The New Normal Jeremiah 29:1-14

Embrace Where God Has You

God had called Israel into a time of Judgement. He allowed Babylon to capture Israel for the sins they had committed in 598 BC. They would remain captive for 70 years. King Nebuchadnezzar enslaved the best of Israel and left that that which was not beneficial to him in Jerusalem. This is why Jeremiah is writing from Jerusalem to the exiled in Babylon. He wrote to them to do three things while in Babylon: Jeremiah 29 :5-7

Jeremiah 29:5–7 (NASB95)

‘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.’

Build houses, establish families, and pray for Babylon.

Build Houses

Jeremiah instructed the people to not expect to be returning to Jerusalem any time soon. They were going to remain captives for 70 years. Though they did not want to be there God instructed them to build houses. He did not want them to rent with the expectation of leaving anytime soon. They would need to spend some time in exile to appreciate their relationship with God. They had rebelled against Him and consequently they would have to learn a lesson by being in exile. We will see later how God would use this exile for His glory and the people’s good.

There will be seasons in our lives that God will allow into our lives that we don’t prefer. Our natural tendency is to get out of the situation as soon as possible. We must understand that there is purpose in the undesirable season. It causes us to seek God. It creates a desire for Him. We should not be too eager to leave the season before it has its intended results

Establish Family

Another aspect of difficult seasons is that it makes you appreciate your family. God instructed the people of Israel to take wives and produce families. In difficult seasons of life we need our family. The season that we are going through may be very bad, but if we have family around us it makes the season a little bit better.

A good family will always be by your side when things get difficult for you. They should always do what is best for you in your season of suffering.

Pray for your community

God instructed the Israelites to pray for Babylon. He specifically said that as the city prospered so would they. They were to pray for the leaders of Babylon and not cause trouble. They were to seek after the well being of their captors. In doing so the city would flourish and they would be benefactors of the welfare of the city.

We too should be praying for our national, state, and local leaders. Our prayer should be for their souls and their well-being. We should engage in the efforts that our leaders make decisions on. We should not complain if we are not going to engage. The way we engage is to run for office, write a letter to a leader, get involved in community efforts by requesting to serve on a community committee.

God has a purpose for putting where you are in this season of life. Embrace the season and draw near to God. One way you can do this is by drowning out the lies and absorbing the truth.

Don’t Listen To Lies

False prophets were telling people that God was going to deliver them soon and not to get too comfortable in Babylon. This was a lie. God said Jer. 29:10

Jeremiah 29:10 NASB95

“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.

They were going to be in Babylon for 70 years. The false prophets were telling the people what they wanted to hear rather than the truth. As long as the false prophets were telling the people the lies they were telling them they would never draw near to God, but only be frustrated at God because they believed what the false prophets were telling them.

I was reading about a story this week known as the Boxer Rebellion. Three journalist got together and manufactured a story that China was destroying the great wall to demonstrate open trade with the United States. The headline read, “ Great Chinese Wall Doomed! Peeking Seeks World Trade.” The Chines thought that America was sending demolition crews to destroy the Great wall. In response they attacked the embassy in Peking and killed hundreds of missionaries in China.

Six countries then sent over 12,000 troops to China to stop the bloodshed. Unfortunately, more bloodshed happened. All these events started fro a lie that three journalist started in a bar one evening.

The point that God is making to the people is not to listen and respond to the lies that the false prophets are saying. Instead listen to the truth. The truth is you will be here 70 years so build houses, establish families, and pray for the city.

Media is often untruthful and mostly opinionated. Yet we listen to it and believe it and take action when we listen or read the lies. We see a headline like the one in the Boxer Rebellion and read it and form opinions based on the lies that were written or spoken. Some may say that truth is found in facts. This can be true if people share all the facts in an unbiased way.

Though media is often not true it is helpful to know the issues that are reported in city, state and nation. The first thing to know is know that what you are reading is not 100% accurate. The second thing is knowing if it is worthy of a response. If it is then the third thing is to respond in truth.

One thing that I do is to read the Word of God first before I read any news. This way I can see the news through the lenses of God. God’s word always enables me to respond to in a truthful way.

God Has A Future For You

Jeremiah 29:11–14 (NASB95)

‘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.’

God always uses seasons of difficulty to develop us for the purpose of worship. Notice how God was using this time of captivity to cause the people to call upon Him, pray to Him, and seek Him with all their heart. This was God’s purpose for their captivity. It was to eradicate a rebellious heart and replace it with a righteous one. It was going to take 70 years to accomplish this.

Friends, when God calls you into a season of hardship, embrace it and seek God in it. God never wastes difficult seasons in our lives. He uses them to draw us back unto himself.

Notice what the Lord promised after the 70 years of captivity. The first things is that He will be found by the Israelites. The second thing is that He restores their fortunes. The third thing is He gathers them together. The last thing is He brings them back to the Holy Land.

Friend, I don’t know where you are in your relationship with God this morning. I can’t tell you what 2024 will hold for you. Some things that I can tell you are to embrace the season, don’t listen to all the noise, draw near to God, and He will bring seasons of restoration that go beyond your wildest imaginations!

James 4:8–10 (NASB95)

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

Are you willing to draw near to God this morning? You do this by cleansing your hands and purifying your hearts through repentance. Humble yourself before the Lord by putting your faith in Him for salvation and not yourself. He will lift your up and give you everlasting life