Year 9, Day 82: Jeremiah 29

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Once more we deal with the idea of false prophets.  God judges Shemaiah’s false prophesy because he gives false hope that opposes the work of the Lord.  A dark lesson can be learned here.  Giving hope is not always right.  There are times when good intentions don’t give good results.  We want to encourage people and give them something to believe in, but the reality is that it is best to be in line with what God is doing.  When false hope is given and it is contrary to God’s will, it results in leading people against God.  Good intentions do not equate to righteous behavior.  We cannot truly know what is good for us.  Good comes from God alone.

As if to prove the point, Jeremiah writes a letter to the exiles.  These are the people who have gone off to Babylon.  They are no longer in Jerusalem.  They have given in to their fate and are in Babylon starting over.

Jeremiah tells them to grow where they are planted.  He tells them to proper.  He tells them to work hard and impress the Babylonians.  He tells them to have families and settle in.  Essentially, Jeremiah is telling them to prepare for the long haul, because God’s not done teaching His people.  Jeremiah knows that to bring the people to full repentance is going to take time.

All good lessons are learned as a process.  We seldom ever learn the most meaningful lessons in a single moment.  Life lessons are experienced, struggled against, and grown into.  They push our growing edges.  They cause us to change.  Jeremiah is resolute in his desire for the people to experience God’s judgment so that they can be purified as He desires.

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