This week, we shall continue the study of the book of Jeremiah in the
Old Testament.
11:18-23—Plot against Jeremiah: It appears because the plot was revealed to Jeremiah, the plot was either spoiled or abandoned:
(1) Anathoth was Jeremiah’s hometown (1:1; 1 Ki. 2:26): Who might be these people who plotted to kill him? (see Jer. 12:6 as well)
(2) What might their reasons be?
a. They could have threatened him or beaten him. Why did they seek to kill him?
b. Why did they express their plot in such a poetic way? (v. 19)
(3) Could Jeremiah defend himself? (v. 19)
a. What could he do? (v. 20)
b. What did he pray for?
(4) How did God answer him? (vv. 21-23)
a. How would He punish them?
b. When would He punish them?
12:1-4—Jeremiah’s Complaint Turned Personal
(5) In response to God’s promise of judgment (in 11:21-23), Jeremiah praised God for His righteousness and yet he was not satisfied (12:1):
a. With what was he not satisfied?
b. NIV translates, “Yet I would speak with you about your justice”—What then is the difference between righteousness and justice in Jeremiah’s opinion?
(6) How did Jeremiah compare himself with the people (who plotted against him)? (12:2-3) What was his point?
(7) What did he pray about concerning these people? What were the reasons given? (12:4)
(8) Has God not just pronounced their punishment? (11:22-23) What did the prophet want? Why?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
12:5-6—God’s Answer to Jeremiah’s Complaint
(1) Even though Jeremiah was facing a plot to kill him because of his relentless attack of the people (including his colleagues, the priests), it was on God’s behalf:
a. What did God compare his enemies to? (12:5a)
- What could be worse than these priests?
b. What did God compare his situation to? (12:5b)
- What could be more treacherous than his current situation?
(2) How does this verse speak to you and your situation?
(3) What can be worse than enemies from the outside? (12:6)
12:7-13—God Forsakes His Inheritance—It is a poem in the form of a lament (see Note below).
(4) What did the Lord call these rebellious people? (12:7) Why?
(5) By now, what have they become? (12:8-9)
a. Why does the Lord call them a lion in the forest?
b. Why does the Lord call them a speckled bird? (see Note below)
(6) The forsaking and abandoning pronouncement appears to be of two aspects:
a. Destruction by their enemies (vv. 9-12)
- Can you form a mental picture about the devastation described here?
- Can anyone afford to be forsaken and abandoned by the Lord? (12:7)
b. Futility (v. 13)
- How will their harvest bear their shame?
- How does it speak to the futility of one who has turned away from the Lord and is subject to His “fierce anger”?
12:14-17—Offer of Grace to Israel’s Neighbors
(7) How will God deal with those He uses as His tool to punish His inheritance? (v. 14)
(8) Will they too have hope and salvation? (vv. 15-16)
(9) How do these words of the Lord answer the prophet’s complaint in 12:1-6?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
1. “(T)he poem is written in the Qinah measure…in which the beat of the words is arranged into a 3:2 pattern in line after line. A good example is to be found in Lamentations.” (NICOT, 357)
2. The prophet alludes to the well-known fact of natural history, that "whenever a strange-looking bird is seen amongst the others, whether it be an owl of the night amidst the birds of the day, or a bird of gay, variegated plumage amidst those of duskier hue, the others pursue the unfamiliar intruder with loud cries and unite in attacking it" (K&D, 141).
13:1-11—Object Lesson #1—The Linen Belt
(1) It is not uncommon for the Lord to tell His prophets to use object lesson to teach His people:
a. What is the special function of an object lesson?
b. What limitations do object lessons (basically used as a parable) have? (see note below)
(2) In this case, the meaning of this object lesson is made plain by the Lord:
a. What did people in biblical times use a linen belt for?
b. What is the message behind this ruined belt? (v. 8)
c. What does pride have to do with the wickedness described in v. 10?
(3) As it turns out, the Lord has meant the belt to serve as another symbol:
a. What is it? (v. 11)
b. What is the ultimate message the Lord wants Judah and Jerusalem to hear?
(4) Less obvious are the following instructions that have invited many different interpretations. If you so prefer, you may reflect on:
a. The meaning of not allowing the belt to “touch water” (13:1).
b. The meaning of hiding it some 250 miles away from Jerusalem in Perath (in the Euphrates, a region where the people would eventually end in exile).
13:12-14—Object Lesson #2—The Wineskins—I would assume that Jeremiah was likely holding a wineskin when he delivered this message:
(5) Why did the Lord ask Jeremiah to say something so obvious that the people were basically saying, “Don’t insult our intelligence!”?
(6) What does the wineskin stand for?
(7) The filling of wine presumably stands for the wrath of God:
a. How does this symbolize the merciless destruction of Jerusalem?
b. What does the Lord hope to achieve with this message?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
“As in the case of all parables it is wrong in principle to search for a meaning in every detail. Such a procedure only leads to allegorism, which is fraught with danger and is a hindrance to sound exegesis and proper interpretation."
(NICOT, 363)
13:15-19—Pride Rebuked—It is a fitting message placed right after the two object lessons as “pride” is the subject of God’s rebuke:
(1) Given the rapidly expanding power of the Babylonians which was threatening to conquer the nations in the region, what “pride” could Judah have? What might be the basis of their “arrogance”? (v. 15)
(2) Jeremiah warns them about their impending doom (v. 16)
a. What image does he use?
b. What does he urge them to do?
(3) How does he express his sorrow for their rebellion? Why does he say that he would weep “in secret”?
(4) What does he predict concerning the king and the queen mother? (v. 18)
(5) How did it come to pass according to 2 Kings 24:15?
13:20-27—The King (as the representative of the people) Rebuked
(6) As kings and rulers of Judah (v. 20),
a. How should they look upon the people they lead?
b. Whose sheep are they?
(7) What will their former allies (i.e. Egypt and Babylon) turn out to be? (v. 21)
a. What kind of sin does it reveal? (See Isa. 30:1-5 as an example)
(8) What analogies does the Lord use to depict the severity and totality of God’s punishment (in the hands of the army from the north)? (vv. 21b and 24)
(9) What analogy does the Lord use to depict their humiliation? (vv. 22 and 26)
(10) What are the sins highlighted that have led to their punishment? (vv. 25, 27)
(11) Is there any hope for their repentance? (v. 23) Why or why not?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
After the collection of sayings in chapters 11-13, a lengthy drought gives the prophet occasion for urgent intercession for the people which is rejected by the Lord with additional warning of their coming destruction by sword, famine and pestilence (chapters 14-17).
14:1-6—Drought
(1) How did the people of Judah react to this drought?? (vv. 1-4)
(2) How has it affected the farmers? (v. 4)
(3) How has it affected even the wild animals? (vv. 5-6)
(4) Does a drought like this only happen in Africa today?
(5) Have you had a similar experience?
14:7-9—Jeremiah’s Intercession
(6) Since Jeremiah admits that the drought has been a result of their sin (v. 7), on what basis does he appeal to the Lord for help (vv. 7-8)?
(7) How does he describe God’s inaction? (vv. 8-9)
(8) Do you think his appeal would work? Why or why not?
14:10-12—Gods’ Rejection
(9) What reason does the Lord give for His rejection of the people? (v. 10)
(10) Why would their fasting and offerings be unacceptable to the Lord?
(11) Apart from the present drought, what other punishment can they expect? (v. 12)
14:13-16—False Prophets
(12) What might have caused these false prophets to prophesy lasting peace from the Lord?
(13) What will be their punishment? (v. 15)
(14) What will be the punishment of the people who believe in their lies? (v. 16)
(15) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
14:17-22—Jeremiah’s Continued Intercession
(1) Although the Lord has rejected Jeremiah’s intercession and asked him not to pray for the people (14:11), what does the Lord say that has caused the prophet to persist in his intercession (v. 17) ?
(2) What does the Lord see that causes Him to lament for His people? (v. 18)
(3) In his continued
intercession, with what does Jeremiah hope to move the Lord not to reject them
completely? Refer to the following verses:
a. V. 19
b. V. 20
c. V. 21
d. V. 22
(4) What can we learn from Jeremiah in our intercession for others?
(5) Do you think it will work? Why or why not?
15:1-4—God’s Continued Rejection
(6) Why did God use Moses and Samuel as examples for great intercessors? (See Exod. 32:31-32; 1 Sam. 15:10-11) What was the point that He was trying to make? (v. 1)
(7) What are the four kinds of destroyers that God will use to punish them? (v. 2)
(8) In spite of Manasseh’s repentance in his latter years as the king of Judah (2 Chr. 33:12), what does the repeated emphases of his sins as the cause of Judah’s destruction tell us about the devastating impact of his sins on future generations? (Jer. 15:4; 2 Ki. 23:26; 24:3)
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
15:5-9—Jerusalem’s Terrible Fate
(1) Jerusalem was once a proud city; what will she turn into? (v. 5)
(2) Has God not given them chances and time to repent? (v. 6)
(3) The terror and grief are vividly depicted in vv. 7-9:
a. What analogy does the Lord use in v. 7 to depict their destruction?
b. Through whose eyes is this terror and grief expressed in vv. 8-9?
c. Why does the Lord depict His punishment through their eyes in particular?
15:10-18—Jeremiah's Inner Struggles
(4) Why does Jeremiah, like Job (Job 3:1ff), curse his own birth? (v. 10)
(5) How does the Lord answer his lament? (v. 11)
(6) Should the severity of the coming disaster from the north be a comfort to Jeremiah? Why or why not? (vv. 12-14)
(7) How does Jeremiah respond to these words of punishment from the Lord? (v. 15) Why?
(8) Jeremiah appears to be recounting his experience as God’s prophet all these years in vv. 15-18:
a. What was his experience like in hearing or receiving the message from God? (v. 16)
b. How did he live his life among the people as God’s prophet? (v. 17)
c. Yet, as he was persecuted for his role as God’s prophet (v. 18)
- Was he able to withstand the pressure and the pain?
- On whom did he lay blame?
15:19-21—The Lord’s Answer
(9) The Lord asks him to repent (v. 19):
a. What was the sin he has committed?
b. What did the Lord ask him to do in order that He could continue to use him?
(10) What promise did the Lord reiterate to him? (see 1:17-19)
(11) Why has Jeremiah completely forgotten this promise that God clearly made to him when he was called? (1:8-10)
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?