Read: Jeremiah 29:1-23
Just about every verse in the Bible has been taken out of context at least once since it was written. There are, however, certain verses that get taken out of their context more than others. Jeremiah 29:11 is one of those such verses.
As a youth minister, I have been to a lot of high and middle school graduations, and a lot of Christian school graduations. It is inevitable that every year Jeremiah 29:11 will be quoted at least once during one of the graduation ceremonies I attend: “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.” Sometimes I hear it at multiple graduations, and I’ve even heard it quoted at a public school graduation.
It’s also a given that as I’m searching for congratulation cards for our graduates, there will be at least one with this verse quoted on the card. Outside of graduations this verse is often quoted to people who are currently going through a trial or who are on the cusp of a big life change. The sentiment behind quoting the verse is usually good. For graduates it’s used to say, “You have a bright future ahead of you.” For those going through a trial it’s meant to encourage them that there will be an end to their trial and that they will have brighter days ahead.
Again, these are good sentiments to have for people, but is that what the verse means? Is the verse a universal statement of fact for every person that reads or hears it? Is it maybe not a hard and fast fact, but merely a hope that this is true for the reader akin to saying, “I hope you have a great time on your vacation?” The answer both of those questions is no, and using it in those ways is dangerous. Indeed, when we try to understand any verse outside of its proper context, it’s dangerous.
This verse is a divine prophetic pronouncement concerning a very specific people in a very specific time. As the beginning of the chapter indicates to us, it is for the Judean exiles in Judah. Their land was just destroyed and pillaged, Jerusalem and the temple was razed to the ground, many of them have been killed, and a majority of the survivors have been taken captive and brought to the land of Babylon. All of this occurred under the disciplinary hand of the Lord for His people’s sins.
As the people of Israel are languishing in Babylon, surely they are thinking, “We are cut off from God; the promises and covenants of God have been annulled, and we are without hope.” These verses are meant to give them hope and instruct them on how they are to live while they are exiled for seventy years.
Our verse encourages them with the truth that God is not done with them, his promises to them are not forgotten, and that deliverance and a return to the land are coming. It has nothing to say about your future, my future, or the future of any modern graduate.
Does God know the plan that he has for you, me, and our graduates? Of course. He is the omniscient sovereign Lord over all creation. he has ordained all things, and he is bringing his perfect will to pass through every single moment that occurs. But he has not told us the specifics of his individual plans for each of us.
Is he planning evil for us? No, of course not. Do we have a future and hope? If we’re in Christ, absolutely (Rom 8:28-32). But using this verse as a blanket statement for everyone without explaining its context is a recipe for disaster. As soon as they get into a trial, or if their lives don’t turn out how they expected them to, they’re going to wonder, “Wait, I thought God promised me a good future and good physical welfare?”
Rather, when we understand this verse in context we don’t get a prediction concerning our futures, but we do see God’s faithfulness and love toward Israel. And we are encouraged that the same God who was faithful and loving toward Israel, even as they are being disciplined for their sin, is faithful and loving toward all his people throughout all time.