Friday, September 26, 2014

WEEKLY SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
An international Sunday school lesson commentary
For Sunday September 28, 2014

Over 65,000 readers worldwide
larrydalexander.blogspot.com

LAUGHTER WILL RETURN
(GOD rebuilds us for HIS glory)
(Jeremiah 33:1-11)

While Jeremiah was still imprisoned by King Zedekiah of Judah, in the courtyard of the guard, and the Babylonians siege was in full effect, and pressing down on Jerusalem, the LORD came to HIS faithful prophet Jeremiah with yet a second message. It was a two-fold message of both gloom and hope for the future. Here in Jeremiah 33, verses 2-11 we find this forecast for the nation of Judah:

“This is what the Lord says—the Lord who made the earth, who formed and established it, whose name is the Lord:  Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.  For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: You have torn down the houses of this city and even the king’s palace to get materials to strengthen the walls against the siege ramps and swords of the enemy.  You expect to fight the Babylonians, but the men of this city are already as good as dead, for I have determined to destroy them in my terrible anger. I have abandoned them because of all their wickedness.
“Nevertheless, the time will come when I will heal Jerusalem’s wounds and give it prosperity and true peace.  I will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel and rebuild their towns.  I will cleanse them of their sins against me and forgive all their sins of rebellion.  Then this city will bring me joy, glory, and honor before all the nations of the earth! The people of the world will see all the good I do for my people, and they will tremble with awe at the peace and prosperity I provide for them.
 “This is what the Lord says: You have said, ‘This is a desolate land where people and animals have all disappeared.’ Yet in the empty streets of Jerusalem and Judah’s other towns, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will be heard again, along with the joyous songs of people bringing thanksgiving offerings to the Lord. They will sing,
‘Give thanks to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    for the Lord is good.
    His faithful love endures forever!’
For I will restore the prosperity of this land to what it was in the past, says the Lord” (NLT).

Here GOD shares a bit of “inaccessible knowledge” (“basurot” in the Hebrew) with HIS prophet, Jeremiah (v.3). The word “basurot” used here tells us that it is information that no human being can obtain, except through divine intervention. The truth is that, apart from divine intervention from GOD, no individual can have any accurate real knowledge of origins, or destinies, in this life. All of GOD’s plans are inaccessible to ordinary people, and only HE can unlock the secrets of the future.
During the midst of the Babylonian siege, the people of Jerusalem had begun to tear apart their dwellings and use the material to shore up the walls around the city. Even the king’s palace was not exempt from being picked apart, piece by piece, to be used in this desperate project. However, in verse 5 of this passage, GOD informs Jeremiah that all of their efforts would be in vain, and would not stem off the powerful onslaught of Nebuchadnezzar’s army. In fact, every man in Jerusalem was already as good as dead, says the LORD.
Beginning in verse 6, however, we see a complete shift from “warnings of destruction and doom” to “promises of restoration, joy, and peace” for Judah and Israel (Vs.6-13). They would be given prosperity and peace, have their fortunes restored, and they would be able to rebuild their torn down city of Jerusalem. GOD says that their sins will be forgiven, and their sins would run their course in Babylon after seventy years. And the LORD would rejoice as Jerusalem would once again bring glory and honor to HIS name throughout the world.
The sounds of “joy and gladness”, is something that is envisioned at almost any wedding ceremony. In verses 10-11 the LORD says don’t worry about the depressed state that you now see Jerusalem in. The way she is now, having the land desecrated, and all the people and animal killed by disease, starvation, beast, and war. In a little while, the streets will once again be filled with joy and laughter. The joyous voices of brides and bridegrooms will once again be heard in the streets of Jerusalem. And there will be joyous songs of people bringing “thanksgiving offers” to the LORD. They will sing “Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for HE is good. HIS faithful love endures forever!”

A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander




                                 
LARRY D. ALEXANDER- Official Website




   


Friday, September 19, 2014

WEEKLY SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
An international Sunday school lesson commentary
For Sunday September 21, 2014

Over 65,000 readers worldwide
larrydalexander.blogspot.com

A NEW FUTURE
(Invest in GOD’s plan)
(Jeremiah 32:1-15)

In the tenth year of King Zedekiah’s reign in Judah, and the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign in Babylon, Jerusalem found itself under siege from the Babylonian army. History now tells us that the final destruction of Jerusalem was less than two years away. King Zedekiah had imprisoned the prophet Jeremiah because he continued to prophecy treasonously against him and Judah, as the LORD had instructed him to do. Zedekiah had failed in his attempt to engage the help of Egypt to force Nebuchadnezzar to let him out of his pledge to obey and serve under him in the name of the GOD of Israel. This is the message that the LORD gave to Jeremiah concerning King Zedekiah (Vs.3-5);

“This is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will take it.  King Zedekiah will be captured by the Babylonians and taken to meet the king of Babylon face to face.  He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and I will deal with him there,’ says the Lord. ‘If you fight against the Babylonians, you will never succeed.” (NLT)

It is during this season of gloom that GOD gives yet another message to the prophet Jeremiah. It is a message so odd that even Jeremiah (through his prayer in verses 16-25) requested an explanation from the Almighty sovereign GOD as to why HE would have him purchase land that had already been taken from them by foreigners. In verses 6-7 the LORD tells Jeremiah;

 “Your cousin Hanamel son of Shallum will come and say to you, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else.”

And so, Hanamel, Jeremiah’s cousin, did visit him in prison (v.8) with the offer to buy a parcel of land in Anathoth where the Babylonians had already taken over. Anathoth was a city in the tribe of Benjamin that was given to the Levites (1 Kings 2:26). It was the birthplace of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:1), and was located about three miles northwest of Jerusalem.
Hanamel was following the Mosaic Law (Leviticus 25:25-28, Ruth 4:1-6) which required a person to redeem the property of a relative who was forced to sell so that it would not leave possession of the family. That is why it was told to Jeremiah that “it was his right and duty” to purchase the land if he could afford to.
Jeremiah did purchase the land, and his actions were based on his faith in, and, obedience to the Almighty GOD. Scripture does not record the size of the property, however, for an average parcel of land in those days, Jeremiah’s purchase price of only seven ounces of silver would be quite a bargain, if it were not for the fact that he wasn’t going to take possession of it any time soon (the Babylonian ordeal would last for seventy years).
Jeremiah signed and sealed the deed before witnesses, and paid his cousin for the property. He made a copy of the original deed and sealed it, and the copy was left unsealed for future examination (Vs.10-12). Jeremiah then handed the deeds to Baruch, his trusted friend and scribe, and instructed him to put them both in a jar for safe keeping. It was a sign of faith that he believed the LORD when HE said that someday HIS people would again own property in the land of Judah, and the land would be replenished with houses, fields, and vineyards (Vs.13-15).
Jeremiah trusted in GOD’s promise, and he trusted in GOD’s plan for his life, and, for the lives of his family in the next generation. And so he chose to leave a legacy of faith that would transcend their current troubles, and then, he put his money where his mouth was, and financially invested in the Kingdom of GOD.

A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander  





                                 
LARRY D. ALEXANDER- Official Website




Friday, September 12, 2014

WEEKLY SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
An international Sunday school lesson commentary
For Sunday September 14, 2014

Over 65,000 readers worldwide
larrydalexander.blogspot.com

A NEW COVENANT
(Trust in the LORD’s presence)
(Jeremiah 31:27-40)

In Jeremiah 31:31 the LORD promises a New Covenant with the nation of Israel and Judah. It would not be like the old covenant made with their ancestors when HE brought them out of the land of Egypt. Anyway, they had already broken that covenant, even though GOD continued to love them as a husband who dearly loves his wife.
GOD’s work in the New Covenant for HIS people would silence the proverb that was uttered so commonly around Israel in those days, which stated, “The parents eat sour grapes, but the children’s mouths pucker at the taste” (v.29). It was that generation’s way of not taking responsibility for its own sins. Apparently they found it easier to stomach the guilt of their iniquities by convincing themselves that they were suffering only because of the sins of their ancestors, and not through any fault of their own, which of course is ridiculous.  
In Exodus 24, verses 1-8, the Israelites accepted GOD’s Covenant, as it had been given to Moses on Mount Sinai. However, man would not then, nor, will not now, abide by such a covenant, because he has always been, in every generation, too determined to do things his own way. And when we choose to do things our way, we automatically move farther and farther away from GOD, and we continue to interrupt our relationship with GOD, by way of our perpetual sinful rebellion.
The New Covenant spoken of here in Jeremiah 31 is the covenant that was eventually ushered in by CHRIST JESUS in the first century A.D. Yes, it took the life of CHRIST to restore our lost relationship of friendship with GOD. JESUS’ whole purpose for coming was to usher in this New Covenant from GOD, which consists of many spiritual aspects, and is a covenant that is far superior to any before, or since that time.
But first, the final judgment upon Israel had to run its course. It would come in the way of “a physical deportation” from the “promised” land of Israel, to captivity in Babylon. With the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian forces in 586 B.C., the final curse was complete, and restoration could get under way in about 70 years.
With HIS “Mosaic Covenant”, GOD had set “a holy standard of conduct” by which HE intended HIS people to live. However, because of their rebellious hearts, they simply could not maintain those high standards. The Mosaic Law served as a mirror for which sinful man could look into and see for himself, just how far he was from GOD’s glorious and holy standards. GOD shares HIS nature with us and HE wants us to live holy lives because HE is holy. HE wants us to wholly desire to live holy under HIM.
The New Covenant ushered in by CHRIST, in essence, makes the Mosaic Covenant obsolete and irrelevant. The old covenant basically told Israelites how to behave and also specified blessings for those who obeyed, and punishment for those who disobeyed. And although GOD still desires for us to obey HIM under the New Covenant by desiring to live holy like CHRIST, we are no longer prisoners or slaves to the sin and death of this world. GOD has given us an obvious out, through the sacrificial blood of JESUS.
Under the New Covenant, GOD writes HIS laws on our hearts and in our minds (v.33), and HE also promises believers an inner transformation. Believers can now have a direct, experiential relationship and friendship with GOD, through JESUS CHRIST, by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT living in us. Through earnest repent, GOD is faithful to forgive whatever sins we commit, because HE has accepted the blood of CHRIST as payment for all the sins of the world, past, present, and future.
It is the duty of the Christian to build his or her foundation on the “Most High Faith”, which is “Christianity”, and not all the various denominations man has dreamed up over time. We must learn to pray in the power of the HOLY SPIRIT, and we must always remember the conditions of the New Covenant that has been ushered in by CHRIST, and then signed in HIS OWN blood.
When we repent and trust in GOD’s presence, and believe on CHRIST JESUS, GOD forgives us, and HIS transforming works begin in our heart. And through our new found faith, we can begin walking in the newness of the life that can only be found in CHRIST JESUS our LORD and SAVIOR, and we can also forever enjoy a New Covenant relationship with GOD the FATHER, here on earth, and, in Heaven.

A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander





                                 
LARRY D. ALEXANDER- Official Website





Friday, September 5, 2014

WEEKLY SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
An international Sunday school lesson commentary
For Sunday September 7, 2014

Over 64,000 readers worldwide
larrydalexander.blogspot.com

A PROMISE ASSURED
(Trust in the LORD’s purpose)
(Jeremiah 30)

Jeremiah chapters 30-33 focus on a period about eighteen months prior to the end of the Babylonian siege on Jerusalem in early 586 B.C. These chapters contain some of the most critical prophesies in all of Old Testament scripture. In this section (chapter 30) Jeremiah reveals a stunning vision (encouraging, especially for that seemingly hopeless time period) of God’s plans for Israel’s future. Here he reveals that GOD will bring, both, northern Israel and Judah, back from their captivities, and restore them to prominence in their GOD-given homeland (Vs.1-3).
In verse 2 GOD instructs Jeremiah to write down, for the record, everything HE had said to him, in a book, so that the exiles would have access to HIS promises after the fall of Jerusalem. These writings would stand as a “ray of hope” until the day when GOD would restore HIS people back in the former land of Canaan.
In verses 4-7 the LORD tells Jeremiah, concerning Israel and Judah distress, that:

“I hear cries of fear;
    there is terror and no peace.
 Now let me ask you a question:
    Do men give birth to babies?
Then why do they stand there, ashen-faced,
    hands pressed against their sides
    like a woman in labor?
In all history there has never been such a time of terror.
    It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel.
    Yet in the end they will be saved!

Here the LORD wants Jeremiah to inform Israel that there will be a time of national distress before HE returns her to their homeland. There will be cries of fear and distress heard among all the exiles in Babylon. Their pain and anguish would be comparable to that of a woman during childbirth, and would be like none anytime before that time. GOD says it will be “a time of trouble and tribulation” for Israel.
In this passage, GOD is not only speaking just of their time in Babylon, because northern Israel, who had already been in captivity in Assyria for over a hundred years, would not be suffering through it. Here GOD is speaking of a future “tribulation period” when the remnants of Israel and Judah will both experience a time of unparalleled persecution (Daniel 9:27 & 12:1, Matthew 24:15-22). That period will end when CHRIST returns to “make the world a better place”, forming HIS “Millennial Kingdom” here on earth. Those who are able to survive those times, CHRIST said then, and GOD says here, “will be saved”. This shoots a hole in the theory of those who say that “the Church” (GOD’s people) will not have to go through the “Great Tribulation” period.
In verses 8-9 GOD says:

For in that day,”
    says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
“I will break the yoke from their necks
    and snap their chains.
Foreigners will no longer be their masters.
   For my people will serve the Lord their God
and their king descended from David—
    the king I will raise up for them.

GOD broke the yoke of slavery that was controlled by their enemies, the Babylonians (foreigners), but in the eschatological sense, for those living in this day and age, GOD broke the yoke of slavery (satan) called “sin and death”, through the vicarious sacrifice of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, and so now we must serve only GOD and CHRIST JESUS.
GOD said that HE would destroy all the nations to which HIS people had been scattered, and that HE would return them to a situation of total peace and security (Vs.10-11). But first HE had to remedy our humanly incurable wound called “sin”, and there was no one on earth who could help us, not our friends, and not any medicine. And so GOD healed and remedied our problem by sending HIS only begotten SON, CHRIST JESUS, the great HEALER (Vs.12-17).
GOD’s restoration for Israel in biblical times, involved a physical rebuilding. In this day and age it involves a spiritual rebuilding. In verses 18-22 GOD says the city of Jerusalem would be rebuilt on its ruins, and this included the King’s palace, and that there would be joy and songs of thanksgiving to GOD. There would, once again, be great prosperity in the land, and whoever harmed, or try to harm HIS people would be punished.
Verse 21, however, speaks of an eschatological time when our only ruler will be CHRIST JESUS, and HE, as we know, can approach GOD whenever HE wants, because HE is GOD. And if we are to be GOD’s people, in this day and age, we must first become one with CHRIST.

A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander





                                 
LARRY D. ALEXANDER- Official Website