Israel's Sin Shall be Destroyed

Thursday, June 25, 2015
Hosea 10:1-8 KJV 

1 Israel [is] an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images. 2 Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images. 3 For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the LORD; what then should a king do to us? 4 They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field. 5 The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Bethaven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof [that] rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it. 6 It shall be also carried unto Assyria [for] a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel. 7 [As for] Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water. 8 The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) The Lord God had blessed His people. Though their blessings had dwindled, because of their transgressions, what were the people doing with their abundance? (v.1)
2) Why and how would God's people be judged? (v.2-4)
3) Bethaven means "house of wickedness." How would the people of Samaria respond when their calves (idols) would be carried to Assyria? (v.5-6a)
4) What would become of the people of God and their place(s) of worship? Why? (v.6b-8)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Have you, any one you know, trusted in the works of your (their) hands more than you (they) trusted in God?
6) if so, what has happened to that which you (they) revered more than the Lord?

LIFE LESSONS
7) The Lord gives us the power to get wealth, but not to trust in more than the Lord.
8) The Lord will diminish or destroy whatever we rely upon more than Himself.

Forsaking the Living Water

Monday, November 10, 2014
Jeremiah 2:5-13 KJV

5 Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? 6 Neither said they, Where [is] the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt? 7 And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination. 8 The priests said not, Where [is] the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after [things that] do not profit. 9 Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children's children will I plead. 10 For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing. 11 Hath a nation changed [their] gods, which [are] yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for [that which] doth not profit. 12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. 13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, [and] hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What did the Lord ask His people? (v.5a)
2) What had the people of God done? (v.5b-c)
3) What else did the people neglected to ask of the Lord? (v.6)
4) What had the Lord done for His people and how did they respond? (v.7)
5) What had the nation's leaders done against God? (v.8)
6) What had the nation done against the Lord? (v.9-11)
7) What did the Lord declare to the heavens and why? (v.12-13)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
8) After all that the Lord has done for you, have you ever forgotten about Him? If so, briefly describe one such time.
9) Do you know of a leader that forsook the Lord to pursue his or her own way? If so, what happened?
10) Do you believe that this nation may have forsaken the Lord because of ungodly leaders? Please explain.

PRINCIPLES
11) As people of God, we are hopellessly lost with the Good Shepherd's leading.
12) When our leaders abandon the word and will of God, it is just a matter of time before their followers will do the same.
13) We do not have to be deceived, the Lord has infilled every born again believer with the Spirit of Truth.

I Will Heal Your Faithlessness

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Jeremiah 3:19-23

19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me. 
20 Surely [as] a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD. 
21 A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping [and] supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, [and] they have forgotten the LORD their God. 
22 Return, ye backsliding children, [and] I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou [art] the LORD our God. 
23 Truly in vain [is salvation hoped for] from the hills, [and from] the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God [is] the salvation of Israel.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What did the Lord want to give His people and why? (v.19)
2) How did Israel respond to the Lord? (v.20)
3) Why were the people of God weeping? (v.21)
4) What did the Lord promise His people if they returned to Him? (v.22)
5) What did God's people conclude about the Lord? (v.23)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
6) Who, or what, do you seek answers from, besides God, to live your life? Why?
7) Have the solutions that you've received from sources other than God, helped you? 
8) If you responded positively to the above question, were the solutions you received permanent, or temporary?

PRINCIPLES
9) God never gives up on His people.
10) Though we may wander from Him, the Lord is always available to us.
11) The Lord wants to save, and to deliver, us from all of our sinful ways.

Where are your gods?

Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Jeremiah 2:26-32 

26 As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets, 
27 Saying to a stock, Thou [art] my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned [their] back unto me, and not [their] face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us. 
28 But where [are] thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for [according to] the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah. 
29 Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD. 
30 In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion. 
31 O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee? 
32 Can a maid forget her ornaments, [or] a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What is Israel's shame like, according to the Lord? (v.26)
2) Why should Israel be ashamed? (v.27)
3) Why was Israel foolish in depending on their other gods (idols)? (v.28)
4) Why was it foolish for Israel to cry out to God? (v.29)
5) What had the Lord done in vain and why? (v.30)
6) What was Israel's ultimate transgression against the Lord? (v.31-32)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
7) Have you ever felt that you could handle life on your own terms and forgotten about the Lord? If so, describe one such time.
8) What are the idols (the things you place above God) in your life?
9) Will you forsake your idols and return to your Creator?

PRINCIPLES
10) An idol is any person, place, or thing that is more important to you than God.
11) God expects His children to live in complete dependence upon Him.
12) When Christians live independent of Christ, we forfeit His guidance and blessings.

Provoking God

Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Jer 32:26-35 

26 Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, 
27 Behold, I [am] the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? 
28 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it: 29 And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger. 
30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from their youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the LORD. 
31 For this city hath been to me [as] a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face, 32 Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 
33 And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching [them], yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction. 34 But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it. 35 And they built the high places of Baal, which [are] in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through [the fire] unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) Despite God's great love for His people and power, why was He handing them over to their enemies? (v.26-27, 30-34)
2) What would their enemies do to them? (v.28-29)
3) What abomination did the God's people commit that may have further provoked the Lord to anger? (v.35)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) What sins have the citizens of the U.S. committed that may have provoked God to anger against us?
5) What sins have you committed in your own life that may have provoked the Lord to anger against you?
6) Have you confessed and repented of (turned away from ) all your sins? If not, why not.

PRINCIPLES
7) When God chastens His people He does so out of love.
8) The promises of God remain to the people of God despite the punishment of God.
9) The only way to escape God's wrath is to humble ourselves, seek the Lord through prayer, and repent of our sins (see 2 Chronicles 7:14).