Jeremiah 32 belongs to the record of Nebuchadnezzar's final dealings with Jerusalem, when after a siege of a year and a half the city was taken, the temple and great houses were burned, the walls were broken down round about, Zedekiah with many people was carried to Babylon, Gedaliah was made governor over the poor left in the land, Gedaliah was murdered by Ishmael, and all the remaining people fled to Egypt for fear of the Chaldees. It is part of the account of events before Jerusalem fell. It belongs to the account of Jeremiah's attempt to go to Anathoth, his home near Jerusalem, when he was arrested on the charge of trying to join the Chaldeans and imprisoned, yet continued to predict Jerusalem's fall.
The verse is not in chronological place in the book, since chapters dealing with Zedekiah's reign stand before chapters written in the days of Jehoiakim. In chronological order chapter 32 comes after chapters 34 and 37, following chapter 37 and coming before chapter 33.
The verse records Jeremiah charging Baruch before witnesses, as part of a land-purchase and property transaction, to take custody of the property documents and preserve the deed as evidence. The charge was a sign that although Judah would go into captivity, God had not forsaken His people, for houses and fields and vineyards would again be possessed in the land. The purchase showed Jeremiah's faith that repentant Israel would return to the promised land and be permanently reclaimed from idolatry, and it showed his patriotism and hope for the nation. The presence of witnesses and the charge to Baruch illustrate the rule that important matters, including property transactions, were established through multiple witnesses.
Jeremiah 32 belongs to the record of Nebuchadnezzar's final dealings with Jerusalem, when after a siege of a year and a half the city was taken, the temple and great houses were burned, the walls were broken down round about, Zedekiah with many people was carried to Babylon, Gedaliah was made governor over the poor left in the land, Gedaliah was murdered by Ishmael, and all the remaining people fled to Egypt for fear of the Chaldees. It is part of the account of events before Jerusalem fell. It belongs to the account of Jeremiah's attempt to go to Anathoth, his home near Jerusalem, when he was arrested on the charge of trying to join the Chaldeans and imprisoned, yet continued to predict Jerusalem's fall.
The verse is not in chronological place in the book, since chapters dealing with Zedekiah's reign stand before chapters written in the days of Jehoiakim. In chronological order chapter 32 comes after chapters 34 and 37, following chapter 37 and coming before chapter 33.
The verse records Jeremiah charging Baruch before witnesses, as part of a land-purchase and property transaction, to take custody of the property documents and preserve the deed as evidence. The charge was a sign that although Judah would go into captivity, God had not forsaken His people, for houses and fields and vineyards would again be possessed in the land. The purchase showed Jeremiah's faith that repentant Israel would return to the promised land and be permanently reclaimed from idolatry, and it showed his patriotism and hope for the nation. The presence of witnesses and the charge to Baruch illustrate the rule that important matters, including property transactions, were established through multiple witnesses.