We will finish the book of Jeremiah this week, as well as read through the small book of Lamentations, and lastly begin the book of Ezekiel. Firstly, Jeremiah ends with a promise of God’s vengeance against Babylon. Lamentations is a book of poems crying out to God about the suffering of the siege of Jerusalem and the resulting captivity. English readers do not see that in Hebrew chapters one through four are acrostics. Each verse begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet and works A to Z so to speak. In other words, these poems are intentional. God honors His people crying out to Him in suffering and even confusion so much so that it was a part of His word to all believers for the rest of history. There will be more to mention about the book of Ezekiel, but for now know it was named after its author who was a prophet during the initial captivity. The book of Ezekiel begins with arguably the most detailed vision of “the likeness” of God’s glory in the Bible. God’s glory is what the whole story has been about from the beginning, and that is the Big Picture.
Each week, as you take in the Bible, find some friends to talk it out. You can follow this simple guide to help. First, R.E.A.D. and P.R.A.Y. on your own. Then, meet with friends to share what you've learned.
R - Repeated words
E - Examine and mark
A - Ask what you learn about God
D - Do if there is anything to do
P - Praise
R - Repent
A - Ask
Bible Plan Reading Links - Week 44
Jeremiah 51
Lamentations 4-5, Ezekiel 1
Ezekiel 2-4
START IT.
We're reading the Bible together in 2024. Specifically, we're taking a journey into how the story of the Bible unfolded in the Old Testament, starting with the beginning. How do we understand so many stories and lessons while trying to stick to the "sacred timeline"? The answer is the big picture. If we get the big picture, we get the story the Bible is trying to tell. From Sunday's message or The Big Picture Bible Reading Plan this week in the book of Jeremiah, Lamentations, or Ezekiel, what is impacting you the most? Was there a word, phrase, Bible verse, or theme that impacted you?v
STUDY IT.
Read Jeremiah 51:24. What is God going to repay Babylon for? Read Jeremiah 51:11. Which nation is listed here that God will use to repay Babylon?
Read Jeremiah 51:5, 19. Why is the nation of Israel or ‘Jacob’ not going to be abandoned? Read Isaiah 45:1, 4-6. What king is God going to use from the Medes, and why?
Read Deuteronomy 28:36, 49, and 53. What did God promise would happen hundreds of years prior if Israel was disobedient? Read Lamentations 2:19-20. What was the very real consequences of Israel’s sin?
Read Ezekiel 1:4-28. Does this sound like something you could give advice to or control?
Read Ezekiel 1:28. What was Ezekiel’s response to seeing only the likeness of the glory of the Lord?
SHARE IT.
Read Lamentations 3:21. In unbelievable suffering, the author has hope. What does the author do to have hope? What do you have to do to have hope?
Read Lamentations 3:22. What is the author’s hope in, that is being deliberately called to mind? When you are in trouble, what floods your mind?
Read Lamentations 3:23. If God’s mercies are new every morning, and great is His faithfulness, how might this encourage you during suffering?
Read Lamentations 3:24. How does your view of God’s big-ness change how much hope you have? Do you tend to think God can handle your problems?
Read Lamentations 3:25-26. What is the relationship between your view of God and how long you are willing to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord? How is impatience or frustration a sign you might be reading scripture in a way that puts your desires at the center of the story instead of God’s glory?
FINAL THOUGHT
Anyone who truly encounters the Lord is knocked off their feet and to the ground or falls down dead. It can be so easy, especially for those who come from individualistic societies like America, to assume the Bible is about us. The Israelites made this mistake and suffered the consequences of their arrogance, see Lamentations. It is also so easy to emphasize God’s love for people that they begin to forget about God’s holiness. Lamentations says to “wait quietly” and Habakkuk 2:20 says to let the earth keep silent because “the Lord is in His holy temple.” Remembering the glory of God humbles us and our plans for our lives. Christ’s sacrifice was about glorifying the Father through obedience and the Father glorifying the Son because of His obedience. Only because of how great God is are sinners the beneficiaries of His infinite grace, and so are justified by God alone. The saved people of God should be under wrath just like the Israelites, and their salvation is not so they can live for their own whims or designs for their life. As redeemed sinners, our lives’ work is to follow Christ in glorifying the Father through obedience to Him. However, a good Father knows how to give good gifts to His children. So, Christ not only justifies sinners but calls us friends (John 15:15). This unfathomably glorious God, who is uncontrollable and you offer nothing, calls you friend.
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