If you happen to be one of those
people who look at the scriptures before the service begins, you might be
thinking to yourself, “Where is he going to go with these two?” Well, the first sets the context. The second puts into play actions that seem
utterly contrary to the context that has just been established.
What we hear in these words from the prophet Amos is
that the people have walked away from their dependence on God. They have found riches through one means or
another and these riches have allowed them to craft a life for themselves where
they are in charge and they deem what is important, and correspondingly, not
important. The prophet is speaking
directly to those people and articulating what is about to come. The scripture reads this way.
Amos 6:1a, 4-7
6 Alas for those who are at ease in Zion, and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria, 4 Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall; 5 who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like David improvise on instruments of music; 6 who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! 7 Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile, and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.
As I said prior to the reading from
Amos, the first passage sets the context, and actually moves the exile that was
being spoken of by one prophet extremely close to actually happening. The events from this reading in Jeremiah take
place in the spring and summer months of the year 587 bce, when Zedikiah was
the ruling king of Judah and Nebuchadnezzer was the king of the dominant
Babylonians. Those dominant Babylonian
armies just happened to be parked on the doorstep of
It is in this setting that Jeremiah’s
cousin, Hanamel, comes to him to sell him a piece of land in Anathoth, which is
just to the east-northeast of Jerusalem.
It seems that Hanamel also sees the handwriting on the wall and is
trying to get as much money before he runs into exile. All of this makes logical sense.
It was what happens next, however,
that I found absolutely shocking.
Jeremiah buys the land but he pays what the land would have cost in a
time of peace, and not what it would cost in a time when conquering forces are
about to take all the land that there is to have, which is exactly what happens
less then a year latter.
Now it would be real easy to read
these verses and think, “why is this in the Bible? All it is, is a business transaction. This is no more than a documentation of a
sale that took place.” On the surface
that is absolutely true. Yes, what does
take place is a business transaction, but underneath the surface this sale is
able to represent a faith that is stronger then all the earthly forces that are
aligned against it and that is most definitely something that should be
recorded in the Bible and talked about this morning.
So, with this background in place, I
ask you the question: would you be able to take a similar step of faith, like
Jeremiah was able to do, or would you be more like his cousin, who saw all of
the signs that pointed to destruction and decided to get out of Dodge? The scripture reads this way.
Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-17
32
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord
in the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of
Nebuchadrezzar. 2 At that time the army of the king of
6 Jeremiah said, The
word of the Lord came to me: 7
Hanamel son of your uncle Shallum is going to come to you and say, “Buy
my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is
yours.” 8 Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the court of the
guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord,
and said to me, “Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the
9 And I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. 10 I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. 11 Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions, and the open copy; 12 and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. 13 In their presence I charged Baruch, saying, 14 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time. 15 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land. 16 After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: 17 Ah Lord God! It is you who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
Back in the days of my youth (wink, wink), my family would load up the car in order to drive across the country to see my Great-Grandmother who lived in Nebraska. These visits were always enjoyable because we were able to spend a week or two with a fantastic person who just happened to be related to us.
However, in addition to all of the memories that I still hold of her, one of the things that I really loved about visiting her was the town that she lived in, Central City. Central City was, and, I hope, still is, one of those great Midwestern towns where everyone knows each other, and if you didn’t, then you knew someone who did. It was a place where everywhere you went, someone seemed to know your name.
Now considering that my immediate family was only out there once every two years, for people to still know our names (and they did), it was extremely welcoming. And, for a kid who grew up around the farms of Pennsylvania, it was really cool to be able to ride your bike down to Main Street and go to the store, the park, and, in the summer time, enjoy the swimming pool.
The pool was not much more than a half a mile from my great-grandmother’s home, so in those summer months, when the temperature never seemed to fall below 86, that was the place to be. The pool, in and of itself, wasn’t all that much to look at. It was a simple rectangle that got progressively deeper as you went into it. However, at its deepest end was something that I had never seen at any public pool, and have not seen since.
Besides the traditional diving board that many pools have, the pool in Central City also had a high dive, springboard version, which I assume, was at 10 meters. For days I looked at that diving board, so high in the air, and wanted to be like those individuals who would climb up to the waiting platform, and then make that journey up the second ladder to the top of that diving board, only to gracefully dive into the pool. I wanted to be like them! Did it matter that I was afraid of heights? Not in that particular moment, because the draw of being able to dive from that high place was way too great.
Finally, after a whole lot of days, I built up the courage, and made my way up to the platform, where I proceeded to wait, in fear, and allow at least three of four kids to go ahead of me. After several minutes, I made my way up the second ladder and stood on the diving board, both hands firmly affixed to the railing. I looked out over the landscape, and the pool below, and said to myself, “wow, it’s really high up here” and that’s when I froze, with my eyes looking out over the edge of the diving board, unable to move.
Jeremiah also
had an opportunity to look out over the edge and what he saw was that his
country, Judah, and his people, the Judeans, were about to be conquered by a
foreign power. He saw it coming, not
only because the armies were camped outside the city gates of
This is why
his action in this passage is so impressive.
Jeremiah knew what was coming and he still took a step out in faith that
made no earthly sense. And it isn’t like Jeremiah is making this transaction
under the cover of darkness so no one is able to know what has taken
place. This is why the scripture goes
into such detail about how the transaction.
There is the
distinct amount of money, seventeen shekels, that is subsequently weighed. This would have been the asking price of the
land in a time of peace, and way too much in that time of uncertainty and war. There is the signing and the sealing of the
deed that is done in front of witnesses and then the preservation of those
documents in an earthenware jar.
Jeremiah, is not only not hiding what he is doing, he is running out
into the light of day and proclaiming it in such a way that it will be remembered
for all time, that it will be remembered even today. Jeremiah looked over the edge and made a
decision that made no earthly sense.
But, as we know, with the eyes of faith, this decision made perfect
sense because God was there, guiding him as he made that particular step of
faith.
This faith, that is shown through his action of purchasing the land, is then articulated in the prayer that is begun in verse 17 as he says, “Ah Lord God! It is you who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”
Nothing is too hard. Not even restoring a land that was about to be lost. Not even lifting a drug addict out of the pit of addiction and self-destruction. Not even giving someone the courage to start out in their own business venture. Not even allowing someone who has lost faith in any goodness in humankind, to find it again through a particular relationship. Not even healing an individual who was once racked with cancer. Not even someone who has felt unloved their entire life, being loved in a way that they will never forget. Not even redeeming a sinner who has wandered far from the Lord. Nothing is too hard for the Lord.
Now, getting back to that kid who was frozen up on that high dive in Central City, Nebraska. Well, I was frozen, looking out over the edge, until I heard some kids below me yelling up, “are you going to jump, or not? Come on! Move it!” I looked back toward ladder, then back over the edge, said to myself, “God, help”, waited half a second… and then took the step that caused me to plummet, feet first, to the water below.
There was nothing graceful about it, and it sure didn’t feel all that good when the water shot up my nose upon entry into the warm and heavily chlorinated water, but taking that step, and living, let me know that looking over the edge, and seeing something that isn’t going to feel all that good on the other end, does not mean that I should backtrack and run away. Like Jeremiah, looking over that edge and feeling that God was with me, allowed me to do something that I don’t think that I could have done otherwise.
On a daily basis, we are faced with things that cause us to want to turn around and head back the way we came. In these moments, when you are looking over the edge, you do have a choice: you can either turn back or take a step in faith. Admittedly, there is no guarantee that once you take that step that everything is going to be absolutely the way that you might want it, but in whatever happens, it will be with God by Your side. Jeremiah knew this as he purchased that land. That kid on the high dive trusted it as he descended to the water. You will know it as you take your own personal step of faith. Take that look over the edge and know that God is right there with you.
God, there have been so many ways, during so many times, when we have looked out before us, out over the edge, and what we saw didn’t make us feel all that comfortable. God, help us to know that during all of these times, and in all of those ways You were there with us. God, strengthen our faith, so that in the trials that are yet to come, as we look over the edges that are just upon our horizons, that we will take the steps that You would have us take, so that what You would have done, is done, and that how You would have the world affected, is accomplished. God, strengthen our faith in all of the challenges that are with us now, and will be with us soon so that we can follow Your will and glorify Your name. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.