Sabbath school lesson 13, 4th quarter of 2015

www.gmahktanjungpinang.orgAdapted from : www.fustero.es Lesson 13 for December 26, 2015

Jeremiah 42:5 " Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall

reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in

the earth.”

“Therefore I said, ‘Surely these are poor. They are foolish; for they do not know the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God.’” (Jeremiah 5:4)Lucifer distorted God’s nature before the angels. That way he won third of the angels for his cause (Revelation 12:4).

Unfortunately, he was able to distort His nature before mankind too.

In Jeremiah, the true character of God is vindicated.

WHAT IS GOD LIKE?“Therefore I said, ‘Surely these are poor. They are foolish; for they do not know the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God.’” (Jeremiah 5:4)

“For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken

Me, the fountain of

living waters, and hewn

themselves cisterns—

broken cisterns that can hold

no water.” (Jeremiah 2:13)

“‘Do you not fear Me?’ says the Lord.

‘Will you not tremble at My presence, Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea, by a perpetual

decree, that it cannot pass beyond it? And though its waves toss to and

fro, yet they cannot prevail; though they roar, yet they cannot

pass over it.’” (Jeremiah 5:22)

JUDGE“therefore

thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Behold, I will punish them.

The young men shall die by the

sword, their sons and their

daughters shall die by famine.’”

(Jeremiah 11:22)

GOD IS…

God constantly calls us to repentance from our sins and to leave the ways that lead us to destruction.

CREATORA FOUNTAIN OF LIVING

WATER

WHAT IS GOD LIKE?“Therefore I said, ‘Surely these are poor. They are foolish; for they do not know the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God.’” (Jeremiah 5:4)

“The Lord has appeared of old to me,

saying: ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting

love; therefore with lovingkindnes

s I have drawn you.’” (Jeremiah 31:3)

“I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I

will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by

which they have transgressed against Me.” (Jeremiah 33:8)

GOD IS…

God constantly calls us to repentance from our sins and to leave the ways that lead us to destruction.

FORGIVING LOVE

COLLECTIVE RELIGION“and then come and stand before Me in this

house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’?” (Jeremiah 7:10)

The Jews turned all religious rites into meaningless ceremonies. Their official religion in Jeremiah’s time was based on:

Openly disobeying the Commandments: “Will

you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to

Baal.” (Jeremiah 7:9).

Going to the temple

and offering

sacrifices to feel like forgiven.

Keep sinning.

That’s a clear example of what our relationship with God shouldn’t be like: Doing our own will during the week attending church to feel like holy keep living without God.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.” (Jeremiah 17:7)

Like the old Israel, the Church might or might not fulfill its mission as the people of God.However, the salvation of each person doesn’t depend on that. We are not saved as a Church, but each one of us is individually.Therefore, the book of Jeremiah is full of individual calls to repentance, to trust God and to a positive change in life (Jeremiah 9:23-24; 17:7; 17:10; 29:13).

Our salvation relies on our response to

that personal call.

E.G.W. (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, cp. 11, page 116)

“Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge; every metalsmith is put

to shame by an image; for his molded image is falsehood, and there is no

breath in them.” (Jeremiah 10:14)Idolatry is not just bowing down before idols, or honoring them. There are many modern “idols” that we could be worshipping. We may be trusting or loving several things more than God; those are idols too: fame, science, people, work, money…All those idols will eventually vanish “from the earth and from under these heavens.” (Jeremiah 10:11).So, whom should we be worshiping and dedicating our lives to: that which is weak, false, vain, and powerless, or to the Lord, whose power and might are so great that He created and sustains the universe? The answer, of course, is obvious.

“But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds;

and they shall be fruitful and increase.”(Jeremiah 23:3)God always had a faithful people, even in the midst of that apostasy and defeat. That small number of people is called the remnant (Luke 12:32; Revelation 12:17).Jerusalem was destroyed and God’s people was in exile. Nevertheless, God promised an eternal King and Priest (Jeremiah 33:17-18). He shall govern the remnant once they came back from Babylon.That prophecy was partially fulfilled in the life, death, resurrection and priestly ministry of Jesus.We still wait for its complete fulfillment when Jesus will gather all the saved people from all ages. Then, that “little

flock” will live forever with Him.

By studying the book of Jeremiah, we’ve learnt the importance of faithfulness, obedience, true

personal religion, listening to God’s voice, revival and reformation, quitting idolatry and false

religion, and being part of the remnant Church.

E.G.W. (Christ’s Object Lessons, cp. 23, pg. 305)