Jeremiah 32:17-28

17 “Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
18 You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps of their children after them. Great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD Almighty,
19 great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind; you reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve.
20 You performed signs and wonders in Egypt and have continued them to this day, in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renown that is still yours.
21 You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror.
22 You gave them this land you had sworn to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.
23 They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey you or follow your law; they did not do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disaster on them.
24 “See how the siege ramps are built up to take the city. Because of the sword, famine and plague, the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it. What you said has happened, as you now see.
25 And though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians, you, Sovereign LORD, say to me, ‘Buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed.’ ”
26 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
27 “I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?
28 Therefore this is what the LORD says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will capture it.

Jeremiah 32:17-28 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 32

This chapter contains an account of Jeremiah's imprisonment, and the cause of it; of his buying a field of his uncle's son, and the design of it; of his prayer to God, and of the answer returned to him. The time of his imprisonment, the place where, and the reasons of it, are observed in Jer 32:1-5; that his uncle's son would come and offer the sale of a field to him was told him by the Lord, which he did accordingly, Jer 32:6,7; of whom he bought the field, paid the money, had the purchase confirmed in a legal way, before witnesses, Jer 32:8-12; and the writings of it he committed to Baruch, to put in an earthen vessel, where they were to continue some time as a pledge of houses, fields, and vineyards, being possessed again after the captivity, Jer 32:13-15; then follows a prayer of his to the Lord, in which he addresses him as the Maker of all things; as the Lord God omnipotent; as a God of great grace and mercy, as well as strict justice; as a God of wisdom, counsel, and might, and an omniscient and righteous Being, Jer 32:16-19; and recounts the wonderful things he had done for the people of Israel, Jer 32:20-22; and observes the ingratitude and disobedience of that people, which were the cause of the present siege of the city, which should surely be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans, Jer 32:23-25; to which prayer an answer is returned, Jer 32:26; in which the Lord describes himself as the God of all flesh, and as able to do what he pleases, Jer 32:27; and confirms the delivery of the city of Jerusalem unto the Chaldeans, Jer 32:28,29; and assigns the causes of it, the backslidings, disobedience, and dreadful idolatry of the people, Jer 32:30-35; and, notwithstanding, promises a restoration of them to their own land again, Jer 32:36,37; when an opportunity is taken to insert the covenant of grace, and the special articles and peculiar promises of it, for the comfort of the spiritual Israel of God, whether Jews or Gentiles, Jer 32:38-40; and the chapter is concluded with a fresh assurance of the return of the captivity, and of the punctual performance of the promise of it; when fields should be bought in every part of the land, in like manner as Jeremiah had bought his, Jer 32:41-44.

Cross References 32

  • 1. Jeremiah 1:6
  • 2. S Genesis 1:1; S Jeremiah 10:16
  • 3. S Deuteronomy 9:29; 2 Kings 19:15; Psalms 102:25
  • 4. S 2 Kings 3:18; Jeremiah 51:15; S Matthew 19:26
  • 5. S Deuteronomy 5:10
  • 6. S Psalms 79:12
  • 7. S Exodus 20:5; S Psalms 109:14
  • 8. Jeremiah 10:6
  • 9. S Jeremiah 10:16
  • 10. S Job 12:13; Daniel 2:20; Isaiah 28:29
  • 11. S Job 14:16; S Proverbs 5:21; Jeremiah 16:17
  • 12. S Job 34:11; Jeremiah 17:10; S Matthew 16:27
  • 13. S Exodus 3:20; S Job 9:10
  • 14. Exodus 9:16
  • 15. S Isaiah 55:13; S Jeremiah 13:11
  • 16. S Exodus 6:6; 1 Chronicles 17:21; Daniel 9:15
  • 17. S Deuteronomy 5:15; S Jeremiah 6:12
  • 18. S Deuteronomy 26:8
  • 19. S Exodus 3:8; Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 20:6
  • 20. S Psalms 44:2; Psalms 78:54-55
  • 21. S Exodus 16:28; S Joshua 1:7; S 1 Kings 9:6; Nehemiah 9:26; S Jeremiah 11:8
  • 22. S Deuteronomy 28:64; Deuteronomy 31:29; Daniel 9:14
  • 23. S 2 Samuel 20:15; S Jeremiah 6:6
  • 24. S Jeremiah 14:12
  • 25. Deuteronomy 4:25-26; Joshua 23:15-16
  • 26. S Deuteronomy 28:2
  • 27. S ver 8
  • 28. S Isaiah 8:2
  • 29. S Numbers 16:22
  • 30. S Genesis 18:14; S 2 Kings 3:18
  • 31. S 2 Chronicles 36:17
  • 32. S ver 3; S Jeremiah 21:10
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