Like John, Jeremiah is suffering for testifying for God. In Revelation 1:9 John wrote, “I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
As for Jeremiah, the Babylonian army is surrounding the city. Recently, Jeremiah sent letters from the Lord to God’s people in Babylon to assure them that after the land of Israel enjoyed 70 years of rest, God would bring them back. King Zedekiah would like Jeremiah to speak a similar good word from God about those with them in Jerusalem.
“Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him [Jeremiah] up, saying, ‘Why do you prophesy and say, thus says the Lord: behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; and Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face, and see him eye to eye; then he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall be until I visit him, says the Lord; though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed?’” Jeremiah 32:3-5
Wasn’t a preacher supposed to inspire hope and courage in the hearts of his listeners? The Lord had directed Jeremiah to write a letter of hope and beautiful promises to the exiles in Babylon, but he had no such word for king Zedekiah. To do so, would be wrong. He promised Zedekiah a face to face, eye to eye talk with the King of Babylon. His efforts to win the war would fail.
“And Jeremiah said, ‘The Word of the Lord came to me, saying, behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, ‘Buy my field which is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.’” Jeremiah 32:6-7
Numbers 35:4-5 describes Anathoth as land set aside for the Levites. Each Levitical city was to have 1,500 feet of pastureland extending from the city walls for their cattle and animals. They were not to sell these lands to another tribe. When the owner died, the next of kin had the right to redeem it before anyone else did (Leviticus 25:25; Ruth 4:3-6).
“Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the Word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the Word of the Lord.” Jeremiah 32:8
God confirmed His Word to Jeremiah by having his cousin show up and ask him to buy the land.
“So I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and weighed out to him the money—17 shekels of silver. And I signed the deed and sealed it, took witnesses, and weighed the money on the scales.” Jeremiah 32:9-10
A shekel back then was worth about 50₵ in today’s US Dollars. So, he paid about $8.50 for the field. A small sum due to the Babylonian siege around the city. Some people might have thought Jeremiah crazy to buy land at a time like this, but he did it as an expression of his faith in God’s Word. God had said that though the city would die, it would also resurrect.
In the Book of Revelation, Jesus reveals that this current earth shall be in the throes of death. It shall be plagued with wars, diseases, pestilences and catastrophic disasters. An antichrist shall attempt to control all humanity’s beliefs and a spirit harlotry shall attempt to seduce humanity from reflecting the image of God. God’s prophets and saints will be persecuted and some will die for speaking the truth, but then, the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ, shall appear and bring with Him a new heaven, a new earth and a new Jerusalem. All things shall be resurrected into a new paradise state of being. Glory to God!
“So I took the purchase deed, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open; and I gave the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses who signed the purchase deed, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison.” Jeremiah 32:11-12
Two deeds were drawn up in a contract of sale; the original copy, witnessed and sealed with the public seal; the other just a backup copy. The sealed original, when opened after seventy years’ captivity, would confirm Jeremiah as the owner. The “law and custom” refer to the conditions and details of this redemptive action. Upon the nation’s restoration, the original deed would prove that Jeremiah bought the field. “Even though Jeremiah would not live to see that day, he made sure the documents would be around to prove that God was faithful to His promise.” [1]
“Then I charged Baruch before them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: take these deeds, both this purchase deed, which is sealed and this deed, which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.” Jeremiah 32:13-15
The deed was placed in an earthen vessel for preservation until the appropriate time for it to be revealed as a testimony to the faithfulness of God. This deed prefigures the scroll that was handed to Christ at the beginning of the tribulation in Revelation 5. The scroll in the hand of Jesus has seven seals on it. As each seal is opened, wars, plagues, and pestilences are released on the earth. These are pangs preceding the rebirth of heaven and earth. As Jeremiah’s land deed prophesied of earthly Jerusalem’s rebirth, so the deed in Christ’s hand prophesies of the rebirth of heaven and earth. Paradise reborn!
“Now when I had delivered the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. You show lovingkindness to thousands and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them—the great, the mighty God, whose Name is the Lord of hosts. You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for Your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.’” Jeremiah 32:15-19
Jeremiah’s prayer is full of faith that with God nothing is impossible. He begins his prayer with an, “Ah!” “Ah” is an expression of awesome wonder. Jeremiah acknowledges that God created all things. He worships God for His love for thousands, and His severity towards iniquity. He worships God for keeping His eyes on people and for giving to each one appropriate responses.
In the last chapter of the Bible, in Revelation 22:12, Jesus Himself says, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.”
Jeremiah praises the Lord for the signs and wonders that He did in Egypt, and for bringing His people out of Egyptian captivity with a strong hand. For bringing them into a land that flows with milk and honey!
“You have set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, to this day, and in Israel and among other men; and You have made Yourself a Name, as it is this day. You have brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror; You have given them this land, of which You swore to their fathers to give them—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ And they came in and took possession of it, but they have not obeyed Your voice or walked in Your Law. They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore, You have caused all this calamity to come upon them.” Jeremiah 32:20-23
The Lord was gracious to them. What did they do to Him? They allowed other loves to exceed their love for Him. They did not serve Him. They served other gods which were not gods.
“Look, the siege mounds! They have come to the city to take it; and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword, famine, and pestilence. What You have spoken has happened; there You see it!” Jeremiah 32:24
Babylonian sieges began with encirclement to cut off all supply lines and communication. The 587 BC siege of Jerusalem lasted 18 months. The enemy used siege towers on wheels with battering rams to go over and through the walls.
“And You have said to me, O Lord God, ‘Buy the field for money, and take witnesses!’ Yet the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” Jeremiah 32:25
Jeremiah obeyed the Lord. He purchased the field from his uncle, but afterwards, it seems he had buyer’s regret. He envisioned the Babylonian siege mounds and the Babylonian soldiers coming over Jerusalem’s walls with swords swinging. He envisions the impacts of famine. Bodies growing gaunt! He imagines the odor from diseased corpses. Why did God ask him to buy a field at a time like this?
“Then the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ‘Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?’” Jeremiah 32:26-27
The Lord repeated back to Jeremiah what he had just prayed... “There is nothing too hard for You.” When Jeremiah focused on God he had faith, but when he focused on humanity, doubts about what he had done for God began to enter his mind.
In Acts 17:26, the Apostle Paul told the idol worshipers of Athens that “God made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth.” God started the entire human race with the blood of one man. In the beginning, the entire human race was in Adam. Then, God took a rib from Adam to create a woman. The human race came forth from these two. God created a race of out of two people. God is surely able to resurrect a nation that ceased to exist.
In Matthew 19:26, Jesus said, “With God all things are possible.”
“Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it. And the Chaldeans who fight against this city shall come and set fire to this city and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger because the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only evil before Me from their youth. For the children of Israel have provoked Me only to anger with the work of their hands, says the Lord.” Jeremiah 32:28-30
They sowed fire to Baal on their houses so their houses reaped fire. The god of fire was the object of their worship so God gave them an abundance of fire.
“For this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My fury from the day that they built it, even to this day; so I will remove it from before My face because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me to anger—they, their kings, their princes, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” Jeremiah 32:31-32
Is God’s anger at sin limited to the Old Testament times only? No, in Revelation 2:18, Jesus speaks to a congregation in Thyatira as “the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass. In Revelation 2:19-23, Jesus says to them, “I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first. Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.”
The strongest rebukes of Jesus in the Gospels were for hypocrites. Thyatira’s Jezebel called herself a prophetess but she seduced the Lord’s servants to be immoral and idolatrous. Jesus promised her sickness. He promised her lovers great tribulations. He promised to kill her children with death unless they repented.
“And they have turned to Me the back, and not the face; though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction. But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by My Name, to defile it. And they built the high places of Baal which are in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.” Jeremiah 32:33-35
God rose up early and attempted to teach them either by His Spirit or by His servants the prophets. But they would not listen. They desecrated God’s holy house. In an attempt to appease Baal, they offered to Baal human sacrifices. They had become like monsters.
There’s a similar scenario described in Revelation 16:9: “Men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the Name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.” If only they had listened to God and humbled themselves before Him. They made such a costly mistake and such an avoidable mistake!
“Now therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, it shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely.” Jeremiah 32:36-37
Their guilt deserved God’s everlasting vengeance, but He promised to restore them. The “all” countries implies a future restoration of Israel more universal than that from Babylon.
“They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them.” Jeremiah 32:38-39
God will not be ashamed to called their God. Having one heart contrasts with being scattered.
Before Jesus was arrested and crucified, He prayed in John 17:20-23, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”
Jesus has always wanted us to be one with Him and God. In John 15:4-7, speaks of abiding in Him. Israel’s problem in Jeremiah’s day, and the problem with so many believers today stems from not remaining in Christ. What led to Israel’s downfall? They did not remain in God.
“And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.” Jeremiah 32:40
The covenant established by Jesus’ sacrifice is everlasting because it is based on God’s grace and forgiveness, rather than human merit. Conversion and perseverance are God’s works in us.
Deuteronomy 30:1-6 says, “When you call these things to mind in the nations where the Lord drives you, and you and your children return to Him with all your heart and soul, the Lord will bring you back from captivity and have compassion on you. The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and your soul that you may live.”
“Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul. For thus says the Lord: just as I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them.” Jeremiah 32:41-42
Israel’s return to the Promised Land after the exile was a foretaste of the grace to be revealed when Christ shall come with shouts of acclamation.
“And fields will be bought in this land of which you say, ‘It is desolate, without man or beast; it has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ Men will buy fields for money, sign deeds and seal them, and take witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South; for I will cause their captives to return, says the Lord.” Jeremiah 32:43-44
After God’s righteous anger abated, He revealed His redeeming love for them by bringing them back to Jerusalem. When that day arrived, many in Israel signed new property deeds.
In John 14:1-3, Jesus says to us His followers in these last days, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
Believe in God! Believe in Jesus! He will come for you and bring you into His Father’s house.
[1] Dr. Phillip Graham Ryken, Jeremiah and Lamentations from Sorrow to Hope, Crossway Books, Wheaton, IL, © 2001, p. 479-482
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