In today’s Daily Devotional, we delve into Jeremiah 28 and 29, following a journey through despair to discover God’s plans for a future and hope. The encounter between Jeremiah and Hananiah, a false prophet, serves as a stark reminder of the importance of discerning truth amid conflicting voices. Through Jeremiah’s silent response and God’s subsequent judgment, we’re urged to exercise caution in who we choose to trust, especially within sacred spaces. Listen to Jeremiah 27 for encouragement to help you surrender to the sovereignty of God.
God Knows the Plans He has for You
As we look into the heart of Jeremiah 29, we find a message of reassurance amidst exile and uncertainty. Jeremiah, writing to the exiles in Babylon, speaks of a future beyond their current plight. God’s promise of restoration after seventy years underscores His faithfulness. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, echoing through the ages with profound significance. It’s a promise that transcends time, offering solace in times of trial.
As we reflect on these passages, we’re reminded that God’s plans extend far beyond our immediate circumstances. In our prayers, we echo the sentiments of Jeremiah, seeking restoration and finding hope in God’s enduring promises. For just as He sustained the ancient Israelites, He offers us the same assurance today.
God Gives Hope in Times of Despair
Today, we are in Jeremiah 28 and 29. In the middle of despair, God has plans for a future and a hope. Do you believe God has plans for you? Please read or listen to the seventeen verses in Jeremiah 28 and the thirty-two verses in Jeremiah 29.
Jeremiah 28 and 29 Commentary by Allen J. Huth
In 1991, when reading the Book of Jeremiah, I read Jeremiah 27-30 on the same day. I referred to one of those great, famous verses in Jeremiah, 29:11, “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope’” (NASB).
I have not referred to my journal in 2004 for the last few devotions because I was reading the Bible chronologically, and in the middle of Jeremiah it started jumping around in other books like Kings and Chronicles and some of the other prophets. So let’s look at my journal entry from 2016.
In 2016, I read Jeremiah 28 and 29 on the same day, and wrote in my journal, “Be careful what we say. Hananiah is a false prophet. Though he may have looked good preaching in the house of the Lord, he was lying. Too many are preaching lies today in the house of worship. Israel was to remain in captivity in Babylon for seventy years, not two years according to Hananiah. 29:11, often quoted, should be remembered in its setting: exile, hopelessness, frustration. Yes, in desperate situations, God responds when we call upon Him. Seek Him with all of our heart.” I finished my journal entry by writing, “Be careful who we listen to.”
Back in Jeremiah 23, we were warned about false shepherds, false prophets, speaking their own words and their own visions and not the words of the Lord. Here in chapter 28, we see another example, a false prophet, Hananiah. He was even so bold as to remove the yoke bars from Jeremiah’s neck. Let’s pick up the story in 28:10-11, “Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke them. And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.’”
Notice Jeremiah does not even respond. He just walks away. Sometime later, Jeremiah hears from the Lord about that incident. God says to Jeremiah, “Go, tell Hananiah, ‘Thus says the Lord: You have broken wooden bars, but you have made in their place bars of iron’” (28:13).
After that Jeremiah did respond to Hananiah:
And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the Lord.’”
In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died (vv. 15-17).
The lesson here is very clear, once again. Be careful who we listen to, even if they are in the house of the Lord, even if they claim to be a prophet from the Lord.
Jeremiah 29:9
Let’s close with that great, famous verse in chapter 29. Let’s put the verse in context. Jeremiah has been prophesying for all these chapters that Israel would be carted off into captivity in Babylon. Let’s look at 29:1, “These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.”
Though nothing happened for years, finally what Jeremiah prophesied occurred. He remains in Jerusalem, but the people have been carted off to Babylon, and he is writing them a letter of encouragement. He says in his letter:
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. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile (vv. 10-14).
What a promise, what a hope; a God we can also depend on today. His anger is for a moment, but His mercy is for a lifetime. Yes, you may be suffering under the wrath of God at the moment, but friends, there is hope. He is a God of restoration. Let’s pray.
God Has a Plan for Our Lives
Lord, we thank You that You have plans for us like You did for the people of Israel. We thank You that Your plans are for welfare and not evil. We thank You that You will give us a future and a hope. We thank You that You said if we call on You, You will hear us once again. And if we seek You, we will find You, if we seek You with all our heart. Lord, we do just that today. We seek You with all our heart. Restore us to the joy of our salvation and we will give You the praise. In Jesus’ name, amen.
