Reading
Jeremiah 32:1-15

1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2Now at that time the king of Babylon’s army was besieging Jerusalem. Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah’s house.

3For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why do you prophesy, and say, ‘Yahweh says, “Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will take it; 4and Zedekiah king of Judah won’t escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but will surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes will see his eyes; 5and he will bring Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him,” says Yahweh, “though you fight with the Chaldeans, you will not prosper?”’”

6Jeremiah said, “Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, 7‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, “Buy my field that is in Anathoth; for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.”’”

8“So Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the guard according to Yahweh’s word, and said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption is yours. Buy it for yourself.’

“Then I knew that this was Yahweh’s word. 9I bought the field that was in Anathoth of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver. 10I signed the deed, sealed it, called witnesses, and weighed the money in the balances to him. 11So I took the deed of the purchase, both that which was sealed, containing the terms and conditions, and that which was open; 12and I delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of the purchase, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the guard.

13“I commanded Baruch before them, saying, 14Yahweh 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 Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Houses and fields and vineyards will yet again be bought in this land.’


Devotional

During a time when Jeremiah was in prison, his cousin came to him and asked him to by some family land.  God had already told Jeremiah to do this.  So, Jeremiah fulfilled the necessary contract and financial commitments required for this transaction.

 

Now if you were a financial advisor you probably would have taken Jeremiah aside and told him that he was buying land that was about to be taken away from him and that did not make any sense.  If you were suspicious of Jeremiah, this would have given you greater cause for doubt.  How come he is buying land for himself, and telling us are homes will be taken from us?  If you were Jeremiah’s cousin you would have been delighted to make some money knowing that the enemy was at the gate.  Jeremiah’s investment made no sense and may even have discredited him in some ways.

 

When we look to the bigger picture, we see a symbol of great comfort and grace.  In buying this land God was confirming through Jeremiah there is still hope for this place and these people.  They may not be listening right now, and obedience may be far from their mind, but I am still willing to invest in their restoration and future.  There may be times in our lives that we see our loved ones living in complete disregard to God.  We feel like all hope is gone and they will never return to God’s plan for their lives.  That’s exactly the type of people Jeremiah was surrounded by, get God told Jeremiah to invest in them.  Are we really investing in those who are lost, in prayer and hope and relationship, or have we given up?  When we don’t see change we tend to stop trying, but God never stops loving, and we shouldn’t stop trying.