You are always righteous, Lord,
when I bring a case before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all the faithless live at ease?
You have planted them, and they have taken root;
they grow and bear fruit.
You are always on their lips
but far from their hearts.
Yet you know me, Lord;
you see me and test my thoughts about you.
Drag them off like sheep to be butchered!
Set them apart for the day of slaughter!
How long will the land lie parched
and the grass in every field be withered?
Because those who live in it are wicked,
the animals and birds have perished.
Moreover, the people are saying,
“He will not see what happens to us.”
“If you have raced with men on foot
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble in safe country,
how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?
Your relatives, members of your own family—
even they have betrayed you;
they have raised a loud cry against you.
Do not trust them,
though they speak well of you.
“I will forsake my house,
abandon my inheritance;
I will give the one I love
into the hands of her enemies.
My inheritance has become to me
like a lion in the forest.
She roars at me;
therefore I hate her.
Has not my inheritance become to me
like a speckled bird of prey
that other birds of prey surround and attack?
Go and gather all the wild beasts;
bring them to devour.
Many shepherds will ruin my vineyard
and trample down my field;
they will turn my pleasant field
into a desolate wasteland.
It will be made a wasteland,
parched and desolate before me;
the whole land will be laid waste
because there is no one who cares.
Over all the barren heights in the desert
destroyers will swarm,
for the sword of the Lord will devour
from one end of the land to the other;
no one will be safe.
They will sow wheat but reap thorns;
they will wear themselves out but gain nothing.
They will bear the shame of their harvest
because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”
This is what the Lord says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance I gave my people Israel, I will uproot them from their lands and I will uproot the people of Judah from among them. But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to their own inheritance and their own country. And if they learn well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal—then they will be established among my people. But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it,” declares the Lord.
- Jeremiah 12:1-17
To read Jeremiah 13:1-27, click this link HERE.
To read Jeremiah 14:1-22, click this link HERE.
Then the Lord said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people. Send them away from my presence! Let them go! And if they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘Those destined for death, to death;
those for the sword, to the sword;
those for starvation, to starvation;
those for captivity, to captivity.’
“I will send four kinds of destroyers against them,” declares the Lord, “the sword to kill and the dogs to drag away and the birds and the wild animals to devour and destroy. I will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem.
“Who will have pity on you, Jerusalem?
Who will mourn for you?
Who will stop to ask how you are?
You have rejected me,” declares the Lord.
“You keep on backsliding.
So I will reach out and destroy you;
I am tired of holding back.
I will winnow them with a winnowing fork
at the city gates of the land.
I will bring bereavement and destruction on my people,
for they have not changed their ways.
I will make their widows more numerous
than the sand of the sea.
At midday I will bring a destroyer
against the mothers of their young men;
suddenly I will bring down on them
anguish and terror.
The mother of seven will grow faint
and breathe her last.
Her sun will set while it is still day;
she will be disgraced and humiliated.
I will put the survivors to the sword
before their enemies,”
declares the Lord.
Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth,
a man with whom the whole land strives and contends!
I have neither lent nor borrowed,
yet everyone curses me.
The Lord said,
“Surely I will deliver you for a good purpose;
surely I will make your enemies plead with you
in times of disaster and times of distress.
“Can a man break iron—
iron from the north—or bronze?
“Your wealth and your treasures
I will give as plunder, without charge,
because of all your sins
throughout your country.
I will enslave you to your enemies
in a land you do not know,
for my anger will kindle a fire
that will burn against you.”
Lord, you understand;
remember me and care for me.
Avenge me on my persecutors.
You are long-suffering—do not take me away;
think of how I suffer reproach for your sake.
When your words came, I ate them;
they were my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name,
Lord God Almighty.
I never sat in the company of revelers,
never made merry with them;
I sat alone because your hand was on me
and you had filled me with indignation.
Why is my pain unending
and my wound grievous and incurable?
You are to me like a deceptive brook,
like a spring that fails.
Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“If you repent, I will restore you
that you may serve me;
if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,
you will be my spokesman.
Let this people turn to you,
but you must not turn to them.
I will make you a wall to this people,
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you
but will not overcome you,
for I am with you
to rescue and save you,”
declares the Lord.
“I will save you from the hands of the wicked
and deliver you from the grasp of the cruel.”
- Jeremiah 15:1-21
Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments
Jeremiah 12:1-6 ‘Why do the wicked prosper?’: ”No sooner did God take care of the two conspiracies than Jeremiah found himself struggling with a theological crisis (]er. 12:1—6). ‘In the commencement of the spiritual life,’ wrote the French mystic Madame Guyon, ‘our hardest task is to bear with our neighbor; in its progress, with ourselves; and in its end, with God.’ Jeremiah couldn’t understand why a holy God would permit the false prophets and the unfaithful priests to prosper in their ministries while he, a faithful servant of God, was treated like a sacrificial lamb.
“ ‘Why does the way of the wicked prosper?’ (Jer. 12:1 NIV) is a question that was asked frequently in Scripture, and it’s being asked today. Job wrestled with it (Job 12; 21); the psalmists tried to understand it (Ps. 37; 49; 73); and other prophets besides Jeremiah grappled with the problem (Hab. 1; Mal. 2:17; 3:15). Jewish theologians, pointing to the covenants, taught that God blesses those who obey and judges those who disobey, but the situation in real life seemed just the opposite! How could a holy God of love allow such a thing to happen?”
- Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Decisive
Jeremiah 12:1 ‘Why?’: “The issue of why the wicked escape unscathed for a time has often been raised by God’s people (cf. Ps. 73; Hab. 1:2-4).”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Jeremiah 12:8 ‘like a lion’: “Jeremiah’s own people collectively are like a lion acting ferociously against him.”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Jeremiah 12:9 ‘a speckled vulture’: “God’s people, speckled with sin and compromise, are opposed by other vultures, i.e., enemy nations.”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Jeremiah 12:12 ‘Sword of the Lord’: “God’s strength can be used for defending (cf. 47:6; Judg. 7:20) or in this case, condemning. The Babylonians were God’s sword doing His will.”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Jeremiah 12:14-27 ‘The Promise of Israel’s Restoration’: “This passage is a message given to the Gentiles who will help toward Israel’s final restoration. The message is that just as God removed Israel from the land, He also intends to bring Israel back to the land (verse 14), and God will have compassion on Israel after the people’s restoration (verse 15). In the messianic kingdom, the Gentiles who learn the ways of Israel will be blessed (verse 16), and those who do not listen will face judgment (verse 17).”
- Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, Exploring Bible Prophecy
Jeremiah 13:1 ‘a linen sash’: “One of several signs Jeremiah enacted to illustrate God’s message (cf. Introduction) involved putting a linen sash (generally the inner garment against the skin) around his waist. This depicted Israel’s close intimacy with God in the covenant, so that they could glorify Him (v. 11). do not put it in water. This signified the moral filth of the nation. Buried and allowed time to rot (v. 7), the sash pictured Israel as useless to God due to sin (v. 10). Hiding it by the Euphrates River (v. 6) pointed to the land of Babylon, where God would exile Israel to deal with her pride (cf. v. 9).”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Jeremiah 13:4 ‘Euphrates’: “This refers literally to a site on the Euphrates River because: (1) the Euphrates is the area of the Exile (20:4); (2) ‘many days’ fits the round trip of well over one thousand miles (v. 6); and (3) the ruining of the nation’s pride (v. 9) relates to judgment by Babylon (vv. 10, 11).”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Jeremiah 13:15-17 ‘The pride of self’: “The voice we are told to hear is a divine voice. Further, it is a word most clear and plain. Moreover, from the expression in the text, we gather that the revelation made to us by the Lord is an unchangeable and abiding word. It is not today that the Lord is speaking, but ‘the LORD has spoken.’ His voice by the prophets and apostles is silent now, for he has revealed all truth that is necessary for salvation. This revelation is preeminently a cheerful word. The Lord might have trodden us down to destruction without a word when we sinned against him. The fact that the great God speaks to us indicates that mercy, tenderness, love, hope, and grace are the burden of his utterance.
“Since there is a revelation, it should be suitably received. If the Lord has spoken, then all attention should be given. Yes, double attention, even as the text has it, ‘Listen and pay attention.’ We must hear and hear again, incline our ears, listen diligently, and surrender our souls to the teaching of the Lord God.
“Nevertheless, pride in the human heart prevents such a reception. The text continues, ‘Do not be proud.’ The prophet here puts his finger on the problem. Why is it that there are any among us who have heard God’s Word year after year and yet have not received it? The reason is their pride. In some it is the pride of intellect. In some others it is the pride of self-esteem. Some have a pride of self-righteousness. In some it is the pride of self-love. The pride of self-will also works its share of ruin among people.
“Then comes an earnest warning: ‘Give glory to the LORD your God before he brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the mountains at dusk.’ Darkness is hovering around us, and after that darkness comes a stumbling. Dark mountains of another kind will also block the way of the wanderer-mountains of dismay, of remorse, of despair. After that stumbling in the dark, one may desire to wait for the light to come. Yet he looks in vain, for thus says the prophet, ‘You wait for light, but he brings darkest gloom and makes total darkness.’ And now a paralyzing despair seizes this person, for God makes the darkness to be ‘total darkness.’
“If the people would not submit to God, the prophet determined what he would do: ‘But if you will not listen, my innermost being will weep in secret because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, for the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.’ He cannot do anything more. He has no other message to deliver. He cannot hope that God will stand for their insults and invent another way of saving them. He has told them the truth, and if they refuse it, he will lay no flattering anointing to their souls.
“Jeremiah did not say in the first clause ‘my eyes shall weep’ but ‘my innermost being will weep.’ Bitter tears make red the eyes, but what must be the brine of those tears that are wept by one’s innermost being—the anguish over willful people who persist in destroying themselves. Alas, Jeremiah’s sorrow would be unavailing; his grief was hopeless. He could not help those who would not allow themselves to be helped by God.”
- Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes
Jeremiah 13:19 ‘wholly carried away’: “All and wholly do not require absolutely every individual, for Jeremiah elsewhere explains that some people were to be killed and a remnant would be left in the land or fleeing to Egypt (chs. 39-44).”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Jeremiah 13:23 ‘Ethiopian … leopard’: “The vivid analogy assumes that sinners cannot change their sinful natures (‘incurably sick’). Only God can change the heart (31:18, 31-34).”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Jeremiah 14 ‘the drought’: ”His first message [in chapters 14-17] was about the drought (Jer. 14:1-22). Unlike the land of Egypt, whose food supply depended on irrigation from the Nile River, the land of Canaan depended on the rains God sent from heaven (Deut. 11:10-12). If His people obeyed His law, God would send the rains and give them bumper crops (Lev. 26:3-5), but if they disobeyed, the heavens would become like iron and the earth like bronze (Lev. 26:18-20; Deut. 11:13-17; 28:22-24). Over the years, Judah’s sins had brought a series of droughts to the land (see Jer. 3:3; 5:24; 12:4; 23:10), and Jeremiah used this painful but timely topic as the basis for a sermon to the people.”
- Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Decisive
Jeremiah 14:1-6 ‘concerning the drought’: “There had been no rain, so the crops had failed, and there was a famine in the land. The distress was so great that the ‘city gates’ where, in more prosperous times, business transactions took place and meetings of the people were held were deserted. ‘Their nobles send their servants for water.’ The highest in the land sent their servants to hunt for even a little water to drink. They went to the cisterns where some water might have been expected to remain, but they found none. ‘They cover their heads.’ The covering of the head was the sign of sorrow ‘The ground is cracked.’ The ground had been reduced by the drought to such a state of hardness that it was useless to plow, for there was no hope of any harvest coming. Even the wild creatures of the field shared the general suffering: ‘The doe in the field gives birth and abandons her fawn.’ The doe, which is reckoned to be the fondest of its young, forsook its fawn and left it to perish because there was no food. ‘Wild donkeys’ are able to endure thirst better than other creatures and are always quick to perceive water if any is to be found. Yet they tried in vain to scent water anywhere; they sniffed in vain and ‘their eyes fail.’ The prophet turns to prayer as the only means of obtaining relief.”
- Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes
Jeremiah 14:8 ‘Jeremiah’s plea’: “Jeremiah begged the Lord not to be to the land like a mere stranger who passes through it and cares nothing for it. Then he pleaded with the Lord, ‘Why are you like a helpless man, like a warrior unable to save?’ This was grand pleading on the prophet‘s part, and he followed it up by mentioning the close connection that existed between Israel and God.”
- Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes
Jeremiah 14:11 ‘do not pray for blessing’: “It is as it God said, ‘You may pray, it you like, for a plague to come on them as a chastisement for their sins, but do not pray for any blessing for them.’ “
”
- Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes
Jeremiah 14:13 ‘Jeremiah prays anyway’: “Notice what Jeremiah did even after the Lord has said to him, ‘Do not pray for the well-being of these people’—he prayed tor them! ‘The prophets are telling them.’ Jeremiah basically says, ‘Lord, have pity on the people, for they are misled by their prophets.’ “
- Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes
Jeremiah14:14-15 ‘no excuse’: “God says, ‘Yes, I will deal with the false prophets. They have misled the people, and I will punish them for their deception, but I will not excuse the people even on that ground.”
- Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes
Jeremiah 14:17 ‘virgin daughter’: “Judah is so called, having never before been under foreign bondage.”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Jeremiah 14:19 ‘closer to the throne of Grace’: “Jeremiah edges his way toward the throne of grace, and at last he does what he is told not to do—he prays for the people. Jeremiah asked the Lord whether he can really cast off his people.”
- Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes
Jeremiah 14:20 ‘no confession’: “Jeremiah has now advanced a step farther, to the confession of sin.”
- Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes
Jeremiah 14:22 ‘put our hope in the Lord’: “O splendid perseverance of importunity-strong resolve of a forbidden intercession! God help us all to put our hope in him. We are not so discouraged from praying as he was who spoke these words, so there is still more reason we should say to the Lord, ‘We therefore put our hope in you.’ ”
- Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes
Jeremiah 15 ‘the captivity’: ”Jeremiah’s second message [in chapters 14-17] was a prophecy about the coming captivity (Jer. 15:1-21). Before the Jews even entered the Promised Land, Moses had rehearsed with them the terms of the covenant, warning them that God would remove them from the land if they refused to obey His voice (Deut. 28:65-68). No sooner did Joshua and that generation of spiritual leaders pass from the scene (Judg. 2:7-15) than the nation turned to idolatry and God had to chasten them. First, He punished them in the land by allowing other nations to invade and take control. Then, when the people cried out for help, He raised up deliverers (vv. 16—23). By the time of Jeremiah, however, the sins of the people were so great that God had to remove them from the land and punish them in distant Babylon.”
- Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Decisive
Jeremiah 15:6 ‘I am weary of relenting’: “God often withholds the judgment He threatens (cf. 26:19; Ex. 32:14; 1 Chr. 21:15), sparing people so His patience might lead them to repentance (cf. Rom. 2:4, 5; 3:25).”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics
Jeremiah 15:9 ‘sun … gone down while … yet day’: “Young mothers die in youth and their children are killed.”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Jeremiah 15:10 ‘Woe is me.’: “Overcome by grief (cf. 9:1), Jeremiah wished that he had not been born (cf. 20:14-18). He had not been a bad or disagreeable creditor or debtor; yet, his people cursed him, and he felt the sting.”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics
Jeremiah 15:16 ‘eating the Word of God’: “Jeremiah, for example, was given the difficult task of bearing word of God’s impending judgment to Judah and Jerusalem. It would be an unwelcome message to those for whom it was destined:
“For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem?
“or who shall bemoan thee?
“or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest?
“Thou hast forsaken me, saith the Lord,
“thou art gone backward;
“therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee;
“l am weary with repenting. (Jeremiah 15:5-6)
“Jeremiah was a willing messenger, but he was under no illusion concerning the response God’s message would meet—or of his own vulnerability as the bearer of such tidings:
“O LORD, thou knowest:
“remember me, and visit me,
“and revenge me of my persecutors;
“take me not away in thy longsuffering;
“know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke. (15:15)
“Then Jeremiah added this interesting statement:
“Thy words were found, and l did eat them;
“and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart;
“for l am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. (15:16).
“The word God asked Jeremiah and Ezekiel to deliver was a bitter warning of divine judgment. But Jeremiah testified that as he ‘ate’ God’s words they were ‘the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.’ And Ezekiel, with similar reaction concerning the scroll he had ingested, said, ‘It was in my mouth as honey for sweetness’ (Ezekiel 3:3).”
- A. W. Tozer, Jesus is Victor!
Jeremiah 15:16 ‘Making the Lord’s Words part of your being’: “As Jeremiah meant these words, they signified that certain messages came to him from God, and he recognized them as such. But the words, as we may use them, may signify something more. It is a great thing to find God’s word and discern it for ourselves; many have heard it for years and yet have never found it. Happy is the person who reads the Scriptures and hears the word—searching all the while for the hidden spiritual sense that is, indeed, the voice of God. Further, to find God’s words means we have been made to understand them. And to find the word of God means not only to understand it but to appropriate it as belonging to you.
“Second, our text testifies to an eager reception: ‘And I ate them.’ It is not, ‘I did hear them,’ for that he might have done and yet have perished. It is not, ‘Your words were found, and I did repeat them,’ for that he might have done as a parrot repeats language it is taught; nor is it even, ‘Your words were found, and I remembered them,’ for though it’s an excellent thing to store truth in the memory, yet the blessed effect of the divine words comes to those who ponder them in their hearts. What is meant by eating God’s words? The phrase signifies more than any other word could express; it implies an eager study. The expression also implies cheerful reception. The expression signifies an intense belief. He made practical use of God’s words at once. His inward life became one with the truth, and the truth one with him. Third, the text tells us of happy consequences: ‘Your words became a delight to me and the joy of my heart.’
“The fourth item to observe involves a distinguished title: ‘I bear your name, Lord God of Armies.’ This may not appear to some as a joyful thing, but to Jeremiah it was preeminently so. Yet that he bore the name of God made him the object of much persecution as well as contempt; the king threw him into the dungeon; he was made to eat the bread of affliction and was often in tribulations; but he took it all joyfully for the Lord’s sake.”
- Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes
Jeremiah 15:20 ‘I was there before you’: “You’ve been there. You’ve escaped the sandy foundations of the valley and ascended his grand outcropping of granite. You’ve turned your back on the noise and sought his voice. You’ve stepped away from the masses and followed the Master as he led you up the winding path to the summit …
“Gently your guide invites you to sit on the rock above the tree line and look out with him at the ancient peaks that will never erode. ‘What is necessary is still what is sure,’ he confides. ‘Just remember:
“ ‘You’ll go nowhere tomorrow that l haven’t already been.
“ ‘Truth will still triumph …
“ ‘The victory is yours …
“The sacred summit. A place of permanence in a world of transition.”
- Max Lucado, The Applause of Heaven
My Thoughts
I like the first Wiersbe comment, why do the wicked prosper? I may use his comment to tie all those Scriptures together in another post. But God immediately answers Jeremiah. The people are far from righteous. Over these chapters and the previous chapters, the words “Do not listen” and “Do not obey” seem to prevail. We might get soft on many of the infractions of God’s Law, but God knows their hearts, hearts that do not listen nor obey. And Jeremiah 15 talks of Manasseh son of Hezekiah who killed children in false god worship. That is far from a victimless sin, as if any sin can be victimless. The most innocuous coveting or lusting hurts the one doing it, and changes with way others are treated, even when the sin is not a conscious one. Again, what is in the heart.
So, God will send the wild beasts to devour. He will uproot his chosen people. But if they repent they will be established in the land.
The Linen Belt is an interesting story. I wrote about it six years ago, my most popular post of 2017. The belt is placed in a dry wadi. With the air arid and the wadi dry, it was ruined, rotten, by supernatural power. This miracle was done to illustrate that God had His protective hand on His people, but they ruined themselves. It is thought that Perath is along the route taken by the exiles who were forced to go to Babylon.
Then the wineskins analogy basically says that the leaders of the people will be drunk on their own misguided ideas. They will not see the folly in it. With the gender dysphoria and support for abortion in the governments of the world, we again have leadership who are drunk on their own delusions. They will not listen. They will not obey.
Then the drought will come. Odd that the famine, due to a drought, precedes the sword. In Revelation, and often through history, the sword comes first. The farmers are serving in the military and the ground used for crops is a battleground, thus famine naturally follows the war. But in this case, drought causes the famine so that the people will be weak when the soldiers appear on their doorstep.
And the big three, sword, famine, and plague, written in that order are often the case. The sword kills people. Due to the lack of food during the war, famine follows and more die. There may be too many bodies and not enough able-bodied people to bury them. With the insects that descend to feed upon the dead, some could bring a plague.
People will die: Death, sword, starvation, and what is left … captivity. The widows will be more numerous than the sands of the sea.
But if the people would repent … Alas, they were too busy not listening and not obeying.
Some Serendipitous Reflections
“Jeremiah 12: 1. Have you ever felt the unfairness of life as keenly as Jeremiah? ln your experience, have the wicked prospered? How so? For how long? Why does God delay in executing justice?
“2. How would you describe God’s response to Jeremiah‘s honesty: Angry? Glad? Disturbed? Sympathetic? Puzzled? Matter-of-fact? Other: ? Have you ever complained to God as honestly as Jeremiah did? What was God’s response?
“3. What would our world be like if God instantly punished every sin? What would your life be like?
“4. Are you ‘on foot … competing with horses’ (v.5)? Or are you ‘stumbling in safe country’? How do you prepare for tougher times? How can your group assist?
“Jeremiah 13:1-14 A Linen Belt 1. Have there been times in your life when God used actions, even a “belting”, to speak louder than words? What happened? How did the message get through?
“2. Jeremiah obeyed God instantly, without questioning. How willing are you to go along with things that you don‘t understand? Do you need to see how things will turn out before making a step?
“3. We try to convey God’s message through words and deeds. Which is easier for you? In what ways might one without the other confuse people? How could you share God’s message more clearly?
“Jeremiah 13:15-27 Threat of Captivity: 1. How do you think Jeremiah felt delivering this kind of message again and again? Why didn’t God just warn Judah once and then lower the boom? What do these repeated warnings tell you about God?
“2. How easily do you cry? What was the cause of your last tears? Has the state of the church or humanity ever upset you enough to weep?
“3. Why did God liken the worship of other gods to adultery? What does that tell you about the way he thinks of his relationship with us? Imagining God as your spouse, do you feel: (a) Head over heels? (b) The honeymoon’s over? (c) All work, no play? (d) Separation’? (d) Still going strong? (e) Divorced?
“4. Can a leopard change its spots? ls that true of people in general? Of you? ls this verse ‘hopeless’ or do you see it differently?
“Jeremiah 14:1-15:9 Drought, Famine, Sword, Part 1: 1. Do you think God’s patience finally wears out? At what points? Does patience have to have a time limit? What becomes of limitless patience?
“2. The false prophets told the kings what they wanted to hear. Do you know someone in government who says ‘yes’ to avoid rocking the boat? Are you ever a ‘yes-sayer’ in your family? At work? At church? Has it ever gotten you or the church in trouble? What troubled do you see stemming from people who only tell others what they want to hear?
“3. On the other hand, some people like to ‘make waves’. Do you? What is one thing you have said that greatly upset some people’s presumptuous thinking? What happened to you as a result?
“4. When have you reacted with scorn or persecution against someone who rocked your boat?
“Jeremiah 15:10-21 Drought, Famine, Sword, Part 2: 1. If you could go back and change anything in your life, what would you change? What would you wish could have happened instead?
“2. Do you think serving the Lord was a pleasant task for Jeremiah? Would you have liked his job? Do you ever feel unrewarded for your dedication? Unappreciated by God? By others? How does God equip you for the role you play?
“3. Do you receive enough encouragement and support from this group? How could the group provide more of what you need?”
- Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups
Jeremiah 12 has one set of questions. Jeremiah 13 has two sets of questions. Jeremiah 14-15 are each divided into two sets of questions as noted above.
Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.
If you like these Thursday morning Bible studies, but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Thursday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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