Growth Group Blog: http://home2heaven.wordpress.com/
Growth Group Chat: jhunter0203@yahoo.com
Email: jeff@thehunters.net
Snack: NV
Next Meeting: January 28, 2010

INTRODUCTION

Let’s begin by reviewing in summary what we have studied so far.

Chapter 1 was all about Jeremiah’s call to the office of prophet.  The key verse is verse 10: “See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”  Jeremiah was called to be a prophet to the nations, but he must preach judgment before he could preach grace.  Remember Jeremiah’s two visions, the first of the almond tree and the second of the boiling pot.

Chapter 2 was God’s case for divorce against Judah.  He uses the marriage relationship as a metaphor for His relationship with His people.  God is the faithful husband and Judah is the treacherous bride.  God charges them with turning from Him and turning to the false religions of neighboring cultures.  In the marital metaphor, God describes Judah as a whore in most graphic terms.

Chapter 3 was God’s invitation to come home.  God offers reconciliation in terms reflective of our New Testament understanding of salvation.  The people are helpless to save themselves.  The initiative is God’s.  The people needed a change of heart.  Their changed hearts would allow them to recognize and confess their sins.  Their hearts changed, they would repent in faith and turn from idols and return to God.  He used the exile of the Northern tribes to warn Judah what would happen if they refused to return to Him.

Tonight, we will see in chapter 4, a horrifying vision of the judgment of God that will come upon Judah for refusing to abandon idols and return home to God.

SOUND THE ALARM

5 Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, “Blow the trumpet through the land; cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble, and let us go into the fortified cities!’
6 Raise a standard toward Zion, flee for safety, stay not, for I bring disaster from the north, and great destruction.
7 A lion has gone up from his thicket, a destroyer of nations has set out; he has gone out from his place to make your land a waste; your cities will be ruins without inhabitant.
8 For this put on sackcloth, lament and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned back from us.”
9 “In that day, declares the LORD, courage shall fail both king and officials. The priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded.”
(Jeremiah 4:5-9)

5. Is the trumpet an instrument of musical performance?  What was its purpose?  In what two activities?  How is it being used in verse five?
6. How is the standard similar to the trumpet?  How does this verse connect with Jeremiah Chapter 1?
7. Remember, this is poetry.  What can you imagine about the threat from this verse?  The people were called to retreat into their walled and fortified city.  Will they be safe?
8. Is disaster inevitable?  What are the people called to do in this verse?  How does Jeremiah show solidarity with the people in experiencing God’s judgment?  How does this upset Judah’s theology?
9.  What should the King and government officials be doing in a crisis?  The Priests?  The Prophets?  Remember the list of leaders from Chapter 2.

GOD DECEIVED THE PEOPLE

10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, surely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,’ whereas the sword has reached their very life.”
(Jeremiah 4:10)

10.  What ideas do you have about the meaning of this difficult verse?

THE ATTACK

11 At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A hot wind from the bare heights in the desert toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow or cleanse,
12 a wind too full for this comes for me. Now it is I who speak in judgment upon them.”
13 Behold, he comes up like clouds; his chariots like the whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles– woe to us, for we are ruined!
14 O Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil, that you may be saved. How long shall your wicked thoughts
15 For a voice declares from Dan and proclaims trouble from Mount Ephraim.
16 Warn the nations that he is coming; announce to Jerusalem, “Besiegers come from a distant land; they shout against the cities of Judah.
17 Like keepers of a field are they against her all around, because she has rebelled against me, declares the LORD.
18 Your ways and your deeds have brought this upon you. This is your doom, and it is bitter; it has reached your very heart.”
(Jeremiah 4:11-18)

JEREMIAH’S DISTRESS

19 My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh the walls of my heart! My heart is beating wildly; I cannot keep silent, for I hear the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
20 Crash follows hard on crash; the whole land is laid waste. Suddenly my tents are laid waste, my curtains in a moment.
21 How long must I see the standard and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 “For my people are foolish; they know me not; they are stupid children; they have no understanding. They are ‘wise’–in doing evil! But how to do good they know not.“
(Jeremiah 4:19-22)

CREATION REVERSED

23 I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro.
25 I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the air had fled.
26 I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger.
27 For thus says the LORD, “The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.
28 “For this the earth shall mourn, and the heavens above be dark; for I have spoken; I have purposed; I have not relented, nor will I turn back.”
(Jeremiah 4:23-28)

THE ANGUISH OF ZION

29 At the noise of horseman and archer every city takes to flight; they enter thickets; they climb among rocks; all the cities are forsaken, and no man dwells in them.
30 And you, O desolate one, what do you mean that you dress in scarlet, that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, that you enlarge your eyes with paint? In vain you beautify yourself. Your lovers despise you; they seek your life.
31 For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor, anguish as of one giving birth to her first child, the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands, “Woe is me! I am fainting before murderers.”

(Jeremiah 4:29-31)

APPLICATION

Is God all loving?  How is His wrath consistent with His love?  Who are objects of His wrath today?  Are we?  What changes things?  Does our effort count for anything at all?

Growth Group Blog: http://home2heaven.wordpress.com/
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Email: jeff@thehunters.net
Snack: CT

INTRODUCTION

God has presented His covenant lawsuit case against His people.  The case was presented mostly using the metaphor of the marital relationship.  God is the faithful husband who cares for and protects His bride.  His people are the adulterous bride who behaves like a whore in her unbridled lust for any god but the one true God.  The people are charged with the absurd crime of forsaking (turning away from) God, who is real, and embracing (calling on) inanimate objects whom they call, “father” and “creator.  They are charged with exchanging the truth for a lie.  In this passage, God offers unimaginable mercy as He calls His whorish bride to repent (turn away from false gods) and return (call once again on Him).

In chapter 3, there are several themes that create unity and continuity with what has gone before.  The metaphor of God’s people behaving like a whore is repeated.  The idea of defiling and being defiled are continued.  The theme of turning away and turning toward God (repentance) is emphasized.

The kind of reforms instituted by King Josiah were sincere, but only superficially effective.  They could only provide the right national and religious environment for change.  What was needed was a true reform of the heart.  Jeremiah continues to prophesy beyond the outward changes to the need for true, heart-centered repentance.  Even though reconciliation seems impossible, there is hope by grace through faith because of God’s merciful character.  Continued rebellion results in judgment.

RECONCILIATION SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE

1 “If a man divorces his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man’s wife, will he return to her? Would not that land be greatly polluted? You have played the whore with many lovers; and would you return to me? declares the LORD.
2 Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see! Where have you not been ravished? By the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers like an Arab in the wilderness. You have polluted the land with your vile whoredom.
3 Therefore the showers have been withheld, and the spring rain has not come; yet you have the forehead of a whore; you refuse to be ashamed.
4 Have you not just now called to me, ‘My father, you are the friend of my youth–
5 will he be angry forever, will he be indignant to the end?’ Behold, you have spoken, but you have done all the evil that you could.”
(Jeremiah 3:1-5)

1.  Check out Deuteronomy 24:1-4.  How do you answer the three rhetorical questions in light of God’s law?  Is there covenant provision for Judah to return to God?  In what sense does the land become polluted?  What is meant by, “and would you return to me?”

2.  Where is the evidence of Judah’s rebellion to be found?  After leaving the LORD, how many husbands did Judah take?  How is the “Arab in the wilderness” reference to be understood?  Do the sins of an individual only affect the individual?

3.  How does God’s withholding rain emphasize the absurdity of Judah’s whoreish behavior?  Considering “forehead” to be like “countenance,” how did Judah respond to God’s “lesson?”  What are some of the “capacities” the people seem to have lost?

4.  How does this verse tie in with verse 1?  In what way have the people said, “My father, you are the friend of my youth–?”  What counterclaim are the people making?  What’s missing to make their claim valid?

5.  As if their empty claim of righteousness wasn’t enough, they make a claim against God.  What is it?  What is God’s response?  What are the people lacking?

JUDAH LEARNED NOTHING FROM ISRAEL

6 The LORD said to me in the days of King Josiah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the whore?
7 And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it.
8 She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore.
9 Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree.
10 Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the LORD.
(Jeremiah 3:6-10)

6.  What were the circumstances of the state of Judah under King Josiah?  How would Jeremiah have known of the behavior of Israel?  In one word, what was Israel’s “addiction?”

7.  What was God’s initial response to Israel’s behavior?  Why is Judah brought into the picture?

8.  What did Judah see?  How did God “divorce” Israel?  Upon witnessing the “adulteries” of Israel and the “divorce,” how did Judah respond?  What kind of fear must Judah have experienced seeing the behavior and fate of the Northern Kingdom?  What kind of fear was Judah lacking?  How should Judah have responded?

9.  Beyond Judah’s acts of sin, what other aspect of sin is dealt with here?  On what grounds might Judah have imagined they were invulnerable from a fate similar to their “sister?”  How did they pollute the land?

10.  How did the people act under wicked kings (like Manasseh and Amon)? According to this verse, How did they act under a good king (Josiah)?  Again, summarize the real problem of Judah, even in reform.

THE MERCIFUL CHARACTER OF GOD

11 And the LORD said to me, “Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.
12 Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, “‘Return, faithless Israel, declares the LORD. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the LORD; I will not be angry forever.
13 Only acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against the LORD your God and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree, and that you have not obeyed my voice, declares the LORD.
(Jeremiah 3:11-13)

11.  How was Israel relatively “more righteous” than Judah?  Does this relative comparison benefit Israel?  What’s the point?  If Judah is in a worse situation than Israel was, what then?

12.  We already saw that in covenant law there was no provision for a divorced man to reunite with his former wife if she belonged to another.  If God has truly divorced Israel, how can there be reconciliation?  To whom is the proclamation?  Return in what sense?  What is God offering?

13.  How is Israel to “return?”  How does this verse describe we should regard sin in confession?  Do you notice any parallels in these verses with our New Testament understanding of salvation?

AN ENCOURAGING OUTLOOK

14 Return, O faithless children, declares the LORD; for I am your master; I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.
15 “‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.
16 And when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, declares the LORD, they shall no more say, “The ark of the covenant of the LORD.” It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again.
17 At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the LORD, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart.
18 In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers for a heritage.
(Jeremiah 3:14-18)

14.  In the process of reconciliation between God and His people, who is the initiator?  What would be the fate of people if God had not called them to repentance?  Is everyone saved?  Of those saved, will any be lost or forgotten?  What hope awaits the saved?

15.  When God calls and gathers His people, what else does he provide?  Can you think of some things this verse implies about the Church today?  What ideas come to mind when you read “shepherds after my own heart?”  What expectations are implied for Pastors?

16.  What does “those days” refer to?  Why will the ark of the covenant no longer be important?  what does this mean for God’s people?  For Worship?

17.  How is God working through means to gather His people in a new way?  Can Jerusalem be understood symbolically, or as a type?  Who is going to be gathered?  In what manner will God’s people be reformed according to this verse?

18.  Under Cyrus, Babylon, Chaldea and Assyria were united.  How did God cause this to benefit His people?

A DISCOURAGING REALITY

19 “‘I said, How I would set you among my sons, and give you a pleasant land, a heritage most beautiful of all nations. And I thought you would call me, My Father, and would not turn from following me.
20 Surely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband, so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel, declares the LORD.’”
(Jeremiah 3:19-20)

19.  God’s justice and holiness…

20.  …meets the treachery of man.

THE WAY BACK

21 A voice on the bare heights is heard, the weeping and pleading of Israel’s sons because they have perverted their way; they have forgotten the LORD their God.
22 “Return, O faithless sons; I will heal your faithlessness.” “Behold, we come to you, for you are the LORD our God.
23 Truly the hills are a delusion, the orgies on the mountains. Truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.
24 “But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our fathers labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. For we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.”
(Jeremiah 3:21-25)

21.  This is a picture of how things will be when the people come to their senses.  Where are the bare heights?  How did they pervert their way?  Discuss the depth of “forgetting God.”

22.  What do people need in order to return to God?  Where does it originate?  After receiving it, what changes about the people?

23.  How does this represent the dual nature of repentance?  And what is the spiritual companion to repentance?

24.  What is the shame they speak of?  How might we understand the devouring?

25.  What maturity is reached here?

CONTINUED REBELLION WILL BRING JUDGMENT

1 “If you return, O Israel, declares the LORD, to me you should return. If you remove your detestable things from my presence, and do not waver,
2 and if you swear, ‘As the LORD lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.”
3 For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.”
(Jeremiah 4:1-4)

1.  Return to backsliding?  Return from exile?  Return in repentance?  There is only one way to turn.  Being reconciled to God requires what?

2.  The blessing of other people through the faith of God’s people.

3.  How is restored Israel/Jerusalem pictured?

4.  What does circumcision of the heart mean?  How should we regard the wrath of God?

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Growth Group Chat: jhunter0203@yahoo.com
Email: jeff@thehunters.net

APOSTASY

¹⁴ “Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?
Why then has he become a prey?

¹⁵ The lions have roared against him;
they have roared loudly.
They have made his land a waste;
his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.

¹⁶Moreover, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have shaved the crown of your head.

¹⁷ Have you not brought this upon yourself
by forsaking the LORD your God,
when he led you in the way?

¹⁸ And now what do you gain by going to Egypt
to drink the waters of the Nile?
Or what do you gain by going to Assyria
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?

¹⁹ Your evil will chastise you,
and your apostasy will reprove you.
Know and see that it is evil and bitter
for you to forsake the LORD your God;
the fear of me is not in you,
declares the Lord GOD of hosts. (Jeremiah 2:14-19)

14.  First of all, is this a direct, literal question?  Considering the Northern Kingdom, Israel, is it her determined role in the world to become a slave?  Or even lower, to be born into slavery?  What is the answer (Exodus 4:22)? Then why has Israel been preyed upon?

15.  In Assyria, lions were symbols of their gods of war.  So, what does this image represent?  Lions roar to communicate territorial boundaries and in conflict with other lions.  They roar loudly in triumph over dying prey.  Again, explain the symbolism.  Interestingly, 2Kings 17:25 mentions literal lions appearing at this time.

16.  Found in a similar situation as Israel was, the solution to Judah’s problem was not political alliances.  With the decline of Assyria, there was a rise in the pro-Egypt faction.  But God warns that Egypt will not save Judah.  Egypt will humiliate and enslave Judah.

17.  Who is not to blame for Judah’s situation?  Who is to blame?  Why?  The people themselves (not God, not the Egyptians, etc.) are to blame.  They seek political solutions and superficial reform.  The problem is they have forsaken God.  They have lost their true heart for Him.

18.  Judah perceived a political quandary as to her future security and salvation – Egypt or Assyria.  God is continuing to point out the folly of those considerations in favor of loyalty to Him as covenant King

19.  What is this a more general description of?  What is sin?  What is the cause of sin?  What is the nature or characteristic of sin?  What is the consequence of sin?  This is a description of God’s use of means.

INDWELLING SIN

²⁰ “For long ago I broke your yoke
and burst your bonds;
but you said, ‘I will not serve.’
Yes, on every high hill
and under every green tree
you bowed down like a whore.

²¹ Yet I planted you a choice vine,
wholly of pure seed.
How then have you turned degenerate
and become a wild vine?

²² Though you wash yourself with lye
and use much soap,
the stain of your guilt is still before me,
declares the Lord GOD.

²³ How can you say, ‘I am not unclean,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
Look at your way in the valley;
know what you have done—
a restless young camel running here and there,

²⁴ a wild donkey used to the wilderness,
in her heat sniffing the wind!
Who can restrain her lust?
None who seek her need weary themselves;
in her month they will find her.

²⁵ Keep your feet from going unshod
and your throat from thirst.
But you said, ‘It is hopeless,
for I have loved foreigners,
and after them I will go.’ (Jeremiah 2:20-25)

20.  Considering all six verses in this passage, what is the theme?  What charges is God making?  Freed from the oppression of Egypt at the Exodus, the people came to believe that they could experience true freedom by indulging their own will and forsaking God’s.  The result was behaving not like a faithful wife, but like a promiscuous whore.

21.  In the time of Joshua, God “planted” His people.  They were like a vine.  A pure vine.  Cultivated by God.  How did they become a “wild vine?”  What does that mean?  Think about syncretism again.  They took on the characteristics of foreign vines.  They became unrecognizable as a pure vine.  They became a wild vine.  A weed which no longer had a place in God’s vineyard.

22.  Even when the people realize they are unclean, they choose human remedies that are entirely ineffective.  Even if they believe they have removed the stain on their own, God can still see it.  What remedies does man employ today to clean himself?  Is God more tolerant today?

23.  What is implied right at the beginning of verse 23?  God rebuts the people’s objection to His accusations.  They are not humble.  They are not contrite.  They are not repentant.  And their argument is not only that they didn’t do it, but if they did, they were not defiled by it!  The Valley of Hinnom is where they had practiced the horrible rites of Moloch.  The inconsistency of their national behavior is compared to the instability of a young camel learning to walk in the desert sand.  How do you interpret the image?

24.  This is quite a graphic comparison.  Let’s not gloss over it just because it is indelicate.  Judah is compared to a wild donkey in heat.  The wild donkey was a stubborn, self-indulgent creature.  Why is the donkey sniffing the air?  What about Judah?  Like the donkey, Judah was eager to receive any mate, Judah was ready to accept any alliance or cultural influence that indulged her.  Why does this need to be so graphic?

25.  The imagery here might be a little obscure.  Why keep your shoes on?  Why quench your thirst?  Stop!  The first step is to admit you have a problem!  Judah is in full lust after foreign religion.  The love she should have for her covenant God has been willingly supplanted.  Judah is addicted to idolatry.

DISGRACE

²⁶“As a thief is shamed when caught,
so the house of Israel shall be shamed:
they, their kings, their officials,
their priests, and their prophets,

²⁷who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
For they have turned their back to me,
and not their face.
But in the time of their trouble they say,
‘Arise and save us!’

²⁸But where are your gods
that you made for yourself?
Let them arise, if they can save you,
in your time of trouble;
for as many as your cities
are your gods, O Judah. (Jeremiah 2:26-28)

26.  Jeremiah revisits the list of leaders we saw earlier.  The people will be shamed like thieves.  Publicly humiliated.  And not just the common people.  Those who should have guided them, too.  And for what?

27.  The silliness of Baal worship is pointed out in caricature.  But also in very solemn terms.  A tree their father?  A stone their creator?  Absurd?  How did Paul describe this kind of behavior?  They turned their backs to God instead of their faces.

28.  So they are about to experience the consequences of their sin.  God will use means to enact his judgment.  And he suggests they call upon a tree or a rock to save them from His wrath.  What help can they expect from inanimate objects?  God loved them so much.

WHY DO YOU CONTEND WITH ME?

²⁹“Why do you contend with me?
You have all transgressed against me,
declares the LORD.

³⁰In vain have I struck your children;
they took no correction;
your own sword devoured your prophets
like a ravening lion.

³¹And you, O generation, behold the word of the LORD.Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
or a land of thick darkness?
Why then do my people say, ‘We are free,
we will come no more to you’?

³² Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
or a bride her attire?
Yet my people have forgotten me
days without number.

³³“How well you direct your course
to seek love!
So that even to wicked women
you have taught your ways.

³⁴Also on your skirts is found
the lifeblood of the guiltless poor;
you did not find them breaking in.
Yet in spite of all these things

³⁵you say, ‘I am innocent;
surely his anger has turned from me.’
Behold, I will bring you to judgment
for saying, ‘I have not sinned.’

³⁶ How much you go about,
changing your way!
You shall be put to shame by Egypt
as you were put to shame by Assyria.

³⁷From it too you will come away
with your hands on your head,
for the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust,
and you will not prosper by them. (Jeremiah 2:29-37)

29.  The people evidently responded to God’s charges by making a counter-claim.  They blamed Him.  God makes it clear that they are to blame for repudiating His authority.

30.  God had often used means to correct the people when they strayed from Him.  He tried correcting them through circumstances.  He tried correcting them by His word.  But they were uncorrectable.  Even their children were unteachable.  They even attacked and even killed His messengers like a ferocious lion.

31.  Consider all that God has said and done.  Was it like being in the wilderness?  What does that image mean?  Or was He generous in providing bountifully?  Why do the people consider separation from such a generous and caring God to be freedom?  They wanted to make their own way and never come back.  They were arrogant, faithless and prideful.

32.  Look at the meticulous care a bride normally exercises in making sure everything is perfect and in place.  It is the most important thing.  As a bride, Judah has been careless and forgotten God for a long time.

33.  Judah has become a skilled expert at adultery.  So skilled that she could be a training ground for whores.

34.  Judah has become a practitioner of injustice, child sacrifice and other immorality.

35.  Judah believed she was untouchable.

36.  Judah refused to acknowledge her sin.

37.  Judah will be judged.

Growth Group Blog: http://home2heaven.wordpress.com/
Growth Group Chat: jhunter0203@yahoo.com
Email: jeff@thehunters.net

Chapters 2 – 6 contain messages delivered by Jeremiah early in his ministry.  They were probably delivered during the reign of Josiah and were therefore part of the first scroll (Jeremiah 36:2).  Chapter 2 declares the righteousness of God and the sins of the nation.  Chapter 3 urges the nation to  repent.   Chapters 4 – 6 reveal the disastrous consequences that will follow if the nation continues in its sinful ways.

The covenant is the basis of God’s relationship with His people.  He sends prophets to warn His people when their actions and attitudes jeopardize fellowship with Him.

In the original language, there are several grammatical shifts not reflected in the translation.  The shifts have to do especially with number and gender.  This suggests to some that the material in this chapter is a collection of sayings that Jeremiah brought together and presented in the form of a legal indictment by God against His people.

In the ancient near east, the treaty between a ruler and a vassal state followed a pattern: 1. The parties are identified, 2. The past relationship is summarized with emphasis on the benefits granted by the ruler, 3. The laws the vassal agreed to, the vassal’s allegiance to the ruler and tribute to the ruler required of the vassal is defined, 4. Blessings for obedience, curses for disobedience and ratification are described, 5. Plans for succession are made including duplication of the document, its keeping and future reading.  It has been argued that the book of Deuteronomy follows this pattern.

Likewise, in the ancient near east, when the ruler felt the vassal was not honoring the treaty, a treaty lawsuit was initiated which followed a pattern: 1. The plaintiff-judge is identified, 2. The past relationship is summarized with emphasis on the disobedience of the vassal, 3. Witnesses are called, 4. Indictments are made by the ruler, 5. Cross-examination is made by the vassal, 6. The repentance necessary for repair of the treaty is defined, 7. The punishment for non-repentance is specified.  Chapter 2 of Jeremiah roughly follows the pattern of an ancient near east treaty lawsuit.

Notice that Jeremiah uses the metaphor of the marital relationship of a husband and wife to describe Judah’s infidelity toward God.  About a century earlier, the prophet Hosea had come to understand the estrangement in Israel’s relationship with God through the difficulties of his own marriage.  Because of this, some look at chapter 2 of Jeremiah as if similar to a divorce trial.

THE DEVOTION OF THEIR YOUTH

The word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the LORD,

“I remember the devotion of your youth,
your love as a bride,
how you followed me in the wilderness,
in a land not sown.

Israel was holy to the LORD,
the firstfruits of his harvest.
All who ate of it incurred guilt;
disaster came upon them,

declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 2:1-3)

God delivered the people from slavery in Egypt, provided for them in the wilderness and set them apart as a special nation.  The people depended on God for all they were and all they had, they followed as He commanded and were committed to His care.  At Mount Sinai, God formalized this relationship.  This is the context against which God indicts Judah for disobedience.

1. The shift from chapter 1 is from a focus on Jeremiah to a focus on the message.  We are reminded this is the message of God and it is coming to us through His prophet.
2. Jeremiah is commanded to “go.”  This could be a command to begin or actually to travel from Anathoth to Jerusalem.  To “proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem” means to make a public address.  “Thus says the LORD” establishes the authority of the message Jeremiah is about to proclaim.  God begins by “remembering.”  He is setting the context in time, recalling the positive foundation of their relationship.  The devotion He remembers is an internal love of the heart, not just a superficial, ritual love.  It is a devotion He remembers from their “youth,” from the early days.  God likens the love relationship with His people as that of a bride.  This makes the covenant more than a political treaty.  It is more enduring and more emotional.  An example of that devotion is that they followed Him in the wilderness.  This associates the time of their youth as the days of the exodus.  Following means pursuing an obedient life according to the demands of the covenant.  “A land not sown” functions to modify “wilderness” so as to understand a landscape not entirely desolate, but one certainly incapable of crop growth.
3. The reference to Israel should be understood as “God’s covenant people,” not specifically the northern kingdom.  God’s people were holy in that they were declared by God to be different from others.  They were separated for special ownership and possession by the LORD.  Their holiness was not a matter of personal qualities, but was a matter of God’s grace alone.  The term “first fruits” has two senses here.  The first is a comparison of “holy” Israel to the first portion of the harvest which was set aside from common use in recognition that all belongs to God and that He is to be thanked for protecting and caring for them.  The second is that Israel is but the beginning of a larger harvest.  James 1:18 refers to Jewish Christians as first fruits.  1 Corinthians 15 refers to Christ as the first fruits of the dead.  The final theme of this passage is the protection the LORD grants His “first fruits.”  Anyone who eats His first fruits is guilty.  Anyone guilty in this way will face disastrous circumstances.

GROUND’S OF GOD’S DISPLEASURE

Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. Thus says the LORD:

“What wrong did your fathers find in me
that they went far from me,
and went after worthlessness, and became worthless? They did not say, ‘Where is the LORD
who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us in the wilderness,
in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
in a land that none passes through,
where no man dwells?’
And I brought you into a plentiful land
to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in, you defiled my land
and made my heritage an abomination.
The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’
Those who handle the law did not know me;
the shepherds transgressed against me;
the prophets prophesied by Baal
and went after things that do not profit. (Jeremiah 2:4-8)

1. Once again attention is drawn to the fact that Jeremiah’s words are God’s words and they are addressed in one sense to God’s chosen people.  Since Jeremiah is physically addressing Judah, we are reminded that Judah’s covenant heritage is no different than Israel’s
2. God asks a rhetorical question.  What unrighteousness of His could possibly be the cause of their disobedience?  None, of course.  Therefore God is just in declaring the people solely to blame for the estrangement.  God has not withdrawn from His people.  But, because of some fault they have concocted against God, the people have moved far from Him.  How?  Not merely by diminishment of their zeal for the LORD, but by transfer of their covenant “following” from Him to idols.  The result is not without consequence.  The Canaanite religions the people followed presented deities that were to be manipulated for their own desires without the notion of morality.  In this way, everything that was a part of the covenant relationship the people had with God was made substanceless as a result of following idols that lacked substance.  The people became like their idols, and useless to God.  There are consequences to sin.
3. “Where is your God” was a common taunt by Israel’s enemies when her God was silent.  But God was not silent.  He was their protector.  He was their deliverer.  But they stopped calling upon Him.  They did not worship Him.  They did not pray.  They had forgotten the God who never forgot them.  God is above nature and circumstances.  He led and brought the people, but they went a different way.  He taught and trained them in the wilderness to be ready to inherit the land He prepared for them in complete reliance upon Him.  Deserts and pits may refer to the rift Valley between Sinai and Aqaba.  Metaphorically, He led them safely through the dangerous obstacles facing unwary travelers.  The picture is of avoiding pits dug to trap wild animals.  He sustained them through landscapes that did not provide water.  The notion of darkness here is the same as “the shadow of death.”  God brought them through such desolation that no one traveled there or even lived there.
4. The covenant not only involved God’s protection, it also involved His provision of bounty for the people.  He led them to a bountiful land with the intention that they enjoy the bounty.  He led them there and they followed.  God fulfilled His covenant promises.  The people “defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination.”  These words speak to the moral response of the people.  It is made even worse by the fact that the land and the heritage was not even theirs.  They were God’s.  The people were mere stewards.
5. The breakdown of covenant society is cataloged as a failure of leadership.  The priests failed to live in the reality of worship and in encouraging the people to grow in faith.  “For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.”  (Malachi 2:7)  They became complacent.  Comfortable with the ritual and routine of the temple.  The scribes who were responsible for handling the law and reading it to the people had developed an academic knowledge of God in place of their heart knowledge of Him.  The shepherds, the national leaders were no longer compelled by the law of God and obedience to Him.  They became secularized.  The prophets who prophesied by Baal were false prophets who did not receive a true call from God.  Originally baal was a common Hebrew word for master.  It eventually became the common reference to Hadad, the Canaanite storm god.  Baal was also worshiped as a god of agricultural fertility.  The false prophets syncretized the culture.  They gave lip service to God while promoting the authority of Baal.  They led the people into a world view where serving God was no longer their exclusive concern.  They became dual-minded – lukewarm.  This condition is empty and without profit.

THE EVIDENCE OF SPIRITUAL ADULTERY

“Therefore I still contend with you,
declares the LORD,
and with your children’s children I will contend.
For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see,
or send to Kedar and examine with care;
see if there has been such a thing.
Has a nation changed its gods,
even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
for that which does not profit.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate,

declares the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water .   (Jeremiah 2:9-13)

1. Therefore… makes the link between the cumulative behavior of the past and the fact that charges are being levied in the present.  The people have not done anything to remedy the disobedience of the past.  God is filing His complaint now.  The word here translated “contend” almost always has a legal connotation.  The common use referred to a treaty or covenant lawsuit.  The fact that He contends in an ongoing way may refer to the ongoing ministry of the prophets or to God’s continuing redemptive plan.
2. God’s bride leaving her husband is unheard of.  From as far west as you can go to as far east as you can go.  Across the lifestyles of seafaring people to the desert nomads.  Such a thing is preposterous.
3. Across that broad context, do people change their gods?  The pagans are more loyal than God’s people.  The pagans took their gods with them wherever they went.  Canaan did not abandon Baal or Asherah.  Babylon did not abandon Bel and Merodach.  Even more astounding is the fact that the pagan God’s were not even real.  They would have had every reason to abandon them.  Even more astounding is that Judah was married to the real God and had no reason to stray, but engaged in such awful adultery.  Spouse swapping.  They traded the God of infinite value for worthless idols of no value.
4. The heavens are called as a witness.  They are to be appalled (paralyzed as if by a traumatic psychological blow; aghast), shocked (to shudder with ones hair standing on end) and desolate (horrified as if witnessing the ravages of war that caused desolation).
5. God’s bride abandoning her husband is like exchanging a clean bubbling spring for a filthy cistern, and a cracked one at that.  There are parallels here to the role of human effort in reconciliation with God and obvious references to the New Testament portrayal of Christ.

In fact, some portion of the material in the book such as biographical sections and narrative that describe prophetic actions probably would have been in written form to begin with.  It is likely that the written record of Jeremiah’s work grew gradually over the course of his life, contributed to by Jeremiah himself as well as by those he authorized, such as his scribe, Baruch.  Commonly, later in one’s life, a final edit and cleanup of one’s body of work would be undertaken. There is no good argument against believing that the text of Jeremiah as we now have it existed around 580BC.

The material in the book of Jeremiah is not ordered chronologically.  One can find dozens of examples of verses and passages that occur before earlier ones and after later ones.  There are also long sections for which no chronological data at all is deducible.

Jeremiah is commanded, during the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim (605/604BC), to “Take a scroll and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah and all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today.” (Jeremiah 36:2)  With the help of his scribe, Baruch, he did so.  After several months of work the scroll was finished and read to king Jehoiakim.  Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary. And Jehudi read it to the king and all the officials who stood beside the king. It was the ninth month, and the king was sitting in the winter house, and there was a fire burning in the fire pot before him. As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fire pot. (Jeremiah 36:21-23)

After the first scroll was destroyed, Jeremiah was commanded to create a second scroll.  Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words that Baruch wrote at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: “Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned… Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them. (Jeremiah 36:27-28, 32).  Notice that the second scroll contained everything from the first scroll + “many similar words.”  We don’t know if the additions were made at one time or over a longer period.  We do not know if what was added was appended or inserted into the material from scroll 1.

One way of looking at the composition of the book of Jeremiah is to consider his several audiences.   First, there is the prophetic ministry that Jeremiah delivered during the reign of Josiah.  This was a time of relative peace and religious reform.  God’s message through Jeremiah to this audience was that a reformation of the heart was necessary, not merely a reformation of ritual.

Second, when the first scroll was produced, Jeremiah’s message was repeated in Jehoiakim’s reign.  This was a time when Babylonian domination was being felt.  Judah exhibited the corruption of her heart toward God by returning to the pagan rites she practiced before Josiah.  The message is the same, but the reality of God’s judgment is more obvious.  Israel must confess and repent of her sin or face defeat and exile.  Jehoiakim’s burning of the scroll spoke representatively the heart of the nation.

Third, when the second scroll was produced, duplicating the first and including the additions, the message was to a nation that had denied its sins, refused to repent and have reformed hearts, and was on an inevitable collision course with disaster.  Perhaps there were individuals who would respond.

Fourth, after the fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiah continued to minister to the people.  He probably collected the final record of his ministry which proclaimed the righteousness of God, the fault of the nation and her people, the multitude of warnings and the now fulfilled destruction.  As a prophet, Jeremiah would be somewhat vindicated now.  His ongoing ministry to the people was hope and encouragement in light of the fact that God would never abandon His plan of salvation for His people.

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Email: jeff@thehunters.net

The content of Jeremiah Chapter 1 is not intended to be a biographical sketch, but is Jeremiah’s validation to his occupation of the Prophetic office.  He tells us the direction he received from the LORD and the reason for his perseverance through very difficult circumstances.  Note that the chapter can be divided into logical parts according to “the word of the LORD.”  Preamble – “The words of Jeremiah… to whom the word of the LORD came…,” Call – “Now the word of the LORD came to me…,” Vision 1 – “And the word of the LORD came to me…,” and Vision 2, “The word of the LORD came to me…”

Q1. Describe, as we discussed at our last meeting, the state of affairs in Judah, the Northern Tribes and the Ancient Near East around the time of Jeremiah’s birth.

PREAMBLE

The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month. (Jeremiah 1:1-3)

This book contains the words of Jeremiah, a description of his life and of things he spoke and wrote.  But, The words of Jeremiah are not merely his own,they are the words of the LORD.  We must not view Jeremiah as merely an astute social commentator who delivers a message guided by mere human wisdom and insight.  Through God’s process of calling Jeremiah and delivering His word to him for delivery to his people and the nations (a process we do not fully comprehend) we receive the word of the LORD.  Likewise the events of Jeremiah’s life, the actions of kings and the circumstances of history.  They are the “word of the LORD.”

1. Jeremiah was the son of Hilkiah.  Scholars are agreed this is not Hilkiah the high priest who found the book of the law in the temple in 622BC (2Kings 22:8-10), but a priest who lived in Anathoth.  Anathoth was located about 3 miles northeast of Jerusalem and was originally allotted to the descendants of Aaron in the tribal land of Benjamin (Joshua 21:13-19).  It was named after the Canaanite violent war goddess Anat.  Today, Anat is a common female name in Israel.  Solomon exiled Abiathar to Anathoth for supporting Adonijah’s attempt to make himself King (1Kings 1:7, 2:26,27).  Anathoth was on the edge of the wilderness near the Southern part of the Northern Kingdom.  This and the closeness of Jerusalem would have helped form Jeremiah’s perspective.  The modern city of Anata is near the site today.
2. Jeremiah began his ministry as a prophet in the thirteenth year of the reign of king Josiah which would have been 627 BC.  He was probably no older than 20 years old at the time, placing his birth at around 647 BC.  As we noted last time, he was born near the end of the reign of the very wicked king Manasseh.
3. Jeremiah’s ministry lasted over 40 years.  It began in the encouraging times of reform led by King Josiah, continued through the reign of Jehoiakim and lasted through the exile of the people from Judah in the time of the corrupt puppet king Zedekiah.  During those 40+ years preaching repentance and warning, Jeremiah was ridiculed, accused of treason and threatened with death.  In the end, the people did not heed his message and the judgment of God was delivered against them.

Part of the ministry of Jeremiah was to call the people to return to the one true God or face His judgment.  Jeremiah endure terrible hardships delivering God’s word.  He became emotionally distraught.  He was largely ignored.  The people were led into captivity and the Temple was destroyed.

Q2. Was Jeremiah a failure?
Q3. Relate Jeremiah’s experience to modern Christian growth?
Q4. How can we help each other in this regard?  Will we?

CALL

Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,”Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations. “Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.” Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:4-10)

1. Jeremiah’s call follows the familiar pattern of other calls including Moses, Gideon, Solomon, and other prophets.  Divine Confrontation.  Introductory Word.  Commission.  Objection.  Reassurance.  Sign.  Distinguish those parts in the passage.  Jeremiah is the source of this account.  He describes a divine confrontation.  From Jeremiah’s perspective, it was sudden and intrusive.  It did not originate with Jeremiah and it was not a gradual matter.  From God’s perspective, it was a long-term plan.  Not sudden at all.  FORMED/KNEW (Psalm 139:13-18), CONSECRATED (Deuteronomy 7:6), APPOINTED (Genesis 17:5).  Compare FOREKNEW, PREDESTINED, CALLED (Romans 8:29-30).  There is a surprising aspect of Jeremiah’s call, that he is not just a prophet to Judah, but God has appointed him a prophet to the nations.
2. The Hebrew word translated, “formed” (יָצַר – yâtsar – yaw-tsar’) is the same word found in Genesis 2:7, “then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”  It is related to the word for potter. The word translated, “knew” (יָדַע – yâda‘ – yaw-dah’) can mean anything from factual awareness to carnal relationship.  Here it relates to something like, “to cause to be designated through relationship-based instruction.”  The word translated, “consecrated” (קָדַשׁ – qâdash – kaw-dash’) means to make clean or to purify in preparation for a purpose.  Finally, the word translated, “appointed” (נָתַן – nâthan – naw-than’) means ordained, applied or attached to.  So, in crude vernacular of my own invention, we have something like, “Before God even plopped the lifeless lump of mud on his potter’s wheel from which He would supernaturally craft the human life that would be Jeremiah – even before that – God determined to enter into a certain relationship with him through which the circumstances of his life would prepare him to fulfill his designation as God’s Prophet.  Before God began to craft Jeremiah from the dust – even before that – God determined that through his relationship with Jeremiah, He would purify him and set him aside for His purpose and finally glue the prophetic ministry to him so that Jeremiah and the ministry God called him to would be inseparable.”  God says this in the past tense so that even before Jeremiah existed, all this was already accomplished.
3. The fact that Jeremiah was appointed a prophet to the nations does not mean he was to go to every nation with God’s word.  All that precedes this appointment establishes the sovereignty of God over the individual.  Here, God communicates something about the extent of His sovereignty and the universality of his word.
4. Jeremiah objects to God’s call by complaining that because of his youth, he is not yet skilled enough as a speaker.  Is Jeremiah’s “objection” false humility?  Disobedience? Practical?  Look at Exodus 4:10-17 and compare Moses’ interaction with God to Jeremiah’s.  So, Jeremiah was obedient, didn’t talk back, and it was smooth sailing from then on, right?  At the end of verse 8 there is an interesting word translated, “declares” (נְאֻם – ne’ûm – nah-oom’).  In this usage, it has the sense of whispering or speaking softly in a very intimate way.
5. God seals His commissioning of Jeremiah by touching his mouth.
6. The two classes of words in verse 10 give an indication of the two-fold character of Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry.  4 parts judgment and 2 parts encouragement.  Can you think why the order is important?  Why judgment before hope?  God is sovereign in history.  The three pairs of words reveal God’s intentions.  It is reminiscent of Jesus’ statement about destroying the temple and rebuilding it in three days (John 2:19).  The prophetic truth was that He was referring to His crucifixion and resurrection.   God has a prophetic message for the people and the nations.  God’s message has God’s messenger.

Q5. Is the pattern of prophetic call merely a literary construct?  Formula for a liturgy?  An expression of gradually realized inner conviction?  A supernatural personal experience?
Q6. Does God call people to His work today?  Discuss.  How obedient are we?
Q7. Can we help each other hear and heed God’s call?
Q8. How much was Jeremiah consulted with about his call to ministry?
Q9. What pattern for reliance on God in doing his work occurs in this passage?

VISION 1

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond branch.” Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.” (Jeremiah 1:10-11)

1. We do not know when, in relation to his call, Jeremiah experienced these visions.  They were apparently necessary to confirm that call.  In Hebrew, these verses involve a play on words.  The word translated, “almond branch” is (שָׁקֵד – shâqêd – shaw-kade’) and the word translated, “I am watching” is (שָׁקַד – shâqad – shaw-kad’ ).  The almond tree blooms early in the season, while other trees are dormant.  It is “awake” or “watching”.  God is here saying that the word he speaks through the prophets is not idle.  God is awake and His judgments will be actually come to pass.

VISION 2

The word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” Then the LORD said to me, “Out of the north disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the LORD, and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands. But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land.  They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you.” (Jeremiah 1:12-19)

1. Again, we do not know when this vision occurred either in relation to Jeremiah’s call or in relation to the first vision.  The pot was a common household item used for cooking or washing seen in a new application.  The pot contains boiling water.  It doesn’t say water, but that’s what they filled pots with and boiled.  Since the scale of the vision involves kingdoms and geographical locations, the pot must have been huge.  It was facing away from the north, therefore, toward the south.  The impending disaster that will befall the people of Judah will come from the north and is likened to a giant pot pouring scalding water on them.
2. With the decline of Assyria and the general power vacuum in the region, the people believed the threat from the north was over.  Remember what we learned about the theology of the time.  The people of Judah believed God would always spare them no matter what.  Jeremiahs prophecies would not fit their thinking they would scoff at him and reject him.
3. God has not only called Jeremiah to proclaim his word, but in this second vision, He shows how he is calling the tribes of the kingdoms of the north to do his work.  He is working in the geopolitics of the time to accumulate a massive armed force which will come to conquer Judah and set up thrones at the gates and walls of Jerusalem.  The image is like a court of judgment against Jerusalem.  The judgment thrones of those conquering nations will be the instrument of God’s judgment against the people of Judah – judgment against them for “all their evil in forsaking me,” “offerings to other gods,” and “worship[ing] the works of their own hands.”
4. “Dress yourself for work” seems a little weak to me.  The King James translation is “gird up thy loins”.  The sense here is not, “put on your dress or your suit, grab your starbucks and head out for the commute.”  It is more like, “Prepare for Battle!  Get Ready!  Be Alert!”  Then in an interesting twist, the people of Judah themselves are cast as the enemy and God will make Jeremiah the fortified city.  Jeremiah has one task.  “Say to them everything that I command you.”  Jeremiah is commanded not to be dismayed by the people.  The word also means to break down.  God says, don’t let them break you down, or I will break you down.  Given what we just observed about God being serious about carrying out His judgments, this is pretty ominous.
5. God tells Jeremiah of the difficulties he will face but also gives Jeremiah His promise of deliverance.

Q10. Do you forsake God? Make offerings to other Gods?  Worship the works of your hands?  How can we help each other?
Q11. Do you expect God to do nothing when we disobey?  How much are we like the people of Judah?  What is our hope?

Growth Group Blog: http://home2heaven.wordpress.com/
Growth Group Chat: jhunter0203@yahoo.com
Email: jeff@thehunters.net

Geography and Politics

1. The Fertile Crescent
2. Buffer States
3. Wisdom During Crisis
   • Demise of Assyria
   • Egyptian Control
   • Independence
   • Babylonian Control

Fall of Samaria

1. Tiglath-Pileser III and Assyrian Expansion (745 BC – 727BC))
2. Hoshea (2Kings 17)
3. Shalmaneser V (727 BC – 722 BC)
4. Vassal State
5. Rebellious State
6. Province (722 BC)
7. Sargon II (722 BC – 705 BC)
8. Sennacherib (705 BC – 681 BC)
9. Esarhaddon (681 BC – 669 BC)
10. Ashurbanipal (669 BC – 627 BC)
11. Syncretism

Assyria and Judah

1. Ahaz (743 BC – 715 BC) and the Coalition
2. Isaiah’s Advice
3. Ahaz and Tiglath-Pileser (2Kings 16)
4. Religious Cost
5. Hezekiah (715 BC – 687 BC)  and Reform (2Chron 30)
6. Hezekiah and Revolt
7. Sennacherib’s Response
8. Preservation of Jerusalem (701 BC)
9. Affect on Theology

Manasseh (687 BC – 642 BC)

1. Assyrian Attacks on Egypt
2. Judah Remains a Loyal Vassal
3. Grandpa Ahaz NSYNC (2Kings 21)
4. Amon Like Father Like Son
5. Birth of Josiah
6. Birth of Jeremiah

Assyrian Fall

1. Ashurbanipal vs Shamash-shum-ukin
2. The Conspiracy
3. Chaldean Nabopolassar
4. “King of Babylon”

Growth Group Blog: http://home2heaven.wordpress.com/
Growth Group Chat: jhunter0203@yahoo.com
Email: jeff@thehunters.net

Agenda

1. Opening Prayer
2. Create member roster with phone numbers, email addresses and dessert schedule.
3. What do we as a group understand the Bible to teach about Christian growth?

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,  rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6,7)

4. What do you understand by “receiving Christ Jesus the Lord?”

o The Gospel
o Knowledge
o Wisdom
o Understanding

Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, (Colossians 1:6)

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, (Colossians 1:9)

that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ,  in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  (Colossians 2:2,3)

he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,  if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.  (Colossians 1:22-23)

5. What do you understand by “walking in Christ Jesus the Lord?”

o Remain Faithful

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.  (Colossians 2:8-10)

o Submit To Christ In Every Sphere Of Life

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  (Colossians 3:2, 3)

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  (Colossians 3:16, 17)

6. Is there any significance to Christian growth in a group setting?
7. What book of the Bible will we study together?
8. How will we use group Bible Study to connect to our understanding of Christian growth in a group setting?
9. Calendar of meetings (dessert provider):
   Meeting 1: September 23, 2009 (TR)
   Meeting 2: October 14, 2009 (NV)
   Meeting 3: October 28, 2009 (JD)
   Meeting 4: November 11, 2009 (CT)
   Meeting 5: November 18, 2009 (DC)
   Meeting 6: December 9, 2009 (TH)
   Meeting 7: December 16, 2009 (TR)
   Meeting 8: January 13, 2010 (NV)
   Meeting 9: January 27, 2010
   Meeting 10: February 10, 2010
   Meeting 11: February 24, 2010
   Meeting 12: March 10, 2010
   Meeting 13: March 24, 2010
   Meeting 14: April 14, 2010
   Meeting 15: April 28, 2010
   Meeting 16: May 12, 2010
   Meeting 17: May 26, 2010
   Meeting 18: June 9, 2010
10. Pattern of Meetings:
    Opening Prayer
    Bible Study
    Application/Discussion
    General Prayer
    Dessert/Fellowship
    Closing Prayer