Today’s passage: Jeremiah 16:1-21
Helpful thoughts:
- Verses 10-11 may have elicited a response of, “That’s not fair!”…and then verse 12 comes.
- God is not commanding them to serve other gods in Babylon. They were already doing that in Judah. He knows what they will do when they get to Babylon.
- Once God judged Judah, exiled them to Babylon and then brought back the remnant, there would be Jews and Gentiles alike who saw the mighty hand of God and repented.
Questions to consider:
- Why did it seem God did not want Jeremiah to have a wife and children? In what way was it a merciful command to him?
- How does eternity and the person of God (Who He is) help us to view grief in a right perspective? When we mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice, what is our motivation and our goal in doing so?
- What do verses 19-20 teach us about false religion? Why is knowing God “profitable?” What is the profit? What is the good?