Jeremiah

Jeremiah 25: The LORD warns and judges

Begin in prayer

Before we read how the LORD warned His people again and again, let us stop and come to Him together. Ask Him to open our ears to His warning, to meet with our family now, and to show us Christ, who bore God’s judgment for His people.

Don’t harden your heart, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness,

Psalms 95:8

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that You warn Your people again and again, and help us to listen and turn from our sin. Show us Christ, who drank the cup of Your wrath for His people. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

For twenty-three years Jeremiah called the people to turn from their evil ways, but they did not listen (verses 1 to 7). So the LORD announces that He will bring Nebuchadnezzar, His servant, against the land and the nations around it (verses 8 and 9). This land and these nations will serve Babylon for seventy years, and then the LORD will punish Babylon for its iniquity (verses 11 and 12). Jeremiah takes the cup of the LORD’s wrath and makes the nations drink, beginning with Jerusalem (verses 15 to 18). The list reaches Egypt, the Philistines, Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon, and then all the kingdoms of the world (verses 19 to 26). The LORD roars from His holy place against the nations, and the shepherds who scatter His flock cannot escape (verses 30 to 38).

As you read Jeremiah 25, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The LORD warns again and again, and He judges all who refuse to listen to Him.

Jeremiah spoke for twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah, and the people did not listen (verse 3). The fourth year of Jehoiakim was also the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (verse 1). The LORD sent His servants the prophets again and again, but the people did not incline their ears to hear (verse 4). He called them to return from evil and stop serving other gods, and He promised no harm if they turned (verses 5 and 6). The LORD says this land will serve Babylon for seventy years, and then He will punish Babylon (verses 11 and 12). The LORD says judgment begins at the city that bears His name, and no one will go unpunished (verse 29). Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath for His people.

How does Jeremiah 25 show us that the LORD warns again and again, and judges all who refuse to listen?

The LORD warned His people again and again.

Jeremiah spoke for twenty-three years, and the LORD sent His servants the prophets again and again (verses 3 and 4). He called the people to return from their evil ways and to stop serving other gods (verses 5 and 6). Even then the LORD promised that if they turned, He would do them no harm (verse 6).

The LORD judges the nations, and Judah is not spared.

Judah would serve Babylon for seventy years, and then Babylon would be punished (verses 11 and 12). Jeremiah gives the cup of the LORD’s wrath to Jerusalem, to Egypt and to many nations (verses 15 to 26). Jesus drank that cup for His people.

The shepherds who scatter the flock cannot escape.

The shepherds are told to wail, because the LORD lays waste their pasture (verses 34 to 36). No leader can flee from the LORD, and no one can hide from His anger (verses 35 and 38). The LORD roars from His holy place against all who live on the earth (verse 30).

Memorize

Return now everyone from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings

Jeremiah 25:5

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what warning from God have I ignored, and do I want Jesus to forgive me?

Jeremiah hears the LORD say, “take this cup of the wine of wrath at my hand,” and the nations are made to drink it. Jerusalem stood first in that list, because the people would not listen. Every one of us has refused to listen to God, so every one of us deserves that cup.

But Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath for His people. He took the judgment our sin deserved, and He did it in our place. On the third day God raised Him from the dead, and His work is finished. It is enough for every sinner who comes to Him.

So come to Jesus while it is still today. Turn from your sin and trust Him, and every sinner who comes to Him will be forgiven. The LORD who warns is the same LORD who pardons all who return to Him, through His Son.

Parent's note

Tell your children that the LORD warns again and again, and that He judges all who refuse to listen. Parents, you may want to explain verses 15 to 29 in your own words, since they describe judgment on the nations. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He warns us again and again, and bring the heart question to Him. Then let each child have a moment to pray in their own words.

Yahweh is good to all. His tender mercies are over all his works.

Psalms 145:9

Lord, thank You that You warn us again and again, and that You are ready to pardon all who return to You. Forgive our hard hearts that refuse to listen. Thank You for Jesus, who drank the cup of Your wrath for His people, and help each of us to turn from sin and trust Him. Teach us to listen to You this week. Amen.