Jeremiah 32

13–15 Baruch was told to place the documents in a clay jar in order to preserve them.⁹⁸ When the Jews returned to Judah, these documents would be needed to prove that Jeremiah owned the field. The entire transaction was meant to show that the Jews would indeed return to Judah after their captivity. If God was not planning to bring the Jews back, there would have been no point in Jeremiah’s buying the field!

16–25 Here Jeremiah utters a prayer of praise to the Lord. In verse 18, he describes God’s great love, balanced by His justice and holiness⁹⁹ (see Exodus 20:5–6; 34:7). In verse 20, he remembers the signs and wonders God performed in Egypt (Exodus Chapters 7–11). In verses 21–22, he recalls how God delivered the Israelites from Egypt (Exodus 14:13–31), and how He led them to a land flowing with milk and honey—the land of Canaan (Exodus 3:8). In spite of all those blessings, the Israelites repeatedly disobeyed God and eventually brought down His judgment upon them (verses 23–24). Finally, in verse 25, Jeremiah expresses some perplexity concerning why God had asked him to buy Hanamel’s field:What was God’s plan? How was God going to save Judah from its present plight?

26–35 “Is anything too hard for me?” asks the Lord (verse 26); in verse 17, Jeremiah had already said there was nothing too hard for Him (see Genesis 18:14; Mark 10:27). Then, in verses 27–35, the Lord describes to Jeremiah the judgments He is about to bring upon Judah.¹⁰⁰

36–41 Then the Lord follows His words of judgment with words of hope–hope for the faithful remnant of Jews who He is going to bring back from exile. When He brings them back He will renew His covenant with them (verse 38). He will give them singleness of heart (verse 39)—that is, He will write His law on their hearts and minds (Jeremiah 31:33)—and they will fear Him (see Deuteronomy 6:1–3 and comment). And the Lord will make a new covenant with them, an everlasting covenant that will never be broken; the Lord will inspire the people to fear Him so that they will never turn away from Him again¹⁰¹ (verse 40).

42–44 once more fields will be bought in this land (verse 43). Jeremiah’s field symbolized the many fields all over Judah that would be bought and sold when the exiles returned to their land.