Content in Exile

As the people of Judah were led away to Babylon, the prophet Jeremiah told them to expect a lengthy stay — to build houses, plant crops, have children, and live productive lives (Jeremiah 29:1-7). And despite the hardships and heartaches of being in a strange land, most Jews adjusted quite well to life in Babylon. During their seventy years there they adopted Babylon’s lunar calendar and its language of Aramaic. They worked, engaged in commerce, and prospered, with some even rising to high positions in government, like Daniel or Mordecai. Historian Walter C. Kaiser observes, “In comparison with those who had remained in the land of Judah, the exiles had the better deal.”

In 538 BC, the Persian king Cyrus finally decreed that the Jews could go home. This was in keeping with God’s promise to restore them to their land (see Jeremiah 29:10-14). Nearly 50,000 left for Palestine immediately (Ezra 1-6). But the book of Esther indicates that there was still a large Jewish population in Babylon and Persia more than fifty years later. And the book of Nehe­miah shows Jews prospering there nearly a century after Cyrus’ decree. In fact, ancient writers like Josephus tell us that most Jews were unwilling to return to Palestine. Why? Because life in Babylon was comfortable; indeed, it was all many of them had ever known. Palestine was a long way away, and the prospect of rebuilding it was difficult. So most Jews were content to remain in exile.

It’s sad to think that so many of God’s people chose to stay in a foreign land rather than return to the home He had prepared for them. And it’s sadder still to realize that exactly the same thing is true of many of God’s people today.

Christians are “aliens and exiles” in this world (1 Peter 2:11, NRSV). Our stay on earth is only a journey; our destination — our home — is heaven (Philippians 3:20-21). But there is constant pressure to get comfortable here. That’s really what we mean when we talk about world­liness — becoming so satisfied with life in this foreign country that we forget about going home.

Satan wants us to dwell on the comforts of life here and the difficulties of the way that leads home, so that we’ll decide to pitch our tents in his kingdom permanently. But that is a fatal mistake, because “the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17).

Never forget that this world is not where you belong. The way Christ offers is not an easy way (Matthew 7:13-14), but it is the only way home. Never turn aside from it. Never be content to remain in exile.

Faith Rises Above Its Environment

“By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace” (Hebrews 11:31).

God’s followers have sometimes come from unpromising backgrounds. Consider Matthew the tax collector, whose line of work gave him a reputation for corruption and dishonesty. Or Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee who felt duty-bound to persecute Christians to the death. Would you have thought either of these men likely to follow Christ, much less become a gospel preacher?

Hebrews 11 highlights another unlikely follower of God. Rahab was a prostitute in a pagan city. Yet she believed in God and sought His deliverance. When two Israelite spies came to her house, she hid them from the authorities and helped them escape the city undetected. She explained, “I know that the Lord has given you the land,” and acknowledged, “the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath” (Joshua 2:8,11). Rahab’s obedient faith not only saved her and her family from destruction (Joshua 6:25), but also raised her from the depths of immorality to a place of distinction in Israel. In Matthew 1:5 she is named as an ancestor of David, and of Jesus Christ.

Rahab’s faith enabled her to rise above her wicked surroundings. Sadly, many people are content to wallow in theirs. Ours is fast becoming a society of “victims.” We try to excuse even the inexcusable by blaming our behavior on our genes, our parents, our neighborhoods, our incomes, our televisions, our friends — anything but our choices. After all, if our misdeeds are caused by things we can’t control, then no one can hold us accountable for them. But Rahab did not play the victim. She confessed faith in God and pleaded for mercy. Isn’t that what God has asked of sinners in every age?

Faith doesn’t make excuses for sin. By faith we understand that, while many things influence us, sin is ultimately a personal choice. “Each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin” (James 1:14,15). My sin is my fault. When I acknowledge that, then and only then can I be set free from sin. Then and only then can I rise above the evil that surrounds me. “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness” (Romans 6:12,13).

Rahab’s example should also teach us something about evangelism. If faith can produce godly people from ungodly circumstances, then it follows that people in such circumstances need to hear the gospel that produces such faith.

In Paul’s day, the city of Corinth was known the world over as a cess pool of immorality. People often referred to a wicked, indulgent lifestyle as “living like a Corinthian.” How many preachers would be excited about going to a city filled with fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, drunkards, and con artists? Yet when Paul preached Christ there, some of those same people turned to the Lord (Acts 18:8; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

I’m afraid that we tend entirely too much to focus our teaching efforts only on those we think will be receptive. Jesus commanded that His gospel be preached to all people (Matthew 28:19). It is not just for people who are already clean, moral, and religious. It is also for those who are drowning in the sewage of wickedness. It is those who are sick who need the Great Physician (Mark 2:17).

Faith Sacrifices Without Fear

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin; considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen” (Hebrews 11:24-27).

Imagine what Moses gave up when he chose to be counted with his Hebrew brothers instead of his Egyptian foster family. Adopted into the royal household of the greatest nation in the world, Moses likely enjoyed a life of privilege that few have ever known. He “was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds” (Acts 7:22). Philo writes that Moses “was skilled in music, geometry, arithmetic, and hieroglyphics, and the whole circle of arts and sciences” (cited in Pulpit Commentary on Acts 7:22). Josephus even claims that Moses commanded the Egyptian armies in battle against Ethiopia (Antiquities 2.10.2).

But Moses left it all behind, “choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.” Surely that choice was not an easy one. Whether or not Philo and Josephus are correct, we can be sure that Moses gave up a great deal in the way of earthly things. He chose rags over riches, persecution over power. He turned his back on the only life he had ever known. He “forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king.” Why? Because he regarded “the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt…For he looked to the reward…For he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.”

Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). The image of taking up a cross conveyed one message: suffering. Like Moses, our decision to follow the Lord means making sacrifices. Yet by faith we make those sacrifices willingly, having chosen what is real and lasting over “the passing pleasures of sin.” By faith we make those sacrifices without fear, because we trust in what we cannot see. That is how Stephen could endure death (Acts 7:54f), how Paul endured imprisonment, and how others of old endured terrible persecution (see Hebrews 11:35-38).

A few years ago I baptized a young lady named Karen. She had been raised a Lutheran, and after she was converted her parents all but disowned her. It hurt her deeply, but Karen patiently carried that cross, “considering the reproach of Christ greater riches.” If we choose to follow Jesus, it will involve times of hardship, trial, and sorrow. Even our own families may turn against us (see Matthew 10:34-37). But faith sees beyond the suffering to the glory that awaits. Faith does not fear ridicule, loss, persecution, or even death, because none of those things can take away the hope to which it clings.

“And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I believed and therefore I spoke,’ we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you…Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:13-18).

Faith Looks to the Future

“By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones” (Hebrews 11:20-22).

With all the important events in the lives of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, why did the writer of Hebrews choose to mention these?

It was customary for an aging father to pronounce blessings on his sons. But these three occasions were more than fathers wishing their children well. Each of these is a specific prophetic utterance.

Isaac’s blessing on Jacob was that God would give him abundance and mastery over other nations. “Cursed be those who curse you, and blessed be those who bless you” (Genesis 27:27-29). To Esau he proclaimed that he would dwell away from fertile lands and live by the sword. He would serve his brother, but would become restless and rebel (verses 39-40). All of those words came to pass in the histories of Israel (Jacob’s descendants) and Edom (Esau’s descendants).

Jacob said of Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, that God would bless them and make them a multitude. Israel would one day pronounce the blessing, “May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!” (Genesis 48:15-20). And so it was: Manasseh grew to be one of the largest of the tribes of Israel, while Ephraim became so dominant that during the divided monarchy the northern kingdom was often called “Ephraim.”

Joseph’s dying message to his family was this: “God will surely take care of you, and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” He was so certain of this that he made his brothers swear to bring his bones with them when they left Egypt (Genesis 50:22-25). Both Joseph’s prophecy and his family’s promise were fulfilled four centuries later (Exodus 13:18-19).

What can we learn from the final words of these great patriarchs?

1. Faith has a confident outlook. As inspired prophecies, the words of these great men reflect supreme confidence that God would bring them to pass. The same faith that shaped their view of the distant future should guide our outlook on each new day. As Joseph trusted God’s promise to bring Abraham’s descendants to Canaan, so we should trust God’s promise to provide the things we need. Worry over life’s necessities is not the response of faith (Matthew 6:25-34).

2. Faith instills itself in future generations. The final message of these men to their children and grandchildren was not about finances, or politics, or even primarily family; it was about trust in Almighty God. Children learn from their parents what their parents truly value. Parents who are committed to God and His purposes will succeed in teaching their children godliness (Ephesians 6:4).

These patriarchs believed what God revealed concerning the future. Through faith, they saw the unseen. God has also revealed the future to us: “…for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28-29). The life we live is testimony to whether or not we believe that promise.