Jeremiah 29:10
For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
God set a definite appointed time of seventy years for exile in Babylon and desolation of Jerusalem, after which He would visit His people, keep His good word, and bring them back to their homeland and own country. The promise was made known with tender compassion to the king, all Judah, and the captives in Babylon to keep them from being deceived by false prophets in Jerusalem and Babylon who declared the yoke would soon be broken and restoration would quickly come. Instead of expecting an immediate return or rising in fatal rebellion that would awaken the severity of their rulers and bring suffering and disaster, the exiles were to submit quietly to temporary rule, settle down in peaceful homes, pursue their work, and seek and pray for the peace of Babylon, for in its peace they would have peace. It reveals His merciful and forbearing purpose of peace and not evil, to give an expected end by granting His people another trial and another opportunity to serve Him. The promise was very plain and was studied anew with burdened hearts until the appointed time was seen to be near, and when the people in loyalty sought God with all their heart and prayed, He hearkened and fulfilled His word by using Cyrus to free them and provide for their return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.
Promise and Historical Setting
The promise fixes a definite, appointed period of seventy years of exile in Babylon and desolation of Jerusalem, after which God would visit His people and perform His good word toward them in causing them to return to Jerusalem, their homeland and own country. The seventy years are counted from the first group of Hebrews deported by Nebuchadnezzar. The captivity was punishment for Judah's disobedience, with the Chaldeans serving as God's instrument, and its completion is connected with His judgment on Babylon for its iniquity.
The scattering followed failure to serve as missionaries and separation from surrounding peoples, and God used the dispersion to carry knowledge of His truth to the world. The promise was made known with tender compassion to Zedekiah and all Judah, including the captives in Babylon, through written communications. Its purpose was to keep them from being deceived by false prophets in Jerusalem and Babylon who declared the yoke would soon be broken and the nation quickly restored.
Believing a speedy deliverance would lead to fatal rebellion and insurrection, awaken the vigilance and severity of the Chaldean authorities, restrict liberties, provoke the king, and bring suffering and disaster, frustrating God's kind designs. Instead the exiles were not to expect an immediate return but to submit quietly to temporary rule and live quietly until the appointed time. They were to settle down, pursue their work, make peaceful homes, and seek and pray for the peace of Babylon, for in its peace they would have peace.
The verse reveals God's merciful, compassionate, forbearing purpose of peace and not evil, to give an expected end. It was to give His people another trial and another opportunity to serve Him in their own country after the seventy years.
Study and Fulfillment of Return
The promise is very plain that a fixed period of seventy years of desolation and captivity in Babylon would be accomplished before God would visit His people and fulfill His good word to cause them to return. Daniel with his companions had often gone over that prophecy, and burdened in behalf of Israel he studied it anew in the books. As the rapid course of events showed God's hand at work among the nations, they gave it special thought. By searching Jeremiah's prophecies Daniel learned the fixed number of the years and understood that the appointed time was near and the period was nearing completion, bringing ground for hope of deliverance and another trial for His people.
Though Daniel knew the promise and earnestly sought God for its meaning, he could not understand how the seventy years relates to the twenty-three hundred years that must elapse before the cleansing of the sanctuary. This perplexity troubled him and left him astonished with none understanding it.
The return comes when the people call upon God and pray and He hearkens to them, when they seek Him and find Him by searching with all their heart. Daniel's faith in the prophetic word led him to enter into that experience, and learning the fixed period led him to seek God earnestly in prayer. Those who thus sought God were ready to respond to the opportunity when it came. Their return was connected with being loyal, true, and submissive to Him.
The promise was fulfilled when God used Cyrus to free the Jews, to make it possible for them to go back to Jerusalem and to rebuild the temple. The seventy years were counted from the first group of Hebrews deported by Nebuchadnezzar, and when they were completed God acted for His people to bring them back to their homeland and their own country. He provided through Cyrus what they needed to rebuild the temple.
Its fulfillment continued when God raised up Ezra to be His servant. God moved upon the heart of the king so that Ezra found favor with him and received abundant means in his hands for the rebuilding of the temple, making it possible for the Jews to return. Ezra's confidence in God's care and his return to Jerusalem to help restore the city and to revive study of God's Word belong to the fulfillment of that promise.