The Multiple Dimensions of Redemption - Tehila Gimpel: The Land of Israel Fellowship

hi everyone so here we are in this time between yomatsumahu israel's independence day and jerusalem day coming up in a few weeks and in this perfect timing of course this week's hufftorah the chapter from the prophets that we read after the torah reading on this coming shabbat is from year meow jeremiah chapter 32. now in chapter 32 jeremiah is sitting under arrest so you know the king doesn't want him to speak his prophecy they don't want to hear it anymore and while the babylonians are literally at the gates besieging jerusalem prophetically hashem tells jeremiah that his cousin hanamel is coming to sell him a field in anatole because as we learn in this coming week in this coming week's torah portion it's the responsibility of a family member to redeem a piece of land if the owner falls into poverty and try to keep the land within the family so that would be normal in any normal time except for that right now all of judea is about to be destroyed what would be the point of buying this land so then indeed hanamel comes and says hey uh could you buy my field it's hard to exaggerate how ridiculous this is to buy real estate at such a time imagine me telling you about some great real estate in ukraine it's just it's just absurd what could be more absurd than that but jeremiah understands prophetically that this action to be supposed to do is from hashem so he doesn't just buy it he makes a whole ceremonious process of it with all the legal fixins he doesn't leave out any formality with all those signatures and the witnesses and the scroll and animal must be thinking yeesh my cousin is as crazy as they say he is i mean what this is the deal of a lifetime for him and imagine this is not easy for jeremiah just as an individual person he knows that they're about to go into exile we know that people are dying from hunger and illness in the city this little bit of portable silver cash that he has he could use just for basic necessities of life and instead he's buying literally worthless real estate of all things finally he finishes this whole ceremony and then he makes this beautiful prophetic declaration in verse 14. he says so said the lord of hosts the god of israel take these scrolls and put them into an earthen vessel so they remain for many years for so says the lord the god of israel houses and fields and vineyards shall be purchased again in this land now we understand the point of all this craziness to symbolically act out that one day all this will not seem so weird buying real estate buying land in israel will be something of value it's like they couldn't even envision this it's so hard to imagine but he's showing with his actions that this is the future redemption that's beautiful but shouldn't it just end there then comes this really strange continuation to the chapter the crowd clears the witnesses go his you know assistant area goes and for the first time he's alone and doubt starts to creep in now bear in mind he's been through every manner of persecution he's been held under arrest he's been tortured but he never backs down but something about this of all things is too much and your heart breaks when he screams out in the english translation of verse 17 it says oh oh lord god but the hebrew is like is more like touching it's more heart-wrenching it says the official translation of that would be something like ah and jeremiah says ah i know hashem that you're a god of loving-kindness and nothing is hidden from you when you brought us out of egypt to the land of milk and honey but we didn't walk in your path and now in 24 he says everything you have proclaimed so far has come to pass and now you're saying to me to buy a field for money and appoint witnesses but the city is about to fall to the babylonians he says i get it we deserve this we sinned everything that you promised would happen so far came true and i've been able to tolerate but at some point i'm starting to feel ridiculous and then hashem answers him and says in verse 28 yes it is true that netzer is about to conquer judea and yes it is because of the sins of israel and judah who did evil things like child sacrifice and placed abominations in the temple but he goes on 37 behold i will gather them from all the lands where i've driven them with my anger and wrath and fury and i will restore them to this place and i will cause them to dwell safely and they'll be my people and i'll be their god and i will give them one heart and one way to fear me and it'll be good for them and their children i will plant them in the land truly with all my heart and all my soul in the fields shall be bought in this land that you say is desolate without man or without beast i think it's marvelous that this chapter comes out exactly around the time when we're thinking so much about israel this state of israel the in-gathering of the exiles this is coming right after holocaust remembrance day and then the memorial day for the fallen soldiers and for the victims of terror and after independence day that we had last week and coming up in a couple of weeks on jerusalem day it's time we're taking stock it's a time when we're contemplating what does it mean to be a people returning to our land i think in this chapter jeremiah at least for me is bringing up some important points you know we're meriting to live in a time where we've seen so many prophecies come to pass we've seen with our own eyes the in-gathering of exiles the revival of the hebrew language awakening of so many from the nations who feel in their heart calling to cast their lot with the god of israel but yet even with all of that at least for me it's still easy to fall into moments of doubt and despair because the problems still seem so insurmountable we have terrorism we have enemies we have defamation of israel bds and maybe worst of all internal strife leadership that doesn't reflect the torah values that we hold so dear so much fighting within the jewish people when i read this prophecy you know the talmud says that there were hundreds of thousands of prophets in israel during the age of prophecy but only a tiny fraction of the prophecies were written down in the bible and we know that that's because those are the prophecies that had relevance for generations like you know when saul is looking for his donkeys they say oh go to samuel the prophet he'll tell you where your donkeys are there were prophets prophesizing all the time in those days about day to day things like finding your donkeys but only those of eternal relevance only those of eternal relevance were put into the bible why didn't this chapter end when jeremiah finished the purchase and says oh lord you know the lord says that people will one day return to buy the land why do we need to hear the back channel dialogue between jeremiah and hashem about his internal issues and doubts it seems relevant for the moment not for the future jeremiah had a rough moment and hashem comforts him why do we need to know this why is this matter to me this is teaching the prophecy that this prophecy isn't just an accidental eavesdropping into a personal struggle that jeremiah is going through and how hashem helps him through it it is in and of itself a prophecy teaching us that when we get to the breaking point of down and despair that's also part of the unfolding and look at what jeremiah says when he cries out to hashem he says in verse 24 what you have proclaimed has proclaimed has come to pass and lo you see it and you have said to me by yourself the field yet this city is given to the chaldeans meaning he like us has seen with his own eyes prophecy coming to pass but when it comes to the final part of the vision it just seems too far-fetched she just can't keep his faith strong and this is not included in the bible for no reason maybe it's an answer not only to jeremiah and to his personal doubts but also to our own saying yes there will be frustration there will be a feeling that it's just impossible to finish this redemptive process don't be surprised it's just as much a part of the plan but here's a way to look at it and hashem reveals for us a glimpse of that future redemption so now what does it reveal how does hashem restore jeremiah's faith if you look at it carefully you can see that what he's explaining is that the redemption is going to be multi-layered with different stages because it's really counterintuitive the way hashem describes the future redemption first hashem says yes there's going to be an exile and then verse 37 he says i will gather them from the lands and they will dwell safely meaning first there'll be a physical ingathering of the exiles the nations you know they won't the jews won't be at the mercy of the nations anymore they'll have a shelter now if i was going to envision redemption i'd say you know first we'll all return to hashem we'll all you know uh be repentant and then hashem will reward us by bringing us back to our land but the narrating here is the narrative here is a totally different thing it's saying i will bring you back that's verse 37 and only in 38 it says then they will be my people and i will be their god and they'll have one heart it's the exact opposite of what you would imagine you'd imagine people coming together with one heart having unity and one accord and then returning to hashem and then being restored it can't be a coincidence that the verses come in the opposite way says first i'll return you then you'll return to hashem and then you will have one heart there'll be a repentance prop like process and then there will be national unity and only in 41 it says and then i will plant them on this land truly with all my heart and all my soul meaning if hashem is only at 41 planting us on the land truly what was happening on up until then well what we understand is that they were in land but not truly in the land and what does it mean to be in a land but not truly is that not the perfect description of what we are going through right now being in the land but not yet truly in the land because we're here we have a government we have an army but we can't even plant trees in judea without being harassed we can't build homes without international condemnation saying no you know jews can build here but not there can you walk in your cities and feel safe from terrorism so you're here but we're not truly planted so i am saying you're going to have doubts but remember returning to the land is not the end of the redemption process it's the beginning don't expect things to work right away there's a process that will happen in the land of returning to hashem and of returning to one another in unity and only after that will hashem plant us in the land truly as he says in verse 41 i will plant you truly in the land with all my heart and all my soul and if you have any doubt that this is talking about our time look at the last verse look at the final part only after all of that it says and then you will go to desolate places in the land i'm in 44 it says men will buy fields and inscribe deeds where the verse is specific it says in the land of benjamin in the environs of jerusalem and in the cities of judah and in the negev so meaning we've returned to the land but there are the places that it's going to be hard to buy and one day you will be able to be there truly and where are we struggling for land in israel if not in the environs of jerusalem in benjamin and judah and in the negev it doesn't say in the land of dan where tel aviv is it doesn't say in the land of zebulun or naftali in the north and those places truly aren't disputed right now it mentions specifically the places that we're going to be struggling in and it says one day you will be able to really be planted there and i don't think it's a coincidence that this after appears at this time it's coming just in the nick of time to give us encouragement exactly when we need it the most so i'll finish with verse 42 that says for so says the lord as i have brought upon this people all of the great evil so i will bring upon them all of the good that i speak meaning as we come out of yamashita and remember just how bad things can get hashem promises us that as bad as it ever was and ever will be that is the equal measure of goodness that i will bring upon israel so mass may we merit to see this in our days have a beautiful week everyone hi my name is jeremy gimpel a lot of people want to know exactly what the land of israel fellowship is and what members receive when they join so let me explain the land of israel fellowship is a global online community with hundreds of members from over 40 countries around the world they're live sessions and gatherings that create a direct personal connection to the land of israel and the lovers of israel from around the world there's no online gathering that i'm familiar with that is connected to the land of israel that unites and brings together such a diverse group of people backgrounds and nationalities it feels like prophecy it feels like something we need in these times a window in to a better future on the horizon there's a divine unity we experience every week in our fellowship broadcast we heard these amazing teachings from an authentic hebrew and israel perspective and our jaws drop not only because they ring so true and are such a blessing because they are so consistent with what we believe these sunday morning gatherings are nothing less than a house of prayer for all nations cindy lo the united states of america the land of israel fellowship is an amazing resource for learning torah the bible and the prophets unfiltered and uncensored directly from the land of israel we've been studying torah for almost 20 years but we feel we are stepping into it more than ever and seeing new depth and dimensions to scripture we're encouraged more and more every week calen ardell usa members receive access to all the archives in the library of teachings on every portion of the torah the biblical feasts hebrew prayer prophecy sessions on the ancient wisdom of the prophets of israel to help us navigate through these turbulent times these sessions are so rich i re-listen to each and truly each session is the best one yet tehela is a tremendous asset and the teachings ari shares are so rich i've read the bible so many times and i've known the things you are teaching the hebrew understanding is what christians have missed for centuries sister georgian from germany the land of israel fellowship is truly unique because it's built upon personal relationships with the teachers of the fellowship myself rabbi arya bramwitz and tahila gimpel every member has direct access to the staff 24 6 via email or direct whatsapp to ask questions to comment to connect directly to all the teachers and over the last years we've connected to some of the most beautiful people on the planet so if you want to find out more and join the land of israel fellowship you can click on the link below and if you want to try it out for just a month you can email fellowship at the land of israel.com and we'll hook you up i hope to see you shalom from the mountains of judea you