Session 7 | Jeremiah 29:4-14
JEREMIAH 29:4-14
MEMORY VERSE: JEREMIAH 29:11
Leadership experts often argue that a positive corporate culture consistently trumps raw talent. A company may have all-star employees, but if the workers don’t trust one another, a company with lesser talent but greater trust will outperform them. Those in the second company work together and achieve superior results.
(In PSG, p. 64)
As Judah’s evil king Jehoiakim began his reign (609 BC), the Lord instructed Jeremiah to proclaim judgment in the temple courtyard (26:1-3). Jeremiah warned that God would judge Jerusalem just as He had judged Shiloh if the people did not repent (26:4-6).
Religious leaders seized Jeremiah and concluded that he deserved death (26:7-11). However, the prophet assured them that God had sent him to proclaim this message (26:12-15). The people considered his words and eventually changed their minds. They remembered how earlier prophets also had spoken words of judgment without facing execution (26:16-24).
As King Zedekiah’s reign began (597 BC), God instructed Jeremiah to fashion a yoke and wear it (27:1-2). Jeremiah’s actions comprised a warning to Zedekiah, as well as to leaders in Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon (27:3-22). All of these leaders needed to submit to the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon because those who did not would face severe judgment. Jeremiah also added a warning to Zedekiah and Judah’s officials not to listen to false prophets in their midst. They needed to serve Nebuchadnezzar and live, or Nebuchadnezzar would take them and all the temple furnishings to Babylon.
A false prophet named Hananiah challenged Jeremiah (28:1-17). He insisted that within two years, the Lord would rescue all of Judah’s exiles from Babylon. Jeremiah replied that time would tell who was the true prophet. Hananiah broke the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck and again promised the Lord soon would break Babylon’s yoke. However, the Lord’s reply to Hananiah assured him Babylon would judge Judah, and Hananiah would die for inciting rebellion against the Lord.
About that same time, Jeremiah wrote a letter to the Judean exiles in Babylon (29:1-32). The prophet encouraged the people to build homes, plant gardens, begin families, and pray for Babylon’s welfare. They should not listen to the false prophets who continued to prophesy deliverance, for God had not sent them.
Nevertheless, Jeremiah proclaimed that after seventy years, God would restore His people because He had special plans for them. In time, they would seek Him, and He would gather them (29:10-14). Again, God warned the exiles against trusting those who spoke lies (29:15-32). Jeremiah specifically highlighted several such false prophets and warned they would face judgment for preaching rebellion against God.
EXPLORE THE TEXT
4 This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon:
Jeremiah 29:1-3 provides the context for the letter Jeremiah wrote the Judean exiles in Babylon. He wrote the letter after King Jeconiah (also known as Jehoiachin) and many high-ranking officials surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar’s army. Jeconiah had reigned only three months before the surrender (2 Kings 24:8-14). Jeremiah’s letter probably arrived shortly after the exiles did, though many would not want to receive the words he wrote.
Jeremiah’s reference to the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel reminded the prophet’s audience that his letter brought God’s message. The name LORD of Armies stressed God’s sovereignty over heaven’s armies and the universe in general. He controls human events, and, in ancient contexts, sometimes used nations to judge other nations. The expression God of Israel is interesting, since the Northern Kingdom of Israel had fallen to Assyria in 721 BC (2 Kings 17:1-6). Perhaps Jeremiah used the title to anticipate the day God would reunite His people (Jer. 7:3; 19:3; 32:14; 33:4).
The Lord affirmed the letter was to exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon. The Hebrew wording translated deported also occurred in verse 1, but with Nebuchadnezzar as the subject. On a human level, Babylon conquered Judah and deported its population. However, Nebuchadnezzar merely served as God’s instrument of judgment.
5 “Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Find wives for yourselves, and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters to men in marriage so that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease.”
Jeremiah gave the exiles two initial commands. First, he instructed them to build houses and live in them. Building homes required the kind of effort that people who were only planning a short stay would not make. The word translated live also denotes a longer stay. Years ago, when my wife and I decided to install a swimming pool, our neighbor commented, “Glad to see the pool going in; it means you’re staying a while.” He was right. We would not have done that if we were planning to move soon.
Second, Jeremiah commanded the people to plant gardens and eat their produce. This action also would require time. The word translated gardens often describes an orchard or grove of fruit trees. Depending on the kind of tree, the period between planting and eating its produce may have lasted several years—even more than the time required to build a home. Clearly, Jeremiah was saying that the people would not return to Judah anytime soon.
Jeremiah’s next command extended the exile even longer: find wives for yourselves, and have sons and daughters. Once a marriage began, having and raising children required years, but Jeremiah still wasn’t finished. The Jews also needed to find spouses for their children while living in exile so that those children could bear sons and daughters of their own. At least three family generations would take root in Babylon before the exile would end.
Jeremiah also encouraged the people to multiply so they wouldn’t decrease. The wording is the same as God’s command to multiply in Genesis 1:28. In times of impending disaster, people might consider not marrying or having children, lest they experience more sorrow or suffering in captivity (Jer. 16:1-4). Consequently, God’s message really carried a glimmer of hope.
False prophets had promised a quick return. Jeremiah said to settle in and enjoy their grandchildren. It was a tough message, but it was about to get tougher.
7 “Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.”
As the Jews prepared for an extended stay, God told them to pursue the well-being of their Babylonian captors. The word rendered pursue carries the connotation of intentional effort. The word translated well-being is the Hebrew word shalom (shah-LOHM), which includes the sense of wholeness or completeness. Life in Babylon would be whole and complete as its citizens experienced well-being at every level. As in verse 4, I have deported you reinforces God’s sovereign role in exiling His people. Nebuchadnezzar was an instrument, as God guided his actions.
Jeremiah gave further instructions to pray to the LORD on its behalf. Some Judeans probably questioned why God wanted them to pray for the pagan Babylonians; yet Jeremiah reminded them when it thrives, you will thrive. The Hebrew word shalom appears here two more times, stressing the whole and complete lives the people would experience if Babylon prospered. The Judeans’ welfare was now bound up with Babylon’s welfare, so praying for their enemies would serve them well.
God is not limited by physical boundaries. Many Judean exiles in Babylon may have assumed their lives were over. However, the defeat of Jerusalem was not the defeat of God. He had judged His people and exiled them to Babylon, but He was no less God. As people embraced God’s purpose for the exile, they still could experience His blessing. When we find ourselves in situations where God may appear absent, we also must remind ourselves that He can work out His purpose wherever we are.
(In PSG, p. 68)
8 For this is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Don’t let your prophets who are among you and your diviners deceive you, and don’t listen to the dreams you elicit from them,”
Jeremiah began verse 8 as he had begun verse 4. The exiles were receiving a message from the LORD of Armies, not the musings of an ordinary man.
Jeremiah warned the Judeans against letting false prophets and diviners deceive you. The Hebrew wording here suggests that people already were being led astray. Prophets implies the false preachers and heretics who were spreading lies about deliverance as if they were from God. Diviners describes those who consulted omens or oracles to determine the future. The law of Moses condemned these rituals
(Deut. 18:10), yet some among the exiles were practicing such things. The Babylonians had their own diviners as well (Isa. 44:25), as did other nations (Deut. 18:14; Josh. 13:22).
Jeremiah also commanded the people to ignore the dreams they claimed held special significance. The original here can be understood either as the dreams of false prophets or the dreams of the people. Either way, the emphasis was on using those dreams as messages from God, even when they contradicted messages from His true prophets. Again, Jeremiah’s admonition don’t listen suggests the people were grasping at anything they could to give them hope, yet Jeremiah assured them such words had no foundation in reality.
9 “for they are prophesying falsely to you in my name. I have not sent them.” This is the LORD’s declaration.
Through Jeremiah, God plainly stated that these heretics were prophesying falsely . . . in my name. They deceitfully claimed to speak in God’s name and with His authority. The word translated falsely often occurs in the book of Jeremiah to describe the blindness and deception under which God’s people lived. They thought the presence of God’s temple in Jerusalem, along with God’s priesthood and King David’s line on the throne guaranteed His blessing, though Jeremiah had warned them that these added up to nothing
(Jer. 7:4,8-11). Jeremiah stressed God’s profound denouncement of these deceivers: I have not sent them. Jeremiah spoke in God’s name, but these other prophets did not.
During Jeremiah’s day, God provided His people other true prophets such as Ezekiel, Daniel, Zephaniah, and Habakkuk, but the people only listened to those who spoke lies.
God is always consistent in His message. The law stressed that a prophet’s message could not contradict what God already had revealed (Deut. 13:1-5). Today many dynamic teachers claim to speak for God, but we must always examine their messages against the truth of God’s Word.
(In PSG, p.69)
10 For this is what the LORD says: “When seventy years for Babylon are complete, I will attend to you and will confirm my promise concerning you to restore you to this place.”
The prophet told the exiles the turnaround would begin when seventy years of exile were complete. His words essentially repeated the announcement he had made in 605 BC during the reign of Jeconiah’s father Jehoiakim (Jer. 25:12). Most interpreters believe the expression seventy years probably designates the years 605–535 BC. These dates bookend the first Jews going into Babylonian exile (Dan. 1:1-2) and the people returning to Judah and establishing the temple’s foundation (Ezra 3:10-13). The prophet Daniel, ministering around 538 BC, read Jeremiah’s words and knew the time of return was at hand (Dan. 9:1-2).
The Lord affirmed that after seven decades in Babylon, I will attend to you. The word attend suggests careful attention either for judgment or for good. In this case, God was announcing a blessing after years of judgment. He also promised to confirm my promise. The word confirm literally means “cause to stand” or “cause to arise.” God had already made the promise to bring the people home to this place. Since Jeremiah was still in Jerusalem, that was the place to which God would restore them.
11 “For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the LORD’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
God guaranteed that He had plans for His people. Plans can also be rendered “thoughts” (KJV). (See also Isa. 55:8-9.) It denotes the future God had determined for His people. He would bless them again after the exile. He would seek their well-being, not more disaster.
Shalom appears again here, as it did in verse 7, suggesting wholeness or completeness. God would align every aspect of His people’s lives with His purposes. When He did, they would experience both a future and a hope. Certainly, the exile discouraged many Jews, but God would bring them home and bless their future. The word translated hope denotes confident assurance based on God’s promise.
Sometimes, our hopes describe nothing more than wishful thinking, but biblical hope always indicates confidence and assurance in who God is and what He is doing in our lives (Rom. 5:4-5; 1 John 3:3). Jeremiah’s words are not a promise that things will always go well for God’s people. In fact, many reading the prophet’s letter would not live long enough to experience the return to the promised land. Still, they could trust in God’s ultimate plan for them and their families.
12 “You will call to me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you”—this is the LORD’s declaration—“and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you”—this is the LORD’s declaration. “I will restore you to the place from which I deported you.”
God further assured His people that they would call to me and pray to me. The Bible records examples of half-hearted seeking of God during Judah’s last days. For example, King Zedekiah often sought Jeremiah’s counsel, but he never had the courage to obey it (Jer. 21:1-2; 37:17-19; 38:14-28). However, in the day of restoration, the people would call on God and pray to Him with pure motives and cleansed hearts. When they did, He would listen to them. He would answer their prayers and re-establish the blessings of His covenant relationship with them.
God further promised that His people would find Him because they would search for me with all your heart. The word translated search implies careful inquiry toward God and His Word. The word is used of Ezra, the priest and scribe, who determined to inquire carefully into God’s Word (Ezra 7:10). The Hebrew term heart often described the seat of intellect, emotion, and volition. Here, it refers to a sincere, “all in” response of God’s people toward Him.
God’s proclamation I will be found by you reaffirms the language of seeking and finding in verse 13. The prophet again announced this is the LORD’S declaration (see vv. 9 and 11) to drive home the message’s certainty. The words I will restore your fortunes announced God’s plan to restore the people to their way of life prior to their deportation to Babylon. This time, of course, they would serve God faithfully, as God would restore what they possessed before.
The Lord also said He would gather the people from where they had been banished. God used a similar expression in 23:3,8. The word banished is a strong word that denotes an intentional scattering or deporting. After banishing His people across the known world, God now would restore them.
God repeated His intention to restore the people He had deported. God’s directing hand would lead His people home, just as He had led them to Babylon. God always has a plan for restoring His wayward people. That’s because the people could best fulfill His purpose in the land He had promised to their ancestor Abraham (Gen. 12:7).
The Bible affirms that God’s restoration typically follows when His people humble themselves, repent of their sins, and return to Him in faith (Lev. 26:40-42; 2 Chron. 7:14). Wayward believers can still experience God’s restoration today when they repent and return to Him in faith.
(In PSG, p. 71)
God the Father
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. (See Jer. 10:10; Rom. 8:28.)
Memorize a verse and apply it to a real life situation.
Memorize Jeremiah 29:11 in your preferred Bible translation. This verse does not promise things will always go well for us; rather, it reminds us to place our hope in God regardless of our life circumstances. What comes to us when we do?