Hidden Promises

Sometimes the promises of God are hidden away, tucked out of sight until the time of their fulfillment has come.

Jeremiah saw this principle at work when the Lord told him to purchase (redeem) some land in the Promised Land. ¹ This was a risky venture for Jeremiah; nonsensical really. The nation was under attack by the Babylonians and the land would be overtaken and possessed by the enemy. Destruction was certain. But in the face of an uncertain future, Jeremiah made the purchase anyways, even if befuddled, according to the word of the Lord.

He took the deed for the land and had a friend seal it up in a clay jar. Dark, sealed, hidden. And that is where the deed remained until God's appointed time. Talk about casting your bread on the water and waiting for its return! And even though the Lord's command to Jeremiah produced a level of bewilderment in the prophet, Jeremiah prayed, and in his prayer reminded himself that the God who promised was both faithful and able to fulfill his promises, even the promise that,

“Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.” ²

Jeremiah knew that nothing was too difficult for his God. The Lord would bring His people out of captivity. He would give them a heart to serve him, and he would be their God, and they would be his people.

I’m reminded of the story of Naomi and Ruth.

Naomi made the major move out of Bethlehem to live with her husband in the land of Moab. There her two sons married Moabite women. But difficult times fell upon Naomi. She lost her husband and then her two sons died. Tragedy had struck and with few options open to her, Naomi returned to her homeland of Bethlehem, her faithful and insistent daughter-in-law, Ruth following.

“Call me Mara,” Naomi told all of her friends, “for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.” ³ From her perspective, the hand of God was against her and had bought this calamity upon her. But the providence of God through his loving, sovereign hand, brought a different perspective. For out of the womb of Ruth, a Moabite woman, would come David, king of Israel, the ancestor of the Christ, Jesus.

Talk about a hidden promise.

Maybe, right now, the promise of God in your life seems inactive, hidden away. But when God makes a promise, it will come to pass. Nothing is too difficult for him who by his great power and outstretched arm created everything. The same God who had determined to use the prostitute Rahab and thought nothing of employing the Moabite Ruth as progenitors to the Messiah, is determined to bring his promise to pass in your life - whether you see it or not; for we walk by faith and not by site.

Scripture References

¹ Jeremiah 32:1-15

² ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭32:15‬

³ Ruth 1:20