Jeremiah

Jeremiah Redeems a Piece of Land

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the tenth year of Zedekiah’s reign as king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

At that time, the army of the king of Babylon was laying siege to Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was imprisoned in the guard’s courtyard of the royal palace of Judah.

Zedekiah, king of Judah, had him imprisoned after saying: “Why do you prophesy in the Name of the Lord as you do? Yes, you said: ‘I am going to hand this city over to the king of Babylon who will take it.

And King Zedekiah will not escape from the Chaldeans; he will be delivered into the king of Babylon’s hands, face him, and see him with his own eyes.

Zedekiah will be taken to Babylon, where he will stay until I deal with him. In any case, your fight against the Chaldeans is hopeless.””

So at that time, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:

‘Hanamel, son of your uncle Shallum, is going to visit you and ask you to buy his field at Anathoth as it is your right to do so.’

Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guards and said, ‘Purchase my field at Anathoth since you have the right of possession and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’

I then realized that this was the word of the Lord, so I bought the field from Hanamel and weighed out the silver for it, exactly seventeen shekels of silver.

Then I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and the silver was weighed on the scales.

Then I took the deed of purchase, including the sealed copy with the terms and conditions and the open copy.

I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch, son of Neriah, grandson of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel, my uncle, along with the witnesses who signed the deed, and before all the Jews sitting in the court of the guard.

Then in their presence, I commanded Baruch:

This is what the Lord, the God of Hosts and the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and the unsealed copies of the deed of purchase. Place them in an earthenware jar so that they may last a long time

for the Lord God of Hosts and the God of Israel says this: houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”

Jeremiah’s Prayer

When I handed the deed of purchase to Baruch, son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord:

“Ah, Lord God, you have made the heavens and the earth with your great power and mighty deeds. Nothing is impossible for you!

You show mercy to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins on their children. Great and Mighty, the Lord God of Hosts is your name!

You are great in planning and mighty in deeds, your eyes follow the ways of all the humans, and you give to each one according to his conduct and the fruit of their actions.

You have continually performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, in Israel, and among all humanity. Therefore, you have become famous, as we see today.

You brought your people out of Egypt with signs and wonders, using your great power and mighty deeds.

You gave your people this land, which you had promised with an oath to their ancestors—a land flowing with milk and honey.

But as soon as they entered and conquered it, they did not listen to you or walk according to your law. They refused to do what you commanded, and you brought great misfortune upon them.

You see, O Lord, the mounds built up around the city are reaching it. And the city, exhausted by the sword, famine, and plague, will be handed over to the Chaldeans. What you foretold has happened, as you can see!

Yet you told me, O Lord God, to buy a field with silver and have the purchase witnessed in the very days the city is falling to the Chaldeans!”

The word of the Lord then came to Jeremiah:

“I am the Lord, the God of all people. Is anything impossible for me?

Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I am about to give the city into the hands of the Chaldeans and Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who will capture it.

The Chaldeans attacking the city will come in and set it on fire. They will burn the houses where the people angered me by burning incense to Baal and pouring out drink offerings to foreign gods.

For the people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth.

All they did was provoke my anger with their actions—this is the Lord speaking—because this city has stirred up my anger and fury from the time it was built right up to now,

so I must remove it from my sight. It is because of all the evil that the people of Israel and Judah have committed that makes me angry—their kings and princes, their priests and prophets, the people of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem.

They turned their backs to me instead of their faces. Although I taught them over and over, they did not listen, nor have they learned the lesson.

They even put their idols in the Sanctuary that bears my name to defile it.

They built high places for Baal in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, where they worshiped Baal and sacrificed their sons and daughters to Moloch. I never commanded this, nor did I ever think they could commit such a detestable act and make Judah so sinful.

The Lord confirms the words of the prophet

As you say, this city exhausted by the sword, famine, and plague will be handed over to the king of Babylon. But now, listen to what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:

“See, I am going to gather them from all the countries where I scattered them in my anger, fury and great wrath. I will bring them back to this place and have them live safely.

They will be my people, and I will be their God.

I will influence their thoughts and actions so they will always fear me, for their own good and for the good of their children.

I will establish an everlasting Covenant with them, through which I will always do good for them, and I will put my fear in their hearts so they will never turn away from me.

I will take delight in doing good for them and will establish them securely in this land with all my heart and soul.”

Then the Lord says, “Just as I caused great disaster to this people, so I will bring them all the happiness I promised.

Then, fields will be purchased in this land, which you say is a wasteland without people or animals, and will be given over to the Chaldeans.

Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be written, sealed, and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin and around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah, in the towns of the hill country, in the towns of Shephelah, and those in the south. Yes, I will return their captives”—word of the Lord.