CHAPTER 32

(590 B.C.)

JEREMIAH BUYS A FIELD AT ANATHOTH: A SIGN OF ISRAELS REDEMPTION

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. (This signifies the very eve of Jerusalems destruction. In fact, the city will be destroyed in approximately one year. Actually, the siege had begun the preceding year [39:1], but had been temporarily raised on the approach of an Egyptian army [37:5, 11].)

²For then the king of Babylons army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the Prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judahs house. (Jeremiah was in prison because he foretold the capture of the city by the Chaldeans. When the Babylonian siege was raised by the Egyptian army, such must have exposed the Prophet and his Message to public ridicule. In fact, the false prophets were proclaiming that the Egyptians would come to their rescue and the Babylonians would be forced to flee. However, the Egyptians army would prove to be insufficient for the task, with the Babylonians once again resuming the siege. This proved the validity of Jeremiahs Message.)

³For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore 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 (Jeremiahs answer to the approaching Egyptians and their supposed relief was, in effect, that nothing had changed. The Babylonians, despite the Egyptians, would take the city);

⁴And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes (Zedekiahs eyes saw the Chaldean monarch at Riblah; his eyes were then put out, and he was carried to Babylon, where he died. Thus, as predicted by the Prophet Ezekiel, he died in Babylon and yet never saw it [II Ki. 25:6-7; Ezek. 12:13; Jer. 34:3]);

⁵And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, says the LORD: though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not prosper. (There is some indication in this Verse, considering the words, And there shall he be until I visit him, that Zedekiah at the last repented before the LORD, even though it was too late to save Judah and Jerusalem.)

⁶And Jeremiah said, The Word of the LORD came unto me, saying (Verses 2 through 5 being somewhat of a parenthesis, the account resumes following Verse 1),

⁷Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum your uncle shall come unto you, saying, Buy you my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is yours to buy it. (The Law concerning the Redemption of Land is found in Lev., Chpt. 25 and Ruth, Chpt. 4.)

⁸So Hanameel my uncles son came to me in the court of the prison according to the Word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray you, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself. Then I knew that this was the Word of the LORD. (Then I knew that this was the Word of the LORD, seems to imply that Jeremiah was not quite certain that the Lord had really told him this until his cousin came to the court of the prison.)

⁹And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncles son, who was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver. (Even though the amount of money was small, still, the symbolism for which the Holy Spirit desired to use this was very special in the sight of God. It was to serve as notice that houses, fields, and vineyards would be possessed by the Jews again after many days actually some seventy years after the beginning of the captivity, and in this very place.)

¹⁰And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.

¹¹So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the Law and custom, and that which was open:

¹²And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel my uncles son, and in the presence of the witnesses who subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison. (Baruch the son of Neriah was the brother of Seraiah, the quartermaster to king Zedekiah. Josephus says that he was of noble family. He was a faithful attendant to the Prophet Jeremiah.)

¹³And I charged Baruch before them, saying,

¹⁴Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days. (The many days refer to the seventy years of captivity of 25:9-14, of which some eighteen years had already passed. As such, the Prophecy was not meant to be negative, but rather positive, meaning that the Jews would be restored to this very land at the end of the seventy-year period.)

¹⁵For thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land. (The purchase of this land served as a symbolism and also demonstrated the Prophets belief in the Divine Promise of Restoration.)

JEREMIAHS PRAYER

¹⁶Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the LORD, saying,

¹⁷Ah Lord GOD! behold, You have made the Heaven and the Earth by Your great Power and stretched out Arm, and there is nothing too hard for You (Jeremiahs prayer would have been identical to those prayed today, with one exception. Since the Advent of Christ, Believers now pray to the Father in the Name of Jesus [Jn. 16:23]):

¹⁸You show lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompense the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of Hosts, is His Name (the conjunction of love to thousands and of suffering to children because of their parents sin is an offense to the carnal mind; however, the reasons should be overly obvious),

¹⁹Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for Your Eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings (To give everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings, is the same as with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again [Mat. 7:2]):

²⁰Who have set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, and in Israel, and among other men; and have made You a Name, as at this day (As at this day, refers to signs and wonders continuing to be performed, equal to those wrought in Egypt and elsewhere);

²¹And have brought forth Your People Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders and with a strong Hand, and with a stretched out Arm, and with great terror (God is a miracle-working God!);

²²And have given them this land, which You did swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey (this land given to them by the Lord was now about to be taken away from them by the Lord!);

²³And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not Your Voice, neither walked in Your Law; they have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do: therefore You have caused all this evil to come upon them (this Verse tells us there were conditions for maintaining the possession):

²⁴Behold the mounts, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, who fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what You have spoken is come to pass; and, behold, You see it. (And the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, refers to the act already performed, at least in the Mind of God; actually, the city had not yet fallen to the Chaldeans, but its fall a foregone conclusion.)

²⁵And You have said unto me, O Lord GOD, Buy you the field for money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. (The purchase, as stated, was designated by the Holy Spirit to serve as symbolism that, despite the present circumstances, there ultimately would be a restoration.)

JUDGMENT ON ISRAEL AND JUDAH

²⁶Then came the Word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,

²⁷Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for Me? (In this Verse and those following, the Lord exclaims His Power to do whatever is necessary to bring about His intended results. The question, Is there anything too hard for Me?, implies that not only is there nothing too hard for Him, but that there is not even anything hard for Him to do!)

²⁸Therefore thus says the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it (this Passage denotes the sovereignty of God and His ability to do that which needs to be done. At this juncture, world leadership would pass from the faltering hands of the kings of Judah to the Gentiles, where it has remained ever since [Lk. 21:24]):

²⁹And the Chaldeans, who fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, upon whose roofs they (the Israelites) have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke Me to anger. (Since the Hebrews had substituted Moloch, the god of fire, in the place of Jehovah, it was a just judgment which burned their houses with fire [Deut. 3:6].)

³⁰For the Children of Israel and the Children of Judah have only done evil before Me from their youth: for the Children of Israel have only provoked Me to anger with the work of their hands, says the LORD. (In the reply to the Prophets prayer, the two foundation doctrines find expression: the incurable depravity of human nature, even in the most favorable moral conditions; and the necessity of a new Spiritual birth. However, these two doctrines deeply offend moralists.)

³¹For this city has been to Me as a provocation of My anger and of My fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before My Face (Solomon, who beautified Jerusalem, also established idolatry in it [I Ki. 11:1-9]. Therefore, the problem of provocation persisted from the very beginning, and only increased in intensity as the years passed. Now, the Lord will remove it from before His Face),

³²Because of all the evil of the Children of Israel and of the Children of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their Priests, and their Prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (This Passage tells us that iniquity had permeated every part and parcel of Jewish society.)

³³And they have turned unto Me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction. (Have turned unto Me the back, and not the face, signifies a refusal of Gods Word.)

³⁴But they set their abominations in the House, which is called by My Name, to defile it. (This could have referred to the altars which Manasseh built for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the House of Jehovah, and especially to the image of the Canaanitish goddess Asherah, which he set up in the Temple itself, and which was most abominable [II Ki. 21:5, 7].)

³⁵And 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 unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into My Mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. (The worship of Molech seems to have been associated with the sacrifice of children in the fire. The Law of Moses demanded the death of anyone who offered his child to Molech or as a sacrifice [Lev. 8:21; 20:2-5].

Neither came it into My Mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin, refers to the fact that even Omniscience is surprised by such action. The phrase does not imply a lack of knowledge.)

³⁶And now therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof you say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence (the carnal mind passes easily from presumption to despair. But when man is brought to despair, Grace can intervene to infinitely and permanently bless him. Thus, mans incurable sinfulness must be fully demonstrated in order to provide a field of action for the operations of Grace);

REGATHERING OF ISRAEL

³⁷Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in My anger, and in My fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely (the Holy Spirit through Jeremiah now jumps ahead to the coming Kingdom Age, when virtually every Jew from all over the world will be brought to Israel):

³⁸And they shall be My People, and I will be their God (this, God has always intended, and this will ultimately be):

³⁹And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them, and of their children after them (I will give them one heart, speaks of Conversion, which can only be brought about by the Holy Spirit and Faith in Christ. Such is the New Covenant, i.e., New Testament, given by Christ, now enjoyed for some 2,000 years, but not by Israel!):

⁴⁰And I will make an Everlasting Covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me. (After Israels acceptance of Christ at the Second Coming, there is no record in the Bible that one single Hebrew will in the future turn their back upon Christ, but they will continue along with their children to serve Him forever.)

⁴¹Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with My whole Heart and with My whole Soul. (In the coming Kingdom Age, the Jews are not only promised a new heart and untold blessings, but also the geographical Land of Israel. In fact, the Palestinians and the rest of the world should read this.)

⁴²For thus says the LORD; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them. (The good and the evil are carried out by the Lord on the basis of obedience or disobedience.)

⁴³And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof you say, It is desolate without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. (The idea is: after the destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, many will say that it can never be restored; however, the Lord has said it would be restored. And so it was!)

⁴⁴Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, sa ys the LORD. (Hebrew scholars instance this Verse as illustrating the full force and beauty of the Infinite Absolute in emphasizing the certain fulfillment of its several predictions.)