For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. (Jeremiah 29:11)
To most of us, this is a very familiar verse. It is one which comforts us with the reminder of God’s loving attributes toward His children. It consoles us, it lets us know that God has a purpose for our lives. One thing that many people fail to realize is the circumstances surrounding this prophecy. It was given during a time of great confusion, great fear, great horror–a time when the people of God were unsure about their future. What was going to become of them, their children, their nation? Most of them had been carried away into a foreign land; they were taken from everything they had ever known, and everything they had ever know was taken from them. They were now servants in a strange land called Babylon.
Jeremiah 29:4-14
4 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; 5 Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; 6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. 7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. 8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. 9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD. 10 For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
v 4- God proclaims that He is the cause of their captivity. The meaning of Babylon is "confusion (by mixing)". This is very relevant because when God’s people try to combine their lives with the influence of the world, confusion is sure to invade. God is causing them to be taken from a place of "teaching of peace" (Jerusalem) to a place of "confusion caused by mixing" (Babylon).
v 5-6- God is instructing them to prepare themselves for their captivity. He instructs them to build houses to dwell in, to prepare ways of sustaining their lives, and to continue to increase. When we find ourselves in a place that should bring us absolute misery, we should still desire to live and bring forth fruit. When all logical reasoning says that we will be destroyed, we should
defy the fear of peril and rise up in the strength of His promise. We are more than conquerers through Him and we will continue to live and increase no matter what threat our circumstances might declare!
v 7- God tells them to pray for peace in the city of their dwelling, because if there is peace in the city, then they will dwell in peace. No matter what our surroundings, we can have peace in the midst of our problems. If we pray, God will cause us to dwell in peace. Jesus instructs us not to let our heart be troubled nor afraid because He promised that He would give His peace to us and leave it with us. (John 14:27)
v 8-9- God warns them not to be deceived by the false prophets in their midst. He even discouraged them from trusting in their own dreams! Perhaps the message of the deceivers had influenced their thoughts to the point of even corrupting their dreams. It is very important that we judge the message being preached. We should never take the word of a self-proclaimed prophet over the message of Christ. Let God be true, but every man a liar. (Romans 3:4)
v 10-11- God has warned them against the message of the false prophets and now He is reminding them of His message. The message that, although He has caused them to be in an unpleasant situation, His thoughts toward them are peaceful, not evil. Their situation is only temporary and God’s ultimate plan is to do them good, to fulfill His promise concerning them.
v 12-13- God is revealing to them why He has done this. He wants them to turn their hearts back to Him. The reason God caused their captivity was because of their idolatry. God used Babylon to turn their hearts back to Him. God is going to reconcile His children to Himself, no matter what it requires. He proved this through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ.(see Romans 5:8)
v 14- God promises them that when they turn back to Him, He will hear them and He will bring them back to their intended home. He promises to restore them to their original place of dwelling.
Conclusion
Although we may find ourselves in unpleasant situations, we can rest in the assurance of God’s faithfulness. God has promised that He will never leave us and never forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). God will not allow His covenant people to remain in error; He will punish us when it is necessary, but it is always for our correction. In verse 14, God says that He "will be found" of them, but the truth is that God was never lost, nor will He ever be. God was there all the time, waiting for His people to turn back to Him; and when they did, He was ready to "be found". When we end up in a land of confusion, it is usually because we are "mixed up", but thank God that He is right there to bring us back into our peaceful city.
—John Burkett
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