Can the Worthless Become Valuable?
The Lord says, “As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them… I will restore them.” Jeremiah 32:42,44
Suppose a relative came to you and said, “Will you help me out by buying some land I own? The land’s under water because it’s in a flood plain, but please buy it anyway.” What would you do?
The prophet Jeremiah faced a similar situation when his cousin Hanamel asked him to buy land in the town of Anathoth, which had already been seized by the Babylonians—land Jeremiah might never use.[1] Nevertheless, he purchased the land because the Lord had told him to buy it (32:6-12).
Why did God ask his prophet to make such an ill-advised purchase? The land, God said, wouldn’t remain in the hands of the Babylonians forever. Yes, Jerusalem would be destroyed; the people of Israel would be exiled. But after seventy years, the people would return. God promised, “Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land” (32:15).
The present looked bleak to Jeremiah. Buying his cousin’s land seemed foolish (32:24-25). But refusing to trust the “great and powerful God, whose name is the Lord Almighty” would’ve been more foolish (v. 18).
So Jeremiah bought the land—not because he’d personally profit from it but because he trusted the God who asked him to do it. He believed God would accomplish something amazing through his act of faith because “nothing is too hard” for the Lord Almighty (32:17, 26).
For Jeremiah, the deed to the land became a symbol of God’s faithfulness, an emblem of his unchanging love for Israel. After He disciplined them, He’d give them all the prosperity he’d promised them and restore their fortunes (32:42, 44).
Sometimes God asks us to do things that seem foolish too. He instructs us to tithe a portion of our income when our budget is stretched. He prompts us to invest time in a ministry when our workload is heavy. He nudges us to give someone another chance even though he or she has hurt us many times.
What’s God asking you to do? Will you act in faith as Jeremiah did?
DIG DEEPER:
Read Jeremiah’s prayer in 32:17-25. What are his concerns? What does he say about God? Why do you think Jeremiah reminded himself of those truths about God?
Read Jeremiah 32:30-44. Contrast Israel’s actions in verses 30-35 with God’s promises in verses 36-44. What does this passage demonstrate about God’s character?
Read Psalm 147. Many scholars believe this psalm was written after the Babylonian exile ended. What are the people praising God for? What can you praise him for?
Denise K. Loock
This devotion is part of a series on the book of Jeremiah.
[1] Jeremiah eventually went to Egypt with a group of exiles (43:1-7). Most scholars believe he died there. Was the deed to the land he purchased ever found in the clay jar where he’d hidden it? (32:14). We don’t know. But Jews do live in Anathoth today, probably on the land that once belonged to Jeremiah.