Jeremiah 32:6-15

And Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle is coming to you, saying, buy for yourself my field which is at Anathoth, for you have the right of redemption to buy it.’ Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the guard according to the word of the Lord and said to me, ‘Buy my field, please, that is at Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for you have the right of possession and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord. I bought the field which was at Anathoth from Hanamel my uncle’s son, and I weighed out the silver for him, seventeen shekels of silver. I signed and sealed the deed, and called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales. Then I took the deeds of purchase, both the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions and the open copy; and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel my uncle’s son and in the sight of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, before all the Jews who were sitting in the court of the guard. And I commanded Baruch in their presence, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Take these deeds, this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, that they may last a long time.” For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Houses and fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”^[1]

In times of national crisis people tend to change their patterns of behavior. When they are confident in the economic fortunes of their country they buy and sell, but when they lack confidence they do not. Jeremiah had been prophesying the coming siege of Jerusalem and its eminent overthrow by Babylon. He prophesied that not only would the nation be given over into the hand of the Babylonian king but that Judah’s king would be captured and stand judgment before him. It was a bleak picture Jeremiah painted and it did not go unnoticed; but he also prophesied that life would eventually return to normal. Buying and selling land then became a ‘put up or shut up’ proposition for Jeremiah because he said, “Houses and fields and vineyards will again be brought in this land.”

There is no mistaking the fact that we are living in very perilous times. We are seeing things we never dreamed we would live to see. The state of our world has the capacity to cause people to lose hope for the future. But we forget that this world does not belong to the prince of darkness. This is my Father’s world and He is the One that said these things must come to pass. We can marvel then in the assurance that God will always have the last Word. There is no need to lose our confidence because ultimately God is in charge. Things may look bleak for you right now, but remember, the darkest time of the night is just before the breaking of dawn.

Dear Gracious Heavenly Father, You have made and redeemed this world. You ransomed it with Your own shed blood, and You are ever faithful to Your Word to perform it. We rejoice in the knowledge that this is Your world and that You have the final Word. Give us confidence and hope for the future. Reassure us this day that regardless of the trial or the test You still sit on the throne and are still in charge. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Je 32:6–15.