Jeremiah 25:1-14: Captivity
Easter Saturday, April 27, 2019
Here Jeremiah foretells the continuing conflict between warring nations in the Middle East. As we have observed before, the political environment has not changed much over the millennia despite the changing of political systems and figures, and the names of sovereign nations and their leaders. Cultures, religions, and peoples continue to clash. And Jeremiah uses the round number of 70 to say that the present generation may not return – they must die and a newer, perhaps more faithful generation, will renew Hebrew history. Notes from the ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE tell us more (Zondervan 1234).
- Since the numeric systems in this region of the world at this time were often based on ascending groups of six, the logical maximum number of measurement would be 60. The amount of 70 indicates a number of major proportion – and importance. In this case it represents the fact that the present generation must die out before the exile will end.
- Jeremiah foresees a time when Judah will serve Babylon, and that following this time Babylon herself will serve another nation. This history plays out as Jeremiah predicted. Judah became a vassal state of Babylon in 604 B.C.E. and although the arithmetic is inexact, almost 70 years later Babylon was taken over by Persia. The people of Israel will return home from exile under the Persian king Cyrus as recorded in Ezra and Nehemiah.
- Another calculation that may be seen as predicted from this prophecy is the span of time between the physical destruction of the temple in 586 B.C.E. and its re-dedication in 515 B.C.E.
- In either case, Jeremiah predicts an exile which outlasts the present generation and thus serves as a punishment for the wayward Israelites. The exile Jeremiah describes does take place. And exile will occur in each of our lives in some way at some time.
This we can also predict.
I have come to understand that periods of separation and loss in our lives cannot be avoided. No amount of planning or good behavior exempts us from the sort of exile that Jeremiah forecasts for his people. The prestige of nations will rise and fall almost whimsically; power will ebb and flow. This is something we cannot avoid. Our personal influence and authority will likewise rise and fall. We may even be held captive for a time by invader ideas; new policies and procedures, new fads and crazes will overtake us. We have only to stand still for a day in our fast-paced world and the advances of technology fly past us to leave us feeling disconnected. Some of us self-impose this kind of exile while others are forced into it by economics and talent.
We can never have control over the cataclysmic changes that happen around and to us. In reality we seldom control much more than the small details of our lives and for some of us even that is a reach. We have fooled ourselves into thinking that we have made the most of life by choosing the proper career and the proper life partner when our personal and economic status is often chosen for us; our political destiny is driven by many whom we do not even know exist.
So is there anything we can do about who we are and how we live? Absolutely. Is there any way we can control nature? Not much. What are our options when it comes to our political and civic lives? Depending on our nation of origin we have various degrees of input. Some of us live in flourishing democracies while others live in closed societies that stifle any cry for freedom. What do we do about improving our status and making a difference in the world? When we join in the struggle to build God’s kingdom . . . all the rest falls into place.
Jeremiah speaks to an ancient nation but he also speaks to us when he describes the coming whirlwind that threatens on the horizon. When we see the impending peril and sense the advent of our own bitter captivity, what are we to do?
We will spend some time during the rest of this Easter Week reflecting on our options.
A re-post from Easter Week 2012.
Image from: http://thephotoexchange.wordpress.com/
“The 70 Years of Captivity.” ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE (NIV). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005. Print.
For more on the gifts that come out of captivity, go to Ultimate Fulfillment at: https://thenoontimes.com/2011/08/09/ultimate-fulfillment/
The Noontimes 