It wasn’t easy to be a prophet.
It was a thankless job, one that often-got tomatoes (or worse) thrown at you. People didn’t want to hear about the need to repent and come back to God. They wanted to believe that everything was hunky-dory, even when they knew better.
We’re not much different, are we?
The prophet Jeremiah warned the people and King Zedekiah that Jerusalem would fall into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. He attempted to prepare them, and he gave them a chance to repent and “get out of Dodge” before it was too late. But rather than heeding the prophet’s forecast, King Zedekiah threw Jeremiah into prison for treason.
But the Lord was faithful, and while in prison, Jeremiah received news that his cousin wanted him to redeem a piece of family land for seven dollars. Well, not really seven dollars—they didn’t use U.S. currency, but it was something like only seven dollars. Theologians believe the price was extremely low because the Jews were under siege. Desperate times. Jeremiah paid for the land and then he told his scribe, Baruch, to take the documents from the purchase and put them in a clay jar to preserve them.
Jeremiah was beginning to see that all was not lost.
By buying the property back, this piece of land was hope that they would one day return. It was a sign to Jeremiah that God had a good plan. He would prove faithful to his prophet in chains as well as his people carried away into exile.
Can you hear his sigh of relief? He had done his part, and God would do his. It wasn’t the end of God’s people. Jeremiah prayed, “Ah Sovereign LORD you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you” Jeremiah 32:17.
You’ve got to know a little history of the language to really hear Jeremiah’s relief. A powerful nuance remains hidden under our English translations of the Lord’s outstretched arm. This phrase holds meaning our 21st century eyes can’t see. . . . come join me on my friend, Terry Murphy’s, blog for the rest of the story. She loves to dig into the Bible too, and she asked me to write a guest post. Don’t stop reading! Especially if you need some hope today. Hop on over to discover the hope and promise the words “outstretched arm” give. Continue reading
