Firstly, in the run-up to chapter 29, there are a number of chapters which document Jeremiah's struggle to be heard as a true prophet, and the prominence of false prophets amongst God's people at that time. It was a turbulent political time; Nebuchadnezzar had already carried off certain articles from the temple and members of the royal family along with others to be exiles. The false prophets were giving the people left in Judah false assurances, like Hananiah, who breaks the yoke Jeremiah had made as a visual image and declares that God says he will 'break the yoke of the king of Babylon' (28.4). But God tells Jeremiah that He has 'put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon' (28.14). The impossible unthinkable circumstances that God's people were in - where their land and their identity were under threat - was actually being engineered by God Himself to punish them for their unfaithfulness to Him. Jeremiah's message, that they should submit to exile and not rebel, and seek the peace of the pagan land of Babylon (29.7), was not what the people wanted to hear. They wanted deliverance from Babylon, not a deliverance that featured 70 years of captivity.
And yet, even the fact that they were going into captivity with a promise of deliverance was incredible grace from God to them. As Jeremiah writes in Lamentations, 'Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.' (3:22-23). All God's people deserved was annihilation by foreign powers; they didn't deserve even to be exiled. In this light, the letter which God tells Jeremiah to write to the captives in chapter 29 is full of hope and promise: 'Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit.' (29.5) Exile was not meant to crush them but to give them an opportunity to seek the Lord again.
'For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me, and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.' (29.10-13)
Although there was little positive reception to Jeremiah's words at the time (see verses 27-32, which show Shemaiah's objection to the letter and God's judgement upon him), godly men like Daniel would take Jeremiah's words very seriously and use them as a spur to seek the Lord as the seventy years drew to a close (see Daniel 9). This is such an encouragement, that the Word of the Lord has power and truth. Even if the majority don't see or accept it, there will be a godly remnant who do.
I don't think we can take verse 11 out of chapter 29 and use it as some kind of promise to anyone that God has plans for their good, as a kind of lucky charm, because the rest of Jeremiah and indeed the letter itself in chapter 29 is about obedience to the Lord. Only if we have true respect for God and honour Him in our lives can promises like these ones of hope apply to us. It's also worth remembering that in the New Testament, the 'living hope' that writers such as Peter refer to (see 1 Peter 1:3) is first and foremost a hope of resurrection, a heavenly inheritance, rather than earthly prosperity. Jeremiah has a compelling message for us today, and if we relegate our study of this book to a few verses pulled out of context and put onto a kitchen wall plaque, we do this to our detriment. I am loving the freshness of this book, and I'm seeing more and more how the different chapters tie together, even though they are not always in chronological order and mix up oracles and messages with narrative story about Jeremiah's life. Praise God for the depth and breadth of His Word, and for its power.
'Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?' (Jer 23:29)
