Wrongly Applying Scripture to Our Lives
We have all seen and heard people claim Jeremiah 29:11 as a promise for their lives, because they are thinking that God is promising them a good future right now or very soon. Ooops! We better read a little more closely before making such an application.(Jeremiah 29:10,11) That is an example of taking a good verse out of context and making a wrong application. Let's look at it this morning.
Jeremiah wrote a letter to those in captivity in the pagan country of Babylon, which was God's punishment for them, because of the sins of Judah. This was God's will for them, so Jeremiah told them to make the best of their time in exile. Be faithful to God and even seek the peace of the pagan country in which you find yourself was his direction to them from the Lord. Then, in seventy years those who are alive will be brought back to Jerusalem, IF they are faithful to the Lord.
Then, verse 11 shows us God's thoughts toward the ones in exile. He has thoughts of peace and not evil, to give them a future and a hope in seventy years, but not right now or even very soon. This peace, hope, and a future was seventy years down the road. In reality, it was a hope and future for their children and grandchildren. God was saying to them in effect, if you will be faithful now, your children and grandchildren will be blessed to return to Jerusalem and have peace. Also, He was saying that they would have peace while in captivity, if they did the right things and waited. That is pretty different from the way I hear this verse most of the time.
Please, be careful to read God's Word closely and apply it correctly. Yes, God has good thoughts for us. He wants us to have peace, hope, and a future. However, we may have peace in the midst of His punishment, so that we live in a place we do not like for a while. We may have a hope, but only see it come to pass for our children, because we missed our opportunity. That is why it is so important for us to obey God right now. We do not want to get to the place Israel was in. God poured out His punishment of seventy years in exile, and there was nothing they could do to change that. That is how God works in extreme situations, and I believe we are faced with extreme situations today.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 30-32.
Jeremiah wrote a letter to those in captivity in the pagan country of Babylon, which was God's punishment for them, because of the sins of Judah. This was God's will for them, so Jeremiah told them to make the best of their time in exile. Be faithful to God and even seek the peace of the pagan country in which you find yourself was his direction to them from the Lord. Then, in seventy years those who are alive will be brought back to Jerusalem, IF they are faithful to the Lord.
Then, verse 11 shows us God's thoughts toward the ones in exile. He has thoughts of peace and not evil, to give them a future and a hope in seventy years, but not right now or even very soon. This peace, hope, and a future was seventy years down the road. In reality, it was a hope and future for their children and grandchildren. God was saying to them in effect, if you will be faithful now, your children and grandchildren will be blessed to return to Jerusalem and have peace. Also, He was saying that they would have peace while in captivity, if they did the right things and waited. That is pretty different from the way I hear this verse most of the time.
Please, be careful to read God's Word closely and apply it correctly. Yes, God has good thoughts for us. He wants us to have peace, hope, and a future. However, we may have peace in the midst of His punishment, so that we live in a place we do not like for a while. We may have a hope, but only see it come to pass for our children, because we missed our opportunity. That is why it is so important for us to obey God right now. We do not want to get to the place Israel was in. God poured out His punishment of seventy years in exile, and there was nothing they could do to change that. That is how God works in extreme situations, and I believe we are faced with extreme situations today.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 30-32.