What do you do when God tells you to do something that seems ridiculous? I mean something that flies in the face of common sense?

That’s exactly what happened to Jeremiah (the prophet, not the bulldog) in Jeremiah 32-33.

Picture this. The country to the north of you has been conquered by an invading army. This same invader is coming after you next. In fact, they have been marching from town to town mowing down your army as they went. Now they are at the city walls laying siege to your city.

In the meantime, God tells you your cousin is going to pay you a visit and ask you to buy a piece of the family’s land, and God wants you to buy it! Seriously?! Who in their right mind is going to buy a piece of land that has already been taken over by an invading army?

Oh, and by the way, you’re sitting in a prison cell because your king is mad at you!

This is exactly what happened to Jeremiah. Sure enough, Jeremiah’s cousin shows up and wants to sell a piece of the family farm. So what does Jeremiah do? He measures out 17 shekels of silver and pays his cousin (that was about 1-1/2 year’s wages for a laborer). They make out two copies of a bill of sale, have them witnessed, and seal them up in a clay pot for safe keeping.

What did Jeremiah do?

Let’s look at Jeremiah’s response to God telling him to buy this piece of land and see what we can learn from Jeremiah’s example.

He followed God’s direction

It made absolutely no sense for Jeremiah to buy a field from his cousin when it was under the control of an invading army, except for the fact that God told him to! The fact that God told him to was enough for Jeremiah. Whether it made sense to him from a human perspective or not didn’t matter. His God told him to do something and in faith he did it.

Insight for us. Sometimes God will ask us to do something we just don’t understand. It may even seem stupid to us from a human perspective, but we need to obey God in faith!

He brought his questions to God

Once he had consummated the transaction Jeremiah had some doubts and questions for God. He went to God in prayer, praising God for His greatness, remembering all that God had done for His people, and then asking God about the need to purchase this piece of land.

Insight for us. There is never a time when our Father does not want to hear from us. Even if we are angry, hurt, or confused we can bring always lay the burdens of our heart at His feet. Jeremiah boosted his own confidence by recognizing that God was all powerful and that God had always been there for the people in the past. We can boost our own confidence and ease our fears the very same way!

He listened for God’s response

Sometimes we get in a hurry, especially when we’re in a difficult situation. We say a quick prayer and go on with our day. But Jeremiah was used to waiting and hearing from the Lord. This situation was no different. God responded to Jeremiah confirming his promise that in time He would restore the people to the land when it again would be bought and sold.

Insight for us. If Jeremiah had been in a hurry and not stayed to listen for God’s response he would have missed God’s comforting promises. Let’s take the time to wait and listen for God’s response. He has promised to give us comfort and wisdom.

Application

The world scoffs at us for our faith in God, but He has promised to reward us for our faithfulness. Rather than living for the pleasures and approval of man let us keep our hearts and minds trained to God, seeking His pleasure and approval. After all, He is the Lord. The God of all flesh. And nothing is too hard for Him!

Join the Conversation

As always questions and comments are welcome. Have you been called on by God to do something that seemed ridiculous at the time? What happened?

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Category: Personal Development |Dependence on God