Why does Jeremiah tell the exiles in Babylon to build houses, plant gardens, take wives and grow families?

The words in the letter Jeremiah wrote to the exiles are the word of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel. He is the sovereign God who sent them into exile, but it is also a reminder that he has not forgotten them. They are still central to his plans, not just for Israel, but for the world.¹ His word even reaches them in exile.

The Lord says to his people in exile: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there and do not decrease. For the most part, the exiles would have been left to live their lives in Babylon. Only those who stirred up rebellion were thrown into prison (see 2 Kings 24:15 ;2 Kings 25:7, 2 Kings 25:27; Jeremiah 52:31). The exiles were not allowed to return to their land, but they were allowed to keep their own community with elders, and they could follow their own rituals such as keeping the Sabbath and circumcision. This would have helped them maintain their identity as a nation.² It is clear from the Lord’s commands that he is telling them that they are going to be in Babylon for a long time. At least three generations will live in exile for all or part of their lives. This would correspond to the 70 years and three generations of Nebuchadnezzar’s descendants ruling in Babylon (see Jeremiah 27:7)³ . These commands would therefore not have come as a comfort to the exiles. With the false prophets telling them that Babylon’s rule would soon end, and that they would return to Jerusalem within two years (seeJeremiah 28:2–4), the command to build homes and settle down in Babylon would not have been welcomed.

Obedience to the Lord’s command would mean that the exiles would multiply. This reminds the reader of the blessings spoken of at creation in Genesis 1:28 and repeated when the Lord renews his covenant with Israel (Deuteronomy 28:5). Just as Israel had multiplied while enslaved in Egypt, so they would now multiply in exile. Even though they were not in the land, they could still experience covenant blessing if they trusted and obeyed the Lord⁴ . The words build and plant also take the reader back to Jeremiah’s calling in Jeremiah 1:10. The small flourishing community of exiles in Babylon is the beginning of the Lord’s plan to build and plant nations and kingdoms⁵ . What is clear from these commands is that not even Judah’s unfaithfulness or the Lord’s judgment will mean the end of his plans to fulfill his promises to not only bless Israel, but through them to restore his blessings to all nations.