Jeremiah 42:10

My Notes

What Does Jeremiah 42:10 Mean?

"If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you." After the fall of Jerusalem, God offers the survivors an astonishing deal: STAY in the land and I will BUILD you (not tear down), PLANT you (not uproot). Even more remarkably, God says 'I repent of the evil I have done unto you.' The God who judged now expresses something like regret — and offers rebuilding to those who remain.

The phrase "I will build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up" (uvaniti etkhem velo eheros venatati etkhem velo etosh) reverses Jeremiah's own commission: in 1:10, God told Jeremiah his ministry would include 'to root out, to pull down, to destroy' AND 'to build, to plant.' The pulling down has been completed. NOW comes the building and planting. The commission's second half is beginning.

The "I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you" (nichamti el hara'ah asher asiti otkhem — I have relented/felt compassion regarding the disaster I did to you) is one of Scripture's most remarkable divine statements: God expresses REGRET — or more precisely, relenting — about the judgment He brought. The punishment was deserved. The judgment was just. And God still feels something about having administered it.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What rubble is God asking you to stay in — because the rebuilding starts there?
• 2.What does God 'repenting of the evil He has done' teach about divine compassion after necessary judgment?
• 3.How does 'build and not tear down' reversing Jeremiah's commission model the shift from judgment to restoration?
• 4.What would STAYING — not fleeing the site of your devastation — look like right now?

Devotional

Stay. I'll build you. I won't tear you down anymore. I'll plant you. I won't uproot you anymore. And — I regret what I had to do to you. God offers the survivors of Jerusalem's destruction a fresh start, and the offer includes something staggering: divine relenting about the judgment itself.

The 'build and not pull down, plant and not pluck up' reverses the direction of everything Jeremiah's ministry has been about: for decades, the prophet's work was tearing down and uprooting — announcing judgment, pronouncing destruction, watching the building fall. NOW — after the fall — the other half begins. Building. Planting. The destruction was the prerequisite. The construction begins on the rubble.

The 'I repent me of the evil I have done unto you' is God at His most vulnerable: God doesn't take back the judgment. He doesn't say it was wrong. He says He RELENTS about it — He feels something about having administered it. The punishment was necessary AND God didn't enjoy it. The discipline was deserved AND God grieves having delivered it. Both are true. The justice didn't eliminate the compassion.

The condition is simple: STAY. Don't flee to Egypt (which the people will do anyway, verse 19-22). Stay in the land. Stay in the rubble. Stay where the judgment happened. And in the very place where the tearing-down occurred, the building-up will begin. The site of destruction becomes the site of construction — but only if you stay.

What rubble is God asking you to stay in — because the building begins where the tearing-down happened?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture