BROADCASTS.com

b'READ: JEREMIAH 29:4-14\\n\\n\\n\\nAnother important piece to consider when interpreting a verse is the literary context. In other words, what\\u2019s going on in the Bible before and after this verse? To do this, we have to zoom all the way out to consider where the verse fits into the larger story of the Bible, then zoom in to see where it fits into its book of the Bible, and then where it fits into the surrounding verses.\\n\\n\\n\\nFor example, let\\u2019s look at Jeremiah 29:11: \\u201c\\u2018For I know the plans I have for you,\\u2019 says the Lord. \\u2018They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.\\u2019\\u201d\\n\\n\\n\\nFirst, let\\u2019s zoom all the way out. God created everything good, but people sinned and brought brokenness to all of creation. So God promised a future Rescuer who would come through Abraham and His descendants, the Israelites. But the Israelites kept on rebelling against God, so He sent people called prophets to warn them to turn back to Him. But they refused and were captured by their enemy, Babylon. It\\u2019s around this time that we find our verse, but let\\u2019s keep going. Later, Israel was delivered out of Babylon and, even later, God sent Jesus to rescue us through His death and resurrection. And someday Jesus will return to make all things new.\\n\\n\\n\\nNow, let\\u2019s zoom in to the book of Jeremiah. In the first half, Jeremiah (a prophet) accused Israel of sinning against God\\u2014oppressing the poor, doing violence, and worshiping idols. He warned them about God\\u2019s judgement. Around Jeremiah 29:11, Israel was conquered by Babylon and many were taken into exile. God\\u2019s judgment came through Babylon, but He reminded His people of a coming Rescuer. The book then shows God\\u2019s judgement against other nations, including Babylon, and it ends with a glimpse of hope: that the Rescuer would come.\\n\\n\\n\\nNow, let\\u2019s look closer at the passages around Jeremiah 29:11. Israel had been captured by Babylon, and false prophets were saying that God would save them soon. We see God\\u2019s response in Jeremiah 29:4-14. God, through Jeremiah, told His people to settle down in Babylon, because they would be there for seventy years. But Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God will rescue them. One day Israel will return to their home, and one day, much later, the Rescuer will come.\\n\\n\\n\\nLooking at the broader context of Jeremiah 29:11, we see God was telling Israel that, while the people He was talking to would die in captivity, His ultimate plan to redeem the world would not be thwarted. And in that plan we find hope. \\u2022 Taylor Eising\\n\\n\\n\\n\\u2022 How can looking at a verse in its literary context help us understand the Bible, and God, better?\\n\\n\\n\\n\\u201cIf you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.\\u201d Jeremiah 29:13 (NLT)'