A Letter to Exiles

MEMORY VERSE: “And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.” —Jeremiah 29:7

JEREMIAH 29:1-7, 10-14

ALTHOUGH the vast majority of the Jews were taken captive to Babylon, Jeremiah was not. According to tradition, he was taken later into Egypt, where he died. But before going to Egypt Jeremiah, directed by the Lord, wrote the letter to his exiled brethren in Babylon which constitutes our present lesson. The substance of this letter was that the exiles should accept this experience with calmness, and make the best of the situation in which they had been placed.

Would-be prophets of the Lord living among these Jewish captives were apparently counseling them along other lines. Chapter 28 of Jeremiah’s prophecy indicates that these false prophets were proclaiming that the captivity would be of much shorter duration than the seventy years foretold by Jeremiah—that within two years the vessels of the temple would be restored.

If this were true then it would be folly for the Jews to settle down to a normal life in Babylon, as Jeremiah in his letter urged them to do. But Jeremiah repeated the Lord’s statement that the captivity was to last for seventy years, and therefore they should conduct themselves accordingly. They were to build houses, plant gardens, marry and raise children, just as they would have done had they been in their own land. Thus their numbers would be increased rather than diminished.

Of course there was a certain danger in this also, in the sense that if they made themselves too comfortable in the land of exile they might not want to return when the period of their captivity was over. This is just what did happen to many thousands of them, for at the end of the foretold seventy years, when Cyrus issued his decree of liberation, only a minority of the captives took advantage of it and returned to their own country.

Our memory verse is an interesting one. The people were to seek the peace of the city or community in which they lived as captives, and were to pray for it; for the peace of their community meant peace for all who dwelt therein, including the captives. We have a similar admonition to this in the New Testament, directed to the followers of the Master. Paul wrote to Timothy: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”—I Tim. 2:1,2

Here Paul explains that the purpose of Christian prayers on behalf of the people generally, and especially for those in authority, is that peaceful conditions might be maintained which would be favorable to Christian growth and service. However, there is another aspect to this. The Early Church was established amidst much persecution and hardship, and throughout the Dark Ages the Lord’s faithful people endured much hardship, such as being thrown to the lions, burned at the stake, and otherwise cruelly tortured.

Trials and testings are essential to Christian growth in the fruits and graces of the Spirit. But times of peace and tranquility are also essential. Christianity would have been stamped out altogether in the beginning of the age had not the Lord overruled in the affairs of government so that the disciples of Christ could have periods of respite from killing persecution, and it is for these overrulings that Paul admonished Timothy to pray.

There is a false teaching abroad in the land today to the effect that Christians may expect always to be at peace and prosperous. Success in business and in the social world is being held out as an inducement to join the church. But this is not the teaching of the Bible. According to the Bible Christians are invited to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. These were steps of sacrifice and suffering, which ended on the cross; and Jesus taught that the servant cannot expect to be above his Lord.

God permitted the Israelites to be taken captives to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness. Had they been faithful to the Lord, their kingdom would not have fallen. But spiritual Israelites of the present age are not promised freedom from trials. Nor are they promised prosperity along material lines. They are simply promised strength and guidance to walk in the narrow way of sacrifice and, in the future, joint-heirship with Jesus in his kingdom.

QUESTIONS

What was the substance of the letter Jeremiah wrote to his brethren in exile?

Why should we pray for kings?

Are Christians promised freedom from adversity?

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