Jeremiah 24: Living with God's Judgment
AFTER THE EVENING service, a visiting preacher was invited to spend the night at the home of one of the wealthy members of the church. The host was proud of his new house and showed it off with obvious pride. He attributed his good fortune to the Lord, saying that God had blessed his business in the previous year with a fourfold increase in profits. The guest was not impressed. With a dismissive gesture he asked his host, "How do you know that your prosperity is not a trick of the devil to cause you to become proud, materialistic and greedy?"
Although the challenge of the preacher seems harsh, it's a good question. What appears to be good fortune at the present may not be so in the end. In Jeremiah's message to the exiles and those who stayed in the land after the first deportation in A.D. 596, he turns the concept of good fortune on its head and provides a different perspective.
Warming Up to God
When have you changed your mind about what you initially thought was a great opportunity or positive development?
Read Jeremiah 24. »
Discovering the Word
- How does this vision of the figs display the continuing presence and power of God in the midst of a time of military defeat for Judah?
- How does the vision of the figs change the way you might think about those who were taken in captivity to Babylon and those who got to stay in Jerusalem (vv. 5-10)?
- God says that he is going to regard the exiles as "good" (v. 5). What do you think that means?
- How might those who escaped captivity feel about themselves, the exiles and God (vv. 8-10)?
Applying the Word
- Christians are to consider themselves blessed by God in the midst of difficult circumstances. What can we learn from the experience of the exiles that can help us experience God's blessing in difficult times?
- What are some of the benefits that you have received from trying times?
Responding in Prayer
God's ultimate act of judgment is the resurrection. Praise him for the grace offered through Christ's sacrifice.
For Further Study
Finding God in the Storms of Life by Bill Hybels