Seek the Peace (1)

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon… Jeremiah 29.4

To flee the world?
How bad could things get?

Their capital city had surrendered to a powerful enemy, which had installed a puppet government, deported the most productive of the citizens, and put those who remained under a severe tribute.

But those who were still living in Jerusalem under the strong hand of Nebuchadnezzar at least considered themselves better off than those who had been sent into exile in Babylon. They must have felt this way, for even when Jeremiah urged them to yield to the Babylonian king and go peaceably with him to captivity, they refused, insisting instead on fleeing to Egypt.

In their minds going to Babylon was surely as bad as things could get, and they wanted nothing of it.

In different periods of Church history, members of the believing community, seeing the corruption and hypocrisy of their age, have fled the world and sought to carve out a space of peace for themselves away from it all. The spiritualists who fled to the deserts in the third and fourth century wanted nothing to do with what they considered to be the “worldly” church and the decaying Roman Empire. The various religious orders that sprung up during the late Middle Ages separated themselves from normal life in the Church, seeking to create communities of the sanctified against the compromise and corruption they saw on every hand. During the Reformation, Martin Luther saw the Church as under a kind of “Babylonian captivity” which could only be cured by leaving the Church to form a new branch of Christ’s Body. Within that movement certain Anabaptist leaders went even further, and walled themselves and their followers off in fortified cities, in a vain attempt to fend off what they regarded as the wickedness all around.

Even in our day some believers, frustrated over political corruption and juvenility, and seeing the wickedness on every hand, have chosen to withdraw from the world – its culture, society, and institutions – and to keep to themselves in holy enclaves, where either a strict legalism or a kind of laissez faire spirituality reinforces their negating posture toward all things worldly. Yet even here, the influence of the world leaches in and begins to work petrifying effects on the hearts of the people of God.
The Christian tendency to want to be rid of the world and its ugliness, meanness, and grasping ways is always present within us, while, at the same time, we want just enough of the world to assure our temporal happiness.

Blessing in time of trouble
The people of Jerusalem whom Nebuchadnezzar took captive to Babylon may have been tempted to agree with the assessment of their contemporaries: Living in Babylon is about as bad as it can get. They must have wondered aloud concerning what they would do, how they would live, and by what means they would manage to keep themselves separate and uninvolved with their pagan neighbors and oppressors, while, at the same time, doing what they could to make the most of their circumstances for their own wellbeing.

Certainly they harbored ill feelings toward their captors, and they must have felt fear and revulsion toward them as well. Doing something to bless the Babylonians was doubtless the furthest thing from their minds.

Ever the people of God
But as Jeremiah would explain in the letter he wrote to the captives in Babylon, conditions are never so bad that the people of God can simply forget their calling, deny their mission, set aside their mandate, circle their wagons, and hold on, hoping for the best, against the corruption and wickedness on every hand.

For the people of God never cease to be the people of God, no matter how bad conditions become; and things can never get so bad that the Church cannot make a powerful impact for grace and truth – if we separate ourselves from the ways of the world and remain faithful and obedient to our calling from the Lord.

In the midst of Israel’s captivity, God did not cease to be their God. He moved Jeremiah to speak words of comfort and counsel to His people, so that they might be careful not to miss the opportunity God had set before them of preparing for a season of revival, renewal, and awakening yet to come.

God had brought Israel to this bitter political and cultural situation, but not without a purpose, and not without a plan.

Today is no different. The bitter taste and ugly taint of materialism and narcissism saturate the air around us, and the Christian community has not escaped their effects. Yet we are still the people of God, and God is still our God. He has a message for us today, and He intends, no matter how bad things become, that we should hear His Word, heed His voice, and take up the work of Kingdom righteousness, peace, and joy.

For reflection
1.  Christians seem to be of two minds regarding “the world.” On the one hand, we don’t like what we see out there. On the other hand, the world very often seems too much with us. Do you agree? Explain.

2.  How do you see that Christians have withdrawn from large sectors of contemporary culture and society, leaving the world to its own wiles and ways?

3.  Is there a sense in which the Church today is under a kind of “Babylonian captivity” of its own? Explain.

Next steps – Conversation: Share your answers to these three questions with some Christian friends. Do they agree? Invite them to join you for this study.

T. M. Moore

This is part 1 of a 5-part series, Living toward the Promises. You can download this week’s study as a free PDF, suitable for personal or group use, by clicking here. You can learn more about living toward the promises of God by ordering a copy of the book, I Will Be Your God, from our online store (click here).

We invite you to register for the free online course, One in Twelve: Introduction to Christian Worldview. In this course T. M. Moore provides a sweeping panorama of how life in the Kingdom of God unfolds in an age in flight from God such as ours. Set your own schedule and study at your own pace. Learn more, and register for One in Twelve, by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.