“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3
This promise of God did not arrive when Jeremiah was experiencing a high level of personal confidence in his life or when victory seemed near. It came while he sat confined in the court of the guard, surrounded by the final, suffocating desperation of Jerusalem’s siege. Babylonian armies had encircled the city, siege ramps pressed against the walls, famine gripped every street, and the destruction of the temple, the fall of the city, and exile loomed as inevitable. To any onlooker, the scene could have appeared as God’s failure to protect His people, His holy city, Jerusalem, or even His faithful prophet—despite Jeremiah’s more than forty years of unwavering obedience and urgent warnings.
Jeremiah had prophesied under five kings of Judah—Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah—spanning from 627 BC until after 586 BC. For over four decades, he had pleaded with the nation of Judah to turn from idolatry, child sacrifice to Molech, injustice, and false reliance on foreign powers. Yet the long arc of Israel’s history had been one of repeated unfaithfulness. From David’s covenant promise of an enduring throne (1010–970 BC) through Solomon’s temple-building and later idolatry (970–930 BC), the divided kingdom’s mixture of reform and rebellion ( 930–722 BC), the northern kingdom’s fall to Assyria (722 BC), and the southern kingdom’s partial revivals under Hezekiah and Josiah (715–609 BC), apostasy had persisted. By Zedekiah’s puppet reign (597–586 BC), rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar triggered the final siege, and the land outside Jerusalem’s walls lay worthless under enemy control.
In the midst of that collapse, God issued a command to Jeremiah that defied every shred of human logic: “Buy a field.” Jeremiah’s cousin Hanamel appeared in the prison court, offering the family plot in Anathoth for redemption. Jeremiah weighed out seventeen shekels of silver, signed and sealed the deed before witnesses, and entrusted both copies to Baruch to be preserved in an earthen vessel. The purchase was absurd—land seized by invaders, a city on the brink of destruction, and a future exile certain. Yet God declared through the act: “Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be possessed again in this land.” (Jeremiah 32:15)
Jeremiah prayed, praising God’s unmatched power—“There is nothing too hard for You”—while confessing the nation’s sins that had brought calamity and questioning the command amid visible ruin. God answered with breathtaking authority in the midst of the chaos:
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?” Jeremiah 32:27
God confirmed the immediate judgment—the city WOULD fall and be destroyed for its provocative idolatry. But God also unveiled profound restoration: the exiles gathered from every nation, returned to dwell safely, united with “one heart and one way” to serve Him forever. They would be gathered together by His everlasting covenant of goodness and the fields would be bought once more across the land as captives returned.
It was immediately following this exchange in Chapter 32, that God—while Jeremiah was still imprisoned—speaks again:
“Thus says the Lord who made it, the Lord who formed it to establish it (the Lord is His name): ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’” Jeremiah 33:2-3
You see, the field symbolized hope Jeremiah could only partially grasp, but in chapter 33, God gives him deeper revelation—promises of healing, peace, cleansing, joy, and the coming Righteous Branch who would bring ultimate salvation and righteousness.
“‘In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David A Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In those days Judah will be saved, And Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’” Jeremiah 33:15-16
Today, the same God invites us into this pattern. He often calls us to “buy a field” in our own lives—to forgive when reconciliation feels impossible, to persevere when hope seems gone, to invest time, love, or resources in people or situations the world has written off as hopeless. These acts may look foolish or wasteful to human eyes, but in God’s economy they carry eternal worth. They are seeds planted in faith, and our life-declarations that God’s story defies human logic.
My friend, having supernatural faith does not mean we pretend the sieges of life do not exist!
Rather, when we have vibrant faith in God, we can acknowledge the famine, death, terror, and ultimately the coming judgment—and we are able to live in obedience that defies logic. We can say, “Yes, my world is collapsing, but God is faithful in my life, so I’m going to buy that field.” We have a firm grasp on God’s promises that allow us to not be limited by our circumstances, and thus, we can say: “My circumstances don’t support this decision, but God’s path of peace is leading me.” Or, “No, I do not see any potential harvest by sowing into this person, but God grows the fruit.”
We don’t need to predict the results to live in obedience to God’s Word and His presence; that’s called putting our faith in Him to work.
Jeremiah both discerned and obeyed God’s command because his heart was attuned through decades of God’s faithfulness to him. Likewise, as we pray without ceasing, love our enemies, forgive freely, serve humbly, study His Word, and mourn sin, our ears become sensitive to His leading. His Word speaks to us like a trumpet over the roar of the storm. When the moment comes to step out in trust—even when obedience feels counterintuitive—we are ready, not because the situation looks promising, but because we know the One who commands us is more trustworthy than our own intelligence.
Our lives can be full of miracles no matter what our circumstances are!
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, when obedience looks foolish, and when I cannot see the way forward—help me to hear Your voice clearly. Like Jeremiah, give me the courage to “buy the field” even when the city is falling, trusting that nothing is too hard for You. Thank You that You are the Lord of all Heaven and earth. Lord, I call to You today; show me great and mighty things I do not yet know—the healing, the peace, the redemption, the future You are already writing. Strengthen my faith to obey when it doesn’t make sense, to plant seeds in barren ground, and to live as though Your promises are already true. May my life become truly great not by my strength or circumstances, but by Your mighty work through my surrendered heart. In the name of Jesus, the Righteous Branch who brings everlasting righteousness and peace, I pray. Amen.
