The word that God had spoken through Jeremiah came to pass. All of the promises that God made in Jeremiah 25:1–38, Jeremiah 27:1–22, Jeremiah 29:1–32, and Jeremiah 51:1–64 came to pass.
Because the Lord is in complete control of history, we can be sure that he will always keep his promises. There is nothing and no one that can stop him from doing what he has promised to do.
God is completely unlike human beings. We struggle to keep the promises we make to other people. So often we say one thing but do something else. Even if we want to keep our promises, sometimes things happen (e.g., we get sick) that mean we cannot keep our word even if we try. But God is not like us. He always keeps his promises. Nothing and no one can stop him from doing what he has promised.
We must make sure that we know what the promises are that God is making to us today. We are no longer under the old covenant. It’s important that we recognize the distinction between the promises that God has made to people living under the old covenant and the promises that God has made to us in the new covenant through the blood of Christ.
For example, Jeremiah 29:10 contains the promise from God that his people will live in exile for seventy years, and it is immediately followed by Jeremiah 29:11 where God tells his people, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” In their original context, those words are a promise that God made to the exiles living in Babylon. If we don’t recognize the distinction between old and new covenant promises, we will claim promises from God that he has not made to us. We will be discouraged when God does not give us the things that he has not promised to give us.
There are lots of promises that God has made to us as Christians today:
God has promised that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
God has promised that if we seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, he will care and provide for us (Matthew 6:25–34).
God has promised salvation to all who believe in his Son (Romans 1:16–17).
God has promised that all things will work out for good for his children (Romans 8:28). This does not mean we can expect to be wealthy, but that even if we go through difficult times, we can know it is for our good.
God has promised to give wisdom to us if we pray and ask him for it (James 1:5).
We need to know the promises that God is making to us as Christian believers so that we can know what to expect from God.
1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: