Jeremiah 32:16

The Bible says in Jeremiah 32:16-17, “Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the LORD, saying,[17] Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:” Jeremiah prayed to God. At the beginning of his prayer in verse 17 Jeremiah gave two reasons why he knew that he could pray with confidence to God. Jeremiah knew his prayers could be answered because God created the heaven and the earth. Prayer is associated with the truth of God’s creation. If you believe in the Genesis account of the origin of the universe, of the origin of the earth, and of the origin of life on earth, then you will be inclined to prayer and you will have your prayers strengthened. If God could plan all of this that we see around us, and make it happen, then how powerful He is. If you have a request, then you will want to take your request to the individual who has the most power. The more access that you have to someone up the chain of command, the more likely it is that your request will be granted. It says in Philippians 4:6, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

The second reason that Jeremiah had confidence when he prayed to God is closely associated to the first. God has all power, and therefore “there is nothing too hard” for God. There are many things that are too hard for you and me. That is one of the reasons why we pray. We need help. Life can be difficult and dangerous. We need miracles almost every day to be protected, to be guided, and to be provided for. Whatever need you have, God can supply that need. Jesus said in Mark 11:23, “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” It also says in Mark 10:27, “And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.”

God is the Creator and has all power. God can do anything. These are two reasons to pray to God. These are also reasons to pray to Jesus. Jesus is God, Jesus has all power, and Jesus can do anything. Concerning Jesus being God and being the Creator, the Bible says in John 1:1-3, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.[2] The same was in the beginning with God.[3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Concerning Jesus having all power, the Bible says in Matthew 28:18, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”

The Bible says in Jeremiah 32:18, “Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name.” This verse refers to at least three of the attributes of God: love, holiness, and omnipotence. “God is love,” it says in First John 4:2. Paul wrote in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Concerning your prayer life, it is good to do what Jeremiah did and remind yourself of the fact that God loves you immensely and eternally. Of course, He will answer your prayers because He loves you.

When Jeremiah prayed to God and said thou “recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them,” Jeremiah was speaking about the holiness of God. God’s judgment and justice stem from His holiness. True holiness cannot even be in the presence of sin. A holy judge must punish sin. One of the reasons that we pray to God is to implore His mercy on us, because if we do not have His mercy, then we will have His judgment. Thank God for the mercy that we have in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus also taught us to pray for mercy and forgiveness when He said in Luke 11:4 that we should pray, “And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us.”

Jeremiah referred to the omnipotence of God when Jeremiah prayed at the end of Jeremiah 32:18, “the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name.” When we pray to God, we are confident that He can do anything. That is one of the reasons that we pray to Him: to ask Him to do things that no one else can do. The phrase “the Lord of hosts” is an emphasis on the truth that God has no limit to what He can do. Not only is God all-powerful, but He also has millions and millions of angels and believers whom He uses to accomplish His will.

The Bible says in Jeremiah 32:19, “Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:” God is great in counsel and mighty in work. Notice that “counsel” is mentioned before “work.” Counsel speaks of God’s omnipotence. He knows everything. Human beings k now very little compared to God. To whom does God give counsel? God gives His counsel to whomever will ask for it. It says in James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” Counsel is mentioned before work. Jesus does His work through His people. But before we can do His work, we need wisdom from Him. Jesus said in Matthew 11:29, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me…” Jesus is the great teacher. First you must learn the truth of the Gospel of Christ, or you have not learned anything about the true nature of things. And then you must be learning from Jesus throughout the rest of your life. Jesus is the Master. Jesus is the great teacher. Jesus is “great in counsel.” The prophecy about the Messiah in Isaiah 9:6 says that Jesus would be called “wonderful counselor.” Jesus also said on this subject in John 6:45, “It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.”

The Bible says in Jeremiah 32:20-22, “Which hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, and in Israel, and among other men; and hast made thee a name, as at this day;[21] And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with great terror;[22] And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;” One of the reasons that God performed the miracles that He did when He brought the children of Israel out of Egypt was for His own name’s sake. Jeremiah said to God in verse 20, “hast made thee a name.” God wants His name to be praised and honored and glorified among all the people of the earth. Since the unbelievers are not going to do that, the believers need to. If Jesus has done any miracle for you such as saving you from your sins, He wants you to tell others for the sake of His name. What does your name mean to people? Your name is your reputation. You should be concerned about your name and your family’s name. Would to God that more children thought about this before they committed different acts as they grew older.

The Lord God performed wonderful miracles for the children of Israel. Not only did He bring them out of Egypt miraculously in an act of salvation, but God also gave the Israelites their own land, as it says in Jeremiah 32:22, “a land flowing in milk and honey.” Notice that Jeremiah said in verse 22 that God “hast given them this land.” The Promised Land, which is a territory larger than the modern-day Israel, has been given to the Jewish people. No pronouncement by any politician, and no threats of war, nor any other action by human beings can change this fact. It is God’s choice. It is God’s will. Woe to those who oppose God’s will. They will all be annihilated at the Battle of Armageddon.

Jeremiah 32:23-24 tells us what happened in Israel after they entered the Promised Land. By the way these two verses are a summarization of most of the books of the Old Testament starting with the last part of the book of Exodus. It says in verses 23-24, “And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them:[24] Behold the mounts, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it.”

The Israelites were blessed and helped by the Lord, and then what happened? 1. They “obeyed not” God’s voice. 2. They walked not in God’s law. 3. They have “done nothing of all” that God commanded. No nation on this earth can get any worse than this, and these were supposedly God’s chosen people. Sometimes the problem is not with the unbelievers, but with the believers. If only the believers were right with God, and if only the believers served Jesus faithfully, then the world would be much more like it ought to be. When things in society fall apart, it may not be the fault of the unbelievers at all, but the fault of the believers for not faithfully following their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Of course, one of the failures of the Israelites was the keeping of the law. Such great judgment came against the Israelites because they were under law. To fail at keeping the law always brings condemnation. How wonderful it is to be a believer in Jesus Christ. As it says in Romans 6:14, “For Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”

Even though the children of Israel were “under law,” God still had a future planned for them. That is what the next verse reminds us about. Jeremiah 32:25, “And thou hast said unto me, O Lord GOD, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” Notice the phrase, “Buy thee the field.” God told Jeremiah to buy a field in Israel to symbolize the fact that God definitely had a plan for Israel when the Israelites would eventually return to the promised-land, and see all the promises fulfilled that were made to Abraham. Those promises will be fulfilled because of Jesus Christ. Jesus is not only the Savior of the Gentiles, but Jesus is also the Savior of the Jews. God has a plan for Israel in the future because of the promises that God made to Abraham. God’s promises are always greater than man’s failures, and God’s promises are always fulfilled because of Jesus. We would think that everyone would want to give their heart to Jesus to become a part of the plan and to be a recipient of such great and precious promises.

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