“They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline.”
– Jeremiah 32:33
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you believe that God audibly speaks to the guys, gals and kids who He is assigning to live to planet Earth? Do you believe that God perceptibly asks the guys, gals and kids who He is positioning to do things on planet Earth? Do you believe that God overtly punishes the guys, gals and kids for not listening to Him who He is embedding on planet Earth? If you believe that God clearly speaks to the guys, gals and kids who He is placing on planet Earth, how do you think that God talks to them? If you believe that God noticeably asks the guys, gals and kids who He is having to do things on planet Earth, how do you think that God instructs them what to do? If you believe that God unequivocally disciplines the guys, gals and kids who He is implanting on planet Earth, how to you think that God punishes them for not paying attention to Him? Jeremiah 32 has answers to how God is conveying, commanding and correcting. God’s specially chosen guys and gals – who are the Israelite people group guys and gals, who were living 2,597 years ago in the city of Jerusalem were living in very untenable conditions. King Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army had built siege ramps against the walls of the city of Jerusalem. The guys, gals and kids who were still alive in the city of Jerusalem had survived having been killed by the sword, having coped with starving to death and having escaped the effects of a plague. Your grandpaa does not think that there were many kids still alive in the city of Jerusalem when God finally released King Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army to . . .
A God – as God the Father, prophet spokesman – whose name was Jeremiah, was living 2,597 years ago in the city of Jerusalem. God – as God the Father, mandated Jeremiah to pass on messages – His ‘word’, to His specially chosen guys and gals who were living in the land of Judah and in the city of Jerusalem. Zedekiah – who was the king at this time over the guys and gals who lived in the land of Judah – which included the city of Jerusalem, had imprisoned or at least confined Jeremiah to the royal palace’s courtyard in the city of Jerusalem. Zedekiah had been for ten years an assigned king over the guys and gals who were living in the land of Judah. Zedekiah had not been a happy camper with Jeremiah for the ‘word’ that God – as God the Father, – as the LORD, had given to Jeremiah to tell him. The ‘word’ that God – as God the Father, mandated Jeremiah to pass on to Zedekiah was that He was just about ready to hand over the city of Jerusalem to the king of Babylon – who was Nebuchadnezzar, that Zedekiah would soon be speaking face to face with King Nebuchadnezzar and that He would have King Nebuchadnezzar take him with him to Babylonia where He would deal with him through King Nebuchadnezzar. God – as God the Father, through the ‘word’ that He gave to Zedekiah through Jeremiah was that He was going to have the Babylonian army go into the city of Jerusalem to burn down the houses of His specially chosen guys and gals who had provoked Him to anger. God – as God the Father, specifically said through Jeremiah that He was going to have the houses burned down which were having their roofs used to burn incense to Baal and where drink offerings were being poured out to other gods. Verse 33 is where God – as God the Father, explains to Jeremiah what His specially chosen guys and gals had done that had them finally going past the pale with Him, “They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline.” God – as God the Father, had given His specially chosen guys and gals lots of opportunities to return to worshipping only Him instead of what they were actually doing – which was moving more and more away from worshipping Him to worshipping Baal and Molech. The day had finally arrived when God – as God the Father, was doing what He said that He would do to His specially chosen guys and gals if they did not do what He had instructed them to do through the commands and laws that He had given to them through Moses on Mount Sinai.
Even though God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were still alive in the city of Jerusalem were within a year or so – because of their continual rebellion against God’s expectations that they obediently obey His prescribed worship paradigm that He had given them through . . . of being taken to Babylonia by the Babylonian army to be exiles there, God still wanted His specially chosen guys and gals to know that He was never going to completely write them off as the people group who He had specially chosen for His sake. God used the literal sale of a parcel of land to Jeremiah that was owned by a relative of Jeremiah as an illustration of how He would one day return the land that He gave to His specially chosen guys and gals to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . . back to His specially chosen guys and gals to once again live in it. The plot of land was owned by Hanamel. Hanamel was Shallum’s son. Shallum was an uncle of Jeremiah. A ‘word’ from God – as God the Father, to Jeremiah instructed Jeremiah to buy the land even though Jeremiah was being restrained or detained in the royal palace’s courtyard in the city of Jerusalem. Because Jeremiah knew that he had heard a ‘word’ from God to purchase Hanamel’s land for 17 shekels – which would have cost him about $10.88 if a shekel exchange was .64 cents a shekel, Jeremiah bought the land to be a literal expression of what God would do if . . . so – what ‘word’ has God already spoken to you?
Jeremiah 32 (1102)