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Sunday School Lessons 4,5,6,7 and 8...
COMMITTED TO TRUSTING GOD -
Jeremiah 29:1-14
BACKGROUND:
By the time the verses before us was written, the Southern Kingdom of Judah had been overrun by Babylon . Many who would be deported to Babylon as prisoners had already been taken. The time was somewhere around 597 B.C. (the year of the second deportation). Judah had made some very bad choices, and was now beginning to suffer for those choices. The most recent bad choice was to put trust in other nations for their deliverance rather than in God. Indeed, some who would “escape” the wrath of Babylon would migrate to Egypt , taking Jeremiah with them...
However at this writing, Jeremiah is still in Jerusalem , and he writes a letter to the captives in Babylon . It appears that false prophets were among those taken to Babylon , and those prophets were telling the captives that their stay in Babylon would be brief. Jeremiah, at God’s direction, wrote a letter to tell them that this would in fact NOT be the case. It was time for reality to set in for the Jews from Jerusalem …
THE LETTER AND ITS MESSAGE (Jeremiah 29:1-9)
Jeremiah addressed his letter first to “…the RESIDUE of the elders which were taken captive…”. First of all, this makes it clear that leaders of Judah had died in the overthrow of the Southern Kingdom. They may have perished in the fighting, or in the rigorous 800+ mile trip to Babylon , or some may have died of natural causes. The letter was addressed otherwise to all captives in Babylon ...
The message of the letter was simple and straightforward: Don’t expect a short stay, as some false prophets had said; in truth, these prophets were probably just trying to tell the people what they wanted to hear. They wanted to soon return home, and anyone who would tell them that such would indeed happen would quickly gain their favor. But Jeremiah wasn’t looking for favor; rather, he was obeying God’s Command. In brief, Jeremiah told the people to make themselves comfortable, because the stay would NOT be short. In fact, they should make plans to build houses (a sure sign of permanence), since they would be there for 70 years...
It is noteworthy that this isn’t the first time Jeremiah had mentioned the 70-year stay (cf. Jeremiah 25:1-12). In truth, Jeremiah had preached that “70-years” sermon for no fewer that 23 years – and all this was BEFORE the captivity took place. They couldn’t say that God had not given them fair warning, AND an “escape” plan...
But what of the 70 years? Some scholars argue that it was a round, even arbitrary, number. But this writer disagrees. I am convinced it was a number with a purpose. To support that argument, look at Leviticus 25:1-7. Here, God declares to His people that they should (after coming into the Promised Land) devote every seventh year to God. They should not plant crops, etc. because God would cause the crops to grow. As to the consequences of not following this command, God spells out in Leviticus 26:30-39. Read those verses and remember what is actually happening at the time of our lesson. As to the actual 70 years, I believe that the Jews had lived some 490 years without giving God His Sabbath year. That meant that the people owed God 70 years. An indication of that is found in 2 Chronicles 36:17-21...
So how does this apply to us today? Remember that God has required of US one day a week, or one of every seven. Based on that formula, how many days do YOU owe God? Remember that God did nothing against Judah for 490 years. Surely, they thought they had “got away” with their disobedience. What about you today?
PROMISE OF RESTORATION (Jeremiah 29:10-14)
God now allows His prophet to give some GOOD news. Yes, they will be in a foreign land for 70 years. Many would die there and never again see home. But to the others, including those who would be born in Babylon , there was something to look forward to. After 70 years, the ordeal would end. Two things would happen: first, the king at that time would permit the people to return to Jerusalem . Second, these people who will have been in captivity for 70 years, would now gladly pray sincere prayers to God and worship Him from their hearts. It would take 70 years, but those who finally returned to Jerusalem would be a different people in many ways from the ones who were dragged off by the enemy...
What will it take for us to truly change today?....
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COMMITTED TO HOPE EVEN IN PAIN
2 Kings 25:1, 2, 5-7; Lamentations 3:25-33, 55-58
BACKGROUND -
The setting and the time period for today’s lesson is essentially the same as that of last Sunday’s lesson. The difference is the vantage point from which the same events are being viewed. Last week it was Jeremiah writing a straightforward letter to the captives telling them that they would remain in captivity until their 70-year debt to God had been paid in full. Today, we see the heart of that prophet, as he grieves over his people, and very possibly grieves over what he feels has been a failed mission on his part. After all, the Word of God should change people, shouldn’t it? Jeremiah had preached for some 25 years, and very few if any favorably received his message. But this writer feels Jeremiah forgot one important thing: God never required Jeremiah to succeed. No, Jeremiah’s ONLY assignment was to preach the word; plant the seed. When and how it grew was not in Jeremiah’s hands, but in God’s Hands...
We also get a brief glimpse at the historical sequence of events as they unfold before the eyes of Jeremiah and the people. It was a war that never should have been fought. It was a war that Judah could not win. Why? Because God had so decreed, and had effectively removed His arm of protection from around the tiny Southern Kingdom...
Man crumbles today the moment God stops protecting him…
SIEGE OF JERUSALEM (2 Kings 25:1, 2, 5-7) -
These verses are not included in many commentaries. They are listed as background scripture. But because these verses ARE included in some books, I briefly shall briefly summarize them...
Zedekiah was a puppet king of Judah , placed in that position by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon . But Zedekiah kept trying to rebel. This angered the king, and he laid siege on Jerusalem . Just what WAS “laying siege”? It meant the opposing army would encamp around the subject city, and permit nothing or no one to enter or leave the city. After some period of time (especially since most cities at that time were built on hills), the people inside the walls of the city would run out of supplies – water usually being the first basic necessity to become scarce. In this case, even food ran out, and some women resorted to eating their own children (cf. Lamentations 2:20, 4:10)...
It was a determined and angry Nebuchadnezzar who assaulted the city. So angry was he that he launched his siege in the dead of winter rather than the customary Spring or Summer. This unpleasant weather put a strain on the king’s army, but he suffered it. This led about 18 months later to the overthrow of Jerusalem . King Zedekiah attempted to escape by fleeing out the “back wall” of the city, but the enemy overtook him. Zedekiah was brought before the king, and sentenced. His “sentence” involved having to watch his sons being killed before his eyes, and having his eyes put out immediately thereafter...
It was a war that should never have been fought...
STATEMENTS OF JEREMIAH (Lamentations 3:25-33, 55-58) -
God’s true messengers find no pleasure in the afflictions of the people, no matter what they have done. Jeremiah was no exception. In fact, Jeremiah showed some of the qualities of Jesus when he said in 3:1 “I am the man that has been afflicted by the rod of His wrath.” In other words, Jeremiah literally felt the pain his people were feeling. Even though Jeremiah himself had done no wrong, he sensed the guilt and pain of those who had transgressed. But isn’t that what Jesus did? Did he not bear out pains on the Cross? Isn’t that why we know for sure that Jesus understands? To a degree, so did Jeremiah...
There are 66 verses in chapter three of Lamentations – equally divided into groups of three, (called an alphabetic acrostic) each group of three verses beginning with the same Hebrew alphabet, covering all 22 Hebrew alphabets...
“The Lord is good to them that wait for Him…”. Emphasis should be placed on “wait”, since today people don’t seem to know how to wait on God. Everything has a schedule – a time limit. We wait for a prescribed period, then conclude that all is lost. But not only should we wait – we should wait QUIETLY. That is, with patience. As for the Jews, they would be called on to wait for 70 years – patiently. How long are YOU willing to wait on God? Jeremiah gives two basic reasons why one should wait for God to carry out His schedule: first, God is GOOD to those who know how to wait, and secondly, this patient waiting leads to the salvation of God. But Ironside adds this note of caution: “…he was not referring to soul-salvation, but to deliverance from the troubles and perplexities of the way. Nowhere in Scripture is the eternal salvation of the soul put before us as something to be waited for in patience and quietness.” In other words, Judah ’s “wait” was for deliverance back to Jerusalem from Babylon ...
Verse 27 introduces the concept of bearing a yoke. It is good, says the prophet, for one to bear a yoke in his youth. First, this is true because we all face burdens in life, causing us (if we learn our lesson) to become humble. How humble? Read on. Being humble gives one the spiritual strength to “…sit alone and keep silence, to put his mouth in the dust, and to give his cheek to the smiters…” (Ironside). To do anything else would be to lower yourself to the level of the enemy...
Finally, Jeremiah speaks from a personal point of view. Look at verses 55-58. Jeremiah testifies that he was placed (for no just reason) in a dungeon. But it matters not where one is placed. God’s children can get God’s attention from anywhere. And because God feels the grief of his children, He finds no pleasure in their suffering. This means that the end of suffering is always in sight....
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COMMITTED TO TAKING RESPONSIBILITY -
Ezekiel 18:4, 20-23, 30-32
BACKGROUND:
Ezekiel was planning to be a priest. In Jerusalem . But God had other plans – Ezekiel would be a prophet – in Babylon . If nothing more, Ezekiel found that doing God’s work sometimes meant giving up his own plans. Ezekiel was taken away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon in 597 B.C. He may have been about 26 years old at the time. It would be four years before he would be eligible to take on priestly duties (Numbers 4:1-3). And just why was it necessary for Ezekiel to prophesy in Babylon ? Simply because God’s people – even in captivity – needed guidance...
Ezekiel was indeed a strange man. God had determined that, at least for awhile, Ezekiel would be unable to speak until God had something for him to say (Ezekiel 3:26, 27). Was Ezekiel unhappy with that arrangement? We don’t know. How would YOU feel if God decreed such a plight for you? But at least it wasn’t difficult to determine when God was speaking through the prophet: if he spoke at all, it was the Word of God…
GOD’S PRINCIPLES (Ezekiel 18:4, 20)
Most of the Southern Kingdom was now under subjection in Babylon . Still, there were those who remained in Jerusalem . The two locations were almost 900 miles apart, but strangely enough, the people in both places were saying much the same thing; that is, they were making the same mistake. What was that mistake? They were blaming someone else for their woes...
It is clear that one who blames others for their problems are not apt to seek to change themselves. After all, it is somebody else’s fault, isn’t it? These people were using an old Israeli proverb (Ezekiel 18:1-3) that blamed their forefathers for their problems. It was, they said, the sins of their ancestors that caused them to be in captivity. They were convinced they had done nothing wrong. But God had Ezekiel clear that matter up immediately. This was important because before people will seek repentance they must first recognize their wrong. Further, they must recognize that the wrongs in their lives are no one’s fault but theirs...
It is interesting that at about the same time the captive Jews were making this claim in Babylon , the few who remained at home were doing the same thing. God had to give these people the same message – only through the mouth of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:29, 30). Rest assured, if God wants you to have a message, He will always have an available messenger...
But there are some truths in these verses that bear attention. First, God claimed ownership of all human beings (both father and son). With that, God exercised His authority to be both judge and jury: if one sins (and dies in those sins) he will be doomed. Again, God emphasized that each person must be individually responsible for his/her own deeds...
GOD’S PROMISES (Ezekiel 18:21-23, 30a)
In the midst of all this bad news, there is, a ray of hope. Even the worst of sinners can benefit from these verses. IF…they turn from ALL their sins (condition one) and IF they keep ALL of God’s statutes (condition two) THEN life in Him is possible. But one must be careful to note that turning from MOST of one’s sins and/or keeping MOST of God’s statutes will not reap the desired benefit. Now surely someone is saying that such is impossible (particularly when we are tempted to “hang on” to a couple of our “pet” sins). Of course, on our own, that’s true: it IS impossible. But then God sent His Son to pay that part of the cost that, due to our frail human condition, we are unable to pay...
Notice that God has a unique way of writing off one’s sins. He simply causes them to disappear. How many of us today can truthfully say that when we see someone who has mistreated us in some way (but whom we have forgiven) that we don’t see and remember that transgression? But God simply forgets. How can even God do that? One answer may be in verse 23: God has no pleasure in man’s suffering. How do we deal with the suffering of others? Does it depend on what they have done?
GOD’S PLEADINGS (Ezekiel 18:30b-32)
This last section deals mainly with the concept of repentance. One cannot repent until he accepts the fact of his sin, and understands it was his fault alone. One must then resolve to not commit that sin again. Then comes confession and prayer to God. Such actions will cause God to wipe away transgressions and remember them no more....
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COMMITTED TO RETURNING TO GOD
Zechariah 1:1-6; 7:8-14
BACKGROUND:
Dedication is that ingredient in one’s character that compels him to never give up; to persevere even in the face of isolation, danger, etc. One who is dedicated will pursue a cause or continue a job regardless of cost. On the other hand, those who are not dedicated are “…like the chaff which the wind driveth away.” (Psalm 1:4b)...
Such was the case with the Jews of the Southern Kingdom. In today’s lesson, they had been released from their 70-year captivity in Babylon and were back home. The temple, which lay in ruins, presented them with one of their biggest challenges. Other challenges included rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem , and staving off attacking enemies. But it was the temple that suffered the most neglect. Although they began to lay the foundation with great enthusiasm, but Satan stepped in, and used the very ones who were living 70 years earlier and who remembered the splendor of the earlier temple. It was they who, once the foundation had been laid, wept because they knew this temple would dwarf in comparison to the one that had been destroyed (Ezra 3:12, 13). And probably like mankind today, that was enough to dampen their spirits, and bring the construction of the temple to a halt...
But physical construction of the temple was not the only thing that concerned God, and He passed that message to His prophet, Zechariah...
GOD’S CALL TO REPENTANCE (Zechariah 1:1-6)
It is true that one who does not know history may well be doomed to make the same mistakes made by others in the past. Such was the cloud looming over the returning captives. They were about to make the same mistakes that their forefathers made, and God wanted to give them a chance to avoid that...
Zechariah was directed by God to point out to these post-exilic Jews that God was displeased with their forefathers, and was anxious for them to avoid making the same blunder. “Turn to God” was the message, and “He will turn to you”. In other words, while they were in the Holy City and practicing “religion”, they were at the same time turned in the wrong direction. Keep in mind that it is possible for one to bring his body to church and leave his heart at home...
So what was this huge mistake that their forefathers had made that God was anxious for them to avoid? Put simply, they heard the Word of God from the earlier prophets, but did not obey. Hearing God’s Word is a serious matter; once you hear it, you are obligated by it. They had been told by those earlier prophets to turn from their evil ways, but the sermons fell on deaf ears. The same can be said today. People flock to church in droves and hear sermons warning them of evil, yet they go right back into society and change nothing about their lives...
Then comes a significant question: where are these people today? Where are those who didn’t hear? Where are those prophets who dedicated their lives to preaching the truth? The answer is simple: they are in their respective graves. But there is one thing that has not been buried: the word of God that the prophets preached. That’s important, since the Word does not die – it simply gets passed on to the next generation, to be preached to the next wave of sinners. Not only does God’s Word never die – it never changes...
CALL TO ACTION (Zechariah 7:8-14)
These verses were spoken by the prophet some two years after the previous verses we studied. Apparently there had been an issue of a special “fast” that the people had been practicing on an annual basis. The fast was prompted by the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple by the Babylonians when they invaded the city. The people were so hurt by this that they instituted a fast to commemorate the event. However God wanted them to know that this fast was not the kind of thing that He encouraged. Why? Because they were not mourning their strained relationship with God: they were mourning the loss of a physical structure. It was only brick and mortar. And it is dangerous to invest too much emotion into a building. Yes, it represented the abode of God, but God in His wisdom chose to permit the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple as well as the one in Shiloh in the Northern Kingdom . God wants man to worship Him, not a physical structure...
And while they were grieving over the temple (remember they were discouraged when they compared this post-exilic temple to the earlier one), God wanted them to engage in something more important (He wants us to do the same today). The directive is simple: be merciful and fair to everyone. God has the prophet specifically mention the poor, the widowed, the stranger and the fatherless (child). Why these groups? They are the ones least prepared to care for themselves. As God’s children, we should find joy in helping the helpless. To be reminded of this is important, since in our materialistic world we often practice helping those who will someday be able to help us back. That in itself is an investment. But helping those who will never be able to repay is an act of love...
This is the “text” of the message that God delivered to the pre-exilic nation, but they refused to hear. They even went to great lengths to make sure they didn’t hear. They created for themselves stony hearts. Isn’t it disturbing that so many can go to church on a regular basis and hear God’s Word, and then go against that very Word even before they leave the sanctuary? God has an answer for that: when these people finally did get into trouble and frantically call for God, HE didn’t hear THEM. Their prayers went unanswered. Not only were the prayers not answered, they were separated from their friends, and scattered….
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COMMITTED TO DOING RIGHT
Malachi 2:17-3:5; 4:1
BACKGROUND:
The Book of Malachi references the middle of the fifth century, B.C. The scene is Jerusalem . Indeed, the tiny remnant that returned from Babylon was confined to Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside. It was a sad group of people. Now, some 100 years after the return from exile, they had barely completed repairing the walls around the city. It had taken them about 90 years to accomplish that. To say the least, the people were disheartened...
But there was much more to the sadness than just their physical surroundings. They had some theological concerns. Where was God in all this? Had He not promised their father Abraham that they would be blessed? Had God not made repeated covenants along the way with the Israelites, promising to be their God? And what of David’s kingdom? Wasn’t the return from exile to be the beginning of the restoration of this way of life? (Isaiah 54:1-3)Yes, they expected enemy nations to bow to them (Isaiah 49:22,23), only God wasn’t doing that. It had been many years; generations has passed from the scene, and the crops didn’t always grow as they might expect (cf. Ezekiel 34:26-30; Isaiah 41:18, 19). Moreover, pagan nations who didn’t know or serve God seemed to prosper all around them. And worst of all, the religious leaders had begun to be a little “slack” in the discharge of their duties (Malachi 1:12, 13; 2:7, 8). Things were not good, and it was affecting the entire nation…
THE PEOPLE’S COMPLAINT (Malachi 2:17)
When man prays, he seeks to communicate with God. His purpose should be that of thanksgiving and supplication. But what happens when men pray, and their “prayers” are basically complaints? What if those prayers are not even sincere? What of prayers that are prayed simply because man knows he should pray? The answer, says Malachi, is in the first part of verse 17: “Ye have wearied the Lord with your words.” Rest assured that there are some prayers, some songs, some acts of worship that God simply rejects (cf. Amos 5:21-27). This was true of the Jews occupying Jerusalem at that time. So to the question of “How have we wearied Him?” the answer is clear: they had complained about the way God handled HIS business. Such an approach would be a mistake today. They expected God to reward good and punish evil...
Unfortunately, to them God was doing just the opposite. Here they were, in the Holy City of Jerusalem, having to worship in a temple that was in many ways inferior to the one destroyed by the Babylonians when they overran the city. They were suffering for the essentials of life while their sinner neighbors were faring well. In fact, they probably recalled fact that their captors actually helped to finance their trip back home. In short, it appeared that sin was profitable (cf. Psalm 73:3-12) while righteousness gained them nothing (Malachi 3:14). So they went to their knees to send up prayers laden with complaints...
THE LORD’S COMING (Malachi 3:1-5; 4:1)
Malachi addresses the concern in the preceding verse with the simple message: God is coming. They should have realized, as we should today, that God does not always send dark clouds before each rain. The situation in life is never so dark as to preclude the coming of God to our rescue. But before God comes, preparation is necessary. Here, we see the prophet speaking of a messenger that will precede the One the people are anxiously awaiting (“…the Lord, whom ye seek). That “messenger” is identified by Malachi as the Prophet Elijah (Malachi 4:5). Indeed it was just this occurrence that may have confused the Pharisees in the New Testament concerning Jesus. They didn’t believe God would come before a second appearance of Elijah. However Jesus cleared the matter up, explaining that Elijah had been represented by John the Baptist (Matthew 17:10-13)...
But let this be a lesson to us today. Have we as a Christian people been “prepared” for the coming of the Lord? And just what IS that preparation? It is a process by which we will be spiritually cleansed. And the “cleansing” won’t simply be cosmetic. We won’t just look good and sound good; we will BE good. Why, because we will be required to pass through the refiner’s fire – a “flame” that no sin or iniquity can survive; we will have to be “washed” with the “fullers’” soap. One writer compared that soap to what is known as “lye” soap...
Why is all this necessary? Because God want to hear a worship service coming from only the pure in heart. Malachi says “Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord…”. How many “services” are going on today, both on the airwaves as well as privately, in which God is simply not listening because the rituals are being carried out by those NOT refined by the refiner’s fire?
Look at the list of people described in verse 4. These are they whose prayers will not be heard. After all, they are breaking God’s laws on the one hand, while crying for mercy on the other...
Finally, 4:1 spells out the bad news for the ones mentioned in the preceding verse. Keep in mind that the people were concerned both about their lack of reward as well as the continued (apparent) rewards of the wicked. That issue is here addressed. The day will come when all those who appear to be “getting away” will “burn as an oven”. In other words, be patient. God’s word is true and sure. We simply don’t know when...
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By HIS stripes, we are healed...
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