Hi, my name is Chase. I’m a former addict to cynicism.
And I’m about to have a relapse.
Hearing people quote Jeremiah 29:11 is one of those things that makes me cringe. It has never sat well with me, and I finally put my finger on why.
One Sunday while visiting a church, I was hesitant when the preacher first asked us to open to this famous, oft-quoted passage. But then the preacher spent most of the sermon talking about the passage’s context, which made me think, “Good! Seeing the context of this passage is a big deal.” So he spent about twenty minutes talking about the exile of the Israelites and the calamity that was upon them.
Then, to wrap up at the end, he essentially just assured us of the same exact interpretation of the verse that everyone already uses – that God has good plans for us, to bring us hope instead of harm. With no offense meant toward the man who was preaching, I was pretty upset with this outcome.
I’ve seen the same occurrence in an article from Relevant Magazine, where the author seemed to have a strong desire to correct everyone from taking the verse out of context…but in my opinion ended up with a conclusion that also pretty much just affirmed the way everyone already uses the verse.
So what’s really happening here?
(Before I continue, I want to say that this is not an attack against the people who have used this verse with a right heart, even if I may disagree with their usage of it.)
First of all, a single person cannot apply this verse solely to themselves. It was spoken to a group of people. We can take Jesus’ statements to His disciples and apply them directly to us because, even though Jesus was technically talking to a group, He knew that His disciples would soon disperse: Jesus knew He was speaking things to singular people. In Jeremiah, God is speaking to a large group of exiled Israelites – that’s a big difference. We also relate to being disciples, but we don’t (or at least mostly don’t) relate to being exiles.
Also, I immediately disagree that any Christian can just go out and claim that God has a prosperous future set out for them – not only does this verge dangerously close to the ‘Prosperity Gospel’, but it also directly contradicts the lives of so many Christians who have walked directly into poverty and martyrdom by following God’s will.
Now, let’s expand the passage for a moment: ” ‘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. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.’ ”
I’ve finally realized that when we talk about this passage, we are always looking directly past the bigger picture here. Something beautiful that is happening throughout the Book of Jeremiah is that there are plenty of Messianic prophecies that point directly toward Christ.
My argument is that this verse, in its own way, is also a Messianic prophecy. For us today as believers, we get to experience exactly what verses 12-13 are referring to: direct relationship with the Lord, direct contact through prayer, revelations of God when we search for him.
So here’s why I have a problem when Christians quote Jeremiah 29:11 as a promise for their own life. Guess what? We have it! We have the hope! We have the future!
His name is Jesus!
We are prospering spiritually right now, through the grace of Jesus Christ found by faith. So why in the world would we be talking about this verse as if it still needs to happen, when instead we could be talking about this verse as one of the many prophecies and promises that Christ already fulfilled?
Furthermore, as Christians, is there something we feel we lack? Do we still desire to prosper? Do we desire some sort of greater hope beyond what God has already given us? Do we forget about the eternal future of glory we have been promised and focus instead on wanting a better future while here on Earth?
If those are the reasons why Jeremiah 29:11 makes us feel so warm and fuzzy inside…we might need to take a deeper look into ourselves.
Currently listening:
Jeff Schneeweis (of Number One Gun) cover songs
Ours By Accident Song Shop 
Bro, you know me. That is a very profound statement. You pin pointed one of my major frustrations of Christianity. You are a beacon, my best wishes to you. Peace and Namaste. My first ever blog entry by the way.
Thanks so much Gregg! I really appreciate your encouragement and your consistent friendship even though I’ve been gone for nearly a year!
If you still run into Kodiak, tell him I say hello! I hope the new bunch of missionaries aren’t giving you any trouble 😀 or at least not too much trouble 😉
Hi, Chase. Many thanks for this contextual elaboration of Jeremiah 29:11. Incisive, as usual. Allow me though to pose questions to clarify some of the issues raised:
1. I agree that the verse was not meant as a promise to any individual and you have rightly pointed out that the audience in particular was the people of God, Israel. Is the ‘prosperity’ of the nation, however, separable from the ‘prosperity’ of the individual? The abstract notion of the ‘people of God’ will only make sense in light of the existence of different individuals. From this point of view, the Israelite listening to this promise delivered by Jeremiah will naturally take it to mean as benefiting him, his family, and community. The prosperity of the nation is only possible given the prosperity of individuals constituting that nation.
2. Is the notion of ‘prosperity’ prophetic or contemporary? While I will not deny that the vector of the Old Testament is towards Christ, the immediate context was national captivity. The power of the message lies in speaking directly to the exigencies of the period. It was therefore about the heart of the Lord to set His people free – not just spiritually, but also socially and materially. ‘Material’ here is in terms of the materiality of existence – physical, temporal, and economic. And I also invoke liberation from social (governmental) oppression. The Lord’s plan therefore, while Messianic in its fullest sense, concerned, too, national and temporal urgencies.
Lots to talk about soon! 🙂
Everything you’ve rightly brought up could be perfectly all true for the Israelites but still not relate directly to us.
Even when considering God’s interest in national and social matters, that still doesn’t give us a right to say that God has promised for us personally to give us ‘better’ national and social circumstances. As Christians, we should be quicker to relying on the promises that we will likely suffer and be persecuted.
(Edit: On your question of prosperity, I will quote a famous statement from Star Trek’s Spock: “The good of the many outweighs the good of the few.” You are correct that individual people will naturally prosper for a whole people group to be able to prosper. But that does not mean that every single person within the group shall surely prosper.)
Chase I just read your blog i enjoyed it. It is as Hannah said on FB “He (Christ) has already made (or fulfilled) all my dreams (through the hope that we have in Christ) come true (by grace through Faith in Him)” Jeremiah 29:11 is talking to a people group in a time and place and His plans (or dreams) have come True through Christ for us.
Am i accurate with this comment?
Exactly! 🙂