Johannine Hours               Jeremiah 32:1-15               May 1996
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[The "Johannine hours" are meant as a way of seeking God in silence
and prayer in the midst of our daily life. During the course of a
day, take a moment to read the Bible passage with the short
commentary and to reflect on the questions which follow.
Afterwards, a small group people can meet to share what they have
discovered and perhaps for a time of prayer.] 

Jeremiah was detained in the Court of the Guard in the royal palace
in Jerusalem, currently besieged by an enemy army. So, Jeremiah is
in a doubly desperate situation. And it is in this situation that,
in due form, he purchases a field from his cousin. What does this
action symbolise? 

The prophet has been put in prison because he has spoken clearly.
Ten years earlier, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had
captured Jerusalem. He did not destroy it, but instead installed a
vassal king, Zedekiah, of whom this passage speaks. After reigning
for eight years, Zedekiah judged the time ripe to shake off foreign
domination. He could certainly not leave Jeremiah at liberty, for,
from the beginning of the reign, Jeremiah had said: "Bend your
necks to the yoke of the king of Babylon." (Jr 27:12) 

Why had Jeremiah spoken in such a way? He had to speak out,
repeating these words, because God had made him understand the
seriousness of the situation. He said of those who refused to face
up to reality: "They dress the wound of my people as though it were
not serious. "Peace, peace," they say, when there is no peace." (Jr
6:14). Jeremiah had been interned because he had told the king and
people that the crisis was deep-seated. It was no use clinging to
pillars which were on the point of giving way: neither the royalty
instituted by David, nor the Temple would survive. 

Yet Jeremiah, the only one unafraid of calling things by their
proper name, is also the only one who has a sure hope. He has it
from God: "I know what plans I have in mind for you, plans for
peace, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (Jr
29:11) And thus, when no one else is thinking of buying property
because they've lost all hope in the future, Jeremiah, faithfully
following God's call, buys the field which his cousin offers to
him. This prophetic action points to a future beyond the ostensible
end of the nation: "This is what the Lord says: Houses, fields and
vineyards will again be bought in this country." (Jr 32:15) 

      Where does Jeremiah's trust in the future of his people come
      from? 
      What can make us able to look lucidly on serious situations,
      while looking to the future with trust. 
      By what actions can we today express our certainty in the
      future that God gives? 

"Johannine Hours" - 05/96 - ©71250 Taizé-Community, France.
taize@cpe.ipl.fr 

                 


1 This is 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. 

2 The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and
Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in
the royal palace of Judah. 

3 Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, "Why
do you prophesy as you do? You say, `This is what the Lord says: I
am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will
capture it. 

4 Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape out of the hands of the
Babylonians but will certainly be handed over to the king of
Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his
own eyes. 

5 He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I
deal with him, declares the Lord. If you fight against the
Babylonians, you will not succeed.' 

6 Jeremiah said, "The word of the Lord came to me: 

7 Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and
say, `Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is
your right and duty to buy it.' 

8 "Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in
the courtyard of the guard and said, `Buy my field at Anathoth in
the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and
possess it, buy it for yourself.' "I knew that this was the word of
the Lord; 

9 so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and
weighed out for him seventeen shekels (That is, about 7 ounces
(about 200 grams)) of silver. 

10 I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out
the silver on the scales. 

11 I took the deed of purchase-- the sealed copy containing the
terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy-- 

12 and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of
Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses
who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the
courtyard of the guard. 

13 "In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: 

14 `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.

15 For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.' 

Jeremiah 32:1-15  




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