Hebrew Bible and Christian Scriptures

Jeremiah 30 and 31 is often seen as the calling of Israel to a new Covenant of hope. Jeremiah is unlike prophets in that he is proclaiming the message of God from the captivity that Isaiah forewarned over 100 years earlier. With this in mind I can not help but see that as Jeremiah calls to a future of hope he is looking at the past. In chapter 30 verse four Jeremiah writes that their cries of fear are heard, which immediately brings to mind the silence that God faced the Israelites in Isaiah 1. Now God’s wrath is burning against His people but now God has heard them and Jeremiah has been called. Then as Jeremiah works through the difficult task of displaying both God’s wrath and His deliverance he stops in verse 22 to go all the way back to Abraham. God called Abraham out and both became his God and made him the father of a people. Now Jeremiah calls us back to remember the covenant, when it was first laid down, between Abraham and God.

In chapter 31 Jeremiah’s remembrance of the past is much more direct. He points out “the lord appeared to us in the past…you will again…” and most interesting is the whore Israel again will be reestablished a virgin in verse 4 and again emphasized in verse 21. Upon awaking Jeremiah is again spoken to by the Lord. In this conversation God reminds the captive Israelites of his mercy in Eden when He revisits the Old Law in verse 30; telling them that all will die for  his own sin. Yet immediately after pointing to the Law God moves to the completion of the covenant in Christ. “I will put my law in their minds and write in on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people.” (33)

For the third time we have heard this phrase, “I will be their God and they will be my people.” First we heard it when Jeremiah reminded the Israelites that He has been their God since Abraham was first called out. The second time is God says this, is when Jeremiah begins to tie the past with the present in chapter 31 verse 1. And finally God says this in His words of hope for the future. In chapter 30 and 31 God speaks great hope to his people by revealing His timeless commitment to His people and His sovereign control.

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.