Jeremiah

Jeremiah 32:1-5

The year was 587BC, Zedekiah had been king for ten years.  The Babylonians had laid siege to Jerusalem and were into the second year of siege.  Many of the prophecies of Jeremiah were on the verge of being fulfilled.  This must have angered the king who had already imprisoned Jeremiah to the courtyard of the royal palace.  Zedekiah at first sentenced Jeremiah to be thrown into the dungeon.  He later had Jeremiah removed and imprisoned at the courtyard (37:15-21).  The courtyard was a place for prisoners where they could have visitors.  It was Jeremiah's prophecies that landed him there. 

Jeremiah 32:6-16

The Lord once again gave Jeremiah a symbolic act used to deliver a message.  The approach of his cousin about purchasing the land was part of their procedure for handling land.  This is found in Leviticus 25:25.  If a family member and land owner became impoverished they were to approach a near relative to purchase the land.  This was to keep the land in the family so it was not owned by another tribe or outsider.  Jeremiah had a responsibility to purchase the land.  It would become his to use until Jubilee when it would be returned to his cousin.  The signing, sealing and putting a sealed copy in the jar was all normal legal proceedings.  The signed unsealed copy was an open record for others to see.  The witnesses were an important part of this process.  The Lord had him get the documents sealed in a jar that would last a long time.  Then the Lord said, "Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in the land."    

Jeremiah 32:17-25

As far as Jeremiah could see, the Lord was Lord and Almighty, but his real estate dealings made no sense.  Jeremiah detailed God's power and authority.  He wrote of God's dealing with Israel in the past.  He wrote of their deliverance from Egypt.  The Lord delivered them to the promised land and helped them conquer and settle in it.  Then they rebelled and failed to be obedient and the Lord brought punishment.  The siege ramp was evidence of this.  Jeremiah knew that Jerusalem would fall.  He knew Judah would be conquered and under Babylonian rule.  Yet,

Jeremiah 32:26-44

Is anything too hard for the Lord?  Jeremiah was asked this.   From all that Jeremiah knew regarding what was coming by way of judgment, the future looked pretty bleak.  The Lord confirms the coming judgment and why it was coming.  They would be removed from the land for a time.  Jeremiah's prophecies were sure; by sword, famine and plague (36) judgment was coming.  But it was just as sure that the Lord would once again gather them.  He would bring them back.  The covenant relationship would be restored, not with the old covenant which the Jews broke, but by an everlasting covenant.  Just as the Lord brought calamity, He would also bring prosperity.  Is anything too hard for the Lord?  The time would return when fields would be bought; even when the Jeremiah had prophesied the devastation of the land.  Land transactions would once again take place just as Jeremiah had acted out.

©2018 Doug Ford