"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." Jeremiah 29:11
I have been unpacking this Twenty-Ninth Chapter of Jeremiah in order to put the wonderful promise of verse 11 in its proper context.
When Jeremiah shared God's promise with the people of God they were in a bad way. God had allowed the mighty Babylonian Empire to sweep into Jerusalem, conquer the city and take all the powerful people captive. So, they found themselves under the judgment of God because of their disobedience and their idolatry.
The Prophet also told them they were going to be in captivity for quite awhile so they should make the best of it and not expect any immediate relief.
Thirdly, Jeremiah told them to pray for the peace and prosperity of their captors rather than pray for an end to their captivity.
Today we will see still another word of godly counsel from the Prophet to the captives. He cautioned them to be careful who they listened to. There would be false prophets promising things that were not true. Jeremiah warns them not to make a bad situation even worse by listening to lies. There are always those who are ready and anxious to tell you what they think you want to hear and give you false hopes. And there is always a part of you that wants to believe them.
Jeremiah warns them not to listen to the false prophets but to believe His prophecies from God. And the prophecy from God was the captivity would last seventy years. There would be no rescue or deliverance from the Lord until their time of judgment was fulfilled.
Here's the Word of the Lord from Jeremiah concerning their captivity:
"Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord. This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place." Jeremiah 29:8-10
When Jeremiah shared God's promise with the people of God they were in a bad way. God had allowed the mighty Babylonian Empire to sweep into Jerusalem, conquer the city and take all the powerful people captive. So, they found themselves under the judgment of God because of their disobedience and their idolatry.
The Prophet also told them they were going to be in captivity for quite awhile so they should make the best of it and not expect any immediate relief.
Thirdly, Jeremiah told them to pray for the peace and prosperity of their captors rather than pray for an end to their captivity.
Today we will see still another word of godly counsel from the Prophet to the captives. He cautioned them to be careful who they listened to. There would be false prophets promising things that were not true. Jeremiah warns them not to make a bad situation even worse by listening to lies. There are always those who are ready and anxious to tell you what they think you want to hear and give you false hopes. And there is always a part of you that wants to believe them.
Jeremiah warns them not to listen to the false prophets but to believe His prophecies from God. And the prophecy from God was the captivity would last seventy years. There would be no rescue or deliverance from the Lord until their time of judgment was fulfilled.
Here's the Word of the Lord from Jeremiah concerning their captivity:
"Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord. This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place." Jeremiah 29:8-10
You need a person in your life who regularly hears from God and who has enough integrity and courage to tell you what you need to hear rather than what you want to hear!
A person like that, if you find one, is a gift from God!
Do you have a person like that?
Are you a person like that?
Are you willing to listen to a person like that?
Are you able to hear the hard things you need to hear rather than always listening for what you want to hear?
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