Science and God's authority

²³ The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: ²⁴ "Have you not noticed that these people are saying, 'The LORD has rejected the two kingdoms he chose'? So they despise my people and no longer regard them as a nation. ²⁵ This is what the LORD says: 'If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed laws of heaven and earth, ²⁶ then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them.' "

Jeremiah 33:23-26

We come to a close of our study of Jeremiah 33. Here we see God reflecting back on the "covenant breaking" condition we looked at yesterday. Creating day, night, and all of the laws of nature is God's authority for being able to make the covenant with His people. If He doesn't govern all of heaven and earth, what authority does He have and what power does He have to ensure His covenant is kept. When you see the sun rise or when you throw something up and watch it fall - that is evidence that God can keep His covenant. When water freezes at 32° F, that should remind us of God keeping His promises. The next time you put ice in your lemonade, you can thank God that He keeps His covenants!

Breaking Covenant

¹⁷ For this is what the LORD says: 'David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, ¹⁸ nor will the priests, who are Levites, ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.' "

¹⁹ The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: ²⁰ "This is what the LORD says: 'If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, ²¹ then my covenant with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. ²² I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars of the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.' "

Jeremiah 33:17-22

Do you know what a covenant is? Dictionary.com's #1 definition is "an agreement, usually formal, between two or more persons to do or not do something specified." God has made covenants with His people. Here in this passage, God restates what we know as the Davidic Covenant. He promises that ultimately Jesus - a descendent of David - will rule forever. God will not break the covenants He has made. Or will He?

In this passage, God actually gives a condition where he will break his covenant. What? Look back at verse 20. "If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time," All the Jewish people have to do to get God to break the covenant is to stop day from happening during daytime and night from happening during nighttime. Does anyone want to give that a try?

Waiting

¹² "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In this place, desolate and without men or animals—in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks. ¹³ In the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,' says the LORD.

¹⁴ " 'The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

¹⁵ " 'In those days and at that time
      I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line;
      he will do what is just and right in the land.

¹⁶ In those days Judah will be saved
      and Jerusalem will live in safety.
      This is the name by which it will be called:
      The LORD Our Righteousness.'

Jeremiah 33:12-16

As we continue on with our study of Jeremiah 33, I want to look particularly at two things in this passage:

• God fulfills His promises
  • Notice in verse 14 that God says "I will fulfull the gracious promis I made"
  • By saying "I will" God is referring to the future.
  • He doesn't say when and He doesn't say how long it will be.
  • Have you ever been disappointed by a promise that wasn't fulfilled immediately?
  • Do you think God is trustworthy and will fulfill His promises?
• He promises a deliverer for His people. This person...
  • will be a descendent of David (v 15: from David's line)
  • "will do what is just and right" (v 15)
  • will save people (v 16)
  • will be known as "The LORD Our Righteousness" (v 16)
  • Who do you think this prophecy is about?

Giving Thanks

Today, we continue combing through Jeremiah 33.

⁶ " 'Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. ⁷ I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. ⁸ I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. ⁹ Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.'

¹⁰ "This is what the LORD says: 'You say about this place, "It is a desolate waste, without men or animals." Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither men nor animals, there will be heard once more ¹¹ the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying,
      "Give thanks to the LORD Almighty,
      for the LORD is good;
      his love endures forever."

For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,' says the LORD.

Jeremiah 33:6-11

The prophecy in this chapter of Jeremiah is one of God restoring His people. Currently, they are facing a bleak time living in a desolate wasteland. They are crying out to God and looking for hope. God tells them to have hope because there will come a time when they will be proclaiming verse 11. Let's look at that.

• Give thanks to the LORD Almighty
  • Do you think at the time of Jeremiah's writing, God's people had a lot to give thanks for?
  • If they lived in a desolate waste, do you think they felt God was Almighty?
  • Do you have a lot to give thanks for?
  • Do you know that God is Almighty?
• for the LORD is good
  • Consider yesterday's Bible Study. As they cried out, do you think they heard God's response and knew that He was good?
  • Do you know that God is good? Why or why not?
• His love endures forever
  • If God's people were suffering, do you think they could really see how God's love endures forever?
  • Do you know His love endures forever?
• Three things from this verse you can thank God for:
  • He is Almighty
  • He is good
  • He is loving

Take time to thank God for these things.

Listening

This week we'll be looking at Jeremiah 33 - a passage chosen by the older of my two sons.

¹ While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time: ² "This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name: ³ 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' ⁴ For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege ramps and the sword ⁵ in the fight with the Babylonians : 'They will be filled with the dead bodies of the men I will slay in my anger and wrath. I will hide my face from this city because of all its wickedness.

Jeremiah 33:1-5 (NIV)

I want to focus on verse 3 here today.

• call to me - God wants us to call out to Him. He doesn't want us to just silently pray to Him, but to call out aloudand at times even loudly.
• I will answer you - We can know that God will respond to us when we call out to Him. He will respond to us. The Hebrew word used here can also be translated "to sing, utter tunefully." Think of of it like a song that's a duet. One person sings and then the other sings back. Our calling out to God and Him responding to us is like a song that God has written. We may not know what the rest of the song is going to sound like, but we can trust that God is a great songwriter!
• tell you great and unsearchable things - there are great things that we couldn't otherwise know that God will make obvious to us
• you do not know - There are things we don't know. That's OK.

We know that we can call out to God whenever we want. We can know that He will always respond. However, we may not always know what His response is. I find it helpful to think of songs when thinking of this. It may be that the first time we hear a song, we don't like it or we don't even pay attention that well. As we become attuned to the song and we've perhaps heard it again and again, we may recognize the beauty of the song. It may be that we've been listening to a song over and over and now we are just paying attention to a neat little guitar part that we never noticed before. Maybe somebody just told us about how much they like that guitar part that we never noticed. It's the same way with listening for God's responses. We need to be paying attention and we need to be in tune with what to listen for. Have you called out and not heard God's response.... keep listening!

But Have Eternal Life

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.

John 3:16 (NIrV)

We come to the final phrase in John 3:16 - but have eternal life. Before we expound on that, let's review what we've covered so far:

• God loving, longing for, and wanting to be with, those that He had created and was taking care of, is the reason for...
• God freely gave his only heir, the one who would inherit all He had...
• all who put their trust in Christ...
• Will not be subject to the ultimate penalty of sin - death

And now on with the final phrase

• but is the Greek word ἀλλά (alla) which means "but" indicating an exception to the rule.
  • When thinking of exceptions, how would you feel if everyone got a cookie but you?
  • How would you feel if you did something wrong and everyone got punished but you?
• have is the Greek word ἔχω (echō) which means to have in hand, to hold, to wear (as in clothing), to possess
  • To think about having someting, suppose you're at Toys R Us and you find a toy you like
  • ... and you have the money to pay for it but it's at home
  • ... and you have the money to pay for it with you?
  • Which one of these haves do you think is like "have" in John 3:16?
• eternal is the Greek word αἰώνιος (aiōnios) which means without end, never to cease, everlasting
• life is the Greek word ζωή (zōē) which means "life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last for ever"
• Putting this all together, we come up with:
  as an exeption (to death - the penalty of sin) will put on and possess without end real and genuine life devoted to God.

Should Not Perish

"God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.

John 3:16 (NIrV)

Today we come to the fourth phrase in John 3:16 - should not perish. Let's dig in:

• should not comes from the Greek word μή. This is "A primary particle of qualified negation." In other words, only if all of the other conditions are met, will the following thing not happen.
• perish is from the Greek word ἀπόλλυμι which comes from a root word meaning destroy.
• So, if the preceding conditions of putting your trust in Christ (fully relinquishing your trust in yourself), then you will not be destroyed. Since we know that "the wages of sin is death" we realize that trusting in Jesus removes from us the penalty of sin.
• We must remember everything that we've studied thus far this week. God loved us. He freely gave His Son. All who trust in Him. Will not be subject to the ultimate penalty of sin.

Not having to experience the penalty of sin is only one thing we get out of this deal. What's the other. We'll study that tomorrow!

Whoever Believes In Him

"God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.

John 3:16 (NIrV)

We continue our study of John 3:16 with the third phrase whoever believes in Him.

• whoever is the Greek word πᾶς. It means all, every, any.
• believes is the Greek word πιστεύω which means to have faith in to trust
• in is the Greek word εἰς which means into or to
• Him is from the Greek word αὐτός which refers back to the subject - God's son
• So, putting it all together, we get all who put their trust in Christ...
• When considering εἰς for "in" think of standing in front of a vending machine with your money in hand. Unless you put your money into the machine, you will not receive the drink or snack (or whatever) you want out of the machine. You have to totally relinquish your money to the machine in order to get the benefit from it. In the same way, you must totally relinquish your trust in yourself and put it into Christ in order to truly believe in Him and get the benefit from it

What is the benefit we receive? We'll find out as we finish the week.

He Gave His Only Son

"God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.

John 3:16 (NIrV)

Today, we continue our study of John 3:16 by looking at the next phrase "that he gave his one and only Son". But first let's reflect back on our summary of the first phrase. God loving, longing for, and wanting to be with, those that He had created and was taking care of, is the reason for...

• that again emphasizes that what was said before (God so loved the world) is the reason for what is following
• He gave is the Greek word δίδωμι which of course means to give. This certainly implies that God gave freely. He wasn't compelled or forced to give, He gave because He wanted to.
• His is the Greek word αὑτοῦ which implies possession or ownership. God did not give anything that He didn't have the right to give. He was free to give because He possessed.
• one and only is the Greek word μονογενής which means only born. An only child (especially and only son) would be quite valuable. The only born child would be quite precious to the parent.
• Son is the Greek word υἱός which does mean son. In the Jewish society of the day, the only son would be the sole heir to all of the belongings of the parents. Without an heir all that a parent owned when they died would be distributed to more distant relatives and the father's family line would end.
• So, God freely gave his only heir, the one who would inherit all He had...

So, who was God doing this for? We'll find out tomorrow.

God So Loved The World

"God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.

John 3:16 (NIrV)

This week, we'll be doing a phrase-by-phrase study of John 3:16. It's a favorite verse of my younger son's and since older brother is out of town, we're tailoring our family devotion time to younger son.

Today, we're looking at the first phrase "For God so loved the world..."

• For is the Greek word γάρ which implies that what immediately follows is giving a reason. Thus, God loving the world is the reason for what we'll be studying the rest of the week.
• God is the Greek word θεός which means a deity. Here of course it is referring to the one true God. This is the root word from which we derive the word theology for the study of God.
• so is the Greek word houtō which means in this way. This may be referring back to the previous part of chapter 3 where Jesus says He will be lifted up and verse 15 tells us "that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life"
• loved is from the Greek word ἀγαπάω which means love. This kind of love is a moral love and denotes longing after rather than just having affection for. We commonly hear this described as unconditional love. Here we can think of it as being an active love wanting the object of the love to be drawn near.
• the world comes from the Greek word κόσμος (kosmos) meaning the world. The word implies an orderly arrangement that God is tending and caring for.
• Taking this all together, God loving, longing for, and wanting to be with, those that He had created and was taking care of, is the reason for...

We'll study what He did because of this love as we work through the week.

Walking through Holy Week: The Crucifixion

Today, Good Friday, we come to the story of Jesus being crucified. Let's read.

³² Two other men were also led out with Jesus to be killed. Both of them had broken the law. ³³ The soldiers brought them to the place called The Skull. There they nailed Jesus to the cross. He hung between the two criminals. One was on his right and one was on his left.

³⁴ Jesus said, "Father, forgive them. They don't know what they are doing." The soldiers divided up his clothes by casting lots.

³⁵ The people stood there watching. The rulers even made fun of Jesus. They said, "He saved others. Let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."

³⁶ The soldiers also came up and poked fun at him. They offered him wine vinegar. ³⁷ They said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."

³⁸ A written sign had been placed above him. It read, -this is the king of the jews.-

³⁹ One of the criminals hanging there made fun of Jesus. He said, "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself! Save us!"

⁴⁰ But the other criminal scolded him. "Don't you have any respect for God?" he said. "Remember, you are under the same sentence of death. ⁴¹ We are being punished fairly. We are getting just what our actions call for. But this man hasn't done anything wrong."

⁴² Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

⁴³ Jesus answered him, "What I'm about to tell you is true. Today you will be with me in paradise."

Jesus Dies

⁴⁴ It was now about noon. The whole land was covered with darkness until three o'clock. ⁴⁵ The sun had stopped shining. The temple curtain was torn in two. ⁴⁶ Jesus called out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my very life." After he said this, he took his last breath.

Luke 23:32-46 (NIrV)

Discussion

• When Jesus was crucified, was He crucified alone?
• Of those who were crucified that day, who deserved to die?
• Who recognized that Jesus did not deserve to die?
• What did he receive for believing this?
• What reaction did the people who crucified Jesus have?
• Do you think they felt like they had finally beaten Jesus?
• Do you think they felt better about themselves by making fun of Jesus?
• How do you think they would have felt if Jesus had saved Himself?
• Would Jesus have been doing God's will if He had saved Himself?
• We read that it was dark for three hours - during the daytime!
• Does this remind you of what Jesus said to those who arrested Him?
• Does this mean that the forces darkness and evil have won?
• What was the significance of the temple curtain being torn in two?
• The temple curtain was what separated the people from the holy of holies in the temple. This is where the high priest would only be allowed to go one day a year to make a sacrifice for the people. It was the most sacred place in the temple.
• The tearing of the curtain when Jesus died signifies how His death gives us access to the holiness of God.
• When Jesus died, was it willingly?
• He committed His soul to God.
• He took His last breath
• It sounds like He died exactly when He wanted to die.

Walking through Holy Week: Jesus' Arrest

It had to happen. Jesus knew it would. He was arrested. He was out praying and His closest disciples were with Him (although they were having trouble staying awake).

⁴⁷ While Jesus was still speaking, a crowd came up. The man named Judas was leading them. He was one of the Twelve. Judas approached Jesus to kiss him.

⁴⁸ But Jesus asked him, "Judas, are you handing over the Son of Man with a kiss?"

⁴⁹ Jesus' followers saw what was going to happen. So they said, "Lord, should we use our swords against them?" ⁵⁰ One of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.

⁵¹ But Jesus answered, "Stop this!" And he touched the man's ear and healed him.

⁵² Then Jesus spoke to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders. They had all come for him. "Am I leading a band of armed men against you?" he asked. "Do you have to come with swords and clubs? ⁵³ Every day I was with you in the temple courtyard. And you didn't lay a hand on me. But this is your hour. This is when darkness rules."

Discussion

• Did Jesus let the fact that He was about to be arrested keep Him from what He was doing?
• Did the people who wanted to arrest Jesus finally think they had the advantage?
• Who led the crowd that was arresting Jesus?
• How did Jesus disciples react?
• Did Jesus approve of a violent reaction by His disciples?
• Did Jesus go with the people who arrested Him willingly? Why or why not?
• Why did Jesus say they arrested Him at night? What did He mean by this?

Walking through Holy Week: It's time to eat!

Today, as we continue walking through Holy Week, we come upon the Last Supper. Jesus is sharing a Passover meal with His disciples and as part of it they share the bread and the cup - a tradition that we remember when we have Communion in church.

¹⁴ When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles took their places at the table. ¹⁵ He said to them, "I have really looked forward to eating this Passover meal with you. I wanted to do this before I suffer. 16 I tell you, I will not eat the Passover meal again until it is celebrated in God's kingdom."

¹⁷ After Jesus took the cup, he gave thanks. He said, "Take this cup and share it among yourselves. ¹⁸ I tell you, I will not drink wine with you again until God's kingdom comes."

¹⁹ Then Jesus took bread. He gave thanks and broke it. He handed it to them and said, "This is my body. It is given for you. Every time you eat it, do it in memory of me."

²⁰ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup. He said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. It is poured out for you. ²¹ But someone here is going to hand me over to my enemies. His hand is with mine on the table. ²² The Son of Man will go to his death, just as God has already decided. But how terrible it will be for the one who hands him over!"

Luke 22:14-22 (NIrV)

Discussion

• One of the first things that I notice in the passage is that Jesus was looking forward to sharing this meal with His disciples. Why do you suppose He was looking forward to it?
• Do you remember what the Passover was?
• What three things did Jesus say were going to happen that His disciples may not have been very happy about?
• He would suffer (v 15)
• One of them would betray Him (v 21)
• He would die (v 22)
• Did those bad things dampen Jesus' enthusiasm for the Passover meal?
• Despite the bad things coming, did Jesus still do what God wanted Him to do?
• If you were looking forward to doing something and you knew that something bad was going to happen afterwards, would you find it hard to enjoy it or even do it?
• Does knowing that Jesus was obedient to God even though He knew bad things were coming soon help you to look forward to being obedient to God?
• Does knowing that Jesus was looking forward to this communion with His disciples help you to look forward to the next time you celebrate communion?

Walking through Holy Week: Hiding in plain sight

When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, he knew that He was going to die on the cross. We saw yesterday how the Pharisees felt threatened by Jesus and how they wanted Jesus' followers to shut up. Let's see what Jesus did after He got to Jerusalem.

⁴⁵ Then Jesus entered the temple area. He began chasing out those who were selling there. ⁴⁶ He told them, "It is written that the Lord said, 'My house will be a house where people can pray.'—(Isaiah 56:7) But you have made it a 'den for robbers.' "—(Jeremiah 7:11)

⁴⁷ Every day Jesus was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests and the teachers of the law were trying to kill him. So were the leaders among the people. ⁴⁸ But they couldn't find any way to do it. All the people were paying close attention to his words.

Discussion

• Where did Jesus go first?
• When Jesus was 12 and went to Jerusalem for Passover and didn't leave with Mary and Joseph, where did they find Him then?
• What did
  Jesus do in the temple in vv 45-46? Why?
• What did Jesus do in the temple in vv 47-48?
• Did Jesus hide from those who wanted to arrest Him?
• Did Jesus stop preaching and teaching because people wanted to arrest Him?
• Why didn't the people who wanted to arrest Jesus arrest Him in the temple?
• Where could they easily have found Jesus to arrest Him?
• Do you think they still feared that they couldn't control the people who were following Jesus?
• Do you think Jesus' actions in this passage show how the people in the temple had lost sight of what should be done in the temple? Do you think these people were disobedient to God?
• Do you think Jesus' actions in the temple showed how He remained obedient to God even when He knew He was going to be arrested?
• Are there times when you are not doing what God wants you to do or doing something God doesn't want you to?
• Is it hard sometimes for you to be obedient when others around you are making it hard to do so?
• Can you trust Jesus to help you be more obedient?

Walking through Holy Week: Making a little noise

Yesterday was Palm Sunday a day that we remember and celebrate Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

³⁷ Jesus came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives. There the whole crowd of disciples began to praise God with joy. In loud voices they praised him for all the miracles they had seen. They shouted,

³⁸ "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! May there be peace and glory in the highest heaven!"

³⁹ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd spoke to Jesus. "Teacher," they said, "tell your disciples to stop!"

⁴⁰ "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

Luke 19:37-40 (NIrV)

Discussion

• A crowd was gathered along the road where Jesus was coming in to Jerusalem. What does this remind you of?
• Is there anyone that, if they were coming to town, you'd want to see? Who? Why?
• The people were praising Jesus "in loud voices." Why were they excited?
• Have you ever been told you were too loud?
• How did this make you feel?
• If you're excited, don't you like to express that excitement loudly?
• Why did the Pharisees think that the people were too loud?
• Were the Pharisees threatened by Jesus?
• Did the Pharisees think they were losing control over the people?
• Do you think the Pharisees thought that if the people would quiet down they would be "in control"?
• Why did the Pharisees ask Jesus to tell his followers to "shut up"?
• What did Jesus say would happen if the people were quiet?
• Have you ever heard a stone crying out?
• If the people were quiet and the stones cried out, do you think the stones would have been louder than the people?
• How do you think the Pharisees would have felt if the stones started crying out?
• Were the people right in praising Jesus?
• Was it appropriate to do so loudly?
• What are some times you can think of that it is good to praise God in a loud voice?
• Do you enjoy times like those?

Walking through Holy Week

We're back - for a week at least. For those that might have been concerned that I had given up on discipling my children, have no fear. We've just been spending a lot of time working our way through a couple of books. But not this week, we'll be looking at some of the events during the week up to Easter.