6/30 Jeremiah 2 - When God Withholds Blessings

When we walk with the Lord, we will see His work in our life, but if that work seems to stop, we should seek to figure out why. Today, as we dive into Jeremiah 2, we see the sins of Israel and how they hard caused a rift in their fellowship with the Lord. Join us as we examine this key chapter on ways we break our fellowship with the Lord.

DISCUSSION AND STUDY QUESTIONS:

1.    Think back to our first study yesterday in Jeremiah 1. What was God’s call upon Jeremiah? What kind of message was Jeremiah to bring to the people? What would be the people’s reactions? What kind of determination was Jeremiah to have?
2.    In verses 2 & 3, the Lord remembers the early days when Israel was a new nation. How does He describe her devotion to the Lord? In practical terms, what do you think this looked like?
3.    Verses 4 & 5 start to get to the problem. Why does the Lord ask, “What injustice did your fathers find in Me?” What do we know to be the answer? Why, then, did the people turn from God?
4.    How does the Lord describe His care and provision of the people in verses 6 &7? 
5.    Despite God’s faithfulness, how did the people respond to Him at the end of verse 7? What did the priests fail to do in verse 8? What did they do instead? 
6.    What did the podcast suggest that we should do when God seems distant? In these opening verses, what did the people and leadership do instead? 
7.    Verses 9-12 ask a question that could be just as relevant today. Think back to the nations of the world, how many can you think of have changed it’s “god” or it’s religion? If you can think of this ever happening, how central was the Lord to that change (either way)? Why do you think that is?
8.    Verse 13 is a key verse for the entire Book of Jeremiah. What does it say? What does it mean? How were the people going after broken cisterns that could not hold water? Have you ever done this in your life? What was the outcome?
9.    In verses 14 to 19, what is the state of the nation of Israel? Is this referring to just the Northern Kingdom or both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms? What difference does this make in the interpretation of these verses?
10.    What were they doing in verse 18, going down the road to Egypt? According to the podcast, how does the Battle of Carchemish factor into this situation? 
11.    In verse 19, what were the people lacking? Why is this so vital to restoring a relationship with the Lord? 
12.    In verse 22, how is the people’s manmade attempts at righteousness just vain attempts at moral reform? Why is their stain still before the Lord? How does this speak to people’s modern-day attempts at personal reform and self-improvement? 
13.    In verse 23, what were the people saying about their own sin? Why did they have no shame in verse 26? What did they declare in verse 35? Do this self-evaluations represent people who know God and walk with Him? If not, what do these traits point to in their own spiritual condition? 
14.    How do verses 27 & 28 characterize their idolatry? How do people make these same statements today? What are the modern-day “idols” that people say these kinds of things to?
15.    In verse 30, how did the people respond to the Lord’s chastening? What does it look like to have a heart that is sensitive to the Lord’s rebuke and discipline? 
16.    Skim verses 31 to 37. These verses reflect the hard-hearted callousness of people who have turned from God. What are some principles that you can see in these verses? Has any of these principles ever been part of your walk with God? What happened to shake them from you? 

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