some thoughts on Jeremiah 29

When the Lord God gave His people up to captivity in Babylon, it wasn't for evil, but for good. If you weren't aware of the story behind this action, nor understand the heart of God, probably you would find God very mean. But it's not like that.

See what Jeremiah said to them in the letter?

Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands , so that they may bear sons and daughters - that you may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace. (Jer 29:5-7)

It was a way to keep the people of God alive, till the Lord delivers them. These are the people who truly seeks after God, because it was actually like a second chance for them to turn back from their evil ways and follow after God. But there were those who still refused to believe and they were those who remained in Jerusalem. And the Lord would destroy them...

So, being carried away into captivity was a test of one's faith to God. Nobody would think that being taken captive is a good thing, nor is living in a foreign land something one would be comfortable with. It was a temporary place until the Lord comes to them again - seventy years, the Lord promised. It was a waiting place, until deliverance, until the day that they can return home.

And what were they supposed to do while waiting? Get on with life. Build houses, work, start a family, and pray for peace.

If today, the Lord says to us, "You have to be taken captive, but don't worry, I will come to you to deliver you when the time comes." How would we have responded to that? Do we have the faith to do it? Or we rather remain in Jerusalem, in our comfort zones, not wanting to move?

I don't know if it's a little too far-fetched to think of it this way, but I was just trying to apply this portion of the bible to my life (or anyone's life which might be similar). Sometimes, we have to endure certain strange and unfamiliar circumstances unwillingly. The original cause might be something that we have done wrongly, like how the people of Israel/Judah sinned. But subsequently, perhaps we really want to turn back to God, and God is ever merciful to receive us once again. Yet the path that He set before us might not be something that we have ever imagined. "Harrrr. I have to be taken captive to follow after God???" What would we do then? Do we still walk in it? Let's learn to endure through those seemingly strange circumstances that we might be currently facing. See it as a period of transition. (In fact, it is a period for growth, because through enduring, we grow.) Remember, all circumstances, whether good or bad, will change.

And then what happens when we are on this strange and foreign path? Jeremiah's letter said to get on with life! We don't just do nothing, thinking that oh, God is coming again mahh. We still have got to do the work that we have in this life, whether your job, for your loved ones, or for church. There's much to be done, so while waiting, we keep busy. But not forgetting to pray for the Lord's peace amidst all that buzz.

It's the same with us Christians on earth today. During this seventy years on earth, we are in a foreign place that is not exactly our home. At times, we will feel uncomfortable in it. This is good, because we yearn for our home, the place where we truly belong. And God promised, "After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place." (Jer 29:10)

"I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive." (Jer 29:14)

Lord, I am waiting.