This pandemic season has felt like an exile from normal life and doing what we enjoy. Fortunately there are many Bible passages that speak to what it feels like to be plunged into exile. One of the biggest baddest things during the Old Testament was when the Israelites were conquered and taken into exile in Babylon for about 70 years.
So if you’re interested in Bible readings with big connections to the times we’re living in, the Old Testament books of Isaiah and Jeremiah are good ones. Those two men were the major prophets before and during the exile of Israel. (Because of rivalries for power, the nation had divided into two separate countries at the time, with one half exiled first by Assyria, and the other half exiled later by Babylon.)
At the beginning of those books, both prophets try their hardest to make their people and leaders stop living selfishly and turn to the Lord. God kept telling the Israelites that if they kept living irresponsibly and mistreating people, bad things would happen, but the people didn’t listen. And they didn't take the prophets' warnings seriously. So instead of figuring out what they needed to change, they made things worse and paid a terrible price. Again we notice similarities to today. A great many people the last seven months have not taken the coronavirus seriously. And so, it will be here a long time—impacting our lives in this time of exile.
Other countries took it seriously early on and have now been able to remove lockdown restrictions to really get back to normal. I enjoy listening to radio show podcasts from around the world on a variety of subjects, and one is from Australia. Recently one of the hosts shared how sad he was for us: “I feel so spoiled. I almost have guilt over how not terrible where I am in the world is right now. To be in America at the moment, oh, they’re months in and just no end in sight, and it must just be awful.” Maybe you have felt some of that awfulness this year.
In New Zealand, the entire country is now virus free, so there’s no need to cap attendance numbers or restrict customers in bars or restaurants, etc. Over the past seven months, only 25 people who contracted the coronavirus died in New Zealand, compared with 210,000 here in the US. A sad statistic.
It's natural to feel depressed and overwhelmed at how bad our situation is right now, and the prophets speak to those feelings too. In Jeremiah chapter 29, God has Jeremiah write a letter to the Israelites who were exiled. It has good encouragements in it: “I know the plans I have for you…” (29:11). And it also has advice for how to spend our time. In Jeremiah 29:4-10 he suggests some good things to do during exile. They include: build houses, plant gardens, have weddings, work for peace in the land, and don’t be deceived by people speaking falsely in God’s name.
I thought of those verses back in the spring when so many people used the extra time on their hands to garden and work in the yard. What a biblical thing to do during exile! And just this weekend I watched my cousin give away his daughter’s hand in marriage. Of course I had to watch the online livestream instead of attending in person, but I celebrated from afar.
So yes, we will be stuck in this exile for a while longer, but remember that God wants us to make the most of our days regardless. Find things that give you joy—gardening, prayer, walking, building, reading, whatever it is. And remember what God says: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you” (Jer. 29:13-14).