farfetched that Judah would be thinking that this time around being under siege by the Babylonians that God would rescue them again. Unfortunately, the Lord was pretty clear from the mouth of the prophet, rescue was not the plan, at least not yet. Jeremiah suffered simply because of his obedience to the Lord but we know his reward would be great because the God we serve is a rewarder (Hebrews 11:6).
The second observation is that God is sovereign over every situation
During his time of imprisonment, Jeremiah has an encounter with the Lord who shows him in advance something that will happen to him. That encounter reminded me of the relationship Jesus had with the Father, both were always in sync, nothing that happened to Jesus took him by surprise, he was always in the know of things. That I find incredible. Jeremiah tasted a bit of what it means to be in harmony with the Father because God tells him that a relative of his, Hanamel would be coming to meet him for the purpose of buying a field of land of which Jeremiah is the next in line to purchase. Indeed, Hanamel came to meet Jeremiah in prison and asked him to buy the field of land which he was selling. Things happened exactly as the Lord had told Jeremiah and that is when he knew that it was the word of the Lord (Jeremiah 32:8). Because Jeremiah’s life was not his, he obeyed the instructions of the Lord to buy that field. It is quite ironic that the Lord would provide an investment opportunity to Jeremiah in the oddest times. Not only is Jeremiah in prison but the land he is living in is under siege and about to be completely taken over by an enemy nation so from a natural and logical perspective, it is not a time to buy a field, yet this is what God tells him to do. A lesson here is that God is sovereign, He sees the beginning from the end, He is definitely not affected by our life’s circumstances and so His plans always prevail. Indeed, He works all things for the good of those that love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Through that act of obedience, God spoke to Jeremiah about Judah’s situation. He announced that a day would come when Judah would be restored, a day when the Lord himself would bring them back. Jeremiah’s obedience served as a testimony of what the Lord would do in Judah in the future. Undeniably, the life of a prophet did not belong to the prophet, it belonged to God. If you are a servant of the Most High God, this too should be your dogma, your life belongs to Christ and He can do whatever He pleases with it.
The third observation is that prayer is a powerful tool
In chapter 32, Jeremiah prays to the Lord after having obeyed the Lord in purchasing the field his relative sold him. That very act prompted Jeremiah to fall on his knees. In his prayer to the Father, Jeremiah begins by extoling and exalting the Lord, he reminds the Lord of what He has done and who He is, he goes into detail about what God has done for the nation of Israel and how He has been their God thus far, rescuing them with signs and wonders. Another thing that Jeremiah does is that he acknowledges the sin of the people and the fact that the judgement that is upon Judah is completely deserved and yet as Jeremiah puts it “you, O sovereign Lord, say to me, buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnesses.” (Jeremiah 32:25). It is clear that Jeremiah hurt because of the predicament Judah was in, it also seems that Jeremiah did not really believe or understand why the Lord had him buy the field at the worst of times or when the Lord said “houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land” (verse 15). He cries out to God to remind him of His word. In His mercy, God responds to Jeremiah and begins by affirming everything Jeremiah said about him in his extolment (see verse 27), then he makes a declaration that indeed Judah will be attacked and go into captivity but there will come a time when Judah will be rescued and restoration will be her portion. Jeremiah’s prayer shows that even a prophet can be confused, that being a vessel of God does not mean having complete understanding and that is encouraging for us as we are used by the Lord. We do not need to understand everything and we must be able to remain humble and say we do not understand everything to obey God and like Jeremiah, we should run to God who knows everything for He will surely comfort us.
The fourth observation is that God desires intimacy with us
In chapter 33 we read that while Jeremiah was still in confinement, God spoke to him a second time. It is so interesting that it is in the ‘worst’ of situations that God speaks, or in seclusion that He speaks the loudest. What strikes me in God’s speech is the opening statement. He comes to Jeremiah and states who He is as if Jeremiah still needed an introduction. God introduces Himself as the Lord, the one who made the earth, the one who formed it and established it (verse 2). Then He proceeds with the popular verse “call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (verse 3). He further states that He will bring “health and healing to it (Judah); He will heal his people and let them enjoy abundant peace and security” (verse 6). The rest of chapter 33 is filled with God repeating himself and letting Jeremiah know that He will fulfill His promises towards David, that He will restore the fortunes of Judah. God is very repetitive, He says the same things over and over again in multiple terms and ways so that we will get it (I guess we are very slow people). I believe God introduced Himself as who He is because He wanted Jeremiah to not doubt the words He was about to say, He wanted Jeremiah to be clear that what He was telling Him was the truth. Knowing that God almighty was the one speaking to him, he would pay attention and take the things He said to heart. The next declaration that God makes is that He commands Jeremiah to call unto him because He will answer and will tell him great and unsearchable things. I am personally amazed at God’s heart and desire here. He wants to communicate to His children so many things that cannot be understood without Him revealing those to them but the way to attain that understanding is by calling unto Him. God wants us to desire Him, He wants us to come to Him, He wants us to include Him in our day-to-day. The One who knows all things is willing to have an intimate relationship with you. Although Jeremiah received prophecies from the Lord, the fact that God tells him to call unto Him shows me that you can be used by God and have no intimacy with Him. I am not saying Jeremiah had no intimacy with God but it is pretty obvious from that statement that God wanted more for Jeremiah.
I believe that call still stands today. Unlike Jeremiah, we have the Spirit of the Living God in us which allows us to have that intimacy with God. We do not have to toil for it, it was given to us as we accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour. But, having the Spirit of God living in us does not mean we have intimacy with Him, so the charge still stands: “call to Him and He will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know”. God wants us to be in the know of certain things but He will not force knowledge on us, so we need to call unto Him, to search Him in the Scriptures, we need Him to reveal Himself to us. I pray you take the Lord up on this grand invitation to know Him more.
A Word Aptly Spoken 