Jeremiah 14

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

The Judgment of Sword, Famine and Pestilence

The date of Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion when Jehoiachin was deported was ____BC. The date of the final Babylonian invasion when the Temple was destroyed and the nation of Israel was taken into captivity was ____BC.
List the evidence of the severity of the drought of judgment found in this chapter.
In chapter 13, Jeremiah had used an object lesson, a parable and a message to warn the people of the coming invasion. Here the Lord himself gives a _______ that the people had broken the covenant.
What was God’s instruction to Jeremiah regarding prayer for the people?
Earlier in the book of Jeremiah, we considered the serious impact that false prophets had among God’s people. What was God’s punishment for the false prophets in Jeremiah’s day? Would this punishment be limited only to the prophets?

The invasion in which Jehoiachin was deported occurred in 597 BC. The final invasion, when the Temple was destroyed and the nation taken into captivity, took place in 586 BC.
In verses 1-6 Jeremiah described the severity of the drought as the absence of water even for the rich, the shame of the farmers because of their absence of crops, and the absence of food even for the wild animals.
The Lord gave a sign that the Mosaic Covenant had been broken. The extended drought was a sure sign because rain or no rain on the land was part of the sanctions of the covenant. In Deut. 28, God explained both the blessing of rain if the covenant was kept (vs.12), and the curse of drought if the covenant was broken (vs. 24).
God instructed Jeremiah not to pray for the welfare or good of the people (vs.11). It was too late. The time of judgment had come!
God clearly stated that the false prophets would be consumed by both sword and famine (vs.15). In addition, this judgment extended to the people who had listened to the false prophets and had believed their false prophecies (vs.16).

Compare what we read concerning false prophets in Matthew 7:22 with what we read concerning false prophets in Jeremiah’s day. Why are they so deceptive? What is the source of their power? Can you identify false prophets “among the people” on the scene today?

Jeremiah is a good example of being courageous enough to ask questions of God. To one of Jeremiah’s questions (vs. 9), God answered clearly (vs. 10-12). However, in another case, God gave insight so Jeremiah could answer his own questions (vs. 19, 20). Are you courageous enough to ask questions of God? Will you listen when He does answer? Will you seek and find the answers for many of your questions as God gives you insight in His Word?

“Because the ground is parched, for there was no rain in the land, the plowmen were ashamed; they covered their heads.” Jeremiah 14:4