But all of Jeremiah and Israel’s entire story must be read in the context of God’s purposes in Jesus Christ. So how does this passage apply to you? Well, Jeremiah 29:11 must be read in the context of the whole Book of Jeremiah, and the Book of Jeremiah must be read in the context of Israel’s story. In Jeremiah’s letter to them, they are told that their return from exile won’t happen anytime in their generation, so they should create new lives in Babylon. For the exiles, the message isn’t a cheery one either, at least in the short-term. The Jerusalem establishment chafes at this message, and finds prophets who will say that peace is just around the corner. This isn’t actually good news for any of the hearers. Jeremiah says, though, that God’s judgment will fall on Jerusalem, and that God’s purposes will come to being through the exiles. Israel’s God seems distant to them, and they seem as though they’ve been raptured away from the promises to Abraham. It’s not just those in Jerusalem who are tempted to think this way those in Babylon are tempted to think it too. Those “left behind” in Jerusalem-anchored around the temple and the throne-assume that their relative fortune is a sign that God is for them, while those carted off in captivity to Babylon are seen to be under God’s curse. This verse comes in the context of a shocking message from the prophet. The Book of Jeremiah is all about God disrupting his people’s plans and upending his people’s dreams. Anyone who could find that kind of moral therapeutic deism in the Book of Jeremiah hasn’t read any verse of Jeremiah above or behind this verse. That’s not the prophet Jeremiah that’s Deepak Chopra. If I just have confidence and follow my heart, someone following this line might think, God will bless me. ![]() Many understand the text to be about God’s favor on one’s life and on one’s plans. Yes, it does apply to you, but not in the way many “claim” the passage. So much so that a young Christian asked me recently, “Does Jeremiah 29:11 apply to me, or not?” Naturally, this love for this verse has often led to more theologically-oriented Christians lamenting the out-of-context use of Jeremiah 29:11. Whether as home decor or on social media posts, I see this passage claimed fervently by people I know haven’t been in a church service since the first Bush Administration. Watch how often they show up on the Bible verse plaques sold in Bible Belt mall kiosks or posted on Facebook walls, even on tattoos. These words are the John 3:16 of American cultural Christianity. The reason has often been given, and it justifies the eternal ruin of impenitent sinners Because they have not hearkened to my words I called, but they refused.“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.” Jer. Those who remained at Jerusalem would be utterly destroyed, notwithstanding what the false prophets said to the contrary. Promises are given to quicken and encourage prayer. When the Lord pours out an especial spirit of prayer, it is a good sign that he is coming toward us in mercy. He will give them, not the expectations of their fears, or the expectations of their fancies, but the expectations of their faith the end he has promised, which will be the best for them. We are sometimes ready to fear that God's designs are all against us but as to his own people, even that which seems evil, is for good. ![]() We often do not know our own minds, but the Lord is never at an uncertainty. It will be the bringing to pass of God's good word to them. By this it appears, that the seventy years of the captivity are not to be reckoned from the last captivity, but the first. God promises that they should return after seventy years were accomplished. False prophets flatter people in their sins, because they love to be flattered and they speak smoothly to their prophets, that their prophets may speak smoothly to them. Let men beware how they call those prophets whom they choose after their own fancies, and how they consider their fancies and dreams to be revelations from God. Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jeremiah 29:11 Commentary on Jeremiah 29:8-19
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |