Jeremiah’s Letter to Exiles

Jeremiah 29:1, 4–14

Jeremiah 29:1 NRSV

These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

Jeremiah 29:4–14 NRSV

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; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But 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 find your welfare. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let the prophets and the diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord. For thus says the Lord: Only when Babylon’s seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

This morning we enter into a very old letter—a letter written by the prophet Jeremiah to a community far from home. The people of Israel had been taken into exile in Babylon. Their land was behind them, the temple was behind them, and the rhythms of life that had nurtured them were behind them. Their world had changed, and they were living in a place they did not choose.

Jeremiah writes from Jerusalem and sends them a message of guidance, comfort, and challenge. He writes not to people facing ordinary troubles, but to people living through real displacement. Their story reminds us that exile was a specific trauma, not a metaphor for any passing discomfort. We should handle the word carefully.

But the reason this passage still speaks to us is not because our circumstances match theirs. Rather, it is because we live in the same spiritual tension that has shaped the people of God in every generation. We live between what God has already done and what God has not yet completed. We live between presence and promise—between God’s nearness now and God’s future still coming.

This is the “already, but not yet” reality of our faith. God is already with us, already guiding and sustaining, already pouring out grace. And yet the world is not yet whole. God’s kingdom is not yet fully revealed. As we approach Advent, we will hear again the name Emmanuel—“God with us”—a reminder that God is both present now and still coming to complete the work of renewal.

Jeremiah’s letter speaks beautifully into that way of life.

1. God Meets Us in the Life We Actually Have

The first message of this letter is simple: God meets people right where they are. The exiles wondered whether God’s presence was bound to a place they could no longer reach. They wondered if their story was over, if their prayers still mattered, if God still heard them on foreign soil.

So Jeremiah writes to say: You are not forgotten. God has not withdrawn. God is present, even here.

This becomes the foundation of all faithful living. God does not wait for ideal circumstances to draw near. God does not hold back until everything is resolved. God meets us in the complicated, shifting, imperfect middle of life.

This is the “already” of our faith: God is already near.

2. “Build Houses and Live in Them” — Life Is Not On Hold

God then gives instructions that are both practical and surprising:

“Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce.”

These words are not symbolic or abstract. They are grounded in daily life. They encourage the exiles to put down roots, to make a home, to participate in a stable and meaningful life right where they are. God tells them not to wait for the world to be fixed before they begin living fully again.

We often postpone living in similar ways. We tell ourselves:

“I’ll start once things calm down.”

“I’ll commit when the future feels clearer.”

“I’ll give more attention, more time, more generosity when life is more secure.”

But Jeremiah’s letter says: Life with God is not something we wait for. It is something we begin right now.

We do not need to wait for perfect clarity to live faithfully. We do not need to hold back until uncertainty fades. We are called to be present, grounded, and courageous now.

3. “Seek the Welfare of the City” — Life with God Is Not Retreat

Jeremiah continues:

“Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you… for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

This may be the most challenging part of the letter. It is an invitation for God’s people to engage the community around them, even when that community is not what they hoped for. It means they are to care for their neighbors, pray for their city, support the common good, and invest in the flourishing of the place where they live.

To seek the welfare of the city is to believe that God is present not only in sacred spaces, but in daily life—in neighborhoods, workplaces, relationships, and systems. It means we do not withdraw from the world while we wait for God’s future to arrive. Instead, we join God’s healing work right where we are.

This is also our calling. We believe God is active in Bellingham, in our neighborhoods, in our schools, in the lives of the people around us. So we participate in that work—through ministries of compassion, through partnerships, through hospitality, through service, through witness, through love. We seek the welfare of the community around us, trusting that God is already at work in it.

4. Stewardship: Building and Planting in a Time of Tension

Jeremiah’s letter also gives us a helpful frame for stewardship. The exiles may have felt every reason to hold back. They lived in uncertainty. They did not know what the next season would bring. They may have been tempted to save and protect what they had, waiting for better conditions.

But God tells them to build, plant, invest, and engage now.

Why? Because stewardship is not something we do once life stabilizes. It is an expression of trust in the God who is already at work. Stewardship is planting seeds in the soil of God’s future even before the harvest arrives. It is participating in God’s mission in the present while trusting in the promised future still unfolding.

We give not because everything is perfect, but because we believe God is faithful.

We serve not because the path is clear, but because God guides us step by step.

We invest our gifts because we trust that God is building something larger than we can yet see.

This is the heart of stewardship: trusting God with our lives, our resources, and our future, even in seasons of uncertainty.

5. Avoiding the Temptation of Quick Fixes

Jeremiah also warns the people not to listen to false prophets who promise quick solutions. Some voices told the exiles that their situation would end quickly, that they did not need to commit or invest or settle in.

But Jeremiah says genuine faith does not rest on shortcuts. It rests on long, steady obedience. It rests on the belief that God is present in the journey, not just at the destination.

We too are tempted by quick fixes. We want clarity before commitment, progress without the slow work of planting, certainty without trust. But Jeremiah’s letter invites us to a deeper way—a steady, grounded faith that lives fully in the present and trusts God for the future.

6. “A Future With Hope” — God Is Not Finished

We come now to the well-known promise:

“For I know the plans I have for you… plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”

These words are not given to cheer the people up or to hide the reality of their hardship. They are given as a foundation to build on. God does not promise that everything will be easy, but God does promise that their story is not over. God’s purposes for them are good. God is leading them toward hope.

Hope, in Scripture, is not simply optimism or positivity. Hope is trust in God’s character. Hope is confidence that God is working even when we cannot see the whole picture. Hope is belief that God holds our future with care.

The exiles are told: You do have a future. God is guiding you toward it. And the same is true for us. God is not finished with us, not finished with our church, not finished with our community, not finished with the world.

This is the “not yet” of our faith. God’s renewal is coming. God’s kingdom is on its way.

7. “You Will Seek Me and Find Me” — The God Who Is Near

The letter ends with a tender promise:

“When you search for me, you will find me… I will gather you… I will bring you home.”

These words prepare our hearts for Advent. They remind us that we do not wait for God alone or in the dark. We wait for God with God. We wait for a God who is already present and also moving ahead of us. We wait for Emmanuel, the God who comes close.

We live between presence and promise, but we are held in both. God gathers us. God guides us. God restores us. God brings us home.

This is the shape of Christian hope.

8. Living as People of Hope

What does this letter mean for us today?

It means:

God meets us in real life, not ideal circumstances.

We are called to live fully in the present.

We seek the welfare of our community.

We trust God with the future.

We practice generosity as a sign of faith.

We live in the “already, but not yet,” trusting that God is with us and still working.

This is not a passive life. It is a life of deep engagement, deep trust, and deep hope.

Friends, Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles is also God’s letter to us. It invites us to live faithfully in the tension between what is and what will be, trusting God’s presence and leaning into God’s promise.

So, as we enter this stewardship season, as we approach Advent, and as we listen for God’s voice in our lives, may we hear this call:

Build.

Plant.

Seek the good.

Give generously.

Live fully.

Trust deeply.

Hope boldly.

For God is already with us.

And God is not yet finished.

Amen.