Back to Course

Jeremiah and Lamentations: Babylonian Crisis

  1. Lesson One
    The Prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1–6, 26–29, 35–38)
    19 Activities
    |
    4 Assessments
  2. Lesson Two
    Jeremiah: Idolatry and Anguish (Jeremiah 39–51)
    20 Activities
  3. Lesson Three
    Jeremiah: Shame and Dignity (Jeremiah 7–20)
    21 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  4. Lesson Four
    Jeremiah: A Future Hope (Jeremiah 21–25, 30–34)
    21 Activities
    |
    2 Assessments
  5. Lesson Five
    Lamentations
    21 Activities
  6. Course Wrap-Up
    Course Completion
    1 Activity
    |
    1 Assessment

Participants 10

Show more
Lesson Progress
0% Complete

I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hananel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver. I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales. I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy . . .

 

In (the presence of witnesses) I gave Baruch these instructions: “This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. For this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”
Jeremiah 32:9-11, 13-14 NIV

The image of another clay jar resurfaces in this latter part of Jeremiah—now with a more positive message behind it. During the Babylonian siege, at a time when Jerusalem’s destruction and exile are imminent, Jeremiah offers a word of hope. He buys property in the land that will soon be worthless under Babylonian control. This is Jeremiah’s way of saying that the people will one day return home: 

Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.

Jeremiah’s description of the transaction involving silver and two real estate deeds is the most elaborate description of its kind in the Old Testament. This method of bookkeeping wasn’t unusual, but it had special significance for Jeremiah’s message. 

It was customary for deeds to be handled in this way, with one unsealed and one sealed copy. The sealed copy was kept as a permanent claim, and the unsealed copy was attached to it as a reference that might be read without breaking the seal. The hope that Jeremiah offers in this symbolic act is both a promise to be sealed for the future, and a comfort to be unrolled and referenced in exile. 

Reference: Elmer A. Martens, Jeremiah, 1986, pp. 201-202.