Today’s passage: Jeremiah 47:1-7

Helpful thoughts:

• God’s promise of judgment now turns toward the Philistines.
• The phrase, “Sword of the Lord” is used here as a figure of speech for judgment. (Judges 7:20)
• The Philistines were attacked and defeated by the Egyptians around 587 B.C.  Yet, this judgment was of the Lord.

Questions to consider:

1. Do you think these nations would have expected to be judged by, or even used in judgment by the Lord who was the God of Israel?  Why or why not?
2. How far does God’s sovereignty, omniscience and justice extend?  Only to Israel?  Only to the church?
3. How far does the love of God extend?  What is our role on this earth as the body of Christ (As ambassadors)? (Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8)

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 45:1-46:28

Helpful thoughts:

• Baruch had written God’s message for Jeremiah and read it to the leaders of Judah in chapter 36.
  • Baruch’s plans and dreams were not compatible with God’s sovereign plan in Judah.  He needed to be encouraged and to rest in God’s will.
• Chapter 46 begins a series of judgments which God had promised on the nations surrounding Israel/Judah.  Egypt is first.
  • The Pharaohs, gods, and mighty men of Egypt are no match for the Lord.
• God promises judgment on the nations.  But, to Israel, He promises to never make an end of them.  This was His gracious choice.

Questions to consider:

1. Why might we feel badly for Baruch?  What do we often want God to do concerning our plans?  Why must we hold them with an open hand?  What do we know about the attributes of God that helps us to adjust to changes with peace?
2. Why is it right for the nations of the earth (And not just Israel) to answer to God as judge?  What were some of Egypt’s sins against Him?
3. Is Israel better than the rest of the nations of the earth in their own right?  Are the people of the church by nature worth more than others in the world?  How does this produce humility and gratitude in us which leads to joyful service (Ephesians 2:8-10)?

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 44:1-30

Helpful thoughts:

• The Mosaic Covenant (The Old Covenant, or the Law) with Israel was conditional.  Israel had agreed to the terms and vowed to follow the Lord.  They did not. (Exodus 24:3)
  • In this chapter, God confirms that He is continuing to fulfill His promise (Deuteronomy 30:15-20).
• The false god Ishtar (Sometimes called Ashtoreth or Astarte) was considered the wife of Baal or Molech in different pagan idolatrous traditions, and therefore the “Queen of Heaven.”  She was the wife of the supreme god in each culture and therefore also the mother of the gods who were their sons/daughters.
  • The Catholic Church has referred to Mary as the Queen of Heaven in what many believe to be a merging of the true biblical account with these pagan traditions.
• The people of Judah who had gone to Egypt believed it was the Queen of Heaven who had been feeding them.  They are declaring that God failed them and are officially giving their allegiance to a different god (One who does not exist by the way…).

Questions to consider:

1. What was the basis for these people’s loyalty to any god?  From their perspective, what did the god have to do to earn their worship?  What is the folly of that last question and their thinking?  Whose will were they truly following and what did they rob themselves of as a result?
2. How does the fact that we don’t worship other gods in our culture today make it hard to see when we might be doing the same thing?  How long do we give God to answer our requests before we start to worry and look elsewhere for answers and resolution?  Instead of others gods, to whom do we tend to look for the answers?
3. Did the Queen of Heaven ever give Judah their food and clothing?  Why not?  Who has met all your needs and who holds your eternal well-being in His faithful and powerful hands?  Why do we have every reason to trust and obey, even during times of adversity?

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 43:1-13

Helpful thoughts:

• The people did not want to go back on their vow, so they called the messenger a liar.  They are declaring Jeremiah to be a false prophet.
• If you trace this narrative through the siege, capture and these latest events, what becomes clear is that the people of Israel had grown to love Israel/Judah more than they loved God.
  • They disobeyed God thinking they were defending Israel/Judah.
  • When Joshua asked the Commander of the Lord’s Army whose side He was on, He made it clear, Israel was to be on His side, not the other way around (Joshua 5:13-15).
• The children of Israel have finally run back to Egypt for safety as they had desired to so many years ago (Numbers 14:1-4).  They did not know that NO country had ever been their safety. Not Egypt, nor Israel or Judah was ever their safety.

Questions to consider:

1. What must be true of our heart as we go to the Word of God?  What do we know about God and therefore about His word (The Bible) that compels us to receive it meekly and submissively?
2. What could Christians in the United States (Or any other country) learn from the sins of Israel and Judah?  Who are the people of God in the world today, is it a country or is it the Church?  Is God “for us” or is the Church for Him?  And, if God is actively loving us and conforming us to Christ (That kind of “For us” – Romans 8:31), then what should He do if we are not living as followers of Christ? (Hebrews 12:6)
3. What made you a child of God? (Romans 9:30-33)  What has Christ (Our King!) called us to do to advance His kingdom? (Matthew 28:18-20)

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 42:1-22

Helpful thoughts:

• Johanan, the captain who had tried to do what was right, wants to know the Lord’s will on what the remnant in Judah is to do next.
• In verses 5-6, the people pledge to obey the Lord’s instruction before they even hear it.
  • All of this looks really good so far…until it doesn’t.
• The command is clear, they are not to go to Egypt.  But God already knows what they will do.  He knows their hearts, their desires and their actions before they even do them.
  • In verse 10, God says He will relent (Put a stop to) the judgment Judah was under if they would obey and stay in the land.  The only way the judgment would continue is if they disobey and leave.

Questions to consider:

1. After the absence of any interaction with God in the previous chapters, what did Johanan’s request look like?  Why might we have gotten excited?  Was his request genuine?  Is everyone who claims Jesus a godly person?  How would we know, or how do we find out?
2. Since the people promised to obey whatever God says, if they choose to go to Egypt what will they have to claim?  They won’t want to break their vow, but they clearly understood the message…who will they have to blame to defend their decision?
3. How important are the doctrines of the authority, infallibility and inerrancy of scripture?  If we cannot trust the Bible, what can we know?  How do these truths concerning the Bible drive us to want to study it all the more?

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 41:1-18

Helpful thoughts:

• Johanan and the captains, who tried to warn Gedaliah in chapter 40, were right.
  • The fact that they ate together in Gedaliah’s home means they had been invited!
• Ishmael was not doing these things to fight for Judah.  He was serving the Ammonites.
• Johanan had been concerned that if Gedaliah was killed, the remnant would scatter and leave Judah.  Many of these people, fearing the retaliation of Babylon, have now fled (Scattered) to Egypt.

Questions to consider:

1. The feel of this chapter is very grim.  Why does it make sense that things are this way?  What condition is Judah in during this time?
2. How might you feel if, even during the conquest of one empire, your fellow countrymen were fighting against your own for yet another enemy?
3. In the midst of all the chaos, where did they need to turn?  How can we have stability and peace even in the midst of chaos going on around us? (Philippians 4:11-13)

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 40:1-16

Helpful thoughts:

• This pagan captain had a better understanding of what God had done than the leaders of Judah.
• The captains and army of Judah that had spread out and hid from the Babylonians came out of hiding after the dust had settled.  They participated in an oath to serve the king of Babylon, not to revolt.
• Gedaliah is warned by one of these captains that there is an assassination being plotted.  We will see in the next chapter whether this was a good move…

Questions to consider:

1. How would Jeremiah have seen the Lord’s sovereignty on display in hearing this Babylonian leader declare the works of the Lord, free him, and send him on to his next ministry?  How would this experience have been incredibly sad (On account of Judah) but also reassuring (On account of the Lord)?
2. What might the Babylonian captain have been saying to Jeremiah when he suggested going to Gedaliah?  Jeremiah was allowed to go wherever he wanted, but there was a “suggestion”, from the Babylonians as to whom they wanted him nearby.  What do you think Nebuchadnezzar wanted Jeremiah to continue to do with or for Gedaliah?
3. What/who is absent from the conversation once the narration returns to Judah?  Who is the only person in this chapter who refers to the Lord?

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 39:1-18

Helpful thoughts:

• The time has come.  Jerusalem is going to fall.
• Leaving the poor in Judah in charge of the vineyards and fields immediately elevated their standard of living.  The idea being, if their live were better under the Babylonians, they would be happy for things to remain that way.
• Jeremiah’s treatment at this time is given in further detail in the next chapter.

Questions to consider:

1. With all that the Lord had commanded leading up to this day, what should the king of Judah have done after verse 3?  What would true repentance have looked like in that moment?
2. How is the Ethiopian man, Ebed-melech, contrasted with King Zedekiah?  How was God consistent with both of them concerning His promises?  Which one of them was showing the fruits of being a child of God?
3. Verse 18 says that Ebed-melech had put his trust in the Lord.  How do we know he did?  How did his actions in the midst of potential opposition prove that out?  What came first, his actions or trust?  How does this correlate with Ephesians 2:8-10?

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 38:1-28

Helpful thoughts:

• When people reject the authority of God and His word, they will call speaking the truth in love, “harm.” (Isaiah 5:20)
• When this man from Africa, Ebed-melech, went to free Jeremiah, he went with thirty other men.  This could be an indication of the struggle to free Jeremiah (Being stuck in the mire of the dungeon) or a preparedness to fight against those who had imprisoned him.
  • This man from Ethiopia was evidencing a greater faith and respect for the Lord than the Jews.  His faith was evidenced by his actions.
• Jeremiah pleads with the king to hear God’s word and obey the Lord.  Zedekiah, in a moment of honest clarity, tells Jeremiah his struggle.  He fears people more than he fears the Lord (Verse 19).

Questions to consider:

1. Why do you think the world looks at submission to God as harmful?  What do we have to acknowledge and confess, what do we have to give up, in order to follow Christ?  Then…what do we gain?
2. If we know that God’s word is truth, and if we know the world will call good “evil”, why do Christians so often go to the world in times of need, such as in counseling, “self-help”, finances, leadership, etc.?  If the Bible is not sufficient for these things, what should we make of verses like 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and 2 Peter 1:3?
3. Zedekiah heard and understood what the Lord had said and yet, he still wasn’t ready to obey.  What was missing?  Whom did he fear?  How does a healthy fear and loving God take our knowledge of the truth to the next step of obedience and righteous living?