Jeremiah 32-33

Thursday Evening Bible Study

March 31, 2005

Introduction

Jeremiah 30-33 are called Jeremiah’s “Book of Consolation”. Just before the nation of Judah goes into its final moments, God sends this word of future hope and restoration.

Jeremiah 32 (NKJV)

:1-5 Jeremiah imprisoned

:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

Zedekiah was the last king of Judah. He only reigned for eleven years. The events in this chapter took place at the very end of the nation.

:2 For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house.

The Babylonian army had surrounded Jerusalem.

:3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, "Why do you prophesy and say, 'Thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

:4 "and Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face, and see him eye to eye;

:5 "then he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall be until I visit him," says the LORD; "though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed"'?"

Zedekiah had Jeremiah put in prison because of the things Jeremiah was saying. Jeremiah was acting like a traitor. But the things that Jeremiah had said were absolutely true.

:6-15 Jeremiah buys a field

:6 And Jeremiah said, "The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

:7 'Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, "Buy my field which is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it."'

Anathoth – Jeremiah’s home town. It was a town where many of the priests lived. It was close to work for the priests, only about 2 miles northeast of Jerusalem.

Right of redemption –

God’s original intent was for property to stay with a particular family.

If your family got into financial trouble, you could sell the property, but a relative could always come along and “redeem” the property or buy it back for the sake of the family.

(Lev 25:25 NKJV) 'If one of your brethren becomes poor, and has sold some of his possession, and if his redeeming relative comes to redeem it, then he may redeem what his brother sold.

:8 "Then Hanamel my uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said to me, 'Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption yours; buy it for yourself.' Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.

I wonder what was going on in Hanamel’s mind? Why is he trying to sell this worthless piece of property to his cousin?

Was he “led” by the Lord? Did he just think that Jeremiah was an easy “mark”?

Jeremiah had confirmation of this “word”.

I wonder if there isn’t a sense that Jeremiah felt like he needed confirmation.

What God had asked him to do just didn’t make sense.

This particular property was worthless since it was in Anathoth, which by this time had already been captured by the Babylonians.

:9 "So I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and weighed out to him the money; seventeen shekels of silver.

seventeen shekels of silver – 6.8 ounces of silver

:10 "And I signed the deed and sealed it, took witnesses, and weighed the money on the scales.

:11 "So I took the purchase deed, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open;

There were two copies of the “deed”. One copy was sealed and the other was unsealed.

:12 "and I gave the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses who signed the purchase deed, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison.

Baruch was Jeremiah’s companion and secretary. (Jer. 36:4)

:13 "Then I charged Baruch before them, saying,

:14 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Take these deeds, both this purchase deed which is sealed and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days."

Seal them up in a clay pot so they will last for a long time.

:15 'For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land."'

This was all an act of faith to demonstrate that God wasn’t finished with the land. There would one day be Jews living in the land of Israel.

:16-25 Jeremiah’s prayer: God is good

:16 "Now when I had delivered the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying:

:17 'Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.

Lesson

Impossible

Nothing is too hard for God

The angel said to Mary:

(Luke 1:37 KJV) For with God nothing shall be impossible.

Jesus said,

(Mark 10:27 KJV) And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

(Mat 17:20 KJV) And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Do you have things that seem impossible?

The issue isn’t whether or not this thing is possible to you, but whether or not it is possible to God.

For Abraham, it seemed impossible to have any kids:

(Rom 4:20-21 NKJV) He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, {21} and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.

:18 'You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them; the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts.

:19 'You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.

Great in counsel

He has answers to your questions.

Mighty in deeds

He can do great things.

:20 'You have set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, to this day, and in Israel and among other men; and You have made Yourself a name, as it is this day.

:21 'You have brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror;

:22 'You have given them this land, of which You swore to their fathers to give them; "a land flowing with milk and honey."

:23 'And they came in and took possession of it, but they have not obeyed Your voice or walked in Your law. They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have caused all this calamity to come upon them.

:24 'Look, the siege mounds! They have come to the city to take it; and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword and famine and pestilence. What You have spoken has happened; there You see it!

:25 'And You have said to me, O Lord GOD, "Buy the field for money, and take witnesses"!; yet the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.'"

Jeremiah is kind of blown away with this whole land purchase.

Jeremiah’s ministry began in 627 BC, 41 years ago. During that entire time, his main message has been that judgment is going to come, that the Babylonians were going to conquer Jerusalem. The Babylonians are finally here and the judgment is about complete.

And now God has this land deal to give Jeremiah hope.

It’s as if Jeremiah’s ministry isn’t limited to talking about destruction. He also has hope in a future restoration.

:26-35 God’s reply: Judgment is coming for Jerusalem …

:26 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

:27 "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?

This question seems to come in answer to Jeremiah’s statement back in verse 17:

(Jer 32:17 NKJV) 'Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.

:28 "Therefore thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it.

:29 'And the Chaldeans who fight against this city shall come and set fire to this city and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger;

:30 'because the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only evil before Me from their youth. For the children of Israel have provoked Me only to anger with the work of their hands," says the LORD.

:31 'For this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My fury from the day that they built it, even to this day; so I will remove it from before My face

:32 'because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me to anger; they, their kings, their princes, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

:33 'And they have turned to Me the back, and not the face; though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction.

:34 'But they set their abominations in the house which is called by My name, to defile it.

:35 'And they built the high places of Baal which are in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.'

:36-44 Restoration is coming

:36 "Now therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, 'It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence':

:37 'Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely.

:38 'They shall be My people, and I will be their God;

:39 'then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them.

:40 'And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.

Everlasting covenant – the new covenant

:41 'Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.'

:42 "For thus says the LORD: 'Just as I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them.

:43 'And fields will be bought in this land of which you say, "It is desolate, without man or beast; it has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans."

:44 'Men will buy fields for money, sign deeds and seal them, and take witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South; for I will cause their captives to return,' says the LORD."

Lesson

God is not finished with you

(Phil 1:6 NKJV) being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

Illustration

At one time Andrew Carnegie was the wealthiest man in America. He came to America from his native Scotland when he was a small boy, did a variety of odd jobs, and eventually ended up as the largest steel manufacturer in the United States. At one time he had forty-three millionaires working for him. In those days a millionaire was a rare person; conservatively speaking, a million dollars in his day would be equivalent to at least twenty million dollars today.

A reporter asked Carnegie how he had hired forty-three millionaires. Carnegie responded that those men had not been millionaires when they started working for him but had become millionaires as a result.

The reporter’s next question was, “How did you develop these men to become so valuable to you that you have paid them this much money?” Carnegie replied that men are developed the same way gold is mined. When gold is mined, several tons of dirt must be moved to get an ounce of gold; but one doesn’t go into the mine looking for dirt—one goes in looking for the gold.

God sees the gold in our lives. He knows what He’s trying to in our lives. Sometimes it seems that He must have a lot of dirt to remove.

Illustration

Once someone came on Michelangelo chipping away with his chisel at a huge shapeless piece of rock. He asked the sculptor what he was doing. “I am releasing the angel imprisoned in this marble,” he answered.

God may allow hardships into our lives, but it’s because He sees what the finished product is going to be like.

For Judah, they went into the Babylonian captivity as a people who worshipped idols, who strayed from God.

When they came out of the Babylonian captivity, they would be a people who had learned to walk with their God.

(1 Th 5:24 NKJV) He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

Jeremiah 33

:1-9 God will restore Jerusalem

:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, saying,

:2 "Thus says the LORD who made it, the LORD who formed it to establish it (the LORD is His name):

made – ‘asah – to do, fashion, accomplish, make

What is the “it” that the Lord has made?

Even though some of the translations say that the Lord has made the “heavens” or the “heavens and the earth”, the Hebrew text doesn’t say what God has made.

The ancient Syriac version has “thee”, as in the Lord has made “thee”.

Others think it refers to Jerusalem, and the context of what follows would seem that this is what God is talking about.

Perhaps God left it vague so we could put ourselves into the passage.

:3 'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.'

Mighty – batsar – to gather, restrain, fence, fortify, make inaccessible, enclose; secrets, mysteries, inaccessible things (subst)

This word is often translated “fenced” referring to the great “inaccessible” cities in Canaan that Israel would conquer (Deut. 28:52; Josh 14:12)

God has things to show us that only He has access to.

Lesson

Asking God for help

God wants to speak to us. We need to ask.

(James 1:5-8 NKJV) If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. {6} But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. {7} For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; {8} he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Illustration

Does God Still Speak To Men?

A young man had been to Wednesday night Bible Study. The Pastor had shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord’s voice. The young man couldn’t help but wonder, “Does God still speak to people?”

After service he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they discussed the message. Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways. It was about ten o’clock when the young man started driving home. Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, “God.. If you still speak to people speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey.” As he drove done the main street of his town, he had the strangest thought, stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook his head and said out loud, “God is that you?” He didn’t get a reply and started on toward home. But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk. The young man thought about Samuel and how he didn’t recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli. “Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk.”

It didn’t seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk. He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward home. As he passed Seventh Street, he again felt the urge, “Turn down that street.” This is crazy he thought and drove on pass the intersection. Again, he felt that he should turn down seventh street.

At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh. Half jokingly, he said out loud, “Okay, God, I will.” He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in a semicommercial area of town. It wasn’t the best but it wasn’t the worst of neighborhoods either. The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like the people were already in bed. Again, he sensed something, “Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street.”

The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat. “Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid.”

Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk. Finally, he opened the door, “Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the milk. If you want me to look like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient. I guess that will count for something but if they don’t answer right away, I am out of here.”

He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise inside. A man’s voice yelled out, “Who is it? What do you want?” Then the door opened before the young man could get away. The man was standing there in his jeans and T-shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his face and he didn’t seem to happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep. “What is it?”

The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, “Here, I brought this to you.” The man took the milk and rushed down a hall way speaking loudly in Spanish. Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen. The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying.

The man had tears streaming down his face. The man began speaking and half crying, “We were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money. We didn’t have any milk for our baby. I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk.” His wife in the kitchen yelled out, “I ask him to send an Angel with some. Are you an Angel?” The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put in the man’s hand. He turned and walked back toward his car and the tears were streaming down his face. He knew that God still answers prayers and that God still speaks to His people.

- Author Unknown

:4 "For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah, which have been pulled down to fortify against the siege mounds and the sword:

At this point in the siege, houses have been torn down for their building materials and the materials have been used to fortify the wall around Jerusalem.

:5 'They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but only to fill their places with the dead bodies of men whom I will slay in My anger and My fury, all for whose wickedness I have hidden My face from this city.

:6 'Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.

:7 'And I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first.

:8 'I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me.

:9 'Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.'

:10-16 Worship, safety, righteousness destroyed

:10 "Thus says the LORD: 'Again there shall be heard in this place; of which you say, "It is desolate, without man and without beast"; in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast,

:11 'the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say: "Praise the LORD of hosts, For the LORD is good, For His mercy endures forever"; and of those who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,' says the LORD.

Israel’s worship song

The first time we have recorded that this song was sung was when David brought the Ark of the Covenant into the city of Jerusalem:

(1 Chr 16:34 NKJV) Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

The next time the song was sung was at the dedication of Solomon’s temple:

(2 Chr 5:13-14 NKJV) indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying: "For He is good, For His mercy endures forever," that the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, {14} so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.

:12 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'In this place which is desolate, without man and without beast, and in all its cities, there shall again be a dwelling place of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.

Flocks lying down give a picture of peace and safety.

(Psa 23:1-2 NKJV) The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. {2} He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

:13 'In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks shall again pass under the hands of him who counts them,' says the LORD.

:14 'Behold, the days are coming,' says the LORD, 'that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah:

:15 'In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David A Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.

Branch – another title reserved for the Messiah, who would be a “branch” in David’s family tree.

(Isa 11:1-5 KJV) And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: {2} And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; {3} And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: {4} But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. {5} And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

The Branch is Jesus.

:16 In those days Judah will be saved, And Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.'

THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS – a new name for Jerusalem – “Yahweh Tzidqenu”

She will be given a name based on what God had done for her.

It was on Mount Moriah, that Abraham took his son Isaac. God told Abraham to sacrifice his only son. When Isaac asked where the lamb was for the sacrifice, Abraham replied:

(Gen 22:8 KJV) And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

You could take this to mean that God Himself was going to take care of providing a lamb, and God did indeed provide a ram that was caught in a bush.

You could also take this verse to mean that God would provide a lamb for a sacrifice, that He was the lamb.

Abraham wasn’t allowed to actually perform the sacrifice. Instead, God gave him a ram to sacrifice.

But God was very pleased with what Abraham had done.

Abraham had painted for us a picture:

God the Father would sacrifice His only Son on that same mountain. Right outside of Jerusalem.

And it would be there on the cross that our sins would be paid for and we would be given the righteousness of Christ.

(2 Cor 5:21 NKJV) For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

:17-26 Forever kings and priests

:17 "For thus says the LORD: 'David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel;

The line of King David would never be extinguished.

Does this mean that for Jeremiah there would always be a sitting king? No, it just means that there will always be a descendant of David.

:18 'nor shall the priests, the Levites, lack a man to offer burnt offerings before Me, to kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.'"

The Levitical priests would also continue.

At Baalpeor, the people had started to commit idolatry and adultery with the young Moabite women. Phinehas took a spear and killed an Israelite man who was committing adultery with a Moabite woman. Because of this, a promise was made to Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron.

(Num 25:13 KJV) And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.

There will be Levitical priests and offerings during the Millenial Kingdom of Jesus.

There will be no more sin offerings:

(Heb 7:26-27 NKJV) For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; {27} who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people's, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

But there will be offerings of thanksgiving, consecration, and fellowship. These offerings will help us to remember what Jesus has done for us.

:19 And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

:20 "Thus says the LORD: 'If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season,

:21 'then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers.

:22 'As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.'"

:23 Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

:24 "Have you not considered what these people have spoken, saying, 'The two families which the LORD has chosen, He has also cast them off'? Thus they have despised My people, as if they should no more be a nation before them.

:25 "Thus says the LORD: 'If My covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth,

:26 'then I will cast away the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captives to return, and will have mercy on them.'"