Faith in a Bad Market — Jeremiah 32:1–44

The recording, chapter markers and searchable transcript appear here once the Sunday video is available.

In this message

Real faith moves when God speaks, not when circumstances improve.
Faithfulness to God does not guarantee favor with people, even with your own hometown.
Faith obeys in spite of consequences, because it is anchored in what God has promised.
Prayer after obedience includes worship, memory, and honesty before God.
God’s judgement can be certain and restoration can still be coming, because God is not done with his people.

The passage

The verses Lee stops on. Read Jeremiah 32 in full.

Jeremiah 32:1–2

1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah.

Notice how Jeremiah pinpoints the time: it was “The tenth year of Zedekiah,” the year Nebuchadnezzar breached the walls of Jerusalem and destroyed it. It was a dark day indeed.

Jeremiah 32:6

6Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me:

Here is a Picture of the ancient city of Anathoth. The Hometown of the Prophet Jeremiah. It was a hilltop town, about 3.5 miles from Jerusalem, with a view over the countryside of the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea. In Jeremiah 11:21-23 – The people of Anathoth, his own family, plotted to kill him. The rejection wasn’t just rational – it was personal.

When everything says retreat, faith steps forward—because God’s future is not tied to today’s conditions.

What we have seen

Real faith doesn’t wait for circumstances to change—real faith steps forward when everything says retreat.
Faithfulness to God does not guarantee favor to men.
Faith is not believing in spite of evidence; Faith is obeying in spite of consequences.
God uses his power to accomplish his purposes through his people.

Why would God tell Jeremiah to buy a field when Jerusalem was falling?

God told Jeremiah to buy land as an act of obedient faith in God’s promise of a future. Humanly speaking it made no sense: the land was occupied, Jeremiah was in prison, and captivity was coming for seventy years. The purchase was Jeremiah putting weight on God’s word that houses, fields, and vineyards would again be bought in the land. God chose the worst possible moment to show that his future is not tied to today’s conditions.

What does Jeremiah 32 teach about faith when everything says to retreat?

Real faith doesn’t wait for circumstances to change—real faith steps forward when everything says retreat. Jeremiah’s obedience happened when the economy had collapsed, the enemy was already in the land, and he was confined in prison. Faith is not believing in spite of evidence; faith is obeying in spite of consequences. God’s promises, not the visible situation, set the direction.

Why was Jeremiah in prison in Jeremiah 32?

Jeremiah was in prison because of the message he preached to King Zedekiah. Jeremiah said Jerusalem would fall, the Babylonians would succeed, and the king would be captured. Zedekiah didn’t want to hear that and imprisoned him. Faithfulness to God did not earn Jeremiah favor with people.

Does obedience to God guarantee people will treat you well?

Faithfulness to God does not guarantee favor to men. Jeremiah’s experience included rejection that was not just rational but personal, including hostility tied to his own hometown of Anathoth (Jeremiah 11:21–23). Even when a person is right with God, people may still oppose, misunderstand, or punish them. Jeremiah’s imprisonment sits inside that reality.

What is the point of Jeremiah making the land purchase publicly with witnesses and documents?

Jeremiah conducted the transaction openly with witnesses, documents, sealed deeds, and careful storage. Charles Spurgeon’s point was that true faith does not transact its business in secret and can do its work in the light. The public nature of the purchase showed this was not private devotion but public obedience. Jeremiah was acting on God’s promise in a way others could see.

What does Jeremiah’s prayer in Jeremiah 32:16–25 show about how to pray when you’re anxious?

True prayer has three movements: worship, memory, and honesty. Worship says God is great, and that no matter what the problems are, God is greater. Memory looks back on God’s faithfulness in keeping promises and meeting needs. Honesty admits, “I don’t understand,” and turns the situation over to the Lord.

Is it wrong to ask God “why” when you don’t understand what he’s doing?

There is nothing wrong with asking why and bringing doubts or questions to the Lord. J. Vernon McGee’s counsel was to talk to the Lord about doubts rather than put on a pious, hypocritical front. Jeremiah trusted God, but he didn’t understand God, and he took his questions to him. Honest prayer is part of faith, not a denial of it.

What does Jeremiah 32 say about judgement and restoration?

Judgement was certain, and restoration was coming. God’s response to Jeremiah held together the reality of consequences for sin and the certainty that the story was not over. God was not done with them, and he’s not done with you either. God doesn’t just restore; he establishes.

What does Jeremiah 32 say about God’s power in a believer’s life?

God uses his power to accomplish his purposes through his people. God doesn’t give power so you can be all you want to be; he gives power so you can be all he wants you to be. God described his work as being “for their good,” not for comfort or convenience, realigning the heart toward him. Even hard providences can be used toward that good.

What does it look like to apply Jeremiah 32 today when the world thinks faith is foolish?

Believers can treat obedience as an investment in God’s future even when the world laughs. The world may ridicule faith and future-focused choices, but God will keep his promises and vindicate his people. The call is to refuse to sacrifice the eternal for the temporal, seeking the joys of the world to come rather than sinful pleasures of the present world. A good question to carry is: “What field is God asking you to buy right now?”

Where else scripture speaks

Every passage Lee reaches for. The ones he teaches from open here; the rest link out.

Passages picked up elsewhere in the series:

Luke 1:37 — Called Before You Were Born

Take this with you

Trust doesn’t come easily. It wasn’t easy for Jeremiah to buy land in enemy territory.