"...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." — Jeremiah 29:11Something that I am not proud of is that I judge people who claim that Jeremiah 29:11 is one of their favorite verses. In case you were not aware, this verse makes it into a lot of peoples' favorites lists. I do make an exception for people who can provide some context for the verse, but few people who understand the context would choose this as a favorite passage. While I know that I am right about the interpretation of the verse, I am sure I am not approaching this with the necessary love and respect, and this is what embarrasses me.
There are a few reasons that people pick favorite verses. The reason to pick this specific verse always struck me as looking for reassurance in the Scripture rather than looking for the truth. If I want to believe that God has plans to prosper me I'm going to be motivated to latch onto this verse, and if I am not the type to verify things I will not notice that the verse is saying almost the complete opposite of the popular interpretation for that verse.
In the previous chapter the false prophet Hananiah had predicted that the Jews would leave Babylon within two years. After Hananiah's prophecy God informed Jeremiah that this was a false prophecy, and so Jeremiah told Hananiah that he would die for persuading the nation "to trust in lies." True to Jeremiah's word, Hananiah died in the middle of that year.
After all of this occurred, Jeremiah wrote a letter to the exiles in Babylon, and Jeremiah 29 contains the content of that letter. The letter opens with the command to the exiles to settle down and make the best life they can in Babylon because they will be there seventy years. The vast majority of the people reading that letter would die in Babylon having never seen Jerusalem again. However, to reassure the people that God's promise to Abraham would remain true, Jeremiah included some long term encouragements to the people about how God would not forget His promise for His chosen people.
A lot of people read, "I know the plans I have for you," to mean, "I have a special plan for you individually." Then, they read the rest of the verse as an encouragement that they will prosper and not be harmed. To read the verse in this way is to trust in lies as Hananiah had caused Israel to do in the previous chapter. The plans that God has for "you" are the plans that He has for the nation that He chose as His people. They are not plans for individuals receiving the letter since most or all of them would be dead before any of those plans would see fruition.
In the interest of consistency with other Scripture, can you imagine some of the people described near the end of the faith chapter (Hebrews 11) being perplexed at God while bad things were happening to them? I certainly can.
- Verse 35: "God, I was about to be tortured and I gave in because being harmed is not part of your plan. I hope it does not impact my resurrection that I denied you."
- Verse 37: "God, it is taking some effort, but I have faith that that large saw those men are holding is not going to harm me."
- Verse 37: "God, this shabby goatskin I have is not a designer brand. That Gucci camel fur would go a ways toward your promise to prosper me."
- Verse 38: "God, I and my family woke up in a hole in the ground today just like yesterday and the day before. Where are those plans to prosper me you promised in Jeremiah? How about—oh, I don't know—a small starter home in the suburbs to get things started?"
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." — Matthew 11:28-30
