Jeremiah 32
8 ‘Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, “Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.” ‘I knew that this was the word of the Lord; 9 so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver. 10 I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11 I took the deed of purchase – the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy – 12 and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard. 13 ‘In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: 14 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so that they will last a long time. 15 For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”
Jeremiah lived at a time when everything looked hopeless; Nebuchadnezzar’s army was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah himself had made it clear that defeat and exile would come. What could possibly be the point of buying land? However bad things look, God has not abandoned us. The exiles did return. In God’s mercy life will return. Jeremiah trusted in God’s faithfulness and goodness, and so should we!
Lord, 2020 has been a dreadful year, but you hold the future in your hands, and we trust you as a gracious Father.
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