“I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and I will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.”
Jeremiah 32:40-41
Jeremiah lived in the land of Judah during desperate times for God’s people. It had been shown to him that the Babylonians would invade the land. When chapter 32 was written, the siegeworks were already in place (see v. 24). Just at that time, though, God asked Jeremiah to do an unexpected and symbolic thing: buy a field.
What a crazy request when exile was so certain and so near on the horizon. Yet God would show through it that mercy would come. So Jeremiah took God’s message to the people, declaring, “Thus says the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel: ‘Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land’” (v. 15).
God was not casting them off forever. In fact, He chose that hard time to emphasize His promise: “I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them” (v. 40).
Eternal restoration to God is the good that He plans for us in Christ. Exile—whether experienced on the inside or outside of prison walls—is temporary in the larger scheme of life. His love for you, however, is unending.
What a crazy request when exile was so certain and so near on the horizon. Yet God would show through it that mercy would come. So Jeremiah took God’s message to the people, declaring, “Thus says the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel: ‘Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land’” (v. 15).
God was not casting them off forever. In fact, He chose that hard time to emphasize His promise: “I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them” (v. 40).
Eternal restoration to God is the good that He plans for us in Christ. Exile—whether experienced on the inside or outside of prison walls—is temporary in the larger scheme of life. His love for you, however, is unending.
Scripture Focus
Jeremiah 32
Insight
Written by Tim McCracken, Regional Director for Metanoia Prison Ministries, San Joaquin Valley, CA, reminding many brothers in Christ of God’s never-stopping love for them.
Bible In A Year
- Leviticus 23-24
- Psalm 58
- Luke 22