Stop Misusing Jeremiah 29:11 and
Understand the Real Meaning of 'For
I Know the Plans I Have for You'…..
God’s Word is full of wisdom and encouragement that guide
Christians through life. Memorizing Scripture can serve as a
powerful weapon against temptation, despair, and worldliness.
However, learning verses in isolation, without context, can lead to
misunderstanding and misapplying the virtues and lessons that
God wants His people to possess and learn.
One important verse that Christians often quote is Jeremiah 29:11,
“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.”
This is a message of hope and a promise of a good future that is
easy to cling to and repeat. But knowing the full context of the
verse is quite interesting, and reveals the enormous scope of
God’s will for mankind. Let's dig into what it really means when
God tells us he has plans for us.
What Does It Mean That God Knows the Plans
He Has for Us?
In the context of Jeremiah 29, the phrase, “I know the plans I have
for you,” refers to the plans the Lord has had for the people of
Israel from the beginning. This verse is a reiteration of the
promises of God, as well as the guarantee that He always keeps
His covenants.
They were the descendants of Abraham, with whom God made a
covenant to bless His descendants. They were the people of
David, a man after God’s own heart. Even though they broke their
promise to worship only the one true God, He was not going to
forget His word, and would restore them to blessings. In fact, this
verse is a foreshadowing of the coming Messiah, the Lord Jesus.
God promised David, a descendant who would reign forever, “You
have said, ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have
sworn to David my servant: ‘I will establish your offspring forever
and build your throne for all generations’” (Psalms 89:3-4). There
is only one throne that lasts forever, the throne of God where
Jesus Christ will reign forever. If God allowed the descendants of
David to be carried out to Babylon to go extinct in exile, then that
promise of an eternal throne for David’s descendants could not
have been fulfilled.
In context, this verse served as an encouragement for the Jews in
exile, and should be a great encouragement for Christians today.
God is not fickle, and He keeps His promises! Because the Father
kept His promises to use the Jewish people in His plans, the whole
world has access to salvation through Jesus Christ.
God did not forsake His people, redeeming them for His glory and
their good. When the Lord promises that we are saved, He means
it. When Jesus promises to return for His church, we can have
confidence in His word. As Jesus says in the New Testament,
centuries later, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words
will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). God does not change, no
matter how individuals or the world does, and believers can rest
assured that He will keep His promises.
What Is Happening in Jeremiah 29?
Chapter 29 in the Book of Jeremiah is a letter with a specific
message to a specific audience. The prophet wrote this passage
to those Israelites in exile in Babylon. Many despaired, separated
from their homes, their history, and their God. Solomon’s Temple
was destroyed as well, adding to the calamity.
The Israelites received warnings from the Lord through the
prophet Jeremiah that this would happen. Because they had been
worshipping Baal and Moloch, false gods imported from foreign
lands, breaking their covenant, the Lord allowed Babylon to
invade. The Jews would be taken from their homeland for a period
of seventy years. In chapter 29, the prophet wrote to encourage
the people in exile, and warn them against false prophets during
this time.
The letter can be broken up into sections. Verses 1-3 serve as
introductions, stating who wrote the letter and when. The
following verses, 4-10, contain an edict from the Lord for the Jews
to continue living, to not give up, and to ignore prophets whom He
had not ordained.
“Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their
produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters...multiply there
and do not decrease...Do not let your prophets and your diviners
who are among you deceive you.” (Jeremiah 29:4, 8a)
Next is a word of promise, an assurance that God has not forsaken
His people. In this passage, verses 10-14 contains the famous
verse. The Lord said through his prophet, “For thus says the Lord:
When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and
I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 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” (Jeremiah
29:10-13).
God gave the Israelites in captivity a deadline for their time under
Babylonian rule. Verse eleven contains God’s assurances that He
was not finished using Israel for His divine plan, and there were
blessings to come in the future. After 70 years, the people would
return to the Lord in prayer, and the relationship between God and
His people would be restored.
The next passage, verses 15-23, contains a reminder for why the
people are in exile. Their idolatry and their reliance on false gods
and prophets broke their part of a covenant with God.
He also addresses those who did not go into exile, “Thus says the
LORD of hosts, behold I am sending on them sword, famine, and
pestilence, and I will make them like vile figs that are so rotten
they cannot be eaten” (Jeremiah 29:17). God reminds His people
about all the warnings and prophecies that warned the Israelites
about this very event.
The final section includes a warning against a specific false
prophecy by a man named Shemaiah who prophesied against
Jeremiah. Because of his words against God’s chosen prophet the
Lord declares, “Behold I will punish Shemaiah of Nehelam and his
descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people,
and he shall not see the good that I will do to my people”
(Jeremiah 29:32a). This verse is the opposite of the promise of
verse 1 in many ways. Here, God ends a line, rather than
continuing it. He stops a man from receiving the blessings coming
to the chosen people in 70 years at the end of the exile, ending
Shemaiah’s line in exile.
What Does Jeremiah 29:11 NOT Mean?
This verse promises restoration and redemption for a people in
exile that would lead to the salvation of mankind. It is full of hope
and assurance. However, it is not always used to convey that
message. It can sometimes be used, when taken out of context, to
mean that Christians today have guarantees of blessings and
prosperity. It can also be used to give a false sense of purpose,
chasing after material blessings in a worldly fashion, rather than
seeking after God. This verse only guarantees the exiled Israelites
that they had not been forgotten by their Lord, not that He
guarantees material gain for people who believe in Him.
Does this mean that Christians cannot look to this verse for hope
and encouragement?
Not at all!
While the verse does not guarantee comfort and success, it does
promise redemption, something the modern Christian experiences
daily after being forgiven of their sins, because of the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. God does have a plan for all His
people, and Jesus even says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a
penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your
Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not,
therefore you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew
10:29-31). The truth Jesus states here is the same one
from Jeremiah 29:11. God loves humanity, wants to redeem them
to Himself, and plans for a glorious eternity together.
There will be trials and troubles in this world, and the Bible never
promises believers a problem-free life. There are verses in the Old
and New Testament that give assurance of His love and that He
will keep His promises; Jeremiah 29:11 is one such verse.
