Rebuke and Retribution
Memory Text: “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for You are my praise” (Jeremiah 17:14, NKJV).
Read for This Week’s Study: Jer. 17:5–10, Jer. 17:1–4, John 3:19, Jer. 11:18–23, Jer. 12:1–6, 14:1–16.
What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (Eccles. 1:9, ESV). Nothing new under the sun? This is especially true when it comes to the lives and work of God’s prophets, who were often called to deliver words of warning and rebuke to those who should have known better.
Though seeking to be faithful to their calling, the prophets for the most part faced fervent opposition, even retribution, often from the spiritual leaders, those who should have been the first to listen to them. No wonder Jesus said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets” (Matt. 23:29, 30).
This week we’ll start to look at the trials of Jeremiah, whose ministry seemed to consist of nothing but rebuke and retribution: he giving the rebuke, the leaders giving him retribution.
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 24.
Adventist Sabbath School Lesson for Adults
Q4 2015 «Jeremiah»
Lesson 4 – Rebuke and Retribution
