NOTES for Jer 32:1-25

Buying a field while the city is under siege is a distinctive prophetic act, the Lord's promise of salvation expressed through gestures. From the standpoint of common sense, such a transaction is completely meaningless, especially since the prophet knows that the entire people must go into Babylonian captivity. But this makes his act all the more eloquent. In sacred history the Lord often gives promises that at first glance seem like madness: for example, the promise of a son to the hundred-year-old Abraham, or the promise of victory to the young Gideon with his small army. Now, on the eve of a national catastrophe, the Lord promises Israel prosperity and peace. The prophets teach us to live in expectation of the fulfillment of God's promises, and to see hope in situations of defeat and decline.