Verse 11 Always Follows Verse 10

This morning I had the privilege of teaching a class on the book of Jeremiah. To be certain this is a difficult book. How faithful and persevering was this wonderful prophet of God. As one person said, "After reading the story of Jeremiah, suddenly I was not complaining about my own problems as much."

Perhaps one of the most quoted verses from Jeremiah is 29:11 - 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 hope and a future. Many of us have memorized this verse. Many of us claim the promise of this verse that God's plans and purpose for our lives is one of blessing. We do take hope from it. However, we tend to overlook the preceding verse. Note: I always tell my classes that verse 11 follows verse 10. Verse 10 states: This is what the Lord says: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. Then follows the promise of verse 11.

Verse 11 is found within the context of a letter Jeremiah writes to those who are in exile in Babylon. The date of this letter, according to verse 2 is 597 BC. The purpose of this letter was really two-fold. First, to announce that their captivity in Babylon would last for seventy years; and that the judgment of God was yet to fall upon those left behind in Judah and Jerusalem. (Note: this would happen in 586 BC). Jeremiah is careful to relate that the reason for the captivity was as judgment for their sins. The second purpose was to give them a measure of hope that, following the seventy years, God would restore them back to their homeland. In other words, God would not abandon them forever.

Is there a lesson for us to learn from this passage? Friends, many times in my own life it is not until I have wrestled with the sin issues, and even have experienced God's judgment in my life, that I can come to know the rich blessings He would desire for me to have. God was saying to the people of Israel: You cannot know My blessings until you have experienced My judgment for your sins. Perhaps, if we are not experiencing God's blessings, then we need to examine ourselves to see if we are experiencing God's judgment for unconfessed and unforgiven sins. Remember: Verse 10 always precedes verse 11.