How to tackle a crisis of faith (Jer 32:16-44)

The NT mentions the shield of faith that can quench the flaming arrows of the evil one (Eph 6:16). Roman shields that Paul may have had in mind were tall, rectangular and could hide the body from shoulder to knee. Since they were made of wood and covered in leather, fiery arrows could set it alight. When that happened, it was tempting to throw away the shield altogether, which would leave a soldier exposed to attack. Such an image describes a crisis of faith. Many of our questions today circle around God’s character, especially His love. Some struggle to see how a loving God can also be angry and judge us, others feel so sinful that they cannot quite believe in God’s love for them. Yet others lose hope about God renewing them or resolving their difficulties. What can we learn from Jeremiah in tackling such a crisis?

Jeremiah’s question

Jeremiah’s unspoken question, after proclaiming hope (Jer 32:1-15, see my post How to become people of hope), is unexpected. He affirms that nothing is too difficult for God (Jer 32:17), meaning His judgment (note the stress on repaying iniquity and God responding to people’s deeds; Jer 32:18-19). While Israel-Judah assumed that a loving God could not bring disaster on His people, Jeremiah shows that it is not too hard for Him (the siege is God’s judgment for Israel’s disobedience; Jer 32:23-24). Jeremiah’s unspoken question, however, is this, ‘Why did You tell me to buy a field when Jerusalem will fall?’ (Jer 32:25). Jeremiah spent a lifetime telling his contemporaries that God meant judgment and only the false prophets offered hope, so it is understandable that his heart needed to catch up with God’s message of restoration.[1] Moreover, it is one thing to speak of hope and quite another to invest in it in a tangible way when future restoration is only a dim prospect beyond the prophet’s lifetime (and exile). Significantly, Jeremiah does not abandon his faith in God but engages Him with his questions. The mature Jeremiah continues to seek God even when he struggles to understand.[2]

God’s answer

God’s reply to Jeremiah echoes the prophet’s earlier statement but puts it as a question, ‘Is anything too difficult for Me?’ (Jer 32:27). Jeremiah clearly had no problem recognising that God could judge but struggled with the idea that He would restore. The Lord’s answer is that neither is too hard for Him. God’s own description of Israel’s sin is much harsher than Jeremiah’s as He describes their all-pervasive idolatry, their evil (including child sacrifice) that provoked His anger, their refusal to listen and their contempt for Him as they turned their back on Him (Jer 32:28-35). One can readily understand how such behaviour provoked judgment. Yet the words of restoration show a striking contrast. These same people will be claimed by God once again, He will renew their hearts and rejoice over them as He pours His blessings on them (Jer 32:37-44). How could He? The Lord is effectively saying that His anger is the other side of His love – the two belong together. He loves them even when they are evil, or rather, He is angry with them because He loves them. If He did not care for them, if He were indifferent, He would not be angry about their sins or persevere with them for restoration. The hope Jeremiah had to proclaim was the logical outworking of everything he had said before about the judgment.

Trusting the God who promised

Whatever leads to a crisis of trust in God, Jeremiah teaches us that our questions can be brought to God and what we wrestle with needs to be worked out in God’s presence. We should not throw away our shield of faith even if we do not understand. In the light of Jeremiah’s questions, it is all the more striking that he obeyed God in buying his relative’s land and invested in a seemingly impossible future. In fact, his actions are a picture of the Christian life. We, too, look to a promised (and better) future beyond this life and invest in it through obedience to the Lord because we believe the God who promised.

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[1] It may seem odd to us that this doubt surfaces after Jeremiah has already talked some years earlier to the exiles of hope beyond captivity (the letter to the exiles who were deported before Zedekiah became king; Jer 29:10-14; the prophecies in chapters 30-31 are not dated). However, this is no different from the Christian experience of speaking what we know in our head is true or what we have been taught without fully grasping its reality for ourselves.

[2] This is a far cry from his rants earlier (e.g. Jer 20:7).