But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. [Jeremiah 29:7 (ESV)]
Jeremiah told the exiles to work and pray for their captors. He explained that it was the shalom (well-being, peace, health, success, safety, and welfare) of their captors that they would ensure Judah’s shalom. For a people who’d been torn from their homeland and Temple, I expect it was difficult to understand how seeking Babylon’s prosperity would help them; but, it did!
While Daniel and his three friends diligently looked out for Babylon’s interests, I suspect they used their high government positions to protect the interests of their countrymen at the same time. We know that Daniel encouraged Nebuchadnezzar to show mercy to the oppressed. After seeing Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerge unscorched from the fiery furnace, Nebuchadnezzar proclaimed that anyone who spoke against their God “would be torn limb from limb” and their houses turned into “heaps of rubble.” It probably was Daniel who precipitated the exiles’ return by showing Cyrus Isaiah’s 150-year-old prophecy naming him as the one who would make possible the Jews’ return to Jerusalem. By serving their captors, they also served their people.
When the first exiles returned to Judah, Cyrus stipulated that the financing for rebuilding the Temple would come from the royal treasury! In addition, he returned all the silver and gold that Nebuchadnezzar plundered from the Temple. Cyrus not only allowed the returnees to take their accumulated wealth with them but he also encouraged donations from those who remained. That Jewish wealth was substantial because the total of their gifts to the Temple was 61,000 gold coins, 6,250 pounds of silver, and 100 robes for their priests! A nation that hadn’t prospered wouldn’t have financed the Temple or allowed nearly 50,000 people, over 8,000 head of livestock, Nebuchadnezzar’s plunder, and that amount of personal wealth to leave! As their captors thrived, so did the exiles.
20 years later, Ezra returned to Judah with the second group of exiles. King Artaxerxes authorized and financed that trip by giving Ezra everything he needed along with silver and gold for an offering to Israel’s God. Like Cyrus, Artaxerxes allowed those returning to take their personal wealth and any donations with them to Judah. Moreover, the king instructed his provincial treasurers to supply Ezra with supplies (7,500 pounds of silver, 500 bushels of wheat, 550 gallons of both wine and olive oil, and an unlimited supply of salt)!
When a neighboring provincial governor opposed the rebuilding of the Temple, Persia’s King Darius prohibited their interference and decreed that additional financial support for the exiles would come from the taxes collected in that province—money originally destined for the royal treasury. A nation in financial straits never would have foregone tax revenue; as Persia thrived, so did Judah!
Nehemiah’s job was to ensure the health and safety of King Artaxerxes. When he asked to return to Judah and rebuild Jerusalem’s walls, the king granted his trusted servant’s request and provided him with the necessary lumber from the royal forests. It was the wealth and well-being of the Persian Empire that allowed for the restoration and well-being of Judah.
In the story of Esther, we see the nation’s well-being tied to that of the Jews in a different way. Had Mordecai not foiled the plot to murder Xerxes, Esther would have been a dead king’s widow and completely powerless. Her position as queen is what enabled the two Jews to foil Haman’s evil plot of Jewish genocide. That royal edict to kill all the Jews was not limited to the province of Babylon. It extended throughout the Persian Empire—all the way into Judah where the first exiles had settled. Had Esther not intervened, David’s line could have ended. After Haman was impaled on a pole, it was Mordecai who took his position as prime minister. Esther and her uncle used their positions “for the good of his people” and spoke up “for the welfare of all their descendants.” Again, the shalom of the Jews was closely linked to the shalom of their captors and pagan king!
While Jeremiah 29:7 was a specific command for a specific situation, we see a similar principle voiced in the New Testament. Jesus told us to pray for our persecutors and oppressors. Even in adverse circumstance, we are to be agents of peace and good will. We are to contribute positively to the society in which we live. Wherever God has placed us, as His people, we are to seek the peace and welfare of those around us. Whoever they may be, we are to love our neighbors; it is in their shalom, that we will find ours!
When I put my mug under the hot water tap, I saw the stain. Fresh out of the dishwasher, the mug was clean on the outside but had a dark tea stain inside. As I applied some elbow grease and Bon Ami, I thought of Jesus’ criticism of the Pharisees. Like my mug, their exterior looked spotless but their interior was soiled. Unlike my tea-stained mug, however, it would take more than scouring powder to correct their problem. Rather than stained by tea tannins, the Pharisees were tainted by a host of sins starting with hypocrisy and moving right through to pride, judgment, self-righteousness, and more.
We tend to think of fasting during Lent as abstaining from certain foods, drinks, or activities. Several years ago, however, I was asked, “What if you fasted regret? What if your friends fasted comparison? What would be the fruit of fasting stinginess?” Those questions proposed an entirely different kind of fast than refraining from sweets or social media. In truth, fasting from things like self-righteousness, discontent, and criticism is probably harder (and more meaningful) than giving up energy drinks or dining out.
Psalm 119, the longest of the psalms, is a song in praise of the Word of God. Since we don’t read this psalm in its original Hebrew, we fail to appreciate its intricate construction. Each of its twenty-two sections begin with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet in sequence. Each of the eight verses in those twenty-two sections begin with the letter that introduced it. For example, the first word of the first section begins with alef, as do the next seven verses. In the second section, every line begins with beth. The psalm continues that way up to the 22nd (and last) section where every line begins with the final letter of the Hebrew alphabet, tav. 
Most of us breeze through (or skip altogether) the Bible’s genealogies. Nevertheless, when genealogy and all those “begats” seem so important in Scripture, what explanation is there for the difference between the genealogies of Jesus found in Luke and Matthew? Because Jews were meticulous about recording genealogies, it’s inconceivable to have two conflicting yet correct lists of Jesus’ lineage.
The tradition of New Year’s resolutions goes back over 4,000 years to the ancient Babylonians (whose new year began in mid-March with the spring equinox). During their 12-day celebration called Akitu, they either crowned a new king or reaffirmed their loyalty to the old one. To ensure the gods’ favor, they promised to return borrowed items and pledged the repayment of all their debts.
