Jer 25:11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

Jer 29:10-11 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.

Jer 33:7-8 And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first. Jer 33:8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.

One day is a long time to be under the chastening Hand of God. And if that judgment is especially harsh, a week is almost unbearable; a month or two inconceivable; and a year-well that is virtually unbelievable! Imagine God's judgment lasting 70 years.

Such was the case with the Nation of Israel. For their history of rebelling against the Lord and refusing to listen to His prophets, the Jews suffered defeat, deportation, distress, and even death at the hands of foreign invaders. For seven decades, Israel remained a people without a home land. It took the Lord 70 years to teach His people their lesson.

Oh, Lord, How Long?

I would imagine that after the trauma and shock of the invasion and carnage was passed, and while en route or perhaps settled in Babylon, the Jews began to think on their plight. By reading Psalm 137, we know that their bondage brought tears to their eyes and grief to their hearts. In their anguish and desperation, perhaps they asked the simple question: Oh Lord, how long??

In fact we see these very words in Psalm 74. How long would the suffering, shame and reproach last? When would Jehovah God rise up and deliver His people? As they trudged the hundreds of miles to Babylon, and as they settled into life in a foreign land, they no doubt thought of freedom. They no doubt thought of the time when the trial would be over and they would be returned to their beloved homeland. Few thought it would actually last 70 years.

As the days turned into weeks, and then months, and then years, I suspect some of the people grew impatient and discouraged with God's judgment. Perhaps they questioned God about His timing; perhaps they doubted the need for such a long captivity. Seventy years is a long time.

When God is trying to teach us something through a trial in our life, most of us think we learn our lessons pretty fast. Regardless of how bad we have been, or how confused or misinformed we have become, very often we somehow feel that the chastisement that accompanies God's "lessons" is too long and severe, and maybe even unnecessary. And even if it was needed, it isn't needed now. God's timing never seems right when He is chastening us. And even when the "light" comes on in my head and heart, and I realize that it was for my sin that the Lord judges me, I still want the trial to end because I rationalize that the lesson has now been learned.

Perhaps this has been your cry. Perhaps you have felt, like many of God's people before you, that you have seen your sin, that the lesson has been learned, and that the trial can now end. And yet, despite this, the trial continues. The hurt and suffering goes on and on. You agonize in the punishment. Your cries Heavenward seem to fall upon deaf ears. As Asaph cried in Psalm 77:9: Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies?

No Permanent Harm

In times of trials we need to keep in mind several important truths about God, especially those that relate to His chastisement of us: 1) God does not mean us permanent harm. Peter told us that God is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.(2Peter 3:9) God does not want us to suffer eternal death or even temporary suffering. But sometimes temporary suffering is necessary to make us turn away-- and stay away-- from our sinful behavior. But it is critical to keep in mind that whatever the chastening involves, it is not to be permanent.

Man's heart is incredibly hard and self-deceiving (Jer 17:9). It is not a reliable thing to trust. As God looks on our hearts, He alone is a correct Judge of how much is enough!

During my counseling at Hephzibah House, girls will often announce(often after being in the home just a few weeks or months) that they have repented, that they now "see their sin" and have made it right, and that they are now 'ready to go home". I'll look at them, and smile, and say "be patient, let God do His work in your heart." I tell them that God knows when they are ready to leave Hephzibah House.

Only What is Needed

2) God's chastisement goes only as far as is necessary to effect a change. Ezra realized that "after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass...our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, Ezra 9:13.

Oh how hard God's chastening seems! And yet, how mild it is compared to what it could and should be! God's chastening is designed to change us, not destroy us! Yet, the devil would whisper in our ear that God has forgotten us, and that he really doesn't much care about us. Oh what a lie!

But oh, how believable that lie is! When someone asks me how I am doing, I often respond "Better than I deserve!" How true this is! His mercies are renewed every morning!

God Still Loves Us

3) Keep in mind, also, that God still loves you, even in your rebellion. As a believer, we enjoy a unique position: to be loved despite ourselves. Did not Jeremiah 29:11 say: 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. This was uttered during their rebellion---just prior to the Babylonian invasion and destruction! Yet God tells His people that He stills loves them. What joy - to be loved unconditionally by God!

Of course, do not fall into the trap that many believers do in presuming that God overlooks our sin. Oh no, God hates our sin! He will judge our sin! He reminds us that there are consequences for our sin! The wages of sin is still death! In Jeremiah, God spoke repeatedly of the restoration, but He never said the judgment would not come. But like the broken-hearted father grieves over his stubborn and rebellious child, so our Heavenly Father grieves over our rebellion. It brings God no joy to punish His Children. As one man has so aptly said: God hates the sin, but loves the sinner.

Satan would convince us God has given up on us, because the trial seems so long. And, 70 years was a long time! But friend, always keep in mind that God knows, better than any of us, just what we need to change our stubborn hearts! For the Jews as a nation, 70 years was the needed remedy. A long time by man's standards, but not by God's. It was just what a Loving Father prescribed, and He has that same view of your trial. It will last as long as God deems it necessary to last....but never one moment longer.