Jeremiah 32:29 Komentář

In this chapter we have, I. Jeremiah imprisoned for foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of king Zedekiah (Jer 32:1-5). II. We have him buying land, by divine appointment, as an assurance that in due time a happy end should be put to the present troubles (Jer 32:6-15). III. We have his prayer, which he offered up to God upon that occasion (Jer 32:16-25). IV. We have a message which God thereupon entrusted him to deliver to the people. 1. He must foretell the utter destruction of Judah and Jerusalem for their sins (Jer 32:26-35). But, 2. At the same time he must assure them that, though the destruction was total, it should not be final, but that at length their posterity should recover the peaceable possession of their own land (Jer 32:36-44). The predictions of this chapter, both threatenings and promises, are much the same with what we have already met with again and again, but here are some circumstances that are very particular and remarkable.

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 32 This chapter contains an account of Jeremiah's imprisonment, and the cause of it; of his buying a field of his uncle's son, and the design of it; of his prayer to God, and of the answer returned to him. The time of his imprisonment, the place where, and the reasons of it, are observed in Jer 32:1; that his uncle's son would come and offer the sale of a field to him was told him by the Lord, which he did accordingly, Jer 32:6; of whom he bought the field, paid the money, had the purchase confirmed in a legal way, before witnesses, Jer 32:8; and the writings of it he committed to Baruch, to put in an earthen vessel, where they were to continue some time as a pledge of houses, fields, and vineyards, being possessed again after the captivity, Jer 32:13; then follows a prayer of his to the Lord, in which he addresses him as the Maker of all things; as the Lord God omnipotent; as a God of great grace and mercy, as well as strict justice; as a God of wisdom, counsel, and might, and an omniscient and righteous Being, Jer 32:16; and recounts the wonderful things he had done for the people of Israel, Jer 32:20; and observes the ingratitude and disobedience of that people, which were the cause of the present siege of the city, which should surely be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans, Jer 32:23; to which prayer an answer is returned, Jer 32:26; in which the Lord describes himself as the God of all flesh, and as able to do what he pleases, Jer 32:27; and confirms the delivery of the city of Jerusalem unto the Chaldeans, Jer 32:28; and assigns the causes of it, the backslidings, disobedience, and dreadful idolatry of the people, Jer 32:30; and, notwithstanding, promises a restoration of them to their own land again, Jer 32:36; when an opportunity is taken to insert the covenant of grace, and the special articles and peculiar promises of it, for the comfort of the spiritual Israel of God, whether Jews or Gentiles, Jer 32:38; and the chapter is concluded with a fresh assurance of the return of the captivity, and of the punctual performance of the promise of it; when fields should be bought in every part of the land, in like manner as Jeremiah had bought his, Jer 32:41.

For the children of Israel and the children of Judah,.... The former are mentioned, as well as the latter, though they had been carried captive some years ago, to justify the dealings of God with them; and besides, there were some of the ten tribes that remained, and were mingled with the tribes of Judah and Benjamin: of all which it is said, that they have only done evil before me from their youth; from their infancy, being conceived in sin, and shapen in iniquity; and so being destitute of the grace of God, did nothing else but sin all their days, as is said of the men of the old world, Gen 6:5. Some understand this, from the time of their becoming a people, a body politic; or from the time of their coming out of Egypt, and being in the wilderness, when their idolatry began, they brought out of Egypt; or from the time of the judges: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the Lord; with their idols, made by their own hands; these they worshipped instead of their Creator and Benefactor; which must be very provoking indeed!

(Verse 29) And the Chaldeans will come fighting: the Chaldeans will come against this city, and they will set it on fire and burn it, and the houses - in whose homes they sacrificed to Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods to provoke me - they will burn as well. And they will come, he says, the Chaldeans fighting against this city. Aquila translates it better as 'they will come,' because of what is written, 'they will enter,' which means they will enter the city. For they were not absent to come, since they had surrounded Jerusalem, as the Scripture testifies. Then the army of the king of Babylon besieged Jerusalem. And then: Behold, fortifications were built against the city in order to capture it: and the city was given into the hands of the Chaldeans. So how will those who were present come? But those who were besieging the city, he says, will enter and capture it, and they will advance, and they will burn it down even to the ground (for the Hebrew word 'Bau' (which is ambiguous) can mean both 'come' and 'enter'). And they offered sacrifices to the idol Baal in the houses where they lived, and poured out libations to foreign gods to provoke me, not because of religious error, but rather because of a certain rivalry and contempt towards the Creator. However, how the world is going to perish is written, according to what is written: Heaven and earth will pass away (Matthew 24:35), because it is placed in the wicked one: so also the very houses and places in which wickedness is perpetrated are subject to the wrath of God. There are those who contentiously refer what is written: The place where the Lord and Savior was crucified is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt (Revelation 11:8), to those very places. But others believe that under the name of Egypt and Gomorrah, they signify the whole world. For just as Gomorrah was destroyed by divine fire, so also the world will be consumed by the judgment of God.

JEREMIAH, IMPRISONED FOR HIS PROPHECY AGAINST JERUSALEM, BUYS A PATRIMONIAL PROPERTY (HIS RELATIVE HANAMEEL'S), IN ORDER TO CERTIFY TO THE JEWS THEIR FUTURE RETURN FROM BABYLON. (Jer 32:1-14) tenth year--The siege of Jerusalem had already begun, in the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah (Jer 39:1; Kg2 25:1).

burn . . . houses upon whose roofs . . . incense unto Baal--retribution in kind. They burnt incense to Baal, on the houses, so the houses shall be burnt (Jer 19:13). The god of fire was the object of their worship; so fire shall be the instrument of their punishment. to provoke me--indicating the design, not merely the event. They seemed to court God's "anger," and purposely to "provoke" Him.