Jeremiah 29 deals with the people in captivity in Babylon. Jeremiah begins the chapter dealing with more false teaching by those calling themselves prophets. Jeremiah tells the people to settle in – they will be there for a while. Their disobedience caused them to spend time there. God’s word was this: “as soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up, and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home”. You may recall that God banished the people because of their disobedience. Their sentence is 70 years in captivity, and He makes it clear that penalty will be paid in full. No early release, no reduction in sentence. They will pay for their sin.
But the promise He gives them for that day of being set free is a wonderful one. I love what God tells the people: “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”. What a wonderful promise, and one that applies to you and me. God has a plan, a plan for our welfare and good, and one that we should take hope in. He also says “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen. 13 “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, 14 I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed. I’ll turn things around for you. I’ll bring you back…bring you home…You can count on it”. What a wonderful promise. God never leaves us, even when we are being punished for sin. He has to deal with it, and there is a price to pay when we rebel, but God is always there waiting to bring us back and restore us to the fellowship He longs for. And the plans He has for us are so much more than we can ever think of for ourselves. It is God’s way of reaching out to us to make our life “full” like He promises us. It is about being connected to the source of power, and experiencing His grace and glory.
I am sure the people were not happy with God’s decision to put them in exile for 70 years. But I also know that the promises He gave made that more bearable when you consider that fact that He has a plan to give me a future and a hope. What a blessing to know God has it under control and it is not up to me to figure it out. I only need to join Him in what He wants me to do and leave the driving to Him!
Posted by asorensen 
