And I charged Baruch in their presence, saying,
Babylon's army surrounds Jerusalem, and Jeremiah — locked in the prison court — has just bought a field from his cousin. In verse 13 he gives the deeds to his secretary Baruch, in front of witnesses, with a command from God.
Everything about the sale ran against the facts on the ground. He paid silver for land nobody expected to keep.
Yet, at such a moment Jeremiah's uncle asked him to buy a field. What! when they were about to be all swept out of the land and carried into captivity! Should he then buy a field? What could be the ground for such a transaction? But it was Jehovah who told him to do it. The purchase was a testimony of the greatest value. Despite the desolation, despite the destruction of the city, Jeremiah believed that the Jews would return to their possessions. He believed land would still be farmed and houses built there.
The same writer connects the purchase to the promise of the new covenant made just before it.
In Jeremiah 32, a very striking incident follows this prophecy of the new covenant. It tests the prophet's faith in his own prediction. The Lord allows His servants to face testing constantly. If the Lord lets us testify to some great truth, we will have to prove our own faith in that truth.
Jeremiah hands the deed over on God's orders, not his own.
Then, at the word of the Lord, Jeremiah handed the deed of purchase to Baruch. Baruch was to keep it as a witness that property would be owned in the land again.
The prophet treated it as a normal sale, down to the storage jar.
Jeremiah completed the sale in proper legal form, with two rolls, one sealed and the other open. He gave it all to Baruch, his faithful secretary, mentioned here for the first time. Baruch was told to put everything in a clay jar. By his action the prophet proved his simple faith in the promised return.
Two rolls changed hands, not one, and each had its own use.
All was done according to the custom of the law. The open document was for consultation. The sealed one was that on which all depended; it was the incontestable proof. There is often a similar practice in a family now. A will is filed away, and there it always stays. It is the legal evidence on which all turns. Besides that, the family have their lawyer make a copy. They use it if any question comes up about how the property is divided.
Watch the order of events.
He does not stand and question the way of the Lord in this strange business. He does not pause for a moment to take counsel in his own heart about it. The Lord had commanded him, so he weighs the money, signs the deed, seals it, and takes witnesses, to buy the field in Anathoth... He gives them into the hand of the faithful Baruch, to be kept safe and to "continue many days." Then, when his obedience was complete — but not till then — he asks the Lord, Why was all this?
One writer draws out what the purchase says about the prophet himself.
Jeremiah was of a different spirit. He valued the inheritance of God at a time when it seemed everyone would go into captivity, and no one would be left holding what God had given their fathers.
One writer carries the picture forward to a greater purchase, with its evidence kept in heaven.
But His title deeds, His evidence of purchase, yes, of redemption, could not be in better custody. And so we read in Revelation 5:1, "I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals." This is the evidence, both sealed and opened. He alone is worthy to come and take it out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
- Tested. God gave Jeremiah a promise, then asked him to spend his own silver on it. A servant must prove the truth he preaches.
- Bought. The field looked worthless, and that is why the sale spoke: houses and fields would be owned in that land again.
- Charged. Baruch takes the deeds in front of witnesses and keeps them as evidence meant to outlast the captivity.
- Sealed. Two rolls — one open for reference, one sealed as the proof that settles every claim.
- Kept. Deeds in a clay jar for many days point on to a sealed scroll in heaven, which He alone is worthy to take.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel Take these writings, this writing of the purchase, both that which is sealed and this writing which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may remain many days.
Jeremiah has just bought a field in Anathoth while locked up in prison, with Babylon's army camped around Jerusalem. Now God tells him to seal the deeds in a clay jar so they will last for years — an odd order for land about to be overrun.
The deeds came in a pair, and each had its own job:
Everything was done according to the custom of the law. The open document was for consulting. The sealed one was what everything depended on; it was the proof no one could dispute. Families often do the same thing today. A will is lodged with the public registry, and it stays there. No one may touch it. No one may remove it. It is the legal evidence on which everything turns. But besides that, the family has a copy made by their lawyer, to check if any question comes up about how the property is divided.
Jeremiah's cousin Hanameel brought the offer, and the prophet paid for the field before the deeds went into the jar:
The right of redemption was Jeremiah's. (See Leviticus 25:25.) Hanameel came, and Jeremiah, realizing that it was of the Lord, bought the field, paying for it seventeen shekels of silver. Jeremiah gave everything to Baruch, the prophet's faithful secretary, who is mentioned here for the first time. Baruch was to put it all in an earthen jar. By his action the prophet proved his simple faith in the promised return.
Jeremiah was not making a shrewd investment. He knew what was coming, and he bought anyway:
He knew that Nebuchadnezzar would besiege the city and carry the people away, and that they would be captives in Babylon for seventy years. He also knew from God that at the end of that time the people would return to their own land, and again have the LORD's blessing with them in it. But did Jeremiah believe this? Was the future blessing of the Jews a certain reality to him? Did God mean what He said about this coming blessing? He certainly did. Jeremiah believed it because God had said it, and he showed his faith and hope were real by spending his money now, with no hope of benefit from it until then.
Jeremiah does not ask what the purchase means until the deeds are safe in the jar:
He does not stop to question the Lord's way in this strange business. He does not pause for a moment to think it over in his own heart. The Lord has commanded him, so he weighs out the money, signs the deed, seals it, and takes witnesses, to buy the field in Anathoth… He puts the deeds into the hand of the faithful Baruch, to be kept safe and to "continue many days." Then, when his obedience was complete, but not till then, he asks the Lord: Why was all this?
The same field meant opposite things to the two cousins:
Hanameel clearly thought it was better to sell his inheritance and have the money instead, since captivity was near. It showed that he valued money more than the inheritance God had given him. Is not the same spirit at work among Christians today, when people are "lovers of self, lovers of money," and "lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God"? (2 Tim. 3:1-4).
Jeremiah bought the field as the nearest relative, the one with the right of redemption. Commentators read the whole transaction as a picture of Christ. The lines below quote Hebrews 2 in an older translation:
He has already paid the price of redemption. He weighed it out in the balances when "He was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death." The Lord has been well pleased, and has "crowned Him with glory and honour," so sealing His title to the inheritance. And He, the blessed Kinsman, "continues for many days," waiting until He sees, in "the world to come," "all things put under Him" (see Heb. 2:5-9).
Another writer follows the same line to the sealed scroll in Revelation:
But His title deeds, His evidence of purchase — indeed, of redemption — could not be in safer keeping. So we read in Revelation 5:1, "Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals." That is the evidence, both sealed and open, which He alone is worthy to come and take out of the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne.
- Deed — Jeremiah made two copies: one open to consult, one sealed as the proof everything rested on.
- Jar — The clay jar kept the deed safe past the exile. God files His promises for the long term.
- Price — He paid real silver for land he would never farm. God's word weighed more with him than the army outside.
- Order — He obeyed first and asked why afterwards. God explained Himself to a man already doing what He said.
- Kinsman — Christ has paid the redemption price and sealed His title. He waits "many days," then takes possession.
For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be purchased in this land.
Babylon's army surrounds Jerusalem. The prophet sits under arrest. And there God tells Jeremiah to buy a field — an ordinary property deal that becomes God's sign for the whole land. Why does God attach so large a promise to so small a purchase, and what does it cost the man who has to believe it first?
The timing is the whole point. Everything the prophet had preached made the land look worthless.
The fall of the city was close at hand. But Jeremiah said, "The word of the LORD came to me: Hanameel, the son of Shallum your uncle, will come to you and say, Buy my field that is in Anathoth." What a time to buy a field! The city sure to fall, the prophet himself in prison! By his own word, there was no escape from the Babylonian army. He could not escape the hostile power of those who ruled in Jerusalem either, because his testimony stood flatly against their pride and their false patriotism.
The field was not only a sign to the nation. It also made a demand on the man who had announced the ruin.
In Jeremiah 32, a very striking incident follows the prophecy of the new covenant. It tests the prophet's faith in his own prediction. The Lord lets testing come on His servants all the time. If the Lord calls us to testify to some great truth, we shall have to prove our own faith in that truth.
Hanameel came to Jeremiah because a relative had first claim to buy family land back. One writer sees God's own right pictured in that claim.
At such a moment God shows His redemption and grace. He tells the prophet to buy the field of Hanameel, because "the right of redemption" belonged to Jeremiah. Just so it is with God — the right of redemption is His. Here is a fine subject for gospel preachers. "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land" (v. 15) — and that by the right of redemption, and according to "an everlasting covenant" (v. 40). "Man's extremity is God's opportunity!" Those who have proved His redeeming love know this.
The sale produced two copies of the deed, and the difference between them mattered.
Every step followed the custom of the law. The open document was there for people to consult. The sealed one was the document on which everything depended. It was proof no one could dispute.
One writer follows the picture of title deeds, sealed and opened, into the scroll held in God's right hand in Revelation:
But His title deeds, His proof of purchase — yes, of redemption — could not be in safer keeping. So we read in Revelation 5:1, "I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals" — the evidence, surely, both sealed and opened, which He is worthy to come and take out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne, and He alone.
The prophet who announced the ruin had to act out the recovery. The same God stands behind both.
Jeremiah 32 applies Israel's restoration to the circumstances of the Jews besieged in Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar's presence clearly threatened them with ruin. God takes that very moment to announce His unfailing purposes of grace towards them. Jeremiah had declared that the city would fall and Zedekiah would go into captivity. But the LORD had made him buy a field, as proof that the people would certainly return… He Himself had brought all this evil in judgment, and He Himself would bring all the good He had promised.
Hanameel sold. Jeremiah bought. The same field looked different to each man.
Hanameel clearly thought it was better to sell his inheritance and hold money instead, since captivity was near. It showed that he valued money more than the inheritance God had given him.
Faith spends in the present on what it will only receive later:
Jeremiah believed it because God had said it. He showed how real his faith and hope were: he laid out his money now, with no hope of any benefit from it until that day came.
- Ruin — God gives the sign at the point of collapse: Babylon surrounds the city, the prophet sits in prison, and "man's extremity is God's opportunity."
- Redemption — The field comes to Jeremiah because a relative held the right to redeem it. That right, one writer notes, belongs supremely to God.
- Receipt — One deed sealed, one deed open: the promise rests on proof no one can dispute, not on a wish.
- Reach — The bought field proves the people will return to houses, fields and vineyards in the same land, and God backs it with an everlasting covenant.
- Response — Hanameel took the money; Jeremiah bought land he might never walk on. Faith pays now for what God has promised later.