Message of the Day: There Is A Future And A Hope!
“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.” (Jeremiah 29:11, NKJV)
In 597 BC several thousand of Jerusalem’s most capable people were taken captive to Babylon. Among them were some false prophets who began to predict, as Hananiah had done, that Babylon was about to fall and that the Judean captives were about to return to Jerusalem. Jeremiah, on hearing this, wrote a letter to the community of captives.
The advice Jeremiah gives to the exile is that they settle down to a more or less permanent way of life, as they will not be returning o Judah in the near future. They should try also to increase their numbers, for this would help them build towards a strong future. They should work for the good f the nation under whose government they live, and should not believe the predictions of the false prophets. The people will be in captivity for seventy years, but these will years of discipline, during which God will prepare them for a better future.
God is the ultimate source of both prosperity and disaster. There is a future and a hope through exile. Israel shall not come to an end; the exile shall be followed by a restoration.
Here God allows us to understand that he will fulfill his promises; that if we believe, seek him and pray, he will listen and will find him if we seek sought him with our whole heart (Jer. 29:10-13). Indeed, there is hope and a future in the midst of hardships and despair.
Sources:
Fee, Gordon D. and Stuart, Douglas. How to read the Bible Book by Book. A Guided Tour. Manila, Philippines: OMF Literature Inc., 2004.
MySword for Android. Riversoft Ministry, 2011-2019.
Olive Tree Bible software, 1998-2020.
Zondervan NASB Study Bible. Grand Rapids Michigan: Zondervan, 1999.
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