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Jeremiah 32:7 “O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!
A Seemingly Foolish Land Purchase
The Alaska Purchase was one of the most underestimated land deals in history. In 1867, the United States bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million—about 2 cents per acre. Many Americans mocked the purchase at the time, calling it “Seward’s Folly” or “Seward’s Icebox,” believing the land was an icy wasteland with no real value.
Despite the mockery and questioning, Seward said, “The United States will prove to be the richest nation in the world by virtue of this bargain.” Over time, Alaska proved to be an incredible investment, bringing immense natural resources, strategic advantages, and economic benefits to the U.S., proving Seward correct in his belief.
What was once considered a worthless icebox became a cornerstone of American wealth and security. The U.S. paid $7.2 million in 1867, but Alaska’s resources have since generated trillions of dollars because of its abundance in gold, oil, seafood, minerals, and natural beauty that entices tourists to visit. It has also become a key military and geopolitical asset, especially seen during the Cold War.
Today, historians recognize the Alaska Purchase as one of the greatest land deals in U.S. history. As we turn our attention to Jeremiah 32, the Bible records an important purchase of land by Jeremiah from his cousin. On the surface, it may seem foolish to pay good money for a field in a territory that would soon fall into enemy hands (Jeremiah 32:25). Still, as we will see, Jeremiah provides an example of faith to emulate and teaches us that our God is sovereign and omnipotent (all-powerful).
Faith in God’s Sovereignty and Power: Jeremiah’s Bold Land Purchase
A Seemingly Foolish Investment
The Bible records an extraordinary act of faith by the prophet Jeremiah—one that, on the surface, might appear foolish. In Jeremiah 32, the Babylonian army had surrounded Jerusalem, and Judah was on the brink of destruction. The city’s fall was inevitable, and property values had collapsed. In this dire situation, God commanded Jeremiah to buy a field from his cousin Hanamel in Anathoth (Jeremiah 32:6), a territory about to be taken by the enemy (Jeremiah 32:25).
Why would Jeremiah invest in land that was soon to be worthless? The answer lies in his faith in two of God’s attributes. When we genuinely believe that our God is what He is in this study, we, like Jeremiah, can obediently walk in faith with our LORD because of Who He is.
Jeremiah’s Land Purchase (Jeremiah 32:1-15)
At the time, Jeremiah was under house arrest for prophesying Jerusalem’s destruction (Jeremiah 32:2-5). Yet, when Hanamel came to offer the land, Jeremiah recognized it as God’s will (Jeremiah 32:8). He meticulously recorded the purchase, ensuring the deed was preserved in a clay jar so it could be read for generations (Jeremiah 32:14). This was not just a legal transaction but a prophetic act, it would be a testimony to future generations of God’s sovereignty and power.
Through this purchase, God made a statement: Though exile was close, restoration would come. The land may have been lost for a time, but God’s promise ensured its eventual return to His people, as seen in Jeremiah 32:15.
Jeremiah 32:15 For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Someday people will again own property here in this land and will buy and sell houses and vineyards and fields.’
What motivated Jeremiah to obey the LORD’s instructions to buy a field that would soon be in the hands of the enemy from his cousin? We are not sure if seventeen pieces of silver was a fair price for the field, for we don’t know how big the plot of land was or what the value of silver was at the time of the Babylonian siege. Jeremiah says he paid good money for the field, but his wording may have more to do with the transaction’s fairness with valid coinage than counterfeit currency and deceit.
However we interpret Jeremiah’s words, any amount of silver one possessed during this disaster would have helped buy one’s needs from the city’s dwindling food supply. Again, what enabled the prophet to be obedient and, in faith, buy a worthless piece of land? We have our answer in Jeremiah’s prayer after concluding his land deal.
Jeremiah’s Prayer (Jeremiah 32:17-25)
Jeremiah begins his prayer with the following words.
Jeremiah 32:17 “O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!
In his opening address to the LORD, we are given two attributes. We see that the God of the Bible is sovereign and powerful. These two characteristics of the LORD underscores why Jeremiah obeyed God’s command—he trusted in God’s ability based upon His identity – to fulfill His promises despite current circumstances.
What does Jeremiah’s prayer teach us about God’s sovereignty and omnipotence?
Woven through Jeremiah’s prayer are examples of God’s unrivaled rule and unmatched power. Through this preserved prayer of the prophet, we learn what the Bible means when it describes God as sovereign and omnipotent.
Yahweh’s unmatched rule and power enabled Jeremiah to be obedient in purchasing Hanamel’s field. I hope that at the end of this post, you won’t stop at just knowing what it means for God to be sovereign and all-powerful. I pray that knowing what Jeremiah knew about the God he did life with (the same God we do life with) will help you be faithful and hopeful in bleak circumstances.
God has sovereignty over the natural world since He brought it into existence. (32:17)
As the sovereign or supreme ruler, God governs His creation. He brought it into existence (Genesis 1:1; Job 38:4-5; Isaiah 45:12; Revelation 4:11). As creation’s designer and founder, it is His (Psalm 24:1-2). God sustains it (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3) and governs it through the natural laws He put into effect (see Job 36:27-28 for example). God is the rightful sovereign over His creation because He brought it into existence. Just as a man who founded and established a city would rightly be first in line to be its king, so it is with the LORD of all creation.
Creation teaches us about God’s unmatched power. (32:17)
Jeremiah also looks to God’s creative work as a manifestation of His omnipotence. In the Genesis creation account, Moses uses Elohim, a name for God that describes Him as the all-powerful creator. Jeremiah finds hope in his current dark and chaotic circumstances because since the LORD was mighty enough to speak everything into existence, bringing order out of the darkness and chaos, He was powerful enough to accomplish the words He had just spoken to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 32:14-15).
God is supreme over the spiritual realm since it is part of His creation. (32:18)
Jeremiah refers to God as the LORD of Heaven’s Armies (Jeremiah 32:18). This title for Yahweh communicates that even the angelic army is under His control and does His bidding. These heavenly beings are part of His creation and thus under His rule. They are His messengers, and they do His bidding at His command. He is the supreme ruler of the spiritual realm, just as He is in the natural realm.
God demonstrates His supreme rule and power by suspending the laws of nature to carry out His plans. (32:19-21)
In Jeremiah 32:19-21 we see that God being sovereign and omnipotent means that He can suspend the natural laws He orchestrated to make Himself known and accomplish His plans. Yahweh foretold Israel’s time in Egypt and their deliverance (Genesis 15:13-14). He had given sovereign decrees concerning Abraham’s descendants and was about to see them through because He wanted to, and no one or no thing could stop Him.
The plagues were an attack on the Egyptian pantheon. This pantheon of gods had been good for Egypt; they were dominant during this point of history. They viewed their place of prominence and success in the world as their gods being unmatched. Through His command over nature, the LORD powerfully made Himself known to Egypt and Israel as the One True God.
Yet, the LORD didn’t stop demonstrating His power as the Egyptians begged the Israelites to leave. No, once again, God suspended the laws of nature to provide a watery passage for His people to escape through the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21-22) and commanded them to resume once Pharoah and his army were positioned for divine judgment (Exodus 14:23-27).
Even in the wilderness, God suspended the laws of nature to work miracles to provide and care for His people, sustaining them for forty years so that His Word about Abraham’s descendants would come to pass (see Exodus 16:4-45; Exodus 17:1-7; Deuteronomy 29:5).
God’s sovereignty and omnipotence are revealed in the Babylonian siege. (32:23-24)
In ancient times, conquering a city or nation meant conquering its deity or pantheon of deities. No doubt, Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon saw their victory as a sign, a sign that Marduk was greater than Yahweh. One of the reasons for Jerusalem’s judgment was that many had replaced the LORD with other gods and objects (Jeremiah 44:1-6; Ezekiel 8:1-18) that they believed were better than Yahweh (44:15-18).
However, through the Babylonian siege and eventual victory, the LORD declared that there was (and is) no one like Him (Isaiah 46:9). In the following verse, God told His people that only He could tell them the future before it happened (Isaiah 46:10). Yahweh told the people of Judah that He would call an enemy from the east to do His bidding (Isaiah 46:11) as proof. This bird of prey from the east was Nebuchadnezzar and the dreaded Babylonians.
Jeremiah had prophesied that judgment was coming because the people had turned away from the LORD their God to worship manmade idols. Jeremiah was clear about the coming judgment (refer to Jeremiah chapters four through six) and the identity of the earthly vessel He would use to accomplish His purpose (Jeremiah 20:1-6). God had given His sovereign decree of judgment of His people for their spiritual adultery, and He was powerful enough to bring what He spoke to pass (2 Chronicles 36:17-21).
The LORD had told the people of Israel the covenant terms in Deuteronomy 28:1-29:1. The covenant between Yahweh and Israel can be summed up as a blessing for obedience and cursing for disobedience. Within the list of curses are siege and exile, along with the calamities that go with both (Deuteronomy 28:36, 49-57). God gave these terms to the generation about to enter into the promised land through Moses around 1410 B.C.
What God had said would happen to His people if they broke the terms of His covenant about 1,000 years earlier did happen. The omnipotent Lord was and is unstoppable to accomplish anything He has sovereignty decreed; this included the impending judgment (Jeremiah 32:26-35) and the promised future restoration (Jeremiah 32:25, 36-44).
Knowing that the LORD was sovereign and omnipotent, having seen both at work with His own eyes, Jeremiah bought a piece of land that was about to be overtaken by the Babylonians. Since God was faithful to do what He said He would do and accomplish His sovereign decrees at will concerning Judah’s judgment, then He could do so with His decree concerning Jerusalem’s restoration.
Did God restore Judah and Jerusalem?
About 70 years later, we see that God did keep His promise to restore the land of Judah and Jerusalem by stirring King Cyrus’ heart (2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4). Yet Jeremiah 33:14-17 seems to have more in mind than just the return to the land from Babylonian captivity because a descendent of David known as “a righteous descendent of David’s line” will reign forever.
Jeremiah 33:14-17 “The day will come, says the Lord, when I will do for Israel and Judah all the good things I have promised them. 15 “In those days and at that time
I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line.
He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
16 In that day Judah will be saved,
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
And this will be its name:
‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’ 17 For this is what the Lord says: David will have a descendant sitting on the throne of Israel forever.
The return to the land in 538 B.C. was a near or partial fulfillment – but not a complete realization – of this prophecy of the LORD through Jeremiah. Israel’s birth as a nation in 1948 can’t be seen as the fulfillment of this promise of restoration either, though it is a necessary historical event for the fullness of the promise to occur. There will be a day in which all of Israel will be saved (Zechariah 12:10-14; Romans 11:26-27), and Jesus (Isaiah 11:1-5; Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 4:17-21). Himself will rule the world from Jerusalem (Psalm 2:1-12; Isaiah 2:1-3; Zechariah 14:16; Revelation 20:4). At this time, Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety as David’s descendant will reign forever (Isaiah 2:4).
Application for Today
Jeremiah’s land purchase challenges us to trust God even when circumstances seem bleak. Like Jeremiah, we are called to live by faith, believing in God’s promises despite what we see. We can act faithfully when our confidence is in God’s character.
We may not be called to buy land in a war zone, but we face decisions requiring trust in God’s plan. Whether it’s persevering through trials, making choices that honor God, or believing in His provision, Jeremiah’s example reminds us that God is faithful.
As we reflect on Jeremiah 32, let us hold fast to God’s sovereignty and omnipotence, knowing that no situation is beyond His control. Just as He restored Israel from Babylon, He will fulfill His promises to us in His perfect timing.
Conclusion
Jeremiah’s land purchase was not foolish but a prophetic declaration of faith in God’s future restoration. It is a powerful reminder that God is in control, even when all seems lost. Like Jeremiah’s, our response should be obedience and trust, knowing that with God, nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37).
Questions for Reflection
- Can you imagine being Jeremiah? If so, would you have bought the field like he did? Why or why not?
- Has there been an instance in your life where what God told you to do through His Word or Spirit didn’t make much sense because of the current circumstances?
- Could you share about it?
- What did you do?
- Did it make sense to you afterward?
- Jeremiah told the people that judgment was coming because they were guilty of idolatry. Is there anyone or anything that you value more than God? Take the time to ask the Holy Spirit if there is (Psalm 139:23-24).
- Did He show you an idol?
- If so, will you confess that idol to the LORD, repent by forsaking the thing in place of Jesus, and love Him supremely?
- Please do not be stubborn and refuse to give up your idols that cannot help you for the living God who loves you deeply (Jeremiah 2:13), inviting your Heavenly Father’s discipline upon you as His beloved child (Jeremiah 2:19; Hebrews 2:5-6).
- Do you think knowing that God is sovereign and omnipotent will help you when things look bleak? Why or why not? If so, how?
- In this passage, we learn that God can judge sin and restore the things in our lives that have collapsed! God restores and revives us after confessing our sins to Him. But He also has the power to restore the things that are a mess in our lives when we turn to Him. Is there an area in your life you need the LORD to restore? If so, ask Him to do so and show you what path to take for this healing work.
- Finally, not all people will reign with Jesus. Those who make Him their king now will reign with Him and be with Him for all eternity. Please watch this video to discover how you can experience the complete restoration of Judah, Jerusalem, and the entire universe.
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