“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?” (Jeremiah 32:27)

Scripture adorns the name of God, Yahweh, with various modifiers. These in no way reduce God, as though He needed modification. Rather, like a rainbow, the literary modifications used around His name help us focus on various aspects of His glory. The name “Yahweh” stands alone, for it encompasses God entirely. To be sure, no single literary term can capture God’s glory entirely. We remember that when Moses saw the “backside” of God, what Moses saw was described in terms of God’s character: “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth …” (Ex 34:6). There was no video camera to record the visual phenomenon. What he “saw” was a sort of prism-expanded perspective of God, like light being separated out into the colors of the rainbow. No wonder Ezekiel describes the Lord’s glory…

“As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.” (Eze 1:28)

In our passage today, we see the hue of God’s sovereign power. The description “the God of all flesh” doesn’t by itself denote a dynamite kind of power, but Jeremiah had just previously written, “Ah, Lord GOD [Adonai Yahweh]! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You…” (Jer 32:17). In that power, God was going to raise up Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians to defeat Israel and take them away into captivity. After years and years of idolatry and wicked behavior, God was finally going to make good on His promise of punishment. In the midst of that inevitability, God commands Jeremiah to buy some property in Judah! That might seem like buying a piece of the deck on the Titanic, except that God was planning to return the Jews to their land after the defeat and exile. In buying a piece of land, Jeremiah would be trusting in God, who had the power and ability to fulfill His promise to return them to their home after their punishment.

God poses a question intended to point out the ridiculousness of doubting Him: “Is anything too difficult for the God of all humanity?” Of course not! How could you even consider that? What a great promise is that!

Lord, I have nothing to fear because You are the God of all flesh, and nothing is impossible for You. I believe that.