The Israelites were in exile in Babylon, a punishment from God as a result of their disobedience. In Jeremiah 29, the prophet Jeremiah confronts the ever popular false prophet, Hananiah, who had boldly proclaimed that God was going to free Israel from Babylon in two years. The two years time span was enough time for him to build his following and present himself as a messenger of God. A study of the scripture shows that God did not do this. Today, the masses are being misled by false messages from God based upon this and other scripture. A careful study of this scripture and a deeper understanding of God word would show parallel events are taking place today. Many church services are not complete until the prophet has spoken. Jeremiah 29:9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.
The auditorium was packed and a combined sense of urgency and exhilaration filled the air. The crowd was waiting for a well-known prophet/preacher to bring them a message of God’s promise for their prosperity. Some needed jobs, some need healing and some just needed money in their bank account. Not only was he going to tell them of the promise, he would explain to them how to collect on the promise through the planting of a seed. This is an indoctrinated fallacy that many have taken to the extreme. The meeting was equivalent to something I had experienced in the early seventies at a “Dare To Be Great” meeting hosted by Glen Turner. In these meetings, hundreds of poor, out of work and broke people mortgaged their homes and life savings and welfare checks to buy into the dream of financial independence. A dream whose foundation was built upon a pyramid scheme. Aside from the number of people who lost their homes or life saving, there was always enough (suckers) to parade in front of a hungry crowd to support the thesis that the idea was working.
Offering envelopes and Literature was passed out by the ushers. Both framed the ever popular Old Testament scripture, 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 hope and a future.” subconsciously we were asked to lay aside our knowledge of God, “common sense” and accept an alien interpretation of the scripture. Alien in the sense that the verse was surgically removed from the supporting scripture, stripped of its context and present as a complete message from God. Who is talking, who is he talking to and what is the subject matter was of no value, the verse was purported to be a message of prosperity sent to this eager and waiting audience. The literature promised God's bountiful blessings upon the crown in exchange for the sowing of a seed. "And the church said amen." This appeared to be equivalent to the email scam the promise you several million dollars, if you pay the processing fee up front.
Jeremiah 29:1 explains who was talking and who he was talking to. "Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;" Now if we continue to read a deeper insight will be given into, who Jeremiah was talking to and what he was talking about. Further study of the chapter will reveal a message within the context of the scripture that is applicable to the church or God's people today.
Many of us, on a day to day base, encounter numerous incidents or situations that just don’t make sense. Whether it is Christian endearment, business transactions or in the field of race relations, there is that highly vocal element that has proven its inability to think rationally. These entities of irrationality thought patterns though lacking the ability to lead, possess the innate ability to indoctrinate and manipulate the masses. In their wake of deliberate confusion, they leave behind a mass of used, tangled and tortured souls. The falseness that exists in each one of the fore mention arenas speaks for themselves and somehow has found a means of acceptability. Yet I cannot reconcile the lies and falsehoods that emulate from the household of faith, especially when receiving the blessing of God is reduced to paying money or even typing Amen in a Facebook status.
A deeper Understanding of The Word of God will destroy what Jeremiah 29:11 has become to mean to so many. Let's try to re-frame the verse so you understand it better within its original and intended context. We are often taught ‘by men in pinstripe suits’ or pious prelates to approach this verse and other Bible verses as a security blanket: God has a plan for me that is good, so clearly this suffering I’m going through will end soon and then my flourishing will begin! Scriptures that purport jubilee and a time of refreshment is added for further enhancement. But this is not what God was promising to the Israelites, and it’s not what he’s promising us, either. To make most meetings or assemblies attractive to the masses, a promise of miracles or blessing is often promised.
What is often overlooked in these interpretations of the scripture is, Israel and the church are not and cannot be the same. Israel was and is an earthly people and their blessing was of an earthly nature, whereas the church is a spiritual entity and its blessing are of a spiritual nature. 1st Corinthians 10:32 Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
Noted Preachers, authors, and bloggers have spoken out, Jeremiah 29:11 doesn’t mean what many of us is being taught. The heart of the verse is “Not that we would escape our lot, but that we would learn to thrive” in the midst of it. This is the same message Paul advanced in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Paul’s message was, if it means going to jail for Christ sake, I can do that. For John the Baptist, it meant, if it means losing my head I can do that.
Here’s the context: the Israelites were in exile, a punishment from God as a result of their disobedience. The prophet Jeremiah confronts the false prophet, Hananiah, who had boldly proclaimed that God was going to free Israel from Babylon in two years Jeremiah calls out Hananiah’s lie, and then states the promise we read in 29:11. God does indeed have a good plan for the Israelites, and it is a plan that will give them hope and a prospering future. The perfect message for the fleecing of the sheep, right? The plan was not the one presented by Hananiah, nor is it the one presented by the prosperity preachers of today.
The thing is before he shares this promise, he gives them this directive from God: “seek the peace and the prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (29:7). Here again, this is an earthly promise to an earthly people.
This is not at all what the Israelites wanted to hear! They wanted to be told that they were going to go home. They wanted to be told that their suffering was going to end. Instead, God’s plan was for them to stay right where they were, and to help prosper the nation that enslaved them! And then came the biggest blow of all. In verse 10, God says that he would fulfill this “after seventy years are completed in Babylon.” This meant that none in the current generation of Israelites would ever return to their home. What a crushing thing to be told!
God knows the plans He has for us. And ultimately He will give us a glorious future. But as we walk out our lives on this crazy earth, let’s remember that the best growth comes through persevering through trials, not escaping them entirely. And when we learn perseverance, we find surprising joy. A better interpretation of Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me would have, “ I can endure”.
What hard thing are you currently going through? In the midst of your suffering, cling to Jeremiah 29:11, but cling to it for the right reason: not in the false hope that God will take away your suffering, or he will fill your bank account with money but in the true, gospel confidence that he will give you hope in the midst of your suffering. It is blessed are the poor in spirit, not that they will have prosperity here on earth, but they shall see God.
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