Jeremiah’s Transaction
The business transaction that I will be talking about is one that always intrigued me but that I never quite understood; and this is when Jeremiah the prophet bought a field. It didn’t make any sense to me why Jeremiah, a weary prophet, who, at the time of the purchase was in prison, would want to buy a field at a time when Babylon was about to lay seige on Jeresulem. Jeremiah 32:6–8 tells us more about why Jeremah did this; “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. 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.”
The field cost 17 shekels of silver and while the transaction was being made, Jeremiah made sure that there were winesses and handwritten evidence which he then gave to Baruch, his scribe. He handed the evidence of the purchase to Baruch in front of everyone present, which included his uncle and the Jews from the prison court. We can read what he told Baruch in Jeremiah 32:14–15, “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. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.”
Jeremiah did this because God told him to, but he must have been a little perplexed as he was already old and a prisoner, furthermore, the field purchased was in the village of Anathoth, which was already under the control of the Babylonians! So, after the transaction was finished, Jeremiah prayed to God (Jeremiah 32:24–28) for answers saying, “Behold the mounts, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what Thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, Thou seest it. And Thou hast said unto me, O LORD GOD, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for Me? Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it.”
Ellen White tells us in the book, Prophets and Kings that Jeremiah’s transaction was to be like a parable, illustrating his faith to a doomed city. This is because the prophet himself had been foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem, the desolation of Judea, and the utter ruin of the kingdom. He had been prophesying a long period of captivity in faraway Babylon. Already advanced in years, he could never hope to receive personal benefit from the purchase he had made. However, his study of the prophecies that were recorded in the Scriptures had created within his heart a firm conviction that the Lord purposed to restore to the children of the captivity their ancient possession of the Land of Promise.
Through faith in God, Jeremiah was shown the exiles returning at the end of the years of affliction and reoccupying the land of their fathers. Through the purchase of the Anathoth estate he would do what he could, to inspire others with the hope that brought so much comfort to his own heart.
I learned a lot while researching for this story but I thought, how can we apply this story to our lives? Well, just like the Israelites in that time, many today are captives (of sin), discouraged and in ruin. But, just like Jeremiah bought a field in Anathoth while he was in prison, we too, while still on earth can invest in a good plot of land in heaven.
And, like Jeremiah through his act of faith was to give hope to the Israelites that they would one day be delivered from captivity and return to their homeland, so we should, through our lives, be able to protray the same faith and give others hope in their opportunity for freedom through Jesus Christ and the journey to their heavenly homeland. Amen.
Elaine Romero
Miracles in the Old Testament
What is a miracle? The Merriam-Webster dictionary says the following: 1. An extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs; 2. An extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment; 3. A divinely natural phenomenon experienced humanly as the fulfillment of spiritual law.
In short, it is a supernatural act, or not of God. There have been many great and wonderful miracles throughout history. I would like to focus on the miracles in the Old Testament. Let us look at a chosen few of them.
The first miracle recorded to have ever taken place is the burning bush as a sign for Moses.
“Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” Exodus 3:1–3
Isn’t that amazing? The bush was burning but it did not get burned up. Surely this was a miracle and a sign from God that Moses was to lead His people. The Hebrews would now have someone to lead them out of the chains of bondage.
Another wondrous miracle that happened was the opening of the Red Sea. We all know that story well, but I’m going to re-tell it. The Israelites had just left Egypt and were on their way to Canaan. There was one huge obstacle in the way before they could pass through the wilderness; it was the Red Sea. As they got to the shore, all of a sudden they see a cloud of dust far behind them. The Egyptians were coming with chariots. The mountains were also beside them.
Then God blew and the sea parted. As the Israelites crossed God put a cloud in between them, making darkness for the Egyptians but light still for His people. As the last Israelite reached the other side, God raised the cloud and the chariots charged. They went through the gap, but when they were mid-way, the sea came crashing down on their heads. The Egyptian army was no more. The Hebrews sang praises to God for their deliverance.
This next miracle that I will tell you about is, in my opinion, the most amazing in the history of the Old Testament. Do you remember when Joshua needed more light to finish off the battle against the Amorites? Does anyone remember that? Well, here is what happened. Joshua was fighting the Amorites with the Israelite army. They had been fighting for a long time; the Israelites nearly had won, but darkness was coming on, and then the enemy would be able to escape and the victory would be lost. This was a crucial battle. If the Hebrews won they would be able to take hold of Canaan once and for all. Joshua then cried to the sun and ordered it to rest above Gibeon. He cried to the moon, which was rising and ordered it to remain in the valley of Ajalon. Miraculously, the sun and moon stayed where they were. On and on the battle went. The sun rested in the sky for hours when there should have been darkness. It wasn’t just in Palestine that this long day was observed. All around the world this long day was observed. Finally, when the Israelites had the victory, the sun set. The reason I think this miracle is so amazing is because the sun could not have stopped moving without the whole universe stopping. The universe is constantly spinning in synchronicity. If one thing stops, the other things have to as well or else order would be changed to chaos. So, not only did the solar system stop spinning, but so did the whole universe! What faith Joshua had! What love God had for His people!
Brothers and sisters, these are just some of the miracles that were recorded in the Old Testament. There are many more, such as the time when a man was raised from the dead just by touching Elisha’s bones, or when time went backwards ten minutes as a sign for King Hezekiah. These are all supernatural acts; no human is able to do them or even equal them. There are still more miracles to come in the future. It is my wish and prayer that we may be able to witness them and see them with our own eyes. Amen.
Cyrus Newby