Faithful in Captivity - Jeremiah 29:1-14

Gary Roberson

This is one of the most favorite verses in the Bible. It is read at more baptisms, baptism parties etc. than about any other verse. It is a verse of hope, helping a person realize that they are part of God's plan. It is a source of great encouragement to realize that God has a place for you in His kingdom. In today's world when people are pretty much devalued, this verse provides lots of faith-building hope.

Have you ever looked, though, at the context in which it was written? Looking closely, you can see that it was not written to a group of people who were in a good place. It was a prophecy to some exiles in Babylon. They were not in the Promised Land receiving all the benefits and blessings of faithfulness. They were part of the group who had been carried away to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. They, and their forefathers, were unfaithful to God. He allowed them to be taken away by a pagan king (His instrument) to a land that was basically a large prison camp. They would not go home again. They would never see Jerusalem or its glory. Their children might get to go back, but that was not in God's plan for them.

Look at what Jeremiah says in the context.

In other words, they were to be faithful to God in a bad situation. They were not to remember the "good old days". They were not to keep thinking about going back to Jerusalem, which was not going to happen in their lifetime. They were to be happy where they were and make the best of it. That was their whole charge and obligation. And, if they were able to do that, then God would let them see "the plans I have for you... plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

Does this have any application to where the church finds itself today? I believe it does. Think about this important fact: Every generation of God's people has as part of its history a period of captivity. Abraham's descendants were promised Canaan and lived there for a while. However, they ended up spending 400 years of captivity in Egypt. The Israelites who were faithful through the exodus sinned in the desert and did not enter the Promised Land. The Northern and Southern kingdoms that had faithful members, and some faithful kings were carried away into Assyrian and Babylonian captivities. And finally, though there is not Biblical record (but plenty of historical information that verifies it), the Church at the end of the 1st century dissolved very quickly into false religion and suffered through hundreds of years of "dark spiritual ages".

I think that somewhere along the way, we got the idea that we were "above" making the mistakes that every generation of God's people has always made. We saw their mistakes and vowed we would not do the same. We had Godıs word. It is clear how they went wrong. All we had to do was follow the pattern, and we could avoid the same pitfalls. It appears we forgot to figure in three important items to the equation: 1) Sin still exists; 2) All men and women of God get arrogant; and 3) You reap what you sow... every generation reaps what it sows.

In my opinion, we have been sent into captivity. How long it will last or how strong the punishment will be is in the hands of God. We cannot control any of that. All we can control is how we will react to it. We can remember the "glory days". We can force God's hand to bring us out or work our way out of it (see Numbers 14:39-45 for the wisdom of that idea). Or, we can decide to be faithful with what we have and where we are.

I have a great plan for revival in the church. It is grandiose in its nature, which is something we always are drawn to. It will turn the world upside down. Are you ready? Here it is:

You may be thinking: "Well, that does not sound very earth-shaking to me!" You are right - it is not meant to be. When we stay close to God and play our part, He will bring about the increase. That is His job, and he can handle it without our "expertise". He just wants us to love Him and trust Him where we are. He will make the Big Splashes when he chooses to do that. It is encouraging to see that we are studying the bible with people again and I know God will bless His Kingdom with new souls. (Study out the sovereignty of God and see if that is not the truth.)

I am humbly planning to be "faithful in captivity". I hope the church will take Jesus to the world in our generation. I hope we can have the unity and determination of effort we once had. However, God MAY decide to use another generation. That is okay too. He knows what He is doing. I am not going to try and force God's hand on that. I am going to try and just be faithful in my generation. What is your plan?