2. Key Text:
“‘Behold, the days
are coming,’ says
the Lord, ‘that I
will raise to David
a Branch of
righteousness;
a King shall reign
and prosper, and
execute judgment
and righteousness
in the earth’ ”
(Jeremiah 23:5,
NKJV).
3. We’re now at the end of our study of Jeremiah. It’s been an
adventure; a lot of drama, emotion, and energy have been expended
in the saga of our prophet. Like all the prophets, Jeremiah didn’t
write in a vacuum: his was a message from the Lord and for people at
a specific time and place and under specific circumstances.
4. And yet, however radically
different his circumstances
were from ours or from those
of the many other generations
who have read Jeremiah, cru-
cial principles expressed there
are the same for God’s people
in every generation. Such as
faithfulness to God and obe-
dience to His commandments.
Such as true religion, a religion of the heart, as opposed to empty and
dead rituals that can leave people in a false state of complacency. Such as
the people’s willingness to listen to correction, even when it cuts across
what they want to hear. Such as true revival and reformation. Such as
trusting in the Lord and His promises instead of the arm of flesh. Such as .
. . The list goes on. This week, let’s take a look at some of the many lessons we
can learn from this revelation of God’s love for His people even amid many
thunderous warnings to them about where their actions will lead.
5. “Therefore I said, ‘Surely these are poor. They
are foolish; for they do not know the way of the
Lord, the judgment of their God.’” (Jeremiah 5:4)
Lucifer distorted God’s nature
before the angels. That way
he won third of the angels for
his cause (Revelation 12:4).
Unfortunately, he
was able to
distort His nature
before mankind
too.
In Jeremiah, the true character of God is
vindicated.
6. “Therefore I said, ‘Sur ely these
are poor. They are foolish; for they
do not know the way of the Lord, the
judgment of their God.’” (Jeremiah 5:4)
AFOUNTAINOFLIVINGWATER
“For My
people have
committed
two evils:
they have
forsaken
Me, the
fountain of
living
waters, and
hewn
themselves
cisterns—
broken
cisterns that
can hold no
water.”
(Jeremiah 2:13)
CREATOR
“‘Do you not
fear Me?’ says
the Lord. ‘Will
you not tremble
at My presence,
Who have
placed the sand
as the bound of
the sea, by a
perpetual
decree, that it
cannot pass
beyond it? And
though its
waves toss to
and fro, yet
they cannot
prevail; though
they roar, yet
they cannot
pass over it.’”
(Jeremiah 5:22)
JUDGE
“therefore
thus says the
Lord of
hosts:
‘Behold, I
will punish
them. The
young men
shall die by
the sword,
their sons
and their
daughters
shall die by
famine.’”
(Jeremiah 11:22)
LOVE
“The Lord has
appeared of
old to me,
saying: ‘Yes, I
have loved
you with an
everlasting
love;
therefore with
lovingkindnes
s I have drawn
you.’”
(Jeremiah 31:3)
FORGIVING
“I will
cleanse them
from all their
iniquity by
which they
have sinned
against Me,
and I will
pardon all
their
iniquities by
which they
have sinned
and by which
they have
transgressed
against Me.”
(Jeremiah 33:8)
GOD IS…
God constantly calls us to repentance from our sins and to leave the ways that
lead us to destruction.
7. “and then come and stand before Me in this
house which is called by My name, and say,
‘We are delivered to do all these
abominations’?” (Jeremiah 7:10)
The Jews turned all religious rites into meaningless ceremonies.
Their official religion in Jeremiah’s time was based on:
Openly disobeying the
Commandments: “Will you steal,
murder, commit adultery, swear
falsely, burn incense to Baal.”
(Jeremiah 7:9).
Going to the
temple and
offering
sacrifices to feel
like forgiven.
Keep sinning.
That’s a clear example of what our relationship with God
shouldn’t be like: Doing our own will during the week
attending church to feel like holy keep living without God.
8. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and
whose hope is the Lord.” (Jeremiah 17:7)
Like the old Israel, the Church might or
might not fulfill its mission as the
people of God.
However, the salvation of each person
doesn’t depend on that. We are not
saved as a Church, but each one of us is
individually.
Therefore, the book of Jeremiah is full
of individual calls to repentance, to trust
God and to a positive change in life
(Jeremiah 9:23-24; 17:7; 17:10; 29:13).
Our salvation relies on our response to
that personal call.
9. The famous text in Deuteronomy 6:5, “You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (NKJV),
though spoken to the nation as a whole, is written in the singular second
person. That is, the “you” in each case is the singular; God is talking to each
one individually. In the end, each one of us, personally, will have to give an
account of ourselves to God. We find that same thing in Jeremiah, as well.
10. “Each must give an account of himself to
God. He has given us His law as a mirror
into which we may look and discover the
defects in our characters. We are not to
look into this mirror for the purpose of
seeing our neighbor’s faults reflected, of
watching to see if he comes up to the
standard, but to see the defects in
ourselves, that we may remove them.
Knowledge is not all that we need; we
must follow the light. We are not left to
choose for ourselves and to obey that
which is agreeable to us and to disobey
when it best suits our convenience.
Obedience is better than sacrifice.”
E.G.W. (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, cp. 11, page 116)
11. “Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge; every metalsmith is put to
shame by an image; for his molded image is falsehood, and there is no
breath in them.” (Jeremiah 10:14)
Idolatry is not just bowing down before
idols, or honoring them. There are
many modern “idols” that we could be
worshipping. We may be trusting or
loving several things more than God;
those are idols too: fame, science,
people, work, money…
All those idols will eventually vanish
“from the earth and from under these
heavens.” (Jeremiah 10:11).
So, whom should we be worshiping
and dedicating our lives to: that which
is weak, false, vain, and powerless, or
to the Lord, whose power and might
are so great that He created and
sustains the universe? The answer, of
course, is obvious.
12. Yet, however obvious the answer, the fact is, we are in danger of falling
into idolatry as well. Though today we might not worship the same
kind of idols that those in Jeremiah’s time did, our modern life is full of
false gods. These modern idols can be anything that we love more than
God; whatever we “worship” (and worship doesn’t always mean
singing and praying) becomes our god, and we are guilty of idolatry.
A WOMAN
A WORK
THE SPORT
THE FASHION
THE YUWELS
THE MUSIC
13. What are some of the things that we can be in danger of making into
idols? What about things such as digital devices, money, fame, even
other people? Make a list of what these potential idols are, and then
ask yourself: In the end, what real salvation do they offer?
Tablets
laptop
Smart Cels
PC Computers
14. Of course, we know
intellectually that none of
these things is worthy of
worship. We know that in
the end, nothing that this
world offers us, nothing that
we make into idols, can
ultimately satisfy our souls
and certainly not redeem
them. We know all these
things, and yet, unless we
are careful, unless we keep
before us Jesus and what He
did for us and why He did it,
we can so easily be swept
up in a modern form of the
idolatry similar to that
which Jeremiah so
passionately railed against.
15. “But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven
them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.”
(Jeremiah 23:3)
God always had a faithful people, even in the
midst of that apostasy and defeat. That small
number of people is called the remnant
(Luke 12:32; Revelation 12:17).
Jerusalem was destroyed and God’s people
was in exile. Nevertheless, God promised an
eternal King and Priest (Jeremiah 33:17-18).
He shall govern the remnant once they came
back from Babylon.
That prophecy was partially fulfilled in the
life, death, resurrection and priestly ministry
of Jesus.
We still wait for its complete fulfillment
when Jesus will gather all the saved people
from all ages. Then, that “little flock” will live
forever with Him.
16. By studying the book of Jeremiah, we’ve learnt the importance
of faithfulness, obedience, true personal religion, listening to
God’s voice, revival and reformation, quitting idolatry and false
religion, and being part of the remnant Church.
“The glorious possibilities set before Israel could be
realized only through obedience to God’s
commandments. The same elevation of character,
the same fulness of blessing—blessing on mind and
soul and body, blessing on house and field, blessing
for this life and for the life to come—is possible for
us only through obedience.”
E.G.W. (Christ’s Object Lessons, cp. 23, pg. 305)
