Psalm 143, Jeremiah 32:1-9, 36-41, Matthew 22:23-33 

I have heard all kinds of stories of God “telling” people to do things – break up with someone, quit one job and take another, move to a new city.  I listen to those stories and sometimes it is hard to know what to make of them – I have never heard talk to me in this way. But, this is just the kind of thing that we read about in scripture all of the time.  Today’s passage from Jeremiah is one of those times.  

Things were not looking good for the people of Israel or for Jeremiah personally.  Babylon’s army had surrounded the city and was about to take it captive.  Jeremiah himself was confined in the courtyard of the royal palace.  The future looks bleak, and in the midst of that situation God tells Jeremiah to buy a plot of land.  It may have seemed silly to those around him that he would buy a piece of land that was about to be in the hands of the Babylonian army.  But, God tells Jeremiah to do it, and Jeremiah listens.  Through Jeremiah’s obedience, God says to the people who have nothing but fear for the future, “This is not the end of your story.  You are mine and I will bring you back to this place. This land will once again be yours.  I will enter into a covenant with you and I will never stop doing good to you.”  Through the faithful actions of Jeremiah, hope is brought into a dark and impossible situation. 

Are there ever times and places where you have felt lost and abandoned by God?  Where you have felt cut-off and abandoned?  Have you ever felt like the Babylonians have surrounded your city and there is nothing that you can do about it?  In those times, we may need to turn to this text to see a picture of God’s future for us.  Here, we are reminded that God controls that future and it is one of hope, rebuilding, fruitfulness and recovery.  God’s promise to the Israelite people through Jeremiah continues to come to us today – we are never left in the midst of disaster and struggle without God. God WILL rescue and redeem us. 

Heather Daugherty, University Minister 

University Ministries