Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2022 16:47:32 GMT -5
A Ludicrous Investment By: Winn Collier
Click here for the Audio Message
I knew that this was the word of the Lord; so I bought the field.
Jeremiah 32:8–9
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Jeremiah 32:6–15
In 1929, as the US economy crashed, millions of people lost everything. But not Floyd Odlum. As everyone else panicked and sold their stocks at cut-rate prices, Odlum appeared to foolishly jump in and purchase stocks just as the nation’s future disintegrated. But Odlum’s “foolish” perspective paid off, yielding robust investments that endured for decades.
God told Jeremiah to make what seemed like an absolutely ludicrous investment: “Buy [the] field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin” (Jeremiah 32:8). This was no time to be buying fields, however. The entire country was on the verge of being ransacked. “The army of the king of Babylon was . . . besieging Jerusalem” (v. 2), and whatever field Jeremiah purchased would soon be Babylon’s. What fool makes an investment when everything would soon be lost?
Well, the person who’s listening to God—the One who intended a future no one else could envision. “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land” (v. 15). God saw more than the ruin. God promised to bring redemption, healing, and restoration. A ludicrous investment in a relationship or service for God isn’t foolish—it’s the wisest possible move when God leads us to make it (and it’s essential that we prayerfully seek to know He’s behind the instruction). A “foolish” investment in others as God leads makes all the sense in the world.
Reflect & Pray
Where do you sense God asking you to make a ludicrous investment in someone or something? How will this step require you to trust God in ways that appear foolish?
God, it’s a good thing You see the future because sometimes all I see is ruin and disaster. Show me where to go, where to give my life.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
One of the main features in the book of Jeremiah is that the prophet primarily records the message God is giving directly to His people. This was the main role of a prophet, for prophets stood before the people to represent God and His purposes to the nation. In Jeremiah’s writings, this is clearly evidenced in that the phrase “thus saith the Lord” (kjv) appears no fewer than 147 times in this book! That’s 147 of the 431 times that phrase appears in the entire Old Testament. Clearly, Jeremiah was committed to communicating God’s message to His people.
Bill Crowder
Jeremiah 32:6-15
King James Version
6 And Jeremiah said, The word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
7 Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.
8 So Hanameel mine uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the Lord, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.
9 And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.
10 And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.
11 So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open:
12 And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.
13 And I charged Baruch before them, saying,
14 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.
15 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.
Click here for the Audio Message
I knew that this was the word of the Lord; so I bought the field.
Jeremiah 32:8–9
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Jeremiah 32:6–15
In 1929, as the US economy crashed, millions of people lost everything. But not Floyd Odlum. As everyone else panicked and sold their stocks at cut-rate prices, Odlum appeared to foolishly jump in and purchase stocks just as the nation’s future disintegrated. But Odlum’s “foolish” perspective paid off, yielding robust investments that endured for decades.
God told Jeremiah to make what seemed like an absolutely ludicrous investment: “Buy [the] field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin” (Jeremiah 32:8). This was no time to be buying fields, however. The entire country was on the verge of being ransacked. “The army of the king of Babylon was . . . besieging Jerusalem” (v. 2), and whatever field Jeremiah purchased would soon be Babylon’s. What fool makes an investment when everything would soon be lost?
Well, the person who’s listening to God—the One who intended a future no one else could envision. “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land” (v. 15). God saw more than the ruin. God promised to bring redemption, healing, and restoration. A ludicrous investment in a relationship or service for God isn’t foolish—it’s the wisest possible move when God leads us to make it (and it’s essential that we prayerfully seek to know He’s behind the instruction). A “foolish” investment in others as God leads makes all the sense in the world.
Reflect & Pray
Where do you sense God asking you to make a ludicrous investment in someone or something? How will this step require you to trust God in ways that appear foolish?
God, it’s a good thing You see the future because sometimes all I see is ruin and disaster. Show me where to go, where to give my life.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
One of the main features in the book of Jeremiah is that the prophet primarily records the message God is giving directly to His people. This was the main role of a prophet, for prophets stood before the people to represent God and His purposes to the nation. In Jeremiah’s writings, this is clearly evidenced in that the phrase “thus saith the Lord” (kjv) appears no fewer than 147 times in this book! That’s 147 of the 431 times that phrase appears in the entire Old Testament. Clearly, Jeremiah was committed to communicating God’s message to His people.
Bill Crowder
Jeremiah 32:6-15
King James Version
6 And Jeremiah said, The word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
7 Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.
8 So Hanameel mine uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the Lord, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.
9 And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.
10 And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.
11 So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open:
12 And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.
13 And I charged Baruch before them, saying,
14 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.
15 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.