Jeremiah 29

What’s Happening?

Judah’s king, Jehoiachin, was an evil man who deepened Judah’s rebellion against God. So God sent the king of Babylon to invade Judah’s borders and exile Judah’s citizens (Jeremiah 29:1–3). But Jeremiah writes a letter encouraging these captives that God will one day restore them to their land and renew their relationship with him.

First, Jeremiah tells these Judean exiles to become good Babylonian citizens. They should plant gardens, improve their city, and seek peace and prosperity among their oppressors. They should get married and have children in anticipation of God returning them to their homes. Even though they are living through the covenant consequences of abandoning God and worshiping other gods, God has not abandoned them. There is hope even in exile because God has planned a future for his disobedient people (Jeremiah 29:4–7). In seventy years, God promises to restore them to their homeland and renew their relationship with him (Jeremiah 29:10–14).

However, some religious leaders disagreed with Jeremiah’s understanding of exile and his posture toward Babylon. They insisted that the hope of God’s people was not in settling down but in resisting Babylon and fighting for Judean independence under the current king (Jeremiah 29:15–16, 20). A priest in Jerusalem even sends a letter demanding that Jeremiah be silenced for his seemingly unfaithful and unpatriotic message (Jeremiah 29:24–28).

In response, Jeremiah warns that the future of God’s people belongs to those willing to accept exile as the path God has appointed for restoration. God has already sent one wave of exiles to Babylon as discipline meant to heal and preserve his people. If Judah’s political and religious leaders continue to resist this path, God warns that their defiance will lead to complete destruction of both their leadership and their nation (Jeremiah 29:15–22, 29–32).

Where is the Gospel?

The only way God’s people could return to their land and experience renewed life with him was to accept exile, trust God’s faithfulness, and seek the good of those who ruled over them. None of Judah’s leaders wanted to hear this. They were too attached to their nation, their power, and their security to imagine that God would ask them to relinquish everything they loved — much less restore it after it was lost. But God’s promise has always been that restoration comes through exile, not around it.

God was so committed to this pattern that he entered it himself in the person of Jesus. Jesus did not stand outside Israel’s story; he stepped fully into it. He lived as Israel’s faithful representative, walked the road of rejection and loss, and was cast outside the city into death itself — the ultimate exile. Even as he was rejected by his own people, Jesus sought the good of his enemies and prayed for those who oppressed him (Luke 23:34). In doing so, he carried Israel’s story of unfaithfulness to its end and opened the way for restoration.

Just as God promised to bring his people home after exile, God raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at his right hand. Resurrection was Jesus’ return from exile and the beginning of God’s promised renewal. In him, exile does not have the final word. Restoration does.

Like Judah, many of us experience seasons of distance, loss, and longing for home. We feel scattered and far from the life God intends for us. The good news is that Jesus has already walked the path of exile on our behalf and returned in resurrection life. When we entrust ourselves to him, we are welcomed into that same restored relationship with God and given a lasting home in his renewed kingdom.

See for Yourself

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see the God who restores his people. And may you see Jesus as the one who entered exile and returned so that we might be brought home.