Jeremiah 32:1-16 - Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible

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Section 2 Subsection 2 Part 2). Having Been Imprisoned During The Siege Of Jerusalem Jeremiah Buys A Piece Of Hereditary Land In Order To Demonstrate Confidence In The Future Of The Land Of Judah, Something Resulting In A Promise Of Restoration And Of The Coming Of The Shoot Of David (Jeremiah 32:1 to Jeremiah 33:16).

The promises of what would happen in ‘coming days' having been given, Jeremiah is now given an initial earnest (proof of occurrence) that it will happen. This part commences with the defining phrase, ‘The word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH --' (Jeremiah 32:1), and it describes how Jeremiah is shut up in prison by Zedekiah during the siege of Jerusalem, and yet nevertheless buys a piece of hereditary land on the death of his uncle as a token that Judah still has a future. After prayer he is then assured by YHWH that while Jerusalem must certainly suffer because of its sins and its sinful people must be taken into exile, He will one day restore them again under a Shoot (or Branch) of David through an everlasting covenant (Jeremiah 32:1 to Jeremiah 33:26).

Part 2 is divided up into two sub-parts, both occurring while Jeremiah was in the palace complex prison during the final stages of the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, and in both of them restoration is promised once the worst is over.

· Sub-Part A. ‘The word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH --.' After its destruction Jerusalem will one day be restored, something guaranteed to Jeremiah in a symbolic act of purchasing family land (Jeremiah 32:1-44).

· Sub-part B. ‘Moreover the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah the second time --.' Despite the devastation coming YHWH promises that one day He will restore His people, settle them securely in the land, and will restore the Davidic kingship and the Levitical priesthood in accordance with His covenants made with them (Jeremiah 33:1-26).

Related Commentaries of Jeremiah 32:1

Jeremiah 32:1-16

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar.

2 For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house.

3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

4 And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;

5 And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the LORD: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.

6 And Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

7 Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.

8 So Hanameel mine uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.

9 And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeena shekels of silver.

10 And I subscribedb the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.

11 So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open:

12 And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.

13 And I charged Baruch before them, saying,

14 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.

15 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.

16 Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the LORD, saying,