Finding Hope in "Captivity"
Whew . . . 2020 – what a year! The good news is: it is over.
The bad news is that in several parts of the world, including the USA, we may be headed for more lockdowns and quarantines.
With those thoughts in mind, I went to bed discouraged on New Years Eve. However, New Year’s Day dawned with encouragement from my time alone with God in His Word. I was greeted with hope from Jeremiah 29:1-14.
The context is the Babylonian captivity in which the Temple in Jerusalem has been destroyed and plundered. The brightest and best people had been taken away to the pagan land of Babylon.
Psalm 137 describes the situation this way:
By the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
2 There on the poplars
we hung our harps,
3 for there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How can we sing the songs of the Lord
while in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget its skill.
6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem
my highest joy.
7 Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did
on the day Jerusalem fell.
“Tear it down,” they cried,
“tear it down to its foundations!”
8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is the one who repays you
according to what you have done to us.
9 Happy is the one who seizes your infants
and dashes them against the rocks.
One can read a high level of depression and even anger in these words. Not only were there no songs of the Lord to be sung, but the Psalmist ends with a sense of abounding hatred toward Israel’s captors.
To a far lesser degree, 2020 may have seemed like a “hostile captivity” to many. We have had to isolate, wear masks, forego holiday celebrations, experience financial hardships, and . . . in some cases, mourn the loss of a loved one or friend. We were told the lockdowns would last two weeks, yet it is approaching ten months.
All these adverse circumstances led to discouragement, frustration, and anger in my heart. [Can you relate?]
Thankfully, three principles I found in Jeremiah 29 have helped me. I pray they encourage you in the new year as well.
This first principle is: Don’t just sit there pouting; get up and do something good for you and others. In verses 5-7 the prophet writes:
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.
One of my favorite TV shows is Last Man Standing. In the first episode of the newest season, Mike’s pregnant daughter commented on the pandemic by asking, “Dad, why would I want to bring a child into this world?”
The Jewish people in Babylon may have wondered the same thing. But God told them get married, have babies, and work for the welfare of their captors. Increase . . . don’t decrease.
How can we do that in our season of “lockdown captivity?” Here are a few ideas: learn a new skill; visit those who are lonely; fix a meal for someone who is sick; teach your children or grandchildren what God has taught you in life. The possibilities are endless.
If we stop thinking about the situation and ourselves, we can use this as an opportunity for Him. Have you taken time to list the good things that have come to you from this pandemic?
The second principle is: Get your information from God’s Word, not false prophets. Verses 8-9 say:
Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in My name. I have not sent them….
We face multiple false prophets and naysayers during these days. I believe the Prophet Jeremiah would have us turn off the TV news and conspiracy theories, while getting our attitudes toward the situations around us from God’s Word. False prophets and naysayers promote fear.
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”[1]
That leads to the third principle: Be patient during the “captivity.” In verses 10-14, God tells Israel that their captivity would end in 70 years and that He had good things for them in the future.
In the future, He would fulfill His covenant promises. Just two chapters later God tells Israel:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
4 I will build you up again,
and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt.
Again you will take up your timbrels
and go out to dance with the joyful.
5 Again you will plant vineyards
on the hills of Samaria;
the farmers will plant them
and enjoy their fruit.
6 There will be a day when watchmen cry out
on the hills of Ephraim,
‘Come, let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God.’”[2]
In that passage, God reminds Israel they are still his Chosen People and one day Messiah will come to establish His kingdom, which will bring peace and joy to all His Chosen Ones.
To summarize, we don’t know when our “captivity” will end, but it will. God has made promises to us that are just as eternal as those made to Abraham and David. He gives eternal life to those who have trusted Him. He also promises the same Messianic Kingdom to all His followers – Jewish or Gentile.[3]
So yes, the bad news is that we may be facing more lockdowns and quarantines due to COVID-19. However, God doesn’t want us sitting around pouting (or worse). Rather:
Get up and do some good.
Get God’s perspective from His Word.
And be patient . . . He is still in control and has a plan.
As Jewish people say on Rosh Hashana, “L’shana tova” – “To a good year!”
Written by Winn, LIFE Staff
Footnotes:
[1] John 14:27.
[2] Jeremiah 31:3-6.
[3] Romans 10:9-10; John 14:1-4.