Nov 04 2009
Jeremiah – Blessed by the Enemy
I find it interesting in Jeremiah 29 the Israelites are encouraged to pray for the prosperity of Babylon. “Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (v. 7b) After being taken into captivity and stripped of everything that symbolized home and identity, the prophetic word given to Jeremiah for the exiles is to pray that the Lord blesses those who have misused and abused them.
So why would God want his people to pray for those responsible for their destruction? Why not just pray for God to wipe them off the face of the earth? Yet none of these logic deductions are rendered as instructions from the Lord. Maybe this is an ironic call to Ecclesiastes where both wisdom and folly are meaningless (both having the same fate). For the exiles, both the captor and the captive will experience prosperity as their fates are intertwined. Or maybe this is a living experience of Israel casting its bread upon the waters trusting God to return it back unto them again.
In an attempt to relate to this passage I think back on the Civil Rights Movement, championed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I believe his life’s work provides an ocular demonstration of praying for one’s enemies with the hope of being blessed out of their blessings (of understanding, compassion, repentance). The transformation of the heart toward God is a powerful event that has far reaching ramifications. Now I know one might suggest I am taking a big leap between the exiles being instructed to pray for Babylon and the possibility of salvation of Babylon. Yet is this not the same type of logic that is countered within the verse itself? Surely after God demonstrating that he is capable of blessing Israel through its enemies, we will not attempt to limit who God can and will bless spiritually.
Perhaps this passage calls for serious refection regarding our faith in God. We confess to believe in God’s sovereignty and providence. We confess that all humanity is made in the image and likeness of God. Yet do we really trust God enough to pray for the blessings of our enemies such that through their blessings we might be blessed? Can God really bring about prosperity for his people through the prosperity of the wicked?
I am convinced through my enemy’s transformation of an encounter with God, those who come in contact with him/her will be blessed. So the next time I feel slighted, crossed or even assaulted, instead of picking up the attitude of payback, defense or ill will, I choose to arm myself with the mindset of praying for the prosperity of my antagonist. Who knows, we both just might be blessed in the process.