Quoting Jeremiah 29.11

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares YHWH, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Christians often quote Jer 29.11, as if it were a message from the Jewish god directed at them.

But to whom was this statement actually addressed when Jeremiah was written?  What was the author really trying to say?

The book of Jeremiah was addressed to Jewish exiles in Babylonian captivity in the 500s BCE (over 2,500 years ago).  Jews were forcibly taken from their homeland and were later allowed to go back, hoping to rebuild their country again.

Ironically, the writers/editors of Jeremiah were mere humans writing their own political/religious opinions, which turned out to be very false in many instances.  This can be demonstrated.  The book claimed to reveal things that the Jewish god Yahweh conveyed to Jeremiah. It claimed that Yahweh was making all kinds of grand promises to the Jewish people, but it exaggerated terribly, and the most significant "prophecies" failed to come true. 

Here is a striking example.  Jeremiah 33.7-18 says,

I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity [in Babylon] and will rebuild them as they were before [the Babylonian captivity]. I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. Then this city [Jerusalem] will bring me renown, joy, praise, and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it. . . . For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before, says Yhwh. . . . In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line; he will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. . . . David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, nor will the priests, who are Levites, ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.

These "promises" allegedly from the Jewish god Yahweh to the captive Israelites never came to pass; nor can they, since now the time is passed when they were supposed to occur. These words merely reflected the national hopes of a portion of the Jewish people in the 500's BCE -- hopes that were sorely disappointed by reality.

1. Contrary to the "prophecy," the Jewish god Yhwh did NOT rebuild Israel "as it was before" the captivity.  

Actually, Israel (the northern tribes) NEVER came back from its northern captivity in Assyria. All the "prophets" who said such things from the 700s down through the 500s were merely wishful thinkers putting words in the mouth of their god. The northern tribes ("Israel") basically disappeared from history. They can, then, never be reunited with the south, as the so-called "prophets" hoped.  That aspect of the "prophecy" is long beyond possibility of fulfillment.

People from the southern tribe of Judah did return from captivity, but their country was not refashioned "as it was before," despite their attempts to make that happen.  

2. After the return from captivity, "David" DID "fail to have a man to sit on the throne" of Israel despite what the book of Jeremiah claimed would happen.  The Jewish attempt to restore their kingdom failed, because the Persians squashed their messianic dreams.  

Furthermore, that prophecy has continued to fail ever since. The kingdom of the legendary David was never restored.  

400 years later (far beyond the original hopes of the writer!!), the Jews had a short-lived kingdom under the Hasmonean dynasty, but it was Levitical, not Judaic or "Davidic."  And there was a brief kingdom under Herod in Roman times, but he was of Arab and Edomite descent, and his ancestors were converts to Judaism!  

The "prophecy" of the restoration of the Jewish kingdom of David was one of the worst failed prophecies in history. Jeremiah said Yahweh would "never" again let the kingdom of Judah fail, but it did fail ... miserably.

3. Jerusalem was NOT honored by "all the nations" for its "peace" and "prosperity."  It is woefully ironic that this would be considered a valid "prophecy," since not only did it fail to happen, but Jerusalem has been a place of violence and bloodshed for so much of its long and tragic history!

4. And who would care if for a few hundred years Israel had Levitical priests to slaughter animal sacrifices, burning their flesh on the altar so that the smoke would rise up to heaven to please the nostrils of Yahweh?  

Does Yahweh like the smell of burning animals bones, fat, and skin as it rises up into the sky?

According to the bible, after the flood, Noah burned some animals on an altar, and "Yahweh smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart, 'Never again will I curse the ground ..." (Gen 8:20-21). 

About 39 times (quite a lot), the Torah speaks of Yahweh smelling the "pleasing aroma" of burnt animal sacrifices: Gen 8:21; Ex 29:18,25,41; Lev 1:9,13,17; 2:2,9,12; 3:5,16; 4:31; 6:15,21; 8:21,28; 17:6; 23:13,18; 26:31; Num 15:3,7,10,13,14,24; 18:17; 28:2,6,8,13,24,27; 29:2,6,8,13,36. 

ex. "...sprinkle their (an ox, sheep, or goat) blood on the altar and burn their fat as an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord." 

What kind of deity likes the smell of burning flesh? Why is it not clear to everyone that this is ancient superstition?

Jeremiah claimed that Yahweh said "nor will the priests, who are Levites, ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices."

But that DID fail, ... more than once. And once the Romans defeated the Jews in 70 CE and again in 135-136 CE, the Jews for hundreds and hundreds of years failed to have a high priest to perform the duties required in the law of Moses. And they still have not restored the animal sacrifice system. 

Nor should anyone try to restore the Levitical sacrifice system, because that would be foolish. Animal sacrifices do not appease divine beings in the sky, contrary to ancient superstitions. And the fabricated story of the human sacrifice of Jesus is just as absurd and primitive. 

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Jeremiah wanted the same thing the other Jewish "prophets" wanted in the 500s BCE. ; They wanted their homeland back with their old religion restored (along with the animal sacrifice system) and a strong and conservative king on the throne. This is NOT what happened.  Even more ironic, that is not what Christianity was about at all, especially after it became dominated by Gentiles who rejected the very law that the "prophets" believed in. 

So when Christians quote Jeremiah 29.10 as if it were directed at them personally, they are 

1. merely fantasizing illogically about a quote that was never directed at them.  

2. quoting a self-proclaimed and false "prophet."

If you actually knew the track record of the Hebrew "prophets," you would not be putting your trust in "the Lord's" ability to know anything about your future!

For a detailed investigation of all of the most important Hebrew "prophets" in their historical context and what actually happened historically after their "prophecies," see 

•  "Prophecies of the Messiah" --  https://sites.google.com/site/investigatingchristianity/home/messiah.

• "Why Jesus Was Not the Messiah" -- the epilogue of the above essay:  https://sites.google.com/site/investigatingchristianity/home/messiah#epilogue.

• The specific historical context of Jeremiah --  https://sites.google.com/site/investigatingchristianity/home/messiah#babylonians.