Jeremiah 32:22
And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey; And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;
The verse remembers how, after bringing Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders and with a strong hand, God gave them the land He had sworn to their fathers, a land abundant with milk and honey, thus fulfilling His promise in their entry into it and possession of it.
It is uttered in prayer immediately after the purchase of the field at Anathoth and the arranging for the preservation of the deeds. At that moment faith was sorely tried by the discouraging outlook for Judah. There was perplexity over whether the purchase had been presumptuous and had given false hope, and there was sorrow bowed down over the sufferings of those who refused to repent.
Within that prayer the gift of the land stands between affirmations of loving-kindness to thousands, recompense of iniquity, open eyes upon all human ways to repay each according to his deeds, and mighty signs wrought in Egypt and in Israel, and the confession that Israel did not obey His voice nor walk in His law. For that disobedience all this evil had come upon them, while armies stormed Zion and the city was given into the hand of the Chaldeans by sword and famine and pestilence. The prayer was an appeal for further enlightenment concerning the divine purpose for mankind and whether the promises to the nation in covenant relationship could ever meet complete fulfillment after they had scorned His provisions.
The gift of the land belonged to an eternal purpose that would yet be fulfilled, so that the imminent fall of Jerusalem to the Chaldeans, with its gates and palaces burned and its inhabitants carried captive because of disobedience, did not cancel the promise. God would gather the exiles from all the countries where He had driven them in anger, bring them again to this place, and cause them to dwell safely as His people with Himself as their God. He would give them one heart and one way to fear Him continually. He would make an everlasting covenant to do them good, put His fear in their hearts, rejoice over them to do them good, and plant them in this land assuredly. He would bring upon them all the good He had promised, and fields would be bought again throughout Benjamin and Jerusalem and Judah, in the hill country and in the valley and in the south, when He brought back their captivity.