The One Year Bible: "The Bad News of the Gospel"

 

"Hey guys, letter from the prophet Jeremiah back in Jerusalem and. . .oooh, looks like there's some good news and some bad news."

It's probably one of my favorite Bible texts, an oft-quoted promise of comfort and encouragement found in Jeremiah 29:11-13:  

" 'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord.  'They are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.' "

We tend to take this as just a general promise of goodwill towards any seeker of God, and I don't think it's wrong to read the Scripture that way. But I do think that it's important to know the actual context of this promise. It doesn't mean it can't be applied generally--but knowing the specific application matters. 

God's plan for good and not disaster are part of a letter written to the Jewish exiles in Babylon.  Judah had been effectively conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar, and the king of Judah, members of his family and royal court had already been shipped off to Babylon.  Among them were Daniel and his three friends who would make their own mark in the Biblical canon.  But Jerusalem was not yet destroyed and there was still a good number of people still living in Judah.  

God's message to the exiles in Babylon was essentially "I've got bad news and I've got good news." The bad news was that they were going to be in Babylon for awhile.  This was no temporary blip before they got to go back to "regular life" in Judah.  God instructed the exiles to settle down in Babylon, get married, have kids--make a life there.  Furthermore God warned them not to listen to false prophets among them who might suggest that they'd be freed from Babylon in short order.  In vs. 10 (right before the big verse 11): "This is what the LORD says: 'You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD. . ." and well you know the rest.

This is not just a general promise of favor.  God is letting his people know that they are going to be in this season of captivity for quite some time, but they should never think that God has forgotten them--it may take awhile, but God's playing the long game and He knows what His ultimate plan is for His people--and it's a good plan, a plan for restoration.

Just is fascinating: to the people in Babylon this promise was not seen as good news.  There were other prophets directly opposing this message and advocating for Jeremiah's arrest and torture for suggesting that God wasn't going to free his people anytime soon.  While God counsels patience and offers encouragement for those already in captivity, Jeremiah 29 concludes with a severe message of certain destruction for those still "free" in Jerusalem, with specific dire consequences for the false prophet Shemaiah.

We tend to like to hear good news, and we balk at bad tidings. But God's plans are long term and may include bad news in the near future.  In another pragmatic promise, Jesus put it this way: "Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart because I have overcome the world."