"Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare" Jeremiah 29:5-7.
Judgment day had come for the Jewish people. Having been warned of the consequences of their disobedience and unfaithfulness to Yahweh, they had been defeated and dispersed; prisoners of war forced into a life of captivity in Babylon. False prophets had promised that their exile would be short; God speaking through Jeremiah had foretold a seventy-year captivity. Thus, they were to settle in the land, marry and have children, be productive and industrious, and be a blessing to the land of their sojourn.
More than a history lesson, this passage aptly describes our situation. We also are exiles in a foreign land, awaiting the kingdom of God. We are commanded similarly: build houses, plant gardens, marry, raise children, and actively seek the Lord's favor on the land. Live normal lives, but never forget that the present world system is a land of exile. Not only do we long for our exile to end; so does the land itself: "For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God" Romans 8:19.
A Second Coming people live responsibly in the land of exile. We live as model citizens, seeking the good of the land and its people. We seek the ultimate welfare of others by sharing the good news of new life in Christ and the hope of eternal life in the age to come on earth. We are benevolently productive, seeking to not be a burden to others, but a blessing.
God's people were consigned to a life of exile in a foreign land for seventy years; a lifetime for many. We too may live a lifetime in our land of exile as we await the return of Jesus. But, we never abandon our upward look as we wait for Him to come, and we live productively and responsibly as we do so. We are closer to the end of our exile than we might realize. May we live hopefully and expectantly today, and every day.
©Steve Taylor, 2022 --Used by permission
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