Of Prayer and Promises
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Of Prayer and Promises
Jeremiah 32–35
Main Idea: Praise frames prayer when God’s promises are perplexing.
- Promises Can Be Perplexing (32:1-15).
- Praise Frames Prayer When Promises Are Perplexing (32:16-25).
- Praise: Acknowledge that nothing is impossible for God (32:16-17).
- Praise: Acknowledge that God is faithful and just (32:18-19).
- Praise: God redeems (32:20-23a).
- Confession for the guilt of the past (32:23b)
- Laying before God the problem of the present (32:24-25)
- God Responds to Perplexing Prayer (32:26-44).
- Judgment still stands (32:26-35).
- God will gather his people (32:36-44).
- God Responds with Promises (33).
- Peace and renewal (33:1-13)
- New priest and a perfect King (33:14-26)
- Conclusion: Promises Made and Promises Broken (34–35)
- Great faithlessness
- Great faithfulness
Faith is the practice of delayed gratification for a promised outcome.
This is true with parenting. It is rarely gratifying to tell children no, to warn them, or to rebuff them with discipline. Yet this is exactly what we must do. It is best for them to “bear the yoke in their youth” (Lam 3:27). If children do not learn to bear down now, they will not be able to bear up later. The most loving thing we can do is prepare them for this reality by stretching them to do well now, even if this is indeed a stretch. Faith is a matter of delayed gratification.
This is true financially. It rarely seems practical to invest in the kingdom of God and be divested of the kingdom of this world. It makes more sense to invest all we have in this life and not worry about what we cannot see. Yet Jesus loves us too much not to slap us in the face with this truth over and over again. We gain huge reward when we are divested of this life and invest in the life to come (Luke 16:1-13). He knows we cannot serve God and money, so he calls us to serve God alone by investing our money in the kingdom. The truth is that this investment pays off in massive ways. It is more real than any earthly investment because it is permanent. It can never be taken away (Matt 6:19-20). Faith is a matter of delayed gratification.
This is true in leadership. It would make sense to take vengeance on our enemies right away, to run over people to get what we want, and to manipulate facts to our tactical advantage. Yet Christ calls us to lead by serving and by loving (Matt 20:25-28). This counterintuitive leadership has as its goal investing our best resources, our time and service, in other people, not in ourselves. The goal of this leadership is to make as many other people successful as possible. The payoff is huge, but it is often seen in the next life and not in this life. Faith is a matter of delayed gratification.
If we do not realize that faith is a matter of delayed gratification, the promises of God can seem perplexing. You see, the health-and-wealth preachers are right about some things, just not the timing. God does promise us complete and perfect health—just not now. God promises us unlimited financial wealth—in the next life. God goes even further by promising complete justice over all our enemies—at an undisclosed time.
For those of us who want to see cause and effect, a relatively quick return on our investment, the promises of God can be perplexing. This is exactly the situation Jeremiah finds himself in. He is faced with stepping out and trusting God when nothing makes sense to him.
Sometimes following God makes perfect sense. This is not one of those times. This is when Jeremiah will put himself out there financially with only his trust in the word of God. However, when we trust God, risk is, in a sense, no risk. We risk more by disobedience than by obedience. So Jeremiah is wise to trust God in this way.
Promises Can Be Perplexing
Jeremiah 32:1-15
It is clear to Jeremiah that God has moved on. Judgment is coming in the form of persecution, captivity, and eventual exile of Judah. Babylon is taking on Jerusalem (v. 2), and Jeremiah is in jail. He is there because the king is tired of the prophecies he is speaking against his reign (vv. 3-5). Jeremiah is shut in with nothing to do but think about how God is moving in this situation. He has no next move—until the Lord speaks to him, that is. The Lord tells him to buy a field when the opportunity presents itself, which it does very soon (vv. 6-8).
He buys the field and completes the whole legal transaction necessary for the field to be purchased (vv. 9-15).
So this is interesting. This is not exactly what you call a seller’s market. It would be like going to a Middle Eastern country today, one ravaged by a dictator, and just before he occupies the land, you invest in real estate. No one is thinking Jeremiah is investing wisely. So why is he doing this? Well, because he is a living demonstration of the promises of God.
This sounds like a massive act of faith, and it is. Yet in reality it is not too different from what we do on a day-to-day basis. We all must invest in our faith knowing that, when we invest in the promises of God, the returns only make sense in the long run, rarely in the short term.
This is like a child who will eat all her cake except the icing because she knows that the icing brings greater satisfaction. She is willing to wait for a greater reward. Yet there is something deeper about this with Jeremiah. He is actually willing to bank his confidence in God because he has banked his whole life and ministry on God. This is not simply an act of faith; this is a public demonstration of willingness to put up or shut up. He cannot talk a big game and then be afraid to invest in the land that one day will be active and viable again.
This is why verses 9-14 describe an elaborate process of counting the money, weighing the money, sealing the deed, and putting it up for safekeeping. This is a sign that the future prosperity of the land was indeed coming.
So what do you do when you need to trust God in a big way? Well, you pray.
Praise Frames Prayer When Promises Are Perplexing
Jeremiah 32:16-25
Jeremiah prays a model prayer for when the work and will of God seem confusing. This prayer could be its own lesson or sermon. Let’s look at the anatomy of a prayer that is prayed in a moment when we need to trust God but find that his promises are perplexing.
Praise: Acknowledge That Nothing Is Impossible for God (32:16-17)
Jeremiah does not have his questions answered. That will be clear in a moment. Yet he begins with the fact that, even though it is impossible for him to understand exactly what is going on, nothing is impossible for God.
Notice what he is specifically praising God for: that nothing is impossible. This is significant because he has really put himself out there in this real-estate transaction. He wants God to know that he gets it. He just extended himself, but that is in the category of nothing—not a thing God cannot conquer.
As a preacher I’m tempted to stop here and make a list of all the things that are impossible for us. But since everything is on that list, I’ll just let you make your own list.
What are you worried about? Got it in your mind? It falls in the “nothing” category. Nothing is impossible for God! Nothing. Now you might want to put down the book and praise him for the reality that nothing is impossible for him. Many things are impossible for me; nothing is impossible for God.
- This is why he asks us to pray so lavishly in John 14:14. Nothing is impossible.
- This is why we are to pray expectantly in James 1:6. Nothing is impossible.
- This is why we are to ask boldly in Luke 11:5-8. Nothing is impossible.
- This is why we are to ask persistently in Luke 11:9. Nothing is impossible.
You see, every time I pray, the thing I pray for falls into the “no thing” category. Everything I ask is nothing for God. What is something for me is nothing to God.
In the end this is why Jesus said in John 14:14, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” We can ask anything because everything is nothing for God.
Praise: Acknowledge That God Is Faithful and Just (32:18-19)
Now that Jeremiah has established God’s power to do all things, he rehearses how faithful God has been in the past, yet he also acknowledges that God is just. Sin has consequences.
Praise: God Redeems (32:20-23a)
His final praise rehearses how good God has been to redeem the Israelites from their disasters in the past. A New Testament believer adds to this note of praise that God paid the price for our sin ultimately when Jesus extended himself for our sin on the cross. Jesus came with signs and wonders, Jesus died with outstretched arms, and Jesus will return with greater terror. Jesus will lead us to the final promised land. Jesus is redemption.
This prayer begins with praise. This is not insignificant. Prayer that begins with praise is a significant theme in Scripture. The ultimate expression of this is the psalms, where praise is explicitly mentioned more than 130 times! How significant is it that the model for singing in the Old Testament has as its dominant theme the concept of praise to God?
Perhaps this is why the first thing Jesus taught us to pray was,
Father,
Your name be honored as holy.
Your kingdom come. (Luke 11:2)
The idea that the praise of God and the first request for the coming kingdom are together is not insignificant. Since God is worthy of all praise, it stands to reason that his kingdom, his will, his rule, should be seen and manifested above ours.
In the ministry of Jesus, he healed people, and then God was glorified. Note how many times the connection is made. God is praised, and we ask that his kingdom come; and when it does, it draws more praise to him. Jesus explained this relationship in John 13:31-32 when he prayed, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once.” Prayer that begins with praise as its goal will end in praise as its result. This is why we cannot pray for selfish things (Jas 4:2-3).
In the early church the call to send out missionaries came after worship. Look at the remarkable sequence of Acts 13:2: “As they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’” Clarity comes from worship. Leadership from God comes from worship of God. Again, prayer that begins with praise as its goal will end in praise as its result.
So when Jeremiah begins his prayer with praise, he is standing in the arc of a long trajectory throughout Scripture. Prayer that seeks results and clarity begins with praise.
Confession for the Guilt of the Past (32:23b)
Again, this follows the pattern of the Lord’s Prayer. We are taught by our Lord to seek forgiveness from sin. In this case Jeremiah is not checking something off a list. This is an important part of the discussion. God can do all things, yet we are prone to sin, as demonstrated by our past.
Laying before God the Problem of the Present (32:24-25)
Now he comes down to the problem. The problem is that he had been called to do something that did not make sense. The practical lesson here is that Jeremiah did not sin by bringing his problem to God. God can handle honest prayers. If God does not squelch David for the seemingly over-the-top imprecatory prayers in Psalms, it stands to reason that he can handle it when we confess that we do not know why he is asking us to do what he is asking us to do. We are not only allowed but commanded to bring our problems to God. Anything at all.
There are times we throw up prayers of desperation to God. He hears them. This is not that. This is a thoughtful prayer that shows a pattern of lavish praise, clear confession, and then honest petition. Yet note that a pattern is not a formula. That’s not the point. The fascinating thing about this prayer is not that it guarantees certain outcomes; rather, the fascinating thing about this prayer is that it is consistent with so many other things the Scriptures teach us about prayer.
God Responds to Perplexing Prayer
Jeremiah 32:26-44
God’s response to Jeremiah’s prayer is twofold: He will discipline, and he will gather.
Judgment Still Stands (32:26-35)
God begins by affirming that Jeremiah is correct: nothing is too hard for him (v. 27). So nothing has changed. He will hand this city over to the Babylonians (v. 28).
It is almost as if God turns the question back to Jeremiah. “Do you really believe what you have just prayed? Then, Jeremiah, pay attention as I crush the reality you once held on to; watch as the narrative of a favored people who were untouchable is ruined before you without any hope. And then watch as I create a new redemptive reality.”
The new reality is that, while the judgment still stands, God will bring about a new redemption.
God Will Gather His People (32:36-44)
This is the new reality: “a permanent covenant” along the lines described in chapter 31 and a future restoration to the land. The everlasting covenant is ultimately fulfilled in the new covenant given in Christ. The first fulfillment is the restoration of Jerusalem; the complete fulfillment is the covenant that is new in Christ and the ultimate city that is to come. So we see here a distinct covenant with Israel that is affirmed, and the continuation of that affirmation is expressed in the church, God’s new covenant people.
In the following chapter God responds with clear promises.
God Responds with Promises
Jeremiah 33
The conversation begins with these remarkable words to Jeremiah in 33:3: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.” God responds with specific promises.
Peace and Renewal (33:1-13)
God promises in the most poetic of terms that he will restore Israel. You can feel the joy and almost hear the wedding music (vv. 7-11).
New Priest and a Perfect King (33:14-26)
God then promises that the Davidic line will continue, and the Levitical priesthood will as well (vv. 17-18). What a wonderful promise!
Jeremiah has been given some perplexing problems to deal with. Now he has received promises that affirm what God told him previously. They also give him hope that his seventeen shekels was money well spent.
In the shadow of this great promise is a story of both promises made and promises broken.
Conclusion: Promises Made and Promises Broken
Jeremiah 34–35
The following chapters illustrate great faithlessness and faithfulness.
Great Faithlessness
Zedekiah and all his officials promised to free the countrymen they had enslaved, but then they reneged on their promise (34:10-11). This angered the Lord. Zedekiah was supposed to proclaim liberty to the captives. He did not re-present God, who loves to free enslaved people. Instead, he selfishly reimposed the oppression.
Great Faithfulness
By way of contrast, the Rechabites are used in chapter 35 as an illustration of faithfulness. After being tempted to drink wine, they reply that they have remained steadfast for generations within the instructions of their ancestor. They are now the archetype of faithfulness to God. The king, sadly, is the antitype of faithfulness. He perfectly demonstrates what not to do.
Zedekiah did not demonstrate the capacity of faith. He could not bear up under the long-term vision that is needed to be a man of faith. Faithful people are often saying no to what makes sense in the immediate present in order to believe what they cannot see. This is why we are called to pray for the kingdom to come: we are looking to a city we cannot see. This is why the poor in spirit are blessed: they are divested of this life in order to embrace the life to come. As an example, the Rechabites kept their word to God even when God’s leadership in their lives was perplexing.
The applications to our lives are legion. It’s not hard to think of a dozen ways in which our time, our money, our abilities, and our resources are typically used to invest in the short term and not the long term—the eternal perspective. This is one reason God in his mercy will create situations for us like he created for Jeremiah. These situations demand that we face the perplexity of his promises. It is only there that we get it. The school of confusion graduates faithful people if they learn to praise. Praise frames prayer when God’s promises are perplexing.
Reflect and Discuss
- Several examples regarding faith as delayed gratification were given in the introduction. Can you name them?
- “Faith is the practice of delayed gratification for a promised outcome.” Do you agree with this definition of faith? If so, why?
- What is the correlation between prayer and praise?
- In what way did Jeremiah display faith when he purchased a field (32:6-8)?
- What is the return on investment when we invest in the purpose and plan of God?
- What actions should we take when we need to trust God in important situations?
- Should prayer begin in praise? Why or why not?
- How should we view Luke 11:5-8; 11:9; John 14:14; and James 1:6 in light of the truth that nothing is impossible for God?
- God often calls us to actions that do not make sense to us. Reflect on such a time in your life when God called you to act on faith. How should the fulfilled promises of God in the past influence your future decisions?
- Take a moment and pray. Begin your prayer with praise.