Not Our Promise!

“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.” — Jeremiah 29:11

This verse is often quoted during a trial to encourage or inspire. Incorrectly interpreting this passage to mean   that God has specific plans to help us prosper, so don’t worry. However, in context, this verse deals with a          particular promise God gave Israel. That promise points to the end of their Babylonian exile in specific terms,       70 years (verse 10). So, the word prosper doesn’t refer  to money or material blessings but physical and spiritual salvation.

So the question is, who is this verse about? So first, let’s put that verse back into its context. Jeremiah 29:1.      “These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.”

This verse alone, 29:1, gives us enough clues to realize that this passage is not about us. This is not God giving us a promise. God told Jeremiah to send this letter to     the exiles in Babylon. Simply put, we don’t qualify, that   is, unless you are a 3000-year-old Jew exiled to Babylon. If not, you don’t qualify, but let’s keep looking at the     context to see if this is backed up in the text.

Jeremiah 29:2-4 “This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had   departed from Jerusalem. The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah, the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah, the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah, sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. It said: “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all  the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon,”

The promise found in verse 11 describes a specific time in   history. It gives very specific names and events. To say that this promise is for us is to miss the context of this passage altogether. But, someone might say, God still wants us to prosper, right? Well, in terms of salvation, yes. In fact, this passage is a great reminder of the fulfilled prophecy and  the perfect Word of God.

This amazing story points us to a more excellent release  and redemption for all of God’s people. So, taking away our specific, individually focused application doesn’t subtract the awesomeness from this passage. It enhances it and reminds us of the collective salvation of God’s people in history and in the future, still to come.

Your shepherd

Pastor Mark