Jeremiah 32 Study Notes: Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege
While Babylon besieges Jerusalem and Zedekiah holds him under guard, Jeremiah buys his cousin Hanamel's field at Anathoth and has Baruch store the deeds as a sign that land will be sold there again. Jeremiah prays, and God answers with judgment on the city and a lasting covenant of return.
General
True or False: In 32:42, the LORD says He will bring all the promised good on His people just as surely as He brought the great disaster on them.
Answer: True
This is true. God says that just as He sent this great calamity on the people, so He will bring every good thing He has promised (32:42). He adds that He will delight in blessing them and will plant them in the land with all His heart and soul (32:41). The proof will be ordinary life returning: fields will once more be purchased, with deeds sealed before witnesses, across Benjamin, Judah, and the land around Jerusalem (32:43-44), which is exactly what Jeremiah's purchase pictured. The same pattern appears in 31:28, where God watches over His people to build as He once watched to tear them down, and in Deuteronomy 30:9 and Zephaniah 3:17, where God delights and rejoices over His restored people.
- Jeremiah 32:41-44 (BSB)“Yes, I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul. For this is what the LORD says: Just as I have brought all this great disaster on this people, so I will bring on them all the good I have promised them. And fields will be bought in this land about which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; it has been delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans.’ Fields will be purchased with silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed, and witnessed in the land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah—the cities of the hill country, the foothills, and the Negev—because I will restore them from captivity, declares the LORD.””God promises to rejoice in doing His people good, to bring all the promised good as surely as He brought disaster, and to restore land purchases.
- Jeremiah 31:28 (BSB)“Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, destroy, and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD.”God will watch over His people to build and plant just as He once watched to tear them down.
- Deuteronomy 30:9 (BSB)“So the LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land. Indeed, the LORD will again delight in your prosperity, as He delighted in that of your fathers,”After restoration the LORD will once more take delight in His people's prosperity.
- Zephaniah 3:17 (BSB)“The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.””The LORD is pictured rejoicing over His people with gladness and singing.
Theological
True or False: In 32:42, the LORD pledges that all the promised good will come on His people as surely as the great disaster did.
Answer: True
This is true. The LORD sets His promise of blessing in strict parallel with His judgment: just as He brought this great disaster, so He will bring all the good He has promised (32:42). He will delight in blessing them and plant them in the land with all His heart and soul (32:41), and the sign of it will be renewed land transactions throughout Benjamin, Judah, and the Jerusalem region (32:43-44), the very thing Jeremiah's purchase enacted. The fulfilled judgment guarantees the coming mercy, as in 31:28, and the LORD's delight in His restored people echoes Deuteronomy 30:9 and Zephaniah 3:17.
- Jeremiah 32:41-44 (BSB)“Yes, I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul. For this is what the LORD says: Just as I have brought all this great disaster on this people, so I will bring on them all the good I have promised them. And fields will be bought in this land about which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; it has been delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans.’ Fields will be purchased with silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed, and witnessed in the land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah—the cities of the hill country, the foothills, and the Negev—because I will restore them from captivity, declares the LORD.””God promises to rejoice in doing His people good, to bring all the promised good as surely as He brought disaster, and to restore land purchases.
- Jeremiah 31:28 (BSB)“Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, destroy, and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD.”God will watch over His people to build and plant just as He once watched to tear them down.
- Deuteronomy 30:9 (BSB)“So the LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land. Indeed, the LORD will again delight in your prosperity, as He delighted in that of your fathers,”After restoration the LORD will once more take delight in His people's prosperity.
- Zephaniah 3:17 (BSB)“The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.””The LORD is pictured rejoicing over His people with gladness and singing.
General
According to 32:14-15, why were the deeds to be stored in a jar made of clay?
Answer: To show that people would one day buy and sell land here again
Jeremiah told Baruch to put both copies of the deed in a jar of clay so they would last a long time (32:14). The reason was a message from the LORD: one day homes, fields, and vineyards would once more be purchased in the land (32:15). With the Babylonians at the walls, buying land looked foolish, but the purchase and the stored deed were a sign that the exile would not be the end. The LORD had already promised to bring His people back after the seventy years in Babylon (29:10) and to bring them back to their fathers' land (30:3), where they would plant vineyards again (31:5).
- Jeremiah 32:13-15 (BSB)“In their sight I instructed Baruch, “This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Take these deeds—both the sealed copy and the open copy of the deed of purchase—and put them in a clay jar to preserve them for a long time. For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.””Jeremiah tells Baruch to store the deeds in an earthenware vessel and gives the LORD's reason.
- Jeremiah 29:10 (BSB)“For this is what the LORD says: “When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place.”The LORD had already promised to bring the exiles back to this place once the seventy years allotted to Babylon were over.
- Jeremiah 30:3 (BSB)“For behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will restore from captivity My people Israel and Judah, declares the LORD. I will restore them to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they will possess it.’””The LORD promises to restore Israel and Judah to the land given to their fathers, so that they possess it again.
- Jeremiah 31:5 (BSB)“Again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; the farmers will plant and enjoy the fruit.”Normal life on the land, planting vineyards and enjoying the fruit, is part of the promised restoration.
Theological
What reason does 32:14-15 give for preserving the deeds in an earthenware jar?
Answer: To show that people would one day buy and sell land here again
The deeds are sealed in an earthenware jar for long-term preservation (32:14) because the LORD of Hosts declares that homes, fields, and vineyards are once more to change hands in the land (32:15). The purchase is a prophetic sign: Jeremiah invests in land that is about to fall to Babylon because God has promised a return. It enacts in a legal document what the LORD had already announced, the end of Babylon's seventy years and restoration to this place (29:10), possession of the land given to the fathers (30:3), and the renewal of ordinary agricultural life (31:5).
- Jeremiah 32:13-15 (BSB)“In their sight I instructed Baruch, “This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Take these deeds—both the sealed copy and the open copy of the deed of purchase—and put them in a clay jar to preserve them for a long time. For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.””Jeremiah tells Baruch to store the deeds in an earthenware vessel and gives the LORD's reason.
- Jeremiah 29:10 (BSB)“For this is what the LORD says: “When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place.”The LORD had already promised to bring the exiles back to this place once the seventy years allotted to Babylon were over.
- Jeremiah 30:3 (BSB)“For behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will restore from captivity My people Israel and Judah, declares the LORD. I will restore them to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they will possess it.’””The LORD promises to restore Israel and Judah to the land given to their fathers, so that they possess it again.
- Jeremiah 31:5 (BSB)“Again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; the farmers will plant and enjoy the fruit.”Normal life on the land, planting vineyards and enjoying the fruit, is part of the promised restoration.
General
In the everlasting covenant of 32:38-40, what ensures that God's people will never abandon Him?
Answer: God planting His own fear within them so they never leave Him
After the judgment, God promises to gather His people, bring them home, and be their God (32:37-38). A covenant is a binding promise that sets up a relationship. In this everlasting covenant God says He will give them a single heart and a single way so they will always revere Him, that He will never stop blessing them, and that He will place the fear of Himself within them so they never depart from Him (32:39-40). Their staying faithful rests on what God does inside them, not on their own vows. This matches the new covenant promise of His law written on their hearts (31:33) and the promise of God's Spirit and a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Jesus says His sheep can never be taken out of His hand (John 10:28-29), and God finishes the good work He begins (Philippians 1:6). This is the teaching known as the perseverance of the saints: God keeps His people to the end.
- Jeremiah 32:38-40 (BSB)“They will be My people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, so that they will always fear Me for their own good and for the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will never turn away from Me.”God promises to be their God, to give them a single heart and way, and to make a lasting covenant that keeps them from turning away.
- Jeremiah 31:33 (BSB)““But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.”The new covenant promise likewise has God writing His law on His people's hearts and being their God.
- Ezekiel 36:26-27 (BSB)“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.”God promises to replace a heart of stone with a new one and to put His Spirit within His people, causing them to keep His statutes.
- John 10:28-29 (BSB)“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”Jesus says His sheep will never perish and no one can take them from His hand or His Father's.
- Philippians 1:6 (BSB)“being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”The God who starts His good work in His people will not stop until He has finished it.
Theological
According to 32:39-40, what secures the permanence of the everlasting covenant on the people's side?
Answer: God planting His own fear within them so they never leave Him
The everlasting covenant of 32:40 has two sides, God's faithfulness to His people and their faithfulness to Him, yet God Himself secures both. He binds Himself never to stop doing His people good, and He secures their side as well by giving them a single heart and way (32:39) and placing the fear of Himself within them so that they never depart from Him (32:40). Their perseverance is produced by His inward work, the same heart-renewing grace promised in the new covenant (31:33) and in Ezekiel's new heart and indwelling Spirit (Ezekiel 36:26-27). The perseverance of the saints rests on this same divine keeping: Christ's sheep will never perish (John 10:28-29), and the God who started His good work in them will finish it (Philippians 1:6).
- Jeremiah 32:38-40 (BSB)“They will be My people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, so that they will always fear Me for their own good and for the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will never turn away from Me.”God promises to be their God, to give them a single heart and way, and to make a lasting covenant that keeps them from turning away.
- Jeremiah 31:33 (BSB)““But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.”The new covenant promise likewise has God writing His law on His people's hearts and being their God.
- Ezekiel 36:26-27 (BSB)“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.”God promises to replace a heart of stone with a new one and to put His Spirit within His people, causing them to keep His statutes.
- John 10:28-29 (BSB)“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”Jesus says His sheep will never perish and no one can take them from His hand or His Father's.
- Philippians 1:6 (BSB)“being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”The God who starts His good work in His people will not stop until He has finished it.
General
In 32:6-8, how did Jeremiah become sure that buying Hanamel's field was the LORD's will?
Answer: Hanamel arrived and made the very offer the LORD had predicted
The LORD first told Jeremiah that his cousin Hanamel, son of his uncle Shallum, would come and offer him a field at Anathoth (32:6-7). Then Hanamel arrived at the guard's courtyard and made exactly that offer (32:8). Only after the event matched the word did Jeremiah say he was sure the message truly came from the LORD (32:8). God had told him at his calling that He watches over His word to carry it out (1:12), and the law taught that a message which fails to come true is not from the LORD (Deuteronomy 18:22), while this word came true at once.
- Jeremiah 32:6-8 (BSB)“Jeremiah replied, “The word of the LORD came to me, saying: Behold! Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, is coming to you to say, ‘Buy for yourself my field in Anathoth, for you have the right of redemption to buy it.’ Then, as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and urged me, ‘Please buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you own the right of inheritance and redemption. Buy it for yourself.’” Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.”The LORD tells Jeremiah in advance that his cousin will come with an offer, and then it happens as foretold.
- Jeremiah 1:12 (BSB)““You have observed correctly,” said the LORD, “for I am watching over My word to accomplish it.””At his call the LORD told Jeremiah He watches over His word to bring it about, which is what Jeremiah sees here on a small scale.
- Deuteronomy 18:22 (BSB)“When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and the message does not come to pass or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.”The law's test was whether a prophet's message came to pass; the word about Hanamel did.
Theological
What confirmed to Jeremiah, according to 32:8, that the instruction about the field was from the LORD?
Answer: Hanamel arrived and made the very offer the LORD had predicted
The episode is built on prediction and fulfillment. The LORD announces that Hanamel son of Shallum will come to offer his field in Anathoth on the basis of Jeremiah's kinsman right (32:6-7); Hanamel then comes to the guard's courtyard with precisely that request (32:8), and Jeremiah concludes that the instruction truly came from the LORD (32:8). The fulfilled detail confirms the word, in keeping with the LORD's promise at Jeremiah's call that He watches over His word to perform it (1:12) and it meets the Mosaic test of fulfillment, since a message that fails to come true is not the LORD's (Deuteronomy 18:22).
- Jeremiah 32:6-8 (BSB)“Jeremiah replied, “The word of the LORD came to me, saying: Behold! Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, is coming to you to say, ‘Buy for yourself my field in Anathoth, for you have the right of redemption to buy it.’ Then, as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and urged me, ‘Please buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you own the right of inheritance and redemption. Buy it for yourself.’” Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.”The LORD tells Jeremiah in advance that his cousin will come with an offer, and then it happens as foretold.
- Jeremiah 1:12 (BSB)““You have observed correctly,” said the LORD, “for I am watching over My word to accomplish it.””At his call the LORD told Jeremiah He watches over His word to bring it about, which is what Jeremiah sees here on a small scale.
- Deuteronomy 18:22 (BSB)“When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and the message does not come to pass or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.”The law's test was whether a prophet's message came to pass; the word about Hanamel did.
General
How does the LORD begin His answer to Jeremiah in 32:26-27?
Answer: By asking whether anything is too hard for Him, Lord of all people
The LORD answers by calling Himself God over all humanity and asking whether anything is too hard for Him (32:27). He takes Jeremiah's own words from the start of his prayer (32:17) and turns them into a question. God then explains both parts of the puzzle: He will indeed hand the city to Babylon (32:28-35), and He will also bring His people back (32:36-44). The same question was asked of Abraham when a son for Sarah seemed impossible (Genesis 18:14). Moses and Aaron likewise addressed Him as the God over the spirit of every human being (Numbers 16:22).
- Jeremiah 32:26-27 (BSB)“Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?”The LORD answers Jeremiah's prayer by taking up his own confession as a question.
- Jeremiah 32:17 (BSB)““Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!”Jeremiah had opened his prayer by confessing that nothing is too hard for God.
- Genesis 18:14 (BSB)“Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.””The same question was put to Abraham before the birth of Isaac, a promise that looked impossible.
- Numbers 16:22 (BSB)“But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?””Moses and Aaron address God as the Lord over the spirit of every human being.
Theological
How does the LORD open His reply to Jeremiah's prayer in 32:26-27?
Answer: By asking whether anything is too hard for Him, Lord of all people
The divine answer begins with self-identification, the LORD as God of all humanity, and a question that returns Jeremiah's confession to him: is anything too hard for Me (32:27; compare 32:17)? The reply then resolves the tension of the prayer in two movements, certain judgment on the city (32:28-35) and certain restoration of the people (32:36-44), both resting on the same sovereign power. The question recalls the promise of Isaac (Genesis 18:14), and the title echoes God as ruler over every human spirit (Numbers 16:22).
- Jeremiah 32:26-27 (BSB)“Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?”The LORD answers Jeremiah's prayer by taking up his own confession as a question.
- Jeremiah 32:17 (BSB)““Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!”Jeremiah had opened his prayer by confessing that nothing is too hard for God.
- Genesis 18:14 (BSB)“Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.””The same question was put to Abraham before the birth of Isaac, a promise that looked impossible.
- Numbers 16:22 (BSB)“But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?””Moses and Aaron address God as the Lord over the spirit of every human being.
General
How does Jeremiah describe God at the opening of his prayer in 32:17?
Answer: As the Creator of all things, for whom nothing is too hard
After giving the deed to Baruch, Jeremiah prays. He begins by praising the Lord GOD as Creator of the sky and the earth, who made them by His mighty strength, and he confesses that nothing is too hard for Him (32:17). Since God created everything, no situation, not even a city under siege, is beyond Him. Earlier in the book the LORD is praised in the same way as the Creator whose power made the earth (10:12). The LORD had asked Abraham whether anything was too hard for Him (Genesis 18:14), and Jesus said that God can do what is impossible for man (Matthew 19:26).
- Jeremiah 32:16-17 (BSB)“After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD: “Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!”After handing the deed to Baruch, Jeremiah begins his prayer by praising God as Creator.
- Genesis 18:14 (BSB)“Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.””When He promised Sarah a son, the LORD asked Abraham whether anything was beyond Him, pointing to His limitless power.
- Matthew 19:26 (BSB)“Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.””Jesus says that what is impossible with man is possible with God.
- Jeremiah 10:12 (BSB)“The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.”Earlier the book praises the LORD as the One whose power made the earth and whose understanding spread out the skies.
Theological
In what terms does Jeremiah address God as he opens his prayer in 32:17?
Answer: As the Creator of all things, for whom nothing is too hard
Jeremiah's prayer opens by grounding everything in creation: the Lord GOD created sky and earth with mighty power, His arm stretched out, and therefore nothing is too hard for Him (32:17). The confession echoes the LORD's question to Abraham about the promised son (Genesis 18:14) and the book's earlier praise of the Creator (10:12), and it anticipates Jesus' word that nothing is beyond God's power (Matthew 19:26). God's omnipotence is the foundation on which the rest of the prayer, and the purchase itself, rests.
- Jeremiah 32:16-17 (BSB)“After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD: “Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!”After handing the deed to Baruch, Jeremiah begins his prayer by praising God as Creator.
- Genesis 18:14 (BSB)“Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.””When He promised Sarah a son, the LORD asked Abraham whether anything was beyond Him, pointing to His limitless power.
- Matthew 19:26 (BSB)“Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.””Jesus says that what is impossible with man is possible with God.
- Jeremiah 10:12 (BSB)“The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.”Earlier the book praises the LORD as the One whose power made the earth and whose understanding spread out the skies.
General
In his prayer (32:21-24), what does Jeremiah say brought the disaster of the siege on Judah?
Answer: The people had not obeyed God's voice or walked in His law
Jeremiah recalls how God rescued Israel from Egypt with miraculous signs and gave them the land He had promised to their fathers (32:21-22). But once they possessed it, they refused to listen to God or follow His law, and so God brought this disaster on them (32:23). Jeremiah sees the siege ramps and the sword, famine, and plague as what God had said would happen (32:24). Moses had warned that disobedience would bring curses on the nation (Deuteronomy 28:15). Jeremiah also praises God as one who rewards each person as his conduct deserves (32:19; 17:10). The fall of the city was God carrying out what He had decreed (Lamentations 2:17), a just judgment and not a failure of His promises.
- Jeremiah 32:22-24 (BSB)“You gave them this land that You had sworn to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. They came in and possessed it, but they did not obey Your voice or walk in Your law. They failed to perform all that You commanded them to do, and so You have brought upon them all this disaster. See how the siege ramps are mounted against the city to capture it. And by sword and famine and plague, the city has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What You have spoken has happened, as You now see!”Jeremiah recounts the gift of the land and confesses that disobedience brought the disaster now at the walls.
- Deuteronomy 28:15 (BSB)“If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:”Moses warned that if Israel disobeyed the LORD, the covenant curses would overtake them.
- Lamentations 2:17 (BSB)“The LORD has done what He planned; He has accomplished His decree, which He ordained in days of old; He has overthrown you without pity. He has let the enemy gloat over you and exalted the horn of your foes.”After the fall of Jerusalem the LORD is said to have carried out what He had planned and decreed.
- Jeremiah 17:10 (BSB)“I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.”The LORD searches the heart and repays each person according to his ways, as the prayer also confesses (32:19).
Theological
What cause of the present disaster does Jeremiah confess in his prayer in 32:23?
Answer: The people had not obeyed God's voice or walked in His law
The prayer rehearses redemptive history: the exodus with its miracles, the gift of the land sworn to the fathers (32:21-22), and then Israel's failure to obey His voice or follow His law, for which He brought this calamity (32:23). The siege ramps, sword, famine, and plague are the fulfillment of what He had spoken (32:24). Jeremiah confesses the justice of covenant sanctions announced by Moses (Deuteronomy 28:15) and of the God who repays each as his conduct deserves (32:19; 17:10). The fall of Jerusalem is the LORD accomplishing His decree (Lamentations 2:17), not a breakdown of His faithfulness.
- Jeremiah 32:22-24 (BSB)“You gave them this land that You had sworn to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. They came in and possessed it, but they did not obey Your voice or walk in Your law. They failed to perform all that You commanded them to do, and so You have brought upon them all this disaster. See how the siege ramps are mounted against the city to capture it. And by sword and famine and plague, the city has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What You have spoken has happened, as You now see!”Jeremiah recounts the gift of the land and confesses that disobedience brought the disaster now at the walls.
- Deuteronomy 28:15 (BSB)“If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:”Moses warned that if Israel disobeyed the LORD, the covenant curses would overtake them.
- Lamentations 2:17 (BSB)“The LORD has done what He planned; He has accomplished His decree, which He ordained in days of old; He has overthrown you without pity. He has let the enemy gloat over you and exalted the horn of your foes.”After the fall of Jerusalem the LORD is said to have carried out what He had planned and decreed.
- Jeremiah 17:10 (BSB)“I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.”The LORD searches the heart and repays each person according to his ways, as the prayer also confesses (32:19).
General
What puzzle does Jeremiah set before God at the end of his prayer (32:24-25)?
Answer: That God had told him to buy a field though the city was being handed over
Jeremiah ends his prayer by setting two things side by side. On one hand, siege ramps already stand against the city, and it is being handed to the Chaldeans by sword, famine, and plague, just as God said (32:24). On the other hand, God has told him to buy a field with silver before witnesses (32:25). Jeremiah obeyed first and then brought the puzzle to God in prayer. God answers by turning Jeremiah's own confession into a question about whether anything is too hard for Him (32:27). Abraham offers a related example of trusting God's promise against appearances, convinced that God had the power to keep His word (Romans 4:20-21).
- Jeremiah 32:24-25 (BSB)“See how the siege ramps are mounted against the city to capture it. And by sword and famine and plague, the city has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What You have spoken has happened, as You now see! Yet You, O Lord GOD, have said to me, ‘Buy for yourself the field with silver and call in witnesses, even though the city has been delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans!’””Jeremiah sets the siege beside the command to buy a field, ending his prayer on this contrast.
- Romans 4:20-21 (BSB)“Yet he did not waver through disbelief in the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised.”A related example of faith: Abraham trusted God's promise, convinced that God had the power to keep His word.
- Jeremiah 32:27 (BSB)““Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?”The LORD answers the tension by asking whether anything is too hard for Him.
Theological
What tension does Jeremiah lay before God as he closes his prayer in 32:24-25?
Answer: That God had told him to buy a field though the city was being handed over
The prayer closes by juxtaposing the visible and the promised. The siege works are mounted, and the city is being given to the Chaldeans through sword, famine, and plague exactly as the LORD foretold (32:24); yet the same Lord GOD has commanded Jeremiah to buy a field for silver before witnesses (32:25). Jeremiah has already obeyed, and he now lays the apparent contradiction before God. The LORD's reply takes up the prayer's opening confession as a question (32:27). Abraham's steady trust in God's power to keep His promise is a related example of such faith (Romans 4:20-21).
- Jeremiah 32:24-25 (BSB)“See how the siege ramps are mounted against the city to capture it. And by sword and famine and plague, the city has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What You have spoken has happened, as You now see! Yet You, O Lord GOD, have said to me, ‘Buy for yourself the field with silver and call in witnesses, even though the city has been delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans!’””Jeremiah sets the siege beside the command to buy a field, ending his prayer on this contrast.
- Romans 4:20-21 (BSB)“Yet he did not waver through disbelief in the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised.”A related example of faith: Abraham trusted God's promise, convinced that God had the power to keep His word.
- Jeremiah 32:27 (BSB)““Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?”The LORD answers the tension by asking whether anything is too hard for Him.
General
True or False: Jeremiah bought the field privately, with only Hanamel present, to avoid drawing attention during the siege.
Answer: False
This is false. The purchase was done openly and by proper legal steps. Jeremiah paid seventeen shekels, weighing the silver on scales. He signed the deed, sealed it, brought in witnesses, and handed both copies to Baruch, Neriah's son, while Hanamel, the signing witnesses, and every Jew seated in the guard's courtyard looked on (32:9-12). A deed is a written record of who owns a piece of land. Boaz in the book of Ruth also bought land before witnesses (Ruth 4:9). Later in the chapter the LORD says that people will again buy fields in exactly this way, with deeds properly sealed before witnesses (32:44).
- Jeremiah 32:9-12 (BSB)“So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and I weighed out seventeen shekels of silver. I signed and sealed the deed, called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales. Then I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy with its terms and conditions, as well as the open copy— and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of my cousin Hanamel and the witnesses who were signing the purchase agreement and all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.”Jeremiah pays, signs, seals, and hands over the deed before Hanamel, witnesses, and the Jews in the courtyard.
- Ruth 4:9 (BSB)“At this, Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I am buying from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon.”Boaz likewise made his purchase before elders and people who served as witnesses.
- Jeremiah 32:44 (BSB)“Fields will be purchased with silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed, and witnessed in the land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah—the cities of the hill country, the foothills, and the Negev—because I will restore them from captivity, declares the LORD.””The LORD later promises that fields will once more be purchased, with deeds sealed before witnesses, the same procedure Jeremiah followed.
Theological
True or False: Jeremiah completed the purchase privately, with only Hanamel present, to avoid notice during the siege.
Answer: False
This is false. The transaction is deliberately public and legally complete: seventeen shekels weighed out, the deed signed and sealed, witnesses called, the silver weighed on scales, and both the sealed and open copies handed to Baruch, Neriah's son, before Hanamel, the subscribing witnesses, and every Jew present in the guard's courtyard (32:9-12). Boaz's redemption was likewise witnessed by elders and people (Ruth 4:9). The formal procedure matters, since the LORD's promise at the end of the chapter describes the future in the same terms: fields purchased and deeds sealed before witnesses (32:44).
- Jeremiah 32:9-12 (BSB)“So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and I weighed out seventeen shekels of silver. I signed and sealed the deed, called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales. Then I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy with its terms and conditions, as well as the open copy— and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of my cousin Hanamel and the witnesses who were signing the purchase agreement and all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.”Jeremiah pays, signs, seals, and hands over the deed before Hanamel, witnesses, and the Jews in the courtyard.
- Ruth 4:9 (BSB)“At this, Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I am buying from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon.”Boaz likewise made his purchase before elders and people who served as witnesses.
- Jeremiah 32:44 (BSB)“Fields will be purchased with silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed, and witnessed in the land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah—the cities of the hill country, the foothills, and the Negev—because I will restore them from captivity, declares the LORD.””The LORD later promises that fields will once more be purchased, with deeds sealed before witnesses, the same procedure Jeremiah followed.
General
According to 32:29-35, what had the people of Judah done to provoke the LORD to hand the city to Babylon?
Answer: They had worshiped Baal and Molech and defiled God's house
The LORD says the Chaldeans will burn the city, including houses where people burned incense on their roofs in honor of Baal and poured out libations to foreign gods (32:29). Baal was a Canaanite false god. From their youth Israel and Judah had done evil, and every level of society took part, from kings and priests to ordinary people (32:30-32). Though God taught them over and over, they turned their backs on Him (32:33; 7:13). They set up detestable idols in the temple and sacrificed their children to Molech, another false god, in the Ben-hinnom Valley, something God says He never commanded nor even thought of (32:34-35; 7:31). The law had forbidden this outright (Leviticus 18:21).
- Jeremiah 32:29-35 (BSB)“And the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come in, set it on fire, and burn it, along with the houses of those who provoked Me to anger by burning incense to Baal on their rooftops and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods. For the children of Israel and of Judah have done nothing but evil in My sight from their youth; indeed, they have done nothing but provoke Me to anger by the work of their hands, declares the LORD. For this city has aroused My wrath and fury from the day it was built until now. Therefore I will remove it from My presence because of all the evil the children of Israel and of Judah have done to provoke Me to anger—they, their kings, their officials, their priests and prophets, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem. They have turned their backs to Me and not their faces. Though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline. They have placed their abominations in the house that bears My Name, and so have defiled it. They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech—something I never commanded them, nor had it ever entered My mind, that they should commit such an abomination and cause Judah to sin.”The LORD lists the idolatry and rebellion of every rank of Judah's people as the reason for the city's fall.
- Jeremiah 7:31 (BSB)“They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so they could burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it even enter My mind.”The LORD earlier condemned the same child sacrifice at Topheth in Ben-hinnom as something He never commanded.
- Leviticus 18:21 (BSB)“You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.”The law forbade offering children to Molech, since doing so would profane God's name.
- Jeremiah 7:13 (BSB)“And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and because I have spoken to you again and again but you would not listen, and I have called to you but you would not answer,”The LORD had spoken to Judah repeatedly, yet they refused to listen, as 32:33 also says.
Theological
What grounds for the city's destruction does the LORD give in 32:29-35?
Answer: They had worshiped Baal and Molech and defiled God's house
The indictment is comprehensive. Rooftop incense to Baal and libations to other gods (32:29); evil from Israel's youth by kings, officials, priests, prophets, and people alike (32:30-32); persistent refusal of instruction though God taught them repeatedly (32:33; 7:13); abominations set up in the house called by His Name (32:34); and Baal shrines in the Ben-hinnom Valley for child sacrifice to Molech, a practice the law forbade (Leviticus 18:21) and which the LORD says He never commanded nor conceived (32:35; 7:31). The judgment is the righteous response of a holy God to a whole people's long-standing rebellion.
- Jeremiah 32:29-35 (BSB)“And the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come in, set it on fire, and burn it, along with the houses of those who provoked Me to anger by burning incense to Baal on their rooftops and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods. For the children of Israel and of Judah have done nothing but evil in My sight from their youth; indeed, they have done nothing but provoke Me to anger by the work of their hands, declares the LORD. For this city has aroused My wrath and fury from the day it was built until now. Therefore I will remove it from My presence because of all the evil the children of Israel and of Judah have done to provoke Me to anger—they, their kings, their officials, their priests and prophets, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem. They have turned their backs to Me and not their faces. Though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline. They have placed their abominations in the house that bears My Name, and so have defiled it. They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech—something I never commanded them, nor had it ever entered My mind, that they should commit such an abomination and cause Judah to sin.”The LORD lists the idolatry and rebellion of every rank of Judah's people as the reason for the city's fall.
- Jeremiah 7:31 (BSB)“They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so they could burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it even enter My mind.”The LORD earlier condemned the same child sacrifice at Topheth in Ben-hinnom as something He never commanded.
- Leviticus 18:21 (BSB)“You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.”The law forbade offering children to Molech, since doing so would profane God's name.
- Jeremiah 7:13 (BSB)“And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and because I have spoken to you again and again but you would not listen, and I have called to you but you would not answer,”The LORD had spoken to Judah repeatedly, yet they refused to listen, as 32:33 also says.
General
According to 32:7-8, why did Hanamel offer his field to Jeremiah in particular?
Answer: Jeremiah held the family right to buy back and keep the land
Hanamel tells Jeremiah that the field is his to buy because he holds the family's right to inherit and redeem it (32:7-8). In the law of Moses, when a man had to sell family land, his nearest relative could come and buy it back (Leviticus 25:25). This rule rested on the fact that the land belonged to the LORD and was not to be sold off forever (Leviticus 25:23). The book of Ruth shows the same custom, where the closest kinsman had the first right to redeem (Ruth 4:4). Jeremiah was being asked to act as the family's redeemer, the relative entitled to buy the land so that it stayed in the family.
- Jeremiah 32:7-8 (BSB)“Behold! Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, is coming to you to say, ‘Buy for yourself my field in Anathoth, for you have the right of redemption to buy it.’ Then, as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and urged me, ‘Please buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you own the right of inheritance and redemption. Buy it for yourself.’” Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.”Hanamel bases his offer on Jeremiah's family claim to inherit and buy back the land.
- Leviticus 25:25 (BSB)“If your brother becomes impoverished and sells some of his property, his nearest of kin may come and redeem what his brother has sold.”The law gave the nearest relative the right to buy back property a poor kinsman had to sell.
- Leviticus 25:23 (BSB)“The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.”The land belonged to the LORD and was not to be sold permanently, the reason family land was kept within the family.
- Ruth 4:4 (BSB)“I thought I should inform you that you may buy it back in the presence of those seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you want to redeem it, do so. But if you will not redeem it, tell me so I may know, because there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.” “I will redeem it,” he replied.”Boaz's dealings show the same custom: the nearest kinsman had the first right to redeem a relative's land.
Theological
On what basis does Hanamel offer the Anathoth field to Jeremiah in 32:7-8?
Answer: Jeremiah held the family right to buy back and keep the land
Hanamel appeals to Jeremiah's kinsman right to inherit and redeem the land (32:7-8). Under the Mosaic law of land tenure, the nearest relative could redeem property a poor kinsman was forced to sell (Leviticus 25:25), because the land was the LORD's and could not be alienated permanently (Leviticus 25:23); Ruth 4:4 shows the same order of redemption among kinsmen. Jeremiah therefore acts as kinsman-redeemer, keeping the family's portion within the family, and he does so at the very moment Judah's hold on the land is collapsing.
- Jeremiah 32:7-8 (BSB)“Behold! Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, is coming to you to say, ‘Buy for yourself my field in Anathoth, for you have the right of redemption to buy it.’ Then, as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and urged me, ‘Please buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you own the right of inheritance and redemption. Buy it for yourself.’” Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.”Hanamel bases his offer on Jeremiah's family claim to inherit and buy back the land.
- Leviticus 25:25 (BSB)“If your brother becomes impoverished and sells some of his property, his nearest of kin may come and redeem what his brother has sold.”The law gave the nearest relative the right to buy back property a poor kinsman had to sell.
- Leviticus 25:23 (BSB)“The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.”The land belonged to the LORD and was not to be sold permanently, the reason family land was kept within the family.
- Ruth 4:4 (BSB)“I thought I should inform you that you may buy it back in the presence of those seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you want to redeem it, do so. But if you will not redeem it, tell me so I may know, because there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.” “I will redeem it,” he replied.”Boaz's dealings show the same custom: the nearest kinsman had the first right to redeem a relative's land.
General
According to 32:2-5, why had King Zedekiah confined Jeremiah in the guard's courtyard?
Answer: Jeremiah kept announcing that Babylon would take the city and Zedekiah
Chapter 32 opens while the Babylonian army is besieging Jerusalem. Jeremiah is shut up in the guard's courtyard at the king's palace because King Zedekiah objected to what he was prophesying (32:2-3). A prophet is someone who speaks a message from God, and Jeremiah's message was that the LORD was handing the city over to the king of Babylon, that Zedekiah would not escape but would face that king in person and be taken to Babylon, and that fighting the Chaldeans (the Babylonians) would fail (32:3-5). Jeremiah gives Zedekiah the same word in 34:2-3. The king's anger did not change the message, and Jeremiah stayed confined there until the city fell (37:21; 38:28).
- Jeremiah 32:2-5 (BSB)“At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard, which was in the palace of the king of Judah. For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying: “Why are you prophesying like this? You claim that the LORD says, ‘Behold, I am about to deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape from the hands of the Chaldeans, but he will surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye. He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will stay until I attend to him, declares the LORD. If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will not succeed.’””During the Babylonian siege the king holds Jeremiah in the palace courtyard because of his message about the city and the king.
- Jeremiah 34:2-3 (BSB)“The LORD, the God of Israel, told Jeremiah to go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him that this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I am about to deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down. And you yourself will not escape his grasp, but will surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You will see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face; and you will go to Babylon.”Another word to Zedekiah carries the same message: the city handed to Babylon and Zedekiah meeting its ruler in person and taken there.
- Jeremiah 37:21 (BSB)“So King Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread daily from the street of the bakers, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.”Zedekiah ordered Jeremiah kept in the guard's courtyard, the place where chapter 32 finds him.
- Jeremiah 38:28 (BSB)“And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.”Jeremiah stayed in that courtyard until Jerusalem fell, so the whole of chapters 32-33 takes place there.
Theological
What reason does 32:3-5 give for Zedekiah's confinement of Jeremiah during the siege?
Answer: Jeremiah kept announcing that Babylon would take the city and Zedekiah
The setting of the chapter is the Babylonian siege, with Jeremiah held in the guard's courtyard inside the palace (32:2). Zedekiah's complaint is the content of Jeremiah's prophecy: the LORD is delivering the city to the king of Babylon, Zedekiah himself will be handed over, meet Nebuchadnezzar in person, and be carried to Babylon, and resistance against the Chaldeans will not succeed (32:3-5). The same word is delivered to the king in 34:2-3. Restraining the messenger did not restrain the word, and Jeremiah stayed under guard until Jerusalem was taken (37:21; 38:28).
- Jeremiah 32:2-5 (BSB)“At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard, which was in the palace of the king of Judah. For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying: “Why are you prophesying like this? You claim that the LORD says, ‘Behold, I am about to deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape from the hands of the Chaldeans, but he will surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye. He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will stay until I attend to him, declares the LORD. If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will not succeed.’””During the Babylonian siege the king holds Jeremiah in the palace courtyard because of his message about the city and the king.
- Jeremiah 34:2-3 (BSB)“The LORD, the God of Israel, told Jeremiah to go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him that this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I am about to deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down. And you yourself will not escape his grasp, but will surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You will see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face; and you will go to Babylon.”Another word to Zedekiah carries the same message: the city handed to Babylon and Zedekiah meeting its ruler in person and taken there.
- Jeremiah 37:21 (BSB)“So King Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread daily from the street of the bakers, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.”Zedekiah ordered Jeremiah kept in the guard's courtyard, the place where chapter 32 finds him.
- Jeremiah 38:28 (BSB)“And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.”Jeremiah stayed in that courtyard until Jerusalem fell, so the whole of chapters 32-33 takes place there.