Jeremiah 33:3  Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

I remember joyfully singing this verse many times as I was growing up, and trusting its simple message.  But in the context of Jeremiah's experiences, it takes on an added dimension.

Remember, Jeremiah is a prisoner of King Zedekiah. 

He has been preaching God's judgment due to the blatant and continued disobedience of the people. 

Recently, God has added a message of future forgiveness and restoration. 

This latest revelation must have been difficult for Jeremiah to fully comprehend.  So God takes extra measures in helping Jeremiah to grasp the ideas he is preaching to the people.  God instructs him to buy the land from his cousin as described in my last post and in chapter 32.  Jeremiah obeys God, but cries out for further assurance, which God gives him.

Evidently, Jeremiah needs still further assurance.  Here in chapter 33, verse 1, the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison. 

God then says in verse 3,  Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

It was not difficult for Jeremiah to understand God's judgment.  He could hear, touch and see the sin of the people around him.  He was experiencing along with them the foreign domination and oppression.  He could see the current destruction and knew of the coming death and desolation.  Have you ever stood amidst the rubble left by a tornado or hurricane or perhaps picked through the smoldering embers of a forest fire or smoking remains of a burned up house?  Remember the sense of empty amazement?  How could anything ever be the same again?  Jeremiah must have had similar sensations.  He could not perceive how this land and these people could ever be restored to a place of plenty and praise.  

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not! The word mighty here refers to things that are cut off or out of reach, like a well-fortified city that is difficult if not impossible to see.  And the word know carries the idea of being able to ascertain by seeing or observing.  God tells Jeremiah that if he and the people of Israel will call upon Him, He will reveal to them amazing things that they cannot currently imagine! 

As we read on in verses 4-5, we see God confirming the fast and furious judgment and destruction.  But then comes contrasting verse 6!  Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth. Here are the great and mighty things that they cannot perceive!  As they return to Him in repentance and humility, God will indeed bring an abundance of peace, safety, and security.  He will heal the land and return it to its intended splendor.  He goes on in the rest of the chapter to detail the coming blessings.

This true account from the book of Jeremiah reassures me that there is no area of my life or yours that is too desolate or barren for God to restore.  The restoration doesn't always come in the way I think it will.  We serve a creative and omnipotent God.  He knows what is best for me.  But as I follow Him, and come to Him in repentance and humility, I can call out to Him, and in His time, He will show me the things I cannot now perceive.  Those areas that seem destroyed beyond repair can be brought to life.  As I obey His voice, He can bring abundant peace and stability to my confusion and chaos. 

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not!

Keep calling!  Keep listening!  Keep obeying! The answer may be sudden, or it may be little by little.  But He has an abundance of peace and truth for His children.

Jeremiah 32:1-27 Read it!  In this chapter, we see a very human Jeremiah to whom I can easily relate. 

The land of Judah is under the control of Babylon.  Neduchadrezzar has been letting them dwell in and govern their own land.  Until now.  They are currently under siege by the Chaldean army.
 
Jeremiah is in the midst of a prison sentence by King Zedekiah.  His crime is speaking the word of God's judgment against the people and the land of Judah.  Although, Jeremiah is allowed to walk about and carry out business, his boundaries are the perimeters of the prison yard. 

 He has recently added a new dimension of restoration and blessing to his message of certain and severe judgment to God's rebellious children. Few people have hearkened to his message before, so why should they now? 

This is where it gets interesting. 

God calls on Jeremiah to be a living object lesson of faith in the message he is proclaiming. Keep in mind that Jeremiah has been preaching that the city will be destroyed, and the people will be carried away to Babylon.  While the city is currently under siege, God tells Jeremiah that his cousin is going to come to him and ask him to buy some family property.  According to verse 8, Jeremiah must think, "What?! When the land is under the control of Babylon and about to be ransacked by soldiers, my cousin is going to think that I might want to buy property?!"  He is not even sure that this word has come from God!  But sure enough, into the prison yard comes cousin Hanameel with a field for sale!  Even though this made absolutely no sense to Jeremiah, he discerned that this was God's doing, and dished out over $2,000 for the land.  Ownership of property was a big deal in those days, and a very public business transaction was made so that all would know the rightful owner of the land.  The proper papers were drawn up and signed, and the deal was done.

Now Jeremiah responds like I probably would have.  He has just spent hard earned money for land that he doesn't need in a place that is under foreign control and about to be possessed  and destroyed by the Chaldeans.  So he goes to God in prayer in verses 17-25.  Read it!  Look at what he says.  He starts by literally crying out to God, proclaiming His power and majesty, confirming that nothing is hidden from Him.  He reminds God, as if God needed reminded, of all that had happened to the Israelites from the time of their bondage in Egypt up to their present bondage to their own sin.  In verse 24, Jeremiah reminds God that the judgment he had been preaching was now actually coming to pass.  I can just see the puzzled look on his face as shakes his head and ends his prayer in verse 25 with a query of  bewilderment as to why God would tell him to make this crazy deal even though "the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans."

God's answer?  You're right! I am God. And I know what I'm doing!  Read it for yourself in verse 27!  God goes on to show Jeremiah that this seemingly senseless action is proof to the people of Judah that Jeremiah believes what he is preaching, that even though they are currently suffering God's judgment, there will be an end to the punishment and restoration will come.  Land will be bought and sold once again as God returns His people to their inheritance.

Has God told you to do something crazy that makes no sense to anyone, including you?  If you're sure it's God's voice, just do it!  Now that's a big if.  In order to discern God's will, you must be walking with Him on a daily basis, spending time in His Word, in prayer, and in worship.  You must be doing what He has already told you to do.  His leading will never lead you contrary to clear commands and principles in His Word.  Godly counsel is to be sought and carefully considered.  If all of the above are in place, and it still seems crazy, God may be telling you to go ahead and jump! 

Like He told Jeremiah in verse 27, Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?