Saturday, August 29, 2015
Isaiah 57:10-12 NIV
10 You wearied yourself by such going about, but you would not say, 'It is hopeless.' You found renewal of your strength, and so you did not faint. 11 "Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have not been true to me, and have neither remembered me nor taken this to heart? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear me? 12 I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) After declaring His idolotrous people had transgressed against Him, what else did the Lord say about His rebellious people? (v.10)
2) What does the Lord ask those who have transgressed against Him? (v.11)
3) What else does the Lord declare about His wayward people? (v.12)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Do you know of any professing believer(s) who has (have) forsaken the way of the Lord to pursue their own way? If so, what do you think will become of them?
LIFE LESSONS
5) The Lord wants what is best for His people. Those who reject His will and His way, reject Him as Savior and Lord.
6) Do not dismiss the Lord because He has been silent. He has appointed a day of judgment for all who forsake Him.
7) The Lord will not remember the sins of those who are humble and penitent.
Showing posts with label rebellion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rebellion. Show all posts
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
How Have We Spoken Against You?
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Malachi 3:11-18 NIV
11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe," says the LORD Almighty. 12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty. 13 "You have spoken arrogantly against me," says the LORD. "Yet you ask, 'What have we said against you?' 14 "You have said, 'It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty? 15 But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.' " 16 Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. 17 "On the day when I act," says the LORD Almighty, "they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. 18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) After entreating His people to return to Him, what will the Lord do for those who return and how will other nations react to His obedient people? (v.11-12)
2) What does the Lord accuse His people of doing against Him and saying about evildoers? (v.13-15)
3) Who will be the Lord's "treasured possession" and how will He treat them? Why? (v.16-18)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Have you ever thought, or said, that it is futile to serve the Lord? If so, why?
LIFE LESSONS
5) The Lord is against the disobedient and rebellious, but blesses those revere Him.
Malachi 3:11-18 NIV
11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe," says the LORD Almighty. 12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty. 13 "You have spoken arrogantly against me," says the LORD. "Yet you ask, 'What have we said against you?' 14 "You have said, 'It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty? 15 But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.' " 16 Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. 17 "On the day when I act," says the LORD Almighty, "they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. 18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) After entreating His people to return to Him, what will the Lord do for those who return and how will other nations react to His obedient people? (v.11-12)
2) What does the Lord accuse His people of doing against Him and saying about evildoers? (v.13-15)
3) Who will be the Lord's "treasured possession" and how will He treat them? Why? (v.16-18)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Have you ever thought, or said, that it is futile to serve the Lord? If so, why?
LIFE LESSONS
5) The Lord is against the disobedient and rebellious, but blesses those revere Him.
Saturday, August 22, 2015
The Results of Not Listening
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Zechariah 7:8-14 NIV
8 And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: 9 "This is what the LORD Almighty said: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.' 11 "But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry. 13 " 'When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,' says the LORD Almighty. 14 'I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.' "
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) After declaring that obedience to the words of God, deliverered by former prophets, was more important than fasting, what did the Lord tell His people through the prophet Zechariah? (v.8-9)
2) What were God's people to refrain from doing? (v.10)
3) What did God's people do instead and what were the Lord's responses to their rebellion? Why? (v.11-12)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Have you ever felt that the Lord did not hear you when you prayed? If so, why?
LIFE LESSONS
5) When we refuse to hear the words of the Lord, and to do them, the Lord will not hear us when we pray to Him.
Zechariah 7:8-14 NIV
8 And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: 9 "This is what the LORD Almighty said: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.' 11 "But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry. 13 " 'When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,' says the LORD Almighty. 14 'I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.' "
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) After declaring that obedience to the words of God, deliverered by former prophets, was more important than fasting, what did the Lord tell His people through the prophet Zechariah? (v.8-9)
2) What were God's people to refrain from doing? (v.10)
3) What did God's people do instead and what were the Lord's responses to their rebellion? Why? (v.11-12)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Have you ever felt that the Lord did not hear you when you prayed? If so, why?
LIFE LESSONS
5) When we refuse to hear the words of the Lord, and to do them, the Lord will not hear us when we pray to Him.
The Lord Waits to be Gracious
Saturday, August 22, 1988
Isa 30:18-26 NIV
18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! 19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." 22 Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, "Away with you!" 23 He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows. 24 The oxen and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder and mash, spread out with fork and shovel. 25 In the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall, streams of water will flow on every high mountain and every lofty hill. 26 The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the LORD binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) Though the people of God continually rebelled against the Lord and His rule over them, what did the Lord long to do for them? Why? (v.18)
2) What was the Lord's promise to His willful children and how would He respond to them in their trouble? (v.19)
3) What had the Lord given His rebellious people and how would He provide for them despite His judgments against them? (v.20-21)
4) What did the Lord expect His people to do in response to His mercy? (v.22)
5) How else would the Lord demonstrate His great compassion for His people? (v.23-24)
6) What would happen in the "day of great slaughter" and when "the LORD binds" up the wounds of His afflicted people? (v.25-26)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
7) In what ways have you rebelled against the Lord?
8) How will you restore right relationship with Him?
LIFE LESSONS
9) Despite His chastening, the Lord longs to be gracious to His rebellious people.
Isa 30:18-26 NIV
18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! 19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." 22 Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, "Away with you!" 23 He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows. 24 The oxen and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder and mash, spread out with fork and shovel. 25 In the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall, streams of water will flow on every high mountain and every lofty hill. 26 The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the LORD binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) Though the people of God continually rebelled against the Lord and His rule over them, what did the Lord long to do for them? Why? (v.18)
2) What was the Lord's promise to His willful children and how would He respond to them in their trouble? (v.19)
3) What had the Lord given His rebellious people and how would He provide for them despite His judgments against them? (v.20-21)
4) What did the Lord expect His people to do in response to His mercy? (v.22)
5) How else would the Lord demonstrate His great compassion for His people? (v.23-24)
6) What would happen in the "day of great slaughter" and when "the LORD binds" up the wounds of His afflicted people? (v.25-26)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
7) In what ways have you rebelled against the Lord?
8) How will you restore right relationship with Him?
LIFE LESSONS
9) Despite His chastening, the Lord longs to be gracious to His rebellious people.
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Walking in the Way
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Judges 2:16-23 NIV
16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They quickly turned from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the LORD's commands. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the LORD relented because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways. 20 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and said, "Because this nation has violated the covenant I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the LORD and walk in it as their ancestors did." 23 The LORD had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) After Joshua's death, the children of Israel became increasingly rebellious against the Lord and His hand was heavy upon them causing them much distress. What did the Lord do to save His people from their ways? (v.16)
2) What did the people of God do, despite the Lord's provision for them? (v.17)
3) What did the Lord continually do to deliver His people from their enemies and how did His people continually respond to His provisions? (v.18-19)
4) What was the Lord's response to their continual rebellion? (v.20)
5) What did the Lord purpose to do to His people instead of delivering them? Why? (v.21-23)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
6) What "enemies" are you presently facing in your life (e.g., financial, relational, marital, or health challenges)?
7) What, if anything, are you doing to eliminate those enemies from your life?
LIFE LESSONS
8) The Lord allows His people to be tested to determine if we will continue to obey His will or do as we please.
9) When we refuse to accept the Lord's correction, He will allow our "enemies" to remain in our lives.
Judges 2:16-23 NIV
16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They quickly turned from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the LORD's commands. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the LORD relented because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways. 20 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and said, "Because this nation has violated the covenant I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the LORD and walk in it as their ancestors did." 23 The LORD had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) After Joshua's death, the children of Israel became increasingly rebellious against the Lord and His hand was heavy upon them causing them much distress. What did the Lord do to save His people from their ways? (v.16)
2) What did the people of God do, despite the Lord's provision for them? (v.17)
3) What did the Lord continually do to deliver His people from their enemies and how did His people continually respond to His provisions? (v.18-19)
4) What was the Lord's response to their continual rebellion? (v.20)
5) What did the Lord purpose to do to His people instead of delivering them? Why? (v.21-23)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
6) What "enemies" are you presently facing in your life (e.g., financial, relational, marital, or health challenges)?
7) What, if anything, are you doing to eliminate those enemies from your life?
LIFE LESSONS
8) The Lord allows His people to be tested to determine if we will continue to obey His will or do as we please.
9) When we refuse to accept the Lord's correction, He will allow our "enemies" to remain in our lives.
Monday, August 17, 2015
You Behaved Worse Than Your Ancestors
Monday, August 17, 2015
Jeremiah 16:9-13 NIV
9 For this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Before your eyes and in your days I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in this place. 10 "When you tell these people all this and they ask you, 'Why has the LORD decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the LORD our God?' 11 then say to them, 'It is because your ancestors forsook me,' declares the LORD, 'and followed other gods and served and worshiped them. They forsook me and did not keep my law. 12 But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors. See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts instead of obeying me. 13 So I will throw you out of this land into a land neither you nor your ancestors have known, and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.'
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What did the Lord God tell His rebellious people to expect? (v.9)
2) How were the God's people to respond to those who questionned the disaster that would befall the people of God? (v.10-11)
3) What other calamity did the Lord declare over His people? Why? (v.12-13)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Do you believe that the United States will be judged by the Lord? If so, why?
LIFE LESSONS
5) The Lord's judgment against a people or nation, becomes progressively severe until the people or nation repent of their sins.
Jeremiah 16:9-13 NIV
9 For this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Before your eyes and in your days I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in this place. 10 "When you tell these people all this and they ask you, 'Why has the LORD decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the LORD our God?' 11 then say to them, 'It is because your ancestors forsook me,' declares the LORD, 'and followed other gods and served and worshiped them. They forsook me and did not keep my law. 12 But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors. See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts instead of obeying me. 13 So I will throw you out of this land into a land neither you nor your ancestors have known, and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.'
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What did the Lord God tell His rebellious people to expect? (v.9)
2) How were the God's people to respond to those who questionned the disaster that would befall the people of God? (v.10-11)
3) What other calamity did the Lord declare over His people? Why? (v.12-13)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Do you believe that the United States will be judged by the Lord? If so, why?
LIFE LESSONS
5) The Lord's judgment against a people or nation, becomes progressively severe until the people or nation repent of their sins.
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Walking in the Lord's Ways
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Hosea 14:1-9 KJV
1 Return, Israel, to the LORD your God. Your sins have been your downfall! 2 Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to him: "Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. 3 Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount warhorses. We will never again say 'Our gods' to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion." 4 "I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. 5 I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots; 6 his young shoots will grow. His splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon. 7 People will dwell again in his shade; they will flourish like the grain, they will blossom like the vine-- Israel's fame will be like the wine of Lebanon. 8 Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols? I will answer him and care for him. I am like a flourishing juniper; your fruitfulness comes from me." 9 Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them understand. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What does Hosea implore the people of God to do? What has led to their downfall? (v.1)
2) What else does the prophet encourage the people of God to do? (v.2-3)
3) What does the Lord promise those who heed His instruction? (v.4-8)
4) What will become of the righteous? What will become of the rebellious? Why? (v.9)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Do you know people who have obeyed the Lord's commands? If so, what has become of them?
6) Do you know peoople who have rebelled against the Lord's commands? If so, what has become of them?
LIFE LESSONS
7) The Lord has not issued commands to His people to make our lives difficult, or unrewarding; but, to bless us.
8) The Lord's commands for His people have been given to us because of His love for, and mercy toward, us.
Hosea 14:1-9 KJV
1 Return, Israel, to the LORD your God. Your sins have been your downfall! 2 Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to him: "Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. 3 Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount warhorses. We will never again say 'Our gods' to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion." 4 "I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. 5 I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots; 6 his young shoots will grow. His splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon. 7 People will dwell again in his shade; they will flourish like the grain, they will blossom like the vine-- Israel's fame will be like the wine of Lebanon. 8 Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols? I will answer him and care for him. I am like a flourishing juniper; your fruitfulness comes from me." 9 Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them understand. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What does Hosea implore the people of God to do? What has led to their downfall? (v.1)
2) What else does the prophet encourage the people of God to do? (v.2-3)
3) What does the Lord promise those who heed His instruction? (v.4-8)
4) What will become of the righteous? What will become of the rebellious? Why? (v.9)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Do you know people who have obeyed the Lord's commands? If so, what has become of them?
6) Do you know peoople who have rebelled against the Lord's commands? If so, what has become of them?
LIFE LESSONS
7) The Lord has not issued commands to His people to make our lives difficult, or unrewarding; but, to bless us.
8) The Lord's commands for His people have been given to us because of His love for, and mercy toward, us.
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Let Me Dwell With You
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Jeremiah 7:1-15 NIV
1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 "Stand at the gate of the LORD's house and there proclaim this message: " 'Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the LORD. 3 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!" 5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. 8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. 9 " 'Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, "We are safe"--safe to do all these detestable things? 11 Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the LORD. 12 " 'Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 While you were doing all these things, declares the LORD, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. 14 Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors. 15 I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.'
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What did the Lord tell Jeremiah to do? (v.1-2a)
2) Who was the Lord's message to? (2b-2c)
3) What was the Lord's message to His people? (v.3)
4) What five (5) things did the Lord command His people to do, or refrain from doing, to continue to live in the land of their ancestors? (v.4-7)
5) What did the Lord accuse His people of doing? (v.8-10)
6) What question did the Lord ask His people and what did He declare? (v.11)
7) What did the Lord tell His people to do? Why? (v.12)
8) What did the Lord do for His wayward people and how did they respond to Him? (v.13)
9) What would the Lord do to His house and to His people, as a result? (v.14-15)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
10) Have you, or anyone you know, forsaken the Lord to do what you pleased instead?
11) If so, what was the result of that disobedience?
LIFE LESSONS
12) The Lord longs to be gracious to His people and gives us every opportunity to repent of our transgressions. But, when we refuse to return to Him, we forsake His presence.
God Abandoned Shiloh
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Psalm 78:56-62 NIV
56 But they put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High; they did not keep his statutes. 57 Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow. 58 They angered him with their high places; they aroused his jealousy with their idols. 59 When God heard them, he was furious; he rejected Israel completely. 60 He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent he had set up among humans. 61 He sent the ark of his might into captivity, his splendor into the hands of the enemy. 62 He gave his people over to the sword; he was furious with his inheritance.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) How did the people of God "put God to the test"? (v.56)
2) Who did the psalmish compare them to? Why? (v.57)
3) How did the Lord feel when His people rebelled against Him and what did He do about their transgressions? (v.58-62)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) What difficulties (hardships) has the Lord allowed in your life when you willfully rebelled against Him?
LIFE LESSONS
5) The Lord allows His rebellious people to be afflicted to correct us (to bring us back into alignment with His will for our lives).
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
My People Have Forgotten Me
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Jeremiah 18:11-17 NIV
11 "Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, 'This is what the LORD says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.' 12 But they will reply, 'It's no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.' " 13 Therefore this is what the LORD says: "Inquire among the nations: Who has ever heard anything like this? A most horrible thing has been done by Virgin Israel. 14 Does the snow of Lebanon ever vanish from its rocky slopes? Do its cool waters from distant sources ever stop flowing? 15 Yet my people have forgotten me; they burn incense to worthless idols, which made them stumble in their ways, in the ancient paths. They made them walk in byways, on roads not built up. 16 Their land will be an object of horror and of lasting scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will shake their heads. 17 Like a wind from the east, I will scatter them before their enemies; I will show them my back and not my face in the day of their disaster."
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
After the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, the Lord God told the prophet to go to the potter's house. The Lord told the prophet that He would relent from causing calamity to befall those who forsook evil, but would relent from blessing the disobedient (rebellious).
1) What was the word of the Lord to His people through His people, at this time? (v.11)
2) How did the Lord declare that His people would respond? (v.12)
3) What else did the Lord tell His servant Jeremiah to do? (v. 13a)
4) What questions did the Lord have for the nations and why? (v.13b-14)
5) What did the Lord declare about His people? (v.15-16)
6) What did the Lord declare that He would do to His people (v.17)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
7) Do you know of any individual(s), church, and/or nation that has forsaken the Lord? If so, how have they rebelled against Him?
LIFE LESSONS
8) All those who rebel against the commands of the Lord will be forsaken by Him, until and unless they relent from doing that which is evil in His sight.
Monday, July 27, 2015
Our Sins Testify Against Us
Monday, July 27, 2015
Isaiah 59:1-14 NIV
1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. 3 For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things. 4 No one calls for justice; no one pleads a case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil. 5 They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider's web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, and when one is broken, an adder is hatched. 6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are evil deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands. 7 Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. They pursue evil schemes; acts of violence mark their ways. 8 The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks along them will know peace. 9 So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. 10 Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead. 11 We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully like doves. We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away. 12 For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities: 13 rebellion and treachery against the LORD, turning our backs on our God, inciting revolt and oppression, uttering lies our hearts have conceived. 14 So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What does the Prophet Isaiah say about the Lord and those who have rebelled against (turned away from) Him? (v.1-3)
2) What else does the prophet accuse transgressors of doing? (v.4-8)
3) What becomes of those who behave wickedly against the Lord? Why? (v.9-14)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Do you know of any believer who has openly rebelled against the Lord? If so, what has become of them?
LIFE LESSONS
5) The Lord is good to the upright in heart, but allows calamity to befall those who rebel against Him.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
I Know Your Transgressions and Sins
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Amos 5:7-13 KJV
7 Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, 8 [Seek him] that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD [is] his name: 9 That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress. 10 They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. 11 Forasmuch therefore as your treading [is] upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. 12 For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate [from their right]. 13 Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it [is] an evil time.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) "Wormwood" is a metaphor for "sorrow" or "bitterness." What else does the Lord say to those who have turned from Him? (v.7-8a)
2) What does the Lord say about Himself? (v.8b-9)
3) What does the Lord say about those who have turned from Him? (v.10-12)
4) What does the Lord tell the "prudent" to do during such times? Why? (v.13)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Have you ever encountered a professing believer who rebels against the ways and will of the Lord?
6) If so, what did you do in response?
LIFE LESSONS
7) When the hearts of God's people are set on rebellion, it is best to say nothing.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
To Obey is Better Than Sacrifice
Thursday, June 11, 2015
1 Samuel 15:17-23 KJV
17 And Samuel said, When thou [wast] little in thine own sight, [wast] thou not [made] the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? 18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. 19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? 20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. 22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion [is as] the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness [is as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from [being] king.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What did the Prophet Samuel remind King Saul of after the king disobeyed the Lord? (v.17-18)
2) What question did the prophet ask King Saul? (v.19)
3) How did the king respond to Samuel? (v.20-21)
4) What else did the prophet say to Saul? (v.22-23)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Have you ever willfully disobeyed the Lord?
6) If so, what were the consequences for your rebellion?
LIFE LESSONS
7) The blessings of obedience to the Lord are great, as are the consequences for disobedience.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
No One to Comfort Me
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Lamentations 1:17-21 KJV
17 Zion spreadeth forth her hands, [and there is] none to comfort her: the LORD hath commanded concerning Jacob, [that] his adversaries [should be] round about him: Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman among them. 18 The LORD is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my sorrow: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity. 19 I called for my lovers, [but] they deceived me: my priests and mine elders gave up the ghost in the city, while they sought their meat to relieve their souls. 20 Behold, O LORD; for I [am] in distress: my bowels are troubled; mine heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: abroad the sword bereaveth, at home [there is] as death. 21 They have heard that I sigh: [there is] none to comfort me: all mine enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that thou hast done [it]: thou wilt bring the day [that] thou hast called, and they shall be like unto me.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What does the Prophet Jeremiah proclaim about Zion (Jerusalem; the habitation of God's people)? (v.17)
2) What does the prophet declare about the Lord? (v.18a)
3) Why were the people of God in sorrow? (v.18b)
4) Who did the people of God call upon in their time of sorrow (during their exile and Jerusalem's devastation)? Did they find anyone to help? (v.19-20)
5) What did their enemies observe about the people of God and how did they treat them? (v.21)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
6) Have you ever experienced the chastening of the Lord because of willful disobedience or rebellion? If so, briefly explain what happened?
7) Do you know of a community, church body or nation that has, or is, suffering as a result of willful rebellion against the Lord? If so, briefly explain how they have rebelled against God.
LIFE LESSONS
8) There are always consequences for willful and deliberate rebellion against the Lord.
9) While the Lord allows people to experience the ramifications of their rebellion against Him, in His mercy, God always delivers or restores those who turn from their sins and turn to Him.
Monday, September 29, 2014
How Are You Silent?
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Habakkuk 1:12-17
12 [Art] thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.
13 [Thou art] of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, [and] holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth [the man that is] more righteous than he?
14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, [that have] no ruler over them?
15 They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion [is] fat, and their meat plenteous.
17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) Who had the Lord ordained to bring judgment (correction) to His people? (v.6, 12)
2) How did the prophet describe the Lord? (v.13)
3) What did the prophet ask of the Lord? (v.13-14)
4) How did the prophet describe the enemies of God's people? (v.15-16)
5) What was the prophet's final question of the Lord in this Scripture passage (v.17)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
6) Has the Lord ever allowed prolong periods of distress in your life? If so, please describe one such time.
7) If you answered positively to the previous question, what was your response to the Lord if your distress did not lessen, but increased?
PRINCIPLES
8) The Lord may, at times, allow our chastisement to be more severe than our transgressions.
9) The Lord's actions (or inaction) are (is) always just and righteous, whether we understand them or not.
10) The Lord owes no one any explanation for judgment against His disobedient children.
Habakkuk 1:12-17
12 [Art] thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.
13 [Thou art] of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, [and] holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth [the man that is] more righteous than he?
14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, [that have] no ruler over them?
15 They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion [is] fat, and their meat plenteous.
17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) Who had the Lord ordained to bring judgment (correction) to His people? (v.6, 12)
2) How did the prophet describe the Lord? (v.13)
3) What did the prophet ask of the Lord? (v.13-14)
4) How did the prophet describe the enemies of God's people? (v.15-16)
5) What was the prophet's final question of the Lord in this Scripture passage (v.17)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
6) Has the Lord ever allowed prolong periods of distress in your life? If so, please describe one such time.
7) If you answered positively to the previous question, what was your response to the Lord if your distress did not lessen, but increased?
PRINCIPLES
8) The Lord may, at times, allow our chastisement to be more severe than our transgressions.
9) The Lord's actions (or inaction) are (is) always just and righteous, whether we understand them or not.
10) The Lord owes no one any explanation for judgment against His disobedient children.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
In Returning You Shall Be Saved
Monday, September 22, 2014
Isaiah 30:9-17
9 That this [is] a rebellious people, lying children, children [that] will not hear the law of the LORD: 10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: 11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. 12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: 13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. 14 And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water [withal] out of the pit. 15 For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. 16 But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. 17 One thousand [shall flee] at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) How did the Lord describe His people? (v.9)
2) What had the people of God done wrong? (v.10-12)
3) How did the Lord say that He would punish His people? (v.13-14)
4) How did the Lord say that His people would be saved? (v.15)
5) What would the people do instead? (v.16-17)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
6) Have you ever refused to heed the Lord's word of correction, after transgressing His commands, choosing instead to read (hear) pleasant messages from motivational speakers to comfort your soul? If so, briefly describe what happened.
7) Have you ever refused to allow the Lord to comfort you, opting instead to seek comfort in your own way? If so, what was the result?
8) What do you do when you need to hear a word from the Lord directly?
PRINCIPLES
9) When we ignore the Lord's correction, He may allow our enemies to overtake us.
10) It is often easier to listen to comforting words of an enemy, than the corrective words of the Lord.
11) The Lord wants to strengthen us, but can only do so as we turn to Him and listen for His voice, with a desire to obey what we hear.
Isaiah 30:9-17
9 That this [is] a rebellious people, lying children, children [that] will not hear the law of the LORD: 10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: 11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. 12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: 13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. 14 And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water [withal] out of the pit. 15 For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. 16 But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. 17 One thousand [shall flee] at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) How did the Lord describe His people? (v.9)
2) What had the people of God done wrong? (v.10-12)
3) How did the Lord say that He would punish His people? (v.13-14)
4) How did the Lord say that His people would be saved? (v.15)
5) What would the people do instead? (v.16-17)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
6) Have you ever refused to heed the Lord's word of correction, after transgressing His commands, choosing instead to read (hear) pleasant messages from motivational speakers to comfort your soul? If so, briefly describe what happened.
7) Have you ever refused to allow the Lord to comfort you, opting instead to seek comfort in your own way? If so, what was the result?
8) What do you do when you need to hear a word from the Lord directly?
PRINCIPLES
9) When we ignore the Lord's correction, He may allow our enemies to overtake us.
10) It is often easier to listen to comforting words of an enemy, than the corrective words of the Lord.
11) The Lord wants to strengthen us, but can only do so as we turn to Him and listen for His voice, with a desire to obey what we hear.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
The Steadfast Love of God
Monday, September 15, 2014
Jeremiah 32:16-23
16 Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the LORD, saying,
17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, [and] there is nothing too hard for thee:
18 Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, [is] his name,
19 Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes [are] open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:
20 Which hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, [even] unto this day, and in Israel, and among [other] men; and hast made thee a name, as at this day;
21 And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with great terror; 22 And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;
23 And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them:
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1)Though Judah and Jerusalem were on the brink of captivity, Jeremiah purchased a field, in obedience to the Lord. What did the prophet do after obeying God? (v.16)
2) How did Jeremiah describe the Lord? (v.17-19a)
3) What did the prophet say the Lord had done? (v.19b-22)
4) Why were God's people being taken captive, according to Jeremiah? (v.23)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) What is the likelihood that the Lord will allow the United States to go into captivity because of our rebellion against Him? Please provide a brief explanation for your answer.
6) Do you personally know of anyone who has been overwhelmed by troubles as a result of their rebellion against God? If so, please explain what happened.
7) If you answered affirmatively to the above question, how was the rebellious individual reconciled to God?
PRINCIPLES
8) God expects His people to obey Him whether they understand Him, or not.
9) The Lord allows trouble(s) to overwhelm the rebellious.
10) In His mercy and love, the Lord will never allow our trouble(s) to be overly burdensome.
Jeremiah 32:16-23
16 Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the LORD, saying,
17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, [and] there is nothing too hard for thee:
18 Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, [is] his name,
19 Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes [are] open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:
20 Which hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, [even] unto this day, and in Israel, and among [other] men; and hast made thee a name, as at this day;
21 And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with great terror; 22 And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;
23 And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them:
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1)Though Judah and Jerusalem were on the brink of captivity, Jeremiah purchased a field, in obedience to the Lord. What did the prophet do after obeying God? (v.16)
2) How did Jeremiah describe the Lord? (v.17-19a)
3) What did the prophet say the Lord had done? (v.19b-22)
4) Why were God's people being taken captive, according to Jeremiah? (v.23)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) What is the likelihood that the Lord will allow the United States to go into captivity because of our rebellion against Him? Please provide a brief explanation for your answer.
6) Do you personally know of anyone who has been overwhelmed by troubles as a result of their rebellion against God? If so, please explain what happened.
7) If you answered affirmatively to the above question, how was the rebellious individual reconciled to God?
PRINCIPLES
8) God expects His people to obey Him whether they understand Him, or not.
9) The Lord allows trouble(s) to overwhelm the rebellious.
10) In His mercy and love, the Lord will never allow our trouble(s) to be overly burdensome.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Hear the Word of This Covenant
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Jer 11:1-10
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
2 Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
3 And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed [be] the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,
4 Which I commanded your fathers in the day [that] I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:
5 That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as [it is] this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.
6 Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them.
7 For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day [that] I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, [even] unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.
8 Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded [them] to do; but they did [them] not.
9 And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
10 They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What did the Lord tell Jeremiah to say to the men of Judah and Jerusalem? (v.1-2)
2) What did the Lord say would happen to those who would, or would not, not obey Him? (v.3-5)
3) What was the Lord's plea to His people and how did they respond? (v.6-8)
4) What were the people of Judah and Jerusalem guilty of? (v.9-10)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Have you ever knowingly ignored, or rebelled, against a command of the Lord? If so, please explain what happened.
6) How has the Lord responded when you were obedient to His will? Please describe one such instance.
PRINCIPLES
7) It is the foolish person who chooses to rebel against the Lord.
8) The Lord always and only wants what is best for His people.
9) When we choose our own way, rather than the Lord's, we deprive ourselves of God's favor and blessing.
Jer 11:1-10
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
2 Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
3 And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed [be] the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,
4 Which I commanded your fathers in the day [that] I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:
5 That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as [it is] this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.
6 Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them.
7 For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day [that] I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, [even] unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.
8 Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded [them] to do; but they did [them] not.
9 And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
10 They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What did the Lord tell Jeremiah to say to the men of Judah and Jerusalem? (v.1-2)
2) What did the Lord say would happen to those who would, or would not, not obey Him? (v.3-5)
3) What was the Lord's plea to His people and how did they respond? (v.6-8)
4) What were the people of Judah and Jerusalem guilty of? (v.9-10)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Have you ever knowingly ignored, or rebelled, against a command of the Lord? If so, please explain what happened.
6) How has the Lord responded when you were obedient to His will? Please describe one such instance.
PRINCIPLES
7) It is the foolish person who chooses to rebel against the Lord.
8) The Lord always and only wants what is best for His people.
9) When we choose our own way, rather than the Lord's, we deprive ourselves of God's favor and blessing.
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