By Brendan
“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, ‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. ‘Take wives and become the fathers of 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 (Shalom) you will have welfare (Shalom).’” – Jeremiah 29:4-7
This prophetic passage from Jeremiah is one of the more difficult passages of scripture for us to wrestle with. Ultimately God has brought the Israelites into slavery under the pagan Babylonian Kingdom, not exactly what the Israelites had in mind of a “promise land.” I can only imagine what this must have been like, here you are “God’s chosen nation” brought into slavery to this pagan Kingdom. Going from a prominent Kingdom and a particular way of life in Jerusalem to captivity within Babylon. Many people are uncomfortable with change and most hate it when even the smallest wrench gets thrown into their plans. Just imagine being uprooted and transferred to an entirely different city, into an entirely different culture, having to re-establish yourself and formulate a new way of life; not something people generally get excited about (especially later in life). But this is what the Israelites experience, and then on top of that it was God who led them into exile. God uproots them and calls them to live among a pagan people. Strange, or is it?
God calls them to establish themselves and carry on with life as they know how. He calls them to build homes, take wives and multiply, and seek the Shalom of the city. Now, if I were in the Israelites shoes I can imagine myself not super thrilled with this turn-of-events, but as an outsider looking back on this amazing story we can truly see the Kingdom at work. This is God’s calling for us to as well. We are sojourners in our own nation and culture, a people of God called to bring his Shalom to our cities even if we do not “feel a call” to any particular place, Jesus has called us in essence to build houses, take spouses and multiply, pray for those around us, and make disciples as we are living. As we are faithful to this call we will experience the Kingdom.
