Anticipation Of A New Future Jeremiah 32 _____________________________________________________________________ Key Verse: For this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be brought in the land. (Jeremiah 32:15). Lesson Aim: To see that God offers repentant believers His forgiveness and a fresh opportunity to start over. In Focus: Introduction • In the routines of modern life, we rarely see anything symbolic in our daily activities. When we shop for groceries, take the car to the shop, pick tomatoes in the garden, or watch the evening news on TV, we do not look after any deeper significance. • Even the more unusual transactions of life do not usually have prophetic significance attached to them. Getting married, buying a house, a car, starting a new job, and having children are all important events for us -- and we ought to take them seriously. But even these are not usually seen as a signal or illustrations of broader events that God will bring to pass. • With biblical prophets, it was different. God often instructed them to do deeds that carried a lesson to Israel or foretold events in their future. Examples: Elijahs torn garment was symbolic of the division of the kingdom. Isaiahs sons names revealed the future fortunes of Judah. • Jeremiah also was required on occasion to perform symbolic acts to depict Israels future. An example is found in todays lesson. THE SCRIPTURE LESSON Jeremiah 32:2-9, 14-15 (New International Version) _________________________________________ 2 The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah. 3 Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, This is what the LORD says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. 4 Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape out of the hands of the Babylonians but will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. 5 He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him, declares the LORD. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed. 6 Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came to me: 7 Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it. 8 Then, just as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself. I knew that this was the word of the LORD; 9 so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver. 14 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. 15 For this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land. The Passage In Summary God tells Jeremiah to buy a field outside Jerusalem. The city had been under siege for a year, and Jeremiah bought land that the soldiers occupied--seemly a poor investment. In addition, Jeremiah was a prisoner in the palace. But he was demonstrating his faith in Gods promises to bring His people back and to rebuild Jerusalem. This also shows Jeremiahs confidence in the promise of the Lord that the land throughout Judah will eventually be valuable again. This will happen when the remnant of Gods people return from captivity to their homeland. Setting the Stage 1. Todays study involves redemption of a parcel of land, so some background on that concept is in order. The events in this passage took place in 587 B.C., which was the tenth year of King Zedekiahs reign and the eighteenth year of the reign of Babylons King Nebuchadnezzar (v. 1). Within the Law of Moses was a provision designed to keep family properties intact. The land of Canaan, the Promised Land, had been given to the Israelites by the Lord. Since possession of plots of land was to be seen as a sacred trust, the law made provision for redeeming property that had been sold outside the family. 2. Jeremiah and the citizens of Jerusalem could not have been in worse circumstances. The Babylonian siege was in its second year (39:1), and all the other cities of the nation had already surrendered to the invaders. Now Jerusalem itself was on the verge of collapse. But there was a brief reprieve. The Babylonian army was forced to withdraw to confront an approaching threat by the Egyptians, who were marching to the rescue of Jerusalem (37:5). It was apparently during this lull that Jeremiahs land purchase took place. Nevertheless, the immediate days ahead were dark, the people desperate. 3. Even worse, Gods prophet (Jeremiah) was being held prisoner in the palace stockade (32:2). Jeremiah had been arrested on the charge of treason because he had been preaching that Gods judgment was going to fall upon His people. Due to Israels sin and wickedness, the Lord was using Babylon as His agent to execute judgment on them. 4. The Babylonian army was going to capture both them and their capital. Jeremiah had also courageously stood before King Zedekiah and pronounced Gods judgment against him and the other wicked officials of the government (32:4-5). The fate of the king was sealed: he would be taken prisoner and sent to Babylon. Furthermore, Jeremiah had warned King Zedekiah against fighting Babylon. Judahs soldiers stood no chance whatsoever against the mighty war machine of the invaders. • The big picture here, -- Jeremiah serves as an example of how to confront captivity by obedient hopefulness. • In examining this passage, we will be able to tell the details of how Jeremiah came to possess his cousin Hanameels field, and his unwavering faith. EXPOSITION I. Unwavering Faith Jer. 32:1-5 The great faith needed in the coming days. Jeremiah had an unwavering faith in God, a faith that remained strong in the most horrible circumstances. Verse 2 The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah. 3 Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, This is what the LORD says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. 4 Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape out of the hands of the Babylonians but will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. 5 He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him, declares the LORD. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed. (Jeremiah 32:2-5). Unwavering Faith. Imagine the desperate circumstances in which Jeremiah found himself. No worse circumstances can be imagined than being in prison while... • being on the verge of starvation, • being at the point of dying from thirst, • seeing people dying daily from starvation, thirst, and disease. • seeing neighbors commit all kinds of lawless acts in an attempt to survive, • being surrounded and threatened by a brutal enemy. Yet look at the prophet. Jeremiah was in a terrible situation. He was facing the worst circumstances imaginable. Yet look at the prophet. No matter what it cost him personally he remained faithful to the LORD. He courageously proclaimed Gods Word to both the rulers and the people during the crisis. Even in the direst of circumstances, his faith in God was strong, unbreakable. What a lesson for us! No matter what circumstances confront us we must continue to trust God. As we walk through life, we will face bad circumstances. Sooner or later, trouble will confront us, trouble such as... a. financial difficulties e. accident i. school problems b. job losses f. family troubles j. broken relationships c. illnesses g. unjust decisions k. immoral behaviors d. diseases h. strong temptations l. death of love ones In summary: Troubling circumstances lie along the path of every human being. When these times of trouble come, we must have strong faith in the Lord. We must trust Him, believe Him, and hold to His promises. For He promises to deliver us through all the trials, hardships and misfortunes of life. Listen to Gods wonderful promises: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). II. Jeremiah Buys A Field (Jer. 32:6-15) Faith in Gods promises: This is clearly seen in his response to the seemingly irrational instructions God gave him. The Lord told Jeremiah that soon his cousin Hanamel would visit him in prison and ask him to buy his property. God made it clear that Jeremiah was to buy the field. Given the situation at the time, that was a bizarre request. The Babylonians had already taken possession of the land and Jeremiah was fighting for survival like everyone else. Besides that, he was in prison! Confident Faith. Jeremiah had a confident faith in Gods promises. A. Jeremiah Buys A Field. If Jeremiah refused to buy the field, it would show that he did not really believe that God would deliver His people, and Hanamel could then accuse him of being a false prophet. He told Jeremiah that it was the prophets right and duty to buy the field (v. 7). This was an appeal to what was known as the kinsman-redeemer rights or the law of redemption. (See Lev. 25:25-34). This law simply stated that families were to keep property in the family. B. Publicly Demonstrating Faith. To make sure that everybody understood what he was doing, Jeremiah explained that he was publicly demonstrating that he believed Gods promise. That is, Some day in the future the Jews would again buy houses, fields, and vineyards in the Promised Land (v. 15). God would bring His people back to the Promised Land, and they would resume their normal life and activities. C. Lesson for Us! Here, we learned that despite the dire circumstances and the dark dismal future that lay ahead, Jeremiah believed the promises of God. He knew that God could twist and turn events to work all things out to fulfill His promises. The lesson: We, too, must believe Gods promises. No matter how terrible our circumstances might be or how illogical Gods promises might seem, we must believe Him. God will fulfill His promises. Not a single promise of His will ever fail. But we must believe His Holy Word. Faith is an absolute essential in order to receive Gods promised blessings. God looked after Jeremiah because the prophet believed Him. God will also take care of us if we believe Him. • Another Lesson: Without faith we cannot please God. Without faith we cannot receive His blessings or see His promises fulfilled in our lives. Without faith we stand alone in the world, and amidst the severe trials and temptations of life our knees will buckle and the load will crush us. Only faith in the Lord and His promises can save us. Listen to what Gods Holy Word says: Whoever believe in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of Gods one and only Son. (John 3:18). CONCLUSION • With Jerusalem having been surrounded by the Babylonian army for eighteen months, all hope for deliverance was nearly gone. The stubborn ultra-nationalistic group held out doggedly, but the masses knew it would soon be over. Judah was doomed. Property values plummeted. Everyone wanted to sell, but no one wanted to buy. One of the few persons who had not lost faith was Jeremiah. He was willing to buy a piece of property that any day might become the property of Babylon. • Jeremiah was confined to the courtyard of the guard, under what might today be called house arrest. Jeremiah could receive visitors, as evidenced by the presence of Hanamel When King Zedekiah visited Jeremiah in the court of the guard, he pleaded with him, but the prophet held his ground. He warned King Zedekiah that the city was doomed and the king himself would be taken prisoner. • The Lord spoke to Jeremiah about the coming visitor of his cousin Hanamel (v. 7). Then, just as the Lord had said, Hanamel came to the place where Jeremiah was be held and offered to sell Jeremiah a field i their home village of Anathoth. Jeremiah recognized in the words of his cousin that this was the word of the Lord. • Verses 9-15 give the details of the real estate transaction. We see how carefully the deed of the property was recorded and preserved. This act was one of hope in the darkest of hours. It pointed forward to the time when Gods people would be restored to the land and normal economic activity would resume. Thats what this lesson is all about. C. Smith
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 19:42:55 +0000
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