Title: The Right of Redemption
Text: Jeremiah 32: 1-15
Date: March 1, 2015
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
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 Nebuchadrezzar. 2: For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem:…
The king of Babylon’s army had Jerusalem surrounded, shut up, confined. Every person in that city and land were beset on all sides by the king of Babylon’s army. They were starved, plagued with pestilence and were about to feel the sword.
Jeremiah 32: 2:…and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house.
Jeremiah, God’s prophet, was not in a Babylonian prison. He was “in the king of Judah’s house.” How did Jeremiah end up imprisoned by his own people? Could it have been due to someone rejecting the word of the LORD? Let’s see.
Jeremiah 32:3: 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; 4: And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall 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; 5: 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.
To king Zedekiah, when Jeremiah spoke the word of the LORD, it was only a man—Jeremiah—speaking against his own country, his own countrymen, even his own king. That is what men hear when they hear God declare them depraved and in captivity to sin through the gospel delivered by his messenger. They only hear a man speaking against them. So Zedekiah threw Jeremiah in prison, saying, “How dare you preach such a thing!” Today, men do not throw God’s preacher in prison, not in this country, at least not yet. Instead, they go elsewhere or come now and then or do their best to sit in the congregation with their minds on something else.
FOOLISHNESS OR WISDOM?
Then God commanded Jeremiah to do something strange, something most would consider utter foolishness.
Jeremiah 32:6: And Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 7: 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. 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.
Be sure to get this. The land is surrounded by the enemy. God just used Jeremiah himself to declare that God was most certainly giving Jerusalem and all the land into the hand of the king of Babylon. Then, God commanded Jeremiah to buy a field in that besieged land. God commanded his prophet to invest all he had in this besieged field. Jeremiah is in prison, so he must buy it, sight unseen. He must buy it, believing the word of God alone.
To the world that is utter foolishness! For a man to part with valuable silver—to part with your livelihood—to part with the world—in order to possess a field besieged by the enemy—what foolishness! To part with something precious, for something utterly powerless—what foolishness!
That is exactly what God calls his people to do when he calls us to part with this world and invest all in Christ crucified! We are to believe on Christ sight unseen; by faith alone. God says, “He that hath no money, Come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price!” (Is 55: 1)
Is that foolishness to you? The natural man hears the word of God like Zedekiah and says, “How dare you declare me ruined in sin!; how dare you tell me I’ll not prosper by my fighting!” He demands God’s preacher be shut up!
The natural man hears Christ was born of a virgin: holy, separate from sinners. But all he sees is a carpenters son raised in poverty, a mere man “despised and rejected of men.” He looks to Calvary but all he sees is a land besieged by the king of Babylon’s army, a bloody cross, a lifeless body buried in a tomb. He hears Christ was “raised again for our justification” but he says, “Foolishness!” The apostle Paul said, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness.”
Yet, by the grace of God, the believer looks on Christ and sees something totally different, “unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor 1: 18) By God’s grace, through faith, the believer looks to Christ and hears what Jeremiah heard, God’s promise, “For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.” (Jer 32: 15)
As God did many times with the prophets, God commanded Jeremiah to buy the field in Anathoth in order to give a picture of redemption accomplished by Christ Jesus by which each of God’s elect are saved. In this we see why Christ, and him crucified, is the power and wisdom of God to us who believe.
GOD’S ETERNAL PURPOSE IS IN CHRIST
First, Christ is wisdom to us who believe because it was in Christ that God eternally purposed to save his elect. Notice, God declared to Jeremiah what his purpose was before it actually came to pass, “And Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 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 32: 6-7)
In Christ, before the foundation of the world, God “Declared the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:” (Isa 46:10) Before it came to pass, God chose Jeremiah to be the redeemer. In eternity, God chose Christ to be our Redeemer.
Before it came to pass, God chose the object to be redeemed, “a field in Anathoth.” This was one of those cities God gave to his chosen priests. This redemption was for Jeremiah’s kin, the priests, his family. In eternity, God chose each child Christ would redeem and make priests unto God. It was his elect, Christ’s near kin, that God chose Christ to redeem, that Christ “might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (Rom 8: 29)
Names reveal much in scripture. “Hannameel” means “God is gracious.” In eternity, God blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ to the praise of the glory of his grace. (Eph 1: 3-6) “Shallum” means “retribution, punishment for sin.” In type, God says that his grace and justice “shall come unto thee.” From eternity, God purposed that in Christ “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” (Ps 85: 10) In eternity God determined that in Christ his righteousness would be manifest, “to declare...his righteousness: that he might be just and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” (Rom 3: 26)
As God declared to Jeremiah, God our Father foreordained Christ giving him “the right of redemption.” In verse 24, the Chaldeans drew near and took the city. But notice it was after Jeremiah had already redeemed Anathoth. So it was in God’s eternal purpose. Christ became our Surety before we needed redemption.
This is why Christ and him crucified is the power and wisdom of God to the believer. It is because in Christ, God ordered our salvation and made it sure before the foundation of the world. When we behold Christ, the believer beholds God saving us on purpose, in majestic wisdom and power!
Now, to all who do not believe, to all who count our God foolishness, answer this. What kind of God do you want? Do you honestly call God, who is absolutely sovereign to determine the end from the beginning then bring it to pass exactly as he determined, foolishness? Do you instead call your weak and beggarly idol, who is unable to predestinate and work his will, wisdom and power? If so, are you not totally defiled in your thinking?
CHRIST LAWFULLY REDEEMED US
Secondly, Christ crucified is the power and wisdom of God to us who believe because Christ lawfully redeemed us. Our text says, “So Hanameel came to me, in the court of the prison, according to the word of the LORD.” (Jer 32: 8) God the Father’s grace was upon Christ while he was in this sin-cursed world according to God’s eternal promise like as “Hanameel” (grace) came to Jeremiah while he was in “the court of the prison, according to the word of the LORD.” (Jer 32: 8)
The word that came to Jeremiah was “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.” (Jer 32: 8) God sent his Son to redeem his elect. Christ is our near Kinsmen—“the right of inheritance, the right of redemption”—belongs to Christ. Redemption’s purpose is so that the inheritance given by God shall remain in the family to which it belongs. The inheritance given to Christ in eternity is every elect child of God, “the LORD’S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.” (Deut 32: 9)
God’s law states, “If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.” (Lev 25: 25) All God’s elect, all Christ’s brethren, waxed poor in Adam. The possession we sold away is our whole selves, “For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.” (Is 52: 3) We sold our whole selves under the curse of the law, into the hands of Satan, sin, the world, death and hell. But thank God, Christ had the right to redeem our whole person.
God said to his beloved Son, “But it for thyself!” (Jer 32: 8) Grace and Justice said, “But it for thyself.” Christ’s love for his brethren said, “Buy it for thyself.”
Knowing “this was the word of the LORD”, Jeremiah said “And I bought the field of Hanameel, my uncle’s son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.” (Jer 32: 9) Christ said in his parable, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.” (Mt 13: 44) Christ’s church is the field. His near kin, God’s elect, are the treasure hid in the field. For the joy set before him—the joy of having his inheritance, of having all his people with him, of presenting them all to the Father without spot—Christ sold all that he had and bought the church and every individual elect child of God within it.
In order to make the purchase, Christ not only had to have the right, he had to have the ability. Being holy, without sin, being the last Adam made flesh like his people and being eternal God, Christ had the ability to take the place of his people on the cross and accomplish our redemption.
But the debt we owed was far greater than “17 shekels of silver.” It was far greater than anything corrupt silver could purchase. We owed eternal death to satisfy God’s eternal justice. So Christ paid the full and exact price giving his precious blood, his life, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1 Pet 1: 18) “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” (Ga 3:13)
Here is what God was showing by this picture; here is the good news of the gospel; this is why Christ is the power and wisdom of God to every true child of God. Though our sins and transgressions separated us from God, now Christ says to his people, “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.” (Is 44: 22-23) This is the believers song,
Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
His child and forever I am.
Now for you who call this foolishness, would you tell us what you deem more wise and more powerful than Christ’s precious blood! A man would be a fool to stand before a powerful, earthly father and call the son he loves a fool. How much more foolish to stand before the Almighty Father and call the Son he loves a fool! Not so with the believer! By God’s grace, every believer seeks to live our lives glorifying God our Father in our body and our spirit because we know “ye are not your own you are bought with a price.” (1 Cor 6: 20; 1 Cor 7: 23)
CHRIST’S REDEMPTION CANNOT BE UNDONE
Lastly, Christ is the power and wisdom of God to the believer because Christ’s work of redemption cannot be undone. The payment Christ made, along with the transfer of ownership of every child Christ purchased, is unchangeably registered and witnessed in three places.
One, Christ’s accomplished redemption is witnessed and written by the triune God and sealed in the Lamb’s book of life. In our text, we read “And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.” (Jer 32: 10) The picture is of the purchase being witnessed and registered in a book and sealed. The sealed book was subscribed, written, by the witnesses themselves. Our triune God is represented by these witnesses. Of course, God needs no literal book. But to show us Christ’s finished work of redemption is sure and unchangeable, we are told that God wrote the names of every elect child, as redeemed by Christ, and witnessed by God, in the “the Lambs book of life”, “the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”, “the book of the living, [where his people’s names are] written with the righteous.” (Rev 3: 5; 13: 8; 17: 8; 20: 12, 14; 21: 27; Ps 69: 28)
The second book in which Christ’s redemption is registered and witnessed is “the open book.” (Jer 32: 11) This book is open for all to read. It tells all about the transaction being complete. In the open book, the righteousness of God, apart from the sinner’s works, is declared to be manifest, not by our faith, but by the “faith of Christ.” Christ’s faith in accomplishing the work of redemption and manifesting how that God is just and the Justifer of every true believer is “witnessed by the law and the prophets.” (Rom 3: 21-22) That’s right, the open book is God’s word, the Bible.
In order to declare this purchase even more unchangeably secure—both the sealed book and the open book--is placed in a third place and sealed so that it is preserved forever. Our text says of Jeremiah, “So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open: And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch, the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel, mine uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison. And I charged Baruch before them, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; 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.” (Jer 32: 11-14)
So that we see the picture let’s understand the meaning of these names. “Baruch” means “blessed.” “Neriah” means “Lamp of the LORD”; “Maaseiah” means “the work of the LORD.” Again, “Hanameel” means “God’s grace.” “The witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase” is the triune God who subscribed the sealed book, the Lamb’s book of life. “The Jews that sat in the court of the prison” represent believers who are true Jews, who are yet in this prison called earth, in this body of death. (Rom 2: 28-29)
Here is what we see pictured. As a sinner gathers with believers (the Jews that sat in the court of the prison) to hear the gospel of Christ’s accomplished redemption preached from the open book, the Bible. By God’s grace (Hanameel), by the effectual work of the LORD (Maaseiah), the blessed Lamp of God the Holy Spirit (Neriah) shines into the heart and God effectually places the evidence of the purchase, both the sealed book and the open book, in the sinner (the earthen vessel.) Paul said it this way, “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” (2 Cor 4: 6-7)
The moment God brings his child to believe the record God gives of his Son, the believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance. By God sealing the gospel in our hearts we continue believing the gospel “many days.” How many days?—until Christ returns to redeem to glory us who are his purchased possession. Paul wrote, “after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” (Eph 1:13-14)
WILL YOU BUY THE FIELD?
Now, if there is an earthen vessel in whom this record of our Redeemer and his finished redemption has been placed then God calls you to do what Jeremiah was called to do. Give up all your corrupt silver and buy the field. The right of inheritance, the right of redemption is yours. How so?
Scripture declares the right of redemption passes to the nearest kin when his brother before him waxes poor and the nearest kin has the necessary price to buy the inheritance. Certainly, we waxed poor in Adam and Christ is our Kinsmen Redeemer. But do we not also see the glory of Christ in the brother who waxed poor? By becoming utterly poor for us, Christ passed to his nearest kin the right to our Inheritance, the right to redemption, “For Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” (2 Cor 8: 9) Therefore, as Robert Hawker wrote, “Beyond all doubt the poorest believer is equally interested in all the blessings of Christ, in right of redemption.”
Put yourself in Jeremiah’s place as a man like us. It appeared that the field was conquered. But Jeremiah believed God that the right to the field was his. Therefore by faith, Jeremiah bought the field. God calls his child to look to Christ who you once thought was conquered by the king of Babylon and for the joy of the treasure hid in that Field give up all that you once held dear and buy the Field without money and without price, by believing on Christ. “For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.” (Jer 32:10-15) So it is that every believer finds our eternal Dwelling, the Bread of life and the Wine of rejoicing is our possession in Christ in whom we abide forever!
One more thing. God commands we confess Christ publicly even as Christ redeemed us publicly. God says, “Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The LORD hath redeemed his servant Jacob!” (Is 48: 20)
It is terribly sad but it is a fact: a fool will go on calling this foolishness! But unto them which are called, Christ is the power of God, and the wisdom of God!
Amen!