God's Word is not chained

God is a just God. He doesn't let the guilty go unpunished but in Jesus' death the debt was paid in full.

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Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel,  for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. 2 Timothy 2:8-9

I wonder if during these two years of pandemic we have felt somewhat chained by circumstances. Sometimes even without a pandemic we can feel locked down by different situations.

The apostle Paul experienced actual imprisonment more than once but he had come to see that even when he was imprisoned God's Word wasn't chained. God's Word goes on regardless.

Jeremiah also suffered imprisonment for prophesying judgement for the people of Judah. Reading the accounts in the Old Testament and the New we can place these people on pedestals, not realising they went through the same struggles and agonies that we go through. But we can praise God for the honest accounts, for no "fake news" in the Scriptures as we can learn so much and draw so much comfort and inspiration.  

When Judah was besieged by the Babylonians and they were reaching the point when they were going to be carried into exile, Jeremiah was held captive in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace. He was kept for the sole reason of prophesying that the Babylonians would take the nation away and that there wasn't any point in resisting because God had allowed it to happen because of the sins of His people. God points out in detail in Jeremiah 32 all that they had done and Jeremiah had brought warning after warning that the people had ignored.  

In the midst of this, God told Jeremiah to buy a field. The laws of Old Testament (Leviticus 25:25) said if a piece of land was being sold, the relatives of the owner had the first option to buy to keep it in the family. So Hanamel, a cousin of Jeremiah, responding in panic to the situation they were going through, decided to sell and went to Jeremiah to give him first option to buy. Jeremiah, having had a word from God, telling him to buy, bought it following the legal procedures of the time. Jeremiah took that land because it was an investment for the future but more because God said so.

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You can read the story in detail in Jeremiah 32. After completing the purchase and making sure the deeds would be safely stored, there is a very interesting dialogue between Jeremiah and God. Jeremiah prayed and God responded. When we read it carefully we realise that Jeremiah confessed the greatness of God, His power and might and how everything that God had told Jeremiah was coming to pass, but still Jeremiah was puzzled by why would God  ask him to buy a field if they were going into exile?

Jeremiah knew nothing was impossible for God, but also that God had enumerated in detail all of Israel's sins and he knew God was right in judging. Jeremiah didn't share his thoughts with anybody but God, and God responded repeating all the promises He had made. His people would go into exile and suffer the consequences of their sins but God reminded Jeremiah of His promises in Jeremiah 31, reiterating again all His "I Will" to His people.

There was a New Covenant and at the end of chapter 32:37-44 we read them again.

This applies to us too. God is a just God. He doesn't let the guilty go unpunished but in Jesus' death the debt was paid in full.  

We need to turn from sin and follow Him. His sacrifice was once and for all. But we need to live a life of repentance and turning, just as the people of Judah did. Daniel and his friends among many others went into Babylon as captives. But His word wasn't chained. Through the life of Daniel and others God shows us that while we suffer the consequences of our sins He forgives and gives us the opportunity to return to Him.

I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. Jeremiah 32:39-40

This promise for Israel applies to us too. By His Spirit God makes us willing and able to do His will.

May this time of restrictions and limitations remind us that God's Word is not  chained. His covenant is an eternal covenant for Israel and the world, when we receive His gift of salvation. We can use any limitations to draw near to God, to listen and act on what He is telling us, to watch and pray and encourage others to do the same.

 

Author: Betty Plumb

May God bless and enrich your life

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