This week's text presents the story of one of Jeremiah's greatest symbolic acts. Besieged, imprisoned, branded as a traitor, despised by king and court, Jeremiah's response to hatred and rejection is to invest in the future a future nation, a future faith, and a future fulfillment.

Although the story is presented in chapter 32, to fully understand Jeremiah's situation we must look ahead at chapter 37. The final redactor of Jeremiah had other organizational criteria than strict chronological order when this scroll was assembled. Chapter 37 helps re-establish chronological time as it "flashes back" to the events that put Jeremiah in trouble and ultimately in prison (see 37:4).

In 37:11-14, Jeremiah attempts to leave Jerusalem in order to receive his rightful share of a piece of familial pr…