WEEKLY
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
An
international Sunday school lesson commentary
For
Sunday May 17, 2020
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PRACTICING JUSTICE
(No one is exempt from GOD’s judgment)
(Jeremiah 21)
The life of the prophet
Jeremiah is, perhaps, described in greater detail than any other prophet in the
annals of the Old Testament. His ministry covers the last 40 years of Judah’s existence,
before it was ultimately captured and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian
forces in 586 B.C. He became an eyewitness to that Babylonian invasion, and he
actually saw the devastation, slaughter, and deportation of his people, and the
destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem.
Jeremiah had pleaded tearfully with his
people for many years to turn from their sins, but instead of listening to his
warnings from GOD, the people chose to ignore him, and some even persecuted him
for his troubling messages. Therefore, the destruction of Jerusalem, GOD’s OWN chosen
people, now stands as an eternal reminder to the world, of what can and will
happen to any nation that rejects GOD, the CREATOR of everything, and everyone,
we can, and, cannot see.
King Zedekiah, Judah’s last king, ruled from
597 to 586 B.C., the year that Jerusalem finally fell to the Babylonians. The events
described here in Jeremiah 21, most likely takes place in the 9th
year of his 11-year reign. Zedekiah’s desperate plea to Jeremiah (Vs.1-2) to
ask GOD for help against Nebuchadnezzar after surviving the first invasion in
605 B.C. (and feeling the pinch of the impending invasion in 597 B.C.), was
rejected because it came much too late. GOD had already sanctioned Judah’s demise,
and indeed, had sided with the Babylonians to punish and overtake Israel, by
decimating her with plagues, famine, and of course, by the sword.
GOD gave Jeremiah a message to carry to his
people that caused them to hate him fiercely because it made them view him as a
treasonous scoundrel. The LORD said to tell them to; “Take your choice of
life or death! Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease,
but those who go out and surrender to the Babylonians will live. For I have
decided to bring disaster and not good upon this city, says the LORD. It will
be captured by the king of Babylon, and he will reduce it to ashes”.
GOD announced HIS judgment on Judah’s last
kings because they refused to “administer justice” and move the nation away
from their sinful behavior. HE commanded that they “give justice to the people
they judged over”, “rescue them from internal oppressors”, and, in short, as
leaders, “Do what is right in HIS eyes”.
“Administering justice rightly” is a
resounding theme throughout the Old Testament. The way kings ruled in their
royal court set the stage for all the lower courts in the land. The practices
of evil kings and leaders were, and are, greatly denounced by GOD. To whom much
is given, much is required, and so “responsibility” will always be, the “obverse”
of “privilege”.
GOD says that if we as leaders do not do
what is right, HIS anger will burn against us like an unquenchable fire because
of all our sins. GOD called Jeremiah as a young man, and gave him an old
message. It would be a message that, like always, would be rejected by man. When
Jeremiah spoke, the people refused to hear him, and a whole biblical “book of
Lamentations” was written to express his heartbreak over the defiance of his
people, Israel.
Mankind has always been willing to embrace
GOD’s love and forgiveness, and that goes for believers and unbelievers alike. We
all want a GOD WHO will come to our rescue when we have gotten ourselves into
trouble, due to our sin and disobedience against HIM.
However,
very few of us are interested in truly following GOD, through JESUS CHRIST, or,
having an experiential relationship of friendship with GOD, by allowing the
HOLY SPIRIT to lead and guide us on a daily basis. And unless we repent, and that
attitude changes, and we recognize how much we need GOD, we simply won’t be
able to escape the “devil’s lifestyle”, nor “GOD wrath” that is contained in
HIS judgment.
A
Sunday school lesson by,
Larry
D. Alexander
LARRY D. ALEXANDER- Official Website
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