In 1989 a movie was released entitled “Back to the Future II.” It featured the main character, Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox). Using a car/time-machine, McFly flew from 1989 to 2015. We are now living in the year which that movie viewed as a distant future.
Let’s do a quick survey to see what director Robert Zemeckis got right/wrong as he, in 1989, thought about that far future of 2015. Let’s see if what he thought would happen in the future did in happen:[1]
- Hoverboard – In the movie version of 2015, Marty McFly uses a hover-board, a skateboard that floats above ground. In the real version of 2015? No hover-boards.
- Wearable eyeglass phone – In the movie version of 2015, while at dinner, Marlene McFly answers a call with her eyeglass phone. In the real version of 2015? That technology will soon be available to the public.
- Food hydrator – In the movie version of 2015, a coaster-size disc of pizza is inserted into a Black & Decker Food Hydrator. Several seconds later, a large pizza emerges. In the real version of 2015? We have forms of food hydrators, but nothing like that.
- Flying cars on roadways of air – In the movie version of 2015, Doc Brown, Marty McFly and Marty’s girlfriend arrive in the year 2015 in their flying DeLorean, traveling along an air expressway. In the real version of 2015? No such luck.
- Drone photojournalism – In the movie version of 2015, when a gang gets arrested after crashing into the courthouse, a USA Today drone is taking a picture for the newspaper. In the real version of 2015? Media outlets do use drones.
- The Scenery Channel – In the movie version of 2015, inside the McFly residence, a window television is showing The Scenery Channel, “broadcasting beautiful views 24 hours a day.” In the real version of 2015? We have flat screen televisions and we have channels similar to the Scenery Channel.
“Back to the Future II” was one person’s attempt to imagine what might happen in the future. And what we learn is this: Not everything we think will happen in the future happens in the future. That’s true when it comes to technology. But it’s also true when it comes to far more important things. Not everything we think will happen in the future happens in the future.
This morning we follow Jeremiah as he considers the future. Remember, Jeremiah and the nation are in a period of tremendous flux. And that colors Jeremiah’s view of the future. As Jeremiah plays out the future in his mind, he thinks of lots of bad things happening, because lots of bad things are happening now. But God’s going to radically reshape Jeremiah’s and our perspective on the future.
First, let’s get a clear picture of just what kind of flux Jeremiah and his nation are caught up in. Let’s find out just how grim Jeremiah’s present is and why that present may be coloring the way he views the future.
- First, Jeremiah has fallen.
1The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah. 3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it; 4 Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye. 5 And he shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I visit him, declares the Lord. Though you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed’?” (Jer. 32:1-5 ESV)
Jeremiah is shut up and imprisoned. And he cannot appeal his case. Because he’s been placed in prison by the highest court. The king himself has placed Jeremiah there. King Zedekiah didn’t like what Jeremiah was preaching, so he put Jeremiah in prison. Which raises an interesting question: What do you do when you don’t like what the preacher is preaching? It’s a question raised numerous times in this book. We may return to again. Jeremiah has fallen.
- Second, Jeremiah’s city is falling. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Babylonians, who are also called “the Chaldeans,” is besieging Jerusalem. In one more year the Babylonian army will march through the streets of Jerusalem and turn this rousing city into rubble. Jeremiah’s city is falling.
- Third, Jeremiah’s hometown has fallen. We learn in Jeremiah 1 that Jeremiah is from a town called Anathoth. And what’s implied by the fact that Babylon is knock, knock, knocking on Jerusalem’s door is that nearby Anathoth now lies in Babylon’s grasp. Jeremiah’s hometown has fallen.
Jeremiah’s present could not be grimmer. So when God speaks to Jeremiah about the future, Jeremiah can only imagine bad things happening in the future. But not everything we think will happen in the future happens in the future.
As we’ll see, God tells Jeremiah that his cousin Hanamel is coming for prison visitation hours. Apparently some family property back home in Anathoth has fallen into the hands of people outside the family. This could happen in difficult economic times. A family might have to sell property to pay their bills. But, according to the law, the next responsible family member could redeem that land, purchase it back, so that it was once again in the family. And Hanamel is coming to tell Jeremiah that a field owned by their family has been bought by someone not in the family. It’s now Jeremiah’s responsibility to buy the field so that the land is back in the family.
Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, ‘Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.’ Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ (Jer. 32:6-8 ESV)
The family of Jeremiah and Hanamel once owned this field. Then, at some point it had to be sold to pay some debt. And now Hanamel wants Jeremiah to do his duty and redeem the field, purchase it, so that the land is back in the family.
Under normal circumstances that makes a lot of sense. Looking into the future, you could imagine that the family puts that field to good use. Maybe they build a nice house on it. And generations of the family live there and raise kids and grandkids there. Maybe they plant some crops and generations of the family raise and sell those crops. The field becomes a great blessing as the family moves into the future.
But these are not normal circumstances. As Jeremiah imagines the future for this field, he can only imagine grim things. Right now, the Babylonians have control of this field. They’ve already taken it by force. And no piece of paper is going to change that. As he looks into the future, all Jeremiah can see is that the Babylonians are going to raise their family members on this field. The Babylonians are going to grow their crops on this field. Evil is going to thrive on this field. Nothing good is ever going to come of this field. So, why in the world should Jeremiah buy it?
Jeremiah reveals these doubts to God:
Behold, the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and because of sword and famine and pestilence the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it. Yet you, O Lord God, have said to me, “Buy the field for money and get witnesses”—though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.’” (Jer. 32:24-25 ESV)
Jeremiah says, “God, you don’t understand what you’re asking. Buy the field? It’s just going to be in the hands of the Babylonians. It’s just going to be put to use by those terrible people who brought sword and famine and pestilence to this city. Evil will only thrive on that field.” As Jeremiah peers into the future, he can only imagine grim things taking place.
And often that is the case for us as well. Three examples:
I mentioned last Sunday that many at Highland are enduring great difficulties right now. Several are going through divorces, or career transitions, or enduring acute medical issues, or grieving deep loss. And when the present is that grim, the future appears grim as well. It’s hard to imagine anything about the future that isn’t also grim.
Last Sunday in the Connection Service Jesslynn Maxwell shared a testimony. She talked about how when she and Michael got married, they decided to live in Memphis rather than close to her family. And it was hard decision for her. For years she said Memphis didn’t feel like home. I’ve met others in similar situations. You find yourself in a city or a career or a school that you don’t like. It’s grim. And as you think about the future, it too appears grim.
Last Wednesday a group of Highlanders met in the Chapel to pray over Memphis. We prayed over every neighborhood in Memphis. And I was reminded how many of those neighborhoods have been written off. Many of those neighborhoods have been dismissed. Given up on. Too much poverty. Too much crime. Too much violence. As we look forward into the future for those neighborhoods, we can only imagine grim things happening.
This is how Jeremiah feels as he peers into his future. Buy a field? Why would anyone do that?
Why? Because, as God now reveals, not everything you think is going to happen in the future happens in the future. And, some things you think could never happen in the future do happen in the future:
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?…This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, so that I will remove it from my sight…Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety…Fields shall be bought in this land of which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ Fields shall be bought for money, and deeds shall be signed and sealed and witnessed…; for I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord.” (Jer. 32:26-27, 31, 37, 43-44 ESV)
God helps Jeremiah imagine a different future. This is not a future in which this field is owned and operated by the most evil empire of the day. Instead, this is a future in which fields just like this one are owned and operated by Jeremiah’s family and friends. Their families are raised on them. Their crops are grown on them. These fields become fields of dreams, fields where good and righteous things happen.
And God reveals that this is the future He is working towards. He tells Jeremiah, “I will restore their fortunes.” The word “restore” is a critical word in the Old Testament. It refers to God returning things to the way they should have been all along. Here’s what God is telling Jeremiah: God is always working toward a future in which everything-EVERYTHING–is returned to the way it should have been all along. Jeremiah can only imagine a future for this field in which evil happens. But God is working toward a different future. He will restore their fortunes. He will restore your fortunes. God is always working toward a future in which everything is returned to the way it should have been all along.
Those of you going through divorces, or career transitions, or enduring acute medical issues, or grieving deep loss need to hear this truth. God is working toward a future for you in which everything is returned to the way it should have been.
Those of you who live in a city, or work in a career, or study in a school that frustrates you and depresses you need to hear this. God is working toward a future in which everything is returned to the way it should have been.
Those of you who wonder and worry about some of the most distressed neighborhoods or schools of this city need to hear this. God is always working toward a future in which everything is returned to the way it should have been.
God will restore our fortunes.
And God kept that promise. God brought the people back from Babylon. And fields were once again put to good and godly use.
And God continues to keep this promise. Sometimes it is kept in a few years. Sometimes it takes several decades to keep. And sometimes the promise is not fulfilled in our lifetimes. But eventually, God’s future for you wins out in the end. Jeremiah’s field is a reminder that God is always working toward a future in which everything is returned to the way it always should have been.
And this is what allows us to do crazy things like buying a field:
“And I bought the field at Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy. And I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. I charged Baruch in their presence, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’ (Jer. 32:9-15 ESV)
Jeremiah now believes that God is working toward a future in which everything returns to the way it always should have been. And this allows him to do the unthinkable: purchase a field.
God’s future-making allows us to act in ways that protest the present and show faith in the future. Jeremiah’s field is an act of protest. In buying it back and sealing the deed Jeremiah was saying, “The way things are now is not right. The present circumstance is not right. This land doesn’t belong to Babylon. And I’m going to protest the way things are by buying this field.” But it was also an act that showed faith in the future. In purchasing this field, Jeremiah was saying, “The present is not right. But God is working toward a future that is. So I’m going to make an investment in that future. I’m going to act in the present in a way that shows my faith in God’s future.”
God’s future-making allows us to do the same. In the midst of personal crisis it allows us to live in ways that communicate that what we’re enduring is not right, but God is working toward a future that is. In the midst of personal despair, it allows us to live in ways that say “What’s happening here isn’t right, but God’s working toward a future that is.” And in the midst of surroundings where so much wrong is thriving, it allows us to act in ways that say, “This present is not perfect, but I’m investing in a way that says I believe in a God who makes the future perfect.” It allows us to buy a field.
I think of Highlanders like Ryan and Laura Stephens who strategically moved into the Binghampton neighborhood. It’s an area that others in the past have written off. An area with a grim future according to some. But the Stephens believe in a God who’s working for a future in which all things turn out the way they should have been all along. And they’ve decided to invest in that future in a personal way. They’ve bought a field.
I think of Alvin and Fe Luther. Decades ago they moved to Bacolod, Philippines. They encountered children who were suffering because 1) their public education was inferior, and 2) they had no opportunity to learn the Christian faith. But Alvin and Fe didn’t write off those kids. They believed God was working for a different future for the children of Bacolod. And they invested in that future. They started inviting local kids and their parents into their home for tutoring. Just a handful at the beginning. At the same time Alvin planted some trees in their yard. Tiny, scrawny trees. But they grew out of his conviction that God might turn that little group of kids and parents in their living room into something far more glorious. Years later Alvin’s son and daughter-in-law, Highlanders Nathan and Karen Luther, moved next door. And Nathan cut some of those now fully grown trees down. And he used the wood to make desks. And chairs. For the now three hundred children being taught and mentored at Alvin and Fe’s school, Shiloh Christian School. Alvin bought a field.
Not everything we think is going to happen in the future is going to happen. Because God is always working toward a future in which EVERYTHING is returned to the way it should have been all along. God’s future-making allows us to act in ways that protest the present and show faith in the future.
So let me ask you: What field is God calling you to buy? If you truly believed in a God who is working toward a better future, how would that change your present? What action could you take this week that protests the way things are and demonstrates a belief in the way things will be? If you truly believed God was already at work making you, your family, your surroundings, your city and your world a better future, what would you do? What field is God calling you to buy?
[1] http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-04-15/entertainment/ct-back-to-the-future-2015-20140415_1_hoverboard-future-part-ii-google-glass
