From our perspective looking back, it’s hard to believe the hardness of the hearts of the people. As we saw in yesterday’s lesson, Jeremiah’s message-however strong-was still filled with hope. If they repented, God would avert the horrific punishments that, based on the covenant promises and curses, would come upon them. If only they would … Continue reading –>
More challenges. Poor Jeremiah. Since Jeremiah was a godly man, we‘re sure he wasn’t being punished. But he suffered as if he were a lawbreaker or a rebel. Why do trials keep falling on the prophet of God? Do you and I ever get in trouble without doing anything wrong? How do you feel when … Continue reading –>
Read Jeremiah 26:1-6. What hope is the Lord offering the people here? The message here was the same as the message all through the Bible, Old and New Testament, and that is the call to repentance, to turn away from our sin and find the salvation that God offers to all. What is the message … Continue reading –>
As we have seen already, God’s people had been called out to be different from the nations around them, which were all steeped in paganism, idolatry, and false teachings. So many of the warnings in the first five books of Moses were especially against following the practices of their neighbors. Instead, the Israelites were to … Continue reading –>
In Jeremiah 9:1-26, the prophet began his lamentation because he saw the inevitable catastrophe coming to his country and people. God pronounced judgment over Jerusalem, and when God says something, He does it. What they would face wasn’t something fortuitous, not just one of those terrible and inexplicable things that happen from time to time. … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Jeremiah 9:1-26, Jer. 10:1-15, Rom. 1:25, Jeremiah 26:1-24, Acts 17:30, Acts 5:34-41. Memory Text: ‘But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the Lord (Jeremiah … Continue reading –>
Key Thought : Symbols and symbolic acts can communicate powerful messages, and Jeremiah is probably the prophet that uses them the most.. Lesson on Symbolic Acts, October 31 – November 6, 2015 1. Have a volunteer read Numbers 21:5-9. a. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text … Continue reading –>
I never intended to become a Christian. I met God while enrolled in a public boarding school. Actually, I met a girl whom I wanted to date. I got up the courage to ask her out, then went to her study hall to charm her into dating me. I knew she was a Christian, but … Continue reading –>
The image of the potter and the clay, especially as seen in Romans 9:1-33, brings up the important question of how we seek to understand God’s actions. The fact is, of course, we often don’t. That shouldn’t be surprising, should it? Read Isaiah 55:8. As human beings, we simply are very limited in what we … Continue reading –>
Read Jeremiah 13:1-11. What was the symbolic act Jeremiah was ordered to do, and what important lesson was it to teach? This symbolic act has caused some difficulties for interpreters because the river Euphrates (a common interpretation of the Hebrew but not necessarily the only one) was hundreds of kilometers from Jerusalem. Ezra needed four … Continue reading –>
“But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.” Isaiah 64:8 The familiar story of the potter and the clay teaches us profound lessons. For Jeremiah, it illustrated that God is able to not only create, but to start … Continue reading –>
As we saw yesterday, the nation had fallen into deep apostasy. They weren’t getting the message. God then used Jeremiah to do a powerful symbolic act that, ideally, would help wake them up to the danger they were facing. Read Jeremiah 19:1-15. What was Jeremiah to do and what was the meaning of this act? … Continue reading –>
