Jeremiah 29:4-7
“Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, to all the captives whom I have carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon: ‘Build houses, and live in them. Plant gardens, and eat their fruit. 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. Multiply there, and don’t be diminished. Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to Yahweh for it; for in its peace you will have peace.’”
The prophet Jeremiah delivered this message to the Jewish people who had been forcibly exiled from their homeland in Jerusalem to Babylon by the Babylonian Empire. This letter, written around 597 BCE, was a direct instruction to those living in an unwelcome foreign land, urging them to settle in for the long haul rather than hoping for a quick return.
What does it mean to seek the peace of a place that feels alien or unwelcoming?