Bible Commentaries
Jeremiah 29

Verses 1-32

Jeremiah 29:6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.

Jeremiah 29:6 Comments Jeremiah 29:6 reflects the divine commission of Genesis 1:26-30, in which God commanded Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and take dominion over the plant and animal life upon earth.

Jeremiah 29:7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

Jeremiah 29:7 Comments - The same idea of having peace is seen in 1 Timothy 2:2, “For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”

Jeremiah 29:8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.

Jeremiah 29:9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.

Jeremiah 29:10 For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

Jeremiah 29:10 Comments - Jeremiah 29:10 must have really had an impact on Daniel, because he began fasting and praying (Daniel 9:2).

Daniel 9:2, “In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.”

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Jeremiah 29:11 Comments - Divine judgment has a determined goal, which is always good. God’s judgment upon His people was for the purpose of restoring them back to Him, so that they would walk in peace.

Jeremiah 29:12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

Jeremiah 29:12 Comments The trial of the Babylonian Captivity was intended to turn the hearts of the Jewish people back to God. Therefore, this was a good thing, as the Lord states in the previous verse. The results of divine judgment are ultimately good results, because it produces repentance and restored fellowship with God as people seek the Lord for deliverance and comfort.

Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13 Comments - God does not reward those who seek Him with worldly sins in their hearts. We must come to God with genuine repentance in a pure heart. Note these words from Frances J. Roberts:

“O My people, I have called thee to repentance and confession and forgiveness and cleansing; but ye have listened to My words as though they were but slight rustlings in the tree-tops as though they were of little consequence and could be brushed aside at will. Behold, I say unto thee: Ye cannot resist My Spirit without suffering pain; and ye cannot turn a deaf ear to My words without falling thereafter into the snare of the enemy. Ye have not cried unto Me with all your hearts, buy ye have complained that I have not heard your prayers. Lo, is it not written, ‘The Lord is the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him?’ And again, ‘Then shall ye find Me, when ye seek for Me with all thy heart.’ Look no more to My hand to supply freely thy needs when ye have not humbled your hearts and cleansed your hands and come to Me with the sacrifice which I have required even a broken and a contrite heart. Ye need not listen for Me to speak to thee when your ears are heavy from listening to evil reports.” [23]

[23] Frances J. Roberts, Come Away My Beloved (Ojai, California: King’s Farspan, Inc., 1973), 54.

“Hold fast that which thou hast, and let no man take thy crown. Let no man hinder thee in pursuit of the reward. Let nothing stand in the way of thy complete victory. Let no weariness or discouraging thought cause thee to unloose the rope of faith, but bind it the tighter and anchor fast to My Word. For My Word can never fail, yea, and all My good promises I will surely fulfill. Have not I said, ‘He that seeketh shall find’? And have not I promised to be the rewarder of them that diligently seek Me? Not of the dilatory seeker, but of the diligent seeker. Not of him whose seeking is in reality only wishing, but of him who has grown so intent in his quest that he has become wholly absorbed to the extent that he is unmindful in hi toiling of the sweat upon his brow. To the extent that he has ceased reckoning the cost, indeed, verily, has quit offering bribes, as though the fullness of God might be purchased, and has set out on foot, deserting all else to follow the call of the Spirit until…Until hunger is swallowed up in fullness….” [24]

[24] Frances J. Roberts, Come Away My Beloved (Ojai, California: King’s Farspan, Inc., 1973), 108.

Scripture References - Note similar verses in Scripture:

Deuteronomy 4:29, “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.”

2 Chronicles 15:12, “And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul ;”

2 Chronicles 31:21, “And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered .”

Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Jeremiah 29:32 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the LORD; because he hath taught rebellion against the LORD.

Jeremiah 29:32 Comments - Look at how God will punish men by denying male children to carry on the family name. God still cuts off the wicked like this today.