You might walk away thinking Superman is a bad guy or that the world actually gets taken over by aliens. In fact, you are quite likely to get a very opposite meaning of the movie itself. If you popped in a DVD and randomly watched one chapter in the middle and then turned it off, would you have gathered the meaning of the movie? Or if you watched one scene within one chapter and turned it off? Or course not, on both accounts. And within that big story, it is made up of many smaller stories–all hooking together as one. Jeremiah 29:11 serves as a helpful case study though because it’s such a popular text and also has a fairly simple answer to how to read it correctly. This of course doesn’t only apply to Jeremiah 29:11, it applies to every word of the Bible. And if we get the wrong meaning, we aren’t getting God’s meaning. And isn’t meaning what we’re really after when we call the Bible “God’s word?” If it’s in the wrong context, we are going to get the wrong meaning. The simple answer is: context dictates meaning. Whatever the intended application a person has, taking a verse out of context is never a good idea as it takes God’s word and turns it into man’s word, something that is very dangerous indeed! But the verse can also stand for much more dangerous meanings for some who cling to it as a life verse. Typically people are holding on to it for a sense of hope that God is for them and is in control, two concepts that are biblical, based on other parts of the Bible. Taken out of context, Jeremiah 29:11 is usually pretty harmless. It’s also one of the most taken out of context verses of all time… It’s one of the most memorized and cross-stiched verses of all time! My wife had it on our fridge for years, written on an index card. It was on a poster on our children’s ministry door at church. I once wore it on a bracelet as a teenager. You’ll find Jeremiah 29:11 in many places. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” ( J)ġ5 You may say, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,” 16 but this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your fellow citizens who did not go with you into exile- 17 yes, this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will send the sword, famine and plague ( K) against them and I will make them like figs ( L) that are so bad they cannot be eaten.Jeremiah 29:11 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. ( H) 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back ( I) from captivity. 13 You will seek ( G) me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ( C) 12 Then you will call ( D) on me and come and pray ( E) to me, and I will listen ( F) to you. 11 For I know the plans ( A) I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper ( B) you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
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