Bible Study 25th January 2021.
Readings: Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Luke 4:21-30;
Jeremiah 1:4-10. New International Version
The Call of Jeremiah
4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew or chose[a] you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” 6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” 7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. 9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Footnotes
a.Jeremiah 1:5 Or chose
Comment:
In the Bible, God rarely calls those who seem best qualified to fulfil his mission. Moses is tongue tied and a fugitive from justice, Jonah runs away from the call God makes upon his life. David is a boy shepherd but yet becomes a king. Jeremiah presents another familiar case: the prophet who believes he lacks the ability to speak. Here, God is assuring him that he is up to the job and has been chosen as a prophet to the nations even before he was born. This promise helped Jeremiah to get on with the task which was not an easy one. His task was to speak into an intensely pressurised and challenging situation and to proclaim Jerusalem’s coming destruction. Speaking in public can be incredibly anxiety inducing. The fear of speaking is surely increased when we sense we are called to speak out about something contentious!
Qu? What have been occasions when you may have felt the need to speak out? What helped you to do so? For Jeremiah, the knowledge that God cherished him from birth enabled to begin to speak out. What helped you?
Qu? God tells Jeremiah God has had intimate knowledge and plans for him since before his pre-birth formation, in which God also says he was creatively involved. Do we think this intimate individual knowledge applies only to Jeremiah, or only to some individuals, or to all individuals? What does, or might, this mean about our own personalities, abilities, aptitudes, etc.? What does, or might, this mean about our occupations? Our “mission in life”? What are the possible implications of this information? Does it feel welcome, unwelcome, both, or neither? Why?
Qu? God specifically tells Jeremiah that God will be with him, “to deliver him,” in his upcoming work. What effect does this assurance have on Jeremiah? What effect would it have on you? Why?
Psalm 71:1-6. New International Version
1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. 2 In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me; turn your ear to me and save me. 3 Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me for you are my rock and my fortress. 4 Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel. 5 For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. 6 From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you.
1 Corinthians 13:1-13; New International Version
13 If I speak in the tongues or languages [a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship, or to the flames, that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Footnotes
a.1 Corinthians 13:1 Or languages
b.1 Corinthians 13:3 Some manuscripts body to the flames
Comment:
The love that St Paul speaks of is the sacrificial love that invites us to dwell with each other and to grow in mutual generosity .
Qu? What does it mean to “have love” in the context of these spiritual gifts, do we think? [For instance – do we think love is supposed to be the motive for doing these things? Or, an accompaniment? Or, something else? What do we think is the relationship of love to other spiritual gifts?]
Luke 4:21-30. New International Version
21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”
24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy or skin disease [a] in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
Footnotes
a.Luke 4:27 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
Comment:
The people were surprised that the one they previously knew only as the carpenter’s son could preach so well. But before they would accept him as the Messiah, they wanted him to do miracles in Nazareth as he had done in other places. Jesus refused. He knew they did not believe in him but were interested only in seeing some spectacular performance (Luke 4:22-23).
In the end the people in Nazareth could not see Jesus as anything but their carpenter’s son.
Jesus then quoted a proverb to show that God’s messengers are often not appreciated by those among whom they live, but are welcomed by people elsewhere. He gave two illustrations from the Old Testament. Elijah was unpopular in Israel but was welcomed by a woman in Phoenicia. Elisha was rejected by Israelites, but was sought by a soldier from Syria. When Israelites rejected God’s servants, God sent his blessings to people of other countries (Luke 4:24-27; cf. 1 Kings 17:9-16; 2 Kings 5:1-14; 2 Kings 5:1-14). The lesson for the people of Jesus’ hometown was that if they did not want God’s blessing, it would be sent to others, even to the despised Gentiles, and they would receive it.
Jesus’ words of truth did not go down well with his neighbours. Their initial praises following his sermon in the synagogue evaporated and instead of believing in Jesus, they tried to murder him. But Jesus escaped unharmed (Luke 4:28-30). The people of Nazareth had understood what Jesus was saying and they had reacted by bursting into anger. Their actions sadly showed that Jesus had read the condition of their hearts correctly.
Qu? 1) What made this a hard truth too many for the neighbours of Jesus to accept?
2)If you have ever heard difficult truths, how did you respond?
3)Jesus could have reacted with anger but he did not, instead he rose above it. If there have been times in your lives when you have risen above your anger, what has helped you do this?
Conclusion: Prayer and Benefiction.