After Jeremiah pronounces a message of hope and of a new covenant that was coming in chapter 31, God puts forth a very interesting task for Jeremiah in chapter 32 that would serve as a sign.
In the midst of the siege on Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah is told to buy a field of property. Now, this is the siege against Judah’s King Zedekiah that would ultimately result in the destruction of Jerusalem’s walls, the temple, and the entire conquest of the city. This would be the second string of captives who were taken to Babylon. In today’s text, this is presently unfolding. Nebuchadnezzar was in the process of taking the city, but it hadn’t happened yet and at this point God commands Jeremiah to go buy property. Truly a wild ask! The entire city would be rubble soon! It would effectively be the property of Babylon, so why should Jeremiah buy a field?
Well, God uses this to issue a message of hope in the midst of Jerusalem’s darkest hour. God says, “Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them” (32:42) and specifically He foretells that once again fields would be bought in the land of Judah (32:43).
While Jerusalem is under siege, God reminds them through Jeremiah’s purchase that this is only temporary. Just as they were under God’s judgment as discipline for their sin, so God’s steadfast love for Israel would ultimately give them a future. As He was faithful to bring the Babylonians just as He said, so He also would take them home at the right time, just as He said. He is God, the Lord of Hosts, the commander of angel armies!
“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?”
Jeremiah 32:27, ESV
If God was sovereign over the nations back then, then He is today. If God was working all things in the earth according to His will back then, then He is today. As we survey God’s plan for nations and how He brings His plans to pass it should certainly encourage us today as we are in the middle of a time that is filled with questions and problems ourselves. God is still on the throne, moving the creation towards His intended purpose. Just as He was faithful in judgment, He’d be faithful in blessing. Israel’s future, and ours, is in His hands. How great is our God!
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