🏡Quite Time for English Congregation [Jeremiah 32:1 – 32:15]
🔖Summary
While Jerusalem was surrounded by the Babylonian army, God told Jeremiah to buy the field that he had the right to possess. This was because God would restore the people of Judah to live as before.
🔖Reading bible
1 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 At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah.
3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it;
4 Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye.
5 And he shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I visit him, declares the LORD. Though you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed’?”
6 Jeremiah said, “The word of the LORD came to me:
7 Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, ‘Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.’
8 Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the LORD, and said to me, ‘Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ The
9 “And I bought the field at Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver.
10 I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales.
11 Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy.
12 And I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of th
13 I charged Baruch in their presence, saying,
14 ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time.
15 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’
✍️Thinking & Understanding
Jeremiah was imprisoned for delivering the message of Judah’s destruction to King Zedekiah (vv. 1-5). Though the people would soon be carried away as captives, God told Jeremiah to buy the field at Anathoth from his cousin Hanamel. Jeremiah obeyed God’s word and went through the proper steps and officially bought the field, including preserving the deed of purchase. God instructed Jeremiah to do this because when the people of Judah returned from captivity, they would each regain their own territory and once again engage in the buying and selling of fields and houses (vv. 6-15).
✍️Who is God?
V. 15 God governs all affairs and provides hope even in the midst of despair. Though the command to buy a field in the face of imminent destruction may have seemed rash, it was a sign of hope and promise for the people of Judah. God creates new events through obedient people. Are we obeying the word that has been given to us today, with faith in God?
✍️What lesson is God teaching me?
Vv. 6-15 We must obey God’s word in all situations. Jeremiah obeyed God’s command to buy the field at a time when the people were about to be carried away as captives. Just as Jeremiah received his inheritance from Hanamel, God will give us an inheritance in Jesus Christ so that we may live in the eternal kingdom. How can we obey the word in our current situations?
🙏Prayer
Guide us, Lord, so that we may walk with you, trusting in your faithfulness.
📚Heavenly Vision Community Church (Hanover, MD)
