Jeremiah 29:4-7
““Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, to all the captives whom I have caused to be carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon: ‘Build houses, and dwell in them. Plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. Take wives, and have sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters. And multiply there, and don’t be diminished. Seek the shalom of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to Yahweh for it; for in its shalom you will have shalom.’”
The prophet Jeremiah writes to the Jewish people who have been forcibly deported from Jerusalem to Babylon, facing a long and uncertain future away from their homeland and temple. He delivers God's surprising message about how they are to live in this foreign land.
What does it mean to seek the well-being of a place you didn't choose to be, especially when it feels like an adversary?