KEY VERSE: : “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels. For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, ‘Peace be within you.’ For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity.“ (Psalm 122:6-9, LSG).

God had established plans for Israel’s blessing, with a duration of seventy years in exile—the same length as Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. The generous promise was that the Lord would help them return home to Judah. Jeremiah delivered a powerful message of encouragement to the captive exiles. However, it is essential to understand that when the Lord said, “I will visit you,” He was not referring to the people who had gone into exile but to the generations to come.

Let’s suppose that most of the people taken captive to Babylon were between twenty and forty years old. When the Lord would visit them seventy years later, the youngest would be ninety years old, and the oldest, 110 years old.

Since, in biblical times as today, most people lived between seventy and eighty years (Psalm 90:10), the majority of them would have passed away by the time the Lord visited them. Therefore, when the Lord said, “After seventy years, I will visit you,” it meant that He would call upon their children and grandchildren. When the Lord instructed the exiled generation to take care of their descendants, it was because they would be the ones to fulfill His promise.

PRAYER
Lord, may I be part of the generation that fulfills Your promise, in Jesus’ name!

APPLICATION
Have you ever experienced a period of waiting for God’s promises or a longing for something better? How did you find comfort during that time?

This text is an excerpt from the book “NEHEMIAH, RISE UP, Vol.1 Devotional” written by Pastor Gregory Toussaint.

We invite you to read the next article: “RETHINKING IDENTITY.”

GOD VISITS HIS PEOPLE. GOD VISITS HIS PEOPLE.