“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” The famous words of Jeremiah 29:11. A well-known, well-publicized, well-memorized, even a life verse for many.
But do we know the context for that verse? Do we know what those words sounded like to the people who were hearing them for the first time?
This morning we need to journey into our imaginations. Otherwise, we have no frame of reference for such a verse. So first, journey to your favorite geographical home (i.e. childhood, teen years, college.). Next imagine with me a few scenarios:
Scenario 1 – Your city, that favorite home location, is ravaged (i.e. 9/11/2001)
Scenario 2 – Your friends/family/co-workers are killed (i.e. day at school)
Scenario 3 – You are taken hostage (i.e. Iraq, China, North Korea)
Scenario 4 – All of these things happen at once. . .together.
Then you hear the words of Jeremiah 29:11. Have you ever heard a scripture, a message, read a verse or Biblical promise and thought, “Yea, right?” (i.e. financial prosperity, healing, salvation and obedience of children). Ever been there? If so, then you might get it. You might understand what it felt like to hear the words of Jeremiah 29:11 hit the ears of the listeners. At just a surface level.
You see, Jeremiah is writing a letter to people who have been, in what are incredibly sterile terms for describing their plight, forcibly relocated to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. A man whose resume gets credit for destroying Jerusalem not once, not twice, but three different times.
And while the Jews are grumbling, which they have every human right to do, in their Babylonian ghettos a thousand miles from Jerusalem, wallowing as victims in their hopelessness, which they have every right to be, the prophet Jeremiah has a bigger picture to proclaim to them.
Look with me at Jeremiah 29. But this time, let’s go back to the beginning of the letter. (read through verse 14)
Now, notice several key points to this letter. Things that were probably not missed or quickly looked over by the original recipients of this message. First –
1. GOD TAKES CREDIT FOR BEING THE CARRIER – THE CAUSE OF THEIR MISERY.
The NIV translates verse 4 like this, “This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.” What was that pronoun? What do you mean, ‘those I carried?’ Didn’t Nebuchadnezzar drag me over here?
Did you hear it or notice it the first time? (re-read verse 4)
Viewed from God’s perspective. From a theological perspective. From the perspective we are now afforded through the Scriptures. These exiles are not victims. God has apparently sent them there. Dare they say it? Dare we say it? Could they have actually been sent to Babylon by God, on a mission? Could what they see as an exile, and we see as a horrific tragedy, really be an evangelistic journey? Next. . .
2. GOD WANTS THEM TO GET COMFORTABLE.
Verse 5 (read through verse 6). Now typically, a refuge would keep their most valuable suitcases packed. Right? Have you seen it on the news? The pictures of exiles, refugees, sitting along the roads on their suitcases and belongings.
When you are a refugee, no one intends to stay. This is just a short, life detour. Right? The last place we would want to stay is here in Babylon. We can’t raise our kids here. They would become bilingual. Are grandchildren might end up biracial. Our enemies just might become our friends. No God, we are not going to get comfortable here. Are you kidding me? It gets worse.
Not only does God take credit for their plight. Not only does He want them to settle in. But to top it all off. . .or so it would seem to be the topper. . .
3. GOD DESIRES THAT THEY PRAY FOR THE PROSPERITY AND PEACE OF THE BABYLONIANS.
Verse 7 (read). Now that is really pushing it, don’t you think? Pray for them to prosper? After what they have done to us?
Imagine what it would be like for a Hebrew war victim. Forced to march from their home in Jerusalem to Babylon. Leaving behind destruction, fatalities, a life that was, and to be told to pray for the Babylonians prosperity.
God is not asking them to lead a passive, patient life in the enemy city. To wait for justice to be served, or in today’s language, for Christ to come again. He actually wants them to actively work for Babylon’s shalom, as they would have known it. Their peace, justice, and prosperity.
This is God telling John McCain to pray for his enemies that have taken him as a prisoner of war. This is two young women from Texas praying for their Taliban hostage takers. This is God really expecting quite a bit beyond the reasonable, don’t you think. There is one more kicker. . .
4. GOD DESIRES THEY BEHAVE ANTICIPATING A PROMISE THAT SOME OF THEM WILL NOT EVEN RECEIVE.
Verse 10 (read). 70 years. After all this bad news of being expected to settle down with the Babylonians. Being expected to pray for their prosperity. Being expected to accept that God has placed them there for a purpose. After having to swallow all of that, here comes the verse of promise. Here come the verses of the great plans that He has for them. Here come the verses of hope and a future.
And guess what. . .those verses are 70 years away. So how good do you think Jeremiah 29:11 sounded to the 80 year old man who has lost everything he worked his whole life for? To the 90 year old woman who has seen three grandsons killed by this wicked king? How much of a promise do you think that sounded like when it was 70 years away from fulfillment? They weren’t going to live that long. You have to be kidding.
You see, when I study the context of Jeremiah 29:11, it seems to me that it all kind of begs the question, doesn’t it? The question asked by so many pre-schoolers and children. The question that no matter how old we get, we still all demand an answer to. That one word question. . .why?
Why should I care about these people that are holding me hostage? Why should I have any interest in their lives? Why, for goodness sake, should I pray for the people that imploded my home, killed my neighbors, and dragged me to their strange country?
Maybe you have asked a form of that question at some point in your life.
Have you ever been somewhere you didn’t want to be? (i.e. schooling, job relocation, family crisis) Personal Example – Life in Huntsville after resignations.
Someone might quote us Proverbs 20:24, “A man’s steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?” Or the NIV says the steps are directed by the Lord. Does that help? God directed the steps that led you where you didn’t want to be. Feel any better?
“Well, I don’t want to be here, but God put me here. So I’ll sit here like Jonah waiting for this place to suffer their deserved fate.” It can be tough to be someplace you don’t want to be. I’m guessing the captives in Babylon knew that as they gathered at the local pub and threw darts at their pictures of Nebuchadnezzar.
So what does Jeremiah say to us in those situations of life? Do we just jump to verse 11, and cling to the hope and promise of a future? Is the message of Jeremiah to simply sit tight, wait for better days, and endure?
We do that a lot in life, don’t we? Have you ever made this statement: I cannot wait until…?
-I cannot wait until I am in a better job.
-I cannot wait until school is out.
-I cannot wait until I am finished with school.
-I cannot wait until I feel better.
-I cannot wait until I am out of debt.
-I cannot wait until we are financially comfortable.
-I cannot wait until I get married.
-I cannot wait until we have kids.
-I cannot wait until the kids move out.
-I cannot wait until things get better at our house.
We love to live in Jeremiah 29:11. Better days are coming. . .and I can’t wait.
So we begin to make excuses. They come pretty easily -
-I will serve God when I feel better.
-I will serve God when things get worked out at home.
-I will serve God when things are better at work.
-I will have a daily quiet time when there are fewer demands on my life.
-I will share my faith when I am more encouraged.
-I will love my city someday when I actually love my city.
If we are not careful, the life of Jeremiah 29:11 can be a life that is doing nothing more than simply trying to endure the 70 years until the good stuff gets here. Is that what Jeremiah is saying to us?
Or do we accept the truth that jumped out at me, and I’m guessing to the captives in Babylon verses earlier. “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
The New King James Version says it like this, “And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace.”
The saying is famous, and often repeated, “No man is an island.” Our lives impact the lives of those around us. But get this. . .the lives of those around us, impact our lives. Sometimes we can get so caught up in reflecting on how we might change their course that we fail to remember that their course can change ours. How it goes for them, will impact how it goes for us.
So I simply want to leave you with two questions for reflection today. Please write them down in your worship folder. Read through Jeremiah 29. Spend some time thinking and praying about these questions.
The first question. . .if we (individually, corporately, as a family, as a church) believed that their (the people out there – Lexingtonians, Nicholasvillians, Wilmorians) their welfare. If we really believed that their welfare impacted our welfare, would that have any impact on our ministries and actions? Again, individually. . .corporately. . .as a biological family. . .as a church family.
If the plight of more than 500 new teenage moms in Lexington every year impacts my welfare, would I engage in their lives any differently? If the actions and behavior of 2.5 million children of incarcerated parents impacts my little comfort zone, would I do anything to intersect their lives with a life changing gospel message? If the eventual business practices and ethics of 25,000 UK students impacts the welfare of our nation, and our homes specifically, would we do anything differently to try and instill Godly principles and values in their lives?
If we truly believed Jeremiah 29, that in Fayette County’s peace, in Jessamine County’s we will have peace. What role would we take on as peacemakers?
The second question. . .if this was God’s expectation for the captives in Babylon, how much more would He expect us to pray, bless, interact with, settle into, and invest in our community?
You see. . .even those of us who would rather be any place right now in their life other than central Kentucky still don’t have it near as bad as the Babylonian captives. But many of us have a much more positive outlook than that. Right? My goodness. . .I absolutely love it here. So what should that mean for me?
If captives are to pray for their enemies, settle into their land, plan for their prosperity together. Not live in isolation, but live life with an awareness that their well being is my well being. How much more so should I, someone who absolutely loves his city, his community, his neighborhood, loves everything about this place I have been blessed to live in, be engaged in doing all I can to bring about God’s peace and prosperity in my community?
Maybe it is a selfish motivation, but it is a Biblical one. So I run for school councils. I coach area youth sports. I drive a van and serve food to marginalized moms. I worship with believers in a secular theater in the heart of our city. I ride in a police car, and stay up to speed with the challenges and crime of our area. I pray at our city council meetings. I share with UK athletes about their influence playing a role in social justice within cities. We adopt a child of a prisoner into our family.
Why? Because as it goes for all of them. . .it will go for us. Us the Moncks, and us at SWC. If this attitude and these actions were God’s expectation for the mistreated, abused, and worn down captives in Babylon, how much more would He expect us to pray, bless, interact with, settle into, and invest in our community?
I’ve always been a fan of Jeremiah 29:11. One of my favorite verses. One of my life verses for a number of years. But I’ve discovered one problem with it. In many ways, it’s a future verse. A future that I am not even guaranteed to see. So it can take me to a place of avoidance, hesitation, procrastination, and blue sky visions. And if I’m not careful, I can get so caught up in what will be, that I fail to live in what is. And I fail to see the role God desires I fulfill in guiding, impacting, and steering the welfare of the here and now, with the us and them.
We are not an island. “Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace.” Just one more reason that love is always worth the risk.
