Have you ever found yourself in a place you don’t want to be? A city you didn’t choose, a home that’s not what you picked out, a future you didn’t plan for?

The Life of Jeremiah

I’m currently working my way through Eugene Peterson’s book, Run With the Horses. It’s a book that studies the life of Jeremiah and how it’s applicable to our life today.

Let me give the setting for the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah is known as “the weeping prophet” for a reason. Jeremiah warned the Jews of God’s impending judgement that would come in the form of the Babylonian army. In an act of rebellion, the people of God had turned from God and were serving other gods. He warned that God was about to be done with their wickedness, and he was going to use an evil more corrupt people to bring that judgement.

God’s Judgement

Jeremiah lived to see that day–the day Babylon came in and destroyed the city, including the walls of the city, the major buildings, and the temple. For the Jewish people, losing the temple was everything. That was where they met with God and felt HIs presence.

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, also took away all the leaders and anybody important in the land and made them captives in Babylon. They were exiled in waves over a period of time. Only the poor, a small number, were left in the land. Ironically, Jeremiah wasn’t considered anyone of value and is left in the land after its destruction. Jeremiah is left to see the devastation of his land and the aftermath of the devastation.

Jeremiah’s Message

This was a very bleak time in Israel’s history. The Jews either find themselves in a new place or in a devastated land; either way, it was bad. During this dark time, God gives Jeremiah a message to send to the Jews who are living in Babylon now and unable to come back home.

The people living in captivity in Babylon don’t know the story like we do. They assume they’ll be going home any day, especially when false prophets that were carried away with them tell them it will be over soon. Yet, we know, the captivity is going to last seventy years. The prophets had known and had tried to warn God’s people, but they failed to listen.

God’s Message to Those in Captivity

The message from God that Jeremiah sends to those in captivity is really surprising. This is God’s message that Jeremiah sends to the Jews living in Babylon.

Jeremiah wrote a letter from Jerusalem to the elders, priests, prophets, and all the people who had been exiled to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar.

This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”

Jeremiah 29:4-7

This New Place is Home

The message then goes on to say not to listen to the false prophets, that the exile will last seventy years.

 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let your prophets and fortune-tellers who are with you in the land of Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams, because they are telling you lies in my name. I have not sent them,” says the Lord.

This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. 

Jeremiah 29:8-10

The message tells them that this exile is not going to end quickly. It will last seventy years; that’s an entire lifespan. Many of them would die in the land of Babylon and never again see their homeland. God doesn’t try to hide the truth from them; He tells them exactly what is going to happen.

This message is amazing to me. God tells His people, who are living in a foreign land, that He wants them to establish themselves. Put down roots; plan to stay. They’re told to build homes, plant gardens, get married, have kids and grandkids, and pray for the success of Babylon. If Babylon was successful, they would be blessed as a result.

Losing Everything

Can you imagine how the people felt getting this message from Jeremiah that ultimately came from God? It must have felt like such a slap in the face. Settle here? Make our lives flourish here? Put down roots? Get married and have kids? In this land? It had to seem so countercultural. There was no temple of God here to worship in; there were no prophets telling them how to live.

Eugene Peterson writes about the exile in his book.

They settled down to find out what it meant to be God’s people in the place they did not want to be–Babylon. The result was that this became the most creative period in the entire sweep of Hebrew history. They did not lose their identity; they discovered it. They learned how to pray in deeper and more life-changing ways than ever…The violent dislocation of the exile shook them out of their comfortable but reality-distorting assumptions and allowed them to see depths and heights that they had never even imagined before. They lost everything that that thought was important and found was important: they found God.

Finding God

In the midst of this strange land, they found God. They found the God they had turned their backs on.

Really, God’s message to us today hasn’t changed all that much. This world we live in is not our ultimate home, and yet, we are to live here, build homes, have kids, and live fruitful lives. In the midst of this broken world, we learn what it is to be human–to love, to multiply, to grow gardens and build houses, to marry, have children and watch them grow. This is God’s gift.

Putting Down Roots in This New Place

I don’t know where life has you. Maybe it’s not what you thought it would look like. It could be you’re in a place you don’t want to be, whether that’s figurative or literal. Maybe you never thought you’d still be in this place all these years later.

God’s message today remains the same: Put down roots. Live your life right where you are. Don’t hold out, waiting for the next thing. This right now is your life; make it a good one. Don’t focus on the next house, a better job, a newer car, a different city. This is where God has you right now. Enjoy it. In our vernacular, put paint on the walls and hang up decorations. Plant some flowers; learn your neighbors’ names. Enjoy your job. Raise your kids in love and find joy in your everyday life. This is what it is to be human.

Solomon’s Message

King Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived, understood this principle.

Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life.  And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20

Your life today is a gift from God. Live it to the fullest, honoring God with this precious life He’s given you.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post, Choosing to Spend Time Doing What Matters Most.