“This is what the LORD says: ““When seventy years are completed in Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.”
~ Jeremiah 29:10
Hi James and Ellen,
Your grandpaa has a sad looking plant in his office. About four months ago, this sad looking plant was a happy looking plant. The plant’s long, green leaves had been hanging over the sides of the white, square ceramic vase that a secretary in the Adventures in Missions headquarters office had potted this plant in to have it in her work cubicle. When this Adventures in Missions secretary became involved in some improprieties that could not be tolerated by Adventures in Missions, she was asked to terminate her position. When this Adventures in Mission’s secretary was told that she no longer had a job at Adventures in Missions, she left her pet plant. Because no one was immediately hired or transferred to replace this secretary at Adventures in Mission, no one noticed that this once vibrant, happy looking plant was becoming droopier and droopier. Because no one was watering the plant, the poor thing could not continue to survive. When your grandpaa noticed the once happy looking plant a couple of weeks after the dismissed secretary left it behind in her vacated Adventures in Mission’s cubicle, the plant’s long, green leaves had taken on a sad, shriveled look. Instead of letting the plant be trashed, your grandpaa decided to adopt the plant. After your grandpaa began to regularly water the plant, the plant began to show some life – even though almost all the leaves by this time had become shriveled. Your grandmaa cut the shriveled up leaves off the plant. Even though the plant does not begin to look like how it looked about four months ago, this plant now has four leaves that are pushing out towards the sides of the white, square ceramic vase and another half a dozen leaves that will grow larger and join their big leaf bros. It is going to take some time but as long as this plant is watered when it needs water, this plant is going to look like how it once looked – happy, growing and giving enjoyment.
There was once some sad looking exiled guys and gals living in the country of Babylonia. Before these guys and gals were taken to the country of Babylonia by the Babylonian people group’s army, these guys and gals – who were God’s specially chosen guys and gals, had been ‘happily’ doing their thing in the land area of Judah and in the city of Jerusalem. Because these guys and gals had refused to let God ‘water’ them through guys like Jeremiah, God let His specially chosen guys and gals ‘dry up’ in their appropriated beliefs which did not include Him but which involved worshipping inanimate chunks of stone, slabs of wood, clumps of clay and pieces of metal. After God’s specially chosen guys and gals continued their disobedient, rebellious affront towards Him, God – in 593 B.C., had the Babylonian people group’s army take back to their country many of His specially chosen guys and gals. Among those who were exiled to the country of Babylonia included Jehoiachin – who had been ruling as king over the guys and gals who were living in the land area of Judah and in the city of Jerusalem, the queen mother, court officials, leaders, elders, prophets, priests, artisans, craftsmen and regular Israelite people group guys and gals. What do you think God’s plans were for His specially chosen guys and gals who He banished to the country of Babylonia?
Jeremiah 29 includes a letter that God – as God the Father – through God – as God the Spirit, had Jeremiah scribe to send to His specially chosen guys and gals who He had deported to the country of Babylonia. What do you think that God had Jeremiah tell His exiled specially chosen guys and gals in the letter that He had Jeremiah scribe and which He had Jeremiah entrust Elasah and Gemariah to carry in a pouch to the exiled Israelite people group guys and gals who had been taken to the country of Babylonia? God told His exiled specially chosen guys and gals to start all over again by building houses, planting gardens, eating what they produced in their gardens, marrying, having kids, finding wives for their kids, increasing their number, pursuing prosperity and seeking peace. God also told His specially chosen guys and gals who He had seen to it were exiled that they are to call on Him, pray to Him and seek Him. God promised His exiled specially chosen guys and gals that they would find Him, that He would listen to them and that He would return them to their homes in the land area of Judah and in the city of Jerusalem. God even gave a timetable in verse 10 as to when this would take place, “This is what the LORD says: ““When seventy years are completed in Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.” God was adamant that His specially chosen guys and gals not listen to the false prophets, lying dreamers and misguided diviners who were among them. God also through Jeremiah told His specially chosen guys and gals that He was going to send swords, bring about famines and incur plagues against the guys and gals who were living in the country of Babylonian along with making them like figs that could not be eaten and objects of scorn and horror among the nations where He planned to drive them into one day for having been so denigrating to them. God also through Jeremiah took a potshot at Shemiaiah the Nehelamite to tell the guy that because he put out a supposed prophesy that He had not given him – which had him telling Jehoiachin that everything was going to work out, that He would make sure that he and his family would suffer for his very unwise promise. Your grandpaa hopes that you get the message of what a life will be like if it is not ‘watered’ with the ‘Living Word’ that God – as God the Spirit, breathed on guys to write in books, letters, poems, etc. and that is now the Bible. Even though God will return a guy, gal or kid to having spiritual vitality after . . . do you think that it would be worth experiencing becoming ‘dried up’?
Jeremiah 29 (855)