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Day 29 Jeremiah 29 29:1 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon; 2 (After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;) 3 By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying, 4 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; 5 Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; 6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. 7 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. 8 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. 9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, says the LORD. 10 For thus says the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 14 And I will be found of you, says the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, says the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. 15 Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; 16 Know that thus says the LORD of the king that sits upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwells in this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity; 17 Thus says the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. 18 And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them: 19 Because they have not hearkened to my words, says the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, says the LORD. 20 Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon: 21 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes; 22 And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; 23 Because they have committed villainy in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, says the LORD. 24 Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, 25 Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man that is mad, and makes himself a prophet, that thou should put him in prison, and in the stocks. 27 Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which makes himself a prophet to you? 28 For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 29 And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, 31 Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus says the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie: 32 Therefore thus says the LORD; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, says the LORD; because he hath taught rebellion against the LORD. What do you do when your life turns around unexpectedly, and you find yourself in a place you never thought you would be, and hoped it would be for a short time, but you ended up staying there? God had told his people for hundreds of years he would send them into captivity if they wouldn’t listen to him. Then when he did, they still rebelled against him, and told the people they wouldn’t be there for long, but would return home in a few years. However, Jeremiah, by the word of God, sent a letter to the people and told them to build homes, marry, and give their children to marriage because they would be there for seventy years. Then God would bring them home, and he would be their God. God also told them he knew the plans he had for them, good plans, and not evil, to give them an expected end. Then his people would call on him, and he would be their God. As Christians, you know this world is not your home. One day you will go home, to heaven, and there you will see Jesus, your Savior. Heaven is your Promised Land, the land God promises to all those who call on his name, and accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. Until that day, you live in a land of captivity, a land governed by Satan, who is the prince of the power of the air. Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. Before you accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord, you were no better than the Israelites who worshiped false gods and found themselves in captivity. However, your captivity is almost over. One day the trumpet will sound, and Jesus will return for his bride, and you will go to be with him in heaven. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (KJV) You will go home, just as God’s people went home at the end of their captivity. The only difference between Israel and us, is that God told them how long they would be in captivity. We do not know the day or hour when Jesus will return, we only have his promise that he will. So, we look forward to that day. Paul told the Thessalonians they were to comfort each other with those words – words of promise that they would be with Jesus forever. We are to do the same, comfort one another with the knowledge that Jesus is coming soon, we just don’t know when. When Israel returned from their captivity, they never again worshiped false gods, but trusted in God Jehovah and looked for the day their Messiah would come. Until the day their captivity would end, they were told to build homes and plant vineyards. Until Jesus comes again, we are told to live our lives as unto the Lord, living each day with the promise of his coming, and teaching our children to do the same. Let’s pray: Father, this is not my home. You showed me that one day, Jesus would return for his bride and my captivity here where Satan rules, would be over. Help me look forward to that day, living each day according to your will for me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 17 November 2017 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay