seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Jeremiah 32:1 This is the 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 The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah.
3 Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. 4 Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape the Babylonians[a] but will certainly be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. 5 He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him, declares the Lord. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’”
6 Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: 7 Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’
8 “Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’
“I knew that this was the word of the Lord; 9 so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels[b] of silver. 10 I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11 I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy— 12 and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.
13 “In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: 14 ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. 15 For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’
16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord:
17 “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. 18 You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps of their children after them. Great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord Almighty, 19 great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind; you reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve. 20 You performed signs and wonders in Egypt and have continued them to this day, in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renown that is still yours. 21 You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror. 22 You gave them this land you had sworn to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23 They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey you or follow your law; they did not do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disaster on them.
24 “See how the siege ramps are built up to take the city. Because of the sword, famine and plague, the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it. What you said has happened, as you now see. 25 And though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians, you, Sovereign Lord, say to me, ‘Buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed.’”
26 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 27 “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? 28 Therefore this is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will capture it. 29 The Babylonians who are attacking this city will come in and set it on fire; they will burn it down, along with the houses where the people aroused my anger by burning incense on the roofs to Baal and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods.
30 “The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth; indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but arouse my anger with what their hands have made, declares the Lord. 31 From the day it was built until now, this city has so aroused my anger and wrath that I must remove it from my sight. 32 The people of Israel and Judah have provoked me by all the evil they have done—they, their kings and officials, their priests and prophets, the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem. 33 They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline. 34 They set up their vile images in the house that bears my Name and defiled it. 35 They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molek, though I never commanded—nor did it enter my mind—that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin.
36 “You are saying about this city, ‘By the sword, famine and plague it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon’; but this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 37 I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. 38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. 40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.
42 “This is what the Lord says: As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them. 43 Once more fields will be bought in this land of which you say, ‘It is a desolate waste, without people or animals, for it has been given into the hands of the Babylonians.’ 44 Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, because I will restore their fortunes,[c] declares the Lord.”
a. Jeremiah 32:4 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 5, 24, 25, 28, 29 and 43
b. Jeremiah 32:9 That is, about 7 ounces or about 200 grams
c. Jeremiah 32:44 Or will bring them back from captivity
Jeremiah's cousin came to him and asked him to buy some land from him. Jeremiah had a feeling this was some kind of sign from God..... because before his cousin showed up.... Jeremiah knew he was coming and what he wanted. So Jeremiah bought the land..... and prayed about it. God gave Jeremiah instructions, which he followed..... but of course.... Jeremiah had the nerve to ask God why.
I can see Jeremiah's confusion..... after all.... Nebuchadnezzar and troops were already close to the city. Jeremiah knew darn well.... the city would be demolished.... burnt to the ground..... even the Temple was going to be destroyed...... so why on earth would God want Jeremiah to stop, buy some land from his cousin, and seal the deed in a clay jar. Jeremiah had the nerve to ask God why...... note.... he not questioning God.... he's asking why. Jeremiah doesn't want the outcome to change..... wanting change in outcome would be questioning God..... but Jeremiah just wants to know why God is doing what He's doing.... because it doesn't really make sense to buy land that is about to be devastated..... especially when, as in Jeremiah's case.... Jeremiah knew the land would have no value.....
The response I read.... reminded me of what some mothers say to their kids..... "because I said so". Of course.... God can do anything God wants to do.... but the answer wasn't just "because I said so"..... it was more of a promise..... "when this is over.... the land will have value once again".
Hey... blueletterbible.org popped up in the commentaries this morning. I haven't seen that one for a while.....
Then I knew--Not that Jeremiah previously doubted the reality of the divine communication, but, the effect following it, and the prophet's experimentally knowing it, confirmed his faith and was the seal to the vision. The Roman historian, FLORUS (2.6), records a similar instance: During the days that Rome was being besieged by Hannibal, the very ground on which he was encamped was put up for sale at Rome, and found a purchaser; implying the calm confidence of the ultimate issue entertained by the Roman people.
Two deeds were drawn up in a contract of sale; the one, the original copy, witnessed and sealed with the public seal; the other not so, but open, and therefore less authoritative, being but a copy. GATAKER thinks that the purchaser sealed the one with his own seal; the other he showed to witnesses that they might write their names on the back of it and know the contents; and that some details, for example, the conditions and time of redemption were in the sealed copy, which the parties might not choose to be known to the witnesses, and which were therefore not in the open copy. The sealed copy, when opened after the seventy years' captivity, would greatly confirm the faith of those living at that time. The "law and custom" refer, probably, not merely to the sealing up of the conditions and details of purchase, but also to the law of redemption, according to which, at the return to Judea, the deed would show that Jeremiah had bought the field by his right as next of kin ( Lev 25:13-16 ), [LUDOVICUS DE DIEU].
Jeremiah, not comprehending how God's threat of destroying Judah could be reconciled with God's commanding him to purchase land in it as if in a free country, has recourse to his grand remedy against perplexities, prayer.
This is from the easy English site.The law said that, in certain circumstances, a close relative could buy land. That meant that the family would continue to own the land (Leviticus 25:25). Hanamel decided to sell his field. Perhaps he wanted money rather than land that the enemy would take. So he persuaded Jeremiah that he should buy the land. Hanamel used the words 'your right' as Jeremiah was his nearest relative. Hanamel may have tried to sell it to other relatives. But probably they were not willing to buy it in those dangerous times. The LORD had warned Jeremiah that Hanamel would arrive with that demand.
The field belonged to Jeremiah after the usual legal custom at that time. People did not use coins as money. Instead, people weighed silver or gold to pay for things. Abraham weighed out 400 silver pieces for land in which to bury his family (Genesis 23:16). Jeremiah weighed out 17 pieces of silver to pay for his cousin's field. With witnesses, he signed the legal record of his purchase. He gave the two copies to his secretary Baruch. They closed one copy and they left open the other copy.
Jeremiah told Baruch to put the two copies into a clay jar. It was a usual custom to put records in jars. That meant that the records would last a long time. After the exile, the records would prove who was the owner. Jeremiah believed that the LORD would renew the nation one day. Then normal business would begin again. People would be able to buy houses, fields and land on which to grow grapes. Jeremiah’s purchase of the field showed that he believed the LORD.
I am reminded of the little girl beside the door of the daycare..... crying.... waiting for her mommy. Only this time... the little girl has a doll.... from her own room..... her mommy let her have it.... to remind her.... mommy will be back. That doll being hugged by the little girl beside the door of the daycare.... reminds me of the land Jeremiah would want to walk on one day..... when things got back to normal.
