Day 240: Jeremiah 31, 32 and 33

Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land. (Jeremiah 32:15)

Times were bad in Jerusalem. The first (the best) and second (the brightest) waves of exiles had already been transported to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was besieging the city, Jeremiah was imprisoned by the palace guard, and things were looking bleak. Then Jeremiah's cousin showed up and asked him to take a field off his hands in Anathoth (where Jeremiah was from - in the tribal holdings of Benjamin - probably to the north, but not far from Jerusalem).

While your city is being besieged and the country is being trampled underfoot by a vast army is probably not the best time to try and sell property - not exactly a seller's market. On the other hand, Jeremiah was the one who prophesied Jerusalem would be defeated while other prophets were saying it would be spared. Jeremiah would hardly be the most likely candidate to buy a piece of property,,, but he did.

In spite of their hard times, Jeremiah knew things were going to improve. Not right away... in fact things were going to get much worse before they got better, but things were eventually going to start looking up. He bought the field from his cousin, sealed the deed away in the 6th century B.C. equivalent of a safe deposit box, as a witness that one day things would once again be good in Jerusalem.

During hard times, how can you demonstrate your faith that things are going to improve?

Day 239: Jeremiah 28, 29 and 30

Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. (Jeremiah 29:8)

After the first wave of captives was taken from Judah to Babylon, there was an expectation among those exiles that their release would be speedy and they would soon return to their beloved Jerusalem. The prophets who accompanied them not only shared that expectation, but felt pressured to tell the people what they wanted to hear. They encouraged the Judean exiles that they would not be there long, that deliverance was at hand.

Jeremiah knew differently and wrote God's people a letter from Jerusalem: Build houses and settle down, plant gardens and eat what they produce. . . . Find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage... (29:5,6). He went on to warn them not to listen to those whose prophecies were influenced by the expectations of those around them. Even though they might be well meaning, they were reluctant to give the people bad news.

The bad news: Get comfortable; you're going to be here awhile. The good news: Even 70 years in Babylon cannot thwart God's plans for you . . . plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (vv. 10,11).

Is bad news ever really bad news if God has your back?

Can you be released to speak the truth this week, knowing that even bad news falls under the promise of Romans 8:28? "All things work together for good..."

Day 238: Jeremiah 25, 26 and 27

The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city . . . Do with me whatever you think is good and right. (Jeremiah 26:12,14)

On August 5, 1864, during the Civil War, the Union Navy sailed into Mobile Bay. The lead ship was destroyed by a tethered mine and those following faltered amid the confusion. Taking charge of the situation, Rear Admiral David Farragut steered his ship around those adrift and uttered the famous charge: Damn the torpedoes - full speed ahead! The remaining ships followed him; there were no more losses, and the forts lining Mobile Bay surrendered.

Jeremiah's ministry was about as welcome in Jerusalem as the Union Navy in Mobile Bay, and the potential consequences no less disastrous. But Jeremiah knew he had been sent by God and, regardless of the outcome, he must be faithful to his mission. Jeremiah's courage was not without consequence; he was hated, labeled a traitor, imprisoned, and eventually forcibly removed to Egypt. However, in his declining years he could lay his head on the pillow at night and know he had done everything asked of him.

When's the last time you said, "Damn the torpedoes - full speed ahead!"?

Day 237: Jeremiah 22, 23 and 24

Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness. (Jeremiah 22:13)

What condemnation for the rich and powerful of Judah, who had exploited the poor and the weak to build their fortunes. And it wasn't that the exploiters were just scratching out a meager existence, trying to feed their own families. They were driven by a lust for luxurious living and lost no sleep about bleeding the poor to maintain their own comfort.

It's probably no surprise that the throne did not make one immune to this materialism sickness: Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? (v. 15) The prophet reminded Jehoiakim that better kings before him had been content with having enough to eat and drink, and were not driven by the hunger for conspicuous consumption.

Are we any different? Does it matter to us where the clothes we wear or the toys we play with are manufactured? And under what conditions? Does getting a shirt for a few dollars less make exploiting God's children okay? And if we don't pay close enough attention to know for sure, can we claim plausible deniability? My kids are warm and well fed. I'm not responsible for other people's kids. But would we want them to say the same about our kids if the roles were reversed?

Why is it the more I have the more I want? How much is enough? And am I my brother's keeper?

Day 236: Jeremiah 19, 20 and 21

Whoever stays in this city will die. (Jeremiah 21:9)

Have you ever been the bearer of bad news? This was Jeremiah's lot in life. His was the unpopular job of sounding the death knell for Jerusalem. Once, after sharing a warning from God, he was confined in stocks for 24 hours because of it. That ought to shut him up! Upon his release, he started right up again (20:1-6).

Then Jeremiah prayed a prayer of protest to God: I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long (20:8). It cost Jeremiah dearly to preach God's word.

So how did Jeremiah feel when messengers came to him again asking, on behalf of King Zedekiah, for a good word about the impending Babylonian attack? God has delivered us before. What kind of miracle does he have up his sleeve for us this time? I wonder if Jeremiah was tempted to soften the blow. What he said must have hit the king like a sledgehammer: This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: . . . I myself will fight against you (21:4,5).

Today, Jeremiah is one of the most respected of all God's prophets. In 590 B.C., not so much. A follower of God cannot measure his success by how much he's liked. Might as well accept it; ministry is not a popularity contest.

When's the last time you spoke an unpopular truth and suffered the consequences?

Day 235: Jeremiah 16, 17 and 18

You have behaved more wickedly than your fathers. (Jeremiah 16:12)

When people ask why God had turned his face against them, Jeremiah was instructed to give this response: It is because your fathers forsook me and followed other gods and served and worshiped them . . . But you have behaved more wickedly than your fathers (vv. 11,12).

It's easy to blame previous generations for all the ills of the world. After all, I never took part in the crusades; I never owned a slave; I never turned a black man away from my place of business; I never sold guns to warlords or criminals; and I never dumped toxic wastes in a wildlife refuge. Don't blame me for the crimes perpetrated by those who came before me!

But the writers of the Bible don't let us off that easily. We all, like sheep, have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way (Isaiah 53:6). All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

Part of growing up is taking responsibility for our own actions and attitudes. Kids blame everyone else for their troubles. Adults don't get that luxury. In The Bait of Satan, author John Bevere writes: There is a false sense of protection in harboring an offense. It keeps you from seeing your own character flaws because the blame is deferred to another. [1]

Can you ask God to reveal where you might be culpable?

[1] John Bevere. The Bait of Satan. Rev. ed. (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2004), 60.

Day 234: Jeremiah 13, 14 and 15

When the enemy attacked, a woman with seven sons felt faint because they would all die. (NCV, Jeremiah 15:9)

Having seven sons was a Hebrew word picture of perfect security. A mother's retirement plan was her sons - with her husband gone they would care for her in her old age. But during the siege of Jerusalem her sons would be KIA, and her social security would be no more.

The Scriptures are replete with warnings about putting our trust in the wrong things. Hezekiah reassured the kingdom during the Assyrian siege a hundred years earlier: With [them] is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles (2 Chronicles 32:8). The psalmist wrote: Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God (Psalm 20:7). Jesus warned us not to put our trust in treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal (Matthew 6:19).

There are many securities in which we can put our trust: a bank account, insurance, a job, a spouse (and of course these are good things), but they can all fail us. When our trust is in the Lord, though everything else in our world should fall apart, God will never let us down. When everything else is gone, God will still be on our side.

In whom (or what) have you placed your trust?