A Questionable Investment
“Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’
Jeremiah 32:8
The story skips ahead to just before the fall of Jerusalem (remember the book isn’t arranged in chronological order) while Jeremiah is imprisoned and the city is under siege. Jeremiah is asked to buy some property not long before everyone is carried into exile. This doesn’t sound like the best time to be investing in real estate! Jeremiah obeys God’s message and buys it, but he questions the move in Jeremiah 32:24-25. The Lord responds that despite the impending fall of Jerusalem, he will gather the people back, and they will buy and sell land once again. Jeremiah wasn’t purchasing this land for today; he’s purchasing it for the future.
This isn’t simply about buying a piece of property, however. This is redeeming it. What is the difference? In their culture, land was part of the family. It was passed down from generation to generation. In our society, we aren’t tightly tied to a specific place, moving when we want. For them, to lose one’s land was to lose a part of their heritage. Therefore, if a family member became destitute and needs to sell their land to make ends meet, a close relative (a redeemer, go’el) would purchase it so that it stayed in the extended family (see Leviticus 25:23-28 and Ruth 3-4). A redeemer isn’t just any person who wants to help; he is a close relative. This is also what makes exile so horrific – removal from one’s ancestral land.
When we understand the role of the go’el in that culture, that helps us better understand what ie means for God describes himself as Israel’s Redeemer. He is close to his people and wants to save them from desperate straights.
But now, this is what the Lord says—
Isaiah 43:1
he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
To Ponder…
- How much do you focus on the present struggles over what God is accomplishing in the long run?
- What does it mean to call God “Redeemer”?