Saturday June 13, 2104

Read Jeremiah 29

Contextual reading of the Scriptures is a great thing to always keep in mind and to always practice. Let me give you a silly little example of what pain and agony non contextual reading can produce. In 2 Samuel 17:23 we read that Ahithophel put his house in order and then went and hanged himself. In Luke 10:37 Jesus said, ‘Go and do likewise.’ With a non-contextual reading we could easily put the two verses together and encourage people to go and do what Ahithophel did. The old saying is so true – a Bible text without a context is a pretext to say whatever you want.

Unfortunately not all un-contextual readings are so easy to spot. Several people have taken the passage in Jeremiah 29 out context and used it as a kind of generic blessing. God has plans to prosper you. God has something great in store for you. God has great blessings lined up for you. While these may sound exciting, biblical and desirous we need to understand the context in which they were written.

Jeremiah was in Jerusalem and most of the city had been destroyed by the Babylonian army and many were exiled to Babylon. The prevailing belief in Jerusalem was that those in the city were blessed and those in the exiled lands were cursed. Apart from Jeremiah all the prophets were preaching lies to the people that God would bring peace and return Jerusalem to its former glory in a relatively short time.

Jeremiah writes to the exiles and encourages them to settle in the land of exile. They will not return to the Promised Land for 70 years! In that land they are called to marry, to plant and to grow. God will bless them as they serve in a foreign land, seeking God with all their heart. Their hope is that God will one day reverse the curse of the exile and bring the people back to the Promised Land.

The application for us is not necessarily that God will prosper us and bless us immensely, especially if we are talking about financial and material blessings. This line of argument removes the Word of God and its applicability to 85% of the Christian world that live near or below the poverty line. To say that God only blesses rich western Christians is as absurd as it is heretical and chauvinistic!

In a sense Christians are in exile from the heavenly Promised Land and God has provided a way back to that Land through Jesus His Son who paid the full redemption price by His death and resurrection. Everyone who believes in Jesus will be blessed spiritually. According to Ephesians 1:3 have every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus in the heavenly realms. When we seek the Lord with all of our heart we will find Him and He will answer our prayers – obviously in accord with His will and His character. And as we draw near to God we will seek the welfare and blessing of the people in the city/region/country in which we live. God will work through us to bring many more people into His glorious kingdom.

Prayer:

Using today’s passage and the reading notes spend time in prayer.

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

· Ask the Lord to be working powerfully in China through the House Church movement. Ask God to raise up leaders and people who are willing to go the extra mile for the Lord’s kingdom and work. Pray that many would continue to come to faith in Christ.

· Pray that God would encourage, equip and protect Christians in Israel and Iraq and other middle eastern areas. Pray that they would be granted a boldness to continue serving God and that they would see many come to Christ in faith.

 Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. If Jesmond-Lee were going through a tough time in her marriage at present (she’s married to a non Christian) would you be able to encourage her with Jeremiah 29:11-12? why or why not?

2. In what situation could you use these verses to bless someone?

3.  What problems arise when we simply drop  the OT onto NT believers?

4. Can you work out a way to biblically apply the OT to NT believers?