“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.
This word is to the Babylonian exiles, the children of Israel. The man of God is instructing them to settle down, as they would be in exile for 50 to 70 years. He said: ‘Your welfare will not harm you, but it will provide a future for you and hope for you and for generations to come. The Lord has promised to keep you, even in your suffering. Instead of being frustrated by the spirit of rebellion, the Lord God says the tribes of Judah and Benjamin need to settle into their new lives in Babylon.’ Jeremiah tells the exiles to live, marry, and build productive lives. The exiles (children of Israel) are commanded to pray for and work towards the peace and prosperity of their conquerors and the king, Nebuchadnezzar II. Jeremiah says: ‘I know your well-being is being tried and this will be hard to do. How do you make the best of making things easy when you are captive of your enemy? I need you to go forth in spiritual obedience. It is a test of your submission to God‘s judgment. By praying for your enemies, they will face and accept their current circumstances as part of a divine plan of God for their eventual future and hope. Reconcile yourself to the captivity of your enemy and make the best of it and live.’
Jeremiah tells them not to give any credit to false prophets, ‘those who fed you with a speedy release.’ Jeremiah, the man of God, assures them that God will restore them in mercy to their own land again, at the end of 50 to 70 years. ‘You keep yourselves and do not look at the ones that will be persecuted with one judgment after another. The two false prophets will see their own lives destroyed as they continue to be false.’
This is the reason they want to persecute Jeremiah—by stirring up the people to come against him for writing a letter like this against Shemaiah, a false prophet. Jeremiah’s persecutors know that if they can put this notion into the priests’ minds about Jeremiah then they can put it in the minds of the people to turn against him and not believe him. So it becomes God’s denunciation of His own wrath. This is how people see you when you are doing the will of God. But remember, God’s plan is your purpose. God will vindicate you when you make a stand for what is right. You may be in exile; you may be having hard days of confinement—but God will come through for you every time when you stay focused on doing His will.
