Seek the Welfare of the City (Jeremiah 29)

How do you live in the midst of a culture that despises your religion? A couple weeks ago we sang Psalm 137 – “how shall we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land?”

We need to remember that our home is the heavenly Jerusalem. Our citizenship is in heaven. Any earthly citizenship must be used for the benefit of the heavenly city.

As the Epistle to Diognetus put it, for the Christian, “every foreign land is a home land – and every home land is a foreign land.”

Or as Jeremiah said: “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

In other words, pray for the peace of Babylon!

Of course, Shemaiah (and others of the exiles) would prefer singing Psalm 137 – “Blessed be the one who dashes their children’s heads against the rock!”

How can we pray for the peace of Babylon? Don’t we long for Babylon to be destroyed?

Yes – and no.

Or, more precisely, No, and Yes!

For 70 years, no we do not long for Babylon to be destroyed. We pray for its peace.

But when the time comes for Babylon to be destroyed we will rejoice in its destruction!

Let’s look at how this works...