Daily Devotions
Jeremiah
"Build houses and dwell in them"
Text: Jeremiah 29:5
JEREMIAH’S LETTER TO THE CAPTIVES IN BABYLON I
The Source of Jeremiah’s letter was the LORD Himself. Jeremiah was His servant-scribe who wrote to encourage the Jews who were in captivity in Babylon. How should they view and plan their lives in Babylon?
“Build houses and dwell in them;
plant gardens and eat their fruit.
Take wives and beget sons and daughters;
and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands,
so that they may bear sons and daughters—
that you may be increased there, and not diminished.”
Jeremiah 29:5-6
1. “Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit”
a) “Build houses and dwell in them”
i) They must not see themselves as refugees.
ii) They need to have a strong mindset.
iii) They must be prepared for a 70 year stay.
iv) The practical thing to do was to learn how to “settle down”.
v) Building homes and dwelling in them would be a good approach.
b) “Plant gardens and eat their fruit”
i) Planting gardens is a natural follow-through of building homes.
ii) Some trees take years before they bear fruit.
iii) The captives must think long term!
2. “Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished”
a) The Captives must continue with normal life.
b) They must continue to build hope for the future.
c) One solid way was to encourage people to grow the family.
i) Through marriage.
ii) Through having children.
d) A brave commitment.
i) They must seek to increase.
ii) They must not diminish in any way.
e) Remembering the time when Israel brought the entire family to Egypt.
i) They had homes in Goshen.
ii) The Hebrews had increased significantly over the years.
iii) They did not diminish in any way.
iv) They kept increasing until they were very strong.
v) This was the way the Captives in Babylon must grow.