Jeremiah

Jeremiah 50: The LORD gathers His lost people

Begin in prayer

Before we read God’s word against Babylon, and how the LORD gathers His scattered people home, let us come before Him in prayer. Ask Him to show us that we have wandered like lost sheep, to be with our family as we read, and to show us Jesus, the Good Shepherd and strong Redeemer.

Know that Yahweh, he is God. It is he who has made us, and we are his. We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Psalms 100:3

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that we have gone astray like lost sheep, and that You gather Your people home. Show us Jesus, our strong Redeemer, and help us to turn from our sin and trust Him. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

Jeremiah spoke this word against Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans, and the LORD told the nations to hear it (verses 1 and 2). Bel and Merodach, the gods Babylon trusted, would be put to shame (verse 2). In those days the children of Israel and Judah would come home weeping, and they would seek the LORD their God (verse 4). They would ask the way to Zion and join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that would never be forgotten (verse 5). The LORD says His people had been lost sheep, because their shepherds led them astray (verses 6 and 7). Babylon had sinned against the LORD, so He would repay her for her work (verses 14 and 15). In those days the sins of Israel and Judah would be sought for and not found, because their Redeemer is strong (verses 20 and 34).

As you read Jeremiah 50, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The LORD gathers His lost people home, and their Redeemer is strong.

Babylon ruled the land of the Chaldeans, and Jeremiah wrote this word against it (verses 1 and 2). Bel and Merodach were gods the Babylonians trusted, and the LORD says they will be put to shame (verse 2). Israel and Judah were God’s own people, and the LORD says they will come home weeping and seek Him (verse 4). A covenant is a binding promise, and this everlasting covenant will never be forgotten (verse 5). Shepherds were meant to guard the flock, but these shepherds led the people astray like lost sheep (verses 6 and 7). A redeemer was a close relative who paid to bring a family member back home, and the LORD is Israel’s strong Redeemer (verse 34). The LORD says the sins of His people will be sought for and not found, because He pardons His remnant (verse 20). Jesus is the Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep.

How does Jeremiah 50 show us that the LORD gathers His lost people home, and that their Redeemer is strong?

Babylon held God’s people, but the LORD sets them free.

Israel and Judah were held fast by those who took them captive, and they refused to let them go (verse 33). The LORD says Babylon will fall, because she plundered His people and sinned against Him (verses 11 and 14). Jesus is the King over every nation.

God’s lost people come home weeping and seek the LORD.

The people had gone astray like sheep, because their shepherds led them wrong (verses 6 and 7). Now they go home weeping, and they seek the LORD their God (verse 4). They join themselves to Him in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten (verse 5). Jesus is the Good Shepherd who calls the lost to come home, so come to Him.

Their sins are sought and not found, because their Redeemer is strong.

The LORD says the sins of Israel and Judah will be sought for, and none will be found (verse 20). He pardons the people He leaves as a remnant, and He will thoroughly plead their cause (verses 20 and 34). Jesus is the strong Redeemer who bore sin on the cross, so turn from your sin and trust Him.

Memorize

Their Redeemer is strong: Yahweh of Armies is his name.

Jeremiah 50:34

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, where am I wandering from Jesus, and will I come home to Him?

Israel and Judah had wandered like lost sheep, because their shepherds led them astray (verses 6 and 7). Yet the LORD promised that His people would come home weeping and seek Him (verse 4). Their sins would be sought for and not found, because their Redeemer is strong (verses 20 and 34).

Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and He came to seek and save the lost. He went to the cross, bore the sins of His people, and was raised to life on the third day. His death and resurrection are enough for every sinner who comes to Him. Jesus welcomes sinners. Please turn from your sin and trust Him, because He forgives everyone who comes home to Him.

Come home to the Shepherd today, and confess that you have wandered from Him. The LORD gathers His lost people, and the Redeemer who is strong will receive everyone who comes to Him.

Parent's note

Tell your children that the LORD gathers His lost people home, and that their Redeemer is strong. Parents, you may want to explain Babylon’s fall in verses 21 to 46, and how the shepherds led God’s people astray. 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 gathers His lost people home and that their Redeemer is strong, and bring the heart question to Him. Let each child pray in their own words.

Yahweh builds up Jerusalem. He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.

Psalms 147:2

Lord, thank You that You gather Your lost people home, and that their Redeemer is strong. Forgive us for wandering from You like sheep, and for trusting our own way instead of Yours. Thank You for Jesus, our Good Shepherd, who bore sin on the cross and was raised to life. Help us to turn from sin, trust Him, and walk with You this week. Amen.