This review is
brought to you by the Kentucky First Jurisdiction Church of God in Christ Sunday School
Department.
LESSON AIM: By the end of the
lesson, we will: retell the hopefulness of Jeremiah’s purchase of a field while
he awaits the invasion and siege of Jerusalem; appreciate hope and hopeful
actions in the face of deep hardship; and review our personal times of hardship
in the past that held, hold for the future.
BIBLE TRUTH: While Jerusalem was
under siege, God instructed the prophet Jeremiah to purchase property as a sign
that there was a future for the people and their land beyond defeat and exile.
Jeremiah 32:2-9, 14-15 | King James
Version (KJV)
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 seventeen
shekels of silver.
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.
Welcome
to the longest book of the Bible, Jeremiah! Jeremiah is a prophet, and is one
of the Major Prophets. Not because his message is more important, but due to
the length of the book itself.
Jeremiah
has taken a faith challenge! We’re finding in this lesson, that common sense
has NO place in God’s plan for our lives. We must fully TRUST Him, and Him
alone. In verse 2, our lesson opens up with a view of Jeremiah captured and
detained in a maximum security prison. Apparently, he’s being held there by
order of King Zedekiah, for somewhat of treason. In the true meaning of “don’t
kill the messenger”, Jeremiah was simply preaching and sharing what thus saith the Lord! King Zedekiah didn’t
appreciate it, because prophesy foretold that King Zedekiah and Jerusalem would
be captured by the Babylonians and there would be no chance for Judah to win. Zedekiah
was the last king of Judah, so there was a lot of pressure on him and he
responded very seriously to “threats”, although this time, it was a promise!
So,
while Jeremiah is behind bars, the Lord revealed to him that he was going to
have a visit from one of his family members, his cousin, Hanamel, offering him
to buy some land. There’s only one thing…this land being offered to Jeremiah
was actually a part of the battlefield! This property had already been seiged
and confiscated. It’s not like Jeremiah was going to be given an opportunity to
get out, take a look at it, and make a decision afterwards. Hanamel possibly
figured that the land would be overtaken in war anyway, so, on his way out of
the country as an exile, he devises a way to still turn a profit on it, even if
it was “scamming” a family member (so he thought). But, as we continue, God
already knew the plan and the plot…and He used it for the good of Jeremiah. By
the way, Jeremiah was well aware that his family members didn’t support him,
take a look at verse 12:6).
Nevertheless, Jeremiah struck that deal! He paid 17
shekels of silver, signed and sealed the deed, in front of witnesses (probably
the guards). According to the Lord’s instruction, Jeremiah gave the original
purchase document to Baruch, with witnesses present. One needed to be sealed
and one unsealed. As background info, this was the way that authenticity was
proven. One contract would be placed inside of a case WITH a seal on it. A seal
was like a signature. The other contract would be placed on the outside. If
ever a question arose as to the authenticity of a contract, the case would be
broken open and compared to the document on the outside. In this way, the Lord
was assuring Jeremiah that in spite of captivity which was getting ready to
take place; Israel would return to the land and resume life as usual eventually.
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