Jeremiah's world was coming apart at the seams.
Maybe yours is too. The armies of Nebuchadnezzar
had reduced the nation of Judah to the size of
its capital city, Jerusalem. And now the armies
surrounded the walls of the city. This was the
last piece of real estate and it was about to
fall to Nebuchadnezzar as well. Famine and disease
were devouring the besieged residents of the
city. Jeremiah the prophet was among them. There
was no future for them except death or slavery.
In the midst of this scene, Something bizarre
happened. Jeremiah's nephew sought him out and
asked him to buy a field on behalf of his father,
a field that was in Anathoth, a village just
a few miles outside of Jerusalem, but which had
already been seized by the invading armies of
Nebuchadnezzar. Was this a joke? Was he kidding?
Who would want a field that had already been
taken by the invading armies? And yet God, God
had informed Jeremiah in advance that his nephew
was coming and what he would ask. And God told
Jeremiah to buy the field. to redeem it in order
to keep it in the family for the future. Now
what is this curious incident about anyway? Was
it a good investment? Was this insider trading?
I hardly think so. The transaction would have
no value immediately. But there was a symbolic
value beyond the economic. I invite you to open
your Bible to the book of Jeremiah, the 32nd
chapter, and let your eyes fall down through
the prayer of Jeremiah that we've been studying
to verse 25, which is really the end of the prayer,
where Jeremiah goes on to say, and thou hast
said to me, O Lord God, buy for yourself the
field with money. and call in witnesses, although
the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans."
Jeremiah's prayer stops at that point, and the
word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, Behold,
I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything
too difficult? for me. You see this transaction
makes a statement about the faithfulness of God.
All seemed lost to the citizens of Judah. But
behind the dark clouds of their circumstance
was a God who was arranging events with wisdom
and purpose. And Jeremiah's action was a living
parable to the nation that God had a future for
it. And what we learn from Jeremiah's words today
is that God is mighty in faithfulness. God is
mighty in faithfulness. This same prophet wrote
another book of the Old Testament called Lamentations,
a collection of five poems mourning the destruction
of Jerusalem. Sparking like a diamond placed
on black velvet are these words from Lamentations
chapter 3 verses 22 and 23. The Lord's loving
kindness indeed never cease. for his compassions
never fail. They are new every morning, great
is thy faithfulness." God's faithfulness flows
out of his attribute that we name truth with
a capital T. Truth means, as Louis Burcov states
in his theology, God is perfectly reliable in
His revelation and sees things as they really
are. That's what God's truth means. He's reliable
and He sees things as they truly are. God has
never fooled. Paul ends, contributes more when
he says, first, it means He is the true God.
in distinction to all others. There is none like
Him. And second, He is the truth in that His
Word and His revelations are reliable. He can
be trusted, says Inns. Jeremiah's words assure
us that God can be trusted even when our worlds
are coming apart. There are two features that
I want to talk about this morning in relation
to God's faithfulness. They arise out of the
text that we've read. The first is this, that
God's faithfulness is rooted in His covenant
relationships. God's faithfulness is rooted in
His covenant relationships. Notice that He says
in verse 27, I am the Lord. Now your Bible should
have the word Lord all in capitals. In distinction
to some other places where the word Lord in the
Old Testament has a capital L and then small
letters. That's because there are two different
words. This word all in capitals is the Hebrew
word YHWH transliterated into the English. It
is interesting that we have lost the pronunciation
of this word down through the centuries. No one
knows for sure how to pronounce it. But most
likely it is pronounced something like Yahweh.
And so he says, I am Yahweh. I am that I am.
is the meaning of this name. The dynamic eternally
existent one is Yahweh. But there's more than
that. Aaron Potter says, it is like an unfinished
statement, that is this name Yahweh, is like
an unfinished statement to which we may provide
the ending with our need of Him. The name Yahweh,
when God says, I am the Lord, He is saying, I
am all that you will ever need. The name Yahweh
was God's self -revelation. As He made His initial
covenant in the Bible, which is sometimes called
the Edenic covenant because it was focused on
the Garden of Eden. After man's fall, it was
the Lord God who made the provision of the animal
skins to cover their nakedness, shedding the
blood of those animals as an atonement to cover
the transgressions of Adam and Eve. Who was it
again? It was the Lord God, Yahweh. Elohim. Yahweh
is God the gracious Redeemer who provides what
man needs and makes covenant. When God was about
to redeem Israel from slavery in Egypt, an historical
event of course that pictures slavery to sin.
When God was about to do that in history, you
may remember He chose a deliverer whose name
was Moses. And there came a time when God called
Moses there on Mount Sinai, Mount Horeb. And
God appeared to him in a flaming bush that was
not consumed with the flames. God and Moses had
a dialogue and Moses in Exodus chapter 3 verse
13 asks for the name of the God who is appearing
to him. He says, what shall I tell the people
when they say, who sent you? And God said to
Moses, I am who I am. He said, Thus you shall
say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent you,
has sent me to you. This is my name forever,
and this is my memorial name to all generations.
expounded on His name, Yahweh. It is the name
by which God redeemed Israel and established
the covenant at Sinai with His people Israel.
My point is this. It is the God who has made
covenant with Israel that now in Jeremiah's day
is disciplining them. and controlling and guiding
the circumstances of that discipline. Because
they, the people with whom God the Lord had made
covenant, had failed in their covenant. They
had not obeyed the Lord. And they had worshiped
other gods. And God is now bringing discipline
upon them because they had broken that covenant.
God's faithfulness is rooted in his covenant
relationships. And God was faithful to Judah
even when he was taking Judah as it were to the
woodshed because of the nation's sins. God's
faithfulness is rooted in his covenant relationships.
And my friend, the reason that God can be faithful
to you is because you, in coming to Jesus Christ
and believing on Him as your Lord and Savior,
have established a covenant relationship with
Him. A covenant that is based upon Christ's own
blood shed on the cross. And He will be faithful.
to you. Because of that covenant, God's faithfulness
is rooted in His covenant relationships. And
He is the Lord who is all that you and I need
in life. And He will be faithful to us. Now the
second feature that I want to bring out of the
text about God's faithfulness is that God's faithfulness
rests upon His sovereignty. It's rooted in His
covenant relationships, but it rests upon His
sovereignty. He says, I am Yahweh, the God of
all flesh. That is the God of all humanity. God
is pointing to the fact that there is no other
God. He is the God of the Jews, but He is the
God of all flesh, whether they recognize Him,
whether they know of Him or not. He is, in fact,
the God of all flesh. He is sovereign over all
peoples. He's ultimately on the throne above
all. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And
His faithfulness rests upon His sovereignty.
God is truth. That is, God is reliable. And He
is able to perfectly be faithful because He has
authority and power to do whatever He wants.
His is the throne. And He is able to do anything
He desires that is consistent with His nature.
And so God's faithfulness rests upon that. We
desire to be faithful also, don't we? But there
are times we don't have the ability to be faithful.
I think, for example, of the parents. who fled
from their burning house thinking that all of
the children were out and then realized that
one child was still in the upstairs bedroom.
Immediately they turned and tried to go back
into that house as faithful parents wanting to
save that child, but the flames and the smoke
drove them out and their child perished. They
were conscientious. They were devoted. They were
faithful parents. But they were limited in what
they could do. That stands in contrast to God,
who is able to do anything that is required to
come to the aid of His own. And so He says, is
anything too hard, too difficult for me? Asking
that rhetorical question, God is but reflecting
the words of Jeremiah's own faith back in verse
17 when he said, nothing is too difficult for
thee. Jeremiah has finished his prayer and he
is saying, Lord, what does all of this mean that
I am to buy this worthless piece of property?
What's it about? The Lord says to Jeremiah, I
am the Lord. I am the covenant -keeping Redeemer.
And I am the God of all flesh. And Jeremiah,
that includes the Babylonians. Is there anything
that is too difficult for me? And Jeremiah's
words come back to him. to test the faith of
that earlier statement. Do you really believe,
Jeremiah, that there is nothing too hard for
me? Nothing? When we say that there is nothing
too hard for God, it does not mean that God is
like a genie in a bottle. and that He is going
to appear in a puff of smoke as it were to fulfill
our every wish. When God is faithful, it does
not mean that. Nor is He always going to do for
us what may seem to us like the best, or the
most sensible thing, or the easiest thing. at
the moment. It does not mean that. Nor does it
mean that He is going to do for us what we can
and should do for ourselves. God is not a pampering
parent who foolishly spoils His children in the
name of love or liberality falsely defined. God's
faithfulness to us, His children, is manifested
in wise ways. An example of God's faithfulness
in a wisdom that cannot really be comprehended
is found in the present spiritual disposition
of Israel. That's how Paul feels about it. I
invite you to turn over to the book of Romans.
In the ninth chapter, Paul writes in this book
regarding his own burden for the Jewish people,
his kinsmen according to the flesh. His burden
for them due to their failure to believe, to
obey Christ. But that failure was not God's fault,
of course. He says in Romans chapter 9 and verse
6, it is not as though the Word of God has failed.
In other words, Jeremiah says yes, Israel has
failed. And Israel is set aside, but that does
not mean that God has failed. He goes on to say
in this chapter that Israel rejected their Messiah
and said about to establish their own righteousness
before God. One of works. Toward the end of this
chapter in verse 30, notice his words. What shall
we say then? That Gentiles who did not pursue
righteousness, attained righteousness. Even the
righteousness which is by faith. But Israel pursuing
a law of righteousness did not arrive at that
law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith,
but as though it were by works. They stumbled
over the stumbling stone. So Paul explains what
happened to Israel. Israel stumbled over Christ.
and in rejecting him set about a course to establish
their own righteousness before God by their works.
And in doing that they failed of righteousness.
And so God set them aside as a nation. They stumbled.
God set them aside as a nation. While at the
same time calling a remnant of Jews to faith.
To be joined together with Gentiles believing
Gentiles in the church. See that in chapter 11.
Look at verse 2. He says God has not rejected
his people whom he foreknew. That's Israel. Or
do you not know what the scripture says? in the
passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God
against Israel. Lord, they have killed thy prophets,
they have torn down thine altars, and I alone
am left, and they are seeking my life. Remember
Elijah saying that? In the same way then, oh
excuse me, verse four, but what is the divine
response to him? I have kept for myself seven
thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.
In the same way then, Paul says, there has also
come to be at the present time a remnant according
to God's gracious choice. And so God set aside
his people of the Old Covenant as a nation because
they rejected the Messiah. And yet God is calling
out from them a remnant to be a part of the church,
which is largely Gentile in nature. And one day,
he says at the end of this chapter, when the
church is complete, when the fullness of the
Gentiles has come in, he says, all Israel will
be saved. Now what is Paul's point here? His
point is that God, though he set Israel aside,
is not finished with national Israel. Now when
the church has been completed, when everyone
that God has chosen to be a part of the church
has believed and come to faith and been incorporated
in the body, When the fullness of the Gentiles
has finally arrived, whenever that is, God is
going to return to Israel as a nation. And He
is going to save the nation of Israel. Verse
29 says, back up to verse 28, from the standpoint
of the gospel, they are enemies for your sake.
Not that the church considers the Jews enemies,
that's not the point, but they consider themselves
enemies of the Gospel. But from the standpoint
of God's choice, they are beloved for the sake
of the fathers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc. Verse
29, for the gifts and the calling of God are
irrevocable. Then he warns he says for just as
you once were disobedient to God you Gentiles
But now have been shown mercy because of their
disobedience So these also now have been disobedient
in order that because of the mercy shown to you
They also may now be shown mercy. You see he
is pleading to show mercy to the Jews and giving
them the gospel He says, for God has shut up
all in disobedience that He might show mercy
to all. And after going through three chapters
of explanation about how God had done this and
God had done that, here's why. And God's choice
is irrevocable. And God is faithful to His promises.
God's Word has not failed, He says. Here's what's
happened. And then the apostle just exults in
praise of God's wisdom. Oh, the depth of the
riches, both of the wisdom and the knowledge
of God. The Lord, who is the God of all flesh,
who has arranged these things that have happened,
and will one day fully carry them out. He says,
oh the wisdom of God. Just as God was faithful
to the nation in Jeremiah's day, although allowing
them to go into captivity in Babylon, so he is
faithful to Israel now, despite their unbelief.
And someday he is going to bring Israel to himself
and fulfill all of the promises that He made
to them. You see, God has a plan. And God is
always working His plan. Always. His faithfulness
toward His people is always consistent with His
purposes. And he has the power that will ultimately
bring all of his purposes to pass. Every one
of them. I want to close with a question and
a consolation. I'm going to start with a consolation.
The consolation is this, that God's faithfulness
reassures us in our crises, as it did Jeremiah,
that He is working His greater plan in our lives
today, and He will also achieve it. You and I
cannot get beyond the faithfulness of God. That
does not mean that God is going to heal your
every disease. He's going to solve your every
financial predicament. It does not mean that
God will necessarily restore your broken relationship
and heal your broken heart. It does not mean
that God will nullify the consequences of your
disobedience even when you confess your sins.
God's faithfulness will not necessarily make
life easy for you or comfortable. But what I'm
talking about this morning lays the foundation
for your life so that whatever you're passing
through, you can be assured that God is working
His plan faithfully. He will work all things
together for good to them that love God, those
who are called according to His purpose. He will.
Jeremiah's world was falling apart. And in the
midst of all of the crisis, God speaks and He
says, Jeremiah, I am your way. And I am the God
of all flesh. Is there anything too difficult
for me? In preparing my thoughts for this morning,
I was reminded of a couple of people who are
of my acquaintance, because I went to college
with them. They married shortly after college,
settled in western Michigan, and Bob was very
good at his work. He was a man who was sensitive
and compassionate, the kind of a husband that
most women would dream about. He and Kay were
very happy in their marriage with three children.
And one evening, ten years ago now, when Bob
was about 40 years of age, I would assume, he
and Kay left the house, like they frequently
did, together. He was to speak at the school
board function that night. When he left, he did
not know that he would never be back. During
the speech, He suddenly seized the table and
then collapsed. Within seconds, there were people
all around him. They began administering CPR.
They were able to get his heart started. The
ambulance came. They rushed to the hospital,
his wife being taken there in a separate vehicle.
She waited. The doctors finally came out and
said, well, he's alive. But he's in a deep deep
coma and we're afraid of the brain damage that
may have been done And so they were in a vigil
that night He lived And days piled upon days
and weeks upon weeks and months upon months Deep
coma little change, they went into intensive
therapy, bringing things to his bedside that
he would recognize, familiar music, touching
him, talking with him, doing everything they
could to stimulate his brain to come back, and
slowly he began to work his way back. Never fully
coming out of the coma, but awakening enough
to know, to be able to respond to something.
to something. But it apparently was so intense
for him that he gave up and his condition deteriorated.
Three years ago, Kay wrote an article for a magazine
from our alma mater in which she writes, to Bob
and tells him about the years that have now transpired.
Bob, in a nursing home, serenely sleeping, occasionally
awakening, only enough to flail his now twisted
arms around and to shriek of terrors that no
one knows about, unable to express anything,
not knowing anyone is there. And Kay writes in
the article, which is entitled, In Sickness and
in Health. Do we really mean it? About the roller
coaster ride of emotions that she has been through
At the time of this writing seven years After
Bob For all practical purposes left never to
return She says and I read in part this lengthy
article after 16 months of intense therapy. She's
writing to him now recounting part of the process
We had to face the fact that there was nothing
more we could do apart from God's intervention
You would never be the same man I had fallen
in love with Because you were so full of life
and had So vibrantly fulfilled your role as head
of our home, you left an awful vacuum when your
illness took you away. It was as though all that
was warm and secure had been sucked out, leaving
a cold, dark space. I would never again hear
your voice lovingly speak my name, enjoy your
laughter or feel your your arms around me. You
would not share in the joy of raising our children,
offering them security and caring for their needs.
I would not have the benefit of your wisdom or
your sense of humor that lightened the dreariest
of days. Never again would I see your eyes light
up when I took you by the hand and told you how
I loved you. Knowing that I could not give in
to my feelings, she writes, I claimed Psalm 1830.
As for God, His way is perfect. Faith in that
promise gave me the courage to face life without
you. the faithfulness of God when your world
has come apart. And the consolation is that God
is there. And He says by His name, I am all that
you will ever need. But there's a question that
comes with this consolation. Because God's faithfulness
not only rests upon his sovereignty, but is rooted
in his covenant relationship. And the question
is this, do you have a covenant relationship
with God? There's only one covenant that's possible
now between us and God. That's called the new
covenant in the Bible. We'll talk about that
in a couple of weeks. but it is a covenant by
which we establish a relationship with God through
our faith in the Son that He gave on the cross
for our sins. Have you come to that cross and
turned your back upon all of your religious works,
all of your goodness that you have perceived
in the past? And have you bowed your knee acknowledging
your sin and received the Christ who died for
you and rose again? Have you established a covenant
relationship with God? If you haven't, you may
do that today. The opportunity is open. This
is the day of grace when God invites you to come.
And if you have established that relationship
with a faithful God, how is your life reflecting
His faithfulness? How is that faithfulness being
shown to your husband, to your wife, your children,
your co -workers, your church, your God? God
is mighty in faithfulness and He calls us to
faithfulness as well. Let's pray together. Our
heads bowed and our eyes closed. I want the Holy
Spirit to open our hearts to receive the message
that God has for us and to put His finger upon
the decision that God wants us to make. Perhaps
we need to confess unfaithfulness. God knows
what that means. God is truth. There's nothing
that we can hide from Him. He knows it all. So
let's be honest. Let's be truthful ourselves
and come to God and open our hearts and show
Him what is there and confess our sins. And if
you've not trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior,
will you receive Him into your life this morning
as an act of faith? Relying upon Him alone for
the salvation of your soul? Saying something
like, Lord Jesus, come into my life and save
me from my sin. I turn from my works. I turn
from my past. to trust you alone, to rescue me
from what I deserve. Be the Lord of my life and
help me to be a faithful person. Perhaps as you
sit there you've been struggling with God over
the dark circumstances that have overwhelmed
you. And like Jeremiah, you feel your world is
coming apart and you're saying, God, what does
this mean? And God is saying to you this morning,
I am Yahweh, the God of all flesh. Is there anything
too difficult for me? My friend, He is able to
meet you where you are this morning. He is superintending
the circumstances of your life. Give it all to
Him. Rest in His faithfulness. Lord, may we all
deal with this text this morning and be honest
within our hearts to what the voice of the Holy
Spirit is saying. in this hour. In Jesus name.