Jeremiah 32

CHAPTER 32

Jeremiah Buys a Field (32:1–44)

1–5 The incidents described in this chapter occurred during the siege of Jerusalem, about one year before the city fell. Jeremiah was under house arrest; people accused him of siding with the enemy because he had been predicting the downfall of Judah and the capture of King Zedekiah. Jeremiah’s predictions came true, of course, including those that concerned Zedekiah (see 2 Kings 24:1–7; Jeremiah 52:4–11).

6–7 The Lord alerts Jeremiah that a relative, Hanamel, is about to come and ask him to buy his field at Anathoth, Jeremiah’s hometown (Jeremiah 1:1). Hanamel was probably in great financial difficulty, and therefore found it necessary to sell his field. (In those days, everyone was in financial difficulty; Nebuchadnezzar had already conquered the countryside of Judah including the very field Hanamel wanted to sell!) Since Jeremiah was Hanamel’s closest relative, he was obligated under the law of redemption to buy the field and thus keep it in the family (see Leviticus 25:23–25).

Jeremiah understood from the Lord that he was to buy the field. By human reckoning it was a crazy thing to do:the field was in Babylonian hands, Jerusalem was about to fall, and Jeremiah himself was a prisoner. There was no chance, humanly speaking, that the field could be kept in the family; Jeremiah would be throwing his money away. Why would the Lord ask him to buy that field?

The answer is this: Jeremiah’s purchase of Hanamel’s field was to be a sign that one day the Jews would return to Judah and that the buying and selling of land would again take place (verses 14–15). The Lord was also giving Jeremiah a great test of faith; Jeremiah’s faith and obedience would serve as an encouragement to those who were about to go into exile.

8–12 Here Jeremiah describes the transaction between himself and Hanamel, just as the Lord had foretold. Jeremiah paid Hanamel seventeen shekels (0.2 kilogram) of silver for the field (verse 9). Then a deed of purchase was drawn up and sealed so that no one could tamper with it (verse 10); an unsealed copy was also made for easy reference (verse 11). Then Jeremiah gave the documents to Baruch, his faithful friend and secretary (verse 12).

13–15 Baruch was told to place the documents in a clay jar in order to preserve them.⁹⁸ When the Jews returned to Judah, these documents would be needed to prove that Jeremiah owned the field. The entire transaction was meant to show that the Jews would indeed return to Judah after their captivity. If God was not planning to bring the Jews back, there would have been no point in Jeremiah’s buying the field!

16–25 Here Jeremiah utters a prayer of praise to the Lord. In verse 18, he describes God’s great love, balanced by His justice and holiness⁹⁹ (see Exodus 20:5–6; 34:7). In verse 20, he remembers the signs and wonders God performed in Egypt (Exodus Chapters 7–11). In verses 21–22, he recalls how God delivered the Israelites from Egypt (Exodus 14:13–31), and how He led them to a land flowing with milk and honey—the land of Canaan (Exodus 3:8). In spite of all those blessings, the Israelites repeatedly disobeyed God and eventually brought down His judgment upon them (verses 23–24). Finally, in verse 25, Jeremiah expresses some perplexity concerning why God had asked him to buy Hanamel’s field:What was God’s plan? How was God going to save Judah from its present plight?

26–35 “Is anything too hard for me?” asks the Lord (verse 26); in verse 17, Jeremiah had already said there was nothing too hard for Him (see Genesis 18:14; Mark 10:27). Then, in verses 27–35, the Lord describes to Jeremiah the judgments He is about to bring upon Judah.¹⁰⁰

36–41 Then the Lord follows His words of judgment with words of hope–hope for the faithful remnant of Jews who He is going to bring back from exile. When He brings them back He will renew His covenant with them (verse 38). He will give them singleness of heart (verse 39)—that is, He will write His law on their hearts and minds (Jeremiah 31:33)—and they will fear Him (see Deuteronomy 6:1–3 and comment). And the Lord will make a new covenant with them, an everlasting covenant that will never be broken; the Lord will inspire the people to fear Him so that they will never turn away from Him again¹⁰¹ (verse 40).

42–44 once more fields will be bought in this land (verse 43). Jeremiah’s field symbolized the many fields all over Judah that would be bought and sold when the exiles returned to their land.