God spoke to Israelites in captivity through His prophet Jeremiah by giving them exhortation, instruction, and correction. The Lord told the people that His plans for them were not to harm them but to give them a hope and a future. The fruition of God’s plans were going to come through a process, and it required their obedience and cooperation.
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord.
This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” Jeremiah 29:4-14
Jeremiah 29:11 is a powerful scripture that brings hope and encouragement to those who believe the Lord. However, in the manner that this scripture is cited, it sounds like God’s promise is unconditional. The reality is that Jeremiah 29:11 is contingent upon God’s people following the Lord’s directives in above passage.
While we all love an encouraging scripture, using the word of God out of context or only reciting the portion that sounds good to us is dangerous. We should desire to seek the whole truth that sets us and others free. Otherwise, half truths will bring discouragement and disillusionment to God’s people.
The following were God’s instructions from the above passage:
Make a life by building houses, planting, marrying, having children, and increasing in numbers
The Lord did not want people to put their lives on hold thinking that they were going back to Jerusalem soon. That was what the false prophets were prophesying to the people, but the Lord graciously told them that their captivity was going to last seventy years.
God did not take away their purpose, but they were going to do it in exile and in uncomfortable circumstances. That meant they had to remain alert and not compromise their beliefs and standards by becoming part of the pagan culture.
Seek the peace and prosperity of the city that they are exiled in and to pray for their city
Interestingly, God told them that they should seek and pray for the peace and prosperity of the city. Those instructions meant that they needed to do what was in their power to make their environment peaceful and successful. Just because they were held captive, it did not give them the license to curse those people or pray against their success.
Daniel was a good example of this. While he had been taken away from his family and brought to Babylon, he did such as great job at the king’s palace that he became the chief administrator of the entire province of Babylon. He did not compromise his beliefs. He prayed three times a day and did not eat the food sacrificed to idols. Even though, the king threw Daniel in the lion’s den, Daniel did not stop respecting and blessing the king. This in turn changed the heart of the king towards the God of Daniel!
How many Christians are willing to pray and seek the success of their leaders whom they don’t agree with? How many Christians are praying for peace in their cities, states, or country regardless of who is in the position of governance!?
Pray and Seek the Lord with all their hearts
The Lord ‘s final instruction was for the Israelites was to seek Him with all their hearts. He told them that when they seek Him with all their hearts, they would find Him and that the Lord would listen to their petitions. God promised them that when they did what He had instructed them to do, He would bring them back from the captivity. Praise God!
Since they had about seventy years to return to Jerusalem, that meant they had to learn to seek the Lord with all their heart for almost their entire lifetime! That’s the discipline and the discipleship of God!
The lessons we learn from the above passage is that we should not put our lives on hold but continue living regardless of the circumstances. We also need to seek the prosperity of the environment we are in and pray for its peace. Finally, we need to continue to seek the Lord with all our hearts and ask Him to deliver us out of every form of captivity. And we need to do all these things for long periods of time trusting that in due time, God will answer our prayers.
Are you in difficult circumstances right now? What is your heart condition in the midst of the challenge? Are you doing all that you can to help with the success and the peace of your environment? Are you seeking the Lord with all your heart?