Build houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat their fruit.
God commands the exiles to settle Babylon for the long term: build houses, plant gardens, marry, multiply. Seek the welfare of the city where you are captive and pray for it, because your safety depends on its safety. This is not hope in Chaldean collapse but obedience to His present will. The false prophets who promise quick deliverance speak lies; He has not sent them.
AI summary
Commenting on Jeremiah 29:4-14
God ordered the captives to build, plant, and marry as though settled for good, yet their minds were to remain suspended toward return at seventy years' end. These seem to clash, but obedience and hope cohere: they submitted to His chastening hand while keeping their gaze fixed on deliverance according to His will, so they could bear exile in a way that pleased Him.
AI summary
Jeremiah's letter to the scattered exiles served a vital purpose: written Scripture carries the same divine authority as spoken word, and at a distance it delivers the seasonable comfort God's dispersed children desperately need. The case of these captives was melancholy indeed; they looked like greater sinners than those left behind.
AI summary
Commenting on Jeremiah 29:1-7