Day 56: Jeremiah 23:9-Jeremiah 33:22 - 90 Day Challenge

Jeremiah 29:11 Doesn't Mean What You Think It Means 

And Some Notes on Being a Good Fig 

Jeremiah continues to proclaim God's word amid false prophets, and the Lord tells Jeremiah a metaphor. Jeremiah sees some figs, a basket of good ones, and a basket of bad ones, so bad they cannot be eaten. The Lord says similarly, there are good exiles and bad ones, and those who are good or who become good figs will be given a heart to know God, and they will be His people, and He will be their God--because they have returned to Him with all their heart (Jeremiah 24:7). 

Then we get to It. The big prophecy. The Israelites are spending 70 years in exile and captivity to atone for their sins. At this point, everyone thinks Jeremiah is insane. They had been told lies that were pleasing from false prophets for years, and here comes Jeremiah, with all this bad news. Of course they're going to think he's insane! But what comes next is a very defining point of the Israelites--they begin to threaten Jeremiah with death. 

Now, we get to Jeremiah 29. How often do you hear Jeremiah 29:11, particularly when coming across a big life decision. "For I know the plans for you," says the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." This plan? It's to send the Israelites into exile for seventy years. Those seventy years end with a bright and beautiful future with the Lord, but it takes SEVENTY YEARS to get there!! Moral of the story: God's plan happens on God's time, and it's not for us to apply our understanding. Sometimes God's plan begins with devastation, but it leads to something beautiful in the end. It just takes time. Also, the verse right after Jeremiah 29:11 says that "Then, you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you." We need to keep up our line of communication with the Lord. 

This all sounds like a disaster, but Israel will be restored again. I highlighted basically everything in Jeremiah 31-33. It's beautiful. Some of my favorites are the simplest ones. 

Jeremiah 31:34--"For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." 

Jeremiah 32:27--"I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?"

Jeremiah 32:40-41--"I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul." 

Jeremiah 33:8--"I will cleans them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me." 

God will. God will forgive. God will save His people. God does have a plan for each of us. But we CAN'T use Jeremiah 29:11 to talk about it, at least, not in the way that we currently use it. 


God does have a plan for us. It is a good plan. But it is not always our plan. It could be a long, windy, unexpected, and bumpy path. But God will always deliver us from it. 

Tomorrow's reading: Jeremiah 33:23-Jeremiah 47:7
Have a blessed Sunday! 
Jill Jafarace
Director of Student Ministries
New Leaf UMC



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 28: 2 Kings 15:27-2 Kings 25:30 - 90 Day Challenge

Image
Finishing Kings The Downfall of Israel and Jerusalem  We've done it! Two more books of the Bible done! 1 and 2 Kings were, to put it lightly, bizarre at times. We had several Kings who were literal   children , and in those cases, they seemed to be running things better than the adults!  I really, truly, liked today's reading. No, not about Israel being taken over and destroyed, nor about Jerusalem meeting the same fate. Rather, I loved  that two kings, one in Israel and one in Jerusalem (king of the tribe of Judah) did right by the Lord. The people who came before and after them? Evil. (As is seemingly the theme of the books of Kings).  But the way Hezekiah was unafraid to worship the Lord, and to guide the people of Israel back into peace with the only true God who delivered them from what would have otherwise been a death sentence in Egypt, was amazing to read. The way he so freely called upon the Lord and chose to seek His council when faced...
Read more

Day 87: Jude 1-Revelation 17:18

Image
The Beginning of the End  Today, we begin the final book of the Bible: Revelation. But before that, we read Jude, which serves as a bit of a warning. It implores us all to remember that although God delivered His people from Egypt, He destroyed those who didn't believe. But we must build ourselves up in the mercy of Christ that was freely given to us. We must keep ourselves in God's love.  And so, Revelation begins.  I'd like to point out that the book of Revelation begins with a blessing for each person who reads it. So that should make you feel good about the past 86 days!  The first chapter is dedicated to describing Jesus in a different way--not by his actions, but by his spirit. He was. He is. And he is to come yet again. And he is alive for ever and ever.  In chapter 2, we get this amazing verse in 2:7-- Whoever has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, ...
Read more

Day 85: Hebrews 1:1-James 3:12

Image
Finishing Strong!  I'd like to start with a brief explanation and apology for my weekend-long absence. Thursday night, while taking my dogs out on leashes to potty, my two sub-20 lb dogs were attacked by a dog which weighed 40 lbs more than I did. Both dogs are okay, though one did have to undergo surgery, but it was an extremely traumatizing experience for me, and I needed some time to decompress (and figure out how to take care of a post-surgery 11-yr-old dog, and entertain a puppy who's best friend is out of commission). All three of us are okay, and the attack could have gone very differently. I praise God for allowing us to get through it with comparatively minor damages. To those of you who knew, thank you all for your support, well wishes, and prayers.  Hebrews is a really interesting book of the Bible. And it basically does my whole job for me. It summarizes the entire Bible . (Okay well sort of. It summarizes the meaning of the Bible).  Pretty cool,...
Read more