church of Christ at 26th and Connecticut
Joplin, Missouri

Phone
417-781-2326

1819 E 26th
Jopin, MO  64804

   Worship Schedule

Sunday
    Bible Class              9 am
    Morning Worship    10 am
    Evening Worship      6 pm

Wednesday
     Devotional & Class   7 pm

Upcoming Activities

Impalement

Lessons from Jeremiah & Lamentations

Today (Tuesday) we finished up our study of Jeremiah and Lamentations in the Tuesday morning class [Note: this class will not meet again until the fall].  We’ve learned many, many lessons from this study.  Here are just a few:

1.      Astrology is wicked.  The Israelites were told, "Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens” (Jeremiah 10:2 ESV).  Our brother Robert R. Taylor Jr. noted that this referred to “astrology, i.e., that stars guide and heavenly bodies determine human destinies.  Heathens are greatly and gravely influenced by such and so is modern man with astrological guesses, horoscopes, etc.” 

2.      We serve a powerful God.  Twice in Jeremiah, in 10:12-16 and 50:15-19, we read a description of God that begins, “It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens” (Jeremiah 10:12 ESV).  Our brother Robert R. Taylor Jr. noted that in chapter 10, “God is showing with what ease He can defeat lifeless gods,” and that in chapter 50, “He shows with what ease He can put down an earthly monarchy—the Babylonian government.”

3.      Don’t take away from God’s word.  God told Jeremiah, "Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word” (Jeremiah 26:2 ESV).  Notice those last words, “do not hold back a word.”  Likewise, near the beginning of the Bible, we read, “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you” (Deut. 4:2 ESV).  And near the end of the Bible, we read, “…and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life…” (Rev. 22:19 ESV).

4.      Seek and you will find.  God told those in Babylonian captivity, “You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you” (Jeremiah 29:12-14 ESV).  Of course, Jesus also promised us, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8 ESV).

5.      God is opposed to the proud.  Concerning Moab, we read, “We have heard of the pride of Moab— he is very proud—of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance, and the haughtiness of his heart” (Jeremiah 48:29 ESV), and “Moab will be destroyed from being a people because he has become arrogant toward the Lord” (48:42 NASB).  Likewise, concerning Babylon, we read, "Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. En-camp around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has proudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel” (Jeremiah 50:29 ESV).  This reminds me of what James noted, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6 ESV).

6.      God sees everything.  God said, “Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth?” (Jeremiah 23:24 ESV).  Likewise, the writer to the Hebrews wrote, “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13 ESV).

7.      Trials makes us better.  Jeremiah said, “It is good for a man to carry a heavy load of suffering while he is young” (Lamentations 3:27 NIRV).  Wayne Jackson wrote, “The prophet appears to concede that the yoke of suffering he had borne in his earlier years had produced beneficial results.”  Similarly, James wrote, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:2-3 ESV).

8.      Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  Jeremiah said to God, “You drew near when I called on You; You said, ‘Do not fear!’” (Lamentations 3:57 NASB).  Our brother Robert R. Taylor Jr. wrote, “Jeremiah was drawing near to God in prayer; God drew near to him in prompt precious response….”  James said, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8 ESV).