05/08/2019 PLAN, PRAY AND PLANT GARDENS
JEREMIAH 29:4-5 Thus say the Lord of hosts, the GOD of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. [Revised Standard translation]
Summary
Jeremiah 29 is a letter to the exiles. It is a letter that tells a people how to survive in captivity, under a government not to their liking. It is a letter written to a people during an administration that believed in deportations—for many were carried away during various periods from Jerusalem to Babylon. Many sons, daughters, elders, priests and prophets were deported. The sudden régime change, political shift and movement were unsettling to the Jewish people. The people were unnerved. It looked like time had gone backward to Egyptian times, during the time of Moses, because the people found themselves in slavery once again. The people felt abandoned, afraid and lost. So, Jeremiah pens a letter from GOD outlining a recipe for survival.
First, Jeremiah tells the people up front that they simply have to face facts. Their stay in Babylon will not be short. The administration confronting them will not go away---not in 100 days, not in a year. Their administrative captivity would last at least 70 years! So, the people had to stop looking back and start dealing with their new reality. They had to stop their useless complaining and start thinking strategically.
Second, the letter tells the Jewish people that to survive they must build, plan, be productive and re-establish their relationship to GOD. They are to build homes, plant gardens and eat their produce, marry, multiply, stay healthy, increase and not decrease. The people must pray and work for peace (verse 7). They must pray and seek the welfare of the city in which they were now living because its welfare is now tied to theirs. (Verse 7) Jeremiah tells the captives that GOD still has a plan for them (verse 11), but the people would have the need to seek and wait on the LORD.
Third, Jeremiah cautions the people not to listen to false prophets or lies (i.e., fake news.) Jeremiah tells them: Don’t be deceived! Instead, they are to turn to “the word of the LORD” (verse 20). They must work hard and have faith in GOD. Jeremiah tells the people that if they seek the LORD in earnest, HE will find and deliver them.
Plant Gardens
Now is the perfect time to think about planting a garden. Gardening has a number of benefits, including the following:
- Gardening provides healthier, more nutritious, fresh food;
- Gardening teaches lessons about food and nutrition;
- Gardening promotes physical and mental health and is another way to exercise;
- Gardening can be a way of giving back to the community; and
- Gardening can be fun and relaxing.