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Lesson 12

Practice Justice. Lesson 12. Introduction. “Unexpected” Misfortune Lesson Context: Historical Lesson Context: Jeremiah 21. Punishment Comes in the End. People reap what they sow. What real-life examples of this saying can you think of from recent news headlines?

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Lesson 12

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  1. PracticeJustice Lesson 12

  2. Introduction • “Unexpected” Misfortune • Lesson Context: Historical • Lesson Context: Jeremiah 21

  3. Punishment Comes in the End • People reap what they sow. • What real-life examples of this saying can you think of from recent news headlines? • What real-life examples from your acquaintances (without naming names) can you mention? • This saying will certainly come true for the people of Jerusalem in today’s lesson.

  4. Lesson Context: Jeremiah 21 • As chapter 21 opens, two men are sent by Judah’s final king, Zedekiah, to the prophet Jeremiah. • They intend to enlist Jeremiah’s help to ensure God’s aid against King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon. • Currently Jerusalem is being besieged. • Zedekiah thinks that since God has protected Jerusalem in the past, He might do it again.

  5. Lesson Context: Jeremiah 21 • But Jeremiah’s response shows that the request demonstrated a fundamental misunderstanding of Judah’s standing with God. • In verses 1-7, Jeremiah gives King Zedekiah some very bad news: not only is God not going to help them, but He will fight against them and turn them over to their enemies.

  6. Lesson Context: Jeremiah 21 • In today’s text Jeremiah issues warnings to the people and to the king’s house.

  7. What Do You Think? • How should we respond, if at all, to those whose prayers reflect their own desired outcomes more than openness to God’s will? • Digging Deeper – How should our responses differ, if at all, when those prayers come from people having varying levels of spiritual maturity?

  8. To the PeopleJeremiah 21:8-10 • Choice to Make (v. 8) • Consequence to Consider (vv. 9, 10)

  9. Message to the People • Read Jeremiah 21:8-10. 1. What were the two choices God set before the people that involved life and death? • They could stay in the city and die by the sword, the famine, or the plague, or they could go out of the city and surrender to the Babylonians.

  10. Message to the People • Read Jeremiah 21:8-10. 2. What was God’s attitude toward the city of Jerusalem? • He had set His face against it and would bring harm, not good to it. 3. What will happen to the city? • It will be turned over to the king of Babylon, who will destroy it with fire.

  11. What Do You Think? • In what contexts could you use the counterintuitive nature of this choice facing the citizens of Jerusalem to illustrate the two eternal paths that exist for everyone to choose between? • Digging Deeper – In what contexts could such an approach be ineffective? Why?

  12. What Do You Think? • What filters can we use to evaluate claims that a given disaster today is from the Lord? • Digging Deeper – What can happen if we fail to do so?

  13. To the King’s HouseJeremiah 21:11-14 • Judgment (vv. 11, 12) • Punishment (vv. 13, 14)

  14. Message to the King’s House • Read Jeremiah 21:11-14. 4. What clue is given in verse 12 about what the leaders of Jerusalem had been doing wrong? • They had not been executing justice daily, and they had not been delivering people from their oppressors.

  15. Message to the King’s House • Read Jeremiah 21:11-14. 5. In what way did Jerusalem’s physical situation give them a false sense of security? • They were at the the top of a mountain with deep valleys on three sides. They thought no one could attack them.

  16. Message to the King’s House • Read Jeremiah 21:11-14. 6. Who was their greater opponent: the king of Babylon or the Lord God? Why? • The Lord God, since He would use the Babylonians to punish the people, and nothing could stop Him.

  17. What Do You Think? • How would you respond to someone who says that the Lord’s promise to punish contradicts the claim that “God is love” in 1 John 4:8? • Digging Deeper – How would your response change, if at all, if talking with a sincere seeker rather than with a hardened skeptic who seems to have a list of “gotcha” questions?

  18. Conclusion • The End of the Line • Prayer • Thought to Remember

  19. Foolish Thinking • How does today’s lesson text from Jeremiah 21:8-14 refute the thinking expressed in each scenario? • Scenario 1. A person lives selfishly and sinfully for years, but when crisis comes to his life, he expects God to answer his prayer for help. • Scenario 2. A person has no obvious sins and leads a basically decent life. But going to church has never been important to her. She asks, “Does that make me a bad person?”

  20. Foolish Thinking • How does today’s lesson text from Jeremiah 21:8-14 refute the thinking expressed in each scenario? • Scenario 3. A woman leaves her family and gives herself over to a pattern of adultery and drug addiction. She continues her willful ways despite the pleas of her family. Eventually she discovers she has no relationship with any of them.

  21. Foolish Thinking • How does today’s lesson text from Jeremiah 21:8-14 refute the thinking expressed in each scenario? • Scenario 4. One man admits, “Yes, I’m in a horrible situation. I stole funds donated to my charity. I’m going to jail. There’s nothing I can do but serve my sentence.”

  22. Thought to Remember Choose the way of life.

  23. Repent of Injustice Next Week’s Lesson

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