Thursday: The Seventy Years
Jeremiah’s prophecies should have had a double effect on the thinking of the captives: on the one hand they should not believe what the false prophets were saying, and on the other hand they should not be dispirited. He asked his captive countrymen to pray for Babylon. This request might have surprised those who had been deported.
Image © Krieg Barrie from GoodSalt.com
What Jeremiah was asking from the captives was unheard of in the earlier history of Israel. It had been absolutely unknown to pray for an enemy who had done what the Babylonians had done to them, God’s chosen nation. The prophet broke all their understandings regarding the temple and Jerusalem; they could pray in a pagan country, and the Everlasting God would listen to them.
Notice, too, what Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 29:7: that the prosperity of their host
nation will mean their prosperity, too. As aliens and strangers in the land, they were especially vulnerable if things went badly in the nation in general. All through history, we have seen sad examples of intolerance becoming especially bad when a nation faces hard times; people look for scapegoats, those whom they can blame, and minorities, or aliens, often become easy targets. It is an unfortunate reality.
What wonderful hope is given to the exiles in Jeremiah 29:10? (See also Jer. 25:11-12; 2 Chron. 36:21; Dan. 9:2.)
Everything the Lord had said would happen had happened, so, they had every reason to trust that He would fulfill this prophecy as well (Jer. 29:10). Why 70 years would be the exact time of their exile we don’t know, though it clearly is linked to the idea of Sabbath rest for the land (see Lev. 25:4, Lev. 26:34, Lev. 26:43). What’s so important about this prophecy is that, if they had taken in faith and submission, it would have given the captives great hope and assurance of the Lord’s complete sovereignty. Despite appearances, despite the terrible calamity that befell them, they could know that all was not lost, and the Lord had not left them. They were still the covenant people, and the Lord wasn’t through with them or the nation of Israel. Redemption was available there for all of those ready to meet the conditions.
What prophecies give you great hope for the future? Which ones strengthen your faith and help you learn to trust the Lord for whatever will come?
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For anyone that might be unsure about the 70 year prophecy, I offer delimiters (beginning and ending "markers") for the prophecy.
The end-point is given in Ezra 1:1-2. (This scripture is referring to the fulfilment of Jeremiah's 70 year prophecy.)
Now it is probably un-necessary to refer to additional "witnesses"; but Josephus, the well known Jewish historian, states that, "the 1st year of the reign of Cyrus which was the 70th [year] from the day that our people were removed out of their own land into Babylon..." (Antiquities Bk.11,chp.1,sec.1.) And Ellen White teaches exactly the same thing in Prophets and Kings p.557.
So the 70 years ENDED in about 536B.C. when Cyrus issued the decree given in Ezra 1 etc. allowing the Hebrew captives to return.
The 70 years BEGAN when "the first company of Hebrews had been taken by Nebuchadnezzar from their Judean home to Babylon." (PK 557) This event took place in about 606B.C., and it was in this deportation that Daniel was taken.
(Unfortunately the dates are contested, especially the dating of the first year of Cyrus, but the events that mark the beginning and the end of the 70 years are well established.)
The Jews' seventy (70) years under Babylonian authority was the result of curses (Deuteronomy 27:14-26). However even when subjected to a curse Jehovah finds a way to bring a blessing to those who will humble themselves and be submissive while setting their heart to honor God (Jeremiah 29:7).
All of creation was cursed, including humans and beasts when the world was plunged into sin in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:14-24). Nevertheless the Creator would bring blessing and joy (Deuteronomy 28:1-14) to all who would accept the conditions, cooperate with Him, and live to please Him for the three score and ten (70) years appointed to mankind in this life (Psalm 90:10).
Then there will be a glorious restoration beyond imagination (Jeremiah 29:10; 1 Corinthians 2:9), a return to Eden restored (Revelation 22:1-5). While under the curse the faithful may submit (Romans 13:1-6) and pray for the authorities on this earth (1 Timothy 2:1-4), understanding that at the end the song of the saints may be, “Take me back dear Lord to the place where you have prepared.” (John 14:1-4).
Could the 70 years have some relation to the judgment promised in the 2nd commandment against those who made and bowed to images; " for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me," while at the same time promising to show "lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments"?