Jeremiah 32:8

So Hanameel mine uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. THEN I KNEW - not that Jeremiah previously doubted the reality of the divine communication, but the effect following it, and the prophet's experimentally knowing it, confirmed his faith, and was the seal to the vision. The Roman historian Florius (2: 6) records a similar instance: during the days that Rome was being besieged by Hannibal, the very ground on which he was encamped was put up for sale at Rome, and found a purchaser; implying the calm confidence of the ultimate issue entertained by the Roman people....

He then says, that _Hanameel his uncle’s son came, _as Jehovah had spoken, that he _came into the court of the prison, _and that he spoke to him as God had foretold. As to the end of the verse, it may seem strange that the Prophet says, that he now _knew _that the word came from God: for if he before doubted, where would be the certainty as to the prophetic spirit? He had already received a vision; he ought to have embraced what he knew had been foretold to him from above, even without any hesitation: but it appears that he was in suspense and perplexity. It then seems an evidence of unbelief, that he did not put a full and all entire trust in God’s testimony, and was not fully persuaded as to the heavenly oracle, until he saw the whole thing really accomplished. But it is right to distinguish between the knowledge received from the revelation of the Spirit and experimental knowledge, as...

1-15 Jeremiah, being in prison for his prophecy, purchased a piece of ground. This was to signify, that though Jerusalem was besieged, and the whole country likely to be laid waste, yet the time would come, when houses, and fields, and vineyards, should be again possessed. It concerns ministers to make it appear that they believe what they preach to others. And it is good to manage even our worldly affairs in faith; to do common business with reference to the providence and promise of God....

Verse Jeremiah 32:8. _THIS_ WAS _THE WORD OF THE LORD._] It was by his appointment that I was to make this purchase. The whole was designed as a symbolical act, to show the people that there would be a _return_ from Babylon, that each family should re-enter on its former possessions, and that a man might safely purchase on the certainty of this event....

THE RIGHT OF INHERITANCE IS THINE - Hanameel therefore had no children, and at his death the land would have been Jeremiah’s by right of birth. According to the Law Numbers 35:5, it must have been part of the suburbs of Anathoth, within less than a mile, which was all the priests and Levites might cultivate....

EXPOSITION Jeremiah was far from wishing to depress his fellow countrymen to the point of disbelieving in the inalienable promises of God to Israel, He fully recognized an element of truth in the preaching of the "false prophets," viz. that Jehovah was still the God of his people Israel, though for wise purposes he chose to hide his face for a time. His own faith was intense, to the pitch of an even Roman heroism (see Livy, Jeremiah 26:11). The opportunity (or rather—see below—the fight) of purchasing a piece of ground at Anathoth was the occasion which called forth the most striking proof of his sublime confidence in God. Not that he understood how it could be God's will that he, in the besieged city, should constitute himself a landed proprietor. He had his difficulties; but instead of brooding over them, he laid them Before Jehovah in prayer. And the Divine revelation

SO HANAMEEL MINE UNCLE'S SON CAME UNTO ME,.... Freely and voluntarily, of his own accord; though it was determined he should, as it was predicted he would; for God's decrees do not infringe the liberty of the will: this man came from Anathoth, very probably, to Jerusalem, to the place where the prophet was: IN THE COURT OF THE PRISON, ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF THE LORD; which had been made known before to Jeremiah: AND SAID UNTO ME, BUY MY FIELD, I PRAY THEE, THAT [IS] IN ANATHOTH, WHICH [IS] IN THE COUNTRY OF BENJAMIN; it belonged to that tribe: FOR THE RIGHT OF INHERITANCE [IS] THINE; the reversion of this field; it would come to him after the death of his cousin, as being next heir: AND THE REDEMPTION [IS] THINE; BUY [IT] FOR THYSELF; since, if it was sold to another, he, according to law, was obliged to redeem it; and therefore it was much better to buy it at once for himsel

Jeremiah 32:1. _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. For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem : and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house. For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying. Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; and Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shalt surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; and he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the Lord: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper._...

CHAPTER 32 Jeremiah in Prison _ 1. Shut up in the court of the prison (Jeremiah 32:1) _ 2. The revelation of the Lord concerning Hanameel (Jeremiah 32:6) 3. The prophet's prayer (Jeremiah 32:16) 4. Jehovah's answer (Jeremiah 32:26) Jeremiah 32:1. The siege of Jerusalem began in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign. It was in the tenth year, a year later (Jeremiah 39:1) that we find Jeremiah in prison.

Jeremiah, after a premonition of the coming opportunity (subsequently confirmed as being of Divine origin, Jeremiah 32:8) uses the right of redemption belonging to the next-of-kin (Leviticus 25:25; Ruth 4:3 ff.) to buy family property in Anathoth (Jeremiah 32:11) from his cousin Hanamel; he duly executes the purchase with all legal precision. By this prophetic act, he exhibited his confidence that land now in the enemy's occupation would ultimately be restored to Israel (_cf._ Livy 26:11 for a similar incident). Jeremiah 32:9. The weight of un