Day 30: Build & Plant
Passage: Jeremiah 29:4-5
Link to Lent 2016 Vimeo Channel

Transcription of the video above:

In Jerusalem as the holy city was being destroyed, some false prophets were telling Israelite captives that they would come back to Jerusalem soon. Jeremiah decides to write a letter to the exiles in Jeremiah 29:4-5 that although they would have a future under God’s protection, the captives would have to settle down in Babylon for a while. This captivity would last for 70 years until Nehemiah brought the exiles back to Judah and rebuilt the ruined city.

God through Jeremiah instructed Israelites that they were to build houses, plant gardens, and marry in order to have children while they were in captivity. The command to build, plant, and marry echoes passages in Deuteronomy and Isaiah as grounds for exemption from war. Israelites are not to mount an armed insurrection against Babylon. Rather, they are to regard Babylon as their temporary home. The exile would become the place where the daughters and sons of Abraham and Sarah would thrive to become a blessing to all nations (Gen. 12:3), and where they will be a light to all the nations, the Gentiles (Isa. 42:6).

Christians are living in an exile in this world, our “Babylon.” But in Jeremiah’s words, there is an implicit promise. God is with you in the exile, and He will provide the resources that we need in the exile. We might have to work to gather the rocks and the wood. We might have to plow the fields to make ends meet. But Jeremiah assures us that within the exile, God is with us to help us make a home. Are you committed to not only be a blessing to all nations but also show the world your faith in God?