Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;
The instruction belongs to Jeremiah's letter to the Hebrew captives in Babylon during the captivity, the same prophecies Daniel studied to understand the promised seventy-year captivity and the return of the exiles. It taught that the return would not be immediate and deliverance was not near, but would come only at the close of the seventy years. The exiles were therefore to accept a long exile during the appointed period rather than expect an immediate return to Jerusalem or a speedy deliverance.
They were to submit quietly to the temporary rule of their conquerors and settle for a long stay. They were to build houses and make homes, plant gardens and grow food, and pursue their ordinary productive work. Building and planting meant living a normal, productive life among their conquerors to make servitude as pleasant, bearable, peaceful and comfortable as possible.
The counsel expressed tender compassion and merciful care for the captive people. It was meant to keep them on vantage-ground with many liberties, honor the name of God far and wide, and spare further calamity. Their own peace depended on seeking the peace of Babylon and praying for it. It warned against acting on false prophets who promised a soon-broken yoke, a restored nation, and swift deliverance. Disregarding this counsel to follow them would lead to fatal rebellion and insurrection, awaken the vigilance and severity of the Chaldean authorities, bring further restriction of liberties with suffering and disaster, and frustrate the merciful design to keep the exiles on vantage-ground.
The instruction belongs to Jeremiah's letter to the Hebrew captives in Babylon during the captivity, the same prophecies Daniel studied to understand the promised seventy-year captivity and the return of the exiles. It taught that the return would not be immediate and deliverance was not near, but would come only at the close of the seventy years. The exiles were therefore to accept a long exile during the appointed period rather than expect an immediate return to Jerusalem or a speedy deliverance.
They were to submit quietly to the temporary rule of their conquerors and settle for a long stay. They were to build houses and make homes, plant gardens and grow food, and pursue their ordinary productive work. Building and planting meant living a normal, productive life among their conquerors to make servitude as pleasant, bearable, peaceful and comfortable as possible.
The counsel expressed tender compassion and merciful care for the captive people. It was meant to keep them on vantage-ground with many liberties, honor the name of God far and wide, and spare further calamity. Their own peace depended on seeking the peace of Babylon and praying for it. It warned against acting on false prophets who promised a soon-broken yoke, a restored nation, and swift deliverance. Disregarding this counsel to follow them would lead to fatal rebellion and insurrection, awaken the vigilance and severity of the Chaldean authorities, bring further restriction of liberties with suffering and disaster, and frustrate the merciful design to keep the exiles on vantage-ground.