FRIDAY, 1 DECEMBER 2023
TEXT:
Jeremiah 29:1-23
1:
This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to
the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all
the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to
Babylon.
2:
(This was after King Jehoiachin and the queen mother, the court officials and
the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans had
gone into exile from Jerusalem.)
3:
He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of
Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It
said:
4:
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried
into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:
5:
“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.
6:
Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your
daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase
in number there; do not decrease.
7:
Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you
into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will
prosper.”
8:
Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the
prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you
encourage them to have.
9:
They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares
the Lord.
10:
This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I
will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.
11:
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you
and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
12:
Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
13:
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
14:
I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from
captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have
banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from
which I carried you into exile.”
15:
You may say, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,”
16:
but this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David’s throne and
all the people who remain in this city, your fellow citizens who did not go
with you into exile—
17:
yes, this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will send the sword, famine and
plague against them and I will make them like figs that are so bad they cannot
be eaten.
18:
I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them
abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse and an object of horror, of
scorn and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them.
19:
For they have not listened to my words,” declares the Lord, “words that I sent
to them again and again by my servants the prophets. And you exiles have not
listened either,” declares the Lord.
20:
Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I have sent away from
Jerusalem to Babylon.
21:
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of
Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you in my name:
“I will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he
will put them to death before your very eyes.
22:
Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this
curse: ‘May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon
burned in the fire.’
23:
For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery
with their neighbors’ wives, and in my name they have uttered lies—which I did
not authorize. I know it and am a witness to it,” declares the Lord.
(New
International Version Holy Bible)
TOPIC:
A MESSAGE TO THE EXILED
Sin
has always been the reason for the exile or captivity of Israel, God's own
people. It is bad enough for God's own people to be uprooted from Jerusalem,
their Promised Land, by a godless Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (now Iraq).
Today,
it's no longer news that exiled Christians under the rule of the modern - day
Nebuchadnezzar are busy patronising diviners, prayer houses, lying prophets and
impostors with a view to protecting themselves from the attacks of enemies that
are busy uprooting Christian communities.
In
his letter to the exiles, Prophet Jeremiah provides a better alternative to
patronising diviners and false prophets which can be summarised as follows:
*
Building houses and living in them.
*
Prioritizing food security by promoting agriculture.
*
Do not stop marriage and procreation or multiplying children despite your
status as slaves in Babylon.
*
Promote peaceful co - existence and the welfare of your host community.
*
Do not patronise fake prophets and diviners.
*
Embrace the good plans that God has for you.
*
Pray and seek God with all your hearts for restoration.
QUESTION:
What is the cause of the modern - day captivity of Christians in Nigeria?
PRAYER:
Dear Lord, please help me to follow Your blueprint for survival under the
regime of my modern - day Nebuchadnezzar. Amen.
Remain
Blessed
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