August 13, 2012
Lesson for August 19, 2012: God Promised a Righteous Branch (Jeremiah 23:1-8; 33)
This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. ______ By Sam E. Stone God sent the prophet Jeremiah to the southern kingdom of Judah. He faced difficult challenges seeing conditions in Judah go from bad to worse. The previous chapter (22) outlines the failings of three evil kings who had succeeded Josiah. The rulers are spoken of as “shepherds.” These men should have been pastors of the flock, lovingly caring for the people and leading them in the right paths. Instead they were just the opposite. They shed innocent
