Freedom From Captivity

A Scriptural Base:

"For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive" (Jeremiah 29:10-14).

The prophet Jeremiah was writing to those Israelites who had been living in Jerusalem who are now living in Babylonian captivity under Nebuchadnezzar. "Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon" (Jeremiah 29:1).

"For thus saith the LORD"

The real author is the LORD. The word used here for "LORD" is the Hebrew word, YAHWEH. YAHWEH is the self existing, all sufficient, eternal God of Israel.

Seventy years is 7 X 10 or a perfect number in God's economy. The people were to be in bondage until an appointed time. The term "Babylon" can be traced back to Genesis chapter 11, where the people built a tower to try to reach God on there own terms. There God confused their language so that they began to speak different languages. It is a picture of people committing idolatry. The people of Jerusalem were carried away captive by Nebuchadnezzar because they had committed idolatry. However, God says at the appointed time that He will visit them. Paul says where the Spirit of God is, there is freedom. "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (II Corinthians 3:17).

This is God's doing. He accomplishes what He says He will do. "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11). However, this time, specifically, it is His "good word" toward you. God had a GOOD WORD for you.

We must again remember that Jeremiah is writing from Jerusalem to the captives in Babylon. Jerusalem in the Hebrew language means "teaching of peace" and in the Greek it means "set ye double peace". It is the city of God. It is the apple of God's eye (Zechariah 2:8). It is the center of the world. "Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her" (Ezekiel 5:5). It was the center of worship for the Israelites. Even today there is a struggle over this city. Islam, Judaism, and Christianity claim rights there. "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee" (Psalm 122:6).

You may feel that God had forgotten all about you, but He hasn't! Again, this is YAHWEH, the self existing, all sufficient, eternal God who says that He is sure about the thoughts that He has toward you.

The Hebrew word "Shalom" means much more than peace. The word "Shalom" has within it the meaning of "prosperity, good health, safety, soundness, and completeness." These are the thoughts that God has for you.

Someone recently pointed out that "live" spelled backwards is "evil". The Hebrew word translated "evil" has the meaning of "bad, worse, harm, misery, distress, and unhappiness" in it. It is the devil who is come to steal, kill, and destroy. Jesus said, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).

God has a plan and purpose for your life! He had a plan for many people listed in Scripture. He had a plan for Abraham, "Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:1-3). He had a plan for Moses. He told Moses, "Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt" (Exodus 3:10). He had a plan for Paul. "But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me" (Acts 26:16-18). Now I can just hear someone say, but these where special choices of God. My answer is that God is no respecter of persons. He has a plan for every person who will hear His voice. After all, He even had a plan for a worm in the book of Jonah (Jonah 4:7) and I know you are a lot more important than a worm. Furthermore, it is God who is to bring to pass His plan in your life.

This is the beginning of your part. God said, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not" (Jeremiah 33:3). We must call upon the very person who can help. Here is the promise: "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21).

In this clause, we can see two aspects of our responsibility. First, we are to leave the world behind. The Israelites needed to lay aside in their minds the perils of captivity to go to pray.  Second, prayer must be directed toward God to be effective. Praying or meditating just for the sake of meditation gets you nowhere. Prayer and meditation on the wrong object will open the door for demonic invasion.

Did you catch it? The One who created the universe, both visible and invisible, will LISTEN to your prayer. He will not turn a deaf ear to you. Your captors may not listen to you plea for freedom. Your friends may not listen to your story of woes, but God will when you ask Him for help.

Are you really serious about wanting to be free? Seek HIM. Jesus said, "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Luke 11:9). The verbs (ask, seek, and knock) are all in the present active indicative voice in the Greek. It means that you ask and keep on asking. You seek and keep on seeking. You knock and you keep on knocking.

The fool says there is no God (Psalm 14:1). The agnostic says that if there be a God, one cannot prove the existence of God . However, God is findable! You can find God. How do I know? He says that you can find Him and I have found Him along with many, many other people.

Here is the qualifying clause. You must get SERIOUS about finding God. You must get so serious that you do it with ALL your heart. When you do this, you will find Him.

I really like this statement. This implies action on God's part. When we truly seek Him, He will not hide, but reveal Himself to us. In the midst of our seeking God, He will say, "Look over here ... here I am." :-)

Obviously in my writing of this article, I don't know exactly what your bondage is; however, it doesn't make any difference. It doesn't matter if it is big or small. God said that He will give you freedom. Again, it may be spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, or financial bondage, but God is able to set you free. In keeping a balance of truth, God does not always give us freedom in the way that we may think. After Jacob wrestled with the Angel of God one night, he walked away with a limp, but the blessing of God was upon him. A friend found freedom for his life through making Jesus Lord of his life, but he still fulfilled two years of prison time before he was released. He was FREE in prison.

Are you having a problem concentrating? Is your mind bouncing off the wall, here, there, and everywhere? Have you been diagnosed as being schizophrenic. Do you have DID or MPD issues? Are you having problems breaking away from old drinking or drug buddies? God says that He will gather you from the nations.

Most often we find ourselves in strange places because we have rebelled against God and He has participated in our discipline. Having said this, again to keep a balance, there are also times in which we fall under persecution because of our righteousness. "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (II Timothy 3:12). Again, we must understand that God is in sovereign control.  Other times we are there because of the actions of others.  In any case, God wants to bring you back.

We should note that there are a number of things here that God said that He WILL do.

"I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place"

"I will hearken unto you"

"I will be found of you"

"I will turn away your captivity"

"I will gather you from all the nations"

"I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive"

A part of  God's discipline has been that God, in His sovereignty, has allowed the enemy to carry the people away. God raised up Nebuchadnezzar to carry away the people of Jerusalem. The toying with pornography may have led to an addiction, a bondage in a foreign place. The dabbing in spiritualism of the occult may have led to demonic control in your life. Borrowing of money because of impatience may have led to major indebtedness. The disobedience to God's diet laws may have led to various diseases in your life. Whatever the case, God says that He will bring you out of the bondage into freedom. He will return you to Jerusalem, the city of peace, the place of safety, and the place of worshipping God.