Don't Take This the Wrong Way

There are verses, popular verses, that are often lifted wholesale out of context and applied willy-nilly where they ought not be. They are some of the favorite ones, the ones the Christians love to go to. "There," they say soothingly, "that should solve that." But ... it doesn't.

Some of these are just bad exegesis. Take, for instance, the famous, "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst" (Matt 18:20). The suggestion is that we need to be in a group for Christ to be in our midst. Apparently He needs more than one in order to be present. What about if there are four of us? No, that wasn't the intent here. The context is church discipline (Matt 18:15-20). The warning is that we are doing this together and need to be both bold and cautious because Christ is there. It is not a secret formula to get Jesus to be present. Another is the well-known "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Phil 4:13). You understand, I hope, that the "all things" is listed in the text. What? "I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am" (Phil 4:11-12). Close behind this one both in the pages of Scripture and in misuse is "And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Phil 4:19). How do so many get to "God will give me whatever I want" from this? (Again, remember the context -- "I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.")

One of the top verses on the list of these kinds is Jeremiah 29:11. It is so popular that it is possible that just by giving you the reference you might know the content.

'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. (Jer 29:11)

Now, many a godly Christian will be quick to tell you, "That's not for you." And the context is important here. God is speaking to Israel about what will happen "when seventy years have been completed for Babylon" (Jer 29:10). He goes on to promise,

'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.' (Jer 29:12-14)

So there is a segment of Christendom that points to this to say, "See? God wants you to be rich!" You see that, don't you? "I will restore your fortunes," He says. "I have plans for your welfare." So clearly God wants for us to be happy, healthy, and rich. Whew! A bona fide promise from God! Except the context alone precludes this. The promise is to Israel, and not all of Israel, but the Israel exiled to Babylon. To stretch it to something more is neither reasonable nor right. God makes no promise to make His people happy, healthy, and rich.

I disagree, on the other hand, that this verse is not applicable to believers today. Oh, sure, we need to be careful. Don't read too much into it. Don't assume what the text and context don't say. When I read this, I understand, based on the character of God, that He has plans for good for His people ... for all time. I'm cautious about what form that "good" will take, but to me this is simply the Old Testament Romans 8:28. And, remember, in that promise the "good" that is promised is not "wealth" or "health", but to be formed into the image of Christ (Rom 8:29). As such, I still consider this verse, properly understood, as relevant and applicable as long as it isn't dragged, kicking and screaming, out of context to be misused and misapplied.

One of our very popular verses these days in America is the famous "If My people" verse.

[If] My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land (2 Chron 7:14)

There you have it! If we American Christians will simply humble ourselves, pray, seek God's face, and turn from sin, God promises to heal our land. Well, let's get to it! Except that's not what's going on here.

Notice that I started that verse with a bracketed word because the verse is actually in the middle of a sentence and, in the NASB, at least, the "if" isn't there -- it's in the previous verse. In the Hebrew text, the word isn't there; it's in verse 13. "If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people ..." (2 Chron 7:13). Now you have the context. God is speaking about Israel, to be sure. More to the point, He is speaking about what He will do if He brings judgment to His people because of their sin. In that case, if they repent, He will withdraw that judgment.

Again, I disagree with those that tend toward the "this has no application to us today". I believe, based on the character of God, that if God's people -- us -- find ourselves in sin and temporal judgment for that sin and we humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our sin, that He will hear us and restore us. Our "land"? Well, since this is not the "Promised Land", I don't think we can expect that. Since we are not a theocracy, I don't think that is included in this. I would include our "land" in the sense of our lives, our families, our churches, our immediate surroundings, so to speak. And I wouldn't expect necessarily physical restoration, but certainly spiritual. The principle that God judges sin (Heb 12:5-11) and those who repent can be healed is still in effect today. As such, I would still urge believers to carry out the "if" part of this verse.

Unbelievers lack the ability to understand the things of God (1 Cor 2:14). Unfortunately, either from immaturity (Heb 5:11-14) or personal sin (Isa 59:2; 1 Peter 3:7) or from the "Tares Syndrome" (Matt 13:25-30), many Christians (or so-called) fail to understand as well. This is why Paul told Timothy to rightly handle the Word of God (2 Tim 2:15) (ironically, another of those verses that some believers misuse). This is why we, too, should be diligent to know Him and His Word.