Come to Understanding

Come to Understanding

They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding,

and they that murmured shall learn doctrine. — Isaiah 29:24

So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense,

and caused them to understand the reading. — Nehemiah 8:8

February 1, 2013
Volume 12 Number 3

There is Nothing Too Hard for You

In the midst of the Babylonian siege upon Jerusalem, Jeremiah was in prison:

2 For then the king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah’s house. -Jeremiah 32

He was being held as a prisoner for offending the king and the people of Judah by proclaiming the word of Yahweh! Through the prophecies of Jeremiah, Yahweh was pleading with them to listen to His word and repent. If they did, He said that He would spare them from the judgment of destruction that He had pronounced upon them:

3 If so be they will listen, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do to them because of the evil of their doings.

4 And you shall say to them, Thus says Yahweh; If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,

5 To listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent to you, both rising up early, and sending them, but you have not listened;

6 Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth. -Jeremiah 26

Jeremiah had prophesied that the king of Babylon would destroy Jerusalem and take many captives, including the king of Judah, back to his own land. Because this was Yahweh’s judgment, the efforts of Judah to defend themselves against the Babylonians would be futile:

3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Why do you prophesy, and say, Thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

4 And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;

5 And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, says Yahweh: though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not prosper. -Jeremiah 32

Even though they would appear to be fighting against the earthly king of Babylon, they would really be fighting against Yahweh:

3 Then said Jeremiah to them, Thus shall you say to Zedekiah:

4 Thus says Yahweh God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you outside the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.

5 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.

6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.

7 And afterward, says Yahweh, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy. -Jeremiah 21

Many that heard the prophecies of Jeremiah that Yahweh would destroy His people with pestilence, sword, and famine refused to believe them. Therefore, they rejected Jeremiah. Instead, they listened to the "prophets" that told them what they wanted to hear, which was that they could reject Yahweh’s word and do anything they wanted to do and Yahweh would not judge them because, "No evil shall come upon you:"

16 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, Listen not to the words of the prophets that prophesy to you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of Yahweh.

17 They say still unto them that despise me, Yahweh has said, You shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walks after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. -Jeremiah 23

Judah even ignored the warnings that Yahweh had given many years earlier through Moses. He had said curses would come upon those that reject His word:

15 But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen unto the voice of Yahweh your God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day; that all these curses shall come upon you, and overtake you: -Deuteronomy 28

Many are blinded to the truth of God’s words, especially those that are set forth in the Old Testament. Paul says that there is a veil upon the hearts that blinds minds to the Old Testament. Many cannot see it as truth unless they turn their hearts to the Messiah (Christ) and the blinding veil is removed from their understanding:

14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remains the same veil not taken away in the reading of the old testament; which veil is done away in the Messiah.

15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart.

16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. -2 Corinthians 3

Such things are revealed by the Spirit of God, who gives us spiritual eyes to see and understand the things that are still hidden from natural eyes and minds. Unbelieving hearts are blinded to the word of God:

14 But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. -1 Corinthians 2

Such was also the case with Judah. Because of their unbelieving hearts, their eyes were blinded to Yahweh’s word and they refused to listen to the prophetic warnings of Jeremiah concerning the approaching Babylonians:

16 Thus says Yahweh, Stand you in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and you shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

17 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Listen to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not listen. -Jeremiah 6

Now Jeremiah was in prison, and, because the king and the people of Judah had refused to listen to Yahweh’s word, the city of Jerusalem was hopelessly surrounded by the Babylonian army. Their destruction was imminent. It was a gloomy day in Jerusalem.

However, during that dark hour, Yahweh called upon Jeremiah to demonstrate his faith in His mercy and grace for deliverance. He told Jeremiah to buy some land!

6 And Jeremiah said, The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

7 Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum your uncle shall come to you, saying, Buy you my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is yours to buy it. -Jeremiah 32

Yahweh told Jeremiah to buy a field from his cousin in his hometown of Anathoth. The problem was that this land was located in the midst of a kingdom that was headed for destruction and desolation by the Babylonians from the north. This land was about to be made worthless!

6 Set up the standard toward Zion: flee, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.

7 The lion has come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he has gone forth from his place to make your land desolate; and your cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant. -Jeremiah 4

Nevertheless, Jeremiah obeyed Yahweh’s command. He bought the land for seventeen shekels of silver:

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. -Jeremiah 32

Jeremiah had already found himself hated by the people of Judah and was in captivity in the court of the king’s prison for obeying Yahweh. Now he had bought what seemed to be a worthless piece of property, trusting in Yahweh. Then, in faith, he took the proof of purchase of the land and gave it to Baruch, his scribe, for safe keeping until Yahweh kept the promise of His word:

15 For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land. -Jeremiah 32

Then, trusting Yahweh, Jeremiah prayed in faith:

16 Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto Yahweh, saying,

17 Ah Lord Yahweh! behold, you have made the heaven and the earth by your great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for you: -Jeremiah 32

Then Yahweh answered him:

26 Then came the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah, saying,

27 Behold, I am Yahweh, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me? -Jeremiah 32

Yahweh confirmed His word to Jeremiah, saying that, even though He had afflicted Judah with "great evil," the end of it all would be for good. He would finally bring upon them all the good that He had promised:

42 For thus says Yahweh; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them. -Jeremiah 32

When our circumstances seem to be impossible, we need to remember the words that Jeremiah spoke in faith to Yahweh: "there is nothing too hard for you!"

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Scriptures are taken from the Proper Name Version of the King James Bible.