While living in exile…

“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; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But 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 find your welfare.” Jeremiah 29:4-7 ESV

The above section is a fascinating historical passage and has applicability to us today. As Christians, it’s easy to feel ostracized from the culture and world around us. But what do we do as Christians with that? Do we lay dormant, nervously wringing our hands and wait for Christ’s return? No, we do a prophet’s job in the world.

Jeremiah

So the passage that we opened with discusses how the conduct of the Israelites should be when they’re carted off to Babylon. So, a little context is important: God’s people became very lax in their worship of God, justice for the needy, and even committed idolatry. God’s people, who were rescued out of Egypt and entered their Promised Land and conquered it by God’s power, then forsook their God and were then worshipping other gods in secret. Then their worship of the one true God was just mechanical at best. So God judges His own people by sending them to exile, however with a promise that someday they would return to their land and also that He would definitively change their hearts (the New Covenant).

Unlike the other prophets of Jeremiah’s day, Jeremiah is given a word from God on how their conduct should be in the land they’re going to: carry on with life and even seek good for the local area they’re at. This would have blown their minds at that time. Here are God’s people excommunicated from the land God gave them, and He wants them to just move on with life and even seek the good of the area they move to? That’s why the other false prophets of the time were saying something completely different- what Jeremiah said sounded absolutely insane, and it wouldn’t be an easy sell to the people.

Applicability

As Christians, we’re a bit removed historically from the passage in Jeremiah (about 2,500+ years removed). Yet that certainly doesn’t mean there isn’t applicability for us today. 1 Peter 2:11 ESV uses the terms “exiles” and “sojourners” (foreigners, aliens) to describe how Christians are living in this world today. Paul states in Philippians 3:20 that a Christian’s citizenship is in heaven and not of this world. So consider these verses: Christians are living in a world that they’re living as exiles do as our citizenship is in another land (heaven).

And this is the danger of some Christian circles: we clam up and hold to our own little country clubs without considering the directives from Jeremiah. Christians are to carry on with life: work jobs, buy homes, etc. We are to engage with the world but yet not be a part of it (John 17:14-15). We forget the great commission from Christ: Go into the world and make disciples of all nations. The world will see that Christians conduct themselves differently than everyone else. Although at times Christians have to defend the faith (apologetics), for the most part living out the Christian faith is an offensive strategy.

Conclusion

Live, work, buy homes, and build families. Live life. However, don’t be completely self-indulgent in living life (as the Israelites had become), and don’t clam up from engaging the world. Be in the world and not of the world while in our own exile. Trust that Christ is returning and will fulfill all of His promises. Do what we’re commanded to do while living in exile: worship God faithfully, seek justice for injustice, engage with the world, call it to repentance, and make disciples of all nations.

-Austin