From Jeremiah to Jonah Bible Study in Plain English

Session 7: from Jeremiah to Jonah Bible Study in Plain English

By Bill Huebsch

Session Seven: Jeremiah to Jonah Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Second Isaiah, Ezra, Third Isaiah, Baruch, Malachi, Haggai, and Zechariah, Joel, Obadiah, Daniel and Jonah

Not me, Lord! Many of the prophets God chooses aren’t too happy about being chosen. Jeremiah was one of those. God’s word came to him in frank terms: The words in The Book of Jeremiah are clear: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” At first, Jeremiah wanted nothing to do with this job. He argued with God to release him from it.

What did Jeremiah tell God in order to avoid being a prophet? Read Jeremiah 1:6 to find out.

But God didn’t buy it. How did God answer Jeremiah? Read Jeremiah 1:7-10 to find out.

Sacred pause You know, it’s amazing, isn’t it, how God calls us to speak to one another and to our culture? Most of the time we’re like Jeremiah: we don’t want the job of speaking on behalf of God. We think it’s all a bit too much. Think about some times when you may have been called like this. Don’t look for major events and earth-shaking speeches. Look instead for the words of forgiveness, generosity, and charity you are called to utter every day with those closest to you.

Dateline During Jeremiah’s career, the Babylonians conquered Judah in 587 BCE and sent most of the people off to exile in Babylon, leaving behind only the weak and poor. This exile lasted 42 long years. Jeremiah himself saw the Temple destroyed by the Babylonian armies.

The Bible Study in Plain English │ Version 2.0 │ © 2014 The Pastoral Center │ Page 1 Stay close to God! Jeremiah’s work covers nearly 40 years from about 626 to about 583 BCE. He was called by God during a troubled period in the ancient Near East. The residents of Judah were sent into exile in Babylon and the times were tough. He was in Jerusalem when the Babylonians destroyed the city. But Jeremiah continued to speak of God’s love for the people and their duty to be faithful to God. He is also blunt in connecting the sufferings of the people to their lack of faith.

What did Jeremiah have to say about staying close to God in life? Read Jeremiah 17:5-8 to find out. Write his teaching in the writing space below.

No more hearts of stone. Jeremiah had a tough time of it, overall. In the end, he sort of gave up on the people, no longer believing they could ever follow God’s desire for them. Jeremiah announced that God would make a new covenant with the people. This new covenant would not be like the old one, Jeremiah taught. The law of the new covenant would not be written on tablets of stone.

Where would the law be written in the new covenant? Read Jeremiah 31:31-33 for the answer.

Broken Hearts. God’s People were in bad trouble. They were captives in Babylon, far away form the Promised Land and far away from their God. Jerusalem was in shambles and the Temple was in ruins. The people sat by the streams of Babylon and remembered their homes in the Promised Land. They sang psalms and wept for Jerusalem. The Babylonians grew tired of hearing the mournful songs. “Don’t you know any happy songs?” they complained. “Play something lively for us, and we will dance.” But the Jews had no heart for singing.

What did the Jews do with their harps instead of singing happy songs? Read Psalm 137:1-6 for the answer.

Note this The king of Babylon who defeated the people of Judah and sent them into exile was Nebuchadnezzar.

And those who stayed behind. One of the most interesting aspects of the Babylonian Exile is that some people stayed behind and did not go. These, it seems, carried out a regular and well orchestrated series of grief ceremonies at the site of the destroyed Temple. In their mourning, they probably used the five poems which make up The Book of Lamentations.

This book begins by describing Jerusalem with the line, “How lonely sits the city that once was full of people!” It goes on to lament the sins of the people and the anger of God. But where is the hope? Read Lamentations 3:25-33 for a lovely answer and write it here:

Broken Spirits. The people’s sorrow went far beyond homesickness. They remembered the prophet Jeremiah’s warnings that Jerusalem would be destroyed and they would live as exiles in a foreign land. Their exile was the result of being unfaithful to the covenant. In their hearts, the people realized that they had brought this problem on themselves. The people feared that God had turned away from them. They feared they had lost God’s Spirit forever. To these hopeless people, God sent prophets with a message of hope and liberation.

A fantastic vision. Ezekiel started preaching in 593. He received a rather startling and detailed vision shortly after arriving in Babylon. Within that vision, there was embedded Ezekiel’s call. We read this amazing story in The Book of Ezekiel.

The Bible Study in Plain English │ Version 2.0 │ © 2014 The Pastoral Center │ Page 3 What was the vision Ezekiel got from God? Scan Ezekiel 1:1 to 3:27, paying special attention to 3:22-27. Now put down your Bible and try to tell this story in your own words aloud, even if you’re alone in the room.

God’s love remains. Ezekiel is a deep and profound book, containing many forms of prophecy: detailed history, wild visions, lovely poetry, and sober judgments - all in one book! Like the other prophets, he believed that God would punish a lack of faithfulness with political and military disaster. To Ezekiel it is necessary that one must know God in order to love God. God has been faithful; the people have not. But God’s love remains. God is faithful because God is good. To a people in exile, this was welcome news.

Ezekiel told of God’s promise to us if we are faithful and turn from sin. What did Ezekiel say? Read Ezekiel 36:24-28. Write verses 26-27 in the space and remember it.

Have you ever become aware of how your own actions got you into trouble? How you brought on yourself sorrow, pain, loss of relationship, financial stress, or other woes? Talk about this. It’s how the Jews felt as they sat beside the rivers of Babylon dreaming of the homeland they had lost.

Dry bones. One of Ezekiel’s most dramatic visions was also a vision filled with the most hope. God would restore the people to their land, to their homes, and, most importantly, to their temple.

What was this dramatic vision? Read Ezekiel 37:1-14 and try to imagine this fantastic vision as you read it.

The Bible Study in Plain English │ Version 2.0 │ © 2014 The Pastoral Center │ Page 4 Note this During their time in exile, two unknown prophets also announced God’s words of comfort to Israel. Their words touched the hearts of the People of God very deeply. Because their prophecies are very similar to those of the prophet Isaiah, their works were added to the Book of Isaiah. These prophet’s works are now known as Second Isaiah and Third Isaiah.

Return with all your heart. Second Isaiah (chapters 40-55) was with the people at the end of the exile. He told them to return to God with their hearts because God had forgiven them. “I have brushed away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like a mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you” (Isaiah 44:22). Second Isaiah also looked far into the future. There will come a time when a Suffering Servant will bring salvation to the whole world, he told them.

What did Second Isaiah say to the people in God’s name? Read Isaiah 40:2 and 44:22 to find out.

Not only that! God also promised a “new Jerusalem” where broken families would be reunited and tears would be dried. God’s spirit would once again be poured out on the people God loved and called by name.

What was the promise God delivered through Second Isaiah? Scan through Isaiah 49:8-23 for the answer and make notes about this promise in the space as you scan.

Free at last! The people of Judah were finally set free in 538 by Cyrus of Persia, a man of religious tolerance. They were free to return to Judah and Jerusalem. And many did.

What was the decree which Cyrus made regarding the Jews? Read Ezra 1:1-4 for the interesting answer.

A new temple, too? This was almost too much! Not only would the Jews be allowed to return to their homeland, but they would also be allowed to rebuild a Temple. And they wasted no time in doing just that! By 520 they were ready to dedicate it.

What was the response of the old Jews who could remember the first Temple when they saw the foundation laid for the new one? Read Ezra 3:10-13 to find out!

Third Isaiah. The people returned to Jerusalem, which had been destroyed. They rebuilt the modest Temple mentioned above. But Third Isaiah (chapters 56-66) offers a completely new idea, namely that God is God of all nations. The Temple will become a light to all the nations, according to Third Isaiah. To anyone faithful to the God of Israel, the Lord says: “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isaiah 56:7).

In the Christian Scriptures, Jesus began his preaching career by quoting Third Isaiah. Where and how did he do that? Read Isaiah 61:1-2 and compare it to Luke 4:18-19. What similarities do you notice? Write them in the space below.

Whole Hearts. Third Isaiah called the People to return to God with their whole hearts. From now on, he said, they must worship with sincerity and honesty. They must live with justice and mercy.

How did Third Isaiah describe the kind of justice God wants? Read Isaiah 58:3-9 to find out. Write the five things God wants in the space.

The secret to happiness. There is a short gem in the middle of all these prophets and historical accounts. It’s the six-chapter book called The Book of Baruch. Baruch is not the author; Baruch was Jeremiah’s famous secretary. (See Jeremiah 36:4-10.) This book is named in Baruch’s honor and includes a copy of a letter which Jeremiah had sent to those in Exile in Babylon. Baruch gives us a short and sweet guide to happiness. His main point is that if we admit our sins and amend our lives, we will see that God is faithful to us.

What did Baruch identify as the source of the people’s suffering in exile? Read Baruch 3:10-14 for the answer. Copy Baruch’s advice in the space. Let it sink into your own heart and soul.

Malachi, Haggai, and Zechariah. These prophets worked about 500 BCE. Haggai urged the people to turn their worship back to God and their efforts to rebuild the Temple after the Babylonian exile ended. Malachi taught that God loves us and will

The Bible Study in Plain English │ Version 2.0 │ © 2014 The Pastoral Center │ Page 7 always take care of us if we worship God faithfully and do not sin. Zechariah held out great hope for the future, for a time when peace and goodness would again reign in the land. These three are recorded in the three books of Haggai, Malachi, and Zechariah.

What did Zechariah say would please God? Read Zechariah 7:9-10 to find out.

A natural disaster? Joel may have been responding to some kind of disaster that came along just as everything seemed to be going pretty well otherwise. But he expresses great hope for the people. God is in our midst, according to Joel. If God has rescued us from plagues and disasters, it’s a sign that God will always be present. His words are recorded in The Book of Joel.

According to Joel, how will we know that God’s spirit is poured out on us? Read Joel 2:28 to find out.

Quarreling brothers. Obadiah reminds us in his very short prophecy (in The Book of Obadiah) about a division that occurred many years earlier. When Isaac’s two sons, Esau and Jacob fell into their disagreement about which of them would get the family inheritance (Jacob got it.) Esau went off and became the father of the nation of Edom, located just south of Judah. The Edomites were a constant bitter rival, even hundreds of years later. Well, when the people of Judah were trucked off to exile by the Babylonians, the Edomites did nothing to assist them and, in fact, somewhat took advantage of them. In this book, Obadiah foretells their disastrous end.

Obadiah uses a familiar turn of phrase to indicate the end of the Edomites. What is it? Read verse 15 for the answer, but first, scan this entire one chapter book.

Biblical drama. The Book of Daniel is one of the most amazing of the Hebrew Scriptures. Daniel’s prophecy was written to encourage the Jews to remain faithful to God and their religious practices. It came at a time when Greek influence was tempting the Jews to take part in pagan rites and when they were being persecuted by the ruler for remaining faithful. Daniel takes pains to show that our God is more wise, more just and more powerful than all other gods.

The Bible Study in Plain English │ Version 2.0 │ © 2014 The Pastoral Center │ Page 8 Daniel tells the story of the three men thrown into a fiery furnace. What is the song they sing in the flames? Read Daniel 3:52-90 to find out! Share your favorite verse of this song with others in your group.

Note this Scan the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel, chapter 3. It’s a great story!

Power. The book of Daniel uses many dream images to present the message of hope. Daniel himself had a dream in which he saw “one like a Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven.” This figure, who looked like a man but seemed like God, was given God’s power over the entire world.

What does the book of Daniel say about the Son of Man? Read Daniel 7:13-14 to find out.

Dateline. Most scholars agree today that Daniel was written about 164 BCE, much later than the 6th century setting of much of the action.

Reluctant prophet. All God wanted was for Jonah to preach conversion to the people of Nineveh. But Jonah just didn’t get it. In the first place, when God called him he immediately set out in the opposite direction. Then when God sent him warnings and messages, Jonah still didn’t budge. Finally, after having spent three days in the belly of a fish which finally spit him up on the shore, Jonah got it. But when he preached in Nineveh and the people actually repented God was so pleased that God spared the city. And believe it or not, this made Jonah angry! What’s with that? You’ll have to read The Book of Jonah to find out.

After God spared Nineveh, Jonah went away mad. How does the story end? Read Jonah 4:1-11 for the almost amusing answer.

Conclude your study. Take a moment to tell each other what new insights into faith you gained in this study. Then conclude with a brief prayer of thanksgiving.