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.
12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
14 I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity.[a] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
15 You may say, “The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,”
16 but this is what the LORD says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your fellow citizens who did not go with you into exile—
17 yes, this is what the LORD Almighty says: “I will send the sword, famine and plague against them and I will make them like figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten.
18 I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse[b] and an object of horror, of scorn and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them.
19 For they have not listened to my words,” declares the LORD, “words that I sent to them again and again by my servants the prophets. And you exiles have not listened either,” declares the LORD.
20 Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.
21 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you in my name: “I will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes.
22 Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the LORD treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned in the fire.’
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Jeremiah 29:11-22 Meaning and Commentary
INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 29
Thus chapter contains a letter of Jeremiah to the captives in Babylon; and gives an account of another sent from thence by Shemaiah to the people at Jerusalem; and is closed with threatening him with punishment for so doing. Jeremiah's letter concerns both the captives at Babylon, and the people left at Jerusalem, The persons to whom and by whom it was sent, and the time of writing and sending it, are mentioned in Jer 29:1-3; and though the prophet was the amanuensis, God was the author of it, as well as of their captivity, Jer 29:4; the contents of, it, respecting the captives, are advices to them to provide for their comfortable settlement in Babylon, and not think of returning quickly, by building houses, planting gardens, marrying, and giving in marriage, Jer 29:5,6; and to seek and pray for the prosperity of the place where they were; in which their own was concerned, Jer 29:7; to give no heed to their false prophets and diviners, Jer 29:8,9; and to expect a return to Jerusalem at the end of seventy years; which they might be assured of, since God had resolved upon it in his own mind, Jer 29:10,11; and especially if they called upon him, prayed to him, and sought him heartily, Jer 29:12-14; the other part of the letter respects the Jews in Jerusalem; concerning whom the captives are directed to observe, that both the king and people should suffer much by sword, famine, pestilence, and captivity, with the reason of it, Jer 29:15-19; particularly it is foretold, that Ahab and Zedekiah, two lying prophets, should be made an example of vengeance; and a proverbial curse should be taken of them, because of their villany, lewdness, and lies, Jer 29:20-23; next follows some account of Shemaiah's letter from Babylon, to the people and priests at Jerusalem, stirring them up against Jeremiah the prophet; which came to be known, by the priests reading it to him, Jer 29:24-29; upon which Shemaiah is threatened with punishment, and his seed after him, Jer 29:30-32.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:11-13 ESV).
By saying, “I know the plans I have for you,” God was reassuring the people that their faith in Him would be rewarded. He wasn't saying He'd swoop down and make everything easy for them. He merely told them that even though it's hard right now, they must have faith. The Lord is an omnipotent being.
Christians facing difficult situations today can take comfort in Jeremiah 29:11 knowing that it is not a promise to immediately rescue us from hardship or suffering, but rather a promise that God has a plan for our lives and regardless of our current situation, He can work through it to prosper us and give us a hope ...
Take a look at your circ*mstances. God often clearly demonstrates His plan for our lives by lining up circ*mstances in obvious ways. And He also shows us what His will is NOT for us to do in that same way. It is not His will for you to take the job that is not offered to you.
“'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. '” — Jeremiah 29:11. Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the most often-quoted verses in the Bible. You've seen it, haven't you?
11 I know what I'm doing.I have it all planned out - plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. 12 "When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen.
Jeremiah counseled the exiles to normalize living in exile: build houses, grow food, marry. He even told them to pray for the foreign land and seek its welfare.
The idea is completely giving something over to God while depending on Him. When we ”commit” our works to the Lord, we are offering everything we do completely to Him. If we completely depend on God in our work, He will “establish” our plans. He will “bring about/cause to happen” our plans.
A way to know that you are following God's plan for your life is by being in prayer. Take time each day to devote yourself to the Lord and the plans He has for your life. If you are giving each area of your life to God, then He will bless it and be able to work through it abundantly.
Truly committing our decisions—and lives—to God means taking a step back from what we think we want and honestly contemplating what God wants us to do. It means taking our successes, failures, plans, and questions to God in prayer every single day—not just “the big stuff”.
He has a great plan for your life, and He promises to work all situations out for your good. This doesn't mean that nothing will ever go wrong, but it does mean that God is in control. In the good and the bad, the highs and the lows, God is in control. He is always working to draw you closer to Him.
In Ephesians 2:10 it says “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” So you can be certain that God does indeed have a plan for you. And the best way to discover that plan is to discover how He made you.
The passage in particular is part of a covenant between God and the people of Israel. God says through Jeremiah that he would protect the people of Israel in exchange for worshipping Him exclusively. But he warns of a “conspiracy” among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
What if God has other plans? While you lay the groundwork for your kingdom—education, work, possessions, relationships, marriage, and so on—God is intent on building his kingdom more deeply into and through your life. The two aren't necessarily in conflict, so don't let that thought alarm you.
In the end, I just want to say that God puts us in some situations and leaves everything else upon us to decide and to plan. So, always believe that God wants you to be good and whatever he has planned for you, you will prove yourself excellently, your plans will be good and you will do the best you can and that's it.
Introduction: My name is Arielle Torp, I am a comfortable, kind, zealous, lovely, jolly, colorful, adventurous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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