Ezra 6:19 - And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month.
There was a generation that reaped what they had sown and were carried off to Babylon in chains as God had decreed. But there were also children who were removed, such as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. There were also children born in Babylon, who only knew of prior days by oral history, and were left hoping and dreaming that perhaps one day they would see with their eyes God's promised land. The God who promised the land at also promised a return after seventy years were completed.
Jeremiah 29:10 - 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.
And though there was a generation that was punished, their children, the children of the captivity, were brought back into the land of promise and worshipped the God who kept the promises!
There is hope for us, in that while we ourselves may have been captive by sins or have reaped bitter seed, our children, the children of our captivity, may have opportunity to enjoy spiritual freedom from sins and consequences we did not!
This requires intentionality on our part, rejecting the influences and avoiding the same traps that led to our captivity. This means protecting and shielding where others may not, trading away good things for best things. This requires us dutifully nurturing and admonishing biblically while the world runs from what is good and right.
To see our children one day as children of captivity instead of children in captivity... will be worth it all.
CRC
