mgpcpastor's blog

I’ve written before how 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 a hope and a future”) has turned into the John 3:16 (For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life) of a large section of contemporary Christianity.
‘Gospel’ calls now use the former verse whereas once the latter would feature.
And it’s not really a surprise.
Who wants to hear about not perishing when they can get prosperity instead?

Trouble is, the prosperity, hope and future Jeremiah 29:11 mentions wasn’t promised to those who first heard those words.
Which is a truth seldom even touched on for those to whom this verse is used to make them think their bank accounts will swell, their businesses will flourish, their families will all be healthy and successful.
It’s not a truth that’s usually touched on when this verse is used in an altar call to encourage folks to give God a go.
Posts like this have limited appeal to our city-wide church network, even one as Gospel-centered as ours.

Jonathan Merritt demonstrates that when the verse is considered in its proper context, it actually promises something far more wonderful.
An excerpt:

The context of Jeremiah 29 is undisputed among scholars. The prophet is writing to the inhabitants of Jerusalem who were about to be conquered by the Babylonians. They were about to have their tickets punched for a one-way trip to either slaughter or slavery. God had delivered the Israelites from disaster before, and some wondered whether God would swoop in and save them again.
Jeremiah is sent in, not with a placard of encouragement for hanging on their walls, but with incontrovertibly terrible news. He tells them that there will be no divine rescue mission. The worst-case scenario is about to become reality. And yet, Jeremiah says, God has plans ultimately to prosper his people.
At this point, I want to pause: “Aha! You see, it means what I thought it did. God is going to prosper me in the end!”
But I return to the context.
The Babylonians enter Jerusalem, capture the inhabitants, and burn the city to the ground. They kill King Zedekiah’s sons while the monarch watches before putting out his eyes and enslaving him. The generation that first heard the promise of Jeremiah is forced to endure all manner of terrible things, as is the generation after them.
Unfortunately, the verse’s context makes it sort of difficult to say, “God has plans to prosper you and not to harm you, Jonathan. Just claim Jeremiah 29:11.” Unless of course, I also admit that these plans for prospering me might include slavery, exile, and the untimely gouging of my eyes after witnessing the death of my family. Or that the plans won’t be realized for generations.

So how do we make sense of this verse?
Read the rest of the post by Jonathan Merritt at Religion News Service.