Communique: Jerusalem-Babylon (Jeremiah 29)
-What has been your belief about God and His plans for your life thus far?
-Have you tended to think that God will always do things “for good,” meaning your idea of good?
-Have you been open to seeing God’s plans for your life as including bad, even terrible things?
A lot of people would cite Jeremiah 29:11 as their favorite verse of scripture. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Many people likely have it as their life verse. It is indeed a good verse with a great meaning for all of our lives. Unfortunately, a lot of people likely misunderstand the full grasp of the verse because they have never seen the verse in its context. So, what is the context of Jeremiah 29?
Jeremiah was a prophet during the time when Judah was conquered and sent into exile for their sins. Jeremiah predicted the doom to come, and then, once his prophecies came true, he warned the people that this was not going to be an easy nor short judgement of God.
In chapter 29, we see some correspondence between Jeremiah (still back in Judah) and the people in exile in Babylon. He writes a prophetic word of encouragement and warning to the people, and he specifically spells out some God-proclaimed judgement on prophets there in exile because they were speaking lies in God’s name. We also see a response from a leader in Babylon trying to get Jeremiah condemned and imprisoned for his declarations, followed by more judgement from God against that leader.
In Jeremiah’s letter—containing God’s word to exiled Judah—we see at least three truths:
First, God does have a plan for them. It is, ultimately, a plan for their welfare. BUT maybe not in the way they would hope nor anticipate. He tells them that He is going to restore the nation, but not for another 70 YEARS. Think about that. When Israel sinned in the wilderness, they were condemned to wander for a generation—40 years. God’s plan now is for them to be cast out for nearly twice that long. Generations would pass before they would be restored.
Second, in light of God’s plan, He tells them to settle down. They need to face reality and learn to live with the situation. They will be in exile among the Babylonians for decades. This is not the time for temporary dwellings and resistance or rebellion. They need to be God’s people among the nations. They need to set up a permanent settlement. They need to seek the good for the community around them, because it is going to be their community, their city. They need to be an example of God’s community in the world.
Finally, the men claiming to speak for God are simply telling them what they want to hear. They are saying that God is about to restore them home. There is no need to accept their current circumstances because they are not going to last long. God does not take people speaking lies in His name lightly. These men are going to be judged harshly. They will become a byword for what it is to be punished by God.
For us today, these are all truths that we can take to heart and apply to our current lives.
God does have a plan. It is a plan for good. But that does not mean we will never face hardships or difficult times. God will use bad things in our life for His purposes. And that does not always mean we will see the good that comes from God’s plan. We need to trust Him in the good times and the bad.
Regardless of what we face in life, we need to be a picture of God’s people to the world around us. And we need to seek to do good in our community and in our city. We are a part of God’s plan for the people around us. We need to be sure to be a blessing and a help. And we need to understand that God’s plans are not just for us as individuals, but collectively for the places where we live.
And we need to be extra careful to hear God’s messages for us, and not simply to embrace pleasant sounding words uttered in God’s name. In fact, if it sounds like exactly what you want to hear, you might want to doubt it all the more. Compare what any “messenger of God” says to the words that we already know to be from God. If what you are hearing contradicts scripture, or flies in the face of what is evident in reality, you might want to double check.
-Have you tended to think that God will always do things “for good,” meaning your idea of good?
-Have you been open to seeing God’s plans for your life as including bad, even terrible things?
A lot of people would cite Jeremiah 29:11 as their favorite verse of scripture. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Many people likely have it as their life verse. It is indeed a good verse with a great meaning for all of our lives. Unfortunately, a lot of people likely misunderstand the full grasp of the verse because they have never seen the verse in its context. So, what is the context of Jeremiah 29?
Jeremiah was a prophet during the time when Judah was conquered and sent into exile for their sins. Jeremiah predicted the doom to come, and then, once his prophecies came true, he warned the people that this was not going to be an easy nor short judgement of God.
In chapter 29, we see some correspondence between Jeremiah (still back in Judah) and the people in exile in Babylon. He writes a prophetic word of encouragement and warning to the people, and he specifically spells out some God-proclaimed judgement on prophets there in exile because they were speaking lies in God’s name. We also see a response from a leader in Babylon trying to get Jeremiah condemned and imprisoned for his declarations, followed by more judgement from God against that leader.
In Jeremiah’s letter—containing God’s word to exiled Judah—we see at least three truths:
First, God does have a plan for them. It is, ultimately, a plan for their welfare. BUT maybe not in the way they would hope nor anticipate. He tells them that He is going to restore the nation, but not for another 70 YEARS. Think about that. When Israel sinned in the wilderness, they were condemned to wander for a generation—40 years. God’s plan now is for them to be cast out for nearly twice that long. Generations would pass before they would be restored.
Second, in light of God’s plan, He tells them to settle down. They need to face reality and learn to live with the situation. They will be in exile among the Babylonians for decades. This is not the time for temporary dwellings and resistance or rebellion. They need to be God’s people among the nations. They need to set up a permanent settlement. They need to seek the good for the community around them, because it is going to be their community, their city. They need to be an example of God’s community in the world.
Finally, the men claiming to speak for God are simply telling them what they want to hear. They are saying that God is about to restore them home. There is no need to accept their current circumstances because they are not going to last long. God does not take people speaking lies in His name lightly. These men are going to be judged harshly. They will become a byword for what it is to be punished by God.
For us today, these are all truths that we can take to heart and apply to our current lives.
God does have a plan. It is a plan for good. But that does not mean we will never face hardships or difficult times. God will use bad things in our life for His purposes. And that does not always mean we will see the good that comes from God’s plan. We need to trust Him in the good times and the bad.
Regardless of what we face in life, we need to be a picture of God’s people to the world around us. And we need to seek to do good in our community and in our city. We are a part of God’s plan for the people around us. We need to be sure to be a blessing and a help. And we need to understand that God’s plans are not just for us as individuals, but collectively for the places where we live.
And we need to be extra careful to hear God’s messages for us, and not simply to embrace pleasant sounding words uttered in God’s name. In fact, if it sounds like exactly what you want to hear, you might want to doubt it all the more. Compare what any “messenger of God” says to the words that we already know to be from God. If what you are hearing contradicts scripture, or flies in the face of what is evident in reality, you might want to double check.
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