Taking The Long Look
Sermon
THE WORD IS NEAR YOU
Sermons For The Church
What preacher has not stood up to proclaim the word and wondered secretly, "Why am I doing this? Does it make any difference to anyone? Is there any future in this?" I have wondered if my sermon this week can really make a difference in anyone's life. At times I feel like a wren trying to build a nest in a hurricane. My best efforts seem blown away. This dilemma that all preachers face is poised on the boundary between the short--term effect of preaching and its long--term effect. This dilemma is not new, either. It is as old as humanity and was given voice in the prophet Jeremiah's time. Jeremiah, too, wondered if there was a future for which to plan.
I. Setting The Scene
In order to understand chapter 32, it must be set in its context. It describes a time in the year 588 B.C. in which Jerusalem was under siege by the Babylonian army and Jeremiah was a prisoner in the palace court. In 593 B.C. Psammetichus II assumed the throne of Egypt. He was a powerful military ruler and began to interfere in the affairs in Palestine and in Asia. This policy caused other nations to rebel, especially Judah, Tyre, and Ammon. By 589 B.C. they went into open revolt against Babylon.
The ruler of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, was still in control, however. In January of 588 B.C. he placed a blockade against Jerusalem. Jeremiah 34:7 tells of his strategy. Nebuchadnezzar simply took the outlying fortresses around Jerusalem and slowly tightened the noose around its neck. By that year, only Lachish and Azekah were left. By the summer of 588 B.C. the Babylonian troops were laying siege to Jerusalem.
In the midst of all this, Jeremiah counseled the people not to rebel but to submit to Babylon. This got him into trouble and people branded him as a traitor. Chapters 21 and 27 give more detail. Jeremiah prophesied that the only way King Zedekiah and Judah could survive was to surrender to Babylon. This did not make him popular with the people.
Zedekiah and the people of Judah thought that perhaps Jeremiah was right about God. Perhaps their only hope lay in obedience to God. They had a covenant renewal ceremony, which was something like a revival. Since Deuteronomy 15 specifies that Hebrews were not to have Hebrew slaves, the people in Judah released their slaves. Chapter 34:8--10 of Jeremiah spells out all of this.
These actions have been called "desperation religion" and "foxhole religion." The people were in a bad fix and would try anything to get out of it. The strategy seemed to work. The forces of Psammetichus II of Egypt arrived at Jerusalem about this same time and the Babylonians retreated. Feeling safe, the people of Jerusalem forgot about their newly made religious commitments and took back the slaves they had released (see Jeremiah 34:11--16). God's judgment was swift and sure. He said through Jeremiah that the Babylonians would return, which they soon did, and would burn the city and make Judah a desolation (see Jeremiah 34:17--22; and 37:3--10).
When the siege was lifted Jeremiah tried to leave Jerusalem in order to redeem a piece of land to which he was heir. When he tried to leave the city he was arrested and accused of treason (37:11--21). Jeremiah was put into prison, but then later released to house arrest in Zedekiah's court. There he was given food.
Under the Babylonian siege conditions in Jerusalem were pathetic. Food and water ran out. Jeremiah 19:9, Ezekiel 5:10, and Lamentations 2:12, 19--20 and 4:4, 7--10 all paint a gruesome picture. People were so desperate that they resorted to cannibalism with their children.
At times, all seems lost. Despair seems to be the password. The citizens of ancient Jerusalem knew this. The modern preacher staring out over the congregation sees hollow eyes staring back. Despair is an acid which eats away at confidence and faith. At times, all people, even Christians, might feel the downward pull of despair. But to give up and say, "What's the use?" is of little positive value. Even Jeremiah knew near--despair, but he never simply gave up. That is his legacy to modern people who love Christ and try to do as he teaches.
The end of Jeremiah 32 is a dialogue between the prophet and God. Jeremiah wondered how and why certain events happened as they did. He wondered about God's power to accomplish what he promised. The answer he received is surprising to the prophet and to modern readers. First, though, let us consider the symbolic act of faith which Jeremiah undertook ...
II. Symbolic Faith
When no food is available, of what use is property? During the siege of Jerusalem property values had plummeted. Despair was rampant and the people thought they would all die. Even silver and gold was of little value because there was nothing to buy. And land? Who would buy land when the Babylonian army was camped on it?
Yet, this is precisely what Jeremiah did. In verses 6--7 he said that the word of the Lord came to him and told him to redeem the family property in Anathoth. Anathoth was a northern suburb of Jerusalem. The property seems to have been something like the family farm. Jeremiah had the right to redeem it from creditors. We saw how he had once tried to do it but was arrested and beaten up for his trouble (37:11--15). But he heard God saying to him, "Go ahead and buy it." So Jeremiah set out once more to purchase this field.
When you consider it, this is a funny picture. Judah was in shambles and Jerusalem was a wreck because of the Babylonian siege. But Jeremiah set out to buy land on which the enemy had been camping. No wonder some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem thought he was mad! Part of the dark humor here is that perhaps his family also thought he was mad and could "dump" a worthless piece of property on Jeremiah. They offered him a deal he could not refuse.
The prophet was not in this land speculation alone, however. The idea was not even his, but was God's. God calls his followers to live in the light of his promises. That was the message to Jeremiah, and also the message to contemporary Christian preachers. What things in modern life seem to be "occupied territory"? What areas of your life seem to resemble Jeremiah's family farm with an enemy army camped on it? Each of us could name one or more situations which seemed hopeless. Christian hope indicates that out of the situations come hope and life and redemption.
Your "occupied territory" might be questionable health. It might be a family matter that no one else even suspects. It could be finances which have too much month left at the end of the paycheck. More than likely it is a position in a church which does not respect you and which questions your ability as a proclaimer of the word. So what do you do? Quit? Get into something respected like the used car market?
When Jeremiah bought his field, he was speaking of his hope for the future. His action was symbolic and it spoke of the hope he had that God would not allow the Babylonians to completely eradicate the Jews. As such, his attitude was even more patriotic than that of his countrymen. He genuinely believed in the future of his country.
In verses 13--14, Jeremiah told his scribe Baruch to place the deeds in the jar "that they may last a long time." He intentionally took a long look into the future and staked his life, his possessions, and his faith that the siege was not the end. A doctor I heard about tells his patients not to read forever into their current problems. Let the one who has ears hear!
III. Faith For The Future
To act out of our faith is not always easy. Sometimes we would like certainty and absolutes. But we fail to realize that certainty and absolutes are no longer faith. Christians are people who move through life through a living faith, for as Paul says, "We walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). That means, among other things, that we act according to our belief in morality, fairness, holiness, and love. Those are qualities that are given lip service in modern America in general and the church in particular. But these intangibles are not always valued for their usefulness in helping people get ahead. Do we suppose that Jeremiah's situation was all that different? Did he slide through his crises without so much as blinking or worrying?
We have little historical information to go on but we can be fairly certain of one thing: Jeremiah was as troubled about his nation's plight as anyone else. The difference was that he approached life from the standpoint of faith rather than despair. During the time of hand--wringing by the leaders, Jeremiah did something that seems almost laughable - he bought land as an act of faith that his nation still had a future.
I walked into a hospital room for a visit one day and saw a large fish hook hanging on a string from the headboard. The man in the room had cancer and I could not imagine what a fish hook had to do with his treatment. I asked him about it. He explained that he had caught the biggest fish of his life on that hook. He hung it in his hospital room as a symbol of life and hope. It reminded him of his love for life and of the outdoors. That hook was a living reminder that he wanted to get well and catch more fish, and love his family, and serve his Lord. It is no good looking for fairy tale endings in life. My friend died of cancer without ever again being able to wet his hook in his favorite bayou. That is beside the point, however. He lived - and died - in faith.
Jeremiah's field was to him what the hook was to my friend - a sign of life, of hope, and a refusal to allow despair be the final word. The call of God to redeem this land and legalize it was a call for Jeremiah to live his faith. The command of God was a command to live in faith, even in the midst of a dark crisis. One commentator has noted the situation when God's word came to Jeremiah and how it is like our own world: "Now, when everything looks hopeless. When fields and farms are not worth a penny. When there seems to be no hope, because the world is crumbling about us, and the only thing worth doing seems to be to survive by any means here and now, and never mind the consequences. When our terrible, weak, blind, human failures have got us into this mess, and we can no longer stand to analyze the guilty past or to look forward to the awful future that we have determined for ourselves. When we try to shut out memory, shut out hope, and just try to stay alive."2 That sounds like Monday morning to a preacher!
Jeremiah did not hoard food or selfishly guard his possessions. His was not a "get rich quick" attitude. He made an investment for the future, and with that simple act, lived out God's word and will. God's word still comes in such a way. When everything seems hopeless and vague on the human level, God still has a future in store for his people - even preachers!
Think about that fact, and consider some of these vignettes from your life and mine:
* When you have to bury a loved one and the future seems a dead--end road - God still has a plan for your life.
* An unwanted divorce comes and all hope for joy and security seems gone forever - God still has a plan for your life.
* The church into which you poured so much of yourself goes sour and you feel cheated and burned out - God still has a plan for your life.
* Nothing major seems to be happening in your life, and you seem to be dying bit by bit instead of growing and blossoming - God still has a plan for your life.
* You do your best to live out your Christian commitments and to be a peacemaker, but all you get seems to be hostility and crucifixion - God still has a plan for your life.
This is one of the most fundamental lessons - and one of the hardest! - for word--slingers to learn. We do all we can but sometimes must wait for God to complete his plan in our lives. Life is not a four--lane highway in which we zip along at high speed to a sure destination. It is more like climbing through a mountain range. There are up and downs, zigzags, obstructions along the path, sometimes no path at all, and sometimes an unclear destination. It is that way with you and me, and to some extent it was that way for Jesus. Jesus clearly knew where he had come from and what his ultimate destination was. But along the way he was hurt by rejection, emotionally bruised by betrayal, and physically tortured by the cross. His near last words from the cross, "My God, why...?" remind us that there are dark, uncertain times in every life. But we hear his last affirmation, too: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."
The point here is that the life of faith, as Jeremiah and others have lived it, is rocky at times. But the very rocks that litter the path and cause us to change our course are the same rocks that form a solid foundation. Do not end the journey too soon.
Jeremiah bought a field out of obedience to God's revealed will. He probably did not know at the time what would happen, but the prophet had pledged his life to God. Today's believers also act out of their faith and hope.
IV. God's Assurance
The working out of God's will in the life a disciple is often a long, drawn out affair. This is what Jeremiah learned by buying the field. Life is long and often tough. Such was true for Jeremiah. In verse 15 he heard the voice of God tell him that the time would come when normal activities would pick up, activities like the buying and selling of land and houses. God's simple promise here is the promise of a future for Judah. It will not be precisely as the bygone days, but it would be a future of changes and new opportunities. For Jeremiah that was a promise, but for some in Judah that sounded more like a threat. Some people do not do well with change of any sort, especially change of the scope that was to come. Even so, God meant his word as a promise and a help.
What can we learn from Jeremiah? Consider these questions and suggestions:
* List some of the gray, uncertain areas of your life right now that you do not fully understand.
* Consider ways in which God has transformed losses in your life into gains.
* Think of areas of your life which seem to be like Jeremiah's buying a field during enemy occupation.
* Remember events in which your obedience to God and promises to others stood you in good stead during a crisis or a temptation.
An older pastor friend of mine used to tell me, "Never quit on Mondays." Perhaps Jeremiah's insight could be shortened simply to, "Never quit."
____________
1. Elizabeth Achtemeier, Jeremiah, Knox Preaching Guide (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1987), p. 96
2. Ibid., p. 97.
I. Setting The Scene
In order to understand chapter 32, it must be set in its context. It describes a time in the year 588 B.C. in which Jerusalem was under siege by the Babylonian army and Jeremiah was a prisoner in the palace court. In 593 B.C. Psammetichus II assumed the throne of Egypt. He was a powerful military ruler and began to interfere in the affairs in Palestine and in Asia. This policy caused other nations to rebel, especially Judah, Tyre, and Ammon. By 589 B.C. they went into open revolt against Babylon.
The ruler of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, was still in control, however. In January of 588 B.C. he placed a blockade against Jerusalem. Jeremiah 34:7 tells of his strategy. Nebuchadnezzar simply took the outlying fortresses around Jerusalem and slowly tightened the noose around its neck. By that year, only Lachish and Azekah were left. By the summer of 588 B.C. the Babylonian troops were laying siege to Jerusalem.
In the midst of all this, Jeremiah counseled the people not to rebel but to submit to Babylon. This got him into trouble and people branded him as a traitor. Chapters 21 and 27 give more detail. Jeremiah prophesied that the only way King Zedekiah and Judah could survive was to surrender to Babylon. This did not make him popular with the people.
Zedekiah and the people of Judah thought that perhaps Jeremiah was right about God. Perhaps their only hope lay in obedience to God. They had a covenant renewal ceremony, which was something like a revival. Since Deuteronomy 15 specifies that Hebrews were not to have Hebrew slaves, the people in Judah released their slaves. Chapter 34:8--10 of Jeremiah spells out all of this.
These actions have been called "desperation religion" and "foxhole religion." The people were in a bad fix and would try anything to get out of it. The strategy seemed to work. The forces of Psammetichus II of Egypt arrived at Jerusalem about this same time and the Babylonians retreated. Feeling safe, the people of Jerusalem forgot about their newly made religious commitments and took back the slaves they had released (see Jeremiah 34:11--16). God's judgment was swift and sure. He said through Jeremiah that the Babylonians would return, which they soon did, and would burn the city and make Judah a desolation (see Jeremiah 34:17--22; and 37:3--10).
When the siege was lifted Jeremiah tried to leave Jerusalem in order to redeem a piece of land to which he was heir. When he tried to leave the city he was arrested and accused of treason (37:11--21). Jeremiah was put into prison, but then later released to house arrest in Zedekiah's court. There he was given food.
Under the Babylonian siege conditions in Jerusalem were pathetic. Food and water ran out. Jeremiah 19:9, Ezekiel 5:10, and Lamentations 2:12, 19--20 and 4:4, 7--10 all paint a gruesome picture. People were so desperate that they resorted to cannibalism with their children.
At times, all seems lost. Despair seems to be the password. The citizens of ancient Jerusalem knew this. The modern preacher staring out over the congregation sees hollow eyes staring back. Despair is an acid which eats away at confidence and faith. At times, all people, even Christians, might feel the downward pull of despair. But to give up and say, "What's the use?" is of little positive value. Even Jeremiah knew near--despair, but he never simply gave up. That is his legacy to modern people who love Christ and try to do as he teaches.
The end of Jeremiah 32 is a dialogue between the prophet and God. Jeremiah wondered how and why certain events happened as they did. He wondered about God's power to accomplish what he promised. The answer he received is surprising to the prophet and to modern readers. First, though, let us consider the symbolic act of faith which Jeremiah undertook ...
II. Symbolic Faith
When no food is available, of what use is property? During the siege of Jerusalem property values had plummeted. Despair was rampant and the people thought they would all die. Even silver and gold was of little value because there was nothing to buy. And land? Who would buy land when the Babylonian army was camped on it?
Yet, this is precisely what Jeremiah did. In verses 6--7 he said that the word of the Lord came to him and told him to redeem the family property in Anathoth. Anathoth was a northern suburb of Jerusalem. The property seems to have been something like the family farm. Jeremiah had the right to redeem it from creditors. We saw how he had once tried to do it but was arrested and beaten up for his trouble (37:11--15). But he heard God saying to him, "Go ahead and buy it." So Jeremiah set out once more to purchase this field.
When you consider it, this is a funny picture. Judah was in shambles and Jerusalem was a wreck because of the Babylonian siege. But Jeremiah set out to buy land on which the enemy had been camping. No wonder some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem thought he was mad! Part of the dark humor here is that perhaps his family also thought he was mad and could "dump" a worthless piece of property on Jeremiah. They offered him a deal he could not refuse.
The prophet was not in this land speculation alone, however. The idea was not even his, but was God's. God calls his followers to live in the light of his promises. That was the message to Jeremiah, and also the message to contemporary Christian preachers. What things in modern life seem to be "occupied territory"? What areas of your life seem to resemble Jeremiah's family farm with an enemy army camped on it? Each of us could name one or more situations which seemed hopeless. Christian hope indicates that out of the situations come hope and life and redemption.
Your "occupied territory" might be questionable health. It might be a family matter that no one else even suspects. It could be finances which have too much month left at the end of the paycheck. More than likely it is a position in a church which does not respect you and which questions your ability as a proclaimer of the word. So what do you do? Quit? Get into something respected like the used car market?
When Jeremiah bought his field, he was speaking of his hope for the future. His action was symbolic and it spoke of the hope he had that God would not allow the Babylonians to completely eradicate the Jews. As such, his attitude was even more patriotic than that of his countrymen. He genuinely believed in the future of his country.
In verses 13--14, Jeremiah told his scribe Baruch to place the deeds in the jar "that they may last a long time." He intentionally took a long look into the future and staked his life, his possessions, and his faith that the siege was not the end. A doctor I heard about tells his patients not to read forever into their current problems. Let the one who has ears hear!
III. Faith For The Future
To act out of our faith is not always easy. Sometimes we would like certainty and absolutes. But we fail to realize that certainty and absolutes are no longer faith. Christians are people who move through life through a living faith, for as Paul says, "We walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). That means, among other things, that we act according to our belief in morality, fairness, holiness, and love. Those are qualities that are given lip service in modern America in general and the church in particular. But these intangibles are not always valued for their usefulness in helping people get ahead. Do we suppose that Jeremiah's situation was all that different? Did he slide through his crises without so much as blinking or worrying?
We have little historical information to go on but we can be fairly certain of one thing: Jeremiah was as troubled about his nation's plight as anyone else. The difference was that he approached life from the standpoint of faith rather than despair. During the time of hand--wringing by the leaders, Jeremiah did something that seems almost laughable - he bought land as an act of faith that his nation still had a future.
I walked into a hospital room for a visit one day and saw a large fish hook hanging on a string from the headboard. The man in the room had cancer and I could not imagine what a fish hook had to do with his treatment. I asked him about it. He explained that he had caught the biggest fish of his life on that hook. He hung it in his hospital room as a symbol of life and hope. It reminded him of his love for life and of the outdoors. That hook was a living reminder that he wanted to get well and catch more fish, and love his family, and serve his Lord. It is no good looking for fairy tale endings in life. My friend died of cancer without ever again being able to wet his hook in his favorite bayou. That is beside the point, however. He lived - and died - in faith.
Jeremiah's field was to him what the hook was to my friend - a sign of life, of hope, and a refusal to allow despair be the final word. The call of God to redeem this land and legalize it was a call for Jeremiah to live his faith. The command of God was a command to live in faith, even in the midst of a dark crisis. One commentator has noted the situation when God's word came to Jeremiah and how it is like our own world: "Now, when everything looks hopeless. When fields and farms are not worth a penny. When there seems to be no hope, because the world is crumbling about us, and the only thing worth doing seems to be to survive by any means here and now, and never mind the consequences. When our terrible, weak, blind, human failures have got us into this mess, and we can no longer stand to analyze the guilty past or to look forward to the awful future that we have determined for ourselves. When we try to shut out memory, shut out hope, and just try to stay alive."2 That sounds like Monday morning to a preacher!
Jeremiah did not hoard food or selfishly guard his possessions. His was not a "get rich quick" attitude. He made an investment for the future, and with that simple act, lived out God's word and will. God's word still comes in such a way. When everything seems hopeless and vague on the human level, God still has a future in store for his people - even preachers!
Think about that fact, and consider some of these vignettes from your life and mine:
* When you have to bury a loved one and the future seems a dead--end road - God still has a plan for your life.
* An unwanted divorce comes and all hope for joy and security seems gone forever - God still has a plan for your life.
* The church into which you poured so much of yourself goes sour and you feel cheated and burned out - God still has a plan for your life.
* Nothing major seems to be happening in your life, and you seem to be dying bit by bit instead of growing and blossoming - God still has a plan for your life.
* You do your best to live out your Christian commitments and to be a peacemaker, but all you get seems to be hostility and crucifixion - God still has a plan for your life.
This is one of the most fundamental lessons - and one of the hardest! - for word--slingers to learn. We do all we can but sometimes must wait for God to complete his plan in our lives. Life is not a four--lane highway in which we zip along at high speed to a sure destination. It is more like climbing through a mountain range. There are up and downs, zigzags, obstructions along the path, sometimes no path at all, and sometimes an unclear destination. It is that way with you and me, and to some extent it was that way for Jesus. Jesus clearly knew where he had come from and what his ultimate destination was. But along the way he was hurt by rejection, emotionally bruised by betrayal, and physically tortured by the cross. His near last words from the cross, "My God, why...?" remind us that there are dark, uncertain times in every life. But we hear his last affirmation, too: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."
The point here is that the life of faith, as Jeremiah and others have lived it, is rocky at times. But the very rocks that litter the path and cause us to change our course are the same rocks that form a solid foundation. Do not end the journey too soon.
Jeremiah bought a field out of obedience to God's revealed will. He probably did not know at the time what would happen, but the prophet had pledged his life to God. Today's believers also act out of their faith and hope.
IV. God's Assurance
The working out of God's will in the life a disciple is often a long, drawn out affair. This is what Jeremiah learned by buying the field. Life is long and often tough. Such was true for Jeremiah. In verse 15 he heard the voice of God tell him that the time would come when normal activities would pick up, activities like the buying and selling of land and houses. God's simple promise here is the promise of a future for Judah. It will not be precisely as the bygone days, but it would be a future of changes and new opportunities. For Jeremiah that was a promise, but for some in Judah that sounded more like a threat. Some people do not do well with change of any sort, especially change of the scope that was to come. Even so, God meant his word as a promise and a help.
What can we learn from Jeremiah? Consider these questions and suggestions:
* List some of the gray, uncertain areas of your life right now that you do not fully understand.
* Consider ways in which God has transformed losses in your life into gains.
* Think of areas of your life which seem to be like Jeremiah's buying a field during enemy occupation.
* Remember events in which your obedience to God and promises to others stood you in good stead during a crisis or a temptation.
An older pastor friend of mine used to tell me, "Never quit on Mondays." Perhaps Jeremiah's insight could be shortened simply to, "Never quit."
____________
1. Elizabeth Achtemeier, Jeremiah, Knox Preaching Guide (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1987), p. 96
2. Ibid., p. 97.
