Coming up this Sonday: Jeremiah 11-13. On God’s Side.
Read Jeremiah 11:1-8
‘Cross my heart and hope to die’ was a form of promise that many children made to each other to show the seriousness of their promise and their allegiance to that particular promise. You’ve probably used these words
Biblically speaking, a covenant is a similar type of promise where the parties agree to die or suffer curses should they break the covenant. Deuteronomy 28:15 and following reveals to the people of Israel and to us the consequences of breaking a covenant with God. The people were effectively telling God that they agree to all of the consequences should they break the covenant God had made with them.
Covenants were so serious that they were made in blood. An animal or several animals were cut in half and the parties to the covenant passed between the cut pieces. The ritual was a living parable of what would happen should either party break the terms of the covenant. It really was, as O Palmer Robertson reminds us in The Christ of the Covenants a bond in blood sovereignly administered.
In the Old Covenant made with Israel, a covenant ratified at Mt Sinai and the giving of the Law or the Torah, God promised the people that He would be their God and they would be His people. He promised to lead them to the Promised Land, the land flowing with milk and honey and to bless them abundantly in that land. He would be their God and they would be His children. But God also promised that if they disobeyed Him, He would bring all the disasters and curses mentioned in Deuteronomy 28:15ff upon them.
Sadly, we read in vs 6-8 of Jeremiah 11 that the people continued to rebel against the Lord and against the covenant that He entered into with them.
Jeremiah 11:6–8 (NIV84)
6 The Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow them. 7 From the time I brought your forefathers up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, “Obey me.” 8 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.’
The people of Judah refused to learn from the past. They refused to see the mistakes of their forefathers and they refused to change their ways.
As we think about the New Covenant that the church has entered into with the Lord we see that this covenant is not external on tablets of stone but rather is internal, written on our hearts. See Jeremiah 31:31:33. His Law and Word is written on our hearts and minds and His Spirit is our guide and enabler. God will ensure that we are able to keep the terms of the covenant because He
It’s not until we appreciate the depths of rebellion against the Covenant in the Old Testament and the depravity of our own hearts that we can see the beauty of what the Lord has done for us in the New Covenant. Let us rejoice and exalt God in the beauty of the New Covenant.
Prayer Points:
Using today’s Bible passage and reading notes spend time in adoration, confession, thanks and supplication.
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
· Pray that each believer in your congregation would be Spirit filled and would be walking in obedience to the New Covenant. Ask the Lord to make holiness and righteousness the hall mark of your congregation.
· Pray that the Lord would give you personally victory over any sins that you have been struggling with.
1. What are the differences between the old and new covenants?
2. What role does Jesus’ death and resurrection play in the Old and New Covenants and the movement from the Old to the New?
3. Given that we are in a New Covenant in the Church, how do you explain the presence of sin in the lives of believers?
P r e p a r a t i o n f o r C e l l
Read this week’s
passage and jot down any problems or issues that come to mind about the passage,
it’s application or meaning to you and/or your church.
O n Y o u r O w n
Key Words/Phrases Jeremiah 11-13
Use this space to write down and define key
words/phrases. Look for repetition and biblical themes from other parts of the Bible.
P r e p a r a t i o n f o r C e l l
After your cell has met, jot down the solutions you
found having studied the passage together.
P r a y e r
Prayer:
How does this
passage lead you to pray in terms of
Adoration: Confession Thanks Supplication:
Non
Believers to be Praying for
C e l l G r o u p - D i g g i n g D e e p e r .
The Passage: Read Jeremiah 11-13
Before
Cell, complete the ‘On Your Own’
section on the next
page. Describe the context of
this passage?
List the key
words/phrases and what they mean? Use the next
page
Jeremiah
11:1-8 speaks of the rejection of God’s
covenant. As a group, map out (using butcher’s paper
or A3 paper, what you understand about the covenant from Genesis to Jere- miah. Discuss in particular God’s role and the people’s role in the covenant.
What according
to Deuteronomy 28 are the implications of breaking God’s covenant?
In
11:9-12:6 Jeremiah refuses to reject God’s
authority as the people have. Yet God answers somewhat harshly to him. Can you
explain the answer in the light of Matthew 7:13?
What
encouragement did Jeremiah have given God’s
answer above?
In chapter 13 Jeremiah gives a visual prophesy to the
people. What is the point of this visual prophesy and what is the people’s response? Is there any hope in this passage?
Describe God’s covenant with the church as
opposed to His covenant with the nation of Israel?
What is God’s role in this new covenant? What is our role?
Does God
have a warning today for the church, as He had for the nation of Israel?
What
encouragement do we have when the road is narrow or rocky given Matthew 7:13?
Given all that you’ve read
and learnt from Jeremiah 11-13, what message is the Lord giving
to your church?
Describe one practical thing you can take away from
this passage that gives you stamina in terms of maintaining your ministry and
calling. Think of your
head
heart
hands
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