11/02/2024 – Day 132 – Jeremiah – Chapters 32 – 36 // What does a full fledge commitment to a consistent, God-pleasing lifestyle look like?
Prior cycle posts, dated 10/03/2020 and 07/09/22 cover largely chapters 32, 33 and 35, from the book commentary: “Be Decisive” by Warren Wiersbe.
Chapter 33 – “Israel’s Restoration” – A commentary on the 33: 16 – 18 passage from “The Apologetics Study Bible”:
“… This text does not promise an unbroken line from the time of David and Aaron until eternity; it says that ‘in those days’ there will be an enduring king and priest. The time of which Jeremiah spoke need not be a continuation of the time period during which he was prophesying; it may well refer to the time when the faithful community of Israel will be restored. The NT sees this taking place in the appearance of Jesus Christ, the King in David’s line (Romans 1:3) whose kingdom will never end. Moreover, Jesus Christ is the High Priest – though in the line of Melchizedek, rather than Levi (Hebrews 7: 11-17) who will never fail to serve.”
________________________________________
From here forward, the excerpt commentary is again from “Be Decisive” by Warren Wiersbe:
Chapter 34 – “The treachery of the people (34: 8 – 22) :
“At one point during the siege, Zedekiah and the people made a covenant with the Lord in the temple (v. 15) to free all the Jewish slaves. A calf wa slain and then cut in half, and the priests, officers, and people walked between the halves as a sign that they would obey the terms of the covenant (vv. 18-19; Genesis 15:17). In so doing, they were agreeing to free their Jewish slaves or be willing to suffer what the calf had suffered.
According to the law of Moses, a Jewish master had to free his Jewish slaves at the end of seven years of service (Exodus 21: 1-11; Deuteronomy 15: 12-18). The Jews hadn’t done this for years, and now they decided it was a good thing to do. Why? Perhaps they felt that God would honor their obedience and defeat the enemy in some miraculous way, as He had done for Hezekiah (Isaiah 36 – 37). Instead of believing God’s Word and submitting to Babylon, the Jews tried to bargain with the Lord and ‘bribe’ Him into helping their cause.”
________________________________________________
Chapter 35 – “The integrity of the Rechabites” (35: 1-19).
“This event occurred eighteen years earlier, during the reign of Jehoiakim (609-597 B.C.). Jeremiah probably put the account at this point in the book for sake of contrast: The people of Judah dishonored the Lord by disobeying His law, while the Rechabites honored their father by obeying his command.”
_______________________________________________
Chapter 36 – “God declares His Word (vv. 5-36).”
“Once again, God used human instruments to proclaim His Word to the people. ‘How shall they hear without a preacher?’ (Romans 10:14). Since Jeremiah wasn’t allowed to go to the temple, he sent Baruch in his place. Baruch waited for a day when there would be a good crowd in the temple; when a fast was proclaimed several months later, probably because of the Babylonian menace, he took advantage of it.
…
Over the centuries, God’s enemies have tried to destroy the Word of God but have always failed. They forget what Jesus said about the Word: ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away’ (Matthew 24:35). ‘The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.’ (Isaiah 40:8 NIV; quoted in 1 Peter 1: 24-25). Translators and preachers of the Word have been persecuted and martyred, but the truth of God stands.
… If the king and his flattering, servile officers had only feared the Word and obeyed it, they would have saved their nation suffering and ruin, but they preferred to go their own way and ignore God’s voice.”
Soli Deo Gloria!
___________________________________________________________
Questions for fellowship generation, the lifelong sanctification process:
- What does the text reveal about God’s character?
- How has this reading generated prayer for you and/or us?
- What themes stand out to you in this bible study?
- How does our reading fit into the bigger picture (creation, the fall, restoration, etc.)?
- What verse(s) jumped out at you like never before? Is it explainable at this point?
- Do you have any questions you would like to put before the group as to how to interpret any particular verse(s) in our reading. Let scripture testify to scripture: Share with us where you sense contradiction between passages elsewhere.
- What did you find convicting and inspiring at the same time? Share with us how the Spirit of God is working within you as a messenger, both within and outside of our fellowship group.
- Share with the group how our study is calling or confirming to you a new mission to glorify God in our times.