The Strangest Real Estate Transaction in History

The Most Ridiculous Real Estate Transaction in History

Exchanging Difficulties for Impossibilities (Part Two)

"Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?"  (Jeremiah 32: 27)

Suppose you sat in a jail in Washington, DC while the United States was under attack from a country far more powerful at that time in history.  You knew the US was going to lose the war which meant all citizens who were not killed would become captives to this conquering nation.

To carry this story to an even more ridiculous extreme, someone came to you in jail and told you buy a piece of property so that it would remain in your family for future generations.  In the middle of all that chaos and looming defeat, you think to yourself, “Future! What future?”

That ridiculous scenario somewhat describes Jeremiah’s experience described in Jeremiah 32.  He prophesied Judah would go the way of the Northern Kingdom for constant disobedience of God, i.e., be completely overrun and captured by enemies – with God’s permission no less.  (vs 26-36)

Then why was Jeremiah paying good money for land and going to great pains to seal the deal legally and preserve it for posterity? (vs 9-14)  Because of the promise of God in verse 15 that was restated in verse 42:

“For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Houses and fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”’  (v. 15)

 “For thus says the LORD, ‘Just as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I am going to bring on them all the good that I am promising them.”  (v. 42)

God told Jeremiah Judah would endure a 70-year captivity.  (Jeremiah 25: 11).  At the end of that time, Jews were allowed to begin returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the ruins of the City of David that had been completely destroyed – including the temple.

Three lessons we should learn from this story.

• God demands our obedience no matter what the circumstances or where we are in life.  Here we saw Jeremiah’s obedience to his calling even though he ended up in being thrown in a well and put in jail. God gave him favor with their captors.
• God keeps His promises and redeems His people no matter what. The nation of Israel and the two kingdoms into which it split, were constantly disobeying and defying God.  Yet despite all of that, we find Him always making ways to redeem them to Himself because of the covenant He made with Abraham.
• Despite his steadfast faithfulness, even Jeremiah questioned God about the apparent foolishness of buying property amid total destruction and defeat. God answered with the question we must ask ourselves during personal times of crisis and apparent defeat,

“Is anything too difficult for Me?”

We know the answer to that question.  But it takes faith in the One Who made that promise to cling to the Truth of it when all we see around us are walls crumbling, darkness falling, and strong enemies at the gates.