I Know the Plans . . .

  Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon . . .  “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, ‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’ For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares the LORD.

  “For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’(Jer. 29: 1-14 NASB)

UNTIL now, we have been looking at places where Christians wander off the mark in trying to deal with the world. Our biggest failing sometimes is in trying to make the world comfortable for Christians by ignoring the obvious: The world will never be comfortable for Christians. Even were we to gain absolute power over all things, we would still not be comfortable because we would constantly squabble amongst ourselves over which group’s comfort should be the norm.

One of the fond fantasies among Christians in America is that there was a unified drive for religious freedom among the founding fathers and that our colonies were begun solely to establish a Christian Community. We make much of the fact that the early settlers were escaping persecution. We choose to ignore the fact the colonists were fleeing persecutions other Christians. Maryland was settled as a haven for Catholics who were persecuted by the Church of England. The Puritans and Pilgrims settled the Massachusetts colony to escape the Anglicans whom they saw as being too much like the Catholic Church.

In America, they all squabbled amongst themselves. The Puritans and the Pilgrims couldn’t get along because their goals were different. The Puritans were Anglicans whose goal was to purify the church. The Pilgrims wanted purity through separation. Roger Williams founded Rhode Island because the Puritans and Pilgrims weren’t pure enough for him. All the religious colonies were divided in their concept of God’s plan for the world. All started out as theocracies. The non-religious colonies were settled mostly by Anglicans and Deists with no religious agenda at all.

We see similar divisions among Christians today. Some see government as the salvation of Christian values. Others see it as the enemy of all things holy. We all see the world going in the wrong direction and wonder what God wants us to do. Where can we look for an answer? Part of that answer can be found in Jeremiah 29.

There is a tendency among Christians to see Israel of the Prophets as a parallel with the church as a nation. The church is not a nation; it is a people. A nation has borders and can be made up of many peoples. A people has an identity, and can live in many nations. We get a better understanding of our own place in the world if we look at Jeremiah 29 as an example of how God wants His people to live in a world that is decidedly not of God.

God’s message to the exiles covers three basic rules for living among the heathen:

·      Live normal lives

·      Don’t just pray for the welfare of the pagan society that holds you captive, but actively seek it

·      Avoid false prophets among yourselves

Paul reinforces this view of how Christians should live in the world. In Romans, he reminds them to respect authority and to pay taxes without complaint. (Chapter 13) Earlier, he wrote, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” If we do this and cling to the good and avoid evil, practice hospitality, refrain from revenge, and love even our enemies and pray for them, we will be lights shining in a darkened world. Our mission is to draw the lost to Christ through example and teaching. Judgment and vengeance belong to the Lord. (See Rom. Chap. 12)

The examples in godly men in the Prophets all fit into this pattern. Jonah, the prophet who opposed God in this, drew discipline upon himself until he did as God commanded and preached repentance in place of retribution.

The Jews were given a finite time in exile after which God would restore them to their homeland. Our homeland is not of this earth and our time in exile has no stated expiration date. Peter assures us that this because God is patient and doesn’t want anyone to perish. He is biding His time that all whom He has called may come to Him.