Good evening. Go ahead and open your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 29. Thank Mike for reading that entire chapter. Jeremiah 29. do me a favor. I want you to look down at verse eleven. Verse eleven. Most of you may even have it memorized. It may even be on your refrigerator. It says, for I know the plans I have for you to Clutter's will. Plans for welfare and not for I mean, what an incredible verse for your life. It's not difficult to memorize. It's not too hard to understand. It's a powerful message with a great promise. And I mean, what's not to like about it? Prosperity, protection, hope for a great future. I mean, aren't these the things that any of us would want to become a reality? Isn't this the American dream with god's endorsement behind it. Well, borrowing from Spanish theologian, Inago Montoya. I do not think that verse means what you think it is. And so, the question is, is this an appropriate use of this verse? That is, to put god on the that fits our definition? Well, the answer lies in a closer look at the context of the entire chapter. It is a letter, and that's why we had it read for you this evening. And make no mistake, this verse is for God's people, but in such a more deeper and profound way than many use it today. In fact, this chapter is a promise of hope to us in Christ as we live a life of exile on this side of heaven. So, Jeremiah. Jeremiah lived in one of the darkest times of Israel's history and our Lord called him to be a prophet in such a time. He was a priest. who lived in the southern kingdom of Judah, specifically in Jerusalem. As a prophet, he warned Israel about the severe consequences of breaking their covenant with God through their idolatry. He even prophesied to them of the coming of Babylon as God's servant to bring forth judgment by taking the people into exile and later destroying Jerusalem. And sadly, as we all know, this became Israel's reality. Israel's lack of repentance to this prophecy made this happen. Our text this evening then picks up with a large group of Judeans being in exile in Babylon. These exiles in Babylon were not ready to accept the idea of a prolonged stay. They thought their stay there was just gonna be brief. It was just gonna be for a short time. In fact, they essentially had the mindset to not unpack. They need to be ready, just like their fathers were on the first night of Passover. Keep your shoes on, keep your things packed, keep everything tucked in, because we don't want to miss our flight out of here. And so while the exiles are staying packed, they receive a letter in the mail. And this letter changes absolutely everything. In fact, this letter is also addressed to us. And just as it had a huge impact on those exiles, so it should shape our lives as it tells us of God's good plan for us in Christ. So this chapter opens up by telling us about a letter that Jeremiah sent to these exiles in Babylon. Now the date of this letter would have been shortly after 597, when Nebuchadnezzar had taken this large group of Judeans from Jerusalem to Babylon. This is about 10 years before the final destruction of Jerusalem and Judah. So, Zedekiah was the king in Jerusalem over the Judeans there, which is where Jeremiah is living. But there's this significant community of exiles in Babylon, where the Lord has a sermon for Jeremiah to deliver to these exiles. And Jeremiah is to send this sermon to them by letter. It is a lot like Paul's letter to the churches. We could call this preaching from afar, It's God's written word with a stamp on it. So the letter begins in verse four, where the Lord addresses all the exiles that he sent to Babylon. And the first words out of God's mouth would have shaken them to their core. Note verses five and six with me. Build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their 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. He says to them, build houses, plant gardens, have some babies. The Lord tells them, settle down and settle in. You need to go ahead and make a home for yourself. would have been the absolute last thing that they would have wanted to hear. You see, at the sharp edge of sword and spear, they were just herded like cattle, hundreds of miles away from home. And they're ducked into this very strange place. I mean, their neighbors spoke a different language. Strange smells would have permeated the air, weird food And at the end of the day, they just did not want to be there. They were homesick. And now the Lord tells them, build homes. This sounds kind of permanent. This is putting down deep roots. I mean, we would rather live in tents. We don't want to make a home here. But the Lord instructs them to settle down because their stay is going to be a while, a long while. In fact, did you notice the generations we read in verse six? They're to get married, have kids, give their kids into marriage so that they can have kids. This is three generations. The Lord tells these homesick exiles, hey, you're gonna see your grandchildren in exile. You might bury your parents in Babylon. You may actually retire right there. This is a good long step, so get used to it. Get comfortable, make a life for yourself. These commands in verses five and six would not have made these exiles very happy. Now these horrors would not have been just discouraging, they would have also sounded a bit strange and bizarre. They would have had kind of a really weird ring to them. You know, build a house, live in it, plant a garden, enjoy your luscious ripe fruit, have a big family. I mean, these are blessings of the covenant. These are expressions of God's favor. These were blessings of being in the promised land. And exile, exile is a curse. Exile is God's punishment. It's his disfavor. It's a picture of being God forsaken. So here's the question. How can God call us to blessing in the midst of a curse? It's like mixing oil and water. Surely God is doing something new here. Well, the shock of this letter is about to ramp up even more. And it does so in the command of the next verse. Note verse seven. 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. Now, to seek the peace or welfare of someone is to do what is good for them. It is part of loving your neighbor. You promote their good name, their health, their wealth, their peace. The Lord even instructs them to pray on behalf, listen to this, of this pagan city. This is interceding to the Lord for blessing. If we don't get the gravity of this, I want you to think about this. The Israelite exiles are to ask the Lord to bless the Babylonians. Now, the sting of this command is going to get a little hotter for the order To see, in order to seek the welfare of the city, the city is so much bigger than just being a good neighbor. You see, the city represents the people, the society, yes, even the government. The exiles then are called to promote the welfare of the state of Babylon. I'm just gonna let that one sit, that works. How can God call us to do such a thing? Babylon just ripped me out of my homeland, they killed my parents, they committed unspeakable atrocities against my family, they confiscated everything that I owned, and now the Lord is asking me to bless them? Well, that's undone. You see, this command cuts against the grain of the Mosaic Law. In Deuteronomy 23, the Lord labeled Moab and the Ammonites as enemies. And then he told Israel explicitly in Deuteronomy 23, verse six, do not seek their peace or welfare. We're talking about the Moab and the Ammonites, okay? And so here we see the complete opposite of what it says here. Well, previous prophets often put invaders of Israel into this enemy category. It would have been very natural then to put Babylon in this category and to not seek her peace. They are, after all, pagan idolaters. And as cruel and godless oppressors, these people deserve to be punished, not blessed. We should pray for Babylon's downfall, not their peace. We're gonna pray it should be prayer of imprecatory prayers, not blessings. This would have been the thinking of these exiles. But with these commands, God indicates that he's doing something different. And I want you to key in on this one sentence. He's doing something different when they are not in the promised land. Everybody got that? God's covenant people are in exile. They're not in the promised land. In fact, the entire thrust of what he's calling the exiles to do in verses five and seven is for them to live by common grace. Look at the command at the end of verse six. Multiply there. and do not decrease. This is actually not a command of Israel under Moses. Sure, they multiply, but this was not a stipulation of Moses. It was a blessing. God told Israel to obey the law and then he would multiply them, but the command to multiply comes where? In Genesis 1 to Adam and Eve. It also appears in Genesis chapter nine when God speaks to Noah after the flood. He says, the call then to multiply goes out to all people. Where? Under the sun. My point is this. The exiles are called to live fruitful lives. That's the building of home. Good gardening, having kids. They're called to pray for the welfare of their pagan neighbors. for the peace of a corrupt government, and for God's blessing to be upon it all. In the opening exhortation of this letter, the Lord reminds the exiles that the rainbow is still shining, and it's shining brightly, and that the Noahic common grace covenant still is in play. Well, as you can imagine, this pill is not easy for the exiles to swallow, In fact, it's the polar opposite of the prevailing consensus. This becomes clear as the Lord tells the exiles not to listen to their prophets. Note verses eight and nine with me. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, do not let your prophets and your 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, declares the Lord. The exiles shouldn't be deceived by these prophets' dreams or their messages. Why? Why? For the Lord didn't send them. The prophets are not speaking God's word. In fact, an implicit nugget of these prophets' message is this. these false prophets are saying, a quick return home. Like Hananiah in chapter 28, they announced that they would not be there very long, a year, maybe two at the most. So don't unpack, don't put down any roots, certainly don't do anything to help Babylon, for soon Babylon's gonna crumble and you get to pack up and go home. This was the number one hit on iTunes during this time, one of these false prophets. But the Lord, the Lord didn't send them. The Lord's plan is very different. He says when 70 years are completed for everyone, they say soon, the Lord says 70 years, a long time. It's not a speedy return. Rather, you will be in exile soon. Settle down and settle in. Now, even though the Lord clarifies that their exile will be long. He also asserts this, it will not be forever. Yes, they will build houses and they will have some grandkids in Babylon but it will not be their new homeland. Instead, god has a good promise for his people in exile. At the end of those 70 years, the lord will visit his people favorably and he will bring them back to the The promised restoration in verses 12 through 14 is basically a rough paragraph of Deuteronomy 30. God here is predicting the restoration of his people. He foretells the people's repentance and their seeking of God. He promises that he will hear the people and they will be found by him. His father carries his son, the Lord will bear the exiles back to the promised land. Now, we need to consider how this promise colors their exile. In verses five and six, God made it clear, paradoxically, that there were many blessings in the midst of accursed exile. We keep talking about it, right? Those, man, those fresh vegetables, those healthy kids, that new home, they were gonna prosper as Babylon prospered. And yet, with this promise returned, The Lord gives them hope, a future to look forward to, something better to hope for. This reflects for us the hardship of exile, the difficulty of being a foreigner, a reminder that exile is indeed a curse. The blessing of living in Babylon will never replace getting to go home. Yes, they will live in Babylon, but it will never be their home. It will never be their native land. And to encourage his people, the Lord gives them this blessed hope. He lays out this good plan for them so they can live in exile and still be encouraged. Listen to the fullness of covenant life. Think about this with me, okay? The fullness of covenant life with God is not just to be God's people, but it is also to be where God is at, to be in God's land. And so the Lord tells the exiles, you're still my people. I still have plans for you. My plan is to bring you back to my land. You are now far from me, but I will bring you back home. So yes, build a house, but know that one day you will leave that house and you will return home to me. Well, it's hard to imagine a more beautiful hope and a more encouraging promise for those exiles. However, and this is the hard part, they didn't want to accept the good word of the Lord. They don't wanna be pictured. They don't wanna wait 70 years, and so they raise an objection in verse 15. They essentially say, Jeremiah, you're writing this letter to us. We got our guts. We got our own prophets. The Lord gave us prophets here in Babylon, and they are saying the opposite of you. Why should we listen to you, Jeremiah? You're way back there in Jerusalem. We've got our own prophets. They understand us. They know our situation. They know what we're going through. The exiles prefer the message of a speedy return home from their own prophets. But the Lord responds to this objection by reminding them of what happens to those that do not listen to him. He does this by telling the exiles what's going to happen to those that are actually in Judah. They didn't listen to him. They ignored the constant flow of prophets that the Lord sent and what is going to happen back in Judah. Nothing less than the full curse will rain down on them like fire. The sword, famine and plague will hunt them like wolves. sheep. God sees these people that refuse to listen as vile figs and he's going to throw them away. He's going to make them a hissing, a reproach to the other nations. The lord's going to make a full end to those that refuse to listen to him. So, in verse He tells these exiles that they better listen to these words through Jeremiah. They must listen up and they must start settling in or they too will meet this end. Now, there's a real problem. The problem is these lying prophets who contradict the Lord's word. And it's actually quite a huge issue. There are quite a number of these prophets and they're winning the people's choice over. So now the Lord has Jeremiah address a few of these prophets specifically by name. First, in verses 21 through 23, the Lord calls out Ahab and Zedekiah. Now, these two prophets in Babylon who are contradicting Jeremiah's letters, so the Lord does this. He emphasizes that he did not send them. They are not his cause. They speak a lie in the Lord's name. The Lord even condemns Ahab and Zedekiah for their mass adultery. Their rank immorality is a sign of them being false prophets. So, the lord is going to have Ahab and Zedekiah executed through the hands of Babylon. He's going to make them a curse used by the exiles. Note with me the curse recorded in verse twenty-two. Because of them, this curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah to Babylon. The lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab whom the This curse describes the method of execution used in Babylon. The king of Babylon had Ahab and Zedekiah roasted. Now, does that remind you of any story? Does that remind you of anything? This is how Nebuchadnezzar attempted to kill Daniel's three friends. The fiery furnace is being roasted in a fire. what were they charged with? Well, as you recall, they were charged with not worshiping Nebuchadnezzar's idol but the effect of this charge was to make them enemies of the state. It made them rebels. So, this execution here means that Ahab and Zedekiah were This then reveals another aspect of the false prophet's lie. You see, in their hatred of Babylon, they advocated for anarchy and mutiny over against Jeremiah's call to seek peace for the city. They whispered terrorism and insurrection. They wanted to undermine the city's power and to speak ill of the city's authorities. to weaken Babylon economically, to frustrate its order. Kudetah was the dish that they served the people with their false message. And for this lie, the Lord judged them, leaving their names behind as a curse for everyone to remember and not to forget their sin. Additionally, the Lord exposes another lying Jeremiah in twenty-four through thirty-two and and actually what we have here, we have part of the recorded letter that Shamaya wrote against Jeremiah. Jeremiah wrote two letters to exiles and so why can't a false prophet write one back to those living in jail? In fact, in this letter, Shamaya rebukes Zephaniah, the priest for not punishing Jeremiah. You see, as the high-ranking priest, Zephaniah has the authority, in fact, he has the duty to punish bad prophets. And Shemiah clearly identifies Jeremiah as being rogue, as being some madman prophet. In fact, in verse 28, Shemiah cites Jeremiah's letter. Look at it with me. 29, 28 reads, for he has sent to us in Babylon saying, your exile will be long. Build houses and live with them, plant gardens and eat their produce. Shemaiah says, this is crazy talk from a madman and Zephaniah, you need to put this guy in stocks and neck irons in order to silence him. Make no mistake, brothers and sisters, speaking the truth of God's word comes at a cost and false prophets will use whatever means necessary to silence the message of God's word, yes? even the use of legitimate means for sinister purposes. Well, the Lord will expose Shemya as a liar and as a false prophet. The Lord did not send Shemya and his message, his message is not from the Lord. So the Lord is going to judge Shemya most severely. And he does this by cutting off, excuse me, him and his descendants from Israel. children will see the restoration of the Lord's promise. In other words, Shemiah and his entire family will die in exile and his line is done. Well, this is Jeremiah's letter to the exiles in Babylon. This is his message to the exiles describing the 70 years of exile and what it will be like as he talks About those 70 years, he is also speaking to us, the church. You see, 70 years is a picture for us as the church in exile. Think about this with me for just a moment. In the New Testament, Peter addresses us as what? As elect exiles. James refers to us as the 12 tribes of the dispersion. You see, brothers and sisters, we too live under the rainbow and not under a theocracy. So the question for us this evening is, how do we please the Lord as we live as exiles? How do we live as we wait for the promised land? How are we to live as a scattered people in a pagan nation? Well, your good service is putting down roots. Build that house. Put on that addition. Find a career that works for you. Plant yourself a garden or have your wife do it. Enjoy those fresh vegetables. Men, enjoy the life of your youth. Throw a wedding for your sons and your daughters. I look forward to this day. Play with your grandbabies. Pray for, and serve your neighbors, your community, the welfare of our city, for this is your lot in life until the Lord returns. This is what the Lord has assigned for us as we live in the common kingdom. And you know there are many blessings to enjoy, and we should absolutely enjoy them. I know this. that as you do this, by faith, this is going to please the Lord. Brothers and sisters, the Lord calls us as exiles to seek the peace of the city in which you live. To say it another way, pursue the peace and welfare of our society. Yes, even pray that the Lord would bless our society. For in its peace is our peace. More than likely, this was the hardest pill for the Judean exiles to swallow in Babylon. You can hear the excuses in their head. Babylon stole from us. They oppressed us. They ripped us from our families. They killed our loved ones. How can we seek their prosperity and peace? They are our enemies and they deserve to die. I want to see their heads dashed against the rocks. Of course, As every one of you know, this would be strict justice. Strict justice without pity and without any mercy. Kill those idolaters, kill those wicked men. Yes, the revolt in insurrection called by Ahab and Zedekiah sounds forth loudly, even in our own day. And what should we learn from Jeremiah's letter this evening? We should learn this exile is how strong the lord is against the false message of imposing mosaic justice on a common race society. In fact, he even left a curse for us as for those that revolted instead of seeking peace. In fact, the author of the New Testament, multiple authors of the New Testament loudly echoes this call for peace. Paul said it this way, live peaceably with all the writer of Hebrews said it this way, strive for peace with everyone. Pray for those that those exiles in Babylon, we may not find this command easy. Are we not surrounded by wickedness? Does it the city in which we live sometimes become our enemy? And so how are we to seek the welfare of those that want to harm us as Christians who want to pile up evil Yes, the theocratic tendencies and messages are still alive and well within the church. There is a message right now today that says this, forget peace, revolt. Mobilize the church and bring the Mosaic law down on the heads of pagans and the public square. But make no mistake, that message is a message of men like Ahab, Zedekiah, and Shemaiah, and they have no inheritance in God's grace. Rather, the Lord says this, seek the peace of the city. Pray for it, for in your peace is time to its peace. Christ said it this way, love your enemies. Paul echoed that. If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. Brothers and sisters, our Lord calls us, as his exiles, to obey and to suffer. Yes, houses and gardens should remind us of God's good blessing. The difficulty of seeking peace reminds us that this pilgrim walk in exile belongs to the realm of common grace in a sinful and cursed world. This is not our true home. and exile is not the end of god's plan for us, his covenant people. Rather, god does have a good plan for you. Good plans. He's given you a blessed hope, a future to long for. In Christ Jesus, he has given you the sure promise that he will bring you to his land, that he is prepared. The lord will gather us from every location under the sun. And being blood bought by Christ, we will be gathered in his name. The Lord will bring us to that land whose building and founder is God. So truly then, this promise to you is nothing less than God's promise to bring you to glory. Listen, and I want you to be, I want to be clear about this, it's not a promise that your present life is going to be ice cream and cotton candy. It will not be easy. The whole point of hope is that it longs and it waits for something better. As exiles on this side of heaven, we will have many difficulties. We have, we'll have many trials and tragedies, but this is exactly why he gives us this message of hope. This future to long for, to encourage you, to comfort you along the way. a declaration of hope in Christ that he's keeping you from heaven. And he gives you this confidence that when you pray, when you seek the Lord, know this, he's listening to you. In Christ, his favor is found. And he will answer your prayer and he will bring you to heaven. Well, as Jeremiah paints for us a picture of our lives as exiles, there's one detail assumed and it is this, how will the Lord gather his people? How can the Lord bless his exiles in the midst of curse? Did you think about that? how can the lord bring his people back from this death curse? Well, the answer to this crucial question comes in the fulfillment of another declaration. God gives through Jeremiah. In fact, just a few chapters further. If you want to go there, you can and we're about to close but in Jeremiah thirty-one beginning in verse thirty-one thirty-one The days are coming declares the lord when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. My covenant that they broke though I was their husband declares the lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days declares the lord. my law within them. I will write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each teach his neighbor, and each his brother, saying, know the Lord. For they shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin. So what caused the change? Christ died for you. God reconciled us to himself through his son, not counting your trespasses against you, but making you the very righteousness of God in Christ. This is why God's love and his plans for you are good. This is why God hears our prayers because Christ is your priest. This is why God is found when you seek him because Christ died for you and he united you to himself. Think about this with what makes the new covenant a better covenant than the old. Well, they're quite a there's quite a few answers to this but but one major aspect is that it places your redemption up front. It it front loads your redemption at the beginning is the work of Christ. Your hope that is at the resurrection but your redemption is already finished in Christ. He bore your curse. He suffered your So God's plan truly is good for you. Because in Christ, nothing, nothing can separate you from his love. Yes, we build houses, but only to leave them behind. God is with us and his love will keep us for that ultimate hope that he has given to us. Resurrection and life in the promised land. and it's all because of Christ and his grace. His grace, all the benefits is what enables us to live right now as exiles. So, brothers and sisters, show grace to others. Love your neighbor. Love your enemy because Christ first loved you even unto death. This is your good hope. This is your life until Christ brings you home. He's given us a certain hope that He will take us to that heavenly promised land. So may you be comforted by it this Heavenly Father, you have given us a wonderful day today. Your word proclaimed this morning and now this evening. And we would ask once again that your word would have its intended effect upon each and every one of us. Allow it to go far and deep allow our minds to be renewed and our hearts warmed with the gospel of Christ. And whatever stage and station of life that we find ourselves here this evening, we recognize that we are exiles waiting for you to call us home. with a world that mocks and hates us because it hates you. It is plagued with difficulty. But Lord, we ask. Would you empower us? To be merciful. To be loving. To be faithful, to declare your word your gospel to a hurting and a dying world, to live in common grace while we proclaim your sovereign grace. Have your way with your people. We pray this in the name of Jesus.