One of the pervasive themes of the Bible is the theme of Exile. Most of the Old Testament was put together by the Jews who were carried off into exile by the Babylonians. They compiled their oral histories, law codes, and other writings passed down over generations. They told and retold their stories in a way to make sense of how they got to where they are, who their God is in light of it all, and where they are going from this point moving forward. The Bible begins with God’s display of power over all other gods found in creation. He is the one who created a world of peace and tranquility (opposed to the other creation stories of Babylon where the world was born in chaos through war between other gods – see Gilgamesh). This paradise, called Eden, is our true home.
Home is not only a place but an identity. Our identity in God’s beautiful creation was to be his image bearers. This means we reflect his glory in every way. Reflecting God’s glory as his image bearers does not come just because we are made in his image. We have to be connected to God and in submission to him as God. When Adam and Eve reached for the fruit of the knowledge of Good and Evil, they essentially were telling God that they no longer needed his guidance as to what was good or evil. They could determine this for themselves. As a result, they were removed from the Garden of Eden, no longer having connection to the Tree of Life (Gen 3:22-24). This is punishment and also grace.
How is it grace? In our sinful brokenness, the image of God in us is now diminished. God does not want us to live forever in our brokenness but wants to restore us to our rightful place as his image bearers within a perfect creation he created as good. We are no longer home in either our location or our bodies because we are not connected to God the way he intended for us to be. Humanity is now exiled and in need of coming home.
The story of the Towel of Babylon (Babel) is a symbolic story of every nation that will come along to establish itself as the place where humanity will find home (protection) and identity (name for themselves). Every nation that comes along, according to this Biblical narrative, is just another in a long line of Babylons who provide a false sense of “home” but always fall short of God’s intention for creation and his humanity. Israel, in their rejection of God as King, becomes another type of Babylon and this leads to their exile from the land to then be scattered throughout the actual Babylon.
Jeremiah (29:4-9) writes to the last group being carried off into exile with words from God telling them how they should live:
4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” 8 Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord.
If you were carried off into exile, what kind of response do you think you would have? What are the key elements you hear God telling the people about how they should live as foreigners in the land?
This passage becomes key, not only for Israel trying to figure out their place in the world of exile, but even more so for the early Jesus followers who were trying to make sense of this new life they were called to live in Christ.
As Christians, what happens when we forget that we aren’t home here? What are the biggest temptations when the world changes around us? How does Jeremiah 29 speak to how we should interact with the nation in which we live?
This Sunday, we will look deeper into Jeremiah 29’s call for how we live as citizens. We will look at the example of Daniel and his friends in the beginning of the Book of Daniel. Take some time to read Daniel 1 and 3 and look for the example Daniel and friends show for how to live a life of blessing to the nation while committing full loyalty to God.
What happens when we blur these lines and assume that our commitment to the nation is the same as commitment to God?
What are some idols in our nation that we are asked to worship that come into conflict with our allegiance to God?
These are the hard questions each of us must continually wrestle with when we seek to reclaim the image of God in our lives and begin to return to our true home.
Dwelling in the Word for this Sunday will be Paul’s echo of Jeremiah 29 in Titus 3:1-11.
How are you challenged with this passage? Convicted? Encouraged? Send me an email with your reflections as you sit with this text and I’ll offer them to the church as encouragement towards growing together.