Peachy, right? Well, God then goes on to promise destruction on those who falsely promised the Jews an easy life even if they ignored Him (see 29:15-32). But should it be? Do you know the book of Jeremiah was written to God’s people that they would be conquered by the Babylonians and exiled to a foreign country? There’s a LOT of bad news in that book, and 29:11 stands as a beacon of hope that even though they were being punished for disobeying God, God would still be faithful to His promise and bring them back to the Promised Land SO THAT they would call on Him and live in fellowship with Him as was originally intended (see 29:12-14).

You’ll find it on mugs, plaques, pens, keychains, and everything in between. In other words, you need to understand the 5 W’s of a passage before you decide whether this can become your life verse or was promised only to the original audience.įor example, Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the most-quoted Bible verses in gift shops. Reading a random Bible verse means you miss the context.Īs we talked about before, you can’t properly interpret and apply a text without understanding who it was written to, as well as the what, when, where, and why. They’re a great way to remind us of God’s Truth when we’re scrolling our Facebook feed.īut it’s a bad approach to studying the Bible. In fact, I share these beautiful verse images on my Facebook page all the time. Now let me clarify: there’s nothing wrong with reading or sharing Bible verses that you see online or receive in your inbox.

Well, other than the hockey-pokey blind hope of landing on a great verse (and not something like “For at the voice of the Lord, Assyria will be terrified” (Isaiah 30:31), it’s a terrible way to engage with Scripture if you’re hoping to grow in your knowledge and love for God. You read the verse and, satisfied, close the Bible and check “Bible reading” off your list. Then you close your eyes, wriggle your finger in the air, and let it land on a random Bible verse.

Imagine this: you pull the Bible of the shelf, dust off the cover, and let the book fall open to a random page.

Random bible verse of the day