This chapter records another historical incident in the life of Jeremiah. For those who like outlines, here is a rough outline of this chapter.
1. A statement of the present situation, Jeremiah 31:1-5.
2. Jeremiah is told by God to purchase a field in his hometown, Anathoth, which he did, Jeremiah 32:6-15.
3. Seemingly doubting what God had asked him to do, his long prayer to God, Jeremiah 32:16-25.
4. God’s initial answer, Jeremiah 32:26-35,
5. God’s second answer, Jeremiah 32:36-44.
The opening verses tell that this was the final months of the Fall of Jerusalem when the city and the temple were destroyed. It was the tenth year of the reign of Zedekiah, Jeremiah 32:1, and the eighteenth reign of the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. So, it was around 588-587 B.C.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The siege had commenced the year before, and continued a year after, ending in the fifth month of the following year; consequently, the siege must have lasted about eighteen months and twenty-seven days, 2 Kings 25:18.’
Zedekiah had been so distressed by the many prophecies of Jeremiah that he had him imprisoned, Jeremiah 32:2-3. Why did Zedekiah imprison Jeremiah? We see in Jeremiah 32:3 that it is Zedekiah who is repeating the prophecies that Jeremiah had made, Jeremiah 32:4-5, and it is because of these prophecies that Zedekiah puts him away.
The details of Jeremiah being confined to prison are in these verses, but as we have seen, these conditions weren’t as harsh as they could have been. The king is told what is to become of him; he was going to see Nebuchadnezzar face to face, and be led away as a captive, Jeremiah 32:3-5.
Remember, this is the tenth year of Zedekiah’s reign, and in the eleventh year, all of this is going to happen. The Babylonians are already knocking at the door. Just picture the situation here.
The Babylonians are already attacking them; they are in the final months of the siege. Much of what Jeremiah had been prophesying was actually taking place before the king’s eyes, and yet he still didn’t believe what Jeremiah was telling him.
God tells Jeremiah that his cousin, Hanamel, is going to offer Jeremiah a piece of property and Jeremiah was to purchase it, Jeremiah 32:6. God says that it was Jeremiah’s ‘right and duty’ to buy the land, Jeremiah 32:7.
Anathoth is Jeremiah’s hometown and we read that Hanamel arrives and says that it is Jeremiah’s right to ‘redeem it and possess it’, Jeremiah 32:8 / Leviticus 25:13 / Leviticus 25:24-25.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This indicates that the Pentateuch was well known by the Jews at this time and that these regulations were still being observed. The book of Ruth tells of the marriage of Ruth and the redemption of a piece of land that had belonged to Ruth’s husband.’
Sure enough, what God said would happen, happened, Jeremiah 32:7-8. Remember, the siege is already on, but with great faith, Jeremiah obeyed God; he bought the land, Jeremiah 32:9.
What was the cost? Seventeen shekels of silver, Jeremiah 32:9. Perhaps not much money, but a lot of money when you consider that the land was destined to be destroyed.
As coinage was not introduced until about the sixth century B.C., the amount due was weighed. This was usual, Genesis 26:18-22, where Abraham did the same.
The purchasing of the land is then documented. All the legal procedures took place, Jeremiah 32:10-12, just as they would have done had peace prevailed in the land.
The deed was signed, sealed, and witnessed, and he took the sealed and unsealed copies to Baruch, Jeremiah 32:12-13. This provides us with a valuable example of the legal procedures for purchasing land in those times. Baruch is mentioned for the first time. Baruch was the scribe who wrote a great deal of this book, at Jeremiah’s dictation, under the strict direction of Jeremiah.
Jeremiah says that the deed of purchase should be put ‘in a clay jar so that they will last a long time,’ Jeremiah 32:14. The placing into a clay jar or earthen vessel is interesting because the Dead Sea Scrolls were preserved in this same manner. What is God’s message to Jeremiah? That the land of Judah would one day be repossessed by the people, Jeremiah 32:15.
In the knowledge of the future promises of a return, Jeremiah utters a prayer of joyful praise, Jeremiah 32:16. In his prayer, he acknowledges that God is the Creator of heaven and earth and nothing is too hard for Him, Jeremiah 32:17 / Genesis 18:14 / Luke 1:37.
He acknowledges that God is a God of love and a Great and mighty God, but He is also a God of justice, Jeremiah 32:18. He acknowledges that God’s purposes are great and His deeds are mighty, Jeremiah 32:19.
He acknowledges that God sees what’s happening and will reward people individually according to what they have done, Jeremiah 32:19. He acknowledges that God performed signs and wonders in Egypt and continues to do so, and as a result His Name is renowned everywhere, Jeremiah 32:20.
He acknowledges that God was the One who delivered from Egyptian slavery with signs and wonders, with His mighty hand, with His outstretched arm and with great terror, Jeremiah 32:21.
He acknowledges that God was the One who gave them the Promised Land and sticks to His promises, Jeremiah 32:22. He acknowledges Israel’s sin of disobedience when they entered the land and acknowledges that, as a result, God brought disaster upon them, Jeremiah 32:23.
He now acknowledges what is happening to Jerusalem at the moment and what the outcome will be, he knows that what God said was going to happen is now happening, Jeremiah 32:24. He appears to be trying to make sense of it all, he’s trying to understand why he had to buy a field when the city is going to fall anyway, Jeremiah 32:25.
Is this a joyful prayer or a prayer of questioning? Some scholars say that this passage shows the prophet’s humanity, that he has second thoughts about purchasing the property, and therefore, he is praying out of distress.
I think perhaps there is a mixture of both of these here. Jeremiah knows what is going to happen, but it is possible that he doesn’t quite understand why God wanted him to purchase this land.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Jeremiah simply could not understand why, under the circumstances, God had ordered him to buy the field. Therefore, he went to his knees and laid the whole problem before the Lord. Inherent in such an action was the silent pleading for God to explain to the prophet that which was utterly beyond his understanding. God answered him in detail.’
Henderson, in his commentary, says the following.
‘After expatiating on the Divine goodness to the Hebrew people, and contrasting therewith their ungrateful returns, he argues from the desperate condition of the circumstances, as attacked by the Chaldeans, the improbability of his ever coming to any enjoyment of his property.’
God now speaks to Jeremiah and asks if anything is too hard for Him? Jeremiah 32:26-27. He says there is a price to pay for their rebellion; Jerusalem is to be burned as a result of Judah’s wrong deeds, Jeremiah 32:28-29.
In this section, we have a shameful catalogue of their varied sins. They were burning incense on the roofs to Baal and pouring out drink offerings to other gods, Jeremiah 32:29.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘As it is most probable that Baal was the sun, they might have chosen the tops of the houses, which were always flat, with battlements around, to offer incense and sacrifice to him at his rising, and while he was in sight above the horizon.’
They have practised evil from their youth and continually aroused God’s anger, Jeremiah 32:30. From the day Jerusalem was built until now, it has so aroused God’s anger and wrath, Jeremiah 32:31.
Everyone has done nothing but practice evil, their kings, officials, priests, prophets, the people, everyone, Jeremiah 32:32. Her disrespect? She turned her back on God, Jeremiah 32:33.
Her disregard? She had ears that did not hear, Jeremiah 32:33. Her decision? She accepted other gods, such as Molek and Ishtar and slaughtered her own children in worshipping idols, Jeremiah 32:34-35.
Yet, despite all of this, Jeremiah 32:36, the promise of a return is repeated. There are glorious promises here. God will gather them from all the lands, bring them back to the land and let them live in safety, Jeremiah 32:37 / Jeremiah 29:14 / Jeremiah 31:8.
They will be God’s people and He will be their God, Jeremiah 32:38. They will be given a singleness of heart and action, so that they will fear God and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them, Jeremiah 32:39.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘They shall have but one object of worship, and one way of salvation and being saved from sin, idolatry, and destruction; they must necessarily be happy within and happy without.’
God will make an everlasting covenant with them and never stop doing good to them and He will inspire them to fear Him, so that they will never turn away from Him, Jeremiah 32:40.
God will rejoice in doing them good and will plant them in this land with all His heart and soul, Jeremiah 32:41 / Isaiah 53:10. It was God who brought all calamity on His people but He is going to give them all the prosperity He had promised them, Jeremiah 32:42.
Once more fields will be bought in this land of which they say, ‘It is a desolate waste, without people or animals, for it has been given into the hands of the Babylonians,’ Jeremiah 32:43.
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 God will restore their fortunes, Jeremiah 32:44.
Do you remember what was read in Jeremiah 18:7-10? Basically, God was saying, if any nation repents of its evil, I will relent and not inflict disaster upon them. Or if I say that a nation is to be planted and it does evil and does not obey Me, ‘I will reconsider the good I had intended for it.’
God’s promises are always the same, whether for evil or good; they are subject to results, to obedience to His commands. Christ is our Good Shepherd, who demonstrated that God is good to us, John 10:11-18, and it’s because of Christ that God promises never to leave us or forsake us, Hebrews 13:5.
Sadly, most of the wonderful things that God promised here never occurred because men did not heed the commands of God. As time went on, during those long centuries before Jesus Christ was born, the whole Jewish nation fell into apostasy again. The name of God was blasphemed among the Gentiles because of the shameful conduct of the Jews, Romans 2:24.
Their temple with its operators, now known in three separate groups as the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Herodians, was called by Jesus Himself, ‘a den of thieves and robbers,’ Jeremiah 7:11 / Matthew 21:13.
The climax of their wickedness was when they crucified the Messiah, the Messiah that they had been waiting for centuries to arrive. History doesn’t record any fulfilment of the prosperity expected on their return from Babylon.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘They deserved no prosperity, and they received none. God’s punishment for the rejection of the Messiah occurred a generation after His death. The nation was totally destroyed by Vespasian and Titus in A.D. 70. One hundred thousand people were executed. Josephus even gives numbers of the dead by the names of towns and villages. Thirty thousand men were crucified around the walls of Jerusalem. Their temple was destroyed, never to be rebuilt. The daily sacrifices, the priesthood, the high priest, as they were, disappeared forever.’