Jeremiah’s Deed of Faith

Jeremiah 32:1-25 

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 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, "Why do you prophesy and say, 'Thus says 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 from the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face, and see him eye to eye; 5 then he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall be until I visit him," says the LORD; "though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed"'?"

6 And Jeremiah said, "The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 7 'Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, "Buy my field which is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it."' 8 Then Hanamel my uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said to me, 'Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption yours; buy it for yourself.' Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. 9 So I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and weighed out to him the money—seventeen shekels of silver. 10 And I signed the deed and sealed it, took witnesses, and weighed the money on the scales. 11 So I took the purchase deed, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open; 12 and I gave the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses who signed the purchase deed, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison.

13 "Then I charged Baruch before them, saying, 14 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Take these deeds, both this purchase deed which is sealed and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days." 15 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land."'

16 "Now when I had delivered the purchase deed 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 outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. 18 You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them—the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts. 19 You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for Your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings. 20 You have set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, to this day, and in Israel and among other men; and You have made Yourself a name, as it is this day. 21 You have brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror; 22 You have given them this land, of which You swore to their fathers to give them—"a land flowing with milk and honey." 23 And they came in and took possession of it, but they have not obeyed Your voice or walked in Your law. They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have caused all this calamity to come upon them.

24 'Look, the siege mounds! They have come to the city to take it; and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword and famine and pestilence. What You have spoken has happened; there You see it! 25 And You have said to me, O Lord GOD, "Buy the field for money, and take witnesses"!—yet the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.'"

Jeremiah bought a deed for land given over to the enemy with a hope on a return in the future according to the word of the LORD in spite of the circumstances which made it appear a lost cause to ever be back to claim it.  While imprisoned, he was told by God that Babylon would come and carry the king and them away into captivity.  Fighting against the Babylonians would be fruitless and hopeless because God had given them over into the enemy’s hands for a set time due to their continuing sin against Him.  Jeremiah was offered a plot of land as was his right in line of succession to buy nearby and he did so against all visible odds of ever possessing it.  He did so because God had told him ahead of time so it was clear that was God’s will and he could be assured that because the LORD said it, that inheritance would come to pass in due time.  The prophet agreed and sealed the deal in front of witnesses in the prison with him as a testimony to God’s word and working to demonstrate His faithfulness and Jeremiah’s trust in that word.  Even so, Jeremiah prayed for understanding due to the uncertain circumstances surrounding the deal, yet had faith enough of what he could not see of the promise (Hebrews 11:1) to safely secure the deed in an earthen jar much like the ones the scrolls of Qumran were found in centuries afterwards.  He prayed knowing God’s sovereign omnipotent ability and saying it out loud as a reminder to himself and others to trust in spite of the odds seemingly against God’s word of promise to restore all things in the face of the mighty earthly power of Babylon.  He knew and proclaimed that there was absolutely nothing too difficult for the LORD.  That was the promise of all promises on which he stood according to His word.  He exclaimed God’s merciful lovingkindness as well as His just retribution for sin.  He is the Mighty God with the almighty name who has sovereign authority and rule over all the people He created for his glory.  He is the Mighty Counselor of Isaiah 9:6 who sees the ways and means of every heart who displayed such wonderful works to deliver His people to give them—"a land flowing with milk and honey."  But they did not obey and failed to do all He commanded.  This is why they were being disciplined in captivity to the enemy’s hand for their disobedience to correct them and restore them to their promised place of grace.  As he spoke these words and sealed the deal, the enemy was at the gates with siege walls being built to take Jerusalem.  Jeremiah cried out in wondering why he bought the land which was being just as quickly taken away, yet he also trusted God according to His word of promise.  We also know the promised eternal life and New Jerusalem with that absolute hope to come and yet often are overwhelmed by circumstances and doubts.  Then we remind ourselves that faith is something of substance we can grasp in our hands even when uncertain because God says it is proven to be true in spite of what we see or feel.  We therefore trust His word given to us just as Jeremiah did with full assurance in the face of uncertainty and visible circumstances.  Jeremiah bought a deed of faith and we have a deed of faith purchased for us by Christ Himself according to the gospel which is our certain future and hope and as a template for our gospel hope.  May we never allow circumstances or our own restorative discipline to sway us as we await the heavenly celestial city promised us by such an almighty and trustworthy sovereign who created the universe and we in His image as His chosen people!  Jesus the Christ is our deed of faith.