LESSON CXI.

THE FIELD AT ANATHOTH.

B.C. 587.-JER. xxxii. 6--15; xxiii. 10—26.

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.

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.

And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.

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.

For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.

COMMENT. While Jeremiah was in prison and persecuted for foretelling the destruction and devastation of Judea, and while the Chaldeans were actually encamped around the city, he was commanded to show a clear token of his assurance that the captivity was not to last for ever. There was a field at Anathoth belonging to his cousin. The cousin wished to sell it, but according to the law of inheritance it might not be sold out of the family until all the relations, in order of kindred, had been offered and refused it The price was very small, only seventeen shekels, or about £2; and thus it seems that the seller thought the possession had be

come worthless, and far more esteemed the silver that might purchase food in the famine that was fast coming upon the besieged city. But Jeremiah was commanded to make the purchase, as securely as though no enemy were in the land, and with all full formalities of sale, the silver weighed, and the deeds of transfer signed before all the Jews, who sat in the court of the prison as witnesses. There were two deeds, one open that all might read it, another sealed up for the future, and both of these were given to the faithful Baruch to be enclosed in an earthen jar, as the surest way of preserving them from fire, or damp, or other injury, so as to show that if of no use now, they should be valuable by and by, when houses and vineyards should be possessed by the returning Jews, and each family should have its own again.

The earnest prayer which Jeremiah offered up upon this promise was answered by the repetition of the sentence of destruction by the Chaldeans; but then followed a most beautiful promise—in poetry—which is not often the case with Jeremiah's prophecies— of the blessings ever brought by Christ to His Church (Jer. xxxiii. 15-26):

In those days, and at that time,

Will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David;
And he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.

In those days shall Judah be saved,

And Jerusalem shall dwell safely :

And this is the name wherewith she shall be called,

The LORD our righteousness.

For thus saith the LORD,

David shall never want a man

To sit upon the throne of the house of Israel :

Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me

To offer burnt offerings,

And to kindle meat offerings,

And to do sacrifice continually.

And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying

Thus saith the LORD;

If ye can break my covenant of the day,

And my covenant of the night,

And that there should not be day and night in their season.

Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant,

That he should not have a son to reign upon his throne;

And with the Levites the priests, my ministers.

As the host of heaven cannot be numbered,
Neither the sand of the sea measured ;

So will I multiply the seed of David my servant,

And the Levites that minister unto me.

Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,
Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying,
The two families which the LORD hath chosen,

He hath even cast them off?

Thus they have despised my people,

That they should be no more a nation before them.

Thus saith the LORD:

If my covenant be not with day and night,

And if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth.
Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob,

And David my servant,

So that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers,

Over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob;

For I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.

Here again is the promise of the righteous branch of the stem of David: He who was called a Nazarene (the green bough). But here is one word changed. Instead of “this is the Name whereby He shall be called," it is "for this is the Name whereby she shall be called." The Church shall bear the Name of Her Lord and Bridegroom, who is her Righteousness!

Sentence of destruction had fallen again and again on the profane and wicked princes of Judah, and the priests were marked for judgment; but God goes back to His ancient promise, confirmed by the rainbow, that day and night shall never fail, and tells His people that as surely David's offspring shall endure for ever, and the perpetual priesthood promised to the faithful Phinehas should never end--nay, that David's seed should be more than the sand on the sea-shore; and the Levites, his ministers, should likewise be multiplied.

True, David's descendants would return from captivity, and the priests and Levites would muster again at Jerusalem. But the Seed of David, that are more than the sand of the sea, are those whom the true and everlasting Root and Offspring of David is not ashamed to call His brethren. The Levites who minister unto Him are the Christian ministry, bishops, priests, and deacons, sent to represent Him, the Great High Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec, King and Priest of Salem.

LESSON CXII.

JEREMIAH IN THE PIT.

B.C. 587.-JEREMIAH xxxvii. 16; xxxviii. 13.

When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins,* and Jeremiah had remained there many days;

Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the LORD? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.

Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison?

Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?

Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.

Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying,

Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.

Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it.

Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.

Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.

Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.

Now when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in

The inner vaulted chambers.

the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;

Ebed-melech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying,

My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into prison, and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is, for there is no more bread in the city.

Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.

So Ebed-melech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts* and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.

And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.

So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

COMMENT.-When the enemy were really at the gates, and the prophecies of Jeremiah being fulfilled every hour, Zedekiah's doubtful wavering mind began to turn towards him. The weak king was evidently in dread of the faction of his princes, who were bent on resisting the Chaldeans and silencing Jeremiah. Yet though he obeyed them, he was afraid of the prophecies he had heard, and halted between two opinions, as a double-minded man who is unstable in all his ways. Perhaps he had heard of Jeremiah's grand prison song of hope, and wishing to get some favourable prediction from him, he sent secretly for the captive, and asked, “Is there any word from the Lord?" But the prophet could not win favour for himself by smooth words to the king, and he boldly answered that there was: "Thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon." At the same time, he appealed to the king against the injustice of his imprisonment, and begged at least that he might not be sent back to the dungeons in Jonathan's house, where, now that famine prevailed in the blockaded city, he was sure to perish with hunger.

The king listened to his request, allowed him to be at large in the prison court, and appointed his ration of bread to be given to him every day. This, however, enraged the war faction, who, in their obstinate unbelief, called Jeremiah a traitor, said he discouraged