July 13 2024

Jeremiah 25:1-14
Jeremiah 36:1-32

How many times will God’s people have to learn the same lesson? How many will listen when God’s mouthpiece speaks of the time of trouble ahead and how to avoid it? How many will end up in chains walking down the dusty road into captivity in Babylon? God never leaves His people without a voice or warning. Jeremiah was chosen to be a continual voice of reproof, a voice of warning, and a voice of hope.

Items needed: Blindfolds
 
Have volunteers remove one shoe and place them all in the middle of the room in a pile. (For some students this might be a threatening exercise; be sensitive and ask for volunteers rather than requiring students to participate.) Blindfold one volunteer and have them go and retrieve their own shoe from the pile. When each volunteer is blindfolded, mix the remaining shoes again so they will have a more difficult time finding theirs.

How is finding one’s shoe while blindfolded connected to today’s lesson? God’s people were given instructions on how to live and who to worship. For many of them it appeared that they were wandering around trying to make their way in the world without any instructions. God would never leave His people without a path to follow. In this particular case, God sent Jeremiah to remind people of His commitment to them, but also of the consequences of their actions. He was the coach on the sideline attempting to guide them so that they wouldn’t muddle through the journey.

Read Jeremiah 25:1-7.

The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 2 So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah and to all those living in Jerusalem: 3 For twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened.

4 And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. 5 They said, “Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. 6 Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”

7 “But you did not listen to me,” declares the Lord, “and you have aroused my anger with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves.”

Read Jeremiah 25:8-11.

8 Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, 9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. 10 I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

Read Jeremiah 25:12-14.

12 “But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate forever. 13 I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. 14 They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

Read Jeremiah 36:1-3.

In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah till now. 3 Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, they will each turn from their wicked ways; then I will forgive their wickedness and their sin.”

Summary of Jeremiah 36:4-19:

Read Jeremiah 36:20-25.

20 After they put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went to the king in the courtyard and reported everything to him. 21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and Jehudi brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary and read it to the king and all the officials standing beside him. 22 It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment, with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him. 23 Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire. 24 The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear, nor did they tear their clothes. 25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.

Summary of Jeremiah 36:27-31:

Nobody likes to hear bad news or be punished. As always God chose to warn His people before He passed judgment or had them destroyed. Just as in the story of Jonah, God was looking for the people to repent and change their wicked ways. God never just destroyed His people without attempting many times to get them to change.

Ultimately, every choice we make is either for or against God. Numbers 4:18 says, “‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’” There is lots of room for redemption, but sooner or later you will have to make a choice.

Do one of the following:

Both of these options help us put into words how we feel about God or the significant adults in our lives. Too often, we take either of these important influences in our lives for granted.

Jeremiah 36:1-32
Proverbs 11:1-31
Luke 6:20-49

LEADER’S NOTE

For a Relational Bible Study (RBS) you’ll want to get into the Scripture passage and encourage the youth to imagine participating in the story while it’s happening. Then you will be able to better apply it to your own situation today.

You will need to ask God for the Holy Spirit to be present as your small group discusses the questions (no more than 3-6 people in a group is recommended). Start with the opening question. It is a personal question and the answer is unique for each individual. There is no right answer and nobody is an expert here, so don’t be surprised when you hear different responses. You are depending on the Holy Spirit to be present and to speak through your group. Say what God prompts you to say, and listen to what others share.

Take turns reading the chapter out loud. Follow that with giving the students some time to individually mark their responses to the questions (a PDF version of the handout is available as a download). This gives each person a starting point for responding when you start to share as a group. Next, begin the discussion by asking the students to share what they marked and why on each question as you work your way through. Feel free to take more time on some questions than others as discussion warrants.

Encourage each person in the group to apply what is discussed to their personal lives and to share with the group what they believe God wants them to do. Then ask them to pray that God will help each of them to follow through in doing so. Remind them to expect that God will show them ways to live out the message of this passage in the coming week, and that they are free to ask others in the group to help hold them accountable.

Be sure everyone takes time for personal applications before you end your Sabbath School time together.

DOWNLOAD HANDOUT

Some people like the idea of having the spiritual gift of prophecy—receiving messages from God to pass along to others. What an honor. What a privilege. Right?

Jeremiah’s life-long experience of receiving and proclaiming and acting out God’s messages resulted in loads of rejection and very few people taking the messages to heart. He seemed like a total failure!

Our passage for today pulls together a collection of Jeremiah’s messages from God over years and years of revelation. Jeremiah was stuck in some type of prison so he couldn’t go to the sanctuary when God’s people went for a sacred assembly with fasting and prayer. But Jeremiah carried out God’s instruction to dictate to his scribe, Baruch, the collection of messages God had given him. Baruch took these to the sanctuary and read them aloud. These messages brought conviction to some, eventually going to wicked King Jehoiakim. But Jehoiakim wasn’t receptive at all. Notice how different people responded to these messages. How would you have responded?

A Message for You

What’s your initial response when you hear, “I’ve got a message for you”?

Read Jeremiah 36:1-32.

In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah till now. 3 Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, they will each turn from their wicked ways; then I will forgive their wickedness and their sin.”

4 So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and while Jeremiah dictated all the words the Lord had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll. 5 Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am restricted; I am not allowed to go to the Lord’s temple. 6 So you go to the house of the Lord on a day of fasting and read to the people from the scroll the words of the Lord that you wrote as I dictated. Read them to all the people of Judah who come in from their towns. 7 Perhaps they will bring their petition before the Lord and will each turn from their wicked ways, for the anger and wrath pronounced against this people by the Lord are great.”

8 Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do; at the Lord’s temple he read the words of the Lord from the scroll. 9 In the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a time of fasting before the Lord was proclaimed for all the people in Jerusalem and those who had come from the towns of Judah. 10 From the room of Gemariah son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate of the temple, Baruch read to all the people at the Lord’s temple the words of Jeremiah from the scroll.

11 When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, 12 he went down to the secretary’s room in the royal palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Akbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13 After Micaiah told them everything he had heard Baruch read to the people from the scroll, 14 all the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Bring the scroll from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah went to them with the scroll in his hand. 15 They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.”

So Baruch read it to them. 16 When they heard all these words, they looked at each other in fear and said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” 17 Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, how did you come to write all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it?”

18 “Yes,” Baruch replied, “he dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”

19 Then the officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah, go and hide. Don’t let anyone know where you are.”

20 After they put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went to the king in the courtyard and reported everything to him. 21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and Jehudi brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary and read it to the king and all the officials standing beside him. 22 It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment, with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him. 23 Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire. 24 The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear, nor did they tear their clothes. 25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden them.

27 After the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take another scroll and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up. 29 Also tell Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You burned that scroll and said, “Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon would certainly come and destroy this land and wipe from it both man and beast?” 30 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out and exposed to the heat by day and the frost by night. 31 I will punish him and his children and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster I pronounced against them, because they have not listened.’ ”

32 So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated, Baruch wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.

1.  Why did God plan and communicate terrible things for His people?

2.  Who listened to God’s messages that Jeremiah dictated to Baruch?

3.  How did the king’s officials respond after hearing Jeremiah’s messages?

4.  Why is repentance so important?

5.  How did King Jehoiakim respond to God’s messages on the scroll?

6.  What was the outcome after the king destroyed Jeremiah’s scroll?

7.  What would you be sure to include if you were to recall all the messages God has given you?
 

8.  If God were to send you a warning message right now, what would it be? What would be your response?

God sent a composite of His messages to His people who had gathered for a sacred assembly at the sanctuary. Even though Jeremiah wasn’t able to be present, he sent the collection of messages via his scribe, Baruch. The compilation seemed to stir the hearts of some, and the scroll with the messages found its way directly to the king. But King Jehoiakim rejected the messages, literally burning them as he heard them. How would you respond to a message or multiple messages that point out what you are doing wrong, even if the messages are right, and directly from God? Even though the scroll and its contents were consumed by the fire, God sent all the messages, and more, through Jeremiah again. God’s message continues, and continues to be true.

What is God’s message to you right now? How receptive are you to messages from God? Do they have to be wonderful affirmations in order for you to listen? Must they be only gentle nudges if they call for correction, repentance, or forgiveness? Would you be open to a direct confrontation from God for you to change your ways? Consider these potential applications for your life as you live out God’s message(s) to you this week from Jeremiah 36.

Use your phone, computer, or even paper and pencil to write the messages God has sent you. These may be general messages such as “Love others” or “Do unto others as you would have them do to you” or “Worship God.” They might be specific messages, such as “Go ask your parents to forgive you” or “Become friends with _____ because nobody else will be their friend” or “Let go of your ego that always puts other people down.” You can write/type these in detail or simply as bullet points.

Add to the list throughout the week. When the week comes to an end, review the messages God has sent you.

As you meditate on these, ask yourself:

Share these with another person and help to hold each other accountable to respond to God’s messages.

Read Jeremiah 36 again and reenact the posture you imagine the following people would have had, including their entire body and especially the look on their faces. Do this in front of a mirror for:

Read some messages from God for you and take a posture in response to them. Try this with each verse in Proverbs 11 or with the sections of Luke 6:20-49. Do this at one time or use it for daily devotional time with God throughout the week.

By Steve Case

It’s great to be in a tightly-knit group, but getting to that point often proves challenging. Sometimes a simple game does the magic, but other times nothing seems to work. How does a group come together? Are there certain ingredients we can count on, or is it just hit-and-miss, better luck next time?
Although each group is unique, you can count on some key principles and follow a basic flow to foster closeness and community in your group—whether that’s with 5 people, 50, or 500.
Youth ministry veteran Steve Case has put together this “bag of tricks” which he collected over decades of experience. You may have seen, led, or possibly invented some of these activities, but now you have them arranged in a flow and with descriptions that will enable you to craft your own group-building experiences.

PURCHASE