God spoke

Heb 1:1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,

"Our fathers" - The Old Testament was written as a message to our fathers, not us. We can learn much from it, but we always must remember we are not the primary audience. When Jeremiah relays "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope," we must know that was not written as a promise to us but to our fathers. We can learn valuable lessons about God's character that apply to us, but we can't apply the promise to us directly.