Jeremiah 29:1-14 – God’s Hope for Exiles

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

In Jeremiah 29, there is a encouraging message of hope that God shares that is must read for those feeling lost in sin.

Introduction

If you are lost in sin, God can still be found; He has not abandoned you.  The question that you must answer is this:  Do you desire to be found by the Lord?  This week’s Sunday School commentary continues with Jeremiah as it covers scripture from Jeremiah 29:1-14. 

What we will focus on learning in this week’s Sunday School commentary:

1. How God has not given up on those lost in sin.
2. Today’s message of hope.
3. What it takes to return to God.

Exiled to Babylon

As we take a look at Jeremiah 29:1-3, we get a summary of what happened after what we covered in the Sunday School lesson – God’s Faithful Justice.

Judah did not heed God’s final warning, and as Jeremiah had prophesied, God was faithful to what He promised, and He was just in doing so.  The efforts of Egypt and Assyria failed to prevent the rise of Babylon.  By this time, Jeremiah 29:1 tells us that Nebuchadnezzar had already carried away many of those who lived in Jerusalem to Babylon.

2 Kings 24-25 speaks directly to the events that led to those of Jerusalem being carried away to Babylon.  Nebuchadnezzar had become king, and during Jehoiakim’s reign, he had already begun moving against Judah.  2 Kings 24:1 tells us that Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiakim his servant, but Jehoiakim eventually tried to rebel, unsuccessfully.

2 Kings 24:10-11 tells us of the first siege of Jerusalem, as Nebuchadnezzar’s servants besieged it.  Jehoiachin, the king who succeeded Jehoiakim, along with his mother, servants, princes, and officers, were taken prisoners (2 Kgs. 24:12).

2 Kings 24:17 tells us that Zedekiah then became the next king of Judah, the same one who is spoken of in Jeremiah 29:3.  Zedekiah was the uncle of Jehoiachin, and his Israelite name was Mattaniah.  When he was made king, Zedekiah was 21 years old and reigned for 11 years (2 Kgs. 24:18).

I feel it is important for us to know this history because things did not have to be this way for Judah.  Had Judah heeded the words of Jeremiah, the Lord told them that He would relent from what He purposed to do to them (Jer. 26:3).

Yet 2 Kings 25 shows that in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar’s army came against Jerusalem and built a siege wall around the city.  There was no escape from the judgment that the Lord had brought to the wall of Jerusalem.  Eventually, Nebuchadnezzar burned the city down, destroying homes and the temple, leaving the city a waste, just as God had promised (Jer. 26:4-6).

Jeremiah Taken to Egypt

The letter that Jeremiah wrote to those living in exile in Babylon begins in Jeremiah 29:4.  Now, some of you may be wondering, why did Jeremiah have to send a letter to Babylon?  Why wasn’t he in Babylon to share the message in person?

Well, as I referenced earlier, the exile to Babylon didn’t happen in one big trip.  Daniel 1:1- 4 dates the first captives being carried away in the third year of Jehoiakim’s reign.  The first captives taken were some of the king’s descendants, nobles, and young men who were good-looking and gifted in wisdom and would be able to learn Babylonian culture.

2 Kings 24:12,14 -16 tells us that when Nebchadnezzar’s servants had taken away Jehoiachin and his court, they also carried away captive all the captains, mighty men of valor, ten thousands captives, craftsmen, and blacksmiths.  The scripture tells us that it was 8,000 craftsmen, blacksmiths, and men of valor who were carried away.  I will note that the number of 8,000 did not include any of the women who were carried in this second group.

2 Kings 25:11-12 tells us that during the last year of Zedekiah’s reign, the Babylonians took Jerusalem and burned it down.  The army took Zedekiah and his sons, killed them, put out his eyes, and then took him away.  The captain of the guard then carried away the rest of the people who remained, leaving behind some of the poor so that they could tend to the land.

When Jeremiah had this letter sent to those in exile, Jeremiah 29:3 points out that Zedekiah had the messenger sent to Babylon.  So, this message was sent before the third group was carried away.  

Jeremiah was never carried away as a captive to Babylon, though he was a witness of the three groups that were taken.  It is likely that Jeremiah wrote Lamentations not long after Jerusalem’s destruction, and the third group being carried away in exile.  

Jeremiah 43 tells the story about how he was carried away to Egypt, against his will, by those who were still disobeying God’s instructions.  Some former captains took him and led the remnant of Judah that was left behind by Nebuchadnezzar’s army.

Exiled by Sin

When I think of the story of Judah being carried away captive to Babylon, I see a lot of parallels that include all of us, mankind.  

You see, Judah isn’t the only one who has been exiled due to their disobedience.  Israel, the northern kingdom, was carried away captive by the Assyrians before Judah because of their disobedience.  I will go back to Eden and point to Adam and Eve, as they were both exiled from Eden because of their disobedient choice.

You may not realize this, but many are living in exile from God today because of their sin, living disobediently.  In Isaiah 59:2-3, the Lord spoke of how iniquity (wickedness) separated the house of Israel from the Lord.  

To be clear, without Christ, there would be a barrier between God and all of mankind today because of man’s sinful living.  Yet, because God gave His only begotten Son, the barrier that separates the sinner from God is not there for those who faithfully follow Christ.  As Paul said in his letters, Christ reconciled the relationship between God and the faithful.

However, the barrier of separation is still there for those who still choose to live sinfully.  As I say repeatedly, God does not, and will never, dwell with sin.  The Lord does not tolerate sin in His presence.  Therefore, the sinner lives in exile today because of their sin.  

A Letter to the Exiled

Now, does that mean that the sinner is permanently exiled from the Lord with no chance of return to Him?

Let’s look at the content of Jeremiah’s letter to the exiled in Jeremiah 29:5-14.  When you read through this letter, you will see that God’s word to His people wasn’t to tear them down further, but rather, to lift them up.

Make corrections and live

In Jeremiah 29:5-6, God encouraged the people to live life, build houses, plant gardens, get married, and start families.  Jeremiah 29:7, God encouraged the people to seek peace, but pay attention to how He told them to seek peace.  They were to seek peace by praying to Him!

Keep in mind that the majority of those who were carried away in exile had ignored Jeremiah’s calls of repentance.  So, praying to the Lord was, in a way, a rebuke from God, calling on the people to make correction!  

The fact that God had Jeremiah send this letter to those in exile stands as proof that God had not completely shut the door to them.  Though the Lord raises a barrier between Himself and sin, today’s sinners should remember that Christ is the letter that God sent to the exiled in the world.  

Jesus told Nicodemus that the Lord loved the world and gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have everlasting life (John 3:16).  Let us keep in mind that the world God loved was filled with those who were living in darkness due to sin.  God sent His only begotten Son to a sinful world, not to condemn it, but to save it (John 3:17).

Jesus invites all who are weighed down by sin to come to Him so that He can give them rest in the soul by freeing them from sin (Matt. 11:28-30).  So, to be clear, the path is made for the exiled to return to the Lord from their sin, and Christ is the way.  

While God encouraged those in exile to live their lives, God told them to pray to Him for peace for themselves and, even for Babylon, the city of their captors (Jer. 29:7)!  This, again, is more correction because the Jews were to pray for the city of their Gentile captors!  This reminds me of Jesus teaching all of us, His followers, to pray for those who spitefully use and persecute us (Matt. 5:44).

Another correction that God instructed the exiled to make was for them to stop listening to false prophets and diviners who deceived and misled them (Jer. 29:8-9).  The exiled had refused to listen to Jeremiah because the truth he spoke was against their sins.  You see, the people believed they were living righteously because the false prophets said they were.

Listen, as a minister and one who strives to the best of my ability to serve the Lord, God’s rebuke is always going to hurt.  Yet, God rebukes out of love because His desire is for us to live right.  God offers correction because His desire is for us to dwell with Him for everlasting life.  The last thing one should desire is to be exiled from God for everlasting life.

Hope for the exiled

After rebuking the exiled and instructing them in the ways of correction, God then offered hope to the exiled with a promise.

First, in Jeremiah 29:10, the Lord set a number for how long their exile to Babylon would last.  After 70 years, the Lord promised to visit the exiled and cause them to return to Jerusalem.  

As shown in Daniel 9, Daniel was reading Jeremiah and realized that the seventy years had ended.  The books of Ezra and Nehemiah cover the return of the Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem, which also took three returns to be completed.  As both those books show, there were some who returned to Jerusalem and remembered it in its glory before the destruction.

In one of my most quoted and favorite scriptures in the bible, Jeremiah 29:11 should fill all of us with great hope.  God said to the exiled that His thoughts towards them were of peace, not evil, and to give them a future and a hope.  

Now, as much as the sinner may think that God is set against them, He is not set against them.  God’s message to the exile stood as proof that He wasn’t against them even though they were exiled from Jerusalem.  Christ, again, is proof that God is not set against the sinner today, but rather desires for them to be with Him.  The fact that you’re living and breathing, God showing you mercy, stands as more proof that God is not against you.

This letter to the exiled stands as a choice for those who were exiled to Babylon, just as Jesus is a choice for those who are exiled by their sin today.  Should one living in exile today choose the Lord, God said in Jeremiah 29:12-14 that the exiled will find Him.  God won’t be hard to find for the exiled because Christ, again, has cleared the path for the Lord to be easily found.

As the prodigal son was welcomed back home by his father, the Lord will welcome your return should you choose to turn to Him. 

Living in exile from God today is a choice by those who live in exile from Him.  Christ was given as the olive branch, and the one living in exile can either accept the offer or not.  

My hope from sharing this commentary with all of you is that if you have not chosen to accept Christ, then hopefully a lesson like this one will encourage you.  The door to the Lord is not closed, so long as you have breath.