Right now, things are looking okay for the remnant of Israel, or you could say Judah, but it’s really those in Babylon who become the remnant, those who will return to the land.

The people who are left in Judah are receiving their reward in this life, but I don’t know that they will get one in the next.

They are among the poorest of the land. They didn’t have a good lot in life, but now they are rewarded with an abundance of wine and summer fruit.

Those who were taken captive will likely die in captivity. It’s going to be seventy years before the Lord returns the people to the land, but their descendants will make up the remnant of God’s people.

Jeremiah makes the choice to stay in the land. He’s the one who has been telling everyone to go with the Babylonians and not remain. I find it curious as to why he made that choice. We’re not told. The Lord had him buy a plot of land. I don’t know if he’s thinking of that when he chooses to stay and gives up the promise to be well taken care of in Babylon.

The chapter ends with a threat on the life of the man in charge of those in Judah. Jeremiah’s life is not going to go as he planned if he was thinking he was going to live on that plot of land.

For a time, there is a reprieve. They had been under siege. There had been a lack. Now there was abundance. It doesn’t last. Don’t cling to the abundance and revel in it and rely on it. It’s unpredictable, unstable, unreliable. The things of this world are fleeting. But there is One who is sure, true, faithful, and unchanging.

Cling to Jesus and revel in His love and rely on His mercy, grace, and strong arm to save.