God’s Guiding Word: Promise

June 21

Introduction

Jeremiah 32:1–15: In today’s reading, Jerusalem is surrounded by the Babylonian army and Jeremiah the prophet has been imprisoned by Judah’s King Zedekiah. Jeremiah receives a message from the LORD to purchase a field at this unsettled time, a sign of hope for Judah’s future.

Today’s Key Verse: Jeremiah 32:15

“The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, has said that houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”

Reading

32 The Lord spoke to me in the tenth year that Zedekiah was king of Judah, which was also the eighteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia. ² At that time the army of the king of Babylonia was attacking Jerusalem, and I was locked up in the courtyard of the royal palace. ³ King Zedekiah had imprisoned me there and had accused me of announcing that the Lord had said, “I am going to let the king of Babylonia capture this city, ⁴ and King Zedekiah will not escape. He will be handed over to the king of Babylonia; he will see him face-to-face and will speak to him in person. ⁵ Zedekiah will be taken to Babylonia, and he will remain there until I deal with him. Even if he fights the Babylonians, he will not be successful. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

⁶ The Lord told me ⁷ that Hanamel, my uncle Shallum’s son, would come to me with the request to buy his field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin, because I was his nearest relative and had the right to buy it for myself. ⁸ Then, just as the Lord had said, Hanamel came to me there in the courtyard and asked me to buy the field. So I knew that the Lord had really spoken to me. ⁹ I bought the field from Hanamel and weighed out the money to him; the price came to seventeen pieces of silver. ¹⁰ I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the money on scales. ¹¹ Then I took both copies of the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the contract and its conditions, and the open copy— ¹² and gave them to Baruch, the son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah. I gave them to him in the presence of Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed of purchase and of the people who were sitting in the courtyard. ¹³ Before them all I said to Baruch, ¹⁴ “The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, has ordered you to take these deeds, both the sealed deed of purchase and the open copy, and to place them in a clay jar, so that they may be preserved for years to come. ¹⁵ The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, has said that houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”

Reflect

Why did Zedekiah imprison Jeremiah (verses 3–5)? How did Jeremiah’s words to King Zedekiah (verses 3–5) and the purchasing of a field (verses 6–15) demonstrate Jeremiah’s trust in God? In what ways do you express trust in God during unsettled times?

Pray

Lord God, you are always near, and I place my trust and hope in you. During times of uncertainty, I know I can turn to you, trusting in your love, compassion, and mercy. In your holy name, I pray. Amen.

Tomorrow’s Reading

Jeremiah 32:16–35: Jeremiah prays to the LORD.