Blessing Babylon
Embracing Exile • Sermon • Submitted
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I want us to imagine something this morning, to try and put ourselves into this situation.
587 BC is the point of no return, when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem. Eleven years before that, in 598 BC, Nebuchadnezzar was trying to repopulate lands that he had destroyed, so he showed up in Jerusalem and began to take the young, bold, and beautiful to rebuild cities and be assets to Babylon. He left Zedekiah as a kind of puppet king in Jerusalem.
Can you imagine the questions during the decade in between these events the questions that the people of God were wondering? I’m sure they were something like:
What’s God doing?
What’s going to happen to us?
Where is God in the midst of this?
I imagine that they would be in a place that longed for good news when everything seemed to be a disaster all around them.
1 In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people:
2 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.
3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles of the Lord’s house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon.
4 I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’ ”
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord.
6 He said, “Amen! May the Lord do so! May the Lord fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the Lord’s house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon.
7 Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people:
8 From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms.
9 But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true.”
Now I don’t know about you, but that would sound like good news to me. God is going to restore everything to the way it was, to the “good old days.” Sound familiar? We talked about getting stuck on this idea of the good old days a couple weeks back. We get caught up there and don’t focus on what God is doing in our midst. But in that moment I can see how that message sounded good - just what we’ve been dreaming about for the last decade!
Let’s continue in verse 10:
10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it,
11 and he said before all the people, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.’ ” At this, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.
12 After the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:
13 “Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron.
14 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.’ ”
15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies.
16 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord.’ ”
Oh boy. We’ve got prophets with different messages - dueling prophets if you will. Which one should they believe? Which one is truly telling what God told them? It can be very hard to figure that out. However, typically either something happens or doesn’t happen that helps us see who really was speaking. We see this happen in verse 17:
17 In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died.
Now what? What happens next? We really liked what Hananiah had to say, but now we don’t know what to believe.
Then a letter arrives. Have you ever received a letter you weren’t expecting? It may have cheered you up or maybe even discouraged you. Have you ever wanted to write a response to the letter you received that maybe wasn’t the nicest or was written out of anger?
Abraham Lincoln's secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, was angered by an army officer who accused him of favoritism. Stanton complained to Lincoln, who suggested that Stanton write the officer a sharp letter. Stanton did, and showed the strongly worded missive to the president. "What are you going to do with it?" Lincoln inquired. Surprised, Stanton replied, "Send it."
Lincoln shook his head. "You don't want to send that letter," he said. "Put it in the stove. That's what I do when I have written a letter while I am angry. It's a good letter and you had a good time writing it and feel better. Now burn it, and write another." Today in the Word, February, 1991, p. 9
The letter that the people of God received was one that probably would have earned that kind of angry response. It was drastically different than the message of the false prophet Hananiah. In fact, it carried a message that likely no one saw coming.
Let’s read the first part of the letter that the people of God received.
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.”
Wow. Now that was an unexpected message. Jeremiah 29 is the letter that comes to the people during this uncertain decade, and the word from the Lord isn’t vengeance, it isn’t that he is going to quickly restore them to the good old days, instead it is this: “Build houses,” “settle down,” plant gardens, cultivate vineyards, “get married,” “have children,” and, most importantly, “promote the welfare or prosperity”—the good, the shalom—of Babylon (vv. 5-7, CEB).
This is not the only time we see such a message in Scripture. In fact, there is an equally strange “letter” from God to exiles in the Roman Empire; a Prophet from Nazareth tells them, “The kingdom of God is like a farmer who sows seed . . . like yeast and dough . . . like a mustard seed.”
Old Testament scholars would say that the Old Testament, particularly the Pentateuch, came together during and right after the exile, as the Israelites and Judeans began to compile the literature that had been floating around among them for centuries.
Review: Babylonian story of creation vs. Hebrew story of creation; Jeremiah 29 calls us back to Genesis 1.
“Be fruitful, and multiply” (Gen. 1:28, KJV). It is easy for people in exile to say, “I don’t want to bring a child into this broken, ugly, evil Babylonian world.” Having children is an act of hope.
“Fill the earth” (v. 28, CEB). Use the giftedness given to us by God to contribute to the goodness, the beauty, and the well-being of the world.
“Have dominion” (v. 28, KJV). This doesn’t give permission to exploit the earth; rather, humans as God’s image or reflection should have dominion over (give loving care to) all of God’s creation.
Wow. I don’t know about you, but that had to be a hard message to think about.
The command from Genesis to “fill the earth” (CEB) is the essence of what the prophet Jeremiah is telling the people in exile.
The Greek word oikonomia, or “household,” is the root of the word “economy”; the idea is that our lives are intertwined and connected and that things to which God has called us make us part of a great household of people who care for one another, minister to each other through our work.
There is no divide between the sacred (home/life) and secular (work) spheres. We don’t always think about it this way, but our work is part of the calling to be a blessing in Babylon. Do we look at every aspect of our lives as being a part of what GOd has called us to do and do we try to be a blessing in every aspect of our lives? Are we doing any of the things that we see from Genesis 1?
Illustration: “Ministers” in your congregation (real-estate agent=minister of homes; coffee-shop barista=minister of lattes, retail worker=minister of the store, library worker=minister of the library and to students).
The letter from Jeremiah tells the people in exile to work in roles that bring beauty to this community; to do work in ways that are honest and fair and that seek the good of those in the household or oikonomia where God has placed them; and to be God’s image, his reflection, as they do this. In other words, be a blessing while in Babylon.
In our current day, I believe there is a timely message for us. It seems more and more like we are in exile as the church today. My challenge for us this morning is this:
Are you hiding in this world of exile just waiting to escape or are you trying to live as a blessing like we see the prophet Jeremiah and the prophet from Nazareth calling us to be?
Are you lying in wait - waiting to get out of where we are and the situation we are in by wishing the “good old days” are back? Or are we trying to have as much impact for the Kingdom of God as possible while we are in this place as God is calling us to?
SING JUST AS I AM
COMMUNION
RITUAL
The Communion Supper, instituted by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a sacrament, which proclaims His life, His sufferings, His sacrificial death, and resurrection, and the hope of His coming again. It shows forth the Lord’s death until His return.
The Supper is a means of grace in which Christ is present by the Spirit. It is to be received in reverent appreciation and gratefulness for the work of Christ.
All those who are truly repentant, forsaking their sins, and believing in Christ for salvation are invited to participate in the death and resurrection of Christ. We come to the table that we may be renewed in life and salvation and be made one by the Spirit.
In unity with the Church, we confess our faith: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. And so we pray:
PRAYER OF CONFESSION AND SUPPLICATION:
Holy God,
We gather at this, your table, in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who by your Spirit was anointed to preach good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, set at liberty those who are oppressed. Christ healed the sick, fed the hungry, ate with sinners, and established the new covenant for forgiveness of sins. We live in the hope of His coming again.
On the night in which He was betrayed, He took bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, gave it to His disciples, and said: “This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
Likewise, when the supper was over, He took the cup, gave thanks, gave it to His disciples, and said: “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of me.” Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
And so, we gather as the Body of Christ to offer ourselves to you in praise and thanksgiving. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us and on these your gifts. Make them by the power of your Spirit to be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the Body of Christ, redeemed by His blood.
By your Spirit make us one in Christ, one with each other, and one in the ministry of Christ to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.
EXPLAIN ELEMENTS
The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, broken for you, preserve you blameless, unto everlasting life. Eat this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.
The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, shed for you, preserve you blameless unto everlasting life. Drink this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.
CONCLUDING PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING AND COMMITMENT
And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, let us pray:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.