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Jeremiah 29:11: Promises, Blessings, and You

by James Barringer  
4/28/2010 / Christian Living

According to people who study these sorts of things, Jeremiah 29:11 has overhauled John 3:16 as the most quoted Bible verse in America. "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." Sounds great, doesn't it? But there are two things about this verse that should make us think twice before we claim the 'promise' contained in it.

Before I begin, let me talk about the idea of God and blessings. I've heard a lot of people complain that American culture, in its typically self-centered way, has chosen a favorite Bible verse that talks about what's in it for us. I don't think it's a bad thing for us to quote a verse that emphasizes receiving good things from God. Even John 3:16 hits on that theme; what could be a bigger blessing than eternal life? Make no mistake about it: God loves giving blessings. Jesus appeals to this in Matthew 6: "If you, being human fathers, know how to give good gifts to your sons, how much more does God, being God, know how to give good gifts?" It's a major part of who God is. Even to people who hate him, God gives the ability to love and be loved, to feel friendship, to belong to a group, to marvel at sunsets and have their breath taken away by soaring mountains. God prides himself on being the origin of everything that's good in life.

However, the first problem we encounter with Jeremiah 29:11 is that it is not a verse addressed to you and me. 29:10 is, "For thus says the Lord: when seventy years are completed in Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place." 29:10 - and, obviously, 29:11 - are addressed to a very specific group of people, those who God had exiled to Babylon. The idea of "claiming Biblical promises" is pretty huge today, and when we're doing so, the first thing we need to examine is who the promise is made to. There's simply no way to argue that 29:11 is a promise I can claim; it wasn't made to me. Now, the idea in the verse is certainly true. I don't think we can say that God had good plans for Israel, but he doesn't for me. He obviously does. It's just that this verse, narrowly addressed to a very particular people at a very particular time, cannot be used to prove that point. It's not a promise we can claim, because it's not for us.

The second problem has to do with the nature of blessings in the Bible. Although God delights in giving blessings, and although he pours them out on Christians and non-Christians alike, there is a constant theme in Scripture that God's best blessings are always tied to obedience. John 3:16 is a good example: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him" - requirement - "will have eternal life" - reward. Deuteronomy 30 is even more explicit in stating the formula. "I am setting before you life and death," Moses tells Israel. "If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God," then you get blessings and fulfillment of God's promises. "But if your heart turns away and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods," then expect disaster. God's blessings are always directly proportional to our obedience. That is the whole point of a covenant.

Jeremiah 29:11 is dangerous to quote out of context because the requirement comes in the next few verses: "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, I will be found by you, declares the Lord." The requirement for recieving God's "good plans" for you is that you seek him with all your heart. If you're not actively scouring your life for good habits to begin, bad habits to eradicate, better ways to show God's love to your neighbor, and things you can do to become more like Christ, then you shouldn't be expecting God's best blessings. This is true not merely on a Biblical level, but on a purely logical one as well. Why should God give you his best if you're not giving him your best? That is, as I said earlier, the whole point of a covenant. If you want God to hold up his end of the covenant bargain, you'd better be holding up your end. After all, God's "good plans" for Israel came after he sent them into slavery for seventy years because of their own disobedience. We shouldn't think that we can live however we want to and still expect God's blessings. He may give us some blessings anyway, because he does delight in doing so, but we have no right to expect them, and if they do come, they won't be his best.

Before anybody claims any Biblical promise, they should address the questions of who the promise is addressed to and what must be done in order to receive the promise. I believe that, because Jeremiah 29:11 is directed specifically toward the exiled Israelites, it's not a promise we should run around claiming. If we insist on doing so, though, we should at least be aware that the promise is not open-ended; God's "good plans" are available only to those who are willing to seek him with their whole hearts. If God starts sticking his finger in your life, things will change. You will have to say goodbye to some things you enjoy doing because they don't glorify God, and you may have to start doing things you don't really want to do because they'll help you become more like Christ, sort of like how your parents made you eat your green beans because they were good for you even though you didn't like the taste. There's no reason - Scriptural or intellectual - to think that God would dump blessings on you without making any demands on you. Even if you want salvation through Christ, you have to count the cost, take up your cross, and embrace him. All blessings in the entire Bible work the same way. I hope that this will help us think more critically about what we mean when we think about receiving blessings from God, and I hope all of us will be willing to pay whatever price is necessary in order to receive God's best.

Jim Barringer is a 38-year-old writer, musician, and teacher. More of his work can be found at facebook.com/jmbarringer. This work may be reprinted for any purpose so long as this bio and statement of copyright is included.

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