This is what the Lord Almighty says . . . to those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon (Jeremiah 29:4). 

If you happen to be reading this early in the morning, you may want to grab that next cup of coffee. What follows is nothing but unadorned Old Testament history. Can there be a better way to start the day? ‘Yes,’ you say – emphatically and without hesitation.

But you might be surprised. None of this is hard to understand, and you just might find it interesting. The story I want to tell is about how God’s people ended up far from home. In some ways the entire story of the Bible is a story of a people who are searching for home, trying to get back to the place where they were meant to live and flourish.

An Experience of Dislocation

In the year 597 B.C. the dominant world power was Babylon. The runner up for that position would have been Egypt. With Babylon to the north and Egypt to the south, the tiny kingdom of Judah and its capital city Jerusalem sat sandwiched in between. Fearing conquest and living in the shadow of Babylonian military might, Judah became a vassal state to Babylon. Judah paid money (tribute) to Babylon, and in return Babylon allowed Judah to survive with the illusion of safety and independence.

At various times Judah grew weary of this arrangement and refused to pay up, appealing to Egypt for back-up if a fight broke out. This didn’t work out to Judah’s advantage and eventually Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem.

During that ten-year siege groups of people were systematically deported to Babylon. These were Judah’s elites – the leaders, the professionals, and skilled craftsmen. This strategy forced the remaining population to be increasingly dependent on the invaders. The forced removal of people from Jerusalem to Babylon is known to us now simply as “the exile.”

Exile is typically spoken of as historical event. The experience is defined geographically – a forced removal of a population from home or country, leaving the familiar to go to a place not known.

In a broader sense, however, exile is simply an experience of dislocation.

Two Options for Exiles

The essence of dislocation is being where you don’t want to be, and that happens to us in many different ways. Look around. Chances are you’re surrounded by exiles. Somewhere along the way most of us find ourselves in a place we never wanted to be. We didn’t ask to be there, but there we are nevertheless.

Exile can be professional, the job you need but hate.

Exile can be circumstantial, events that are unfolding around you that seem entirely beyond your control.

Exile can be relational, a strained friendship or stale marriage.

Exile can be financial, the flow of resources slowly becoming a trickle. 

All of this begs the question: if you are in exile, what are you to do there?

Most often the number one agenda for those in exile is escape. Like the Jewish exiles in Babylon, we want to get back to the familiar. We’re marking time until we can go home.  Sometimes exile breeds daydreams of getting out of what is and getting back to what was. But you were never meant to live your days preoccupied with how to escape your days. God intends something more for you. God has purposes for you, even in exile.

Rather than plotting an escape God calls you to engage. This is what Jeremiah meant when he told the Jewish exiles to ‘seek the welfare’ of the place in which they found themselves. To do this in your city means that you become the embodiment of God’s favor or blessing on that place. You pray for your neighbors and for the city. You do whatever you can to make the place desirable – a good place to work, a good place to live.       

Above all we resist the common temptation of exile: Living with bitterness and resentment in the present while we wait for everything to change in the future.

In your own story, what has exile looked like? When and where did you live through a season of ‘dislocation?’ And where did you land between the two poles of escape and engagement?   

Prayer:

You are faithful, O God. At all times and in all places, you remain faithful to your word and to your people. We will not judge by what we feel or see around us. We will not resent the place where we are, even if we can’t understand why we’re here or how we got here. We will live this day confident that you are in it – no matter where we are. Empower us to seek the welfare of the place and people around us today. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.