Jeremiah 32-33

Jeremiah 32 (10th Year of King Zedekiah; 18th year of Nebuchadnezzar)
1-15 Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege

• Zedekiah comes to the guard house where Jeremiah is held prisoner and asks him why he's prophesying that Nebuchadnezzar will capture Jerusalem and take Zedekiah into captivity, that no matter how hard they fight, Judah will be defeated.
• Jeremiah replies that the LORD told him that his cousin Hanamel (son of Jeremiah's uncle Shallum) would ask him to buy his field in Anathoth. It happened just as God has told him it would, so Jeremiah knows it was the LORD's word.
• So Jeremiah buys the field for 17 shekels of silver, takes the sealed deed of purchase and gives it to Baruch (son of Neriah son of Mahseiah) in the presence of witnesses.
• He tells Baruch that according to God's word he is to put the deed in an earthenware jar to preserve it so that when Judah is restored to its people, the deed to the land will still be intact. I can't determine whether or not Jeremiah returned to Israel to reclaim the land. If he did, he would have been 70 years older than he was at the time of the captivity.

16-25 Jeremiah Prays for Understanding

• After Jeremiah gave the deed of purchase to Baruch, he prayed to God:
• O Creator God, for whom nothing is too hard, you show steadfast love but repay parents' guilt to their children.
• O great God, who sees all our ways and rewards accordingly, you brought your people out of Egypt into this land with signs and wonders, but they did not obey you, and you have brought these disasters on them.
• The city is about to be taken by the Chaldeans, yet you have told me to go buy a field. Even though Jeremiah had obeyed, he didn't understand why if God loves his people, he must destroy them before he can restore them. He prays for understanding in order to put his mind at east.

26-44 God's Assurance of the People's Return

• God replies to Jeremiah: I am the LORD; there is nothing too hard for me.
• I am going to give this city to the Chaldeans and to Nebuchadnezzar, who will burn it with all the houses where sacrifices have been made to false gods.
• Because the people have done nothing but evil since their youth; kings, priests, officials, the people – they have all turned their backs to me.
• I will gather my people from all the lands where I have driven them, and they shall be my people and I will be their God.
• They will live in unity, and I will rejoice in doing good to them.
• Just as I have brought disaster, just so will I bring them good fortune.

Jeremiah 33

1-13 Healing after Punishment

• God speaks to Jeremiah a second time while Jeremiah was confined to the court of the guard.
• When you call, I will answer.
• The Chaldeans are coming, and I will strike down those from whom I have hidden my face because of their wickedness.
• But I will recover it and heal it and will restore Judah's and Israel's fortunes.
• All nations will hear of the good I do for this city, and they shall fear and tremble.
• In this place that is now waste, you will once again hear the voices of mirth and gladness
• And they will sing "Give thanks to the LORD of hosts, for the LORD is good, and his steadfast love endures forever!"
• There will again be pasture for shepherds, and in the hill country towns, those who will count the sheep.

14-26 The Righteous Branch and the Covenant with David

• The days are coming when I will fulfill my promise: a righteous Branch will spring up for David, who will execute justice and righteousness and will be called "The LORD is our righteousness." While the previous section of this chapter refers back to the restoration of Israel back to their land after the Babylonian captivity, this speaks of the ultimate reason for their restoration, the coming of the Messiah. (See also Jeremiah 23:5)
• One of David's descendants will always sit on my throne, and a levitical priest will always burn offerings and make sacrifices. Since Zedekiah was the last descendant of David to sit on his throne, this must apply to the Messiah, whose kingdom is without end. (Luke 1:32,33) 1 Peter 2:9 refers to Christians as "a royal priesthood."
• Though they say I have rejected the covenant with my two families, I have not rejected them any more than I have rejected "my covenant with day and night and the ordinances of heaven and earth." God made a covenant with Abraham that in his name all the famlies of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3). Also in the midst of this is God's declaration that the continuation of his creation is a covenant he has made. By his hand the earth and heavens stand. He did not create then walk away.
• I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy upon them.