Questions

Scriptural Reflection
Jeremiah 7:21–8:3

This week, we shall continue the study of the book of Jeremiah in the Old Testament.

7:21-29—Rejection by the Lord: The message against Jerusalem (likely after Josiah’s death) continues.

(1) The Lord rejects their offerings (7:21)

a. What is the distinct instruction specified by the Law of Moses concerning burnt offerings (especially how to deal with the meat)? (Lev. 1:8-9)

b. Therefore what does it mean to tell the people to go ahead and “eat the meat yourselves”?

(2) They have gone backward, not forward (7:22-26)

a. What does the Lord remind them of His “real” requirement when it comes to His command? (vv. 22-23)

b. What is the reason given for their disobedience? (v. 24)

c. How did they demonstrate that they had gone “backward and not forward”?(vv. 25-26)

(3) The Lord has now given up on them (9:27-29)

a. Why is it futile for Jeremiah to continue to rebuke and warn them? (v. 28)

b. Is this also a fitting description of your society? Why or why not?

c. In what ways are the following a sign of rejection (or giving up) by the Lord?

1. The order to cut off (the prophet’s or Jerusalem’s) hair (see Num. 6:2-8; Job 1:20)
2. The taking up of a lament on barren heights

7:30–8:3—Sinful Deeds in the Valley of Hinnom and Their Consequences:

(4) In justifying His rejection, the Lord cites some of the most detestable practices the people of Judah had brought back since the days of Manasseh:

a. How did they defile the temple of the Lord? (v. 30)

b. In addition to such defilement, what detestable practice had they re-introduced in Judah? (v. 31; see 2 Ki. 23:10)

c. What does the Law of Moses say about such a practice and what punishment is prescribed for such a sin? (Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5)

d. The Punishment (7:32–8:3)

1. What will happen in the Valley in Topheth? (7:32)
2. What will happen across Judah? (7:33)
3. What will happen to the bones of those already buried? What does it signify? (8:1-2)
4. What will happen to those who survive? (8:3)

(5) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
Jeremiah 8:4–9:1

8:4-12—The People are Senseless and Shameless

(1) The way they remain apostate (vv. 4-5)

a. Is it a matter of “cannot” or a matter of “will not”?

b. Why?

(2) Their Senselessness (vv. 6-7)

a. How has the Lord demonstrated His patience? (v. 6)

b. How they are worse than the stork, the dove, the swift and the thrush:

1. How do these birds know when to migrate?
2. What do the people have that are far superior to these birds?

(3) Self-deception (vv. 8-9)

a. Shouldn’t the Law of God give wisdom? (Ps. 19:7)

b. Why are they not wise instead? (v. 8)

c. Whose fault is it? Just the scribes? (v. 9)

(4) Their shamelessness (vv. 10-12)

a. How does the Lord sum up their sins in terms of the following?

1. How widespread it is (v. 10b)
2. Their attitude towards their detestable conduct

b. What punishments await them? (v. 10a and v. 12b)

8:13-17—Depiction of the Horror of Judgment

(5) What judgments are pronounced by the Lord in v. 13 and v. 17?

(6) The horror depicted by the words of the people in trouble:

a. Who are those who urge the people to flee to fortified cities? What for? (v. 14)

b. How hopeless will their situation be? (v. 15)

c. Dan is the northern most city that will first encounter the invasion of the armies from the north: What kind of a picture is depicted by v. 16?

8:18–9:1—The Weeping Prophet—As Jeremiah prophesies, he probably sees the destruction in a vision:

(7) Do the people not deserve God’s punishment? Why then would he grieve? (8:21)

(8) In his vision, what did he hear? (8:18-20)

a. Would he find comfort?

b. What are the questions he asked? (8:19)

c. What is God’s answer to him? (8:19)

(9) How does v. 20 reveal the pining of the people? Do you know how long they had to pine until they would receive deliverance/salvation in history?

(10) When the prophet realizes the wound of his people is beyond healing (8:22), how does he express his grief? (9:1)

(11) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
Jeremiah 9:2–16

9:2-9—A Depraved People

(1) Since Jeremiah so deeply identifies with the agony of the people, why would he seek to flee from them? What does it say about his grief? (v. 2)

(2) Sins in Prosperity (v. 3)

a. How should God’s people respond to their prosperity?

b. How do these people make use of their prosperity? Why?

(3) A Society of Deceit (vv. 4-9)

a. How unethical have they turned their society into? (vv. 4-5, 8)

b. How will you live in a society that is marked by lies and deception? (v. 6)

c. What impact will it have on your own life?

d. How could God’s people degenerate into such a pitiful state? (v. 6)

e. Should they be punished by the Lord? Why or why not? (v. 9)

9:10-16—Jerusalem’s Ruin

(4) Because of their sins:

a. What will happen to the cities? (vv. 11-12)

b. Will the surrounding lands be immune? (v. 10)

c. Can you imagine such utter ruin descending upon your city?

d. If it does happen to your city, would you not ask the question in v. 12?

e. What are the sins summed up by the Lord about Judah and Jerusalem? (vv. 13-14)

f. Is your city and its people any better?

g. How unprecedented will their punishment be? (v. 16)

(5) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
Jeremiah 9:17–26

9:17-22a—Dirge over Jerusalem

(1) Why would people in ancient culture call the professional women to wail on their behalf? Would it be to prove that they were rich, or to express their extreme sorrow?

(2) Which is the case here? (v. 18)

(3) What is the substance of such a wailing? (v. 19)

(4) But who will be the ones who wail? The professional or the women in Zion? (v. 20)

(5) What will they be wailing over? (vv. 21-22)

9:23-26—Boasting in Knowing the Lord

(6) If we think we are wise without knowing the Lord, what kind of wisdom do we really have?

(7) If we are strong without knowing the Lord, how futile will our strength be?

(8) If we are very wealthy and yet do not know the Lord, in what ways are we really poor?

(9) How important are the following?

a. To know that He is the Lord (What does it mean?)

b. To know that what God really delights in are the exercises of:

1. Kindness
2. Justice
3. Righteousness

c. How can we have such an understanding? (Prov. 9:10)

(10) These prophecies of judgment pronounced by the Lord are primarily on the whole house of Israel (including Judah). Why will the nations be punished as well one day? (vv. 25-26)

(11) What is meant by “really uncircumcised”?

(12) Why is this message of knowing who the Lord is and punishment of all nations introduced after the dirge over Jerusalem?

(13) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
Jeremiah 10:1–16

God versus Idols: In this section, the worthlessness of idols is compared to the greatness of the Lord.

(1) In each pair of contrasts, try to see the different emphases and how idols are compared to the Lord. The 1st pair:

a. Vv. 2-5: idols

b. Vv. 6-7: the Lord

c. What is the conclusion?

(2) The 2^nd pair:

a. Vv. 8-9: idols

b. V. 10: the Lord

c. What is the conclusion?

(3) The 3^rd pair:

a. V. 11: idols (this is the only line of this poetry written in Aramaic: see what is being highlighted)

b. Vv. 12-13: the Lord

c. What is the conclusion?

(4) The 4^th pair:

a. Vv. 14-15: idols

b. V. 16: the Lord

c. What is the conclusion?

(5) Since pagans do know that the idols are made by their own hands, why would they still worship them? (v. 3)

(6) Since Israel knows this also very well, why would they follow these worthless practices?

(7) The Lord says, “Do not fear them, they can do no harm nor can they do any good” (v. 5).

a. Since all idols are man-made, why would people fear them, especially those called “Voodoos”?

b. If somehow, the evil spirits make use of idols to spread fear, should we be afraid? (1 Jn. 4:4)

c. In essence, can idols do harm? Why or why not?

(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
Jeremiah 10:17–25

The Coming Destruction: The comparison of idols to the Lord only serves to condemn the worthlessness of God’s people, leaving them with the certainty of judgment:

(1) Judgment in the form of exile (vv. 17-18)

a. What does it mean for the people of God to leave the Promised Land?

b. What does the use of the words “to hurl out” signify?

(2) Jeremiah’s identification with his people (vv. 19-22)

a. What does the incurable wound or injury refer to?

b. Why does he say, “I must endure it”? Is there really any alternative?

c. What kind of desolation is depicted by both v. 20 and v. 22?

(3) The shepherds refer to the leaders of the people (vv. 21)

a. While the people are of course guilty of their sins, why does the Lord single out the leaders?

b. What are the sins of the leaders mentioned in v. 21?

(4) Jeremiah’s prayer in identification with his people (vv. 23-25)

a. Is v. 23 a confession of sin or words of submission? Why?

b. Why does he ask the Lord to discipline him (i.e. the people)?

c. What does he pray, concerning the nations of which he has prophesied, as the tool of judgment of God’s people? Why?

(5) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
Jeremiah 11:1–17

Chapters 11-13 are basically a collection of sayings concerning the covenantal obligations of Israel:

11:1-8—God’s Covenant with Their Ancestors

(1) What is the emphasis here concerning this covenantal relationship?

(2) Has God honored His part of the covenant?

(3) Did their ancestors honor their part of the covenant?

(4) What has been the result (especially in light of what had already happened to the northern kingdom)?

(5) In Deuteronomy 28, the Lord sums up the blessings of obedience and the curses of disobedience: Why does the Lord choose to recount these with the people of Judah at this time?

11:9-14—Their Response Today

(6) Have they learned a lesson from the destruction of Israel? (v. 10)

(7) In pointing out their sins of returning to the sins of their ancestors, why does the Lord use “conspiracy” to describe the actions of the people of Judah? (v. 9)

(8) It appears that the Lord hates their sin of idol worship the most (vv. 11-13)

a. When disaster strikes, what will the people do?

b. Why is there no help either from the Lord or from their idols?

c. How widespread is their idol worship?

(9) Why does the Lord ask Jeremiah not to intercede for the people? (v. 14)

11:15-17—God’s Lament

(10) As much as God is very angry with His people, what does He still call them in v. 15?

a. What are their wicked deeds? Where do they do them?

b. Given who they are to God, how wicked are their deeds?

(11) What does the Lord call them in v. 16?

a. What was God’s desire for them?

b. Why does God desire now to burn what He has planted?

(12) Israel and Judah are God’s covenant people, His beloved and His beautiful olive tree.

a. How privileged are Israel and Judah compared to the rest of the world?

b. What would you do, if you were the Lord?

c. Do you remember what the Lord planned to do with them? (see Lk. 20:13)

(13) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?