Jeremiah 29:11 is an oft-quoted verse, that brings with it lots of comfort and reassurance.  “’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.’”  We love to wrap ourselves in the warm embrace of the comforting principle that God is wanting great things for us. 

As I was reading through Jeremiah 29 recently, I kind of got to thinking - - What exactly was going on at the time when God spoke these words?  Who was He talking to, and what was the context? 

At this period in history, God was completely fed up with the Israelites. “My people are fools; they do not know Me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.” (Jer. 4:22)  The Israelites had disobeyed God’s commands and chosen to do things their own way.  When God confronted them about it, they refused to repent.  So, in 587 BC, God allowed the ruthless, idol-worshiping, materialistic Babylonians to destroy the beloved city of Jerusalem and carry the leading citizens of the Kingdom of Judah off as prisoners to Babylon. 

Once exiled, God told the Israelites to find contentment and to settle in to their situation, because it was going to last for a while – 70 years, to be exact.  (Jer 29:10). 

The picture of the relationship between God and the Israelites at this point is almost like the picture of a father who has sent his child to sit on his/her bed and have a time out.  It’s almost as if God is leaning against the doorframe of the bedroom, explaining to the child the current situation about his/her punishment.  “Here’s the deal.  You’re going to spend the required time sitting on your bed, thinking about what you’ve done.  Get comfortable.  You can go to the bathroom if you need to, and here’s some water and snacks.  No texting or communicating with your friends in any way, because they aren’t helpful to you in this.  Get comfortable, because you will be here for a while. If you need me, I’ll be right here – I’d love to talk whenever you’re ready.”

How many times does God allow us to suffer the sad and painful consequences of our own sins?  How often do we want the consequences to just be over already, but in reality it might sometimes have to take a really, really, long time?  How often do we allow that period of suffering to soften our hearts, change us from the inside out, and bring us closer to God?
  

God so loves his people and, in His great tenderness towards them in the midst of this severe punishment, gave these words of encouragement.  “For I know the plans I have for you – plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

He essentially said to them, “Look, people.  I’m not just doing this to be mean to you.  I have very good reason for what I’m doing here, and it’s for your own good.  I want to do so much more with you, but this punishment is part of the process.”  

God goes on to explain in the following verses that after this period of punishment, He will begin listening to His people and hearing them when they call to him.  And eventually, He would begin restoring them from their places of punishment.

It seems to me that in Jeremiah 29:11 God is telling us that He has a plan in our punishment.  I believe He wants it to change us so that we are restored to a better relationship with Him. It may take a really long time for the punishment to get through to us, and so God may be asking us to settle in and submit to the process, because He has great plans for our future.

Hananiah was a dude. 

There’s a teeny little chapter written about him in the book of Jeremiah – chapter 28.  Jeremiah was a prophet, and God spoke through him to the people of Israel about how completely fed up He was with their refusal to repent and change their ways, and what the consequences were going to be for this refusal.  At this time there were other dudes that spoke up as well.  Hananiah was one of them. 

Hananiah stood up one day and spoke to Jeremiah in the presence of the priests and all the people.  He spoke eloquently.  It sounded just like a prophecy.  It was a prediction that God would not further punish the nation of Israel, but rather that God would rescue them from their oppressors and restore them as a nation. 

It sounded really good.  In a time when Jeremiah was prophecying a hard-core message of repentance and impending judgment and doom, Hananiah produced a message that was all nice and warm and fuzzy.

More than likely it was very well-received, because it probably was what the people wanted to hear.  Hananiah could have easily felt bolstered by this positive response to his message, and proceeded to speak with even more confidence. 

Jeremiah wasn’t quite sure.  He told Hananiah he wanted to wait and see if what he predicted would really come true.

Turns out, Hananiah was wrong.  God spoke to Jeremiah with a twist on Hananiah’s prophecy that was more than dire.  Jeremiah went back to Hananiah and told him, “The Lord has NOT sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in LIES. …Therefore…this very year you are going to die…” (Jer 28:15)

Sure enough, that year Hananiah died.

….Sometimes, People Are Wrong. 

Very persuasive people.

These people can be so convinced that they are right and lead others to believe the same.  Their message is believable and sounds good.

But that doesn’t change the fact that they are wrong.

God takes this sort of thing very seriously, exhibited by His judgment on Hananiah.  When someone is in a position of influence and leadership, God holds them to a higher standard of accountability.  “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” (James 3:1)  Why this higher standard of accountability?  Because of the power over people.  God loves every individual on the face of the earth, and takes it very seriously when someone takes people down a wrong path.