Introduction: Jeremiah had been instructed by the LORD to make at least two unusual purchases. First, the LORD told him to buy a linen waistband (“girdle”, KJV) the wear it, and then bury the thing many miles away in a place where it was practically guaranteed to be ruined (see Jer.13:1-11for details)! Then, sometime later, he was told to buy a clay jar (“earthen bottle”, KJV), then bring it and some of the elders out to the valley of the son of Hinnom, bring God’s message—and, finally, break the jar in their presence (Jer. 19).
Now he’s about to face probably the strangest offer he could imagine. Worse, God tells him to make the purchase and, as some say, “seal the deal”! What was going to happen?
1 The revelation from the LORD
Text: Jeremiah 32:6-7 KJV: 6 And Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 7 Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.
God told Jeremiah that his cousin, Hanameel, would be coming by. In the first several verses of this chapter, Jeremiah records that first, the Babylonian army besieged Jerusalem (meaning they camped around the city and waited for the people to either starve or surrender). He also mentioned that this event was taking place in the 10th year of Zedekiah’s reign. This was about one year before the city was captured and the people taken captive to Babylon. All in all, not very pleasant times for most of the Israelites!
Even worse, Jeremiah was “shut up in the court of the prison (36:2)” and didn’t have much freedom, apparently, to go anywhere or do much of anything. With this in view, buying real estate was probably not on his list of top ten things to do. After all, Jeremiah had been forbidden to marry or have children (16:1-4) so he most likely wouldn’t need a family-sized house. And he also knew that Jerusalem was headed for destruction, therefore, even if he bought a house, he wouldn’t be living in it for very long.
Now imagine the surprise of his life when the LORD tells Jeremiah that his cousin, Hanameel, was going to ask Jeremiah to buy Hanameel’s field! The field itself was located in Anathoth, the hometown of both Jeremiah and Hanammel, just a few miles north of Jerusalem. Anathoth was also one of the cities in Benjamin’s territory given to the priests and Levites (Joshua 21:18). Where Hanameel’s field was located is not certain, whether inside or outside the walls or Anathoth’s “City limits”, so to speak.
Oddly enough, the LORD explained to Jeremiah that Hanameel was offering his field to Jeremiah because of the right of redemption. We don’t know what had happened for Hanameel to invoke or “play that card” and put up some real estate for sale. We do know some things about the “right of redemption” from the story of Boaz and Ruth—the last two chapters give a classic explanation of how that process worked in Old Testament days.
The LORD had given Jeremiah a message. What would happen next?
2 The request from Hanameel
Text, Jeremiah 32:8, KJV: 8 So Hanameel mine uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.
There was all the proof Jeremiah needed. The LORD had told him Hanameel would be coming with an offer to sell his own field to Jeremiah. And, sure enough, there he was.
In all fairness, Hanameel may have had a difficult time in finding Jeremiah. Hanameel either lived in Anathoth, a few miles from Jerusalem; or in Jerusalem or someplace else. This is only my opinion but I think he left Anathoth to find Jeremiah personally and offer him the field. There is a parallel in Ruth 4 when Boaz found the closer kinsman/redeemer and personally stated the situation of that time. Besides, they didn’t have virtual or electronic meeting capability in those days! If you wanted something done, you pretty much had to do it yourself!
So, here comes Hanameel, and how he was able to get past all the Babylonian soldiers camped around Jerusalem is something I’ve never understood. Maybe these men had no problem with anyone entering the city—they probably figured whoever went in would never leave nor stay there for very long! Especially galling was the message from the LORD to Jeremiah in chapter 11, when the very people of Anathoth threatened Jeremiah with death for simply preaching the word of God to them (11:21-23). His own hometown hated him. Doesn’t that remind us, by the way, of the relationship Jesus had with Nazareth? They didn’t want much to do with Him, either!
Now Hanameel finds Jeremiah, somehow, in the “court of the prison”, and makes him the offer (buy my field, won’t ya, cousin?) he hopes Jeremiah won’t refuse. As a result, Jeremiah knew (realized) this “was the word of the LORD”.
Then Jeremiah decides what he’s going to do in response to his cousin’s offer.
3 The remittance or purchase price
Text, Jeremiah 32:9-12, KJV: 9 And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver. 10 And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances. 11 So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open: 12 And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.
The actual “mechanics” or details of how land was purchased in Bible times aren’t mentioned very often. Abraham went through a bit of hassle when he tried to buy a burial site for Sarah (and, later, several family members) from Ephron the Hittite near Hebron (Genesis 23) Jacob bought land near the city of Shechem (Gen. 33:19) but he also found a lot of trouble after that. There may be other such transactions recorded but these two serve as classic examples. The point is that when someone bought land, of any kind, it was a serious transaction.
This was even more important because the Law had two very important provisions regarding the ownership of land in those days. First, Israel was supposed to remember that God Himself owned all the land. Leviticus 25:23 made that very clear, because God said, plainly, “the land is Mine”! Second, every seven years, all debts were to be canceled and every slave was supposed to be released (Deut. 15). Then, there was the “jubilee” year, every 50th year (Lev. 25 and 27) where property was to revert back to the original family. Clearly, accurate records of who bought land from whom and when this took place would be crucial. A number of Bible scholars and teachers have observed that there is no record this ever took place, but Israel’s history would have been much different had they observed these two commands!
But whether this was truly a purchase of the “right of redemption”, or “I’ll get the land back at the jubilee” or if Hanameel was thinking something else, we may never know. For me, it’s still kind of a “what is this??” when a blood relative wants to sell a piece of ground that he probably couldn’t even use to a very poor cousin who maybe had no need for it!
Even so, Jeremiah gave Hanameel the money, seventeen shekels of silver, weighing the silver (hopefully) on honest scales or balances. This was only the first step, of course—after the money changed hands, Jeremiah “took the evidence of the purchase (deeds, per other translations)” and had it sealed—probably to make this a legal and binding document. Baruch, Jeremiah’s friend and coworker, was there along with other witnesses (we’re not told how many).
Now Jeremiah was a property owner! Still, though, there was more to come.
4 The reminder or lesson from the LORD
Text, Jeremiah 32:13-15, KJV: 13 And I charged Baruch before them, saying, 14 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days. 15 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.
Jeremiah had just given his cousin, Hanameel, money in order to buy Hanameel’s field or piece of property in their hometown, Anathoth. The money had changed hands, the deeds were witnessed and sealed, Hanameel walked away with a handful of silver, and Jeremiah was now the owner of a field he didn’t need and maybe didn’t even want! Worst of all, he was “shut up” or restricted in “the court of the prison” so even going to visit his property wouldn’t be easy. He must have wondered something like “why in the world did I do this?”
The LORD promptly gave Jeremiah the insight he needed. First, the LORD told Jeremiah to put the “evidence (s) of the purchase”, or both copies of the deeds, and put them in an “earthen vessel” or another clay jar. He gave the items to Baruch, and then gave him a pair of messages from the LORD. Admittedly “safes” were probably not known in those days and, then as now, there was always the chance for a thief to steal anything you owned. We’re also never told what the “evidences” or deeds were written on: papyrus, leather, parchment could have been used but would have faded or become damaged if left exposed to the elements. The clay jar would at least provide some protection from the weather’s effect on the writing materials.
But the greatest promise from the LORD was that “houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land”. The LORD knew, even if few besides Jeremiah did, that before too much longer, the people of Jerusalem would be conquered and many would be taken captive to Babylon. The city was going to be burned with fire—destroyed, basically—and only a relative few would remain there. But The LORD had also promised that after 70 years of captivity, He would bring the people back (compare Jeremiah 25:8-11 and 29:10-14). The Book of Nehemiah gives details how the returning Jews worked to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and other things as well. Deeds would then need to be reviewed to see what belonged to whom when the Exile was over—finally!
Nothing further is said of who wound up with Jeremiah’s field in Anathoth after the captivity was over and the Israelites were back. No matter: God used this unusual purchase to serve as an object lesson about the future.
We of these days can look back at this transaction and marvel, like Jeremiah probably did, why God told us to or buy something unusual. Also like Jeremiah, we may not understand why until after it’s done. Something to remember is that God is Sovereign and He has the privilege of making commands of us. Also, even as Jeremiah may never have received any benefit from his purchase on this earth, the LORD surely rewarded him for his obedience. He’ll do the same for us, if we simply follow His commands!
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
