Return to the LORD

Ladies,

As I shared in class we are beginning a new in depth study of Jermemiah chapter 2 called "Return to the LORD".I am very excited about what is ahead. We are going to study this as long as the LORD permits. We'll take a look at what God had to say to His people through the prophet Jeremiah and also what He has to say to us today!

Here are the verses we will look at (and memorize as well)!

Jeremiah 2:1-13
1The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2"Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the LORD, "I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride,how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. 3 Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest. All who ate of it incurred guilt; disaster came upon them,declares the LORD."

4Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. 5Thus says the LORD: "What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me,and went after worthlessness, and became worthless? 6They did not say,'Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt,who led us in the wilderness,in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness,in a land that none passes through, where no man dwells?'

7 And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination. 8The priests did not say, 'Where is the LORD?' Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me;the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit.

9"Therefore I still contend with you, declares the LORD, and with your children’s children I will contend. 10For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see,or send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has been such a thing. 11 Has a nation changed its gods,even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.

12Be appalled, O heavens, at this;be shocked, be utterly desolate,declares the LORD, 13for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

We see immediately in Verse 2 that the LORD is doing some reflecting on how things once were with He and His Bride. So, we'll do some studying from the OT that will show us Israel's deliverance and God's covenant with them. We'll look at the establishing of God's people, Priests and Temple worship. We'll study what God expected from His people and how that applies to us today as Christ followers.

As I mentioned in class yesterday, it is heavy on my heart the fact that God longs to be one with His Bride but that She is defiled/unclean. He is seeking a Pure and Spotless Bride and we have much purification that is needed. As we study we'll also see that when God's people are defiled, that judgment can be expected unless we hit our faces and repent and beg God to relent. This is so applicable to our time today in our country.

I am so excited about what God is doing and will do through our study. My prayer is that we will (as a class) make every attempt to be in attendance each Sunday seeking God through His word together and asking Him to come and do a work in and through us! Come join us!

For His Kingdom,

Brittnie