On my last post I introduced “The Story of Three Fields” by considering the field of the Shunammite. Today, we are going to look to two other fields, namely, the field of Jeremiah and the field Shammah defended.

The field of Jeremiah

The circumstances surrounding that part of the story are quite amazing. The Babylonians were besieging Jerusalem and Jeremiah was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah’s house (Jer. 32:2). And he was in prison because of what he had prophesied.

For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; ⁴ and Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face, and see him eye to eye; ⁵ then he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall be until I visit him,” says the Lord; “though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed” ’?”

These words describe accurately the grim prospect Jerusalem and the king of Judah were facing. The land had already been lost at the hands of the Babylonians and Jerusalem was not going to hold for much longer. In these irremediable circumstances the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁷ ‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, “Buy my field which is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.” ’ ⁸ Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption yours; buy it for yourself.” (Jer. 32:6–8)

Now Anathoth was about three miles northeast of Jerusalem. And all that land was under the occupation of the Babylonians, which means, the field of Hanamel had been lost to them. Yet he was trying to sell it to Jeremiah. And guess what? Jeremiah bought it.

So I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and weighed out to him the money—seventeen shekels of silver.” (Jer. 32:9)

Now people might have thought Jeremiah was out of his mind. Who in the world would be stupid enough to buy a field that had been lost to the hands of the Chaldeans?

This apparent idiocy engenders a question: Am I afraid to appear stupid? If I am, the possibility ranks high that one day I will not obey God, because God might ask me to do something that seems, for a period of time, quite foolish to the eyes of the observers.

Seventeen shekels of silver

In spite of it all, Jeremiah obeyed God and bought the field for seventeen shekels of silver. What a ridiculous price! Think of it. Abraham paid four hundred shekels of silver for the field of Ephron as a property for a burial place (Gen. 23:12–16). As for David, he paid six hundred shekels of gold for a mere threshing floor (1 Chr. 21:25). And when Syria besieged Samaria, a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver (2 Kings 6:25). Now Jeremiah paid a mere seventeen shekels of silver for the field of Hanamel. What a bargain! Why so cheap? The price was set so low because Hanamel had already lost his field. For him, seventeen shekels of silver were better than nothing.

The obedience of Jeremiah

Jeremiah’s obedience was far from stupidity. It was based on substantiality, because God had told him in a dream:

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: ‘The Lord bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness!’ ²⁴ And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks.” (Jer. 31:23,24)

So Jeremiah had received the word of the Lord. Nevertheless, as the Scriptures declare, he stood in doubt later on. Here are his words:

Look, the siege mounds! They have come to the city to take it; and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword and famine and pestilence. What You have spoken has happened; there You see it! ²⁵ And You have said to me, O Lord God, “Buy the field for money, and take witnesses”!—yet the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” (Jer. 32:24,25)

Not only Jeremiah had bought the field of Hanamel. He had done it before witnesses (Jer. 32:10) and had made sure the documents were put in a safe place:

Take these deeds, both this purchase deed which is sealed and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days.” ¹⁵ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.” (Jer. 32:14,15)

The documents of Elephantine or of Qumran were thus kept and remain almost intact for two thousand years.

At last, the one who appeared stupid was proven wise. And the one who appeared wise was proven stupid. Yes! The person who believes God obeys Him, and ultimately the one who obeys never loses.

The field Shammah defended

“And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. So the people fled from the Philistines. ¹² But he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.” (2 Samuel 23:11,12)

Here we have a small field full of lentils. Much work had been invested in it. It had been plowed, sown, irrigated, cared for in multifarious ways, and just before the harvest the Philistines had gathered next to that small field to take it. The clarity of their intention engendered fear in the Israelites, and this to such a point that they fled at once as hopeless cowards, being intimidated and disheartened. Perhaps they were saying to one another: “It is just a little piece of land. There is no point to risk our life to defend it.” Be as it may, if it would have depended on them the field would have been lost.

What about us

At times, the same attitude is seen among us Christians. The carnal minded contenders gather around a moral truth in view to abolish it altogether and their boldness and assurance intimidate us at the point of capitulation. So we run and hide behind the bushes as a people preferring safety than risky victory. As a result our light turns dimmer while darkness encroaches on our moral field.

Standing alone

Happily, there was among the Israelites a man with a different spirit (Num. 14:24). His name was Shammah. Without hesitation he took position in the middle of the field, not on the edge of it but in its very center. His message was clear: If you want this field you will have to take it from me.

Was there risk involved? Yes! Yet he stationed himself ready for the battle. I wonder what the other Israelites thought when they saw him taking position. They might have thought he was out of his mind. “Look at this fool,” they might have said, “who does he think he is?” In fact they might have hated him for it, for his boldness was exposing their cowardliness, and you can be sure this exposition was not good for their reputation and self-esteem. To add to their agony, Shammah defended the plot of land and killed the Philistines. Just to show what a man can do through divine assistance. The conclusion is short and to the point: “So the Lord brought about a great victory.”

All it takes at times is a man who dares to take a stand. The words of Luther are still challenging: “Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.”

Conclusion

The lesson is clear: The person who trusts God will always be on the winner side. As bad as it might look at one point, God will always reverse the appearances and transmute the tears, or the fears, into a shout of victory. This, and nothing less, resumes the testimony of the Scriptures. Let us bow before the facts and follow the One who has dared to obey until the last drop of His blood.

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