Jeremiah’s “Amen!” should be read as an “Oh really?” because
the weeping prophet knows none of the exiles are coming home and the things
that were taken are gone for good. Hananiah may have had his reasons to hope or
he may have just been blowing smoke but it doesn’t matter because in a year
he’ll be dead and peace will be a pipe dream for the people weighed down by the
iron yoke of Babylon. Even so it’s not necessarily a doom and gloom vision like
so much commentary on the state of the economy or the health of the planet or
prospects for peace in the Middle East. Jeremiah prophesies political events
but he is really speaking to the hearts and minds of individuals, calling them
to turn back to the Lord, to forsake false hopes and not to trust in temporal
power to save. Jeremiah is a truth teller and sometimes the most difficult
thing to be told is the truth. But with the truth comes the opportunity to be
reformed and renewed and restored. “For I know the plans I have for you, says
the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a
future.” Jeremiah 29:11 God promises to be found by the exiles who seek the
Lord, even while living under the iron yoke of Babylon. And so it is with us
when we live beyond our limited vision and into the plans God has for us.
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