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Pentecost Season · Proper 21 · Year C

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

Jeremiah Buys a Field: A Sign of Hope in the Siege

October 1, 2028

The Prophet Jeremiah, Michelangelo
The Prophet Jeremiah, Michelangelo, 1512Sistine Chapel, Vatican
Perhaps the most inward figure on the ceiling: Jeremiah slumped with a hand over his mouth and his eyes down, saying nothing at all.Buy my field that is at Anathoth: the reading is Jeremiah buying land in a city about to fall, which is a hope nobody asked him for.MichelangeloSculptor first and painter under protest, who spent four years on his back on the Sistine ceiling and produced the most consequential painting in Europe.Sistine Chapel, VaticanThe pope's chapel, where conclaves are held, decorated by Perugino, Botticelli and Ghirlandaio before Michelangelo was ever asked.Sistine Chapel, Vatican
Revised Common Lectionary
GospelLuke 16:19-31Lk 16:19-31
Epistle1 Tim. 6:6-191 Tm 6:6-19
Old TestamentJer. 32:1-3a, 6-15Jer 32:1-3a, 6-15Alt. OTAmos 6:1a, 4-7Am 6:1a, 4-7
PsalterPs. 91:1-6, 14-16Ps 91:1-6, 14-16Alt. PsalmPs. 146Ps 146

Overview & Insights

"Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land." (Jeremiah 32:15)

While Jerusalem is under siege and Jeremiah imprisoned for prophesying its fall, God directs him to purchase a field from his cousin as a prophetic sign that ordinary life, property, and hope will one day be restored to the land.

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Take it further: Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

Commentary

Commentary on Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15Commentary on Jer 32:1-3a, 6-15 Working Preacher

Explains Jeremiah's symbolic land purchase as a prophetic sign act connecting him to Elijah and Elisha.

Jeremiah 32:1-15 CommentaryJer 32:1-15 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching

Frames the field purchase as hope preached from inside a losing siege.

Jeremiah 32 Commentary: The Property Purchase from PrisonJer 32 Commentary: The Property Purchase from Prison Enduring Word · David Guzik

Walks through the whole chapter, from the purchase to Jeremiah's prayer and God's answer.

Jeremiah 32:1 CommentariesJer 32:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Gathers several classic commentaries on the setting of Jeremiah's imprisonment.

Jeremiah 32 CommentaryJer 32 Commentary Precept Austin

Provides a devotional, verse by verse evangelical study of the land purchase.

Background & Word Study

Jeremiah 32:1-15Jer 32:1-15 Sefaria

Presents the Hebrew text of the sign act alongside translation.

Jeremiah 32:1 InterlinearJer 32:1 Interlinear BibleHub

Shows the Hebrew behind the legal language of the deed and its sealing.

The Church Fathers

Jeremiah 32 CatenaJer 32 Catena Catena

Collects patristic comment on Jeremiah's sign of hope purchased in the midst of siege.

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