Today’s passage: Jeremiah 29:1-32

Helpful thoughts:

• Even in exile, the Jewish people would continue to receive false prophecies.
  • Jeremiah even tells then not to believe their dreams.  People can dream dreams that seem prophetic.  Having a dream does not mean that the Lord sent it.
• Jeremiah 29:11 is part of a letter written to Israel during their exile about their return to the promised land.
  • The promise of this verse has implication for the future as well, but people have often taken this verse too far in modern times.  It is not a verse that promises us peace and prosperity every day.
• God’s words and plans show He is still very much in control in a time where the Jews would have felt like He wasn’t.

Questions to consider:

1. What do you think Nebuchadnezzar’s first response would have been to verse 4?  Whom would he have credited with defeating Judah?  How would the culmination of the prophecies of verses 21-23 have given him reason to believe (If he remembered this letter)?
2. What does God do with false prophets?  If people have a desire to prophesy like an Old Testament prophet today, why should they think twice about it?  How does Ephesians 2:19-21 help us understand the extent of the timeframe for the ministry of prophets (and apostles)?
3. Jeremiah 29:11 is a great verse!  What is it’s true meaning and right interpretation (Think: the Gospel and the fulfillment of all God’s promises in the future for His kingdom)?  In what way would it be encouraging to a Christian today?  Why is the real meaning of 29:11 even better than how people have misused it?

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 28:1-17

Helpful thoughts:

• This chapter contains the account of Jeremiah’s interactions with one of Jerusalem’s false prophets.
  • Hananiah prophesies a different message then that of Jeremiah.
  • Jeremiah wishes Hananiah’s prophecy was true, but then reminds him that false prophets will be found out.
  • God reveals Hananiah to be a false prophet through the ministry of Jeremiah…and through his death within the year.

Questions to consider:

1. What was the theme of Hananiah’s “prophecy?”  Why would it had sounded delightful to the people?
2. Why would Hananiah’s false prophecy have brought bars or a yoke of iron?  Besides wishful thinking, what was the great evil of Hananiah’s actions and also the evil of the people’s desire to hear things that sounded better to them than the truth?
3. Is there ever anything that is actually better than what God is doing?  What makes us think otherwise?  When we decide our version of “truth” sounds better, what have we actually given to ourselves?  What have we said to God?  What room is left for the truth of the Gospel?

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 27:1-22

Helpful thoughts:

• Think of verse 5 as God saying to the kings of these nations, “Let me introduce Myself.”
  • These kings may have never even considered the idea of obeying the God of Israel.  Whether they had realized it or not, He is God, and they must answer to Him.
• The point of this prophecy and command from God was this: If these nations surrendered, they would remain in their land.  If they struggled and fought against Babylon, they would be destroyed.
• The vessels Jeremiah speaks of in verses 21-22 will come back to Israel in Ezra 5:13-15.

Questions to consider:

1. If these kings thought the God of Israel only cared about Israel, what did they just learn?  Over what people does God rightfully execute His sovereignty?
2. Did these nations have to agree to follow God before He had this authority?  Why is God the Lord of all?  Who determined that?  What role do people have in making that decision?
3. What does this truth about the sovereignty of God teach us about the judgment and even about something like how we read the Bible?  When a person reads a Bible (Christian or non-Christian), do we look in its words to find out if God is up to our standard or do we learn and here the truth from our rightful master?

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 26:1-24

Helpful thoughts:

• The events of chapter 26 happen before chapters 24 and 25.
• Jeremiah spoke God’s word to the priests, prophets and all the people in the house of the Lord, and they seized him and threatened him.
• The argument of the elders was like this; Since God didn’t destroy us after treating Micah well, and since we killed Urijah, maybe if we don’t kill Jeremiah, God won’t bring this judgment to pass.
  • There isn’t any indication of repentance like that which occurred during the ministry of Micah.  All they seemed to think was that letting prophets live brought favor and killing prophets made God mad.  They were treating God the same way they treated all the false gods.

Questions to consider:

1. Where would you expect a crowd to seize a person communicating God’s word?  What warning can we receive by the fact this occurred inside the Temple by people who had come to “worship” God?
2. What are some ways we might think today, if we do this or that, God will have to show me favor?  Does God work blessings in our lives through a bartering system?
3. Why do we walk in righteousness and love for God and our neighbors?  What is our motivation?  How does looking to Jesus truly bring repentance?

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 25:1-38

Helpful thoughts:

• This message had been the theme of Jeremiah’s preaching and prophesying for 23 years.
• In verses 11-12, God gives the length of time for the Babylonian Exile.  Daniel would later be reading these words and pray to God for the end of the exile (Daniel 9:1-2).
• Every nation, every person in the world is responsible to God.  It isn’t only Israel, or the Church who are responsible to follow Him.

Questions to consider:

1. Where would Jeremiah need to find his strength to persevere and be faithful in his ministry for 23 plus years when the people around him did not respond to God’s word?  Does a flood of positive feedback or negative feedback from people always give us an accurate view of ministry “success”?  By what should we measure our preaching/teaching/ministry?
2. Why might it be easy to see other people who do not believe as if they live in another reality or a separate bubble?  Is the grass truly greener on the “other side” (Psalm 73)?  If a person becomes an atheist, does that make him no longer responsible to God simply because he sees things that way?  Who gets to define reality?
3. Since all nations and all people will be judged, what do all people need to hear and believe to be saved from the wrath to come?  What has God done in love to reconcile people to Himself?

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 24:1-10

Helpful thoughts:

• God uses this vision to show the difference of heart and judgment for the people of Judah.
• The exiling of those who had already left was going to be used by God for their good.  Verses 5-7 contain a series of gracious works God will do for His people.
  • This was not a sorting of good people and bad people.  God is separating out a remnant and giving them hearts to know Him.
• This promise to return a remnant of Israel will see it’s final fulfillment when Christ returns. (Romans 11:25-27)

Questions to consider:

1. If God were to leave Israel/Judah entirely to themselves (Or us for that matter), what would be their end?  Do people naturally submit to God? (Romans 3:10-12)
2. Even in judgment for the sin of the nation, what is God using this hardship to accomplish?  What does God use these difficulties to do for His people? (Romans 8:28-29)
3. In what ways has God used Israel’s rejection to bring salvation to the nations?  What can we learn about God, given that He would intervene in the midst of mankind’s sinful disobedience to save us from ourselves?

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 23:1-40

Helpful thoughts:

• The leaders of Israel and Judah (Kings, priests, prophets) had failed to care for God’s people.  And as they were scattered, God is going to gather them again.
  • The language of verse 3 (“All countries”) points forward to prophecies that have not yet been fulfilled…concerning this Branch who will reign in righteousness.
• Jesus Christ is the Branch!  He will reign in wisdom, justice and righteousness.
  • The Lord Jesus Christ is our righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21)!
• One of, if not the primary job of God’s shepherds is to teach and preach God’s Word.  The people of God must know His Word.
• The Hebrew word translated as “Burden” in the ESV could also be translated as “Oracle”.  The NET translation is very helpful here.

Questions to consider:

1. How does verse 36 inform our thinking about how we listen to or read God’s Word?  If our own thinking and our own hearts either come up with what we believe is God’s Word (False prophecy) OR if we think we can decide what parts of the Bible are good and what parts are “burdensome”, to whom have we truly given authority in our lives?
2. In what ways do we see these practices of false teaching and self-authenticated learning happening today?  What forms does it take in our time and culture?
3. How does the reality of man’s desires and tendency to be re-writers and critics of God’s Word point us back to our need for the righteous Branch and King of kings to be our righteousness?  How does the Gospel free us to read God’s word as it is intended?

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 22:1-30

Helpful thoughts:

• Gilead and Lebanon refers to majestic mountains in the land (Verse 6).  God saw the nation as a beautiful thing, that was to be turned into “wilderness” and ghost towns.
• There is great irony in verses 8-9.  The other nations, who worshiped pagan false gods, would wonder why Israel would have abandoned their own God!  The pagan nations were more faithful to their fake gods than Israel and Judah had been to the true God.
• Coniah, Jeconiah, and Jehoiachin are all referring to the same person. (2 Chronicles 36:9-16)

Questions to consider:

1. What did God say about Josiah’s reign?  Why did things go well during that time?  What was the best thing Josiah had as king of Judah? (Verse 16)
2. What make verses 8 and 9 so striking?  Why does it make sense though that pagan people would have an “easier” time worshiping false gods and God’s own people would struggle to remain faithful to Him?  What is man prone to do in our fallen condition?
3. With that being said, does the fact that the Gospel makes logical sense automatically mean people will get saved if they hear it?  What must happen for a person to be born again and follow Christ? (Ephesians 2:8-9)