Pursue the Well-Being of the City

[Jer 29:1-9, 24-32 teaches us what to be doing while waiting for God’s timing.]

This section of Jeremiah contains the first letter recorded in the Bible which was written a few years after the exile to Babylon in 597 B.C. About 3,000 Jews were exiled including a few priests and prophets. Some of the false prophets were predicting a quick return to Jerusalem but not Jeremiah.

But instead of the doom and gloom were used to hearing from Jeremiah he now starts to tell the exiles how to prosper. Some of the most encouraging verses in the whole Bible are coming up. For example...

Jer 30:3 “for look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel and Judah,” says the Lord. “I will restore them to the land I gave to their ancestors and they will possess it.””

Jer 31 13 “Then the young women will rejoice with dancing, while young and old men rejoice together. I will turn their mourning into joy, give them consolation, and bring happiness out of grief.”

Jer 32 39 “I will give them integrity of heart and action so that they will fear me always, for their good and for the good of their descendants after them.”

Jer 33:8 “I will purify them from all the iniquity they have committed against me, and I will forgive all the iniquities they have committed against me, rebelling against me.”

And one of the most encouraging verses occurs right here in chapter 29.

Jeremiah 29:11 CSB

For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

And if you’ve ever seen this verse printed out it’s probably had a backdrop of beautiful mountains out in the country like in this slide. Perhaps a more biblical backdrop would be like this...

Jeremiah 29:11 CSB

For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

See the context of Jeremiah 29:11 isn’t the countryside but the city. Next week we will focus more or verse 11 but this week let’s look more at the city.

Our Opinion of the City

We don’t live in the city. At best you could say we live in a town — a cross between the suburbs and rural. We view the city as a necessary evil. We visit the city when we have to — to work or shop, but we certainly don’t want to live there.

Cities are full of crime, homelessness, and despair. Rural areas have problems too but to a lesser extent. Cities have more traffic and smog. They have more rules, more people, and usually more opposition to Christian values. So we tend to avoid them if we can.

But God sent the exiles to a city, and not just any city. He sent them to Babylon, a city synonomous with all that is evil. Babylon is a picture of everything wrong with society and the Jews hated that city and the people in it.

The Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem. They had ruined their temple and economy. They had either killed their leaders or taken them into captivity. There probably wasn’t a Jew still alive that hadn’t suffered tremendous loss.

In Augustine's famous work he describes the world in terms of two cities— the city of God and the city of man. And in his book Babylon is synonomous, the city of man, represents a way of life in direct opposition to the church and God’s people.

Yet God sent His people to the city of Babylon. And like the Israelites, we too are refugees in Babylon. And whether we like it or not the world is becoming more urban. Just look at Kittredge. Kittredge Community Bible Church used to be a rural church but now it’s nearly in the suburbs.

Some of us might be tempted to respond to the changes the way many of the Israelites did. Some tried to run away. Some tried to revolt. But God told them to settle down and make themselves at home.

Jeremiah writes the letter from Jerusalem and addresses it to all of the people Nebuchadnezzar had deported from Jerusalem. Perhaps Jeremiah wasn’t taken to Babylon himself because he served a vital role in Jerusalem. Or perhaps the Babylonians just didn’t see him as a threat.

Anyway, the gist of the letter is found in verses 4-7.

Jeremiah 29:4–7 CSB

This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce. Find wives for yourselves, and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters to men in marriage so that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease. Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.”

Now, imagine what the Jewish people would have thought when they recieved this letter. Most of them were likely living in the most undesirable places of the city— the ghetto. A few were doing better than others, but most of them were probably living in the slums aching to get out and go back home.

They hated the Babylonian school system. They hated the high crime. They didn’t speak the language. The prostitutes and the drug pushers were on every corner. And then they get this letter from Jeremiah speaking on behalf of God who tells them to “Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to.”

What? See, the Israelites were not captives, they were missionaries. God sent them there for a purpose. He intended to bless the Babylonians through them.

And as the city thrives they will thrive.

Now, God specifically told them to do three things. First...

Establish a Presence in the City

In verse 5 God told them to build houses and live in them. In other words, settle down and make Babylon your home. Don’t just rent, go to the effort of building your own home. Invest in the community where God had put them.

God also wanted them to invest in agriculture. He told them to plant gardens and eat their produce. Don’t just buy from the local markets, grow your own food and become become a central part of the community.

In verse 6 God tells them to pursue lasting relationships. This wasn’t the time to think there’s no point in starting a family. God told them to find wives and have sons and daughters. In other words, live a normal life as best as you can despite the fact that you are in Babylon.

Establishing a presence in the city means raising a godly family, worshiping and ministering in the city. But for some it also obviously means living in the city.

Now, I don’t think God calls everyone to live in the city but neither should we have a mindset of avoiding the city or urban areas in general. We need to think like God whose plan for redemption calls all Christians to become involved in the communities in which they live.

See, I don’t think this passage is saying everyone should move out of the suburbs and rural areas into the cites. The main reason Village Missions exists is precisely because there aren’t enough people willing to minister in small, forgotten, out of the way places. If everyone moved that would only make things worse.

No, establishing a presence in the city means becoming involved where you are. If you live 100 miles away from civilization, or are planning to go somewhere where you never have to talk to someone ever again, I think you reconsider in light of this passage, but most of us have plenty of opportunities to become involved in our communities without going anywhere.

Now, as you can expect not everyone loved God’s plan.

Opposition to God’s Love for the City

Not everyone liked Jeremiah’s letter, so some responded with letters of their own. Shemaiah the Nehelamite wrote a letter accusing Jeremiah of being crazy and demanding he be locked up in the insane asylum. In verse 26 he wrote to the prophet Zephaniah trying to get him to take his side...

Jeremiah 29:26 CSB

‘The Lord has appointed you priest in place of the priest Jehoiada to be the chief officer in the temple of the Lord, responsible for every madman who acts like a prophet. You must confine him in the stocks and an iron collar.

But Zephaniah didn’t take the bait. Instead he shared the letter with Jeremiah and gave him a chance to respond. And respond he did. Jeremiah responded with a proclamation from God that Shemaiah would have no descendents and have no part in the restoration of his people.

Now, what Shemaiah didn’t get was God’s love for the city. Why does God love the city? I think it’s because cities are often where the greatest concentration of broken people are. Cities are known for their problems and God loves fixing broken people.

When God’s kingdom is fully restored on earth it will be centralized around a city, the new Jerusalem. It’s many streets will be not be littered with pot holes but with streets of gold and people whose primary purpose in life is to worship their Creator in perfect harmony.

God loves cities and his goal isn’t to erase them off the face of the earth but to restore them.

So, as Jeremiah says in verses 8-9 don’t listen to the opposition who want to tell you otherwise. Don’t listen to them even if they come to you claiming to have had a divine revelation.

Jeremiah 29:9 CSB

for they are prophesying falsely to you in my name. I have not sent them.” This is the Lord’s declaration.

Instead, first, establish a presence in the city and second...

Pursue the Well-Being of the City

The word for “well-being” is the Hebrew word “shalom”. Shalom is a word that is usually translated peace, but it doesn’t just refer to the absence of war. It is a term that means contentment, wholeness, health prosperity, safety, and rest. It means complete peace.

For Christians who pursue the shalom of the city it means doing everything we possibly can to improve the lives of those around us. It means shoveling our neighbor’s driveway. It means feeding the poor. It means volunteering for our local social services outreach. It means being friendly when we go to the store. It means driving safely and doing all we can to keep your neighbors healthy. It means replacing all forms of prejudice with the love of Christ.

And in some situations it means coming alongside those who we may not completely agree with every issue. It might mean working with Catholics against abortion. It might mean working alongside an atheist in the fight against hunger. It might mean voting for someone who isn’t a Christian but has a good plan for reducing pornography and sex trafficking.

These are the kind of things Christians who pursue the well-being of the city will do.

Of course, I’m not saying to throw all discernment out the window. Christians must choose carefully who to form alliances with but I don’t think we should have an all-or-nothing mindset. When God told the Jews to pursue the well-being of the city he knew full well that they would have to put a clamp on their pride and make some tough decisions in order to obey.

Also, I’m not saying that the well-being of the city only comes about by doing random acts of kindness. The only basis for real and lasting shalom is the work of Christ on the cross. The city in which we live will never have lasting peace until everyone knows Jesus Christ as their Savior. All cites deserve to be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah and they can have lasting peace only through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 5:1).

But in the meantime we should do all we can to pursue the well-being of the city. It’s our calling. The peace that we have with God is what motivates us to be friendly, neighborly, compassionate, and charitable.

Establish a presence in the city. Pursue the well-being of the city and third...

Pray for the City to Thrive

Pray for the city to thrive because as it thrives so will we. Everybody benefits when the city benefits. When the city prospers the church prospers so we should have a vested interest in helping the city to thrive.

Jeremiah 29:7 CSB

Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.”

We’ve probably all heard of the command to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6-9). In fact, a few years ago a member of this congregation insisted that we pray for the peace in Jerusalem every Sunday. Not a bad thing to do, but here the former inhabitants of Jerusalem are specifically told to pray for the peace of Babylon!

Matthew 5:43–45 (CSB)

“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven.

What can we pray for? We can pray for the economy of the city. Pray for justice to the poor and prosperity for everyone within the city not just a few. We can pray for safety within the city and for criminals to come to Christ. Pray for the politics of the city. Pray for God’s blessing on all people and all people groups within the city.

Establish a presence in the city. Pursue the well-being of the city. And pray for the city to thrive so that you may be children of your father in heaven.