But while he was there alone in his prison the word of the Lord came to him saying that his first cousin, by name Hanameel, would come unto him and say, ‘Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.’ You will remember that we found the nearest of kin had the right of redemption, and evidently Jeremiah stood in that position to his cousin. As famine and pestilence were raging in the city (see ver. 24), it is easy to understand why Hanameel was compelled to sell. But he could not sell to any one, for the right of redemption belonged to Jeremiah. The prophet, therefore, was warned by the Lord that Hanameel was coming to him with this object; and accordingly he very soon appeared as was foretold, and said, ‘Buy my field I pray thee that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of redemption is thine; buy it for thyself,’ ver. 8. You must not fail to notice the confirmation of his faith through this fulfilment of the prophecy, for when Hanameel came to him he said, ‘Then knew I that this was the word of the Lord.’ Till then he was probably not quite satisfied, but when his cousin came as it had been foretold, then he knew it was of God. Let us learn a lesson for ourselves. There were many prophecies of a coming Saviour scattered throughout the four thousand years that preceded His birth, and I can perfectly understand the difficulty of faith in those who did not see those prophecies realised; but now that the Promised One has come according to His promise, and the great prediction has been fulfilled, the least that we can say is, ‘Now we know that this was the word of the Lord.’ But to return to Jeremiah. Being convinced that the whole thing was of God, he proceeded at once to redeem the field. He took care that the deeds were properly drawn, signed, sealed, and witnessed. And when the money, seventeen shekels of silver, was paid, and the conveyance complete, he trusted the deeds to Baruch, his faithful friend, and charged him to deposit them safely in an earthen vessel. His words were, ‘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.’ You will observe that last clause, ‘that they may continue many days.’ He seemed quite sure that it would be a long time before they would be wanted.