Jeremiah 29:4 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;
The nation of Israel is on the brink of being carried away captive into the land of Babylon. Many of the nobles, including the King and his court, are already there. It is to those who have been carried away that Jeremiah writes this letter (vs. 1). In the verses before our verse for today, Jeremiah tells them to build houses, take wives, plant gardens, and to seek the peace of the city they are in because they won’t be leaving any time soon.
Our letter today is a lesson in how to live in Babylon. Nothing was to change about how these Israelites lived except their location. Of course, they couldn’t go to the temple to worship or live in the fullness of His promises, but their day-to-day life was not to change. If in Jerusalem, they would build houses, plant gardens, take wives, and seek the peace of the city, and so they are to continue their day to day life as Israelites in Babylon (vs.5-7). So it is for us, heavenly citizens, wherever we may be in this Babylonian world, we are to become a part of the society around us. God calls His people to insulation from the world but never to isolation from the world. Of course, we are not of this world, but we certainly are in this world. Jesus did not lock himself in a cave and hide himself from the wickedness of the world, but He went into the wicked world to be a righteous light. Daniel was in Babylon but was not of Babylon, and he affected many people for the glory of God while in the midst of that wicked nation. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in Babylon and stood for the God of Israel when the rest of the nation bowed down to Nebuchadnezzar's image, and in doing so became a testimony to the God of Israel. Many more examples could be given, but these will suffice to show us that God has no interest in us hiding in a cave until His return, but would rather us build relationships, go out into the community we live in, and be a light of the world to come in the world we are in.
In Babylon, we must be careful who we lend our ears to and what we trust(vs.8-9). One marker of a nation ripe for judgment is a serious uptick of false prophets, lying preachers, and a majority rule of people who would rather hear them than the truth, “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so:” (Jer 5:31). There are plenty of ear-tickling preachers in this hour, who cry peace, peace when there is no peace and love to make merchandise of the people (2 Pet 2:2-3). Then there are plenty of dreams and dream interpreters in this hour. We ought to seriously consider the prophet's instructions, today as much as any, “Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.” Their prophets are grouped with their diviners/sorcerers because they worked for the same boss, Satan, and their dreams are said to have been caused by their own selves. Every man who slaps the title preacher or prophet or Apostle is not sent of the Lord, “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” Satan is far too wise to come to you with a forked tongue, a long serpent tail, and a pitchfork. He will come in a suit and tie with a message that sounds much sweeter than what Jeremiah was preaching, and although it be more pleasant to hear, it is nothing more than a lie, right from the father of lies.
Dreams are not to be trusted either; many times people point to Joseph’s dreams but fail to remember that Joseph did not have a Bible to read, or to Abraham’s but he also did not have a Bible to read. In those days, God would speak to those men by such means, but when the Scriptures were delivered, their usefulness in making the will of God known was diminished. In Jeremiah’s day, they didn’t need another dream but needed to read the covenant they were under, and had they done so, their current situation would have made sense. The ultimate test to anything we suspect to be a revelation from God is to line it up with the scripture, what we know to be the revealed word and will of God. If that supposed revelation doesn’t match what He has revealed in His word, then it is false. A lady came into my office telling me she had a dream that she was to be with a certain man. This man was not only an unbeliever but a staunch atheist and lived a life of debauchery. I had the same conversation we are having now and showed her that her dream contradicted God’s direct command to “Be not unequally yoked,” yet she still persisted that her dream was correct and, by proxy, that God’s word was not. In Babylon, trust His word, and only those people proclaiming it!
Lastly, in Babylon keep your eyes on the promise, “For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. ” (vs. 10) While we live in this world, marry in this world, plant in this world, our eyes should never be set on these things but on the promise of his return. Without fail, he will return and take us to Jerusalem, the city of God’s peace and blessing. There is a real danger in living and thriving in Babylon, that danger is forgetting that soon we will be leaving. We plant a garden, build a house, marry a wife and suddenly we are saddened when we think of his return because we are more invested in Babylon than in the world to come. This exact thing happened, seventy years later God visited his people, and rebuilt the temple and the walls of Jerusalem, but of the million Jews who were living in Babylon at the end of their captivity, only 42,360 returned. That is less than a quarter of the total population who willing to go back when they could. What happened? They fell in love with Babylon, their temporary home. This is precisely what happens when in Babylon we let our sights drift from our eternal home to the stick and mud structure we call home, from Beulah land to our 40 acres, from his inheritance to ours. In Babylon keep your eyes set on New Jerusalem, it may be seventy years before you see it, but he will visit us in the time appointed.
Not only on the promise but more importantly keep your eyes on the God of the Promise, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (vs.11) We may be tempted to think that God has forgotten about us in this Babylonian world, but he has not. When Nebuchadnezzar is building his image and tossing our kind in the furnace, when praying is outlawed and our heroes are thrown to the lions, he has not forgotten about us. He is with us in the furnace, in the lion's den, and his thoughts are not of judgment nor to do us evil but are thoughts of peace to give us an expected end. His eyes are set on the end, and it is from that vantage point that he plans our present. The furnace in Babylon led to the three Hebrew boys' promotion in Babylon and the glory of God, and so it is with your present situation. God is seeing it and planning it from the end perspective, and every detail is mapped out by his perfect wisdom to give you an expected end. So, when nothing makes sense in this world, set your eyes on the God of the promise whose thoughts are toward you and is working all things together for your good.
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