Context No. 2784 of 4322 · Jeremiah

Jeremiah 32:13-23: in context

13“I commanded Baruch before them, saying, 14the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase which is sealed, and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days.’ 15For the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Houses and fields and vineyards will yet again be bought in this land.’ 16Now after I had delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying, 17“Ah Lord GOD! Behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you. 18You show loving kindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them. The great, the mighty God, the LORD of Armies is your name: 19great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of men, to give everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings; 20who performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even to this day, both in Israel and among other men; and made yourself a name, as it is today; 21and brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, with wonders, with a strong hand, with an outstretched arm, and with great terror; 22and gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23They came in and possessed it, but they didn’t obey your voice and didn’t walk in your law. They have done nothing of all that you commanded them to do. Therefore you have caused all this evil to come upon them.

With Jerusalem about to fall to Babylon, God tells Jeremiah to do something that looks absurd: buy a field, and store the sealed deed in a clay jar so it will last many days. It is a sign, God says: houses and fields and vineyards will yet again be bought in this land. Jeremiah obeys, then prays in wonder, Ah Lord GOD, you made heaven and earth; nothing is too hard for you.

The purchase is faith acted out. Jeremiah puts his money into ground that is about to be overrun by an invading army, because God has said it will one day be worth buying again. It is hope with a receipt buried in a jar. And his prayer holds two things together without flinching from either: God can do anything, and the people brought this disaster on themselves by refusing to obey. Faith here is neither denial nor despair, but a stake driven into a future only God can guarantee.

Would I put anything real on the line, as Jeremiah did, for a promise of God I cannot yet see fulfilled?

Sources

Jeremiah 32:15: "Houses and fields and vineyards will yet again be bought in this land."
Jeremiah 32:17: "There is nothing too hard for you."
Romans 4:18: "Who in hope believed against hope, to the end that he might become a father of many nations."