Jeremiah 29:1-14
“Now these are the words of the letter . . .” (v. 1). The letter was sent from Jerusalem to Babylon. It was authored by the Lord and transcribed by the hand of Jeremiah. The recipients of the letter were all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had removed from Jerusalem and had taken to Babylon. The make up of the people included elders, priests and prophets. Nebuchadnezzar took captives to Babylon in 605 B.C. and in 597 B.C. This letter would have been delivered in 596 B.C. or possibly a year later.
The letter was delivered to the intended recipients by two individuals whom Zedekiah, the king of Judah, had sent to Babylon bearing the annual tribute which Nebuchadnezzar required.
The Lord spoke to “all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away . . .” (v. 4). The words which the Lord directed Jeremiah to write are specific. The Lord wanted all who were taken to Babylon to know that they were taken captive because He (the Lord) made it happen. Jeremiah had prophesied that Nebuchadnezzar would utterly destroy the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem years earlier and that they would served the king of Babylon seventy years (see Jer. 25:9-11). This letter serves as notice to the captives that Jeremiah did, in deed, speak in the name of the Lord because that which he had prophesied had come to pass.
The Lord instructed the captives to build houses and dwell in them. They were to take up residency in the land, to marry and multiply. They were to seek peace in the city where the Lord had brought them (v. 5-7). The words of the letter require the captives to do as the Lord had commanded. They were to build houses in a land that was not theirs. They were to multiply and increase in a land that was not theirs.
In verses 8 and 9, the Lord makes it known that there are prophets and diviners among the captives who prophesy falsely. God wanted the captives to know Jeremiah spoke the truth and to respond by doing as He had said. The truth was that seventy years would pass before the Lord would visit them and cause them to return to Jerusalem (v. 10). Seventy years is a long time — a lifetime (see Ps. 90:10). There would be few, very few recipients of this letter who would live to see the Lord cause them to return to the land which He promised to the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Responding to the truth (God’s word) required the captives to reject the word of diviners and false prophets for the rest of their lives. To do as the Lord had said, the captives must live by faith, believing that God would visit and cause their yet-to-be-conceived children to return to Judah and Jerusalem.
“For know the thoughts that I think . . .” (v. 11). All scripture exists such that men may know God. The Lord wants His thoughts known. It matters not that His thoughts are higher than the thoughts of them to whom He speaks (Isa. 55:9). The higher thoughts that the Lord would have men know and understand are thoughts of peace, thoughts of an expected good end to come.
God reveals the good end which shall come in verse 12. When the expected good end is realized, those who have returned to the land shall call upon the Lord. The expected good end is a time of peace with God. It is linked to the return to the land and the formation of a new relationship with God. Jeremiah prophesied of the expected good end and the new relationship which the returnees would enjoy in Jeremiah 23. It is a time in which Israel shall no longer proclaim the living God who brought them out of the land of Egypt. It is a time in which Israel shall proclaim the Branch who shall reign upon the throne of David in Jerusalem and shall call Him THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (Jer. 23:6). The expected good end shall be when Israel knows the Branch to be their righteousness. It is the time in which the Lord shall pour grace and supplication upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and “they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him . . . in bitterness for his firstborn” (Zech. 12:10). The expected good end shall be when Israel shall seek the Lord “with all your heart” (v. 13).
Again, all scripture exists such that men may know God. While the Lord’s letter is specifically addressed to them who were in exile, the Lord reaches out to all who have the ears to hear. New Testament believers hear and, like the returnees, look to the expected good end to come. We look for Christ Jesus to return. The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, has revealed the good end which is to come. The Lord has instructed us to go and to tell. We are to go and to tell such that His name is lifted up and His kingdom increased. We are not to sit and wait. Let us go and tell and love one another as He has commanded.
