Culturally Homeless

For generations we have enjoyed the blessings of being a free people. The gospel influence upon our founding fathers made that possible. But things are starting to feel quite foreign. I don’t recognize much. I feel culturally homeless.

There is a period in Old Testament history that illustrates that feeling. Israel had been unfaithful to the Lord and had given themselves to the gods of the nations around them. God warned them through His prophets, but they did not listen. Thus, they found themselves living in a foreign land, among foreign people, with foreign customs, and foreign gods.

In Jeremiah 29, God has something to say to His culturally homeless people. His counsel would help them endure their captivity. I know our circumstances are quite different. America is not Israel, but we live as sojourners and exiles (1 Peter 2:11), and in that we find our parallel.

Today, we will look at Jeremiah 29:1 - 14 and the counsel God gives to His exiled people so that we can know what to do when we feel culturally homeless.