Jeremiah — Chapter 29
Synopsis: Jeremiah's letter to the exiles in Babylon: settle down, build houses, seek the city's peace (pray for Babylon). Do not believe the false prophets among you. After 70 years God will restore you. The famous 'plans of peace, not affliction' verse.
Verse 11
For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of affliction, to give you an end and patience. One of the most quoted consolatory verses in Jeremiah. Lapide: 'cogito cogitationes pacis, non afflictionis' — God's thoughts toward His people are always ultimately peace-thoughts, even when He sends tribulation; the tribulation is the means to the peace. 'End and patience' = an eschatological hope worth enduring for.
Verse 13
And you shall seek me, and shall find me: when you shall seek me with all your heart. God's promise that earnest, wholehearted seeking finds Him. Lapide: the condition is crucial — 'with all your heart' (bechol-levavechem). Half-hearted or intermittent seeking does not find God. This is why so many think they have sought God and not found Him — they sought with part of their heart.