By Michael C. Mack
1. How have you shared God’s truth and grace recently with someone who has strayed from him?
2. Have you ever realized or had someone advise you that your priorities were out of order? What happened? What did you learn or change?
Ask two people to read aloud Jeremiah 7:1-15, 21-23 one after the other, preferably from different Bible versions. Then ask a third person to briefly summarize the passage.
3. How would you summarize the main issues God was addressing through Jeremiah?
4. What specific ways and actions of the Israelites needed to be reformed/changed?
- The people were using the phrase, “the temple of the Lord” like a magical incantation (sort of like saying “Beetlejuice” three times). What does this tell you about their spiritual condition?
- Note the conditional (if . . . then) statements in verses 5-7. What do these tell you about God’s expectations for his people?
- How were the people acting presumptuously with God?
5. What do you learn about God from this passage?
6. What do you learn about people, especially those who profess to follow God?
7. In what ways did the Israelites have their priorities (seeking and obeying God first, followed by offering sacrifices at the temple, etc.) backwards?
- What was God calling them to do to get their priorities in the right order?
- Think about areas in which you—or Christians in general—get priorities in the wrong order. Examples of the right order are these: God–marriage–children; God–work–money; God–church–ministry. (There are many others.) How do we get these out of order and what can you do to put them in the right order?
8. In what one area of life do you want to improve at walking in obedience?
9. Based on our study and discussion, complete the sentence: “I will . . .”
10. What help do you need from God to live out his priorities this week?
For Next Week: Read and reflect on Jeremiah 28:1-17. You can also read next week’s supplemental texts as well as the Study and Application sections as part of your personal study.
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