Like many young people in Africa, Siyoka had migrated from his home village to a larger town in search of a job. He lived with relatives and sent every penny he could back to his widowed mother and two younger brothers. It was the music that first attracted him to meetings held by Pastor Mbena, … Continue reading –>
All through the book of Jeremiah, as through all the Bible, we are confronted with the question of good and evil. And as Christians we know good from evil, because God has defined these terms for us in many different ways. (See, for example, Rom. 7:7, Mic. 6:8, Josh. 24:15, Matt. 22:37-39, Deut. 12:8.) But … Continue reading –>
Read Jeremiah 44:1-10. What were the captives doing in Egypt? During the Egyptian captivity, Jeremiah had to face the same problem he had while he and his people had lived in Judah. At that time he had to talk to the leaders; now he had to talk to the common people, who in captivity were … Continue reading –>
Read Jeremiah 43:8-13. What did the Lord say through Jeremiah? Tahpanhes was a town at the northeastern border of Egypt, which had significant fortifications and where a great number of Jewish colonists lived. Here again, the Lord wants Jeremiah to act out a prophecy symbolically. Even though words are powerful, sometimes when things are done … Continue reading –>
If you haven’t read ahead, Jeremiah 42:1-22 could be very exciting. What will the people do? Would they reach out in faith, a faith that is revealed in obedience, and remain in Judah? Or would they make the same mistakes that were made in the past, and instead of following a clear thus saith the … Continue reading –>
Read Jeremiah 42:1-22. What powerful message is found there, not just for them, but for anyone who seeks guidance from the Lord in prayer? Fearful of the Babylonians, the people seek out Jeremiah and ask him to pray for them for divine guidance. They must have known by now that Jeremiah was indeed a prophet … Continue reading –>
One would think that with the destruction of the city and the total defeat by the Babylonians, all the people would have learned their lesson. Unfortunately, not all did, and the drama wasn’t over yet. Read Jeremiah 40:7-16. What message was given (again) to the people? What is the significance of the word remnantused in … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Jer. 40:7-16, Jeremiah 41-43, Exod. 16:3, Num. 16:13, Jeremiah 44:1-30. Memory Text: May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the Lord your God sends you to tell us (Jeremiah 42:5, NIV). This week’s lesson brings us toward … Continue reading –>
The desert sun streamed down mercilessly as the little man crept forward with his bow. From his thin, wrinkled appearance one might suppose he was in his seventies, but his body was accustomed to the scarcity of food and water, and his reflexes were lightning fast. Steeped in the accumulated wisdom of his ancestors, he … Continue reading –>
As we saw, the Bible teaches that the rainbow is a sign of God’s covenantal promise never to destroy the earth by water again. Sure, thanks to science, we now know that a rainbow occurs when sunlight is both refracted and reflected in drops of water, dispersing the light at various angles. Light enters a … Continue reading –>
