“Now Is a Good Time to Buy a Field”

In Jeremiah 32, the Lord instructs the prophet to buy a field. The timing is important because the economy didn’t look good and the prospects for Israel didn’t look good. It was the “tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.” The armies of Babylon had besieged Jerusalem. All of life was in shambles and there was no end to the troubles in sight. 

The purchase was to be done as a redemption of family land.  How it was lost by his uncle and how it was that his cousin could not redeem it is not specifically said.  Yet we know that things were very difficult.  It was a time of loss.

Jeremiah bought the field, as the Lord had told him.  The deed was buried in an earthenware vessel so that it would last “a long time.” It was a good investment. It was “insider trading” because Jeremiah was told that the people would be restored to the land. We have insider news as well. We will be delivered one day from this world of sin and misery. 

We all know that things are tough right now.  It is the tough times that remind us to invest in the kingdom of God.  Jesus told the parable of the man that found a treasure in a field. He sold everything he had to buy the field (Mt. 13:44).  He, like Jeremiah, was convinced of a sure thing and acted on it without regard to the cost. 

Are you confident of the sure things God has promised to his children?  Can you see what is happening and yet stay invested in a kingdom that will not be undone by a bad economy, sickness, death, or anything else?  Hard times are the best times to double down on our investment in God’s kingdom.  Keep trusting, keep serving, and keep waiting for Christ’s return.

— Stephen Dufresne