‘Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.’—Jer. xxxii. 7.

The Old and New Testaments are so linked together that they cannot well be separated. The Old is the foundation of the New; the New is the head-stone of the Old; and the same great principles run through them both. Thus faith in the Old Testament is the same in principle as faith in the New; and by studying the faith of the ancient patriarchs and prophets we may learn most important lessons respecting that of the modern believer. In different ages and different persons faith may differ in its object and in its form; but it is always the same in principle, and always involves the fixed assurance that what God has promised He is able and certain to perform. This is very clearly seen in the deeply important lesson of practical faith conveyed to us in this history of Jeremiah. The events described in the chapter took place during the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah was then king, and was struggling to the utmost of his power against the powerful enemy that was come up against him. In the midst of the siege the Prophet Jeremiah was employed to convey a most discouraging prophecy, for, as you read verse 3, Jeremiah said, ‘Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give this city unto the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it.’ Of course such a prophecy was calculated to dishearten the defenders of the city. So, though it was the word of the Lord, Zedekiah arrested the prophet and shut him up in the court of the prison. Jeremiah, therefore, was in a position of great distress, the city was besieged, and he knew from his own prophecy that it would be taken; while he himself was a prisoner at the mercy of a bad and arbitrary king.

But while he was there alone in his prison the word of the Lord came to him saying that his first cousin, by name Hanameel, would come unto him and say, ‘Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.’ You will remember that we found the nearest of kin had the right of redemption, and evidently Jeremiah stood in that position to his cousin. As famine and pestilence were raging in the city (see ver. 24), it is easy to understand why Hanameel was compelled to sell. But he could not sell to any one, for the right of redemption belonged to Jeremiah. The prophet, therefore, was warned by the Lord that Hanameel was coming to him with this object; and accordingly he very soon appeared as was foretold, and said, ‘Buy my field I pray thee that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of redemption is thine; buy it for thyself,’ ver. 8. You must not fail to notice the confirmation of his faith through this fulfilment of the prophecy, for when Hanameel came to him he said, ‘Then knew I that this was the word of the Lord.’ Till then he was probably not quite satisfied, but when his cousin came as it had been foretold, then he knew it was of God. Let us learn a lesson for ourselves. There were many prophecies of a coming Saviour scattered throughout the four thousand years that preceded His birth, and I can perfectly understand the difficulty of faith in those who did not see those prophecies realised; but now that the Promised One has come according to His promise, and the great prediction has been fulfilled, the least that we can say is, ‘Now we know that this was the word of the Lord.’

But to return to Jeremiah. Being convinced that the whole thing was of God, he proceeded at once to redeem the field. He took care that the deeds were properly drawn, signed, sealed, and witnessed. And when the money, seventeen shekels of silver, was paid, and the conveyance complete, he trusted the deeds to Baruch, his faithful friend, and charged him to deposit them safely in an earthen vessel. His words were, ‘Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel that they may continue many days.’ You will observe that last clause, ‘that they may continue many days.’ He seemed quite sure that it would be a long time before they would be wanted.

Thus the transaction was complete, and the land redeemed; but not so Jeremiah’s part respecting it, for when he had delivered the evidence of purchase unto Baruch, his next act was to kneel down in prayer. He says, ver. 16, ‘I prayed unto the Lord.’ I have not time now to study either his prayer or God’s answer to it; I would only remark in passing what a blessed thing it is when all that we do is of such a character that we can pray about it before God. It would wonderfully alter the character of commercial life if every bargain could be spread in prayer before God, and if every contract were of such a nature that as soon as it was complete we could kneel down and ask God’s blessing on it. I am inclined to think that this principle would knock off a great many of the hard bargains made in life. It would certainly prevent all cases of fraud and adulteration, and put a stop at once to the whole principle of the non-payment of lawful debts. Jeremiah, when he would redeem the land, first paid the money, and then knelt down to pray.

But that is not the point to be particularly noticed in the passage, for we must rather study the mind of Jeremiah, and consider on what principle he redeemed the field. Why was it that, when he knew the city was about to be taken, and everything within it was already at famine prices, he apparently threw away these seventeen shekels in the purchase of a field which to all appearance he was never likely to possess? He knew perfectly well that at the time he purchased it it could be of no use whatever. It is believed to have been about three miles north of Jerusalem, and was probably at that very time trampled down by the besieging host, and he knew equally well that till after the restoration of the Jews he was not likely to attain possession. The city was invested by the Chaldeans, and there was not the smallest hope of a successful resistance; why then at such a time should he spend money in the redemption of the field? I believe that there were three principles on which he acted,—obedience, faith, and confidence in the law of redemption, and that he was called to do what he did in order to teach these principles to his besieged fellow-countrymen.

(1.) There was clearly obedience, simple obedience in direct opposition to human calculation. You may see this very clearly in the concluding words of his prayer. It is clear from ver. 24 that all human calculation was against him, and he knew it to be so, for he said, ‘Behold the mounts, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence; and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it.’ But the Lord had commanded him to buy the field, for he adds, ver. 25, ‘And thou hast said unto me, O Lord God, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses: for’ (or rather ‘though,’ according to the margin) ‘the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.’ God told him to buy it, though the city was given up to the Chaldeans. He was not, therefore, to be guided by what he saw, but by what he knew to be the will of God. If he were to lose all his money, and never come into possession of the field, it was his clear duty to obey. And so it is ours, when once we are convinced of the will of God.

(2.) But as believers in the Lord Jesus we are not called to obey without hope, for where there is no hope you will never find power. The Christian’s obedience, therefore, is full of hope, because it is all founded on faith, and so was the obedience of Jeremiah. He acted in faith, firmly trusting the promises of God. You see this very clearly in his words to Baruch when he handed him the deeds, as recorded ver. 15: ‘For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.’ He looked, therefore, beyond the present distress, and, more than that, beyond what I may term the first future. He foresaw the overthrow, but he looked beyond it to the recovery. He himself predicted desolation, but he was so sure of the restoration that on the strength of that assurance he redeemed the land. Though he saw the army of the Chaldeans around the city, though he was at that very time in prison for prophesying, ‘Thus saith the Lord, Behold I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it,’ yet he was so sure of the truth of God’s promise to restore it, that he acted on the promise, and purchased the property. He looked beyond the captivity to the recovery, and confidently acted on God’s promise. That he fully realised the difficulty is clear from the words of his prayer, in which he said, ver. 17, ‘There is nothing too hard for thee,’ and from God’s reply to these words in ver. 27, ‘Is there anything too hard for me?’ But he was, like Abraham, fully persuaded that what God had promised ‘He was able also to perform,’ and therefore he acted on the promise? and paid down his money in the certainty that God would fulfil His word. Dear brethren, is there not a noble lesson here for all of us? Are we not all taught, not merely to believe, but to act on our belief? We may see difficulties thickening around us; we may even see prophecies of sore trial in the latter days. But we know that our God shall trample down Satan under our feet shortly. We are to trust Him, therefore, and act on our trust. We see things decaying around us; we look at our own frail bodies, and believe that they will soon be laid lifeless in the grave. We see death cutting down our dearest friends, and we know that, if the Lord does not come first, it will soon cut us down too. But we look beyond to a resurrection, to the certain promise that we shall rise again; and therefore now we must live and act as those who are sure of the resurrection life. To adopt the figure of the narrative, we must purchase the field with a view to the restoration. There may be dark days and sore trials before the time of possession; but it is certain to come at last. As Daniel said, ‘The thing is true though the time appointed is long.’ So we know the premise is true, though the time of waiting may be long; and we must spend our whole life, and lay out all our powers, with the one fixed object of a certainty of possession when the dead shall arise, and the Lord shall take the kingdom.

(3.) But besides faith in the promise of God there was also confidence in the validity of the act of redemption. There was no doubt about the soundness of his title. The whole transaction was according to law. Hanameel had a legal right to sell, Jeremiah a legal right to redeem, and the conveyance was legally completed. All was done that was required by the law of transfer, and when those deeds were carefully deposited in the earthen vessel, there to continue for many days, Jeremiah clearly considered that whenever the time of restoration should come, the deeds would be recognised as valid, and his title as sufficient. He regarded the act of redemption as sufficient security whenever God should restore the land to Israel. And now, dear brethren, have we not all a magnificent lesson to learn from his example? We are looking forward to the times of restoration: we expect to rise again; we fully believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will come bringing His saints with Him, and, like Jeremiah, we depend on the finished act of redemption, as our own title to a share in the coming inheritance. Now look at that great act of redemption. There was no flaw in any part of it, for the whole law was fulfilled. The full price was paid, for we may adapt the words of the prophet, ‘She hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.’ The redemption price was not seventeen shekels of silver; but the most precious blood of the Son of God. The Redeemer is not a mere man, a prisoner in the dungeon of the king; but the Son of God already risen from the dead, and already seated at the right hand of the throne. And the deeds are not deposited in any earthen vessel, or trusted to the care of such a man as Baruch; but they are treasured up in heaven itself, kept safe in the eternal counsels of Jehovah. And now follows the question, was that redemption by the Son of God sufficient? And are these title-deeds secure? If Jeremiah could trust to those sealed documents in the earthen vessel under Baruch’s care, may we not trust to the full satisfaction made through redeeming blood, and the perfect security of the covenant of God as sealed, ratified, and preserved by Jesus Christ Himself? Of course when persons have no interest in that redemption, when they have no part in that redeeming work, we cannot then say that their title is secure, for, poor people! they have neither title nor inheritance; they have no hope in the restoration as they are without God in the present. Oh! that I knew how to persuade such persons never to rest till they have their title-deeds to a heavenly inheritance. But I am not speaking of them. I am speaking rather of the redeemed believer, whose ‘life is hid with Christ in God;’ and I want to persuade all parties, both those that do, and those that do not, possess the title-deeds, to consider well the unspeakable blessedness of having the title safely deposited with the Son of God, so that, whatever happens, whatever success or discouragement, whether joy or trial, whether life or death, we may be perfectly sure that all is safe, for the redemption has been completed by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and the title-deeds are safe, being laid up in the treasury of God.