Jeremiah 29:10 - Homiletics

Seventy years.

I. SEVENTY YEARS ARE A LIMITED TIME . Babylon was to tyrannize for a limited period only; the Jews were to suffer for a limited period.

1. God has set a limit to the triumph of evil. The storm rages; yet God says to it, "Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further." The lions roar, but they are chained. Wicked men fling the reins to their passions, break through all restraints of respect for the wilt of God and appear to be at liberty to work evil and revel in the fruits of sin ad libitum ; but God has put bounds about their course. In due time he will lay his hand upon them and arrest them.

2. God has set a limit to the duration of trouble. The sorrow of God's people is temporal; their blessedness will be eternal. Every trouble is weighed and measured by God. "Our times are in his hand."

II. SEVENTY YEARS ARE A SHORT TIME IN THE HISTORY OF A NATION . The Captivity was to last for seventy years; prosperity had been enjoyed for hundreds of years before this, and would return and endure long after. The troublesome times are conspicuous, while the quiet times glide by unnoticed. Hence we are likely not to note how much more we have of the latter. History reads like a record of wars and commotions, because the happy but dull annals of prosperity do not contain many striking events. It is much the same in private life. For most of us the blessings greatly outnumber the troubles, the times of quiet far exceed those of distress. Yet it is difficult to recognize this, because what hurts us impresses our memory more than what pleases us.

III. SEVENTY YEARS ARE A LIFETIME . Few, if any, of the first captives would survive the exile. To the individual man it was as bad as if it were perpetual. Yet if they were true patriots the national hope must have been a great comfort in the darkness of personal suffering. And the patriotic hope of Israel was one of the grandest features in the Hebrew character. We are all too selfish in our hopes. Christians should consider the cause of Christ and the interest of humanity as of far more importance than their private prosperity. If in the end Christ will triumph, and the world will be lifted out of the sin and sorrow which have overwhelmed it, should not we rejoice, though our lot may not be to live till this is accomplished? Moses rejoiced in the Pisgah-view of the land he could never enter; Simeon was glad at seeing the infant Savior, and could depart in peace with the assurance of a redemption not yet accomplished. Still, the Christian may have a great personal hope beyond this. Seventy years!—but a span compared with eternity! When these swift days have flown the door will be opened to the infinite ages of eternity. What if the little life be tempest-tossed? The voyage is short , the haven is near ( 2 Corinthians 4:17 , 2 Corinthians 4:18 ).