Jeremiah Buys a Field
Comments for Study 24
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I. The Deed (32:1-16)
>1. When did the event take place? (1)
* Jeremiah 32:1 "This is 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."
* "in the tenth year... which was the eighteenth year" -Zedekiah's reign started in 597 B.C. So this took place in 587 B.C.
* "Zedekiah son of Josiah" -Zedekiah reigned from 597-586 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar had made him king. He was the last king of Judah. Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, a puppet king of Babylon. (2 Kings 24:18-19) King Zedekiah took an oath of allegiance to the Babylonian but soon became disloyal. So Nebuchadnezzar besieged the city from 10 January 587 to 9 July 586 B.C. Jerusalem fell and approximately eighty distinguished leaders of the community were executed, the royal palace and the city were set on fire, and the survivors (except the poorest of the land) were taken into captivity. After him governors ruled Israel/Judah on Babylon's behalf.
* 2 Kings 24:18-20 "Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother's name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done. It was because of the LORD's anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence. Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon."
* 2 Chronicles 36:11-14 "Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the LORD. He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath in God's name. He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the LORD, the God of Israel. Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the LORD, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem."
* "Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon" -Nebuchadnezzar (634-562 B.C.) was king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, who reigned from 605-562 B.C. The Akkadian name means "O god Nabu, preserve/defend my firstborn son". Nabu is the Babylonian deity of wisdom, and son of the god Marduk. In an inscription, Nebuchadnezzar styles himself as Nabu's "beloved" and "favourite". Nebuchadnezzar was the oldest son and successor of Nabopolassar, who delivered Babylon from its three centuries of vassalage to its fellow Mesopotamian state Assyria, and in alliance with the Medes, Persians, Scythians and Cimmerians, laid Nineveh in ruins. During the last century of Nineveh's existence, Babylon had been greatly devastated, not only at the hands of Sennacherib and Assurbanipal, but also as a result of her ever renewed rebellions. Nebuchadnezzar, continuing his father's work of reconstruction, aimed at making his capital one of the world's wonders.
* Nebuchadnezzar's final siege of Jerusalem was from 10 January 587 to 9 July 586 B.C.
* Babylon and Judah counted king's reigns differently. According to the Babylonian system of computing the years of a king's reign, the third year of Jehoiakim would have been 605 B.C. (Daniel 1:1), since his first full year of kingship begun on New Year's Day after his ascension in 608 B.C. But according to Judah's system, which counted the year of ascension as the first year of reign, this was the fourth year of Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 25:1, 46:2) Also note that the Babylon and Hebrew calendars had different months and began the year at different times.
* See a picture of Solomon's temple wall foundation to the right. Under this old masonry at the south-east corner of what used to be the temple wall in Jerusalem, the foundations reach a depth of almost sixty feet and go back to the early days of the monarchy. They were silent witnesses of the fearful devastation which the Holy City suffered at the hands of the Chaldeans soon after the final collapse of Assyria. King Nebuchadnezzar was the second ruler of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. (The Bible as History in Pictures, Werner Keller)
>What was Jeremiah's like at the time? (2)
* Jeremiah 32:2 "The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah."
* For other events that took place while Jeremiah was confined to the courtyard of the guard see 33:1, 37:21, 38:13, 28, and 39:15.
* King Zedekiah heard every word that came from the Lord. Even though he saw again and again that what was spoken, especially thru Jeremiah, had come true, Zedekiah rejected it.
Babylon returned to Jerusalem after chasing Egypt back to their land and burning their capital city. So before his very eyes king Zedekiah again saw Babylon forces surrounded Jerusalem. Seige works were being build. Ramps were rising. So he went to Jeremiah and ask, "Why?" He blamed Jeremiah for all that was happening.
Zedekiah refused to believe in all the other prophecies from Jeremiah still unfulfilled, especially his fate. He blatantly refused to change his ways. Zedekiah just couldn't accept that he was wrong and would end up in Babylon. He stubbornly refused to believe God.
Instead, the king hung onto any word that fit into what he wanted to believe was true. His mind was stuck in a rut of self will and lies. He didn't want to hear any more words from Jeremiah, or if he did hear more he wanted them to be positive and good about his fate. So the king locked Jeremiah up. Yet now here Zedekiah was asking Jeremiah, "Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, 'This is what the Lord says... Why? WHY? OH WHY?"
Why do we listen to what we want to believe is true even when we have evidence that what we believe is false? Why do we listen to news and media outlets as if they are God's own words?
Why do we think false lies of our past over and over again? Why can't we simple accept God's word?
Why is it so easy to blame others, and pronounce judgements on others as if we were God and say, "He is evil. She is evil"? Am I the judge of man's heart? Do I sit on the throne? I cannot even pronounce judgements on myself. Why then judge others and say, "You are evil!"
Why not believe Jesus? Why not accept God?
Jeremiah relayed to king Zedekiah what he experienced and heard from the Lord. I can hear resentment in Jeremiah's prayer for being told to buy a field for a very high price even though he knew he would never enjoy its fruits. It was as if Jeremiah's reply to the king was, "Don't you see, king, my obedience to the Lord in buying a field that was going to be of no benefit to me, and in fact it is the opposite, was done to give us good news. King, don't you see that I don't gain anything from preaching the words of the Lord? So then king, why don't you believe me?"
God wanted the king to stop blaming Jeremiah for what was happening and accept that he was wrong and needed to change. In accepting God there is good, in change to his way there is hope, in Christ there is salvation. For Zedekiah and Judah the hope was in their complete restoration that was to come. We await for this restoration. Jeremiah relayed to us the work of Jesus's first and second coming, the kingdom of God coming.
"They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me."
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>Why was it so hard? (3-5)
* Jeremiah 32:3-5 "Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, "Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, 'This is what the LORD says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape out of the hands of the Babylonians but will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him, declares the LORD. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.'"
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>2. What did the Lord want Jeremiah to do even though Jerusalem was about to fall? (6-8)
* Jeremiah 32:6-8 "Jeremiah said, "The word of the LORD came to me: Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, 'Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.' Then, just as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, 'Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.' "I knew that this was the word of the LORD;"
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* See a carving of Babylonian soldiers on horses to the right.
>How was Jeremiah's response and act of faith? (9-12)
* Jeremiah 32:9-12 "so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver.
10 I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales.
11 I took the deed of purchase--the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy--
12 and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard."
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* "Jew" -Jew in Hebrew is "yehudi" and "yehudim". The word "Jew" first appears in the Bible from a chronological point of view in Jeremiah in 32:12 and Daniel 3:8 and 12. Jeremiah also used the word in 34:9, 38:19, 40:11, 15, 41:3, 9, 44:1, 26-28, 44:27-28, and 30. Chronologically after Jeremiah and Daniel used the word "Jew" it is used a lot in Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and the New Testament (mostly by John and Paul). The word Jew is derived ultimately from the tribe of Judah through Middle English Iewe, Old French Ieu, Latin Iudaeus, and Greek Ioudaios (the woman's name Judith originally meant “Jewess”). Though most believe the word refers to descendants of Judah, in fact the Bible calls other Israelites Jews too. The Bible authors call anyone who lived in Judah's territory (which included other tribes' territories) during the fall of Jerusalem and after a Jew. For example Mordecai, a Benjamite is called a “Jew” in Esther 2:5 (while he was in Babylon). In the New testament Paul, a Benjamite called himself a Jew though born in Tarsus (Acts 21:39, 22:3; Romans 11:1, Philippians 3:4-5) and the prophetess Anna was of the tribe Asher, also a Jew (Luke 2:36-38). Extra Bible authors also used the term. The Greek name Ioudaios (plural Ioudaioi) was used for the Israelites in the Greek and Roman world. This is the name used in the treaty between Judas Maccabeus and the Romans, described in 1 Maccabees 8:23-32: “May all go well with the Romans and with the nation of the Jews...”
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>3. What did Jeremiah tell Barauch to do? (13-14)
* Jeremiah 32:13-14 "In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: 'This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time."
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>Why? (15-16)
* Jeremiah 32:15 "For this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.' After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD:"
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>How does this show that faith results in actions we would not otherwise take? (James 2:14-19)
* James 2:14-19 "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder."
* See Hebrews 11 to see how the Lord's people acted in faith even when it didn't make sense.
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II. Jeremiah Prays (32:17-25)
>4. How did Jeremiah respond to the task the Lord had given him? (17-18)
* Jeremiah 32:17-18 "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the fathers' sins into the laps of their children after them. O great and powerful God, whose name is the LORD Almighty,"
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>How are we rewarded and how was Jeremiah able to see that? (19)
* Jeremiah 32:19 "great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to all the ways of men; you reward everyone according to his conduct and as his deeds deserve."
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>How had Israel received the land Jeremiah just bought? (20-22)
* Jeremiah 32:20-22 "You performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt and have continued them to this day, both in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renown that is still yours. You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror. You gave them this land you had sworn to give their forefathers, a land flowing with milk and honey."
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>How were they about to lose it?
* Jeremiah 32:23 "They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey you or follow your law; they did not do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disaster upon them."
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>5. Did Jeremiah know that he would not be able to enjoy this land in his lifetime? (24-25)
* Jeremiah 32:24-25 "See how the siege ramps are built up to take the city. Because of the sword, famine and plague, the city will be handed over to the Babylonians who are attacking it. What you said has happened, as you now see. And though the city will be handed over to the Babylonians, you, O Sovereign LORD, say to me, 'Buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed.'"
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>Did he have resurrection faith?
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III. I Have Loved You (32:26-44)
>6. How did the Lord initial response to Jeremiah a gentle rebuke? (26-27)
* Jeremiah 32:26-27 "Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: "I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?"
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>What did the Lord assure what would happen? (28-29)
* Jeremiah 32:28-29 "Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I am about to hand this city over to the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will capture it. The Babylonians who are attacking this city will come in and set it on fire; they will burn it down, along with the houses where the people provoked me to anger by burning incense on the roofs to Baal and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods."
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>7. What provokes the Lord's wrath? (30-32)
* Jeremiah 32:30-32 "The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth; indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but provoke me with what their hands have made, declares the LORD. From the day it was built until now, this city has so aroused my anger and wrath that I must remove it from my sight. The people of Israel and Judah have provoked me by all the evil they have done--they, their kings and officials, their priests and prophets, the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem."
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>Is he quick to wrath? (33)
* Jeremiah 32:33 "They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline."
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>What is the basis of sin? (34-35)
* Jeremiah 32:34-35 "They set up their abominable idols in the house that bears my Name and defiled it. They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech, though I never commanded, nor did it enter my mind, that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin."
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>8. Did the Lord hear Jeremiah's complaint about buying land he will not enjoy? (36)
* Jeremiah 32:36 "You are saying about this city, 'By the sword, famine and plague it will be handed over to the king of Babylon'; but this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:"
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>What did the Lord want Jeremiah to understand about the future? (37-39)
* Jeremiah 32:37-39 "I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them."
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>What does an everlasting covenant have to do with Jeremiah's purchase? (40-41)
* Jeremiah 32:40-41 "I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul."
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>9. How is the Kingdom of God a fulfillment of these promises? (Daniel 2:44-45; Luke 8:1, 13:29, 17:20-21; Revelation 12:10-11)
* Daniel 2:44-45 "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands--a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. "The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy."
* Matthew 21:42-43 "Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit."
* See Jesus parables about the Kingdom of God as recorded in Matthew 4:26-32 and Luke 13:18-21, 19:11-27.
* Mark 14:23-25 "Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it. "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them. "I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God."
* Luke 8:1 "After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him,"
* Luke 13:29 "People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God."
* Luke 17:20-21 "Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."
* While teaching the disciples about his second coming to destroy the kingdoms of this world and set up his kingdom he told them this parable, "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near." (Luke 21:29-31)
* While eating the Last Passover (Supper) Jesus revealed more about the Kingdom of God. "When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God." After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." (Luke 22:14-18)
* John 3:5-8 "Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
* Revelation 12:10-11 "Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death."
>10. What does the Lord promise?
* Jeremiah 32:42 "This is what the LORD says: As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them."
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>What reassuring word did the Lord give through Jeremiah's obedience? (43-44)
* Jeremiah 32:43-44 "Once more fields will be bought in this land of which you say, 'It is a desolate waste, without men or animals, for it has been handed over to the Babylonians.' 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 I will restore their fortunes, declares the LORD."
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>How should this encourage us?
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