Daily Devotions
Jeremiah
"Put them in an earthen vessel"
Text: Jeremiah 32:14
INSTRUCTION TO BARUCH
Jeremiah gave instructions to Baruch concerning the purchase deed. He also explained why he bought the field.
“Then I charged Baruch before them, saying,
‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
‘Take these deeds, both this purchase deed which is sealed
and this deed which is open,
and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days.’
For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
‘Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.””
Jeremiah 32:13-15
1. “Then I charged Baruch before them, saying”
a) Jeremiah gave clear instructions to Baruch.
b) This was done publicly, in the hearing of all in the court of the prison.
2. “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
‘Take these deeds, both this purchase deed which is sealed and this deed which is open,
and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days'”
a) Jeremiah explained why he bought the field in Anathoth.
b) It was normal to sell rather than to buy when war is at hand.
c) The purchase deeds (both the open and the sealed one).
i) They are to be put in an earthen vessel.
ii) The deeds would be preserved well.
iii) Archaeological findings have proven that this kind of transaction was indeed the normal order of the day.
3. “For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
‘Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land'”
a) The LORD God Himself gave this word to Jeremiah.
b) The Babylonian kingdom will not last forever.
c) One day, the people of Israel would be able to return home.
d) Life would be as normal.
i) People would possess houses, fields and vineyards.
ii) Land prices then would be very high.
iii) What Jeremiah paid for the field in Anathoth would pay huge dividends in the future.