Jeremiah 29: 1, 4-7
Have you ever been at a place in your life when you felt all alone? You are in this desert place and feel that you are out there with no help, no support, and no one seems to care or even hears your cries of pain. You are wandering around with no direction. You are feeling as if you are in exile from the world around you. You start to wonder why you are where you are, what brought you here, where is God in all this? Where are you going to find the peace you need to carry on?
In today’s passage from Jeremiah, Jeremiah is writing to the exiles in Babylon. He is at home in Jerusalem and they are being held captive…in exile…in Babylon. Oh how the Israelites must have longed to be home with Jeremiah in their homeland. But Jeremiah’s message is one of hope for them. They are told that even though they are in exile, God will watch over them…God is there for them…God will give them peace.
Regardless of what is going on around us, the data that we take in that might cause us despair, God will for our well-being. In the Jeremiah scripture…God, through Jeremiah…tells the people to build, plant and eat. They are told that they are to increase their families. How can they do this while they are thinking of home…being back in Israel? They needed to be content with what God had given them. They were in exile because of their sin of disobedience. They needed to realize that and make good of the bad situation that they got themselves into. God would be there for them and protect them as long as they did as God told them to do. They needed to pray for the leaders of Babylon and pray for peace for them. Now I am sure this must have been a difficult task for them since these people are the ones that held them captive. What a lesson in praying for your enemies. But if they did this…they would be essentially praying for their own peace. If something bad happened to Babylon…it would inadvertently affect them. If they pray for success in Babylon…for their enemies…they too would be successful in their land of exile.
In Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles…the blessings the Lord offers if the possibility of good and well-being in the midst of judgment and punishment. In reading scripture…we can see how God has provided for His children even when He has passed judgment on them…the Lord made cloths for the disobedient Adam and Eve…God but the mark of protection on the murderous Cain…even though the Israelites wandered in the desert, longer than they should have and the original people could not enter the promised land, God provided for them. The list goes on! In the midst of exile there is a possibility of life…a possibility of survival.
The people in exile would not find peace and well-being in resistance and rebellion but in submission and prayer. It was not found in returning home, land and family but in settling into exile and building homes…farms…and families. The exiles were not to pray for the peace of Jerusalem…their home town…as the Psalmist says in Psalm 122:6, But for the peace of Babylon. For the people who rule over them. There is an assurance that the divine blessing of fertility, well-being, productivity, and regular provision of the possibilities of life even in their exile.
The exiles are charged…instructed…called upon…to now in this new and difficult place, assured by the command of God that life is possible, that home and family, food and shelter, the things that support and keep human beings human, are possible – over the long haul. They were going to be there for a while and needed to make the best of it. The Creation blessing found in Genesis 1:28a…Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it…continues even in exile. God is in it for the long haul and His promises endure forever.
This reminds me of a poem that my husband Ray wrote…It is called “A letter from Home”. It is about Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles in Babylon. It reads:
Before the final fall of the kingdom
the home of the king,
the Temple of God
A message of hope,
a call to sincere faith
of the struggle to come
A letter from home
The prophet speaking
of faithfulness to the people,
the priests, the leaders
in exile in a foreign land
Build homes, marry
bear children and multiply
pray for the city where you live
your place for this season
known by God
where you have been placed.
There are many cases…situations…throughout the Bible that we see God in it for the “long haul”…of God’s providence for His Creation even though we have turned away so many times…
- God provided for Adam and Eve even though they sinned with their disobedience. He made the first sacrifice for sin with the innocent blood of animals for clothing for them.
- God’s power was so great that Israel’s enemies cringed before them.
- God turned the sea into dry land so that Israel could pass through o foot.
- God provided manna, meat and water for Israel even though they whined the whole time.
- God provided Israel…and us…a law to live by and even though we have broken that law so many times…God still cares for us.
- God provided Judges to fight Israel’s battles and win. Unfortunately…after the Judges died Israel sinned again. But…they cried out to the Lord and were sent another Judge.
- God provided His people guidance through the Prophets and even though His people would listen for a while and then turn away…God kept providing Prophets for His people to learn through.
- God exiled Israel to foreign lands but still provided for them even in exile. God told them to be fruitful and multiply where they were and God made sure that the people of the promise didn’t perish in their exile.
- God provided a way for redemption through His son Lord Jesus…another and last sacrifice…even though we didn’t deserve it.
- God provides for us daily if we but only ask.
It seems to me that God has been in it for the long haul for a very long time.
How do we truly know that God is in it for the Long Haul? We know it because of God’s prevenient grace… grace given to us before we even know or realize we need Him in our lives. This is a grace given, unconditionally, to all of God’s creation. A grace that watches over us, provides for us and brings us to a realization that God is there…calling to us in the wilderness saying “sinner come home.” God is ever present…ever searching for the lost ones…not wanting anyone to be excluded from His grace.
How should we react to this wonderful gift of grace? By responding with faith. Even with the faith the size of a mustard seed…we can say to that mountain “Move!” and it will be moved. Faith in knowing that we have a God that will be with us when ever, where ever, how ever we need Him. He is just there waiting for us to call upon His name and be saved…be delivered from exile. Faith that even when we are in that place of exile, during our wilderness journey, He is working out His plan.
Let’s look at how Abraham acted out of faith…Abraham was told to pack and go to a foreign land and he did it…no questions asked. David went up against the giant Goliath with 5 stones and a sling shot. Faith was his biggest weapon. By faith…Mary accepted God’s plan for her life…to bring His Son into the world. Sure she had questions of how it would happen but she accepted this responsibility knowing God would help her through. Peter had faith enough to walk on water but when he looked away…when his faith waivered even for a moment…he began to sink.
We need to walk by faith and not by sight. You may be wondering about this walking stick I brought with me today. My husband Ray and my daughters made it for me for one of my Undergrad classes. It was a hiking class and they didn’t want me to slip and fall. Written on it are the words “We walk by faith not by sight.” It is a daily reminder for me that God is in control. I need to have faith in the Creator. God is with me walking right beside me…ever present…all knowing…all seeing.
As Christians we need to take this piece of scripture to heart. We walk by faith not by sight. When we see the fallen world around us and don’t understand why things are happening as they are… We walk by faith not by sight. When we are in the desert place of our journey with God and can’t feel His presence…hear His still small voice… We walk by faith not by sight. When all seems dark and dreary around us… We walk by faith not by sight.
I would like to end my sermon with another poem written by my favorite author…It is called “Multiply There.” It reminds me of Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles but it also reminds me of what we should be doing as we a exiled from our heavenly home…our one true home.
For the chosen people
the people of the first covenant
the covenant of blood
told by God, to multiply
in their time of exile
to multiply the people of faith
For us, the people of the new covenant
the same call to multiply
our numbers in exile
in our foreign land
this time in the wilderness
before we come home
to the New Jerusalem
multiplying our numbers
those with whom
we fulfill the call,
to share the good news
to make disciples
more sheep for the shepherd
more people of faith
May we always remember that God can make good out of bad situation and that in our times of exile…our wilderness journeys…that God is always in control…even when we can’t see it.
AMEN
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