Bloggers Note:
Once again consulting work prevented my ongoing blogs on the “Jeremiad” as Peter calls them, during the past week. The upcoming week looks to be the same. Thus, I will aim for weekly contributions with the hope of doing more as time permits. However, the Taxman commeth……. JMD
The Covenant: The Answer
Jeremiah’s wait for an answer to his prayer: “yet…”, was short. Immediately the Lord answers. The answer is detailed and comparatively long. It comprises verses 26-44 of Chapter 32. Then, immediately in the entirety of Chapter 33 we see that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time while he was still shut up in the court of the guard. Space doesn’t permit quoting the entire passage. (Readers who want to see the passage online can go to Bible Gateway to view the passage in any one of a number of versions. I prefer the ESV.)
In the first part of His answer the LORD summarizes what’s about to happen. The Babylonians will indeed destroy the city. This is because of the very great sin of the people who even sacrificed their own sons and daughters to Molech, though the LORD did not so command them or “even have it in mind,” for them to do such a horrible thing. [My blood curdles at the this last line. As the grandfather of 4 wonderful grandchldren (I am the surrogate grandpop for Tori and Nate), the thought of intentionally sacrificing their precious lives in this way makes me literally sick. Can you imagine the depth of evil in the hearts of the people–both individually and in community–that would even consider such a thing. How well deserved was their destruction!]
Then comes the following:
“Now therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.
“For thus says the LORD: Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them. Fields shall be bought in this land of which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ Fields shall be bought for money, and deeds shall be signed and sealed and witnessed, in the land of Benjamin, in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for I will restore their fortunes, declares the LORD.”
So, in spite of the horrendous evil these people did–including the sacrifice of their own children–the Lord promises to bring them back and to do them good. So much good, in fact, that a real estate boom will ensue. Fields like the one Jeremiah just bought will be valuable again, and the title companies will do a great business in filing deeds.
There is only one word to describe this: grace. Amazing grace. Unmerited favor.
So there it is. Jeremiah gets a specific answer to his specific request. The LORD’s command for him to buy a field was not unreasonable after all, because some day that field will have value again. It’s questionable as to whether Jeremiah or his heirs ever got their money back for the specific field in question. Like so many commands to the prophets, the actions that they were to carry out were symbolic to make a point about the LORD’s judgment and His love. [For example, I resonate very much with Ezekiel when he is told that his wife will die in the morning and he is to go out and preach to the people in the afternoon without mourning for her. (Ezk. 24) Like Jeremiah, the point the LORD was making through Ezekial was that the destruction coming on the people was to be so severe that there would be no time to mourn. ]
There are several points to be made from the LORD’s answer to Jeremiah.
First, the answer is in the context of the covenant. All answers to our prayers have to be seen through the lens of the covenant. “I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them.” Even in the midst of the tragedies (loss of a loved one) and pitfalls (the stock market bubble) of life, He will do us good. Ultimately that good will be in the glorified state (where Susan is), but even here and now He will bless us. From a material point of view the physical blessings we His people experience today are unparalleled in history. (Think of life without indoor plumbing and no electricity.) Are these not in some sense part of the covenantal blessing that the Lord has bestowed on us (the children of earlier covenant keepers) consistent with His promise—in spite of the fact that many among the elite of our culture disbelieve in Him totally.
Second, beyond the mere material there is that spiritual component to the unmerited favor of the LORD as seen in the answer to our prayers. “And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.” The LORD will plant us with His heart and soul, so that our hearts will not turn from Him. As Reformed Presbyterians we believe in the perseverance of the saints (the “P” in the famous “TULIP” acronym). Here and now, despite many ups and downs and turnings away from Him, we will persevere as believers until the end, never completely falling out of faith in Him. And in heaven above, and the New Earth at the day of resurrection, we will be immutably holy, never able to turn away. How that is possible for free-willed beings is a great mystery, but God is able to do all things.
Finally, there is the “they” word: “I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them.” We Americans are so individualistic that we have trouble relating to the unity and community of the people of God that these ancient Hebrews felt. For us, this is the church of Jesus Christ. We are to have “one heart and one way.” It sure doesn’t feel like that in modern American evangelicalism. How would a Jeremiah returned to life in our day feel when he leafed through the Yellow Pages under the category labeled “churches.” (But I know what you’re thinking: “ours is the right one. I agree…..)
Even within our local churches we have work to do to achieve the unity held up as the goal by the prophet. How much more in our denominations (the term itself is a commentary) and in Christianity as a whole. It’s a good thing that the Lord Jesus is interceding for His church!