Field Day

1. The siege against Jerusalem (1-5).

A. The setting is given (1-2).

The tenth year of Zedekiah would have been 587 BC. That’s they year Nebuchadnezzar took Babylon. The date is given to show that Jerusalem is about to fall. According to 2 Kings 25:1 the siege began in the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign. The people of Jerusalem have fought for some time. However, they are not going to be successful.

At this time Jeremiah had been arrested and was being kept in the courtyard of the palace. Jeremiah was imprisoned in several places. He was imprisoned in a home (37:16), a cistern (38:6), and the courtyard.

B. Zedekiah questions Jeremiah about his motive for his messages (3-5).

The king was upset because of the content of Jeremiah’s messages. The content is summarized in verses 3-5:

Babylon will take Jerusalem

The King will be captured and deported

Fighting against the Babylonians is useless

Zedekiah was accustomed to the message of the false prophets. They gave the people hope. Zedekiah probably thought the message of the false prophets increased the morale of the people. He wanted Jeremiah to preach like them. He wanted the preachers to encourage the people. In Zedekiah’s mind the prophets could be a valuable asset if they convinced the people not to give up.

This is the mindset of the world. Many believe preachers are life coaches. They think we exist to simply encourage people. We should affirm people regardless of the circumstances. The job of the preacher is to reveal to the world what the Lord has said. When it comes to this present world the Lord doesn’t have a lot of good things to say. This world will perish.

2. Jeremiah buys a field (6-15).

A. The Lord instructs Jeremiah to buy the field (6-8).

Land was important to the Jewish people. It symbolized security in the land God promised to give His people. For that reason the Lord gave laws concerning property. If one was selling property, they had an obligation to sell it to a family member (Lev. 25:25-34).

The Lord tells Jeremiah that his cousin is going to offer him a piece of property in his hometown of Anathoth. When offered, Jeremiah is to purchase it. Times were desperate so it isn’t surprising someone was selling land. Jeremiah is approached by his cousin and he purchases the land. Why is this significant?

Think about the situation. All signs point to the fact that Babylon is about to take the land. Imagine if you will a Ukranian trying to sell land right now. With Russia overtaking the country it would be foolish for someone to buy land right now. Jeremiah’s willingness to purchase this land shows that he believes what he is preaching. Jeremiah has told the people the Lord will bring them back and his actions show he believes what the Lord has said.

B. The land was bought legally (9-11).

Verses 9-11 are interesting because they show us the process of purchasing land in Jeremiah’s day:

A deed was signed

A deed was sealed

The transaction involved witnesses

The money was weighed

A copy of everything was made

We don’t know if this was a good price on the land because we don’t know how much land was purchased and we don’t know the value of money at that particular time. The point is Jeremiah bought the land legally because he believed he would come back to it.

C. Baruch is introduced (12-15).

This is the first time he is mentioned but we will see him more in this book. He was the friend and secretary of Jeremiah. Jeremiah entrusts Baruch with the legal documents concerning the land he purchased. All of this was done legally and in the presence of witnesses. Baruch was told to seal the documents in a jar. This was common for that day. The Dead Sea scrolls were found stored in this manner. They were found in 1947 and were in good condition even though they had been in the jar for over two thousand years.

Notice the end of verse 15. The Lord says that houses and fields will be bought in Jerusalem again. It’s implied they will be bought and sold by Jewish people. Jeremiah’s purchase of the field symbolizes the message the Lord is giving. Here we have another symbolic message of Jeremiah.

3. Jeremiah prays (16-25).

A. He begins his prayer with the character of God (16-19).

He recognizes God as creator (17)

He recognizes the unlimited power of God “Nothing is too difficult for You”

He recognizes the love and the justice of God (18)

He recognizes the wisdom of God (19)

In a moment we’re going to see that even though Jeremiah is praying he is struggling. The point we should take is when the Lord tells us to do something difficult, we should cry out to him in prayer. Our prayer should recognize that God is great, and He is able to sustain us in whatever situation He may place us.

B. The works of God (20-23).

Jeremiah begins to list the wonderful deeds the Lord has done for His people throughout history.

God brought them out of Egypt (20-21). His powerful works against the Egyptian army were well known. The Lord made Himself famous among the nations by delivering the Hebrew people and breaking the will of the Egyptians.

God brought them into the promised land (22). God promised Abraham He would give his descendants a land and He did just that.

God brought discipline upon them because of their disobedience (23). The present disaster upon them was the invading Babylonian army. God takes credit for this.

C. Jeremiah submits to the current situation (24-25).

Siege mounds were a strategy that allowed an invading army to get over the walls of a city. Once these ramps were in place it was only a short amount of time before the army would flood into the city. The city was already being overtaken by famine and pestilence. The swords were on their way. Jeremiah recognizes the Lord foretold all of this. He concludes the prayer with a word of submission. The Lord told him to buy the land in the city and he did. Notice the end of verse 25, “though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans”. I think this shows Jeremiah is a little confused. Why should he buy the land if the land is about to be taken? Nevertheless, he obeys God. He submits to the Lord.

Prayer should include worship and submission. We should pray “Hallowed by Thy Name” and we should be pray “Thy will be done”. Worship and submission go together.

4. The Lord responds to Jeremiah (26-35).

A. The Lord is clear (26-29).

He asks Jeremiah if anything is too hard for Him. Jeremiah had admitted that in His prayer. Perhaps Jeremiah was doubting so the Lord reminded him. The Lord tells Jeremiah exactly what is going to happen and exactly why it is happening.

Babylon will take the city.

The city will be burned to the ground.

This is all happening because of the idolatry of the people.

The Lord has been clear with us as well. Things are going to get difficult in this world. You can’t deny that if you believe the Bible. We can’t change the fact that things will get very bad on this earth before Christ returns. What we can take courage in is that the Lord has already told us these things. Therefore, we can be prepared.

B. The Lord describes the people (30-35).

Both nations are mentioned. Israel and Judah are both guilty. They have provoked the Lord for many years. He has been patient with them. Everyone has provoked the Lord:

The people

The kings

The officials

The priests

The prophets

Everyone turned their back on God. God in His patience had through the years called them to Himself. Through the Law and the prophets, He had given them opportunities for grace. As God was being patient with them through the years what were they doing? Look at verses 34-35:

They had put pagan idols in the Temple (2 Kings 23:4)

They built idols to Baal in the land

They practiced child sacrifice

When we live in sin, we should remember the only reason we are not immediately consumed is the grace of God. Every day that we decide not to repent we are insulting the grace of God. God’s patience is not a time for us to increase our sin. It is for the purpose of repentance.

C. The hope of a new covenant (36-41).

At first glance it appears this is talking about the return to Jerusalem we see in Nehemiah and Ezra. However, the radical spiritual change we see in the people was not fulfilled in those days. The language used here is the same language used in 24:7 which spoke of the new covenant. Let’s look at the promises of this new covenant:

The people of God will be gathered together in Jerusalem (37).

The people of God will be protected by God (37).

The people of God will have a relationship with God (38).

The people of God will be given a new heart that enables. them to live a righteous life for eternity (39).

The new covenant will be eternal (40).

The new covenant will please the Lord (41).

The promises contained here can only be fully realized in the eternal state. The good news for us is that Gentiles are grafted into the people of God through Christ.

D. The certainty of the promises (42-45).

The fulfillment of these promises is just as sure as the judgment He promised (42). In other words, just as what the Lord said about Babylon came to pass, these promises of the new covenant would as well. Jeremiah’s symbolic act of buying the field pointed to the fact the people of God would have their land once again. The land desolated by the Babylonians would be restored by God.

I can’t imagine how difficult it would have been for anyone to believe what the Lord was saying. The reality was Jerusalem was being destroyed and the people taken captive. Yet what God promised was true. Sometimes this world can make you wonder how things could ever be better. When that happens, we need to trust the promises of God.

Jesus has promised to go and prepare a place for us. He has promised to take us to be with Himself. We have been told that the Lord will deliver us from all the suffering in this world. At times. it may not look like that will happen. But we have the words of Christ to remind us that it will.

We are headed to an eternal home.

We will be eternally safe.

We will be eternally holy.

We will be eternally happy.