Today I am going after the big fish. There is a very popular verse that Christians frequently adopt as their favourite verse. I am not immune to this move. When my eldest son was born, this is the verse we chose for his baptism. The verse is none other than Jeremiah 29.11: "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'" This sounds really good, doesn't it? It's what we want to hear from God, that he has a wonderful plan for our lives. But there is a problem here. Jesus told us to take up our crosses and follow him. He told us to expect persecution. He even said this about Saul, the man who would become the apostle Paul: "I will show him how much he must suffer for my name" (Acts 9.16). How, then, do we make sense of the verse in Jeremiah?
We do this by keeping it in its proper context. Jeremiah the prophet is not speaking to you and me. He is not speaking to all Christians everywhere. He is writing to a specific group of people. He is sending God's word in a letter to the Israelite exiles in Babylon. Jerusalem has been destroyed and plundered. King Nebuchadnezzar has taken most of Judah's population into exile. This all happened because of Israel's persistent sin, idolatry and lack of repentance.
While these Israelites are in exile, some false prophets are telling them that their time in exile will be short and God will soon take them back home. Jeremiah writes to correct this misunderstanding. God is telling his people that they will be in exile for seventy years, which means that most of them will never return to live in the Promised Land. Therefore, the Israelites are not to wait for a speedy rescue. Instead, they are commanded: "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce... Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile" (Jer. 29.5,7). God does have plans to bless them: in captivity! And yes, one day some of them, and perhaps their children and grandchildren, will return to the Promised Land.
God's plan is not focused on individual people's prosperity. God called Israel, the descendants of Abraham, to be his people for a purpose. They were to mediate God's blessings to all nations, so that those nations would turn from their idolatry, worship the One True God and so be saved. That's the plan. Israel kept messing it up; that's why they are in exile.
But God's plan is not thwarted. Instead, God brings his plan to its intended climax with the sending of the Son to earth. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of God's plan to prosper his people and give them a hope and a future. He is the One who brings salvation to the ends of the earth.
Therefore, when you hear or read Jeremiah 29.11, do not read it as a personal address to you, your family or anyone around you. It was written to the ancient Israelites in exile in Babylon. And the plan to bless them was about God's ultimate plan to bless the nations of the world with salvation found only in Jesus Christ. God has already blessed you and has a plan for you. When by grace through faith you believe in Jesus, you are saved right now and for eternity. Your eternal future is secure. Therefore, you can boldly take up your cross and suffer what you must, because you belong to Jesus both now and forever.
May the peace of Christ go with you wherever he may lead you. Amen.
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