I had been reading through the book of Jeremiah and it was bad news after bad news, kind of like reading the actual news of today. In fact, in chapter 27, the prophet Jeremiah told the nation of Judah, and it’s leader, Zedekiah to bow their knee to the mighty nation of Babylon in order to live. Jeremiah told the people to surrender, in effect, to King Nebuchadnezzar, who was in the process of taking over the world. “Just give in,” said Jeremiah. “Just do whatever they say and it’ll all be OK,” said the prophet. What a message, right? Who would want to deliver that speech. I mean, “I know they captured the northern kingdom of Israel and made some of them slaves and carried them away from their land and all and they seem really evil, but just let them have their way already. This is the Word of the Lord,” said the prophet. What? The nation that raped the women and murdered the men by marching over them? We’re to surrender…to…them? “Yes,” said Jeremiah, the prophet from the Lord, “surrender to them.”
The Word of the Lord sounded ridiculous. This Word came from the same God who defeated the Egyptian army by drowning them in the Red Sea, from the God who fed the Israelites manna from Heaven in the desert for forty years, who defeated the Philistines, who delivered the Israelites into the Promised land and knocked down a city’s fortified wall with a mere shout! The people living in Judah served a mighty God! Oh wait, or did they? Oh wait, or was that the problem? Did they not serve a mighty God? Was He not mighty? Or did they not serve Him? Obviously, He was and is still mighty. But they did not serve Him. Hence the discipline He was bringing on them. Hence all the prophets and prophetic Old Testament books we have of Him sending His beloved people His Word in hopes that they would return to Him. But they didn’t. They persisted in doing wrong. They insisted in going their own way.
So what did God do? Did He walk away?
No.
Did He send His wrath to kill them all off?
No, but He could have.
Did he devise a way to discipline them in order to teach them a lesson?
Yes. Yes He did. As a loving Father disciplines His children, so God disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:5-11). He loved the Israelites.
Let’s review the context of the book of Jeremiah. Half of the Israelites were living in the northern kingdom called Israel at the time. However, they had been taken over by the Assyrians at the time of the writing of Jeremiah. Then the Babylonians took over Assyria and were threatening to take over Judah. The other half of the Israelites lived in the southern kingdom called Judah at the time of the writing of Jeremiah. And by “half,” it was not equally split, but for simplicity’s sake, just picture it like that. The kingdom King David ruled became divided into two kingdoms when his grandson took the throne. While both in what we now know as Israel, the northern kingdom was then referred to as Israel and the southern kingdom was referred to as Judah. Then many years and many kings later, the Assyrians took over the northern kingdom of Israel. Then the Babylonians took over Assyria. Then they eventually took over Judah too, during the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was a prophet to the Israelites living in the southern kingdom of Judah, after the Assyrians had taken over the northern kingdom of Israel.
After the Israelites living in both the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom turned their backs on God, He sent them many prophets encouraging the people to turn back to God or else something terrible might happen to them! They did not listen. He sent more prophets, more warnings. They still refused to listen. Finally, God had to stay true to His Word and He had to step in to discipline His children. He appointed Nebuchadnezzar as His servant to execute this discipline. Read all about it in Isaiah. However, even Nebuchadnezzar overstretched his hand and eventually was disciplined himself by God Almighty (Daniel 4, Isaiah).
So back to Jeremiah. God told the people of Judah through His prophet Jeremiah, to surrender to Babylon! It sounded absurd (Jeremiah 27:4). Jeremiah put together this yoke normally used for oxen and said to bow their knee to the yoke of the Babylonians, in order to live (Jeremiah 27:12). God wanted them to live. He had ordered their punishment and was still pursuing them wanting it to be as painless as possible! He still cared deeply for His people! But they didn’t listen, unfortunately. “Just admit to the crime and your sentence will be lessened!” But no. They couldn’t. They wouldn’t. They didn’t.
Then in the next chapter, Jeremiah 28, this other dude showed up named Hananiah. He took Jeremiah’s yoke and was like, “You know what I think about your yoke?” and he broke it and said, “I say that God says we’ll break the yoke of the Babylonians, so there! C’mon, this is a battle rally, not a Debbie Downer ceremony! We’re supposed to be getting pumped up to fight the Babylonians, not scared stiff!” That’s paraphrased, by the way. That happened it says, in the fifth month (Jeremiah 28:1). Then, the real Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah and he spoke to Hananiah about his death being imminent as a result of his false prophecy. Two months later, Hananiah died, proving Jeremiah to be the true prophet from the Lord.
Back and forth they Jeremiah went with other false prophets trying to declare that each had a word from God. Jeremiah’s news was nearly always bad, prophesying doom. The other prophets told of success coming to Judah. The king of Judah liked the good news prophets better.
After my children asked for green eggs, I made them scrambled omelets with spinach in them. When one kid came to the table, she took one look and said to her brother, “Buddy, we are doomed!” They had asked for green eggs, but didn’t not really like what they had received. One thing was true. She saw reality for what it was. She saw the spinach and knew she and her brother we destined to not like their eggs. She spoke the truth without fear. So Jeremiah also spoke truth as God gave Him words to speak. Whether good news or bad, he spoke the truth. Due to the Israelites’ disobedience, the Babylonian takeover was imminent. But God wanted them to suffer as little as possible.
So when we get to Jeremiah 29, Jeremiah has already prophesied a lot of bad news. In Jeremiah 29, many people from Jerusalem, in Judah, have already been carried off by the Babylonians into exile in Babylon! So Jeremiah wrote them a letter that we have here in chapter 29. He told them to essentially, get on with their lives. Get married, work, seek the welfare of their new city, and to bloom where God had replanted them. He also advises them to not listen to false prophets. Then he gave the famous promise in Jeremiah 29:11 “’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.’”
How often have we taken that verse out of context? I have a sign with that verse on it in my kids’ bedroom. If you’re not terribly tired of reading yet, let’s move on to the best part…
In the context in which this verse is actually written, God was actually encouraging the people that He still had a plan. He was saying, “It’s all going according to my plan. I know this wasn’t your plan to leave that newly renovated house, your freshly planted garden, and for your kids to switch schools and be among a people who do not speak your language…BUT it is my plan for you. I have something to teach you here in this place. I have a plan! It’s for your good!” Then after that verse, God told the people that the whole new living in Babylon thing would not last forever, but only for a season, 70 years nonetheless.
Ok, 28 chapters of bad news and then bad news is fulfilled. Then God said, “hey, I know this seems bad, but cheer up. You’re going to make it! Keep selling noodles, or whatever you do for a living. You’ve not been murdered, but simply relocated. It will work out. One day you’ll return to your homeland, but in the meantime, settle down” (Jeremiah 29 paraphrased).
So what does that mean for us today? It means it’s not all bad! It means that sometimes God will lead us into circumstances that feel like our lives are over. But He still has a plan! And sometimes, like in Jeremiah, it will be our own doing! But because God loves us, He only allows these bad things in our lives for our good! He has good in store for us! He’s a good God.
Therefore, remember, that God has good in store for you. Even if you’re in a tough spot due to your own sin or someone else’s. God works all things for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28). That means He’ll work your successes and your failures for His purposes. That means He’ll work your kids’ mistakes and successes for your good, and your spouse’s, and your parents’ and your friends’ and enemies. He can work all things and all people and circumstances for your good, if you’ve been called according to His purposes. Amen!
Whenever you find yourself today, take heart, knowing God can use you and your circumstances where you are.
