AUGUST 29 – Reading 241

by Chris Rainey | August 29

“A BUYER’S MARKET?”
(2 Kings 25:1-7; 2 Chron 36:15-21; Jeremiah 52:4-27; Jeremiah 32:1-44)

Yet you, O Lord God, have said to me, “Buy the field for money and get witnesses”—though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans. – Jeremiah 32:25

“Buy land, they’re not making it anymore.” – Mark Twain

Jeremiah prophesied to the people of Judah about the imminent destruction of their country by the Babylonians, and today’s readings indicate the Babylonians successfully besieged the land of Judah, culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem.  But a funny thing happens on their way to destruction and exile! Jeremiah’s cousin Hanamel offers to sell Jeremiah, who is under house arrest in Jerusalem, a field in Jeremiah’s hometown of Anathoth. Given the situation, it seems like a ridiculous offer: Jerusalem is being destroyed, the people will soon either die or be exiled, and this guy wants to sell his cousin a piece of land that would seem to have no value?  But Jeremiah goes all-in and makes a deal because God has already told him to do it before the offer ever came. Why?

Chris Rice, an inner-city missionary, explains it this way:
God is asking Jeremiah to invest in a neighborhood others have given up as lost. By doing so, Jeremiah makes tangible God’s future promise to reclaim and restore.

Sometimes God calls us to invest in things that make no sense to others. Abraham made the first purchase of promised land at Machpelah to bury Sarah over a thousand years earlier, an act of faith in God’s promise of land. He buried her in a place where he had no family, but he knew someday he would have family there. (It later becomes the tomb of the patriarchs of Israel.) In the same way, Jeremiah purchases a piece of “promised land” as an act of faith in God’s promise to bring the people back to the land of promise seventy years later.

For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. – Jeremiah 29:10

This would not happen in Jeremiah’s lifetime, but he knew it would eventually happen. So he made sure the land deed was placed in a vessel that would preserve it for a long time (32:14).  He invested not so much in his own future since he wouldn’t live to see the return, but he invested in the future of God’s people. I guess maybe it was a buyer’s market after all .

Application
From the world’s perspective, the field at Anathoth had little value. But from God’s perspective, Jermiah was investing in God’s promise. In what ways do you see this contrast of present vs. future value play out in your own life? 

Reflection
Do you feel called to invest in abandoned people and places? This type of calling—seeing hope in despair, offering love where there is neglect—is a necessary key to restoration.

Closing Prayer…
Lord, help us to see with Your eyes, to find value where the world sees none, and to invest in Your promises, even when they seem far off. May we be Your hands and feet, bringing hope and restoration to abandoned people and places, trusting in Your unfailing love and Your plans for our future. Amen.