As we have seen, people want to believe good news, not bad. They wanted to believe, for instance, in Hananiah’s message, not Jeremiah’s. Today the same thing happens as well. Many still insist, for instance, that our world will only improve over time. Yet, even an atheist like Terry Eagleton sees just how farcical that … Continue reading –>
Hear now, Hananiah; The Lord hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie (Jer. 28:15). The answer about who was right, whether Jeremiah or Hananiah, came soon enough. Jeremiah 28:16-17 tells the fate of the false prophet, which was just what the true prophet had said it would be. … Continue reading –>
The battle between the prophets wasn’t just one of words, but of deeds as well. In obedience to the command of God, Jeremiah put the wooden yoke around his neck; this was an overt symbol of the message that he had carried to the people. What was the prophetic symbolism of Hananiah’s act? Jer. 28:1-11. … Continue reading –>
Bad news is bad news, and often we don’t want to hear it, or we want to rationalize it away. Such was the case here in Judah with Jeremiah and the yoke that he bore, an unmistakable message of warning to the people. The amazement of the assembled council of nations knew no bounds when … Continue reading –>
Read Jeremiah 27:1-18. What is the message of the Lord to the people? Why would this seem treasonous to many who heard it? The yoke Jeremiah had to put on his body was an unmistakable sign of the humiliation that the nation suffered; it’s what we call a military occupation. (In Deuteronomy 28:48 and 1 … Continue reading –>
No question, Jeremiah’s lot in life wasn’t an easy one (he would be the first to admit it too!). Things, though, were even harder than we might have imagined. Read Jeremiah 16:1-13. What was the Lord’s message to Jeremiah here? However harsh, in what ways would it have been a blessing to the prophet? (Compare … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Jer. 16:1-13; Hos. 1:1-3; Jer. 27:1-18; Dan. 4:25; Jeremiah 28:1-17; 2 Tim. 4:3-4. Memory Text: And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me (Luke 9:23). As we have already seen, God’s prophets … Continue reading –>
Wesley Banda pastored several villages in Malawi. The family lived in a two-room house. Because the area had no electricity, Mrs. Banda prepared the family meals outside over an open fire. One evening after dinner Mrs. Banda returned to her fire to prepare the morning meal of sadza (a thick porridge of cornmeal). Her husband … Continue reading –>
As the lesson stated, the depth of corruption that had befallen Israel can be seen in the kind of reforms that Josiah had to undertake. How, though, could the nation have fallen so far? In one sense, the answer is easy: it’s because humanity has fallen so far. Just how far humanity has degraded was … Continue reading –>
Despite the forewarning of doom, Josiah was still determined to do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Maybe disaster couldn’t be averted, but in announcing the retributive judgments of Heaven, the Lord had not withdrawn opportunity for repentance and reformation; and Josiah, discerning in this a willingness on the part of God … Continue reading –>
